Chapter 35: Your Mother Doesn’t Want You

He didn’t mean anything else; he just felt sorry for Brother Qiang.

But Su Ai had already left.

Ji Yang irritably tapped his head.

Then, supporting himself with one leg, he got out of bed.

His leg was bandaged, and he’d had surgery, so his leg was immobilized in a specific position.

Therefore, Ji Yang could stand on his good leg.

Before, he couldn’t stand because any movement would affect his bones, causing secondary injury and worsening his condition.

Now, the doctor said he could move around a little occasionally, so Ji Yang picked up a rag.

He took over the cleaning Su Ai hadn’t finished.

Su Ai cooked in the kitchen, thinking about what she should do next.

This era was a golden age; policies encouraged entrepreneurship, and there was high public demand and a large gap in supplies.  As long as you were bold, you could make money doing almost anything.

Su Ai’s small business in the city had earned nearly 10,000 yuan in just a few days.

In the eyes of people of this era, a “ten-thousand-yuan household” was an incredible achievement. If you were a ten-thousand-yuan household, even the county would celebrate with gongs and drums and give you a big red flower.

But Su Ai wasn’t that high-profile.  Compared to her future multi-million-dollar businesses, 10,000 yuan was insignificant.

Besides, in this era, money was the least valuable thing.

Currency would depreciate rapidly in the coming years; it needed to be converted into fixed assets to continue making money.

The 10,000 yuan capital was a lot, but it was also a little.

Building a workshop was nonsense; it wasn’t nearly enough.

But for a small business, it was more than enough.

Suddenly, Su Ai’s eyes lit up; she thought of something.

Something that made a lot of money.

By doubling or tripling her capital, she could open a factory.

Start a legitimate business.

Su Ai was calculating in her mind when the meal was ready.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was feasible, but she had to wait a couple of months, at least until Ji Yang’s leg healed and he could move freely.

Wait another two months.

But she couldn’t be idle during these two months. These products were destined to be only consumed by the wealthy.  With her current poor status, how could she break into those wealthy circles?

Ten-thousand-yuan household?

Su Ai’s eyes lit up again.

She shouted from outside the door: “Lele, come in for dinner.”

Her voice was loud enough to carry half the village.

After a few calls, she heard Lele’s response: “I-know-already~”

When Su Ai brought the food inside, she saw Ji Yang supporting himself with one leg, cleaning.

“Put it down!”

Su Ai snatched the rag from Ji Yang.

“Who told you to do this?”

Su Ai was quite fierce: “The doctor told you to move around a bit, but he also specifically instructed you not to overwork yourself.  Don’t put too much strain on your leg.”

“If you’re recovering, then just recover.  When can’t you do this kind of chore?”

Su Ai was annoyed by people who, even after being told by the doctor to fast and not drink water after anesthesia, insisted on drinking water and eating.

As if they would die if they didn’t eat a meal.

She was also extremely annoyed by patients who, even though they were sick, insisted on working instead of resting to recover.

What is it? Did everyone in their family die, and they absolutely have to do this chore now?

Didn’t they think about what would happen if they fell, bumped, and re-injured themselves?

What if the leg doesn’t heal? What if they end up disabled?

Su Ai was worried about Ji Yang’s leg.

Ji Yang’s leg was a worry for her.

If Ji Yang’s leg didn’t heal, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.

But her tone was too harsh.

Ji Yang was momentarily at a loss, not knowing what to say. He hung his head, scolded.

Actually, he just felt sorry for Su Ai.

While in the hospital, she was taking care of him, Lele, and running her business buying supplies, setting up her stall, rushing around like a spinning top.

He had been very obedient, not getting out of bed in the hospital.

He followed the doctor’s orders, wanting to recover quickly.

He only got up because the doctor said he could.

He wanted to say that he just wanted to help her with whatever he could.

He just felt sorry for her hard work.

He wanted to say that he had been careful and hadn’t affected his injury.

But when he saw Su Ai’s slightly reproachful tone, his heart ached, and he only said, “Mm.”

“Mm.”

Su Ai was about to say something else when Lele returned.

He threw himself into Su Ai’s arms.

“Mama, Mama”

He kept calling, so Su Ai picked him up.

Ji Yang sat back on the bed.

“Did you have fun playing with your friends?”

Ji Lele shook his head: “I went to find everyone, but everyone was eating, so I came back to eat first.”

“I’ll go play with everyone after I eat.”

“Okay.”

“Then go wash your hands and eat.”

Su Ai had been a little angry, feeling that her tone had been too harsh, but she was still upset.

So, after thinking it over, she sat down to eat without saying anything.

Seeing Su Ai’s expression, Ji Yang felt a little panicked.  He suppressed his grievance and quietly said to Su Ai: “I won’t do it again.”

“I’ll definitely take good care of my recovery.”

At this, Su Ai was no longer angry.

Ji Yang knew Su Ai was worried about his leg.

Su Ai also knew Ji Yang felt sorry for her hard work.

“Mm, let’s eat,” her tone much softer.

Ji Yang also smiled: “Okay.”

The three of them ate together. Ji Lele ran out to play, Ji Yang lay in bed reading, and Su Ai cleaned the house thoroughly, washed the clothes, and kept busy.

Outside, Ji Lele quickly gathered with a group of friends.

Seeing the game console in Ji Lele’s hand, everyone enviously surrounded him.

“Lele, what’s that you’re holding?”

“Lele, you haven’t been home these days. I couldn’t find you when I went to look for you.”

“Lele, where did you go?”

“Where did you buy this?”

“Lele, your new clothes are so pretty. Did your dad buy them for you?”

Ji Lele was very happy to see everyone’s envious looks. For children, happiness is toys, snacks, and praise.

“I went to the city; it took a long time to get there by car.”

“We went to the hospital to treat Dad’s leg. Dad’s leg has had surgery, and the doctor said it will be fine with some rest.”

“My mom bought all these new clothes for me, and the game console too. Mom also bought me a lot of snacks.”

“Candy.”

Ji Lele pulled out a handful of Great White Rabbit candies from his pocket.

When the children saw them, they exclaimed in awe, one louder than the next.

Everyone looked on enviously, but no one dared to grab them.

Then, a child directly pushed Ji Lele down and grabbed all the Great White Rabbit candies from his pocket.

“Little bastard, you don’t deserve to eat candy.”

“Your mother gave birth to a little bastard; she wouldn’t buy things for a little bastard. Ji Lele, you’re lying.”

“Your mother is about to run away with her lover and doesn’t want you anymore!”