Chapter 13

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“Last time Old Li’s daughter held a banquet at the Xun residence, it was 499 yuan per table. When Hongjiao gets married, it has to be at least 599 yuan per table,” Xu Demao said to his wife over dinner, sipping his white liquor as they talked about their eldest daughter’s wedding.

Over the years, the Xu family had been running both a supermarket and a hotel, and their fortunes were steadily improving. Wherever Xu Demao went, people called him “Boss Xu.” Having grown used to the villagers’ praise, he was determined to put on a grand celebration for his eldest daughter’s wedding. No matter what, it couldn’t be less impressive than Old Li’s hardware store.

“I’ve calculated it. Between both sides of the family, we have to invite at least 25 tables. At 599 yuan each, just the meal alone will cost over thirty thousand yuan, already half the budget,” Wu Guifen said sharply, counting on her fingers. “Then there’s cigarettes, alcohol, wedding candies, car rentals, and attire. Relatives from Baishu Bridge coming all the way to the city for the wedding will need a place to stay overnight. Even if they stay at our hotel, that’s a night’s loss in business. Hongjiao only gave us thirty thousand yuan—how could that be enough?”

Wu Guifen glanced sideways at their second daughter as she spoke.

Xu Qingling kept her head down, eating without so much as a word. In her previous life, Wu Guifen often played the victim in front of her, shedding tears and complaining about how Hongjiao was selfish and distant, neglecting the family’s interests.

Only later did Qingling realize her mother did this deliberately, knowing she was close to her sister and hoping she’d act as a messenger between them.

Back then, naive and unaware, Qingling relayed everything her parents said directly to her sister, warning her subtly not to disappoint them. One time after another, it broke her sister’s heart.

Seeing how indifferent her second daughter was to her sister’s wedding, Wu Guifen complained bitterly, “Hongjiao thinks the banquet in Xun City is just a formality. She doesn’t even want a wedding car procession, just a simple dinner with relatives and friends at a hotel.”

Xu Demao’s face darkened. He slammed his wine cup on the table. “That girl has her head stuffed full of books but no sense of propriety! If she’s not planning to marry out of this family properly, then I don’t even consider her my daughter! What am I supposed to say when the villagers ask?”

In Oak Tree Village, when a family married off their daughter, they always hired a car to bring her in style from the village to the hotel. Hongjiao was deliberately going against tradition, and Xu Demao felt utterly humiliated.

“Others get hefty betrothal gifts when their daughters marry out. Our daughter’s wedding won’t have any face or honor. She’s just throwing herself at others! You’ll see, the hard times are still ahead…” Wu Guifen’s jealousy turned to bitterness as she thought of Old Li’s daughter, who received 66,000 yuan in betrothal gifts.

Hearing the mention of betrothal gifts, Xu Qingling couldn’t hold back. “You only look at how much Li Qian’s parents got, but do you see how much they gave? Li Qian is their only daughter—her house and money belong to her. My sister’s wedding house was prepared by her in-laws, and the appliances were bought by my brother-in-law. All the money she saved since graduating went into building the house—no dowry at all—and she married off to the capital city…”

She glanced at Wu Guifen, tone cool, “If you were willing to give my sister a floor or two of the five-story house, she’d have the confidence to ask the Cheng family for betrothal gifts.”

Xu Demao and Wu Guifen’s faces changed instantly. Xu Demao, concerned with face, remained silent but grim.

Wu Guifen’s face turned dark as she glared at her daughter. “What nonsense are you talking? Your father and I raised you all without enjoying a single day of ease, and now you think we owe you? How much did your sister’s university cost us? She’s earning now—shouldn’t she contribute to the house? Isn’t that right?”

Knowing she couldn’t reason with her mother, Xu Qingling smirked faintly. “Whether she should or shouldn’t, she already gave money. That’s past. Now that she’s married, it’s unreasonable to ask her to cover the family expenses. And for my university living expenses, you even dared to ask her for money!”

Xu Demao glared at his second daughter with a low voice. “Did your sister say something to you? She earns a lot but isn’t happy to give you living expenses?”

“You think my sister earns a lot based on Xun City’s prices. The cost of living in the capital city is much higher. The house my brother-in-law’s family bought only paid the down payment; the rest is a mortgage. Weddings cost a fortune too.” Xu Qingling paused, then got to the point: “Anyway, I don’t have the face to ask my sister for living expenses! Starting tomorrow, I’ll have Xu Junwen watch the store at home while I go out with classmates to work and earn money.”

Though mentally prepared, she hadn’t expected her words to stir up such a hornet’s nest. Four pairs of eyes immediately fixed on her.

Wu Guifen snapped, “So many chores at home you don’t do, and you want to run off to work?”

Xu Demao said, “What work can a girl like you do? You can’t carry a load or lift much—what kind of work do you think you can get?”

Wu Guifen added, “We raised you with so much hardship, and now you have no conscience? You don’t help with the family business but run off to help others?”

Xu Demao, drunk and angry, slammed the table. “If you dare to leave the house this summer break, I’ll break your legs!”

Xu Qingling lowered her head as they bombarded her with words, then looked up at her father, gritting her teeth. “You better break them.”

Xu Demao was unsettled by his daughter’s cold stare, and a gulp of wine got stuck in his throat.

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“You got into a junior college and don’t know your own worth? Going out to earn money? Do you even know how to write the character for money? If you can bring back even living expenses, I’ll write my name backward!”

Wu Guifen followed her daughter upstairs, cursing under her breath.

Despite the fight, Xu Qingling felt a sense of relief. Xu Demao and Wu Guifen were both furious, clutching their chests in frustration, never expecting their usually meek and manageable second daughter to suddenly turn stubborn—even more so than her sister.

Early the next morning, Xu Qingling left with her backpack. Xu Demao was away, and Wu Guifen was washing up. She watched her daughter leave with a cold expression but said nothing.

* * *

Xu Qingling met Cao Siqing at the agreed spot and discovered the job was exterior wall beautification for a demolition-renovation project in an old urban district. Scaffolding surrounded the building.

Cao Siqing’s cousin, surnamed Lu, was much older, scruffy with unkempt hair and a beard, and his white T-shirt was stained with paint. He greeted Xu Qingling warmly. “This job isn’t hard, just a lot of work. If we speed up, it’ll be done in a week.”

Xu Qingling glanced at the blueprints in his hand—mostly traditional cultural motifs, nothing difficult. She hadn’t expected Cao Siqing’s cousin to be the company owner, personally working on the project.

Cao Siqing said he had several teams under him, almost monopolizing mural projects in Xun City and surrounding towns.

Lu Ming was experienced. After learning Xu Qingling’s expertise, he assigned tasks efficiently. He and another master named Li handled the outlines, color mixing, and overall shaping. Cao Siqing filled in large color blocks, and Xu Qingling took charge of the lettering. After all steps were done, Lu and Li would finish the details and adjustments.

With tasks divided, they got to work. The grid was already marked on the wall; Xu Qingling just had to write the characters in proportion. It had been a long time since she held a brush. At first, she was a bit rusty, but having just finished the college entrance exam, her muscle memory kicked in quickly. Calligraphy was her strength, and she soon entered a focused state.

She had worn an old outfit for the job, but even so, she was the cleanest and tidiest among the four. Cao Siqing, amused at her pristine clothes, teased by painting a few strokes on her chest.

Lu Ming and Master Li, both in their late twenties, treated them like little sisters, joking as they worked. Cao Siqing teased his cousin for being so scruffy, hardly like a boss.

After finishing one wall, it was already noon. Lu Ming treated everyone to lunch: boxed meals costing eight yuan each.

After eating, they didn’t rush back to work. The midday heat in Xun City was brutal, and working outdoors risked heatstroke. Lu Ming told everyone to rest until after three o’clock.

He and Master Li, friends with the restaurant owner, borrowed some stools to nap.

Xu Qingling and Cao Siqing sat under a camphor tree by the roadside, gazing at a towering elevator apartment across the street, where a giant red banner proclaimed: “Yonghai Real Estate Proudly Presents: Premium High-End Community—Starting at Just 1999 Yuan per Square Meter.”

On one side was a newly built fashionable neighborhood; on the other, a dilapidated area undergoing demolition and renovation. A single road divided two very different social strata.

Xu Qingling thought of the Xu family’s five-story house—although spacious, the business and living spaces were tangled and disorderly. She rarely invited classmates over; there was hardly a place for them to stay.

The Xus had no shortage of houses, but lacked quality of life. Only after Xu Demao’s death did Oak Tree Village build subsidized housing, and Wu Guifen finally paid for a unit for her son.

After Xu Junwen married, he moved into the new home with Wu Guifen. There was no room set aside for Xu Qingling, who seldom visited and never stayed overnight.

They say a woman has no home after marriage. Xu Qingling later understood that the family she longed for was no longer her own—it belonged to her brother and sister-in-law.

…

Two young girls rested their chins on their hands, gazing longingly at the newly risen building opposite.

A black Mercedes-Benz stopped at the entrance of the sales office across the street. A middle-aged woman and a young man got out. The woman was slightly plump and glanced at the opposite side as she stepped down.

Xu Qingling froze as she recognized the woman’s thin, sharp eyebrows.

It was Shen Luan’s aunt, Shen Peixiang, hurrying into the sales office, followed by a tall, slender young man.

Xu Qingling’s eyes widened. What was Shen Peixiang doing here? Could she be buying a house?

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Shang Huilan wore a dark suit, black sunglasses, and carried a small suitcase. Her handmade lambskin shoes completed the ensemble. Wrapped up tightly, she blended with the crowd exiting the airport, far from revealing her nearly sixty years of age.

July in Xun City was scorched by waves of heat that wrapped around people like a cocoon.

Shang Huilan hurried to a waiting car, removed her sunglasses to check her son’s injured leg. Her expression darkened, and her tone turned cold: “Secretary Zhang could have picked you up. Why did you come yourself?”

Shen Anwu paid no mind to his mother’s cold words, smiling. “What’s the point of me coming if not to show filial piety? I only get this chance once every four years.”

The last time Shang Huilan came to Xun City was four years ago, when her son had just taken over as CEO of Yuanxing. She had returned for his inauguration ceremony.

Shang Huilan’s expression softened but she still scolded, “Such a big thing, and you didn’t tell me! I had to hear it from Old Li.”

Though she did not interfere in Yuanxing’s affairs, she had her eyes and ears inside the company. Having started the business with Shen Xingbang during their youth, many subordinates who had been close to Shen Xingbang were now leaders at Yuanxing. Naturally, some were closer to her as well.

She had already heard from Li Jianming about the kidnapping incident. Listening to her son’s casual recounting on the way, she still felt uneasy. Her tightly pursed lips revealed two deep nasolabial folds, aging her several years in an instant.

Those three desperados would rather rot in prison than spill the beans, showing how much Yonghai must have spent. Over a small plot of land, they were willing to risk her son’s life!

She knew Yonghai’s boss, Xia He, who had once been a street thug in Xun City. Later, he got into construction, business flourished, and his company gradually became one of the more prominent real estate developers in Xun City.

Shen Anwu said, “Yonghai has hoarded several plots in Xun City, but the locations aren’t great. They've wanted the refinery site for a long time and pushed hard during the bidding. I didn’t expect them to be so ruthless.”

Shang Huilan’s dominant nature flared. “You deal with Yonghai but don’t even know their background?”

Shen Anwu’s temper had mellowed since his early twenties. Hearing this, he was somewhat helpless. “Mom, my son has been through so much. Can you cut me some slack?”

Sensing her son’s resistance, Shang Huilan softened her tone. “I’m just worried about you getting the short end of the stick. When doing business, it’s never bad to know your opponent.”

“That kind of low-class company has no right to be a rival to Yuanxing,” Shen Anwu said coldly, cutting the topic short.

He had his own way of dealing with Yonghai.

The car drove to Cuigu, where Shang Huilan’s expression finally eased. The whole resort was decorated in a Southeast Asian holiday style she liked.

Four years ago, when she returned to Xun City, she stayed at a downtown hotel, attending her son’s inauguration before leaving the next day.

Though Shen Xingbang was unhappy, he dared not say anything.

Shang Huilan entered the room her son had prepared for her, filled with her favorite fresh flowers. Her taut nerves relaxed.

“I’m coming back this time to finalize the divorce with your father.”