RGL – Chapter 83

There were two rooms—one that faced the sun, and another that was also bright, but likely wouldn’t get much sunlight in the winter. Since this was the ground floor and it would just be the two of them living here, Su Min decided to put two beds in the sunlit room so she and Liao Zhaodi could sleep there. The other room could be used as a workspace where Zhaodi could make clothes on weekends.

When she voiced this idea, Zhaodi nearly raised both hands in agreement.

Although she was happy to be moving out, she was still a little scared. Sharing a room with Su Min would give her a sense of security, which made her feel more at ease.

With the housing situation settled, Su Min planned to go take care of the necessary paperwork with the school. She had already registered for dorm housing earlier, paid the fees, and had her name on the records. The dorm manager was scheduled to come for inspection tomorrow, so she needed to sort out the paperwork before moving out.

Su Min planned to handle the formalities on Monday, but before that, they could start moving some belongings over and clean up the new place so they could move in directly when the time came.

After grabbing lunch at a street food stall, the two of them returned to the dorm to start packing and move their things.

Tang Man and the others hadn’t gone out that day. They were chatting while snacking.

When they saw Su Min and Liao Zhaodi packing up, Yin Jing asked curiously, “What are you packing for?”

“We’re moving out to live off-campus,” Zhaodi replied.

“Huh? You’re moving out?”

Yin Jing looked full of curiosity, while Zhang Panpan also stared at them in surprise, her eyes showing some hesitation.

Tang Man shot them both a cold glance and put her snack down. “What’s the meaning of this? You’ve only been here a few days and now you’re moving out. If our classmates find out, they’ll think I bullied you.”

Su Min turned to look at her, half-smiling. “So we’re not allowed to move out just because of that? We’re just doing our own thing—what others think has nothing to do with us.”

“How can you be so selfish? It’s fine if there’s conflict in the dorm, but moving out makes it look like we’re not united. Aren’t you just giving others a reason to laugh at us?”

Tang Man said righteously.

Su Min listened and felt like it was impossible to reason with her. As she continued packing, she said, “I’ve already made up my mind, and no one can change it. Once we move out, maybe other students will move in, and you’ll have a chance to develop better dorm relations.”

“Fine, move out then. We don’t like people like you in this dorm anyway.” Tang Man huffed and sat on the bed, watching them pack. But after a while, she couldn’t stand it anymore, and stormed out in her shoes.

Seeing her leave, Yin Jing hurried after her.

Zhang Panpan hesitated, unsure whether to go after them. After some thought, she got off her bed, put on her shoes, and headed for the door. Su Min called out to her, and she stopped, turning to look at her.

Su Min said, “If you don’t love yourself, don’t expect others to truly love you.”

Zhang Panpan paused, her expression conflicted. After a moment of struggle, she still turned and ran out.

Watching her leave, Su Min let out a sigh.

Neither Su Changrong nor Sun Qiufang knew that their daughter had just pulled one over on them.

Ever since Su Min had moved to the city, the couple had been in a daze for days, hoping she would come back. But she hadn’t returned this week either. Su Changrong even lost his appetite. Sometimes, he would absentmindedly say he was going to pour Su Min a glass of milk, only to walk into her empty room and remember she wasn’t home anymore.

After sighing and fretting for a few days, Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong discussed going to the city to see their daughter.

“To be honest,” Sun Qiufang said with a gloomy face, “I think we should just move to the city. Now that Minzi’s not at home, I feel this emptiness in my heart.”

Since leaving their old hometown, their daughter had become the center of their lives. No matter how hard or tiring life was, seeing her made it all worth it. Now that she wasn’t home, the two of them had nothing to do but watch TV or chat with each other—it all felt pointless. They only went back to the old house during the New Year, and their brother, Sun Hai, was already married and settled in the county. They didn’t really need to stay here. They couldn’t afford to buy a place in the city, but they could at least rent. And they could always come back and stay with their daughter during the school holidays.

Su Changrong had more concerns. Living in the city sounded good, but what about their big store here? “That’s not ideal. Who’s going to manage the supermarket? I don’t feel at ease not keeping an eye on it.”

Sun Qiufang said, “Didn’t Minzi already suggest this? The employees can manage it just fine. We can hire a store manager who lives locally and ask them to keep track of the daily accounts. We can also assign someone for finances. We’ll just come back once a week to check the books.”

“Will that really work? Leaving outsiders in charge makes me uneasy.”

“Why not trust them?” Sun Qiufang gave him a look. “Xiao Hai runs his business across the street. If anything goes wrong, he’ll let us know. And for minor theft or loss, we’ll have records of inventory, sales, and profits. We’ll know what’s missing. I think Minzi’s method makes sense. Besides, it’s not like we’re watching the store all day right now anyway, and things have been running fine. I just don’t want to be away from Minzi. She’s still so young—I don’t feel safe letting her be out there alone.”

She couldn’t have any more children, so Minzi was her one and only. She had to keep her close.

Su Changrong thought about it carefully and felt like giving it a try too. After all, with the current family business, he just went around every day, checked the books and such—he wasn’t really keeping an eye on it all the time anyway.

“How about we try it for a month first, see what problems come up? I’ll come back once a week, and once we get a car, I can come back more frequently.”

Sun Qiufang thought that was doable. “Alright, then let’s hire someone to manage the shop for now, see if there’s anyone reliable around.”

Since Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang had been in the county for a long time, they knew quite a few people. But when it came to finding someone who could manage the store and handle the accounts, that really wasn’t easy.

That evening, while having dinner with Sun Hai’s family, Su Changrong brought up the matter with him.

He knew what Sun Hai was capable of—being able to run such a large restaurant on his own, now that was skill.

“Your sister keeps thinking about Minzi, and we can’t just let her stay in the county town forever. She’ll have to go out and grow in the future. So your sister wants to go with her to the city. But we’re not too comfortable leaving the shop behind. What if we get someone untrustworthy who ends up clearing the place out?”

Granny Sun chuckled and said, “How could they clear it out? Isn’t Xiao Hai’s restaurant still right there? Who’s gonna clear anything out? In broad daylight, who’d dare move stuff out like that? If you trust Xiao Hai, give him the shop keys. He can open it up for you. He starts early every day anyway.”

Hearing this, Su Changrong broke into a smile. He had actually been thinking the same thing, but felt too embarrassed to bring it up—after all, his brother-in-law was quite busy too, and managing his own shop wasn’t easy. But he didn’t trust anyone else, and now that his mother-in-law had suggested it, it was exactly what he had in mind.

Sun Qiufang shot him a sideways glance, thinking, You sneaky Su Changrong, trying to rope my brother into this.

She had already figured it out, and naturally, so had Sun Hai and Li Meng. The couple clearly wanted to move to the city and didn’t have time to look after the shop—they were just trying to find someone reliable.

If it had been someone else, Sun Hai might’ve pretended not to hear. But this was his sister and brother-in-law—he couldn’t turn them down. Back when he started his business, his brother-in-law supported him without a second thought, even pitched in money that could’ve gone toward buying a house. If he didn’t return the favor now, that would be truly ungrateful.

Just as he was about to speak, Li Meng smiled and said, “If Brother-in-law doesn’t mind, how about I do it? I just handle collections and things around here, not too busy—perfect chance to help out with your store.”

“You’re serious, Mengmeng?”

Su Changrong now looked serious. “Can you manage both places?”

“It’s fine, they’re close by. Your shop’s in one of the best spots in the county—if Sun Hai and I ever relocate, it’d just be to upgrade, not to move far. I just don’t know how to manage a shop yet. That’s the only issue.”

Hearing her sister-in-law stepping in to help, Sun Qiufang smiled. “If you can really help us manage it, we’ll pay you. Same as a store manager’s salary. There’s not much to handle, really—just keep track of stock coming in and going out, make sure the finances are in order. Your brother-in-law will worry about the rest.”

Li Meng replied modestly, “I’m just lending a hand, what would I need a salary for?”

Sun Hai chimed in too, “Exactly, no need to be so formal between family.”

“That won’t do,” Sun Qiufang said seriously. “Changrong and I always say, even between siblings, accounts need to be clear—that’s how you keep things harmonious. Right now, we just can’t find the right person, and Mengmeng is helping us. If we don’t pay her, we’ll feel bad asking for her help.”

Only then did Li Meng say, “Alright then, I’ll be your employee and take the pay. I’ve never been a store manager before.”

Su Changrong smiled. “It’s settled then. When you’ve got time, come by the store and I’ll show you how to manage things. Once you’re up to speed, your sister and I can head to the city to find Minzi.”

Granny Sun shook her head, smiling. “You two are really doing all this for the kid. Aren’t you worried about spoiling her?”

Su Changrong said, “Our Minzi is sensible—I’m not worried about spoiling her. Anyway, living anywhere is all the same. Wherever the child likes, that’s where we’ll go. Once Qiufang and I are too old to move around, we’ll come back here to retire.”

Hearing this made Granny Sun a bit sad. Her daughter and son-in-law had no son, so they had to follow their daughter around. And once the daughter got married, the two of them would end up returning to the county all alone.

Too bad Qiufang couldn’t have more children—if only she had another one, at least the two of them would have someone to rely on in old age.

After Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang left, Sun Hai asked Li Meng why she suddenly agreed to become a supermarket manager.

“Dou Dou is still little, and you’ve got to take care of this place and watch over Dou Dou too. Where would you find the time? I figured I’d say I’d help keep an eye on things. But then you even accepted money from your sister and brother-in-law—so distant!”

Seeing that Sun Hai wasn’t happy, Li Meng quickly said, “I only said that because your brother-in-law brought it up. Sure, you could help manage it, but our shop still needs you. Me, I just sit around all day collecting payments—honestly a bit dull. Helping out at the supermarket is a nice change, and I can support your sister and brother-in-law too. And as for the salary, didn’t your sister say it? If I don’t take it, she won’t let me help—that would hurt our relationship.”

Sun Hai felt a little uneasy hearing her say that, but couldn’t find a reason to argue, so he just said, “Then just be more careful in the future. Don’t mess up your sister’s shop.”

Li Meng smiled. “I know, don’t worry.”

She only let out a sigh of relief after Sun Hai went into the kitchen. Of course, she had her own reasons for agreeing. Right now, she spent her days collecting money at the shop. Though she also managed the household accounts, there were many things she couldn’t really get involved in. Now that her sister and brother-in-law had this opportunity, it was a good chance for her to go work at the supermarket and learn something—it would be a proper job of her own. Even if the restaurant didn’t work out in the future, she’d still have her own source of income. But she didn’t want to tell Sun Hai this; she was afraid he might think she was being distant or treating him like an outsider.

Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang, on the other hand, didn’t care what thoughts Li Meng might have. As long as there was someone to help keep an eye on the shop, that was enough. The couple began discussing how to manage the store and what their next steps would be once they moved to the city.

The money they invested in the supermarket had already paid off, and they had made a good profit. Now their savings were enough to open another store. Their plan was to open a new store in the city as soon as they arrived. According to Su Changrong, there were more people in the city, and business wouldn’t be any worse than in the county town.

Once the couple got busy with plans, they didn’t tell Su Min about any of it.

Su Min was preoccupied with moving out of her dorm and didn’t call home, so she had no idea her parents were already planning to head to the city because of her.

She had already submitted a dorm withdrawal application, planning to move out. The reason she gave was that she had relatives in the city and was going to live with them. Liao Zhaodi would be moving with her as well.

But then they hit a snag—since the dorm arrangement had been done by the parents originally, the school had a policy requiring a guardian to come in person to sign the withdrawal forms to ensure student safety.

Su Min had a headache over this. After thinking about it, she decided not to tell her family; otherwise, this plan would definitely fall through. She and Liao Zhaodi quietly made plans to find someone to pose as her aunt and sign the form. Liao Zhaodi would also need to find someone to pretend to be her guardian.

“This might not be a good idea. If they find out, we’re going to be in trouble,” Liao Zhaodi said, still not as bold as Su Min. She was worried that if the school or Su Min’s parents found out, things would go badly. Even though she no longer had a family of her own, Su Min’s parents would surely be upset if they learned about this.

“Don’t worry. The school won’t be able to find out. Even if they do, worst-case scenario, I’ll just have my real family come over. Since they’re willing to take responsibility, the school won’t press the issue.” To Su Min, who had the soul of an adult, this kind of school policy wasn’t anything serious.

Faced with such a big issue, Liao Zhaodi had no opinion of her own and could only stick closely behind Su Min.

Seeing that Su Min really did bring two middle-aged women and successfully got the withdrawal forms signed, she finally let out a breath—but she still worried. “You’re sure this won’t cause any problems?”

“No worries. I said they’re our aunt and grandaunt. It’s not like I said they were blood-related. If anyone asks, we’ll just say they’re family friends or something.”

Su Min linked arms with her as they left the administration office and headed to class. “Hurry up, class is starting. We’re moving this week. I really don’t want to live in the dorm anymore.”

Hearing this, Liao Zhaodi felt her own worries about the dorm situation fade. If she had another choice, she wouldn’t want to stay in the dorm either. Tang Man acted like a warden all day, always giving them cold looks, like they’d done something wrong.

The two of them walked into the classroom just as the bell rang and quickly sat down. Liao Zhaodi was still patting her chest, catching her breath.

Su Min had just pulled out her textbook when their homeroom teacher, Mr. Huang, entered. This period was the class meeting, so Mr. Huang immediately told everyone to put away their textbooks—they would be holding elections for class committee members.

The mention of elections got the whole class buzzing with excitement.

Those interested in becoming class committee members were quietly getting their thoughts in order.

Liao Zhaodi also wanted to run, but since she planned to do business with Su Min to earn money, she figured she wouldn’t have time for it, so she gave up on the idea. She was just curious about who would end up getting elected. She was about to ask Su Min for her thoughts when she noticed Su Min had her head down, working on math problems on scrap paper, so she didn’t disturb her.

Since high school focused mainly on academics, Mr. Huang didn’t want to appoint the class committee members himself. Instead, he decided to let the students compete for the positions.

Su Min wasn’t interested at all. To her, it was better to spend that time doing a couple more exercises or memorizing a few more English words.

As the election began, several students started mentally rehearsing their speeches. Unexpectedly, Wen Heping also signed up—he was running for class monitor.