Chapter 91

So, that afternoon, Mài Miao came to see her. While they were chatting, Xia Qingning deliberately mentioned in front of Wang Mingfang that her factory was hiring female workers. Wang Mingfang was indeed very interested and even asked her who was in charge of recruitment.

Wang Mingfang was naturally inquiring for He Shanshan. The female saleswoman at the supply and marketing cooperative was about to finish her maternity leave. When the female saleswoman returned to work, He Shanshan’s temporary job would be gone.

She had always wanted to help He Shanshan find a formal job in a state-owned factory. Before, she wanted to take advantage of Xia Qingning, but now that Lu Jingzhe was back, and Xia Qingning had become so smart, she couldn’t get any advantage from her at all. That plan wouldn’t work.

But now she had a backup plan. As long as this matter was settled, her daughter, He Shanshan, could not only work in the textile factory, but her son’s predicament could also be solved.

“It’s the director named Liáo Qiáng who’s in charge.” Seeing that Wang Mingfang had taken the bait, Xia Qingning deliberately reminded her:

“This Director Liáo pays a lot of attention to the female workers’ appearance. If He Shanshan wants to apply, she definitely can’t dress up like she used to.”

“Qingning, I know you’re skilled. Can you help our Shanshan with her makeup too?” Wang Mingfang said with a smile.

Heh. Xia Qingning had to admire Wang Mingfang’s cheek. She was thicker than a city wall! For the sake of profit, she could abandon anything.

“Qingning can’t do that.” Before Xia Qingning could answer, Mài Miao couldn’t sit still anymore. She gave Wang Mingfang a cold look and said unhappily:

“Your He Shanshan has such a delicate face. Qingning wouldn’t dare to paint her.”

Xia Qingning had never thought about doing He Shanshan’s makeup. She wasn’t that free, and she wasn’t that generous. She looked at Wang Mingfang and calmly refused:

“You should find someone else. Mài Miao is right. I really can’t paint He Shanshan’s face.”

Wang Mingfang originally wanted to try again, but after hearing Xia Qingning’s words, she could only smile awkwardly and didn’t say anything else.

Yáo Hóngméi stayed in the hospital for three days. On the morning of the fourth day, Lu Lìdōng pulled her back in a cart. Wang Mingfang didn’t let him go through the front door or let Lu Lìdōng carry her. She said that going through the front door would bring bad luck to the house, and that a man carrying her would bring bad luck.

Yáo Hóngméi had no choice but to walk slowly off the cart, enduring the pain in her wound. She walked through the back door by herself.

Lu Lìdōng just watched the whole time. He didn’t even bother to help her. Seeing that she was walking too slowly, he even looked impatient.

After returning to the room, Lu Lìdōng said he was going to work and left in a hurry. Wang Mingfang also said she was going to visit her second sister and didn’t have time to take care of Yáo Hóngméi. She even left Yingying with her, telling her to take care of her.

Her husband and mother-in-law’s attitude chilled Yáo Hóngméi’s heart. During the three days she was in the hospital, Lu Lìdōng completely ignored the fact that she had just had surgery. He would often get angry with her, saying that she was useless, that she had planted two seeds but couldn’t even keep one, and so on. It was very hurtful.

Thinking that now she had lost her child and could never have another, Yáo Hóngméi lay in bed alone and couldn’t help but shed tears silently.

“Mommy… don’t cry.” Yingying saw her crying and walked to her side, reaching out to wipe her tears, and said in a childish voice:

“Yingying is good… Mommy, don’t cry.”

Yáo Hóngméi raised her hand to touch her daughter’s head, but she suddenly noticed that her arm was full of bruises. Because she had been staying in the hospital for the past few days, she hadn’t seen her daughter, so she only noticed these marks now.

The child’s skin was white and tender. Although it had been a few days, the bruises were still very clear. There were so many, it was obvious that they weren’t from bumps or falls.

Yáo Hóngméi’s heart was instantly wrenched. She forgot to cry anymore. She endured the pain and gently pointed to the bruises on her arm and asked her daughter:

“Yingying, how did you get these on your arm?”

Yingying looked at her hand, thought for a moment, and said in a childish voice:

“Yingying cried, Auntie didn’t cry, hit Yingying…”

Yáo Hóngméi’s nose twitched, and tears welled up again. She understood immediately: Her daughter cried, and He Shanshan wouldn’t let her cry, so she hit her.

Actually, when she saw the bruises, she had guessed that He Shanshan had hit her. In this house, besides her, no one else would be so cruel.

Enduring the pain, Yáo Hóngméi continued to ask:

“Tell Mommy, what did Auntie hit you with?”

“Hit face… hit hand, hit a lot, hurt…” Yingying said, pointing to her face and hand. Her childish face was full of fear.

Yáo Hóngméi couldn’t hold back anymore. She hugged her daughter, tears streaming down her face. She cursed He Shanshan in her heart, saying she was inhuman. She could actually hit such a small child. She would definitely be punished.

Then she thought that she would never be able to get pregnant again in her life, and Yingying was her only child. Unfortunately, she was a girl, and her mother-in-law and husband didn’t like her.

Thinking about their future, Yáo Hóngméi didn’t know whether to pity her daughter or herself.

Wang Mingfang had gone out early in the morning, and there was no one at home. Yáo Hóngméi’s wound was hurting badly, and she couldn’t get out of bed to cook. When it was almost five o’clock in the afternoon, no one had come back home. Yingying’s stomach was growling with hunger, but she didn’t cry.

She didn’t know why, but since she was abused by He Shanshan last time, she had become unusually sensible. She basically didn’t cry much anymore. Now, she was quietly lying beside Yáo Hóngméi without saying a word.

“Yingying, are you hungry?” Yáo Hóngméi asked softly when she heard her stomach growl.

“Yingying is sleeping, sleeping, not hungry…” The little girl said softly.

Who wouldn’t feel sad after hearing this?

As a mother, she couldn’t bear to let a three-year-old child go hungry. Yáo Hóngméi gritted her teeth and sat up from the bed. Her wound was very painful, but she had a smile on her face as she comforted her daughter:

“Yingying, be good. Mommy will go make you some food. You’ll have food soon.”

Then, she forced herself to get out of bed and slowly moved to the kitchen. She leaned against the stove and looked around. She found that there was only a little bit of rice crust left at the bottom of the pot, and there was no other food.

They say that postpartum resentment lasts a lifetime. At this moment, she couldn’t help but resent Wang Mingfang.