“Nono, this is the new outfit your godmother bought for you. Do you like it?”
Cheng Nuo took one look at it, then happily threw herself at He Mei, planting a wet, affectionate kiss on her cheek.
It was a very clear expression of how much she liked the outfit.
He Mei was delighted and was just about to kiss her back when the clothes were suddenly snatched away.
He Mei turned around and saw Lu Wei looking at her reproachfully.
“Meimei, the child is still so young. Buying her such nice clothes is just a waste.”
“When did you become so thoughtless?”
He Mei’s face darkened as she snatched the clothes back from him.
“I bought them with my own money for my goddaughter.”
“As long as Nono likes them, they’re worth it!”
Normally, she would indulge Lu Wei whenever he told her to be frugal.
But this was her first time being a godmother. How could she be stingy?
“Meimei!”
Lu Wei’s face darkened after being contradicted.
“The clothes may seem like a small matter, but you can’t develop the habit of spending money recklessly.”
“What good are pretty clothes? As long as they’re durable, that’s enough.”
“They haven’t been worn yet. I’ll take them back and return them for you. We can exchange them for something more practical.”
Li Wanqing held her daughter without saying anything.
Some problems could only be solved when the person involved realized them for herself.
Otherwise, no matter how much someone tried to reason with her, all they would get in return was resentment.
【Roar~ roar~ Uncle, keep going~ Godmother, don’t take him!】
【He’s so ugly!】
Pfft!
Hearing her daughter’s brutally honest thoughts, Li Wanqing almost burst out laughing.
“A gift that’s already been given isn’t something you take back and exchange. If you’re unhappy about it, you can leave.”
He Mei’s face was cold, and she acted as though she couldn’t care less.
As for Lu Wei, although he was furious, he didn’t leave either.
Because the fragrant dishes had arrived!
He Mei ignored Lu Wei completely, becoming even colder toward him.
Li Wanqing noticed the change but merely smiled faintly before focusing on feeding her daughter some steamed egg custard.
As for Lu Wei…
He was too busy burying his face in the meat to notice that his girlfriend’s attitude toward him had changed.
After he had eaten his fill, he brought up the matter of exchanging the clothes again.
He Mei immediately grabbed Li Wanqing and her daughter and ran off with them.
After shaking Lu Wei off, He Mei paced around in frustration.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“How can he be like this?!”
Li Wanqing laughed, not bothering to hide her amusement.
“Wasn’t he always like this before?”
He Mei thought about it.
There did seem to have been signs before, but his reaction had never been this extreme.
He had merely reminded her to spend money wisely and to plan more carefully for their future together.
Back then, she had been incredibly touched!
She had thought she had met a good man who knew how to manage a household and live carefully.
But now…
Was this really all there was to him?
He only knew how to carefully manage her money?
“So what are you planning to do now?” Li Wanqing asked sympathetically.
She wouldn’t interfere with He Mei’s decision about her relationship.
If He Mei chose to leave, she would be relieved for her.
But if she chose to endure it…
Then she would add a little more fuel to the fire!
He Mei sighed.
“To be honest, I’m a little confused.”
Li Wanqing put an arm around her shoulder.
“It’s okay. There’s no need to rush!”
“Ah~ ah~ ya~ ya~”
【Godmother, don’t be sad. Nono is here, and Mama is here too.】
【When the old one leaves, the new one will come. Godmother will meet someone even better.】
Li Wanqing: “……”
This little girl knew quite a lot, didn’t she?
She really needed to be more careful about what she said around her from now on!
The child continued babbling and waving her little hands.
He Mei thought she had accidentally pressed against the child, so she quickly took a step back.
“Nono, are you okay? It’s all Godmother’s fault!”
“Does anywhere hurt? Godmother will blow on it for you!”
Li Wanqing: “……”
There was still plenty of time, so Li Wanqing insisted on making a trip to the salvage station.
At this time, it was impossible to find books related to the college entrance examination in a bookstore, but there were sure to be some at the salvage station.
“Wanqing, do you really believe the college entrance examination will be restored?” He Mei asked softly.
Li Wanqing paused before answering, “I’m not sure. But I believe our country would never forget us.”
The conviction in her words stirred He Mei’s previously calm heart.
Waiting wasn’t frightening.
As long as someone remembered them, there was still hope.
He Mei also began searching through the piles of books with Li Wanqing.
The books at the salvage station were a complete mess, so searching through them was both time-consuming and exhausting.
Fortunately, Nono was well-behaved. Even after staying there for a long time, she didn’t make a fuss.
Li Wanqing managed to find a complete set of high school textbooks and exercise books.
She also came across two sets of *Self-Study Series for Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry*.
These were highly sought-after study materials that would become so popular after the college entrance examination was restored that they would eventually be sold out everywhere!
Li Wanqing had originally wanted to look for some books suitable for early childhood education, but unfortunately, she couldn’t find any.
In the end, she bought some yellowed paper instead.
Since He Mei was searching more slowly, Li Wanqing wandered over to another section.
Weren’t there always scenes in online novels where the protagonist found valuable treasures at salvage stations?
What if she happened to get lucky too?
As it turned out…
There was a reason this place was called a salvage station.
Li Wanqing didn’t see anything particularly valuable.
There was some secondhand furniture that looked pretty good, but the pieces were far too large. There was no way she could carry them home.
Not long afterward, He Mei finished choosing her books as well.
Everything together cost less than three yuan!
After leaving the salvage station, the two didn’t linger and headed straight for the bus station.
If they were too late, they might miss the bus.
On the way back, they traveled with Hao Zhenzhen and Yang Xiulan again.
When the two women saw the books they had bought, they were both astonished.
Once they arrived at the educated youth compound, Li Wanqing stuffed the money for lunch into He Mei’s hands.
She didn’t have any grain coupons, so she had converted everything into cash.
One *liang* of grain coupons was equivalent to two fen. Including the cost of the food, Li Wanqing gave her 2.5 yuan.
“What are you doing?” He Mei refused to take it. “We agreed that I was treating you to lunch.”
“Why are you giving me the money now?”
Li Wanqing pushed the money firmly into her hand and held it down.
“Don’t rush. Listen to me first.”
He Mei glared at her, looking as though she would end their friendship if Li Wanqing didn’t give her a satisfactory explanation.
Li Wanqing: “……”
“The dishes I ordered at lunch were both numerous and expensive. I only did that because I wanted to see how your boyfriend would react.”
He Mei remembered Lu Wei’s attitude.
Clearly, his behavior had been disappointing.
“Have you met his family?” Li Wanqing asked again.
Back in her era, there was a saying: before getting married, a woman should always have a meal at her future in-laws’ home.
The way family members interacted with one another reflected the values of the entire family to a great extent.
If their values were upright and harmonious, then no matter how poor the family was, everyone could work together to gradually improve their lives.
But if their values were twisted and the family was constantly at odds, endless arguments would follow. Even a family blessed with unimaginable wealth could eventually be torn apart by constant conflict.
He Mei shook her head.
Lu Wei had told her that his family was poor and that he was worried she would have a bad impression of them.
So he wanted to wait until he had secured a job before introducing her to his family.
Li Wanqing sighed softly and spoke earnestly.
“You’re still young, so there’s no need to rush. Marriage is something that lasts a lifetime.”
Whatever you do, don’t end up like the original owner, escaping one pit of fire only to jump straight into another.
No matter what era it was, marriage was extremely important to women.
The only difference was how much freedom they had in making their choices.
Women in this era might not have as much freedom to choose as women in her time, but that didn’t mean they had no choice at all.