TPW – Chapter 42

Xu Haizhou walked over when he heard the commotion. Seeing the score on the test paper, he sighed with “regret”: “Fifteen points, that’s way too low. The passing line is sixty. Sister-in-law, see how far Daxiong fell short?”

“What? Sixty? Fifteen? That’s… that’s not just a little bit off…”

Niu Qiaoli’s eyes turned red with frustration. The way she looked at Niu Daxiong could’ve stripped the skin off his back!

Furious that he failed to meet expectations, she jabbed at his spine: “Daxiong, look at you, just look! How did you write this? How could you only get fifteen points! These are questions for first and second graders, seven or eight-year-old kids! How did you only score this much!”

“Ah, sis! Sis!” Her punch slipped with too much force, and Daxiong screamed in pain.

Just then, the man who had marked the paper came in, frowning: “No fighting in the office.”

Niu Qiaoli immediately felt embarrassed, awkwardly freezing in place.

She was known for her “high” emotional intelligence and ability to read people—an all-round smooth talker. She’d never been humiliated like this before. Blushing furiously, she let Li Yu lead her out of the food factory.

On the way out, she kept hitting and scolding Niu Daxiong: “Useless! Totally useless! Can’t even hold onto an office job! What else are you good for?!”

Niu Daxiong didn’t dare fight back. Besides, he really was in the wrong this time… Such a great opportunity, practically already in hand—how did it just slip away like that?

“Sis, how is this my fault? I didn’t know there’d be a test. If I knew, I wouldn’t have come! I told you I only know how to do manual labor!”

“So what if it’s manual labor? Didn’t you graduate from elementary school? All that tuition—was it wasted? Your brother-in-law gave you such a great chance! The least you could do is score sixty! Are you trying to humiliate me?!”

The more she spoke, the angrier she got. She gave him a hard kick in the butt.

Niu Daxiong ran down the street: “Sis! I didn’t do it on purpose. Those questions were really hard! I bet even middle schoolers couldn’t answer them!”

Li Yu’s brow furrowed as he watched the two siblings bicker, clearly displeased.

“Haizhou, I’ll head back for now. Let me know if you need me again.”

The moment she heard Li Yu was leaving, Niu Qiaoli stopped right away.

“Alright, thank you for the trouble,” Xu Haizhou said with a faint smile, watching him leave.

Li Yu didn’t walk away immediately. He glanced at Niu Qiaoli, then said to Xu Haizhou, hesitating, “…In the future, try to assess the situation first before asking for favors. It’s not that I won’t help, but we shouldn’t make things too difficult for others. If something goes wrong, it’s not something a few words can fix.”

Xu Haizhou looked sincerely apologetic: “Got it, I understand. Thank you, Director, and sorry again.”

With that, Li Yu finally left, looking very disheartened.

“Director Li! Director Li!” Niu Qiaoli called out, but he didn’t respond. He just got on his bicycle and rode off decisively, leaving behind only the silhouette of his back filled with infinite disappointment…

Panicked, Niu Qiaoli grabbed Xu Haizhou: “Haizhou! He just left like that? What about my brother’s job? We don’t even need the office position anymore, anything else will do! Can’t we still talk it over? Just look at my brother—he’s got strong muscles, perfect for hard labor!”

Xu Haizhou gently pushed her hand away and sighed: “Sister-in-law, didn’t you notice just now? Director Li was angry. Not only that, he’s upset with me too.”

“What? He’s mad? But you two have such a close relationship, don’t you?”

They were even willing to pull strings—that had to mean a close bond, right?

“Even the best relationships can’t survive…” He looked at Niu Daxiong, shaking his head in regret. “Sister-in-law, don’t make things harder for the Director—or for me.”

Niu Qiaoli’s face flushed with shame.

How did it end up like this? How did they even manage to offend such a bigwig? That was someone who could pull strings and get an office job!

When they got back home, the mother and son had already eaten. The food left for Xu Haizhou was kept warm in the kitchen pot. Knowing Niu Qiaoli’s thick skin, she would probably stay for a meal before leaving, so Qiao Lu made a few extra cornbread buns—just enough to fill them up.

Qiao Lu had no intention of being too kind. How had this woman treated the original host before? And how had she treated Qiao Yan? She hadn’t forgotten.

Repaying evil with kindness? Not a chance.

When the three of them got home, Qiao Lu immediately asked how it went. Hearing that Daxiong only got fifteen points on the entrance exam, she nearly laughed out loud.

She forced herself to sigh with regret: “Oh no, what now? Haizhou had to pull so many strings to get him that job—and it was an office job too! Such a good opportunity… and he only scored fifteen… That’s just too…”

She then asked cautiously, “Sister-in-law, did Daxiong really graduate from elementary school?”

“Of course!” Niu Qiaoli was getting more and more upset. Her fists were itching again. She pinched a chunk of Daxiong’s arm hard: “This useless brat!”

Niu Daxiong rubbed his arm in grievance. He knew he’d be covered in bruises by the time they got home!

Feeling wronged, he defended himself: “I went all the way to fourth grade! How could I not handle questions for little kids? That test had to be flawed!”

Looking at the paper, he could understand the words one by one, but when put together, they made no sense. How was he supposed to answer that?

“Do you have the test? Let me see,” Qiao Lu asked.

Niu Qiaoli had brought it back—crumpled into a ball in frustration. She quickly unfolded it and handed it over to Qiao Lu.

Qiao Lu held the test paper in her hands, flipping through it repeatedly, and the more she read, the more she wanted to laugh.

These questions were definitely not for first or second graders — they were closer to high school level.

1. Please write no less than 200 words expressing your views on working in the food industry.
2. In your opinion, what kind of strength is needed to develop socialism?
3. What do you think are the pros and cons of current policies on the development of food factories?
4. …
   

After the written comprehension section, there were a few arithmetic questions, ranging from more difficult multiplication and division to simpler addition and subtraction.

Qiao Lu handed the test paper to Qiao An: “An’an, take a look. Can you do these questions?”

The little guy held the test paper and examined it with great interest, but after looking at it for a while, he realized he didn’t understand any of it. The characters were too complicated and too hard to make sense of!

Then he turned to the second page and, as if discovering treasure, jumped up excitedly: “I know these! Mommy, I know them!”

He pointed to the few arithmetic problems he could understand and enthusiastically answered in his soft voice: “Mommy, I know this one — it’s five plus six, that’s eleven! This one is three plus three, that’s six! And this one is ten minus four, that’s… six! So easy!”

Qiao Lu smiled with praise: “Mm, our An’an is amazing! You got them all right!”

What? Even Qiao An could solve these?

The feeling in Niu Qiaoli’s heart at that moment was hard to describe. Furious, she stomped her foot and slammed a fist onto Daxiong’s back. “You! I actually believed the questions were the problem, but it turns out you’re not even as good as Qiao An!”

How could her brother be this dumb? He’d lived for twenty years and was worse than a four-year-old child! Having a brother like this, she might as well have asked their parents to give birth to a roast pork bun instead — it was infuriating!

Without another word, she dragged him toward the courtyard gate. Qiao Lu stifled a laugh and leaned on the doorframe. “Sister-in-law, where are you going?”

“Home!” — to give this dumb brother a good beating!

“Not staying to eat?”

Eat? Right now, she just wanted Niu Daxiong to eat a block of iron!

“Not eating!”

Pfft — uneducated people really are easy to fool.

The sibling pair walked off in a weird posture, growing smaller in the distance until they disappeared behind the courtyard wall. Qiao Lu finally broke into a carefree laugh.

“Haizhou, that move of yours was brilliant — absolutely brilliant! You redirected all the blame perfectly!”

Qiao Lu pestered Xu Haizhou to explain what had happened from the beginning, and it turned out he had already asked Li Yu to put on an act with him. That way, he could fulfill his earlier promise to Niu Qiaoli while also discouraging her from pressing the issue further. Even if she tried again in the future, he could just play another version of the same trick.

How could someone who didn’t even recognize a single character outsmart a cunning fox like Xu Haizhou?

That would be pure fantasy.

Life went on as usual. No one knew whether Niu Qiaoli would give up for good, but in any case — let the soldiers come, and the general will block them; let the floodwaters come, and the soil will stop them!

Qiao Lu’s handbags sold far better than Li Hongjun’s women’s socks. Jealous, Li Hongjun decided to sell off his last batch of socks and focus entirely on helping Xu Haizhou and Qiao Lu sell bags.

After asking their opinion, the couple both agreed. Wages would be distributed according to effort: Qiao Lu would get 4, while Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun would each get 3. In other words, the couple’s combined earnings would be 7, and Li Hongjun’s solo share would be 3.

No one had any objections. After all, Qiao Lu contributed the skills, Xu Haizhou provided the capital, and Li Hongjun just acted as lookout and salesman. Even earning a 3-share was a pretty good deal.

On Saturday, since he had promised to take his wife and son to visit the newly built housing complex in Huxi District, Xu Haizhou took the day off to house hunt.

The family of three set out together. To ease Xu Haizhou’s burden and to save effort, Qiao Lu rode her own bicycle, while Qiao An sat on Xu Haizhou’s bike — not on the back seat, but on the diagonal top bar in front. Xu Haizhou said the view was better from up there.

It was Qiao An’s first time sitting there — excited and thrilled. Because Xu Haizhou rode faster than Qiao Lu, the little guy was ecstatic and kept glancing back.

“Mommy, hurry up! Mommy, you’re too slow! Just the two of us — you can’t catch us!”

Qiao Lu pedaled hard but still couldn’t catch up.

Men and women had different strength levels — nothing to be done.

“You little stinker, still laughing? If you laugh again, I’ll have your dad toss you to me, and the two of us can come in last together.”

“Waaah—” Threatened by Qiao Lu, Qiao An gripped Xu Haizhou’s arm tightly. “Daddy, protect me! Don’t throw me to Mommy! Let’s go faster — faster!”

Little rascal — he’s got a dad now and forgot about his mom.

Xu Haizhou chuckled. Hearing Qiao An’s increasingly excited squeals, he slowed down until Qiao Lu overtook them.

Qiao An couldn’t stand it and got anxious: “Daddy! Daddy, hurry! Mommy’s faster than us now!”

Xu Haizhou casually pedaled along. “Mm, Daddy’s a bit tired, can’t catch up.”

Qiao Lu took one hand off the handlebars and pulled down her lower eyelid: “Nyeh nyeh nyeh! Qiao An is a big dummy — can’t catch me!”

“Daddy! Mommy’s making faces! Let’s catch her!” The little hands pounded on Xu Haizhou’s arm, and his short legs swung wildly from the bar, determined not to rest until they’d caught up with Qiao Lu.

Xu Haizhou suddenly wondered if he was raising two children.

After all the horseplay and bickering, they finally arrived at Huxi District.

The only proper residential complex in Lian City—Nanhujia Garden—was indeed quite impressive. They hadn’t even entered yet, but just standing at the gate gave off a sense of sophistication that clashed starkly with the surrounding residential buildings. It was a kind of architecture that transcended the aesthetic of the times.

Grand, high-end, ahead of its time… Considering this was the early 1980s—specifically mid-1983—such a modern complex was extremely rare. Only coastal cities in the South could be pioneers in something like this.

As soon as they parked their bicycles, a certain short-legged little guy dashed over like a whirlwind and wrapped himself around Qiao Lu’s thigh. “Caught you! You’re not allowed to run! Mommy can’t pass us!”

Qiao Lu laughed, squatting down to pinch his cheeks. “I passed you, so that makes me the boss of the house!”

“I’m the boss!” Qiao An giggled in protest.

Qiao Lu: “No, I am.”

Qiao An: “Nope! An’an is~”

Qiao Lu: “An’an is a stinky baby.”

Qiao An: “I’m a fragrant baby~”

If they kept arguing like this, there would be no end to it. Xu Haizhou helplessly picked up the little rascal and tried to mediate, “Then why don’t all three of us be the boss?”

But the little guy immediately shook his head and refused in his babyish voice, “Nope, can’t! Mommy is the boss. Daddy, don’t fight with Mommy for her spot!”

Careful, or Mommy might cry in front of you!

Qiao Lu: “Pfft—hahaha—”

Xu Haizhou: “……”

Alright, he’d overthought it. Even if they bickered, their sweet son still had Mommy in his heart.

Nanhujia Garden covered about 400 square meters. They weren’t sure how many buildings it had, but each one was consistently six stories high.

When they first arrived, the gate guard didn’t allow them to enter. Qiao Lu explained that they were here to look at properties because they intended to buy a house. The uncle at the guard post gave her a once-over, from head to toe, pondered for a moment, and finally let them in.

Qiao Lu secretly thanked her luck that they were all dressed decently today—if they’d shown up in ragged clothes, no one would believe they could afford a home here.

The family of three wandered around the complex. The landscaping was quite good. Osmanthus trees had been planted under every building, and the various green belts, though not as lush or varied as those of later years, were definitely ahead of the curve for current standards—arguably national leading level.

Every unit had its own private bathroom, so there were no public toilets in the complex. It was also equipped with basic community facilities: a small health clinic, a convenience store—it gave off the vibe of a civilian version of a “compound” (note: not the kind of compound full of messy shared courtyards, but the kind where children of cadres grew up—a completely different concept).

The internal facilities were well-planned, and the surrounding amenities weren’t bad either. There was a bus station about a kilometer away, a health center 500 meters out, and just outside the gate was a slightly larger provisions store and a newsstand. Xu Haizhou mentioned that the nearest market was less than a kilometer away.

In short, if they really lived here, daily life would be super convenient!

Even though she came from the 21st century, Qiao Lu still found everything around her fascinating. She looked left and right, and the more she looked, the more she liked it.

“This is really nice, really nice. The environment is great.” Compared to the chaotic courtyards they currently lived in, this was basically heaven.

Because it was invested in by Hong Kong businessmen, the complex had even introduced a concept mainlanders had never heard of before: property management.

She found this out by pulling aside a homeowner for a chat. The homeowner was a Chinese expatriate in his fifties. Upon hearing that she wanted to buy a home here and having some free time, he began to explain the details of the complex to the couple.

Xu Haizhou was amazed—many of the terms were things he’d never heard before, especially this thing called “property management.” He’d never known that after buying a home, you’d still need to pay a property fee each year. Apparently, the property management team would maintain public sanitation, fix things like leaky roofs, deal with noisy neighbors, and even ensure community security… It all sounded pretty useful, though they didn’t go too deep into the specifics.

Either way, his wife seemed to really like this thing called “property management”…

Xu Haizhou still wasn’t sure whether property management was truly a good thing or not. But one thing he was certain of: this community was really great. If they could save enough money to buy a place here, life would be so comfortable.

As expected, all three of them were very pleased with the environment. Their motivation to earn money was instantly maxed out.

No matter how hard or tiring life became, just thinking about moving into such a beautiful neighborhood gave them something to look forward to.

The little guy was especially excited—even at nine in the evening, he still refused to go to bed.

“Mommy, when can we buy our new home?” He hugged Qiao Lu, bombarding her with questions.

With a face full of tenderness, Qiao Lu gently stroked his little head. “Soon. Give it a year or two.”

The little one wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled against her shoulder. “Then Mommy, when we move into our new home, will we bring Bubble and Little White with us?”

“Of course we will. They’re part of our family too.”

Qiao An loved that phrase—Bubble and Little White were family. Even if they moved, they all had to stay together!

Finally, he drifted off to sleep, satisfied.

By late June, the weather was getting hotter. Qiao Lu noticed some women on the street wearing dresses, so she finally felt safe enough to make one for herself.

The dress was made conservatively, nothing too “out there.”

Just as she happily snipped off the final loose thread, Xu Haizhou returned, riding his bicycle, with four cloth bags of varying sizes hanging from the handlebars.

Qiao Lu got up to greet him and took the bags, puzzled. “Didn’t sell out again today?”

Lately, every time Xu Haizhou went to the market, he’d come back with one or two unsold bags. But today was the worst—he came back with four!

Their neighbor Wu Guifang had already taken several days off. Wu Guifang had asked her at lunch when she’d start again, and Wu Guifang had said she wanted to earn more money. Qiao Lu only smiled and replied that business wasn’t great, so there was no need for more stock at the moment.

“Mm, I thought the market was saturated, but today I realized something’s off.” Xu Haizhou panted slightly as he poured himself a glass of water.

“What’s wrong?” Qiao Lu sat beside him, concerned.

Turning to look at his wife, Xu Haizhou’s expression was serious and stern. “Someone’s imitating our bags.”

Qiao Lu scratched her face in shock. “Huh? Pirated?”