Chapter 37: Does She Really Have a Home?**

Because Li Juan and Chang Hua were particularly hardworking, they worked day and night, and now they had sold two more batches of finished clothes.

After Li Juan saved up some money, she spent most of it again, except for what was needed for the household.

As she often said, every time they sold clothes, they could earn a decent amount, but before the money even warmed up, it had to be spent on fabric and sewing machines. She never seemed to have any leftover.

One day, Li Juan bought two more sewing machines, bringing the total to four at home.

With more sewing machines, it was obvious she’d need to hire people.

In addition to Chang Hua, Li Juan hired two other women from the nearby courtyard whom she was familiar with.

When Tao Yu came home from work, the house was livelier than usual.

As for Tao Hongping, she was obediently helping without Li Juan having to supervise her.

Tao Hongping knew very well that she absolutely could not return to the Toothpaste Commune.

If she wanted to stay, she had to behave well and work hard.

But even if Tao Hongping dared to misbehave and cause trouble in Li Juan’s finished clothing business, Aunt Chang and the other women wouldn’t let her off easy.

Speaking of Li Juan’s clothing business, it had really helped them a lot. Which family was ever doing well? Every day was harder than the last.

Li Juan was polite and said they were just helping, but they all knew the truth—that Li Juan was helping them, and they had to take good care of the business.

Back to Tao Yu’s side…

Since Song Hecheng promised to let her work in the workshop, she hadn’t had the chance to go.

Tao Yu wasn’t in a hurry because Director Song’s word was final. Since he had promised, he definitely wouldn’t go back on it.

She just went about her usual routine, and on her way to work, she often ran into Xiao Zhang driving by.

Every time, Xiao Zhang would stop to chat with her and invite her to get in the car and go to the factory.

From the backseat, Director Song would also greet her with a “Good morning.”

But Tao Yu, apart from responding politely as usual, never once got into Song Hecheng’s car.

A week passed like this, and the factory gave Tao Yu two days off.

At that moment, she was sitting in the cool shade in the yard, studying the casting machine manual, pen and paper in hand, scribbling and drawing.

From a distance, it looked very casual.

Her smooth long hair was loosely tied up with a single pen, and she wore a slightly worn daily outfit.

But it didn’t affect her ever more striking beauty.

Not far away in the hall, four sewing machines were whirring away as Li Juan and a few of the women occasionally chatted, laughing and joking as they worked, creating a peaceful and cozy atmosphere.

Except for Tao Hongping.

She was sitting quietly on a small stool, trimming threads from new clothes.

She would occasionally glance at Tao Yu in the yard.

Tao Yu, like her, was sitting on a small stool, a chair in front of her, with strange scribbles on the paper spread on the chair. It looked like some random doodles that even a small child wouldn’t care to look at.

Tao Hongping sneaked glances at her for a while before, with a jealous sigh, she looked away.

She couldn’t figure it out.

Today, Tao Yu, just like her, was wearing old clothes, yet she still looked so good!

And that kind of beauty wasn’t just about her face—there had to be something else.

Tao Hongping couldn’t describe it even if she tried.

She bitterly thought to herself, maybe it’s just that Tao Yu’s skin is much fairer than anyone else’s, that’s why she looks pretty…

While Tao Hongping was trying to figure out what made Tao Yu so attractive and whether she could learn anything from her, Tao Yu had already put down the manual and was silently staring at Tao Hongping.

She was thinking that Tao Hongping had been here for more than a week now. Surely, the Toothpaste Commune should be sending someone soon…

Perhaps Tao Yu’s gaze was too cold, but Tao Hongping, who had been absentmindedly trimming threads with her head down, suddenly felt her skin tighten, even her scalp tingling.

She scratched the back of her neck, and when she looked up, her eyes met Tao Yu’s.

Tao Hongping’s heart skipped a beat.

Oh no, she really was being watched!

Feeling something was off, Tao Hongping nervously forced a smile at Tao Yu.

It looked terrible.

Tao Yu didn’t bother with her smile. She slightly lifted her chin, signaling Tao Hongping to follow her into the room, then turned and walked away.

As soon as Tao Yu entered the room, Tao Hongping quickly followed her.

In the past few days, Tao Hongping had only been allowed to move around in the front hall and yard. This was the first time she was allowed into Tao Yu’s room.

Tao Hongping sneakily and enviously glanced around the fragrant little room.

She couldn’t help but reach out and touch the soft cloth on the small table. She was extremely envious.

Heavens! There were so many nice things in this room!

Look at the neatly arranged bed frame, the floral pattern on the bedding—she had never seen anything like that!

Tsk tsk tsk, and the cupboard in this room—only the rich could afford something like that!

Even the cloth on the small table was made from better material than the clothes she was wearing!

What Tao Hongping didn’t know was that the room’s furnishings weren’t just from the original house; many of them were things Li Juan had bought after making several trips to the black market, prioritizing her daughter.

Li Juan had only made two new outfits for herself, and the rest of the money went into making sure her daughter had the best.

She had managed to gather all sorts of things that young girls liked, and over time, it all added up to quite a few nice items.

Tao Yu sat on the edge of the bed and gestured for Tao Hongping to sit down.

Tao Hongping was envious, but she only dared to secretly feel jealous in her heart. She didn’t show it on her face.

Since Tao Yu asked her to sit, she didn’t dare to refuse.

Tao Yu looked at Tao Hongping expressionlessly and calmly spoke, getting straight to the point.

“You’ve been staying here for so long, but I can’t let you stay forever.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Tao Hongping immediately began to feel uneasy.

Was she being kicked out?

Thinking of this, Tao Hongping immediately started preparing to repeat her previous tactics.

She was about to cry, wipe her nose and tears, and kneel down in front of Tao Yu to beg her.

Tao Yu impatiently looked at her. She raised an eyebrow coldly.

Tao Hongping immediately stopped the “sister” she was about to shout and sat back down obediently in the chair.

She grabbed the edge of the chair with her hands, not daring to reach out to touch Tao Yu, and started pleading.

“Sis, please don’t kick me out! If I get sent back, our grandma will definitely marry me off to the Old Mother Pig Commune the same day!”

Although it’s a new society now, and the old feudal, arranged marriage system is no longer in place, there are still so many people, and it’s impossible for everyone to be controlled.

Take their Toothpaste Commune for example.

A few years ago, the government encouraged people to apply for marriage certificates and promoted family planning policies.

But in the commune, there are still many households that don’t get marriage certificates and just throw a banquet to live together as husband and wife.

And there are those who secretly have five or six, even seven or eight children, hiding them in the mountains or in their own cellars!

Not to mention that far-off Old Mother Pig Commune, where even outsiders find it hard to control. It’s said that it’s an area no one can manage.

Her mother had said that if her grandmother sold her to the Old Mother Pig Commune, once the door was shut, no one would know what kind of life she would have inside. That would truly be a life where no one would answer when she called for help!

The more Tao Hongping thought about it, the more scared and anxious she became.

But Tao Yu wasn’t in a rush.

She even calmly added fuel to the fire for Tao Hongping.

“You think that just because you’re hiding here, Old Lady Qiu won’t come looking for you?”

“If it really comes to that, and they come to drag you away with force, no one will be able to save you.”

Oh, Old Lady Qiu was the original owner’s grandmother, but Tao Yu didn’t acknowledge her.

After hearing Tao Yu’s words, Tao Hongping became even more terrified. She wasn’t stupid, she had been thinking about this for the past few days.

But she had nowhere else to go and no other way out. Her original thought was to stay here for as long as possible, hoping that her family might eventually let the matter go.

Seeing Tao Hongping getting more and more anxious, begging Tao Yu for help, with her nose running and tears flowing, it was truly a headache.

Tao Yu, annoyed by the noise, spoke without much emotion.

“There is a way to save you, but it depends on how sincere you are…”