TPW – Chapter 57

Qiao Lu inwardly swore.

Things hadn’t been peaceful lately. The trouble with the Chen family wasn’t over yet, and now something had happened with Liu Xiaohong’s family. One wave hadn’t settled before the next began…

“Mama, what does ‘repeating a year’ mean?” Qiao An ran over, grabbed Qiao Lu’s hand, and asked.

Qiao Lu quickly covered his mouth. “Shh, don’t talk.”

Mm—Qiao An blinked and, sensing the tense atmosphere around him, dared not speak again.

“What? That kind of thing happened?” Wu Guifang was skeptical. “Impossible. Your son hands over his salary every month. If he’s not working, where’s the money coming from?”

Zhang Yanhong didn’t believe it either. “Exactly, Youwei, you better explain—if you’re not working, where’s that money from?”

Aside from the regular salary he brought home every month, there were also school meal costs, book fees… All of that required money!

“Stop asking… I…”

“Speak! Come on! Where’s the money from, huh?!”

Thirty! Thirty yuan a month! From September until now, that’s three months’ salary—ninety yuan in total! He’s been at school all day—where on earth did that money come from?

Liu Xiaohong was practically dying from anxiety, terrified that her son had gotten the money through shady means.

“What’s going on? What is it?” Grandma Feng, who was hard of hearing, finally caught the commotion. She slowly walked out of the room with her cane.

When she saw her grandson, confusion crept into her expression. “Youwei? Why are you here if you’re not working?”

Fang Youwei clutched his grandma’s arm like a lifeline. “Mom, Grandma, let’s go inside and talk…”

Liu Xiaohong wouldn’t budge. Fang Youwei tugged cautiously at her cotton-padded jacket.

“We’ll talk right here!” Liu Xiaohong, consumed by anger, wouldn’t listen to reason. She slapped his hand away. “Don’t tell me you really got that money through some shady means?!”

“No!” Fang Youwei’s face flushed bright red. In the freezing cold of the twelfth lunar month, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead like peas.

He looked at the neighbors’ blazing, gossipy stares and felt as though his entire dignity was being torn apart by the mother he so deeply respected.

Grandma Feng looked at her daughter-in-law and grandson in confusion. “What money? What are you all talking about?”

Liu Xiaohong was furious. She’d intended to keep it from the old lady, but now, seeing Fang Youwei still refusing to explain, she lashed out, “Your grandson! He’s not working! He’s become a thief!”

“No, I haven’t!” Fang Youwei clenched his fists in secret—his palms were slick with sweat.

His chest heaved. After a deep breath, he closed his eyes like someone taking a leap. “I… I’m seeing someone!”

Everyone in the courtyard was shocked—including his mother, Liu Xiaohong.

Just then, a few aunties from the outer courtyard were drawn in by Liu Xiaohong’s shouting. Fang Youwei heard footsteps, looked up for a second, then quickly dropped his gaze in shame.

“You… you’re really going to be the death of me, Youwei!” Liu Xiaohong was on the verge of fainting.

Fang Youwei couldn’t stand seeing his mother like that—he was just as heartbroken.

“When did it start? How old is she? What does she do?” Zhang Yanhong asked on Liu Xiaohong’s behalf.

Fang Youwei glanced at her and stammered, “T-twenty… She runs a street stall.”

His voice grew softer and softer. “She gave me the money. I… I’ll find a way to pay her back…”

“What?!” The usually gentle Liu Xiaohong turned pale as she clutched her chest in distress. “Foolish! Youwei, how could you be so foolish!”

Isn’t this just mooching off a woman?!

“She’s supporting you so you can repeat a year? What, do you not have a mother or a grandma? If someone has to support you, why not your mom? A girl selling things on the street—how can she be any good?” Liu Xiaohong pounded on him with her fists in a fit of emotion. Grandma Feng quickly pulled her grandson back.

“Calm down, calm down. Talk properly!” Grandma banged her cane on the ground a few times. “Let’s go inside!”

A group of people rushed into the house. Wu Guifang and Zhang Yanhong followed. Qiao Lu thought outsiders shouldn’t meddle in family affairs, but curiosity got the better of her…

Inside, a brazier warmed the whole room, but when they walked in, everyone felt a chill.

Liu Xiaohong, still fuming, sat down to calm herself. Wu Guifang patted her back to help her breathe. It took a while before she regained some composure.

With a loud slam, Liu Xiaohong’s fist hit the table, making everyone jump.

“That girl’s only twenty—just two years older than you. At her age, instead of studying or working at a decent place, she’s running a street stall? How can she be respectable? Ask your sister Qiao Lu—how many decent people do you think sell stuff on the street like your cousin Haizhou?”

Her gaze landed briefly on Qiao Lu’s face. Fang Youwei clenched his hand and cautiously poured a cup of hot water for his mom. “Mom, I’ve told you many times I wanted to repeat the year, but you kept refusing. I really didn’t have any other choice…”

In fact, ever since the exam results came out, Fang Youwei had wanted to repeat the year. But Liu Xiaohong disagreed. She wanted him to find a factory job and help relieve the family’s burden.

Fang Youwei had always been a well-behaved, sensible child. He saw how hard his mother worked, and he didn’t have the heart to reject her.

Of course he wanted to make money as soon as possible to ease his mother’s burden, but going to university had always been his dream.

He didn’t want to give that up, but also didn’t want to go against his mother’s wishes. He wanted to have it both ways… So he told a white lie. Who would’ve thought his mom would follow him today, and then…

“Where’s her stall? Maybe I’ve seen it,” Qiao Lu suddenly asked.

Fang Youwei looked at her, bit his lip. “Baiyun Street.”

Baiyun Street? What a coincidence. She might really know the girl.

“Sister Liu, anyone who can afford a stall on Baiyun Street must be making decent money—the rent there isn’t cheap,” Qiao Lu tried to reason with her.

What mattered most now was calming Liu Xiaohong down. Anger wouldn’t solve anything—only make it worse!

“Yes, she may make money, but my son has hands and feet—I’m not dead yet! Why should she be the one to support him?” Just thinking about it made Liu Xiaohong furious. Her voice trembled. “Tell me, a young girl doing business in public—how can she be proper? Youwei just turned eighteen! How could she even bring herself to do that?!”

On a normal day, Liu Xiaohong—being a shrewd and worldly woman—might have praised the girl as brave or entrepreneurial. But today, with her precious son “snatched away,” she’d lost all sense of propriety. She said whatever came to her mouth, not caring if it was reasonable or not.

Besides, Fang Youwei’s birthday was in mid-October, meaning he had just barely turned eighteen. But the repetition started back in September.

Which meant, he’d started dating her while still underage!

“Aiya, then break it off now while you still can! Since he’s repeating the year anyway, no need to waste the money—keep studying. If he still fails the next exam in half a year, cut things off with that woman!” Zhang Hongyan thought to herself—what good could come from a woman who sells things on the street at twenty?

“No, he has to break up with her now! No matter how poor we are, we don’t need a twenty-year-old girl to support you. I won’t be able to hold my head up again!”

“Mama…”

Liu Xiaohong shoved him aside. “Go find that girl and end it. Otherwise, don’t call me ‘mom’ anymore!”

Of course Fang Youwei wasn’t going to break up with her now.

Reasonably speaking, the girl had already given him ninety yuan and miscellaneous living expenses. Emotionally, he truly liked her. There was no way he’d cut things off just because of a few angry words from his mother…

The conversation went nowhere. For once, the always obedient Fang Youwei stood his ground against his mother.

They argued until around 11 or 12 in the afternoon. Neighbors had to leave to prepare lunch, and there was still no resolution between Liu Xiaohong and her son.

That afternoon, after packing up the stall, Xu Haizhou carried the goods home.

Qiao An’s little ball happened to roll to his feet. The boy ran over excitedly and hugged his leg.

“Daddy!”

Xu Haizhou got off the bike, holding it steady with one hand while pinching his son’s chubby cheek with the other.

“My good boy, playing ball again?”

The little guy nodded sweetly, tilting his small head up and staring at him unblinkingly. “Mm! The little rubber ball Daddy bought is so fun! Just now, Brother Kangkang came back from school and took me to the plaza to shoot hoops! But the hoop was too high, I couldn’t get it in at all.”

Xu Haizhou chuckled and pinched his nose. “You tried to shoot with the little rubber ball?”

“Yeah! The ball bounced up whoosh, then boing fell right back down—haha!”

He couldn’t help but laugh at himself, his eyes squinting into slits, cheeks puffed out—he looked adorable.

“Next time Daddy will take you.”

Hearing voices, Qiao Lu came up to help steady the bike so they could unload the goods.

After unloading, Xu Haizhou entered the house looking every bit the strong and capable dad—carrying a sack in one hand and his son in the other.

“The leather and cotton you wanted are all in the sack.”

Inside, Qiao Lu poured him a cup of hot water.

“Okay, have a drink first, I’ll take a look.”

There were five types of leather in the colors she requested—slightly varied in shade, but all good quality.

Pleased, she patted the leather, then eagerly hugged it to her chest and brought it over to the sewing machine, already thinking about when she could start making the leather bag.

But before that, she had to tell him what had happened in the courtyard today.

“Haizhou, quick, let me tell you something.”

“What is it?”

Qiao Lu glanced at the empty courtyard, walked over to shut the door, and then lowered her voice.

After listening, Xu Haizhou was surprised for just a moment before returning to calm.

“He’s dating someone? Who is it?”

Qiao Lu shook her head. “Only he knows that.”

“If she’s on Baiyun Street, maybe we’ve seen her,” Xu Haizhou reasoned.

“Right, there are only a few female shopkeepers on Baiyun Street. And she’s twenty years old…”

The couple locked eyes and blurted out in unison: “Yu Fan?!”

They weren’t 100% sure, but at least 70-80%.

There were three female shopkeepers on Baiyun Street. One ran her business with her husband—a couple’s store. One worked alone but was at least 35 or 36. The remaining one could only be Yu Fan!

“Now that I think about it, I asked her before—she said she had a boyfriend who’s in high school and taking the college entrance exam later this year.”

“Then it must be her.”

“Mm, probably no mistake.” Qiao Lu narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “I’ll go over tomorrow and ask around.”

The next day, Qiao Lu slept in until nine. After eating the breakfast Xu Haizhou had made, she hopped on her bicycle with her son and headed to Baiyun Street.

It was Friday. When they arrived around ten, business was pretty slow.

Yu Fan was quite surprised to see her.

“Oh? What brings the boss lady here today?” With nothing to do, Yu Fan was lounging lazily on a wobbly long chair.

Qiao Lu smiled, planting one foot on the ground and leaning sideways. After Qiao An successfully jumped down, she got off the bike.

“Nothing much going on at home, just came to keep the kid’s dad company.”

“I’m keeping Daddy company with Mommy!” Qiao An chirped as he bounced into Xu Haizhou’s arms.

Xu Haizhou caught him steadily and tossed him gently into the air, stopping after just two giggles to avoid scaring the child.

Such a warm and cozy scene—Yu Fan couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.

Qiao Lu didn’t dive into her real reason immediately. She strolled around her own shop first, touching this and adjusting that.

Eventually, as if by accident, she wandered over to Yu Fan and sat down beside her, chatting idly.

“By the way, Yu Fan, didn’t you say your boyfriend—are you guys going to make it public after he finishes the college entrance exam?”

“More or less. That’s what I’m thinking,” Yu Fan replied, not realizing Qiao Lu was probing.

“Then once you’re public, you’ll meet each other’s parents, right? Get married?” Qiao Lu raised an eyebrow, propping her chin up and leaning in.

“Stop right there—marriage? I haven’t thought about that at all. I’m only twenty, what’s the rush?” Yu Fan shot her an amused look.

Qiao Lu laughed. “Dating without the intention of marriage is…”

“Oh, come on. This is modern times. We believe in free love—if we like each other, we date. If not, we break up. Isn’t that normal?” Yu Fan disagreed. “If it’s consensual, how can that be considered playing around?”

Yu Fan’s mindset was truly different from the average person—very modern.

“Alright then. But does your boyfriend know you think this way?”

“Of course. He’s always known what kind of person I am,” she said breezily. “Love should be about happiness. Thinking about the future is just asking for stress. The future’s too far away—I just want to enjoy the present.”

Yu Fan was a textbook example of living in the moment.

“Hey, you know, older-woman-younger-man relationships are still pretty rare. Most parents don’t have a great opinion of self-employed people. What if his parents disapprove—what would you do?”

“If they disapprove, they disapprove. Let’s see who my boyfriend chooses. If he picks me, I’ll fight for him to the end! If he picks them, I’ll walk away without a second thought!”

Alright then—miss free-spirited.

They went out for lunch again—three people, four yuan and twenty cents. They were stuffed but still didn’t finish, so they packed the rest to eat for dinner.

In the afternoon, they returned home together. In the courtyard, Liu Xiaohong was by the well rinsing vegetables. To save coal, she used cold water—her hands were frostbitten from winter, but she kept scrubbing.

She had been arguing with her son a lot lately. When Qiao Lu saw her, there were still faint tear tracks on her face.

Another fight?

“Sister Liu, cooking?” she greeted her, giving her son a look.

Qiao An got the hint and obediently called out, “Auntie~”

“Oh, little darling’s home.” The people in the inner courtyard had gotten used to calling him that.

“Auntie, are you doing laundry?” He squatted down and poked at the bubbles in the washbasin. “Whoa—cold~”

He shivered for real, making Liu Xiaohong chuckle and start washing more cheerfully. “You’re little, so you can’t stand it. Auntie’s used to it—it’s not cold at all.”

Qiao An was about to say something else, but his mom pulled him up by the hand.

“Sister Liu, doing laundry all by yourself? Where’s Wei? Didn’t he finish school already?”

At the mention of her son, Liu Xiaohong’s face darkened. “Don’t bring him up—he’s unfilial.”

“Sister Liu…” Qiao Lu sighed helplessly. “Can’t you two just talk it out? He seems like a sensible kid.”

“Sensible? That’s all an act!” Liu Xiaohong snapped. Just mentioning Fang Youwei made her angry.

“At this age, kids are naturally rebellious. The more you push against him, the less likely he’ll listen.”

Liu Xiaohong scrubbed harder. “Rebellious? What right does he have to be rebellious? I raised him with such hardship, and now he doesn’t want to care for me? Heaven strike him down!”

Suddenly, a window across the courtyard opened, and Fang Youwei, sitting by the window, retorted indignantly: “Mom! Can you stop saying that stuff? When did I ever say I wouldn’t take care of you? Stop twisting the truth.”

“You just want a wife and not your mother, don’t you? Where did I say anything wrong!” She threw down the clothes, looking ready to brawl.

Qiao Lu quickly held her back.

Usually gentle and understanding, Liu Xiaohong completely lost her cool when it came to her son. Tough situation.

After finally calming Liu Xiaohong down, Qiao Lu had just turned to head into the kitchen when loud shouting started up again next door at the Chen household.

Tsk, there really hasn’t been a peaceful day lately.

The cancellation of cloth ration coupons marked the true beginning of a new era.

1984—a year destined to be extraordinary.

In the near future, private clothing factories would spring up like mushrooms after a rain, and the fierce competition would lead to a domestic market flourishing with diverse styles.

Of course, there were plenty of problems too—piracy, for one.

Still, Qiao Lu hoped competition would pick up soon, so her husband wouldn’t have to travel all the way to the special economic zone to get goods. Not only was it tiring to go back and forth, but it also made him a target for thieves.

The Chen family’s daughter-in-law had returned to her parents’ house for a whole week and still hadn’t come back. It looked like that slap had truly broken her heart.

And things weren’t going well at Liu Xiaohong’s place either—there were constant arguments between mother and son. Fang Youwei had stopped going to school. Whether he was just skipping lately or had quit entirely was unclear.

Sometimes, the shouting would erupt in the middle of the night, waking up little Qiao An in fright.

If this kept up, they’d all end up with nervous breakdowns.

Two days later, when Liu Xiaohong was out, Qiao Lu went to see Fang Youwei.

Knock knock—

“Youwei, it’s Qiao Lu. Is it okay if I come in?”

It was a long while before his slightly hoarse voice responded, “You can come in. The door’s not locked.”

She pushed the door open and stepped inside. The lights were off, and only a small window let in a dim, ambiguous light.

She entered but didn’t close the door fully, leaving a small crack.

“Sister Qiao Lu.” Seeing her, Fang Youwei’s gaze flickered. He quickly stood up and offered the stool he had been sitting on. “Please sit.”

Qiao Lu smiled and declined, “No need. You sit. I’ll just stand for a bit. I won’t stay long.”

The boy was well-mannered—whenever he saw her, he always greeted her politely as “Sister Qiao Lu.”

Tall and thin, with strong features and a narrow face—in an era where broad faces were in fashion, boys like Fang Youwei, who looked lean and frail, weren’t very popular.

But Qiao Lu had a soft spot for this kind of clean-cut, refined young man.

“Sister, is something the matter?” he asked nervously, gripping his pen.

He looked much more haggard than just a few days ago. His eyes were puffy and red. He sat on a backless stool, shoulders slightly hunched. His old sweater outlined a thin and bony frame.

“Nothing much. I just came to check on you.” She glanced around. The small room was cramped but tidy and well-kept.

This was the room he shared with his grandmother. The front room belonged to Liu Xiaohong.

She stepped forward and handed him a book. “This is a review guide. My sister used it before. You can read it if you have time.”

“Thanks.” He accepted the book but didn’t know what else to say.

He was indeed reviewing—but not by reading books. He was drawing.

Qiao Lu casually picked up a sheet. Fang Youwei grew shy and tried to take it back.

“I was just doodling. It’s ugly.”

Qiao Lu avoided his grab and held the drawing in her hand, admiring it again and again. “It’s fine, I’m just having a look.”

She held the drawing for a long, long time, not saying a word. The room was silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Seeing her remain silent, Fang Youwei grew uneasy and swallowed hard—loudly.

“I’ve been reviewing, I swear. I just draw sometimes when I get tired of reading… I really am studying.” He was afraid Qiao Lu would think he was wasting time drawing.

But Qiao Lu suddenly smiled. “Hmm, did you draw this? It’s great. It’d be a pity if you didn’t apply to art school.”

“Huh? I…”

“Really.” She flipped through a few pages and couldn’t help but praise him. “These are really good. Have you studied art before?”

Fang Youwei froze, then shook his head. “N-No…”

In those days, respectable families wouldn’t let their kids study art—everyone valued academics.

Study art? That’s what people with no future did.

“I just draw randomly. I’ve never had any training.” Besides, there was no extra money at home to afford art lessons—that was an expensive pursuit.

“Then that’s even more impressive.” Qiao Lu looked at him sincerely and smiled, holding the sketch. “Look, this figure study—you’ve nailed the perspective. Most people can’t do that without training… You really have talent.”

She turned to another drawing. “This one’s a landscape, right? Done with watercolor? You didn’t use many colors, but the effect is quite good. The color choices have a unique flavor.”

“This one’s a pencil sketch, right? And you said you’ve never studied? Look at the black, white, and gray—you’ve captured light and shadow well. The form is well defined. It’s just…” She pointed to the shadows. “The shading’s a bit off. It should fade out softly from the base, getting lighter as it extends outward. Don’t press the edges so hard…”

Fang Youwei stared at her in disbelief, eyes wide. “Sister Qiao Lu, you…”

She sounded so professional…

“Do you draw often?” Qiao Lu asked, smiling, unfazed by his reaction.

“Yeah, I’ve been drawing since elementary school.”

Suddenly he remembered something and ran off, rummaging through his things until he pulled out a stack of sketchbooks—from grade school through high school.

Twenty in total!

Qiao Lu flipped through them all, from his earliest work to the latest. The progress was obvious—and all self-taught!

“You imagined all of these? No teacher ever taught you? If this is all self-taught, you really are gifted.”

Scratching his head in embarrassment: “I don’t know about gifted. I just enjoy it. I used to draw in notebooks in elementary school. My family couldn’t afford books, so I copied pictures from textbooks. Then in high school… after I got together with my girlfriend, she bought me a bunch of books.”

Girlfriend… She really wanted to ask if his girlfriend was Yu Fan, but asking now would feel intrusive—especially at such a sensitive time. Better to pretend she didn’t know.

So, Fang Youwei pulled out the art books his girlfriend had bought for him.

Qiao Lu flipped through them. All were about art—Watercolor Techniques, Art History and Theory, Basic Drawing Skills, Bird-and-Flower Painting Techniques, Figure Drawing…

“Great selection. Very comprehensive… Your girlfriend’s pretty great.”

The boy blushed red as a tomato.

“Oh, wait. Stay here. I’ll go get something.” And with that, Qiao Lu ran off.

She returned two minutes later.

“Here, look. I draw too—not for exams, but I sketch fashion designs.”

His fingers trembled slightly as he took her designs. Suddenly remembering something, he dug through a book and pulled out a fashion manual.

“Sister Qiao Lu, look! The drawings in this book are just like yours!”

Qiao Lu laughed at his excitement. “That’s nothing—you can do this too.”

He grew bashful. “I can’t make it look exactly the same.”

Qiao Lu patted his shoulder encouragingly. “Don’t worry. If you’ve come this far on your own, just imagine how far you’ll go with a good teacher.”

“You really think so?” Realizing that Qiao Lu appreciated his work, Fang Youwei felt warm inside and a bit emotional.

Sometimes he felt like his drawings were amazing. Other times, like they were total trash.

He wanted to take the art college entrance exam.

But in this day and age, how could a regular family allow their child to pursue something like that? That was what “unserious” kids did.

So he kept all his work to himself. He didn’t dare tell anyone.

“Of course. If you’ve self-studied to this level, it means you really are talented.”

Fang Youwei felt his eyes sting like sand had blown into them. “Other than her, you’re the only person who’s ever praised me.”

“Who? Your girlfriend?”

He nodded bashfully. “Mm.”

He and his mother had been fighting almost daily lately. He was already feeling down, and then Qiao Lu had suddenly appeared and showered him with praise. It made his heart ache and feel sweet at the same time—a strange, indescribable feeling.

“My mom always says I’m not doing anything useful.” With a bitter smile, he began putting all the books and sketchbooks away. “So I never dare let her see any of this stuff.”

“Sister Qiao Lu, please don’t tell her.” He pleaded repeatedly.

“Mm, don’t worry, I won’t.” After a pause, Qiao Lu said, “It’s normal. Your mom’s from an older generation. It’s hard for her to understand where you’re coming from. And she’s had a tough life—her attitude is extreme sometimes, but it’s understandable.”

“I know. I’ll repay her—but not right now. Right now… I don’t even know where my future lies.” His eyes lowered again, the sadness returning.

“I know.” Qiao Lu’s lips curved gently in a warm smile.

“What?” He didn’t understand.

“I know where your future is.” Looking into his confused eyes, Qiao Lu said, firmly and clearly, “If you trust me—take the art entrance exam.”

“What?”