Chapter 5 : Returning Home to Recognize Relatives

Fang Xiaoluo left the Xu family and first went to the Jiangcheng Embroidery Factory.

The three qipaos had already been embroidered by the original owner, but due to the family’s troubles, they had not been delivered until now.

She arrived at the entrance of the Jiangcheng Embroidery Factory, where an elderly man greeted her warmly.

“Xiaoluo, coming to pick up your goods again?”

Fang Xiaoluo smiled, “Hello, Grandpa Han. I’m here to deliver the goods.”

She made her way to the workshop with ease. The head of the second workshop, Chen Meijun, saw her and quickly came over.

“Xiaoluo, you’re here. How have you been these days?”

The Xu family runs a wood factory, and word of their family issues had spread.

Chen Meijun was quite concerned about Fang Xiaoluo. She looked her over and, seeing that she was in good condition, felt reassured.

“Sister Chen, I’m doing well. I had some free time today, so I brought the qipaos.”

Chen Meijun took the qipaos, inspecting each one carefully. “Xiaoluo, your embroidery skills are truly unmatched. How many items are you planning to take this time?”

“Sister Chen, I’m planning to go back to Honghe Village, so I won’t be taking any goods for now.”

Chen Meijun thought for a moment. “Come, let’s go put this in storage, and I’ll give you the payment for the work you’ve done.”

After the goods were stored and registered, Chen Meijun escorted Fang Xiaoluo out.

Once they were outside the embroidery factory, with no one else around, Chen Meijun said, “Xiaoluo, think about it. Would you like to come work at the embroidery factory? With your skills, the factory doors will always be open to you.”

“If it were in the past, I wouldn’t have said this. The Xu family has good conditions, and your wages wouldn’t have been much, but you could still earn some pocket money embroidering items. But now… I heard that the Fang family’s situation isn’t great. If you plan to go back…”

Fang Xiaoluo felt a deep sense of gratitude. “Sister Chen, thank you. I need to go back and settle things and see how it goes. Can I give you my answer in a few days?”

Chen Meijun smiled. “Alright, take your time.”

She knew that Fang Xiaoluo had just changed her surname and was going back to her biological parents’ home, so there would surely be a lot to deal with. She was worried Fang Xiaoluo might be having a hard time, but seeing her now, she seemed to be doing okay.

“Oh, by the way,” Chen Meijun said, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and opening it to reveal some money. “This is the pay for the last two months of embroidery work. I heard you went on a blind date yesterday, so I assume you’ve let go of Zhou Yanwen.”

“Don’t blame me for not giving you the money earlier. You worked so hard to embroider these items, and yet you gave all your money to Zhou Yanwen. I just couldn’t stand seeing it, so I decided to keep it for you. It’s all yours now, count it.”

Fang Xiaoluo was so moved by these words that she almost cried.

The original owner had wrongly fallen for Zhou Yanwen, but thanks to Chen Meijun, her lifesaver, she was able to keep some money!

Fang Xiaoluo took the money but didn’t count it. “Sister Chen, I can’t thank you enough.”

Chen Meijun was like a second mother to her.

Chen Meijun patted Fang Xiaoluo’s hand. “If you run into any difficulties after you go back, just come find me. After all, we’ve worked together for more than a year. Once you’re free and ready to take on more work, just come to me for the goods.”

“Mm, Sister Chen, I won’t forget.”

After leaving the Jiangcheng Embroidery Factory, Fang Xiaoluo counted the money Chen Meijun had given her.

She then went to the market.

She bought two blocks of tofu, a piece of pork belly, a fish, five kilograms of rice, and two kilograms of oil. Worried that the Fang family wouldn’t have any spices, she also bought some seasonings.

After buying all of this, Fang Xiaoluo had 52 yuan left in her pocket.

This was a huge amount of money.

Fang Xiaoluo bought two buns to fill her stomach.

Around 2 p.m., she finally boarded the bus heading to Honghe Village. The bus was extremely crowded, and there were hardly any empty seats. It was packed to the brim.

The bus was only passing through Honghe Village on its way to other villages and towns, and many of the passengers had bought a lot of things. The air was filled with the smell of sweat and smoke.

Fortunately, Honghe Village wasn’t too far, and after about half an hour, she could finally get off the bus.

It was May, the busy farming season.

The fields were full of fresh green shoots, so tender and green that just looking at them made one feel relaxed and at peace.

Children who weren’t attending school were running after the bus. Even with the dust flying everywhere, they were laughing and playing, full of energy.

At the village entrance, elderly people gathered in groups of three or five, chatting, knitting sweaters, mending clothes, making shoes, shelling beans, picking vegetables, and doing all kinds of tasks.

Fang Xiaoluo was carrying a lot of things and walked directly to the village entrance.

The people who had been chatting casually all turned to look in her direction.

Not to mention anything else, no one in the village had a young woman as beautiful and fair-skinned as her.

“Miss, you’re from Jiangcheng, aren’t you?”

“Miss, who are you looking for in Honghe Village?”

Fang Xiaoluo asked, “Auntie, how do I get to Fang Shijun’s house?”

“Well, I was just about to head home to get something, I’ll walk you there.” An elderly woman, whose hair had turned gray and who appeared to be in her seventies, stood up with a kindly expression.

Fang Xiaoluo quickly thanked her, “Thank you, Auntie.”

Although the elderly woman appeared quite old, she was still agile and spoke briskly. “Miss, I’m guessing you heard that Fang Qiang’s mother is sick, and you came specifically to visit her, right?”

“Fang Qiang’s mother is pitiful. She went to the city to visit her daughter, but not only did she fail to see her daughter, she got drenched in the rain and became ill. She hasn’t been able to get out of bed today.”

Fang Xiaoluo felt a pang in her heart.

Zhang Xinyan’s illness had only added more troubles to an already difficult situation at home.

Since it had rained the day before, the village roads were quite muddy. As Fang Xiaoluo followed the elderly woman to the Fang family’s door, her leather shoes got a bit muddy.

“You’re such a good girl. Many city people refuse to walk here, complaining about the muddy roads, even if they’re dressed so nicely,” the elderly woman said, pointing to the large door of the Fang family. “This is the house.”

With that, the elderly woman went inside first. “Shijun, you’ve got visitors!”

Fang Shijun, who was partially paralyzed, could only walk with the support of a cane, his right side being almost useless.

Hearing the call, he hobbled out of the house with his cane. “Aunt Wu, is this one of Fang Qiang’s friends?”

He couldn’t figure out who would be visiting their home. Only Fang Qiang, who worked in the provincial capital, had a few friends who had visited before.

The elderly woman smiled happily. “She’s a pretty young lady, but I don’t know her.”

Fang Xiaoluo walked a few steps forward and happened to meet Fang Shijun’s confused and somewhat incredulous gaze.

“Dad.”