Chapter 22

That night, Jian Li was eating her own weight-loss dinner.

A bowl of vegetable and egg soup, and a plate of cold dishes.

This summer, she had been busy with both inside and outside work, and with the two pounds of sweat she shed every day, her weight loss of thirty pounds was no exaggeration.

After returning, Jian Li briefly indulged for a few days before starting her weight-loss plan again.

The large white sheet she had been using for her goals had a big check mark on it, marking the completion of the first phase of weight loss. Jian Li took out another sheet of paper and wrote down her second-phase weight-loss plan.

She wanted to lose weight to 120 pounds before the end of the year.

This phase of the plan was even harder to execute than the first, as it was soon the season to put on weight, and Jian Li had limited time to exercise due to her school schedule.

So she had to start controlling her diet.

Take tonight as an example, Wang Mengmei made noodles, and both Jian Li and Jian Feng consumed a lot of physical energy every day. When busy, they often ate irregularly. Only in the evening did they have time to eat meals that they liked in peace.

Wang Mengmei had a contradictory attitude toward her daughter’s weight loss.

On one hand, she hoped Jian Li would lose weight. As a young girl, gaining weight wasn’t just a physical issue; she worried about Jian Li being bullied at school. Just like when she was in school, there was a classmate with polio who walked with a limp, and some malicious people would always tease him by calling him “cripple.”

Last semester, Jian Li was also called “fatty” at school. She came home crying, and for the next two or three days, she barely ate anything.

Wang Mengmei saw this, worried, and blamed herself for believing the unreliable doctor at the time.

But on the other hand, when Jian Li really started losing weight, Wang Mengmei couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

Now, Jian Li only had an egg, a bowl of porridge, and a plate of vegetables for breakfast. For lunch, she only had a small bowl, and for dinner, it was soup and vegetables. Wang Mengmei watched Jian Li yearn for food but couldn’t help herself from feeling softhearted, always thinking that maybe she should stop her weight loss.

Other families wouldn’t deprive their children of food during their growth period, but Jian Li couldn’t even eat snacks.

But Jian Li was very determined and executed her diet plan strictly.

Wang Mengmei could only try her best to make Jian Li’s weight-loss meals more delicious.

After finishing a large bowl of noodles, Jian Feng solemnly announced at the dinner table that he wanted to get a driver’s license.

“This month, the factory’s shifts have been reduced again. I’ve thought about it, and I think learning something is safer.”

Although Jian Feng didn’t think the cotton factory would close down immediately, in his mind, it was a state-owned factory, and even if things weren’t going well temporarily, it wouldn’t collapse overnight.

The camel that dies of hunger is still bigger than the horse. The cotton factory has so many employees, even though many were laid off earlier, there are still a few thousand left. Not to mention the various small factories that supported the cotton factory’s production, like the spinning machine factory, grinding wheel factory, spinning machine company, and sales company…

The livelihood of tens of thousands of people made Jian Feng never think that the cotton factory would close.

The difficulties were only temporary, and the government wouldn’t ignore it.

Therefore, when considering learning a skill, his priority was to learn something that could be useful in his future work.

So, he decided to learn to drive.

Jian Li fully supported him: “Dad, you’ll definitely do well at learning to drive!”

In her previous life, Jian Feng was a great driver. He never had a single accident or even scraped a car while holding the steering wheel.

Wang Mengmei also supported it, but she was a little worried: “Isn’t it expensive to get a driver’s license?”

The family had just bought a washing machine, and as for the money from Wang Menglan, Wang Mengmei directly took it with Qian Ping to open a bank card and deposited all the money in it.

Now, the family only had a few hundred yuan.

“How much does it cost to get a driver’s license?”

Jian Feng had already asked about it and was clear: “The registration fee for a large vehicle license is 4,000, plus the coach and other expenses, it’ll cost about 4,500.”

Wang Mengmei gasped: “So expensive!”

Jian Feng smiled bitterly. Yes, it was expensive.

Especially in recent years, there were more and more taxis in the city, and everyone knew that driving a taxi was profitable. A taxi driver could earn two to three thousand a month with a little work. As for large vehicle drivers, they earned even more.

Compared to the money earned, the cost of the license was nothing.

“Maybe you should wait a little longer?”

Wang Mengmei knew this was an important matter, and although it pained her, she still supported her husband.

“Wait for two months.”

In two months, the family’s finances would be enough.

Wang Mengmei’s cautious personality took the upper hand, but Jian Feng felt there was no need to wait any longer.

“I asked around. They say starting next year, driving school fees will be even higher. The large vehicle license will be harder to get, so it will be more difficult to take the test later.”

Jian Feng wanted to learn, and once he learned, he wouldn’t always have to lie awake at night worrying.

No matter what he said about the factory not closing, there were rumors. Even though many state-owned factories hadn’t closed down, they were almost as good as closed. Especially in the northeast, in recent months, bad news had spread through the mouths of many factory workers.

The cotton factory originally came from the northeast, and many people still had distant relatives there, so the news spread and caused anxiety.

Salaries weren’t being paid, and every necessity cost money. People were at their wit’s end. Saying there was a job at the factory was just a formality.

If rural people lose their livelihood, they still have some land to grow food and vegetables. They won’t starve to death throughout the year. But if city people lose their jobs, where will they find food?

Many people in state-owned factories rely on the factory for their livelihood. If the factory really collapses, most people won’t even see a future.

Jian Feng didn’t dare to think too deeply and just wanted to secure a safety net for his small family in this unstable era.

Truck drivers are less likely to lose their jobs.

Wang Mengmei was deeply worried: “If you’re talking about a few hundred yuan, I could still think of a way. I could turn to my big sister; in a couple of months, I could pay her back. But a few thousand… how can I ask for that?”

No one’s money comes easily, especially since Wang Menglan had recently been scammed out of 2,000 yuan by a fellow villager and then gave another 2,000 to her daughter. The relationship between the couple was already tense, and Wang Mengmei couldn’t bring herself to use this issue to cause a fight between her sister and her husband.

Jian Feng: “I’ll go over there tomorrow.”

Wang Mengmei paused in her speech.

Jian Feng: “Don’t worry about it. I’ll go and ask. If it works out, that’s great. If not, we’ll wait a few months.”

Wang Mengmei snorted: “Yes, you should go ask.”

Wang Mengmei had many complaints about her mother-in-law, but she held back.

Jian Feng’s mother seemed kind and gentle on the surface, but in reality, her heart was ruthless and frightening.

Although Wang Mengmei never lived with her mother-in-law, after all these years, she knew her well: sweet in appearance, bitter in heart.

Jian Feng’s father passed away in the line of duty, and the factory treated him well. Not only did they keep his job and housing, but they also gave him a large pension.

Jian Feng never saw a cent of that pension.

His mother only gave him this small apartment, and as for the pension and the monthly allowances from the factory for holidays, none of it was mentioned.

Jian Feng basically returned to the family compound with nothing.

When Jian Feng got a job, his mother specially came to the compound and tricked him into giving her 10 yuan a month for her pension. She told him that she would save it for him and give it back to him when he got married and had children.

But of course, that money was never returned.

It wasn’t until Jian Li was born that Wang Mengmei stopped this arrangement.

She stopped it, but Jian Feng couldn’t really cut ties with her.

In name, he had lived there for almost ten years, eating their food, and still had to bring gifts during holidays.

When Jian Feng wanted to borrow money, he didn’t think of asking his biological mother—she wouldn’t give it to him.

He thought of borrowing from his two younger brothers.

Jian Feng’s biological mother, Huang Guihua, had married into the Ge family and gave birth to two sons and one daughter. She had firmly established herself in the family.

Now, the two younger brothers, one was a doctor in a major hospital, and the other was thriving in business.

The youngest sister was a teacher in a key high school in the city.

Jian Feng had given up on his biological mother, but still had some affection for his younger siblings. After all, he had raised them for the first few years.

His younger siblings also respected him, constantly calling him “brother.”

Jian Feng had never borrowed money before, but this time, he felt somewhat confident in asking.

Jian Li shook her head as she looked at her father.

Her father still didn’t understand.

People don’t realize things until they’re in the situation. All those sweet words before were just nonsense.

Take Liu Xiangdong, for example—he wouldn’t hesitate to say kind words when others helped him, but when it was time to ask for something in return, he’d apologize.

Jian Li shook her head, feeling that her father would be disappointed this time.

During the most difficult times for the family, Jian Feng’s younger siblings hadn’t helped at all.

As for her paternal grandmother, Jian Feng’s mother, she had kept her distance.

Jian Li originally thought of talking to her father about it, but then reconsidered—it didn’t matter. Her father could try and see for himself whether it would work out.

Suddenly, Jian Feng remembered his wife’s hiring issue, so he asked:

“Xiao Peng and Jian Guo’s wives, are you planning to hire them?”

Wang Mengmei: “No need.”

Wu Haixia and Sun Yan didn’t interact much with her. Among Jian Feng’s childhood friends, only Wang Liming’s wife, Xue Fang, had a somewhat better relationship with her.

But Xue Fang’s daughter was still young, and with no one to help her take care of the child, Wang Mengmei had to look for someone else.

But even if she had to find someone, she didn’t want to hire Zhao Xiaopeng and Xu Jian Guo’s wives.

It wasn’t that she was petty, but after all these years, she knew well enough what kind of people Wu Haixia and Sun Yan were.

Sun Yan was quick with her hands, but her mouth could be ruthless.

Wang Mengmei ran a small business and was looking for long-term regular customers. If Sun Yan came, she might offend everyone around her.

Wu Haixia was okay; unlike Zhao Xiaopeng, who was always networking, she was just an ordinary housewife.

But Wu Haixia was stingy.

How stingy? Zhao Xiaopeng’s family spent very little on groceries each month.

It wasn’t that Zhao Xiaopeng didn’t earn money, it was purely because Wu Haixia was stingy.

She would go to the market at night to pick up discarded vegetable leaves and often collect scraps of cloth or even rubber soles that others had thrown away.

In fact, Zhao Xiaopeng’s family situation was the best among all, with his father being a sixth-level worker at the factory, earning a high salary, and having saved the most over the years.

But Wu Haixia really managed to push the family to a new level of frugality.

A few years ago, there was another incident where Wu Haixia made dumplings using meat that had been stored for an unknown amount of time. After they ate, the whole family ended up in the cotton spinning factory hospital.

In the end, they had food poisoning, costing them several hundred yuan.

Such incidents were numerous. Wu Haixia was always trying to save small amounts of money while spending large sums on unnecessary things.

Wang Mengmei really feared that if Wu Haixia came, she would be so frugal that her business couldn’t continue.

Jian Feng was not surprised by this outcome. “So, who do you plan to ask for help?”

Wang Mengmei looked worried. She didn’t know either.

Everyone in the neighborhood was familiar with one another, and she felt that asking anyone would be like making them her servant. The most important issue was the bad relationships.

Recently, business had been good in the market, and many families had hired extra hands.

Most people hired relatives—parents, in-laws—since hiring family members meant no need for extra wages, making things easier and less stressful.

But there were also cases like Wang Mengmei’s, where the elderly couldn’t help.

Wang Mengmei looked around and felt that it would be better to ask a relative.

But…

“My sister-in-law can’t leave the house, the second sister-in-law has a job, and my older sister is even busier…”

Wang Mengmei sighed. “I’ll think about it, I’ll keep looking.”

There are many capable people, but the right person is hard to find.

Wang Mengmei decided to be more cautious and take her time in considering her options.

Although Qian Ping had gone back to school, Jian Feng was still able to help, especially now that the factory was even worse off. Jian Feng had more free time.

—-

The next day, Jian Feng went to find his two younger brothers. They both said they would go home and discuss it.

Jian Feng thought the matter was almost settled, but the next day, his mother came.

It was the weekend, and Wang Mengmei had taken a break for the day to clean the house, so the whole family was at home when his mother came.

Jian Li easily finished her homework, borrowing books from the library to read at home.

Jian Feng was told by Wang Mengmei to clean every corner of the house thoroughly.

The more Wang Mengmei looked, the more she felt that their house was too small.

She hadn’t noticed before, but now, everywhere she looked seemed unsatisfactory.

The house was too small, the windows didn’t face the sun, the first floor was too damp, and it was too close to the water room. The kitchen was cramped, and in winter, they would have to go to the public bathhouse to wash…

There was no room to store many things.

Jian Li’s elementary school books, which she originally planned to keep for the children, ended up being sold after piling up in boxes. There was simply no space left.

Wang Mengmei sighed, “I wonder when we’ll be able to change houses.”

In their residential complex, their batch of houses was the oldest. The newer units had separate bathrooms.

A few years ago, there had been talk about demolishing the first batch of houses and rebuilding, but now there was no news.

Wang Mengmei wanted a new house—not too big, just a two-bedroom apartment would be fine, as long as it had a separate bathroom.

This was something she never dared to dream of before, but now, she dared to think about it.

Wang Mengmei mentally calculated. A two-bedroom apartment would need at least 60 square meters.

The newly built beautiful apartments with elevators cost 800 yuan per square meter.

Wang Mengmei felt she couldn’t afford it and thought it would be best to look for a suitable one in the residential complex.

The houses in the complex were cheaper, only about 500 yuan per square meter.

A house would cost around 30,000 yuan.

Wang Mengmei set a three-year plan in her mind.

Coincidentally, Jian Li also had a plan.

Jian Li closed the door to her bedroom.

After much insistence, Wang Mengmei finally agreed to install a bolt behind her door.

That way, Jian Li could lock herself in her room sometimes.

At first, Wang Mengmei firmly disagreed. “You’re just a child, who are you locking the door to protect yourself from?”

But Jian Li kept jumping up excitedly. “I’m grown up now. I want my private space!”

In the end, Jian Li won the argument, since Wang Mengmei had recently beaten her and was in a compensatory mood.

Jian Li sat in her room, carefully writing out her plan.

When school started, the teacher asked the students to write about their goals. Jian Li thought for a long time and finally found her old dream.

Back when she was in high school, she actually wanted to study liberal arts, not science.

But due to the family’s situation, she had been forced to choose science, eventually ending up in a notorious major—Environmental Science in the Biochemical, Environmental, and Material Sciences field.

It took Jian Li a long time, but she successfully switched careers and became a product manager at an internet company.

If she could go back and do it again, Jian Li decided she would choose liberal arts. Though she wasn’t sure which major exactly, she was certain she wouldn’t study science.

Jian Li seriously wrote “Choose Liberal Arts” on her notebook.

She knew that choosing liberal arts meant it would be hard to make a fortune with her main job.

So, she set a five-year plan for herself.

She hoped that before the new millennium, she and her parents could accumulate their first savings.

To chase dreams, solid financial support was necessary.

In this lifetime, Jian Li wasn’t planning to work tirelessly just for money.

She wanted to find some value in life.

Though it sounded idealistic, she had been reborn, and now she wanted to study what she truly wanted to.

Jian Li wrote down her plans in her notebook.

Her parents had found their direction, so she didn’t need to worry too much.

Jian Li only needs the necessary guidance and to save up her little reserve of money.

With just over 300 yuan in her hands, the things she could do are limited. But if she wanted to seize the opportunity to buy a house, this amount wouldn’t even be enough as starting capital.

Moreover, Jian Li still had to study and had no time to spare.

The only thing Jian Li could think of was submitting articles to magazines.

She used her little savings to buy every magazine on the market.

In total, there were over twenty magazines.

Among them, four were movie and TV magazines, three were art catalogs, eight were literary magazines, and there were several other niche types.

Jian Li applied her work attitude from her time as a product manager, analyzing the style and audience of each magazine, and ultimately selected two as potential targets.

One was a literary magazine mainly focused on short stories, many of which had a strong “chicken soup for the soul” vibe, along with some historical analysis, including things like Red Mansion interpretations and Water Margin discussions. There were even some soft articles about products!

For example, a certain old lady had a poor relationship with her children, but after they bought her some health supplements, she realized she had been too focused on her career and neglected her family, leading to a happy reunion and dumplings.

Jian Li chuckled.

It was easy to tell that the detailed description of the health product’s name and effects was a soft article.

Therefore, rather than being a true literary magazine, this one seemed more like a general literature magazine designed to cater to people’s tastes.

Jian Li did a rough calculation and thought it could work well.

As a product manager, writing soft articles was her strength.

Especially since this magazine had good sales and the submission address was written on the back cover.

[This magazine pays 80 yuan per 1,000 words. Accepted submissions will receive favorable treatment.]

Jian Li jotted down the submission address and planned to submit a few pieces to practice.

The other magazine was much more niche.

Jian Li had never even heard of its name in her past life.

She assumed it probably went out of business quickly, not even surviving until the new millennium.

The reason Jian Li chose this magazine as her backup option was that it was quite avant-garde.

It was a comic magazine.

When it came to comic magazines, the most popular one in recent years was Hua Shu Da Wang.

Jian Li’s family still had many issues of it, and it was the comic magazine she read the most.

But after Hua Shu Da Wang ceased publication in 1995, many other comic magazines emerged.

Some even introduced foreign and Hong Kong comic copyrights.

After Hua Shu Da Wang stopped publishing, magazines like Cartoon King, Science Popularization Cartoon King, and Beijing Cartoon appeared.

But these comic magazines mainly catered to middle and primary school students, with content mostly focused on education and science popularization. Comics similar to Japan’s Jump were rare.

If you classified comic magazines in China, Hua Shu Da Wang would be the first stage, and these educational comics would be the second stage.

The magazine Jian Li had in her hands had already entered the third stage.

It focused on readers of all ages, and its serialized comics had a bit of the spirit of action-packed youth comics.

Jian Li’s big hobby in her past life was reading comics.

During university, she even submitted comics to comic magazines, and her drawings were accepted a few times.

But as the magazines declined and Jian Li became a corporate worker, she could no longer find the motivation to draw comics like she did in college.

Jian Li flipped through the magazine and thought this might be a good opportunity.

Her drawing skills were average, but she had seen many different types of comics. Her previous works were praised for having a unique style. Starting a long serialized comic wouldn’t be a problem for her in terms of storytelling.

Jian Li wrote in her plan: — Submit to literary magazines.

Submit to comic magazines.

To start a long serialized comic, there was a lot of preparation to do, including character design and plot development.

Jian Li was busy working hard when she was interrupted by a voice from outside.

“Mom, why are you here?”

The voice from outside was old yet gentle.

“I heard from Ge Changyuan that Xiao Li seems to have taken the wrong medicine and isn’t feeling well. I came to check on her.”

Jian Li pouted.

The incident of taking the wrong medicine and getting sick was from earlier in the year. Her dad had even taken her to see Ge Changyuan at the time.

But her grandmother—now that it had been half a year—was only now thinking of coming over to check on her.