In the Capital City that year, the streets were empty, and every shop’s business was rapidly declining. She wasn’t worried about the shop because everyone was in the same boat, but she was concerned about her family’s health. In her past life, she was of lowly fate, and someone close to her had indeed contracted SARS and was quarantined. In fact, she herself was quarantined too. After running a fever for a few days, it turned out to be nothing more than a cold. However, she was quarantined for over ten days until her fever subsided and was only then released. But the person from her dormitory was quarantined for dozens of days, and then was no more. And she, sharing the same dormitory, was isolated every day - no work, no pay.
The clothing factory was also in recession at the time, and wages weren’t properly disbursed. She waited two months to get her wage, which wasn’t even warm in her hand before Wang Dali’s mother took it away. If she didn’t hand it over, she’d be beaten to death...
What she remembered most vividly was the way she lived that year: salted vegetables with steamed buns for the first half of the month, and for the latter half, just steamed buns and plain water.
This was the reason her memory of the SARS epidemic was so profound. It was the hardest time in her life, when she couldn’t get enough food.
Conversely, after SARS was over, Wang Dali had died due to debt. That day, drinking too much, he fell directly into a ditch. His time spent at home each week could be counted on one hand, so no one cared until they found his body, already stiff.
Wang Dali’s mother, who lost her only son, blamed Qin Xiangnuan for being a jinx that brought ruin upon the Wang Family. Whenever she thought of her son, she would beat and scold Qin Xiangnuan. Until the creditors came to the door, claiming Wang Dali had left behind a debt of tens of thousands of dollars. Frightened, Wang Dali’s mother’s legs went weak. Where would she find so much money? Wang Dali never made any. Back then, the farmland was all tended by Qin Xiangnuan. Later, since Qin Xiangnuan had some experience in garment manufacturing, she went to the clothing factory and finally had some income. The whole family relied on this money to get by. Now with a sudden debt of over ten thousand dollars, there was no way Wang Dali’s mother could pay it off by herself. She pushed all the responsibility onto Qin Xiangnuan.
Qin Xiangnuan kept paying off this debt for years, and even when it was finally settled, Wang Dali’s mother would arrive on time every payday, claiming it was her rightful duty to support them. Having entered the doors of the Wang Family, alive she belonged to them and dead she would be their ghost.
Only later did she find out that when Wang Dali died, their marital relationship was automatically dissolved, and the debt was solely his own - there was no legal obligation. Had she wanted to leave, she could have walked away without a care, regardless of Wang Dali’s parents’ fate.
However, she didn’t know, so she lived her whole life for others, repaying debts for others.
At this moment, a large hand was placed on her forehead. She opened her eyes and met the man’s worried, gentle gaze.
She smiled and shook her head slightly, "I’m alright, just feeling a bit tired."
"Then go to sleep first," Jian Zhiqing took the blanket from the car and covered Qin Xiangnuan with it, "We’ll be home soon."
"Okay, I’ll take a nap," Qin Xiangnuan agreed, pulling the blanket over herself and leaning against the car seat, quite comfortably. Closing her eyes, the slight rocking of the moving car felt like being in a cradle. Soon after, she fell asleep.
What she didn’t know was that inside a room, Qin Xiangmei’s phone was slammed onto the sofa, and her face contorted in anger.
"What’s wrong with you?" Hu Li hurriedly picked up the phone, carefully placing it aside. Such a phone was a rare commodity, expensive, costing thousands of dollars; it shouldn’t be thrown away carelessly. What would she do if it broke?
Angry, Qin Xiangmei kicked the table hard, "That Café ladies’ boutique is not taking my order, saying the boss is out. What am I going to do? What am I going to wear?"
"So they’re not taking it," Hu Li pouted, not liking the clothes at all with their bunches of foreign labels, "As if they’re robbing us with those prices. Aren’t we rich enough to buy clothes elsewhere?"
Qin Xiangmei knew this, but she just loved the clothes from Café. Actually, not only her, everyone around her liked them. Café’s clothes were popular among their social circle, not like the ones from any ordinary factory. Despite being expensive, they were particularly beautiful and classy.
The people she currently knew all shopped at Café. Although many bought there, no two outfits clashed. That’s why Café’s clothes were so beloved. Additionally, they offered a one-stop shopping experience, with complete sets matched from clothes, to shoes, to other accessories. Once you bought a set, there was no need to shop elsewhere. She appreciated this and wanted to have the Café’s owner make a special outfit for her engagement, but now the proprietor had chosen just this time to go away. Where else was she to buy clothes?
The more Qin Xiangmei thought about it, the angrier she got. She spent days without eating properly. Eventually, after scouring other stores, she ended up at Café and spent a lot of money on several items, much to Hu Li’s distress. Clothes from other stores were cheaper. Why get set on this one store? Café’s clothes were so expensive; she wondered who ran it with such a black heart.
Qin Xiangmei took the clothes home and hung them in her wardrobe, caring a great deal about these pieces. She’d occasionally open the wardrobe just to look at them. After all, wearing clothes that cost thousands of dollars was like being adorned in gold and silver.
There was a series of knocks on the door.
Hu Li hurried to open it, and as soon as she did, Qin Guohua and Qin Pengfei arrived, their whole family in tow, lugging big and small bags.
Hu Li quickly took the bag from her son’s hand, only to frown upon seeing Qin Pengfei’s new bride, Guan Xiaojie. Her hands empty, not carrying anything, she had let Qin Pengfei bear all the luggage. Was she marrying into his family, or was it the other way around?
Guan Xiaojie raised her chin, unafraid of Hu Li. She even pinched Qin Mingfei’s waist, showing her disdain. Wasn’t it pathetic, not even noticing Hu Li glaring at her?
Qin Pengfei, in pain, grimaced but dared not curse. Guan Xiaojie was not someone to be provoked easily. If he dared to retort, he could only guess how she might beat him when no one else was watching.