After Cheng Daqing and Zhang Xue finished gnawing on their cold corn buns outside, Wen Yining and Yao Yao had already turned off the lights and were lying down.
The room felt empty. Wen Yining no longer had to worry about mice crawling out in the middle of the night and past her feet.
Yao Yao, thinking about leaving this place tomorrow, was too excited to fall asleep.
But she didn’t dare ask too many questions about where they were going. Lying next to Wen Yining, she tossed and turned like a little rolling pancake.
Wen Yining tucked the small blanket around Yao Yao and gently patted her back. “Go to sleep, or you won’t have any energy tomorrow.”
Yao Yao rested her head in Wen Yining’s arms, staring up at her with big dark eyes. “Mom, where are we going after tomorrow?”
Wen Yining looked up at the ceiling and said dryly, “I haven’t figured that out yet, but one thing’s for sure—we have to leave this place first.”
The small courtyard of the Cheng family could confine the old Wen Yining, but it couldn’t hold her now.
Zhang Xue’s cruelty, Cheng Daqing’s selfishness, and his apparent inability to stand up to his mother—though in reality tacitly condoning Zhang Xue—couldn’t hurt her self-esteem or make her doubt herself. They could only accelerate her departure.
Yao Yao reached out with her little hands to hug Wen Yining’s neck and whispered, “No matter where you go, Mom, Yao Yao will go with you.”
Wen Yining pressed her forehead against the little girl’s and said softly, “Okay. After I take care of everything, I’ll find a school for you so you can learn to read and write.”
At the mention of going to school, Yao Yao’s eyes lit up with hope. “Will Yao Yao be able to go to school and learn to read and write, like Liu family’s older brother?”
Wen Yining didn’t know who this “older brother from the Liu family” was, but she understood that in this era, most parents valued boys over girls. Resources that should have been available to daughters were often reserved to support sons.
Especially when it came to schooling, sending boys to study was considered a great honor, while girls’ education was seen as a waste of time and effort. Better to marry them off early and bring back a dowry to build a bigger house for the sons.
This wasn’t just a problem of the era; even in later generations, some parents treasured sons over daughters. Some even raised daughters to serve their sons—so-called “brother-supporting” daughters.
But Wen Yining would never deny Yao Yao the right to study just because she was a girl. Even if the original Wen Yining had been oppressed by her in-laws, she would fight for her daughter’s education.
“Of course. In the future, Yao Yao will also become a role model for other children.”
Wen Yining mimicked Yao Yao’s tone: “Yao Yao doesn’t have to envy the boys in other families who get to go to school, because soon there will be more girls telling their parents, ‘I want to go to school like Yao Yao!’”
With hopes of a bright future in her heart, Yao Yao finally fell asleep.
Wen Yining also drifted off, full of anticipation.
Meanwhile, in the next room, Cheng Daqing and Zhang Xue lay on their hard wooden bed, unable to sleep.
The bed was makeshift: just two long benches and a plank for a mattress. There wasn’t a proper piece of furniture in sight.
No pillow—they could use their arms instead—but no blanket, and it would be freezing in the middle of the night.
Zhang Xue was still wearing borrowed ragged clothes. She turned over, freed her numb right hand, and swapped it under her head.
She didn’t know how many times she had sighed, quietly complaining, “I’ve never heard of anyone being robbed like us—nothing was left, not even a scrap of paper.”
Clenching her teeth in hatred, Zhang Xue muttered, “It must be Wen Yining and her worthless daughter bringing bad luck! They’re cursed to our family!”
Cheng Daqing, already annoyed at losing his secret stash of money, cut her off impatiently: “You better not say things like that if someone hears. They could accuse us of superstitious nonsense! Not only could we lose our jobs, even our son in the army could be affected!”
Zhang Xue looked sheepish. “I didn’t say it in front of anyone… I just complained to you privately. How would anyone else know?”
Cheng Daqing glared at her. “Say less useless stuff! If it really affects our son’s future, you’ll have nowhere to cry.”
Zhang Xue whined, “I’m just worried about our things! Haven’t we suffered enough already?”
“Go to sleep. We’ll ask the police again in the morning.” Cheng Daqing sighed, wrapped himself in his thin clothes, and forced himself to sleep.
They had been through hard times before, even sleeping in caves. But now, just sleeping in a room without a blanket or pillow made rest nearly impossible.
It’s true: once you live frugally, it’s easy to indulge; once you indulge, it’s hard to return to simplicity.
The next morning, Zhang Xue, dark-eyed, dragged Cheng Daqing to the police station to inquire about the stolen items. She didn’t want to stay a second longer in the empty house.
All the things that had been stolen were painstakingly saved, piece by piece, over the years.
Just thinking about it made Zhang Xue sob with pain.
As soon as they left, Wen Yining removed the benches and the wooden plank from their room.
Although she didn’t need the makeshift bed, she didn’t want to leave anything for Cheng Daqing and Zhang Xue.
After tidying up the few remaining items, Wen Yining woke Yao Yao.
She took her daughter to a state-run restaurant to buy youtiao and soy milk. Besides breakfast for the two of them, she also bought boiled eggs and meat buns for their train ride.
After eating, Wen Yining headed straight for the train station with Yao Yao.
The station was crowded with people.
Yao Yao held Wen Yining’s hand tightly, afraid of being separated.
It was Yao Yao’s first time traveling far. Everything looked new, and when she saw the train, she tugged excitedly at Wen Yining’s hand.
Wen Yining slung her army green bag over Yao Yao and picked her up.
From Wen Yining’s arms, Yao Yao’s view widened, and she could clearly see the train at the platform.
Station staff shouted through loudspeakers about ticket checks. Wen Yining heard their train number, hugged her daughter, and pushed through the crowd.
It was Wen Yining’s first time seeing how chaotic travel could be in this era. Before she even had time to react, the crowd had pushed them onto the train.
Looking back, she was immensely relieved she had picked up Yao Yao. Otherwise, in the crush of people, it would have been impossible to find her if they got separated.
Being jostled onto the train, finding their seats was still difficult.
Wen Yining, carrying Yao Yao, didn’t know how many people she had stepped on or how many chickens and ducks she had kicked along the way. By the time she reached their seats, sweat was already beading on her forehead.
She sat down with Yao Yao and quietly observed the surroundings, already planning to ask the conductor for an extra sleeper ticket.