"Mom, please don’t cry, isn’t it enough that we’ve realized our mistake?" Although Lin Yinghui had grown up, he hesitated to move forward. Lin Wan, however, with a sobbing tone, took off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, and hugged Liang Hongmei from behind.
Lin Yinghui hurriedly turned around and sat at the foot of the bed, without leaving.
"You knew it would make me angry, yet you still did it. Isn’t it because you feel you’re capable now?"
"Brother and I just wanted to earn more money, to give you a good life."
"I don’t want Mom to be pointed at and judged when you return to the hometown. I don’t want them to look down upon us. Didn’t Mom learn for this reason?"
"Mom doesn’t ask for great wealth; I’m already very content with how things are now. You two are good, doing business to make money so people won’t look down on you. You’re still too young to understand the mindset of the older generation. From our generation, we still carry the old ways; no matter how much money you make, they’ll still criticize you. I’m not afraid of you losing money; I’ve faced a lifetime of judgment and don’t want my children to go through that."
"We’ve been out for almost half a year; do you feel that anyone in the city has judged us behind our backs?"
"The city is the city; ultimately, it’s not our home. Eventually, as I grow old, I will go back."
"Since we’ve left, I’ve never thought about returning home. My sister and I will make something of ourselves, and so will Mom. Hasn’t Dad not come back for years? Doesn’t Mom want to know where he is now? Whether he remarried or forgot us? If one day we meet him, don’t you want to show him we can live well even without him?"
Lin Yinghui’s words caused Liang Hongmei to tense, and Lin Wan, who was hugging her, could clearly feel it.
"Mom, we have to make something of ourselves. Perhaps one day when we’re walking down the street, you’ll see Lin Guozhi; does Mom want him to see a fallen side or one of glory?"
After the siblings finished speaking, it was a long time before Liang Hongmei inside the bed let out a faint sigh and said, "Do as you wish. I’ll stay here with the pottery shop."
Lin Wan and Lin Yinghui exchanged a glance, knowing their mom wasn’t opposing them, yet they couldn’t feel happy.
That night, was especially quiet....
That night, Lin Wan hardly slept, constantly thinking about the new storefront. Lin Wan decided it couldn’t just open casually; it needed to be high-end.
The next morning, Lin Wan shared this idea with her brother. After last night’s events, the siblings pinned their future on this new storefront.
Lin Yinghui agreed, took the hundred yuan Lin Wan gave him, and went out.
Unable to find someone for the job, Lin Wan could only watch the shop.
Originally thinking it would take a few days to hire someone, unexpectedly, a young man came in to apply by noon.
Seeing the young man clean and energetic, Lin Wan asked Zhang Shuhua to let him try for a day.
In the afternoon, Zhang Shuhua said the person was efficient and could be hired.
Lin Wan decided he was fine; Tong Li, twenty years old this year, was older than her, had attended high school, but dropped out, and did many odd jobs. Tong Li said this was his fifth job.
Lin Wan laughed as she heard him say this, unexpectedly finding him genuine.
His salary was the same as Zhang Shuhua’s when she came, thirty yuan a month, with working hours being noon and afternoon.
After finding someone for outside meal delivery, Lin Wan asked Zhang Shuhua to look after the shop and added ten yuan to her salary.
Zhang Shuhua was quite happy; she originally came mainly to lose weight. Unexpectedly, not only did she lose weight, but she also earned quite a bit of money. Though it was tiring, she was filled with energy, because she could make money as well.