Chapter 6

“Qiaomei,” Yu Shiying said softly, “I think you might want to try to find a job in Hangzhou first. Hangzhou’s economy is no worse than the south, and there are plenty of opportunities.

Besides, if you stay in Hangzhou, you can earn money to support your family and take care of them nearby. Wouldn’t it be better to have the best of both worlds?”

“But… I… what can I do? I don’t know how to do anything…”

“Let’s not rush,” Yu Shiying gently patted Qiaomei’s thin shoulder. “Things will work out in time. Let’s plan slowly. There will always be a way.”

“Really? Sister Yu, can I really find a job in Hangzhou?”

“Of course it’s true!” Yu Shiying answered affirmatively. “Look, Hangzhou is such a big city. Factories, restaurants, shops, everywhere need workers. As long as we are willing to work hard and not afraid of fatigue, we can always find a job that suits you.”

However, Yu Shiying’s mind was not on these things. Working could certainly earn money, but Qiaomei had to bear the expenses of a family of four, which was not a small amount.

It’s possible to start a small business, but what kind? Something that requires little capital and can quickly pay back.

“Really? Then…what can I do?” Qiaomei was still a little confused and didn’t know what kind of job she could do.

“Well, we need to think about this carefully.” Yu Shiying thought quickly in her mind, “How about this, we go to the area near the school to see if there is any job recruitment information, or ask the teachers and classmates at school to see if there are any suitable opportunities.”

Qiaomei was happy from the bottom of her heart. As Yu Shiying walked, she was calculating the small businesses she knew in her mind.

The two men pushed the “strike” bicycle and continued walking along the muddy path towards the school.

It was almost noon when they arrived at the gate of Hangzhou Normal University. Yu Shiying helped Qiaomei repair the car, treated her to lunch, and left the phone number of the clinic so that she could contact Qiaomei.

Seeing Qiaomei full of expectations and confidence, Yu Shiying felt that she needed to make some careful plans to help Qiaomei make money.

—

When I got back to school, the first thing I did was to find my class teacher to explain the situation.

Yu Shiying lowered her head and stood silently in front of Teacher Zhang’s desk.

Teacher Zhang was wearing a pair of reading glasses, and his eyes behind the lenses stared at her sternly.

“Yu Shiying! You’re so audacious!” Teacher Zhang slammed the table, making the enamel teacup on it clang. “You left the team without permission. Do you know how worried we were about you? Do you know how much the school mobilized to look for you? You almost had to bear the consequences and be punished, did you know that?”

Yu Shiying certainly knew that it was wrong to leave the team without permission, but if Hu Shudan had not spoken harshly to her and threatened her, the original owner would have left in anger, let alone died.

It’s just these, and I can’t explain them clearly in just a few words, and I can’t explain them to the teacher.

“Teacher, I’m really sorry. It’s really my fault this time. I made you worry.”

“Student Hu Shudan is right, you are indeed too willful.

A flame suddenly rose in Yu Shiying’s heart.

Huh? That culprit actually had the nerve to call me willful?

Hu Shudan caused her to get lost and fall out of the team, but now she didn’t mention her own fault at all, instead putting all the blame on her.

Okay, okay, I’ll drink this cup of green tea.

Yu Shiying twisted her clothes with her hands, and she was already thinking about tearing Hu Shudan to pieces.

“Why are you lowering your head? Raise your head!” Teacher Zhang’s voice became even more stern.

She couldn’t confront the teacher head-on. In this era, the teacher’s words were like imperial decrees, and refutation would only make things more difficult to resolve.

Teacher Zhang was still blabbering on, spit flying everywhere.

“Teacher Zhang, I really know I was wrong. Please calm down first. I promise I won’t cause trouble for the school again.”

“You know you’re wrong? What’s the point of just knowing you’re wrong? You need to take real action!”

Teacher Zhang tapped the table with the end of his pen, his tone unrelenting. “You’ll be graduating soon. Although job placement is guaranteed, which school you’ll be assigned to will depend on your grades. Your English is good, so try to stay in the city to teach.”

According to the education policy of the 1990s, junior college students fully met the teacher qualification requirements at the time. However, the only requirement for placement was not only connections but also strong personal skills. Otherwise, being unable to answer students’ questions was truly embarrassing.

Yu Shiying knew that Mr. Zhang was a man with a soft heart. He never tired of teaching, but deep down he cared about the students he taught.

After finally waiting for the lecture to end, Yu Shiying walked out of the office with heavy steps.

She was so tired that she resisted the urge to yawn and forced herself to stay alert and listen to Teacher Zhang’s lecture for an hour.

When I returned to the dormitory, several roommates immediately surrounded me.

“Shiying, are you okay?”

“Shiying, you scared us to death. We thought you…”

The roommates expressed their concern one after another, which made Yu Shiying feel a little warm in her heart.

In fact, the students in the teachers’ college are all pretty good. After all, they have received education and will all become teachers in the future. They are all of high quality, have a bookish air, and have gentle tempers.

Except…Hu Shudan.

The brief warm scene was soon broken by a sharp voice.

“Hey, you’re back safe and sound, aren’t you?” Hu Shudan leaned against the bed and said sarcastically, “Why, you’re not missing any limbs, are you?”

Yu Shiying’s eyes instantly turned cold and she looked straight at Hu Shudan.

“Hu Shudan, stop gloating over someone else’s misfortune!”

Hu Shudan smiled disapprovingly, his eyes full of provocation.

“Am I gloating? I’m just telling the truth. That blind Wang Lesheng insisted that I went too far and made you run away. It was clearly you who ran away on your own accord, and you’re blaming me?”

Wang Lesheng was the classmate who couldn’t stand Hu Shudan’s behavior and stood up for Yu Shiying during the outing.

This outing was a spontaneous action. No one else in the dormitory participated and no one knew what happened yesterday.

They could only smooth things over and advised, “Shiying is back and must be frightened. We’re all classmates, Shudan, you should be quiet.”

Hu Shudan, however, was fearless. She slowly walked up to Yu Shiying and said in a domineering tone, “If you want me to talk less, fine. Go get me some food.”

Seeing Yu Shiying roll her eyes at her, Hu Shudan smiled instead of getting angry. She lowered her voice and said viciously, “Why, aren’t you afraid that I’ll make those ‘interesting’ contents in the diary public?”

He deliberately raised his voice and continued, “Alas, some people, while appearing to be well-behaved and pitiful, are actually obsessed with turning ‘good brother’ into ‘lover’. It’s a pity that Wang Lesheng is still foolishly bewitched by her.”

Yu Shiying felt a surge of anger rising from her feet to her head.

It would have been fine if he just talked about himself, but he actually dragged innocent classmates into this.

The other person just said a few words to help him, but Hu Shudan started to accuse him.

It seems that if I don’t fight her, she really thinks she is easy to bully.