Chapter 38: A Difficult Life

Ling Yao took a bottle of medicine from her pocket and handed it to Li Ling, “Put some on. This medicine is very effective for swelling.”

Li Ling shook her head and smiled gratefully at Ling Yao, “Thank you! I don’t need it. It will go down soon.” She was used to it.

“Just take it. My family has a clinic. We have plenty of medicine.” Ling Yao smiled and stuffed the medicine bottle into Li Ling’s hand.

 “I’m going home. See you tomorrow!”

“See you tomorrow!” Li Ling watched Ling Yao’s back, her eyes gradually turning red.

 After a long time, she looked away and looked at the medicine in her hand, “Ling Yao, thank you!”

Ling Yao returned to the village. It was already dark.

Ling Xuemei was standing at the entrance of the village, looking around anxiously.

When she saw Ling Yao come back, her worried heart finally settled, “Yaoyao, why are you back so late today? Did something happen?”

She worriedly looked Ling Yao up and down.

“Something happened at school. I missed the bus. I’m sorry for making you worry, Mom!” Ling Yao took Ling Xuemei’s arm and walked towards home with her.

“As long as you’re okay. Are you hungry? Go eat dinner.”

“I’m starving. My stomach is growling.”

The mother and daughter laughed and talked, their cheerful laughter echoing in the quiet village.

Li Ling returned home and pushed open the dilapidated door. She heard her mother’s continuous coughing. She quickly hurried into the house.

“Sister, you’re back. Dinner is ready.” A little girl, wearing patched-up clothes and covered in dirt, ran up to Li Ling happily when she saw her return.

Li Ling reached out to touch the little girl’s head, “Have you and your brother eaten?”

The little girl pursed her lips and nodded lightly, “We’ve eaten.”

Li Ling’s heart ached. She sighed deeply and walked towards the room inside.

She pushed open the door, and a strong smell of medicine filled the air. On the bed, a middle-aged woman with a sallow, gray face and a thin, bony frame was coughing incessantly.

Li Ling ran forward and gently patted her back.

After a long time, Li’s mother finally stopped coughing. She looked at Li Ling with vacant eyes, her eyes filled with guilt,

“Lingling… Mom is a burden to you…” If she were healthier, Lingling wouldn’t have to suffer so much. She had to go to school and wash dishes at the restaurant.

Li Ling shook her head, reached out, and took Li’s mother’s thin, yellow hand, “Mom, don’t think about it.

 I bought medicine. You’ll be fine after taking it. Go to sleep for a while. I’ll go boil the medicine for you.”

She helped her mother lie down, covered her with a blanket, and took the medicine to the kitchen.

They only had this house left. Everything else in the house that could be used as compensation had been paid out.

She came to the kitchen, put the medicine in the pot to boil, and sat down to watch it. As she looked at the flickering flames, her eyes gradually became wet.

“Sister, eat.” Her younger sister came over holding a chipped bowl and handed it to Li Ling.

Li Ling took the bowl. It was a bowl of porridge so thin that you could see the bottom, but it was already good enough for their family.

“Sister, I’m not hungry. You and your brother eat.” Li Ling handed the bowl back to her younger sister. At the same time, she made a decision. She decided not to go to college.

 She would go out to find a job tomorrow. She had to cure her mother’s illness and let her younger brother and sister go to college in the future.

The next day, Ling Yao didn’t see Li Ling at school. But she didn’t think much of it.

She had heard some things about Li Ling’s family from her classmates. She knew that they were very poor.

Li Ling must have had something to do and didn’t come to school.

It wasn’t until a week later that Ling Yao heard that Li Ling had dropped out of school. This surprised her.

Li Ling’s academic performance was excellent. She was among the top students in her grade.

 If she had taken the college entrance exam, she could have definitely gotten into a good university.

It was a pity that she dropped out now, but everyone had their own choices.

On Sunday, Ling Yao received a call from Zhao Kun, inviting her to dinner at a state-owned restaurant. He said he had something to talk to her about.

Ling Yao arrived at the state-owned restaurant and found a window seat to sit down. She wanted to wait for Zhao Kun to arrive before going to the private room with him.

She had just sat down when a waiter came over, “What would you like to order?”

Ling Yao heard the voice and found it familiar. She looked up and saw the waiter. She was surprised, “Li Ling.”

Li Ling saw that it was Ling Yao. She panicked and quickly turned to leave. She didn’t expect to meet Ling Yao here.

She was walking too fast and bumped into a middle-aged woman who was walking towards her.

“Ouch! How do you walk? You’re going to kill me!” The middle-aged woman angrily rubbed her chest and glared at Li Ling.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.” Li Ling quickly apologized. This job was hard-earned. She couldn’t lose it.

“Go call your manager.” The middle-aged woman wouldn’t let it go.

“Please, don’t call our manager. I apologize. I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry…” Li Ling was about to cry.

Being a waiter paid much more than washing dishes. She couldn’t lose this job.

Ling Yao stood up, walked to Li Ling, and stood in front of her, “She’s already apologized. What more do you want?”

“This has nothing to do with you. She bumped into me. How can she just say sorry and that’s it? Look, she stained my clothes. Shouldn’t she pay me?”

The middle-aged woman pointed to her clothes. She and her husband were going to meet Mr. Zhao today.

Now, her clothes were stained with grease by this waiter. How could she meet Mr. Zhao?

Ling Yao looked in the direction of her finger. She saw a small grease stain. If you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t notice it.

“I didn’t mean to. I’ll wash it off for you.” Li Ling walked out from behind Ling Yao with red eyes. This was her responsibility. She couldn’t involve Ling Yao.

“This is silk. Can you afford to pay if you ruin it?” The middle-aged woman sneered.

“How much do you want to be compensated?” Ling Yao didn’t want to argue with the middle-aged woman.

“This dress was bought from the department store. It cost over a hundred yuan. I’m not asking for much. Just give me fifty.”

Li Ling’s face turned pale. She stumbled and almost fell. She only earned thirty yuan a month working at the state-owned restaurant. Where would she get fifty yuan to pay the other woman?

She bit her lip and said slowly, “Can I owe it to you? I’ll pay you back when I get my salary.”

The middle-aged woman sneered, “Either pay or have your manager come over.”

“Please, I really can’t lose this job.” Li Ling pleaded.

“That’s your problem. What does it have to do with me?” The middle-aged woman held her head high.

Ling Yao took out fifty yuan and handed it to the middle-aged woman, “Here’s fifty yuan for you.”

“Ling Yao, I can’t take your money.” Li Ling reached out and grabbed Ling Yao’s arm. Ling Yao had already helped her a lot. She couldn’t owe her anymore.

The middle-aged woman snatched the money, snorted coldly, held her head high, and walked towards the private room on the second floor.