Chapter 20

In the book’s storyline, “Shu Yuan” married Shen Zhongcheng and became the little male lead’s stepmother, working like a servant and managing all the housework in that household.

The Shen family simply needed a hardworking maid, and they were quite satisfied with “Shu Yuan” in that role.

After Shen Zhongcheng’s novel 《Tales of the Snowfield》 was published, it became immensely popular, causing a nationwide rush for copies. He quickly rose to fame as a prominent figure in the genre of Scar Literature. “Shu Yuan” felt proud of him and basked in his success.

However, his ex-wife, his white moonlight, returned to the country three years later, just as he was enjoying his peak success. The two rekindled their relationship, and “Shu Yuan” was kicked out.

The little male lead’s assessment of “Shu Yuan” was that she was vain, lived off his father’s manuscript royalties, and was unpresentable. Naturally, she could not compare to his biological mother, who was cultured, elegant, and wealthy.

Father and son ran together into the arms of the original wife, the biological mother. “Shu Yuan” was unwilling to accept it and soon died of sorrow.

As a short-lived cannon fodder character in the book, Shu Yuan was speechless about the fate of the “herself” in the story.

Who would abandon their own child to become someone else’s stepmother?

And what kind of person, out of their mind, would go be a maid for an entire family?

The Shen family’s home was still six or seven bus stops away from the electronics factory. What were they doing here? Were they here to look for her?

These past few days, Shu Yuan had been busy earning money and going to work. She hadn’t even had time to go after Shen Zhongcheng to collect the debt, yet the two of them had already come to her doorstep.

They were clearly staring at Shu Yuan walking in their direction, yet the two of them were full of pride, waiting for Shu Yuan to greet them with warmth and surprise. But Shu Yuan had no intention of doing that. Holding Xiao Man’s hand, she acted like she hadn’t even seen them.

Seeing that they were about to be ignored and passed by, Dai Shufang quickly called out, “Shu Yuan, didn’t you see us?”

There was a note of complaint in her voice.

Only then did Shu Yuan stop with Xiao Man, turn around, and speak as if she had just noticed them. “Oh, what are you doing here? You came to see me?”

Dai Shufang: “……”

This family was very reserved. They had never taken the initiative to seek out the original host. It was always the original host who went out of her way to visit them. They didn’t even know where Shu Yuan lived. Since Shu Yuan hadn’t gone to their house these past few days and Shen Pan wanted to find her again, Dai Shufang had no choice but to bring him over. Still unwilling to lower her pride to ask at the electronics factory, she wandered around the neighborhood hoping they might run into her.

But she would never admit she had come specifically to look for Shu Yuan. With a composed expression and leisurely demeanor, she said, “Just came to take care of something nearby.”

Noticing the sudden appearance of a child beside Shu Yuan, Dai Shufang had a bad feeling and couldn’t keep up her airs anymore. She asked, “Who’s this child?”

Shu Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you tell? Of course he’s my son. I brought him back from the countryside.”

Dai Shufang was utterly shocked. She immediately felt deceived, convinced that their entire family had been fooled by Shu Yuan.

She actually had a son, yet pretended to be an unmarried young woman!

Did Shen Zhongcheng know about this?

Shu Yuan was a complete liar!

Shen Pan felt that his status was being seriously threatened and immediately shouted, “How can you have a son? Why did you bring him back from the countryside?”

Shu Yuan felt a small hand squeeze tightly. She looked down and saw Xiao Man staring intently at Shen Pan. Usually, this little guy had no aggressiveness at all, but now he looked like a little leopard, fully alert and ready to protect his territory at any moment.

This little one had already guessed who the child glaring at him was. It had to be that brat from the dream, the one who made his mother die of anger.

Shu Yuan smiled sweetly. “He’s my biological son. Of course I’m going to bring him back and raise him by my side.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Man’s tightly wound nerves suddenly relaxed. Even his tense jawline softened.

But Shen Pan was not pleased. He stomped his foot and said, “Grandma, look, Shu Yuan has a son. She even brought that countryside kid back!”

Before his grandmother could say anything, the boy pointed at a malt sugar stall not far away and said to Shu Yuan, “You, go buy me a stick of malt sugar, or else my dad won’t pay any attention to you.”

This brat was clearly spoiled beyond reason.

It seemed he used to order the original host around like this.

Shu Yuan didn’t say anything, just pulled Xiao Man along to buy malt sugar. “Two sticks,” she said.

She pulled out one mao (0.1 yuan) from her pocket and handed it over, then took the two sticks of malt sugar from the vendor. She first handed one to Xiao Man, then held the other in her hand as she walked back toward the grandmother and grandson.

Shu Yuan let go of Xiao Man’s hand and let him hold the two small sticks to mix the malt sugar until it turned white. The little fellow thought the other stick was meant for that boy. But unexpectedly, Shu Yuan casually stirred it herself and stuffed it into her own mouth.

The corners of Xiao Man’s mouth quietly curled up. All of a sudden, he felt a great sense of satisfaction.

Seeing her actions, Shen Pan, who had been watching her the whole time, dragged out his voice in grievance. “Grandma, look at her.”

He had intended to use the malt sugar to prove that Shu Yuan would do whatever he said. Who would have thought Shu Yuan would eat it herself?

Dai Shufang felt their entire family had been deceived, and she also felt that Shu Yuan was giving her no respect at all. She said angrily, “Shu Yuan, what is the meaning of this? Our family only allows you to enter on your own. Bringing a child with you is absolutely out of the question. You have only one option: send this child back to the countryside.”

Xiao Man’s heart tightened again. He didn’t care about mixing the malt sugar anymore and hurriedly freed one small hand to tightly grip Shu Yuan’s hand.

Shu Yuan rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. All of her embarrassing moments had been witnessed by Xiao Man. The little guy’s dark eyes sparkled as his gaze moved back and forth among the people in front of him, as if he understood everything.

Her voice was cold. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Dai Shufang’s brows furrowed tightly as she raised her voice. “Shu Yuan, you’re playing tricks again, trying to force Zhongcheng to marry you. Weren’t you dead set on marrying into our family? I’ll say it again, send that child back to the countryside, or there’s nothing more to discuss.”

Shen Zhongcheng’s family was considered scholarly. Both Dai Shufang and her husband were university professors. They looked down on Shu Yuan. Her family background was ordinary, her education level was average, and she even had a child with someone in the countryside. That was a major stain on her record.

However, she did have her merits. She admired Shen Zhongcheng, was hardworking, and easy to control.

With Shu Yuan’s admiration, Shen Zhongcheng’s writing flowed like a spring, inspiration surging like the endless waters of the Yellow River.

Father and son were fairly satisfied with her.

These past few days, since Shu Yuan hadn’t gone to their home, both of them had been looking for her. Shen Zhongcheng couldn’t even write his novel. Under such circumstances, Dai Shufang had no choice but to reluctantly accept Shu Yuan.

Shu Yuan found the other party’s lofty tone hilarious. Not only was she not annoyed, she actually burst out laughing. “Ms. Dai, I don’t know where you got the idea that I wanted to marry into your family. My child has a father. We’re in love. Of course I’m going to marry the father of my child. Just wait for the news. We’ll be registering our marriage very soon.”

Dai Shufang could no longer maintain a composed demeanor. She was so shocked her mouth hung open, unable to form complete sentences. “You… you’re… what do you mean?”

Shu Yuan’s tone was firm and concise. “I’m in love with Xiao Man’s father. It wasn’t convenient to marry while we were in the countryside. Now that he’s been rehabilitated and I’ve returned to the city and brought the child back, of course we’re getting married.”

Dai Shufang’s eyes widened into perfect circles. “……”

How could this be? Shu Yuan was supposed to go to their house to cook, clean, take care of the child, work hard without complaint, and serve as a free nanny.

It took her a while to gather her thoughts. She still believed Shu Yuan was playing tricks and tried to use her usual domineering tone to suppress her, filled with her usual sense of superiority. “Shu Yuan, since you had a son, then why were you always chasing after Zhongcheng before?”

The things from the past weren’t her doing, so of course Shu Yuan needed to clear her name. “Because he took money from me. He’s just a man who lives off a woman. How could I not chase after him? I was asking for my money back. What kind of relationship did we have? I was the fool giving money, and he was the freeloader taking it.”

She lowered her head and pulled out a sheet of paper filled with writing from her shoulder bag, handing it over. “Every single transaction is written on here. His watch, his bicycle, all bought with my money. Please give this to Shen Zhongcheng and ask him to pay it back. If his income isn’t enough, I’m sure you two elders can afford it.”

Dai Shufang took the thin piece of paper, quickly scanned it, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “One thousand six hundred? You gave him one thousand six hundred? Where did you get that money? That’s impossible!”

Shu Yuan’s tone was calm and indifferent. “Take it back and show it to Shen Zhongcheng. As a writer, his pride is much stronger than most people’s. He wouldn’t deny it. Please return the money as soon as possible.”

Not wanting to entangle herself further with them, Shu Yuan said flatly, “Pay it back soon.”

With that, she looked down at Xiao Man. “Let’s go home.”

With that, mother and son turned and walked hand in hand toward the entrance of the family housing compound.

The curve at the corner of Xiao Man’s mouth couldn’t be suppressed at all. Not only did his mom refuse to buy that brat the malt sugar, she even made them pay back the money.

Mom was amazing.

Shen Pan was stunned. That woman, who used to obey his every whim and never dared go west when told to go east, hadn’t even looked at him once!

“Mom, do you think they’ll pay the money back?” Xiao Man asked while licking the malt sugar in small bites.

“They definitely will,” Shu Yuan said.

Xiao Man hoped his mom could get the money back. That way, they could pay interest back to Aunt Li and also return the money owed to his dad.

Shu Yuan walked with a light step. Cutting ties with those messy people and living her life well was better than anything else.

——

On Monday, the photo studio didn’t open until eight o’clock. After finishing breakfast, Shu Yuan and her son set off at a leisurely pace around seven-thirty toward the studio.

“Xiao Man will go to work with Mom from now on,” Shu Yuan said.

The corners of Xiao Man’s lips lifted high. “Okay, Mom.”

He had originally thought he’d have to wait at home by himself while his mom was at work. He was even prepared to take over the household chores. He hadn’t expected Shu Yuan would bring him along to work. That meant he wouldn’t have to stay home alone.

As it neared eight o’clock, Huang Juan came to unlock the door. Wang Youcai and Hu Ziqiang, the two apprentices, arrived for work shortly after.

Shu Yuan settled Xiao Man in a well-lit corner, letting him sit beside a stool and low table. She took out paper, pencils, and picture books from her shoulder bag and said, “Xiao Man, don’t run around, okay?”

Xiao Man agreed cheerfully. “I’ll be good and won’t disturb Mom while she’s working.”

After talking with Huang Juan to get a better understanding, Shu Yuan learned that photo studios were divided into special-grade, first-grade, second-grade, and third-grade, as well as those with no official rating. The People’s Photo Studio was a special-grade studio, while Weimin Photo Studio didn’t have a rating.

Nowadays, all photo studios were doing well. Even though Weimin Photo Studio was located in an alley near the People’s Photo Studio, the current volume of business was still enough to keep it afloat.

Shu Yuan asked, “A lot of customers prefer color photos now. Why don’t we offer them?”

Developing photos by hand didn’t require highly advanced equipment. It just needed the addition of a color enlarger, a developing tank, color developer solution, fixer, and other supplies. The cost wouldn’t go up by much.

Not offering color photo services did reduce the workload significantly, but color photography was clearly the future. If they didn’t expand into color photo services, they would eventually be eliminated.

Huang Juan said, “Not many people come here for color photos, and even fewer bring in color film to develop. The cost of developing color photos is high, so we didn’t add that service.”

Shu Yuan understood immediately. It seemed that before expanding into the trend of color photography, the first step was to increase customer flow. But was that something a temporary worker like her should be concerned about?

Around ten in the morning, a family of three came in to inquire about the prices for taking and developing a family portrait. A five-inch black-and-white family photo cost eight mao (0.8 yuan), and customers could wear the studio’s clothing. Each additional copy cost one mao two (0.12 yuan). After asking, perhaps finding the studio too shabby, the woman who appeared to be in charge said, “Let’s walk a bit further to the People’s Photo Studio. That place looks more upscale.”

Shu Yuan: “……”

So a small shop deserved to be openly looked down on? Saying that right in front of the staff, without even trying to be discreet?

Huang Juan, like most service workers of this era, was full of pride and immediately curled her lip in displeasure. Shu Yuan turned around and called out to the family of three. “Comrades, I can offer you free makeup. The photo will turn out much better after makeup.”

Upon hearing that, the woman immediately stopped in her tracks, turned around, and asked with surprise and delight, “Really? You can do makeup? For free?”

Shu Yuan nodded. “Yes.”

The photo studio had makeup tools, along with face powder and eyebrow pencils, but Huang Juan hadn’t mastered the skill, and the two apprentices felt it wasn’t their job, so customers were rarely offered makeup services.

The woman hesitated for a moment before saying, “Alright, I’d like to try it. Then we’ll take the photo here. Comrade, will I really look better after the makeup?”

Shu Yuan replied with full confidence, “Of course. You’ll look much more refreshed, and the photo will turn out beautifully.”

So Shu Yuan arranged a seat for the woman, took out a full set of makeup tools and products, and began her work.

After the makeup was done, the female customer looked at herself in the mirror and saw her face glowing with a rosy fairness, her eyebrows gently arched, and her lips a healthy red. She said shyly, “It’s pretty good.”

Shu Yuan’s makeup skills were not only praised by the three shop employees, but also received compliments from the male customer and their daughter.

After the photo session, the three customers left the store satisfied. Huang Juan asked, “Sister Shu Yuan, can I learn makeup from you?”

She also hoped to master a skill of her own.

Shu Yuan responded cheerfully, “Of course you can. Just watch more and you’ll get the hang of it.”

Huang Juan immediately beamed with joy. Shu Yuan was the partner they had all agreed on, and she really was skilled and easy to talk to.

By the time they finished work that afternoon, Shu Yuan had already mastered nearly all the equipment. With just a little more practice, she would definitely handle the job with ease.

Now that Shu Yuan had a job, Li Hongxia became the main person in charge of cooking. During dinner, Shu Yuan said, “From now on, I’ll be someone with a salary too. In this household, I demand status and respect.”

Li Hongxia rolled her eyes at her and said, “As long as you go out to work and I don’t have to support you and Xiao Man, you can say whatever you want. Just don’t quit after a few days.”

Shu Yuan said, “My next goal is to earn more than you.”

Li Hongxia widened her eyes. “Good, that’s the spirit. I’ll be waiting to see it.”

——

When Shen Zhongcheng returned from a field trip and Dai Shufang came home from work, she found Shen Zhongcheng sitting amid a pile of discarded manuscript pages, his mind completely blank from writing. Suppressing her anger, she pulled a thin sheet of paper from her shoulder bag and handed it over. “Shu Yuan gave this to you. She gave you that much money? She’s asking you to pay it back.”

Setting aside the years during the political movement, she had never felt so stifled before.

Shen Zhongcheng rubbed his temples and glanced at the paper casually before saying, “Mm, she’s just throwing a little tantrum again. There’s no way she’s actually asking me to pay her back. She’s just trying to force me to marry her.”

Dai Shufang said anxiously, “I think she really does want you to pay her back. She also said she’s getting married.”

“To whom?” Shen Zhongcheng’s brows furrowed.

“To Xiao Man’s father,” Dai Shufang said, watching her son’s reaction closely.

Shen Zhongcheng’s brows knitted even tighter. Shu Yuan had never told him who Xiao Man’s father was, but there weren’t many young men close to her. He could guess who it was.

That doctor was very impressive, but still a notch below himself.

But what was going on with Shu Yuan? Wasn’t she supposed to be captivated by his talent? How did she end up getting involved with Xiao Man’s father?

Dai Shufang was deeply troubled. It seemed that the large sum of money was real, and now even the free housemaid was gone.

“You borrowed money from Shu Yuan?” Dai Shufang asked, defeated.

Shen Zhongcheng said, “What do you mean borrowed? Shu Yuan gave it to me.”

Dai Shufang asked the crucial question. “Is there an IOU?”

Shen Zhongcheng replied, “It wasn’t a loan. Why would there be an IOU?”

Dai Shufang’s eyes lit up. “If it wasn’t a loan, then on what basis is she asking for the money back with just her word? You two didn’t have a creditor-debtor relationship. Without an IOU, even if she takes it to court, she wouldn’t win. Don’t give her a single cent. That’s what she gets for hiding Xiao Man from you. Let her learn what it means to reap what she sows.”

But Shen Zhongcheng was thinking about something else entirely. He said, “Now Shu Yuan’s learned how to play hard to get. In a few days, she’ll come crawling back. Let her stew for a bit.”

Dai Shufang: “……”

——

That day, while Master Zhao was at the photo studio, the five staff members got together to discuss starting color photography services.

Shu Yuan spoke first. “Sooner or later, we’ll have to offer color photos. It’s a major trend.”

They could either follow the tide and add color photography, or be eliminated by the times and forced to shut down.

There wasn’t much work at the studio, which made it easy to slack off. But still, she had to keep working while looking for better opportunities. She couldn’t afford to let go of the donkey before even seeing the horse.

Master Zhao’s view was the same as what Huang Juan had said. “Not many people come here for color photos, and few bring color film to develop. The cost of developing is high. You’ve seen how things are at our studio. Business is steady but limited. Still, it’s enough to get by.”

Shu Yuan thought for a moment and said, “So basically, if we have enough customers, we could start offering color photos? Then we need to figure out how to bring in more customers.”

Wang Youcai scratched his head. “Where would we even find more customers? We’re close to the People’s Photo Studio, and some folks would rather walk a bit farther to go to the big studio.”

Hu Ziqiang chimed in, “Yeah, our storefront isn’t eye-catching, and the shop is small. It doesn’t have the grandeur of a big studio. We’re at a disadvantage because of the location, and in every aspect, the People’s Photo Studio overshadows us. They’re a special-grade studio, after all.”

Shu Yuan felt the matter was urgent and said, “If we keep avoiding color photos, we’re just going to lose more customers over time.”