RGL – Chapter 47

The couple searched for work all morning but couldn’t find anything. Around noon, they bought two steamed buns from a street vendor and munched on them by the roadside. Sun Bing thought of the children still at home and said, “Let’s go back and get them something to eat. They’re still at home.”

“Didn’t we cook porridge for them? They can eat that for lunch. We haven’t found work yet—are you planning to live off the northwest wind?”

Without another word, Zhang Guihua walked ahead. Right now, nothing was more important than making money.

The two of them searched all afternoon but still didn’t find a suitable job.

It wasn’t that no one was hiring. The problem was that Sun Bing was rather dull and not good at conversation, so no one wanted to hire him. Zhang Guihua, on the other hand, was good at talking, but the employers were looking for women to do labor work—and didn’t like someone as chatty as her either.

So after searching all day, they still came up empty-handed.

Finally, they found a newly opened small restaurant, but it was only hiring young people as servers to carry dishes. Zhang Guihua stood next to the job notice and thought for a moment before going over to ask the hiring manager.

“How old are you looking for? Is fifteen okay?”

The person glanced up at Zhang Guihua. “Do they look young?”

Zhang Guihua replied, “Not at all—she’s already as tall as I am.”

“All right then. Have her come in and try. But she’s young, so she definitely won’t work as well as an adult. Her pay will be lower—eighteen yuan a month.”

“Great! I’ll have her come this afternoon. Please take a look and see if she’ll work out.” Zhang Guihua beamed with joy.

Sun Bing, who had been listening on the side, widened his eyes. When she finished speaking, he pulled her out of the crowd and frowned. “What did you mean just now? What fifteen-year-old?!” He knew very well—they only had one daughter who was fifteen.

Zhang Guihua raised her chin and looked at him. “I plan to have Yanyan come out and work. She can’t go to school right now anyway. Staying at home is just a waste. If she starts working early and earns some money, she might be able to go back to school later.”

“I don’t agree.” Sun Bing rejected the idea outright. “The kids are still at school age. If you make them start working now, will they ever go back to school? Guihua, we can take our time earning money, but you can’t treat the children like this.”

“How am I treating the children badly?” Zhang Guihua’s face flushed with anger. “I’m doing this with my whole heart for this family. What do you mean by ‘take our time’? Look at how hard things have been for us lately. If we don’t let Yanyan work, we won’t even be able to afford the rent soon.”

Sun Bing, for once, stood his ground. “If we can’t afford the rent, we’ll just go back home.”

“No way. When I, Zhang Guihua, say I’ll do something, I’ll make it happen. I have to show your brother and sister what we’re capable of. Just because they’ve got money now, they look down on us. Well, I, Zhang Guihua, won’t rely on them. I can live just fine in the city on my own.”

Looking at her face full of determination, Sun Bing felt powerless. “Guihua, let’s just live our lives. Why do you have to compare everything with them?”

“I have to prove myself.” Zhang Guihua shook off his hand and marched home quickly.

Meanwhile, Sun Hai spent the entire day wandering the county, but didn’t see Sun Bing or Zhang Guihua anywhere. He wasn’t even sure if they had come to the city at all.

That evening, while having dinner at Sun Qiufang’s house, he mentioned the matter to Grandma Sun.

As soon as Sun Qiufang heard he was still bothering with those two, her face dropped. “So what if you find them? What can you do—get them a job or let them move in with you?”

Grandma Sun said, “Qiufang, they’re still your brother and sister-in-law. If they’ve come to the city, no matter what, we should look out for each other.”

“If you want to help them, then go ahead and help them yourselves. I’m not getting involved. I, Sun Qiufang, am not some kind of saint. Back then, when Changrong and I were desperate, we asked Minzi to let us stay at her place for a year, and we even brought our own food. She was still unwilling. And now that we’re doing better, she always puts on a long face whenever we meet. I’m not going to beg them anymore, and I’m not going to worry about them either.”

“Alright, Qiufang,” Su Changrong patted her gently.

Sun Qiufang leaned back in her chair. “Zhang Guihua is all about saving face. I’m not going to offer my warm face only to be met with a cold one. I don’t want her thinking I’m trying to butter her up.”

“Qiufang, I know your brother and sister-in-law aren’t good people, but at least Yanyan and Qiangzi are still kids. I just want to see how they’re doing so I can feel at ease,” Grandma Sun sighed.

Seeing the tension, Su Min quickly tried to ease the situation. “Mom, don’t say that. Grandma is just worried about Uncle. If I misbehave in the future, wouldn’t you still be reluctant to punish me?”

Sun Qiufang moved her lips but didn’t say anything.

Su Min turned to Sun Hai and said, “Uncle, why don’t you tell Uncle Bing about the skewers business? See if they’re interested.”

“But now that the weather’s warming up, can that kind of business still work?”

Su Min nodded. “Sure it can. You can do it anytime—it just depends on how much you earn. But if Uncle Bing already has a good job, he doesn’t need to do this.”

She didn’t have deep feelings for Uncle Bing’s family. But both her grandma and younger uncle still hadn’t let go of them emotionally. In her opinion, if they kept trying to help, things would only get messier. It would be better to just point them in the right direction and let them figure it out themselves—whether they succeed or fail would be up to them.

Sun Bing and Zhang Guihua kept looking for work for several more days, and finally managed to land jobs at a newly opened hotel. Zhang Guihua washed bedding, and Sun Bing worked as a doorman. Together, their monthly income was now up to fifty yuan.

Zhang Guihua was overjoyed. That night, she came home and did some calculations. “With our wages and Yanyan’s, we’ll be earning nearly sixty yuan a month. That’s over seven hundred a year! It’s way better than farming. And didn’t you hear? They say wages might even go up in the future.”

Sun Bing hadn’t expected they’d actually find work. Now he didn’t have to do anything difficult—just sit at the hotel entrance every day and still get paid. Life really wasn’t bad. His wife washed bedding inside, just women’s work really, and even that brought in money. Life really was good now.

Zhang Guihua smiled and said, “Now you see I was right from the start. So what if Qiufang and Sun Hai make money doing business? It’s still not as good as our steady jobs. Doing business—wasn’t that considered speculation and profiteering a few years ago? Who knows if it’ll even be allowed in the future?”

Sun Bing had always been easily influenced, and now that everything had gone according to Zhang Guihua’s plans, he was convinced she was right. So whatever she said now, he agreed with. He nodded. “Business isn’t reliable. Our jobs are better.”

Meanwhile, Sun Hai searched the county town a few more times and still couldn’t find Sun Bing and Zhang Guihua. But he did find Sun Yan working at a restaurant.

Seeing such a young girl carrying plates with the other waitstaff brought tears to Sun Hai’s eyes.

“Yanyan, come back with me. Let’s go find your parents.”

“I’m not going.” Sun Yan immediately shook him off. “This is great. I get to eat delicious food and earn money. It’s way better than going to school back in the countryside.”

“You’re too young not to go to school. What, you’re not planning to go to university anymore?”

Looking at his niece—who used to love studying—and hearing her say this, Sun Hai felt a tightness in his chest. He hadn’t been able to finish school himself and knew the pain of missing out on an education. He didn’t want the younger generation to repeat his mistakes. Back then, he had no choice—but now, the kids had options. Why give them up?

“Anyway, Uncle, you don’t need to worry about me. I don’t want to study anymore. I like it out here,” Sun Yan said stubbornly.

From the moment her mother made her go out to work, she had made up her mind—she’d work from now on, and never go back to school. If her future turned out badly, it would be her parents’ fault.

“Yanyan, listen to your uncle. Don’t be so angry. Come home with me and talk to your parents. You must go back to school. I’ll pay your and Qiangzi’s tuition myself.”

“I’m not going back to school. I said I won’t, and I mean it.” Sun Yan looked to the side. “I have to get back to work. If you want to find my parents, go to Building 2, 5th Floor of the Electric Power Residential Area. That’s where we live now. But no one’s home during the day—you’ll have to go in the evening.” With that, she turned and went back to work.

Sun Hai stood there, watching her run into the kitchen. He couldn’t chase after her and was left feeling anxious.

At lunchtime, while working at the skewer shop, he told Li Meng about what had happened.

“I’ll go talk to my brother and sister-in-law tonight and see if they’re willing to do the Skewer business. No matter what, since they’ve already come to the city, they have to find a way to live. Yanyan and Qiangzi can’t just stop going to school.”

Li Meng was washing dishes, and upon hearing this, her movements paused. She wanted to say she disagreed with him getting involved, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Thinking about how even Sun Qiufang had stopped interfering, as the daughter-in-law, she felt even less entitled to say anything. Besides, Sun Hai had married her out of sympathy back then, and there wasn’t much emotional foundation between them. She didn’t want to push her luck by meddling in his family affairs.

Sun Hai saw that she didn’t respond and assumed she agreed. He made up his mind to visit Sun Bing’s place that night.

After a long day of work, Sun Hai sent Li Meng home and then took a ride to go find Sun Bing and his wife.

“Sun Hai.”

Just as Sun Hai entered the neighborhood, he heard someone call from behind. He turned around and saw Liu Li approaching.

“It really is you, Sun Hai. I thought I was seeing things. What are you doing here?”

Liu Li looked happily at Sun Hai. Ever since what happened last time, she hadn’t looked for him again—she didn’t have the face to. Sun Hai was right: no matter what, it’s not easy to find someone who truly likes you. She had missed her chance with Sun Hai and didn’t want to miss her chance with Gao Jianfeng, so she had made up her mind to live a good life with him.

Sun Hai didn’t expect to run into Liu Li here. He was a bit surprised but unaffected. “I’m here to visit someone. My brother and sister-in-law rented a place here, so I came to check on them.”

“Oh.” Liu Li smiled a little awkwardly. She asked again, “How are things going with you and Li Meng?”

“Pretty good. Mengmeng is pregnant now, so I’ve asked her to rest at home.” Sun Hai said a few words but didn’t want to linger—he had other things on his mind. “I’ve got something to take care of, I’ll be going now. We can chat another time.”

Liu Li nodded quickly. “Okay, you go ahead.”

Watching Sun Hai hurry away, Liu Li sighed and turned into her building.

Sun Hai searched for a while and finally found the place Yanyan had told him about.

He knocked on the door a few times before it opened.

Sun Bing looked surprised to see him at the door. “Xiao Hai, what are you doing here?” He quickly invited him in. “Come in, come in.”

The family was in the middle of dinner. Once inside, Sun Hai greeted Zhang Guihua with a “Sister-in-law,” but she just kept her head down, eating in silence. Yanyan and Qiangzi, however, both called out “Little Uncle.”

Sun Bing invited Sun Hai to eat.

“I won’t eat, just came to check on you guys. I still have to go back and take care of Mengmeng.”

“How did you know we live here?” Sun Bing asked while eating.

“Mom has been worried about you two, so I came to the city to look for you. I found Yanyan first, and that’s how I found out where you lived.” Sun Hai looked at Sun Bing and added, “Big Brother, how could you let Yanyan work in a restaurant? She’s in the third year of junior high, she should be preparing for high school entrance exams.”

Bang! Zhang Guihua suddenly slammed her chopsticks on the table.

Everyone turned to look at her—even Yanyan and Qiangzi put down their bowls and sat quietly.

Zhang Guihua stared at Sun Hai. “So now that you’re doing well, you’re here to criticize your brother? You think just because your brother and I are poor, you get to look down on us? Don’t forget, Sun Hai—if it hadn’t been for Sun Qiufang helping you, you would’ve still been mooching off me and your brother, living in that broken-down house.”

“Sister-in-law, I didn’t mean that.” Sun Hai’s face turned pale with anger. “Yanyan and Qiangzi are still at an age where they should be in school. If they fall behind now, it’ll be hard to catch up—especially Yanyan. The high school entrance exam is right around the corner.”

“Didn’t Sun Qiufang’s daughter do the same back then? If her daughter could make it, mine can too,” Zhang Guihua said, not believing that her daughter was any worse than Sun Qiufang’s.

Sun Bing added, “Xiao Hai, it’s just temporary. Once we make some money, we’ll let the kids go back to school.”

Sun Hai sighed inwardly and felt powerless. He realized what Li Meng said was right—trying to intervene only makes things messier. He pressed his lips together, trying to stay calm. “Big Brother, I came to ask if you’re interested in doing business. Back when Minzi and I started out, we did Skewer—it sold really well. Most of the money I used to open my shop came from that.”

Sun Bing was tempted. “Skewer? What kind of business is that?”

“It’s food. You put vegetables, meat skewers, meatballs, and such in soup to cook. You earn a few cents from each skewer. Small profits, but quick turnover—you can still make good money.”

Sun Bing looked at Zhang Guihua. When she nodded, he said, “So how do we do it? Open a shop?”

“No need for a shop—just set up a street stall.”

At the mention of a street stall, Zhang Guihua’s expression changed. The others were running businesses with storefronts, acting like bosses, and now they expected her and Sun Bing to sell food on the street? That was rich.

She sneered. “Save your fake kindness. My husband and I don’t need that. We both have jobs now and make decent money every month—not any worse off than you.”

“You found jobs?” Sun Hai looked at them, realizing they’d probably been in the city for quite some time already—yet never got in touch.

Sun Bing said, “Yeah, my wife and I work at a hotel. We get paid monthly, and the work’s not hard.” In truth, he didn’t want to run a food stall either. He remembered how hard Xiao Hai had worked—getting up at 3 or 4 a.m. and not sleeping until after 10 p.m. Even farming didn’t require that kind of schedule. While tiring, at least the busy season came and went. But with this kind of business, you suffered all year long. Their current jobs were more stable—no losses, regular pay.

Zhang Guihua added, “If he really wanted to help, he should’ve come sooner. Now that we’ve found work, he comes talking about business. Anyway, we don’t rely on you, and we’re not asking for anything. As for Yanyan—don’t meddle in our family.”

With things said so clearly, Sun Hai couldn’t bring himself to say anything more.

Seeing that the couple was clearly unhappy, Sun Hai didn’t stay long. He said goodbye and left.

Sun Bing said, “Xiao Hai meant well. Don’t be so cold.”

“What did I say wrong? If he really had good intentions, he wouldn’t be bringing this up after we already found jobs. Besides, now that we’re working, why would we do something as shady as speculative trading?”

Sun Bing thought about it and agreed.

When Sun Hai got home, Li Meng had already bathed and was lying in bed.

When he came in, she casually asked what happened. Upon hearing that they didn’t need any help from their side, she secretly felt pleased. If they didn’t want help, so be it. No one was desperate to help them anyway.

The next day, after hearing from Sun Hai that Sun Bing and Zhang Guihua had found work and rented a place, Grandma Sun was finally relieved. No matter what, as long as they had a place to live and food to eat, that was enough. As for earning money—let them figure it out themselves.