Chapter 17

Early the next morning, Jian Li boarded the bus back to Taocheng, where she met up with Qian Ping in the county.

Qian Ping didn’t bring much—just a backpack and a small bag. In contrast, Jian Li looked like someone fleeing home.

She carried a burlap sack, a schoolbag, and both hands were occupied—one holding a freshly slaughtered duck, the other a net full of river shrimp.

Jian Li squeezed to make room for Qian Ping. “Sis, sit here.”

As soon as Qian Ping sat down, Jian Li eagerly asked if anyone had noticed her leaving that morning.

Qian Ping replied, “No one noticed. I left a note.”

Even though Jian Li had assured her, Qian Ping knew that staying with her aunt would certainly bring trouble. In the note, she clearly stated that she didn’t want to go abroad.

She explained that since she didn’t want to study overseas, she had decided to leave home to find work.

She figured her mother wouldn’t immediately suspect she was with her aunt and would probably think she had gone south instead.

As Qian Ping watched the scenery outside speed by, her heart filled with fear.

It was the first time she had gone against her mother’s wishes.

All her life, she had been obedient. Every direction from her mother was followed without question.

When she was a child, her grandmother had disdained her for being a girl. In response, her mother worked like a man on construction sites just to prove herself. At six or seven, Qian Ping would go to school alone with her backpack, come home to cook by standing on a stool, eat, wash the dishes, do homework, and go to bed—all by herself.

—-

Day after day, she had been the “good child” for over a decade, only to hand in a disappointing college entrance exam result.

Qian Ping clenched her fists, unsure why it had happened. Questions she knew perfectly well suddenly became impossible on the test.

Before the exams, her mother had bragged to everyone about her expected success, confidently declaring she would get into a top university. Even before the results were out, she had already made arrangements with local restaurants to hold a celebratory banquet.

Just thinking about it made Qian Ping’s palms sweat.

When she had performed well in her high school entrance exams, the county school had offered her a spot, but her mother insisted on the tuition-free town school instead.

Although she ranked first every time in her town school, her scores hovered around 530—enough for a regular university, but not a prestigious one.

Her mother’s exaggerated claims that she would attend Tsinghua or Peking University weighed heavily on her. In the exam room, it felt as if a thousand pounds pressed down on her pen.

Waiting for her scores was even more torturous. In her nightmares, exam papers turned into her mother’s scornful face, endlessly berating her for being a disgrace.

“I worked so hard all these years—who was it for? For you!”

“With those scores, do you think you deserve me?”

“School was a waste on you! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let you study. Nothing but money down the drain and embarrassment!”

Qian Ping drifted into an uneasy sleep on the bus and woke up, startled by a nightmare.

Looking outside, she saw the bus was now wobbling its way into the city.

Before the vehicle fully stopped, Jian Li opened the window and shouted, “Dad! I’m here!”

Jian Feng smiled as he walked over, watching his daughter get off the bus with her load of bags.

“What on earth are you carrying so much for… Pingping?”

Qian Ping felt shy. “Hello, Uncle.”

Jian Feng quickly let go of Jian Li to take Qian Ping’s luggage. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? I could’ve brought a car to pick you up.”

Qian Ping didn’t know how to respond.

Jian Li jumped in, “Cousin’s here to visit us! Don’t ask so many questions—I’m starving! I could eat a whole cow!”

Jian Feng chuckled, “I’ve been saying you look thinner. Let’s go! Your mom made a pot of braised meat this morning just for you.”

“Yay!”

Jian Li grabbed Qian Ping’s hand. “Come on, hurry up!”

Since there were two extra people and all the luggage, Jian Feng didn’t bother with his bicycle. Instead, he flagged down a pedicab—a common sight with makeshift roofs welded on top.

He paid the driver one yuan to take them to the textile factory’s residential area.

“You two go on ahead. I’ll follow later.”

Qian Ping had been to the city before, but it had been a long time. Since starting high school, she had been too busy to visit.

Jian Li kept pointing out landmarks along the way, giving lively descriptions.

Bit by bit, Qian Ping’s gloomy mood from the nightmare lifted, and a small smile crept onto her face.

When they finally arrived home, Jian Li dumped her bags and bolted toward the kitchen.

Qian Ping shook her head with a helpless smile and set about tidying up the luggage.

“Sis, come quick!”

Jian Li fished out two chicken legs from a pot.

The drumsticks had been soaking in rich, fragrant braising sauce for hours. The skin glistened with oil, and when she bit into it, the juices flowed down. This pot had clearly been simmering since the night before—a labor of love from her mother.

Inside the deep steel pot, the brown broth was filled with all sorts of goodies: lotus root slices, tofu, drumsticks, chicken gizzards, and large chunks of pork intestine.

Jian Li grabbed two dry flatbreads, split them open, stuffed them with food, and took alternating bites of bread and chicken. She ate with unrestrained delight.

Qian Ping was still a bit worried: “Xiao Li, if Auntie comes back later, just push everything on me.”

Knowing her aunt’s temper, she was afraid that Jianli might get scolded for helping her.

Jian Li continued eating her drumstick, speaking with her mouth full, “Sis, you don’t need to worry about anything. Just stay here.”

Swallowing her bite, she added, “You don’t have to worry about my parents either. I’ll talk to them.”

And talking to them was as easy as opening her mouth.

Here’s how Jian Li spoke to her parents:

“My sister didn’t do well in her college entrance exams, and Auntie keeps scolding her. Since you mentioned you were busy, I suggested letting my sister stay here to help you for a while. Auntie agreed.”

Wang Mengmei, exhausted from a full day of work, didn’t suspect a thing.

She already knew about Qian Ping’s poor exam results and figured her older sister wouldn’t send her to repeat classes a third time.

Since Qian Ping was only eighteen, marriage seemed too early. Letting her stay with family to help out made sense.

“Perfect! Now I don’t have to hire anyone,” Wang Mengmei said joyfully. “Your aunt really cares about me.”

She reached for the phone to call Wang Menglan.

Jian Li quickly stopped her, “I already called when I got back. Auntie and Uncle are out of town managing a construction project, so they won’t be home for a while.”

Wang Mengmei didn’t sense anything unusual. Or perhaps, she simply couldn’t fathom that her daughter would dare lie to her.

“Alright, I’ll go make up the bed so you two can share a room. Don’t kick your sister while sleeping.”

Jian Li readily agreed, “No problem!”

Then, like presenting a treasure, Jian Li showed off her spoils from the summer vacation:

A bag of river shrimp and a freshly butchered duck, courtesy of her aunt, was just the start.

The true treasures were her own findings.

“Mom, I brought scorpions—lively ones! I’ll soak them in wine this afternoon. You’ve been complaining about back pain in winter; scorpion wine is great for that!”

“This is cicada slough, and here’s some wild honey…”

Alongside the medicinal herbs, she also had a bundle of fresh peanuts and corn.

“Mom, tomorrow I want roasted corn and peanut butter,” she requested.

Wang Mengmei had made the best peanut butter in the past—perfect for mixing with noodles, a taste Jian Li still craved.

Though she wanted to refuse, seeing how much weight her daughter had lost over the summer, she sighed and relented.

“Alright, alright. I must’ve owed your appetite in my last life. I never spoil anyone else like I do you.”

“By the way, where did you get the wine for soaking the scorpions?”

Jian Li pointed to the cupboard, “From there.”

Wang Mengmei: !!!

“You sneaky girl, that’s the wine someone gave your dad!”

It was a gift from Zhao Xiaopeng, who claimed the bottle cost nearly fifty yuan. Jian Feng had saved it for Lunar New Year, intending to share it with his childhood friends.

Jian Li shrank back at first, but upon hearing it was from Zhao Xiaopeng, her suspicion grew.

“Why would he give Dad wine?”

“For switching shifts,” her mother replied. “That’s all. Let’s see how you explain it to your dad later.”

Jianli stuck out her tongue playfully. “Dad won’t hit me.”

She grabbed Qian Ping and ran outside, her mind wondering why Zhao Xiaopeng had been so generous.

What scheme was he cooking up?

Her father hadn’t lost his job, and the family wasn’t planning to buy a car. Zhao Xiaopeng wasn’t yet dealing in second-hand cars either.

Jian Li suddenly felt a heavy weight in her heart.

And just like that, Qian Ping stayed.

Meanwhile, Wang Menglan didn’t even realize her daughter had left until three days later.

After working tirelessly at the construction site, nearly losing track of time, she finally went home for a bath and fresh clothes.

That’s when she ran into the acquaintance promising to take Qian Ping to America.

The man was leaving in three days and had come looking for her to ask for more money.

“We’ll be boarding the ship in a week, so we need to get there early. The fare was higher than expected. The original 2,000 yuan won’t cut it—we need another 3,000.”

Wang Menglan felt her heart ache at the cost.

Sensing her hesitation, the man switched tactics.

“Think about how much she’ll earn in America. You’ll make back the fare in less than half a month. But if you’re not interested, that’s fine. I won’t scam you. Plenty of people are waiting to go. I’ll just refund your deposit.”

Though shrewd in small matters, Wang Menglan was blinded by her American dream.

“No need! We’ll pay. Three thousand it is. I’ll have Qian Ping bring it over later.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she rushed home to get the money.

Her husband, Qian Jinlai, frowned beside her. “Think this through. Why rush?”

From the start, he’d been skeptical. His wife, however, was fixated on sending their daughter abroad, leaving no room for his concerns.

Two thousand yuan—this would be a whole year’s income for an average working-class family.

Not to mention all the money already spent on gifts. If they added another three thousand, the total would be nearly six thousand.

With that amount, they could buy a small thirty-square-meter house in the county.

Wang Menglan yanked her hand away and glared at him in exasperation.

“What do you know? This is studying abroad! Even if it’s five thousand yuan—or ten thousand—what can’t you earn over there?”

“Don’t act like you’ve never seen the world!”

“Move!”

Wang Menglan had always despised Qian Jinlai’s cowardly demeanor. Though he was a small-time construction foreman, most of the real work had been handled by her.

Wang Menglan had only an elementary school education, but she was daring, hardworking, and determined. Many times when Qian Jinlai wanted to give up and return to the town, it was her push that kept them going.

“Spineless! A grown man, and this is how weak you are.”

Over time, Qian Jinlai gradually stopped opposing her decisions, but his silence only made her see him as more gutless and lacking courage.

Take Qian Ping studying abroad as an example. Qian Jinlai wasn’t just reluctant to spend the money—he also believed Wang Menglan wasn’t thinking things through.

They only had one daughter, and it wasn’t as if they were so poor they needed to send her abroad to seek fortune. Why send her so far away?

Qian Jinlai had no sons. Although he earned a lot over the years, he often felt a sense of emptiness when resting.

With no heir, who would inherit his wealth?

A casual comment from a worker on the construction site gave him an idea:

“You’ve got only one daughter? Why not bring in a live-in son-in-law?”

At first, Qian Jinlai didn’t think much of it. Since Qian Ping was a good student, going to university should have rendered this suggestion pointless.

But now that she hadn’t been admitted, he began calculating whether he could arrange a match for her. A son-in-law could carry on the family name, and his grandsons—bearing his surname—could inherit the family business, ensuring his legacy wouldn’t end.

But Wang Menglan was fixated on making her daughter a success.

When Qian Jinlai raised the idea twice, Wang Menglan dismissed him with the same response:

“You’re a coward. What right do you have to tell me how to raise my daughter?”

For Wang Menglan, life was about pride—living with dignity and not letting others laugh at her.

But now, her daughter had thrown her pride back in her face.

The empty living room echoed with silence, save for a note left behind by Qian Ping.

After reading it, Wang Menglan smashed the dishes.

“Ungrateful wretch! She doesn’t know what’s good for her!”

“I’m her mother! How could I ever harm her?”

When Qian Jinlai walked in and saw the mess, he didn’t even have the energy to sigh.

Then he noticed the note—Qian Ping had run away.

The couple stood speechless, staring at each other.

Wiping her tears with a rough swipe, Wang Menglan cursed through gritted teeth:

“Just like you! A ladder to success right in front of her, and she doesn’t even know how to climb!”

She stormed into Qian Ping’s room, throwing everything left behind.

“Run! Go ahead and run! Let’s just pretend I never raised that girl!”

Her fury was mixed with heartbreak. Qian Ping, her daughter, had no idea how much effort her mother had put into everything.

All of it—every hardship—was for her ungrateful daughter.

But instead of gratitude, Qian Ping had delivered this “surprise.”

While Wang Menglan wailed and cursed, Qian Jinlai’s mind worked quickly. He rushed out to make phone calls, trying to find Qian Ping.

He called every relative, one by one, but no one had seen her.

Finally, he called someone in the city.

The phone was answered by Jian Feng.