Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“I had to wash dishes eight to nine hours a day, and a day’s work meant washing over two thousand dishes, rain or shine. And the pay for a dish-washing worker was just 80 a day.”
“Since we lived in Suzhou, people always said, ‘look... those are the scammers’ children!’ We didn’t want to face these things anymore and wanted to leave home, to start afresh. But the train tickets from Suzhou to Beijing were a thousand dollars and we couldn’t afford it! So I took all the money the family had left and headed for Nanjing first. When we didn’t have money for accomodation, we’d sleep under a bridge. When we didn’t have food, we’d look for a temporary job. Because I was underage, the only places that would hire me were the small shops.”
“One time, the boss of a shop told me that if I could wash all the piled up dishes, he’d pay me 500.”
“For the 500 promised, I worked without a break for two days and finished all the work.”
“But in the end, the boss went back on his word and didn’t pay me.”
“But what could I do as an 18 year-old girl? I could only grit my teeth and looked for an hour’s work elsewhere, because my brother had been starving for two days!”
“You said I took your money and have been living the life. Now I’m telling you, it’s not true at all!”
“I have no money! And because I have no money, the treatment for my brother’s legs was delayed and it was only recently that he could finally stand up.”
“And I, right up till now, have only a four-figure sum in my bank account!”
“I know that you have suffered, but what about my brother and I? Aren’t we innocent too?”
“Everyone claims that my parents committed suicide. But if they had really been unethical businessmen, why didn’t they leave the country after moving their funds out? Why did they rather stupidly waited for their deaths in this country?”
“Even if they had moved their assets away, why didn’t I have any money at a critical moment when my brother needed to undergo an operation?”
“They were dead! What was the use of having money?!”
“If my brother and I had money, would we be living this way today?”
“Any of the things I told you can be verified. I’m not afraid of being checked. You can even check my bank account!”
“As for Shen Liangchuan, all of this has got nothing to do with him!”
Qiao Lian’s words were powerful and resonating.
The crowd kept quiet after hearing what she said, no one dared to speak.
Qiao Lian, as the proud pampered little mistress of the Qiao Family, had never been willing to tell anyone these sad reminders of her past.
She was unwilling to be the laughing stock of the people around her.
The ugly past that she had tried so hard to hide felt like an exposed wound as she told her story.
But even then, there were some who wouldn’t believe it.
A reporter stepped forward and said, “We know that it hasn’t been easy for you. But now that you’re in a much better position, how could you bear to watch these people still suffering from that past?”
“No matter what the truth of the matter is, we focus on the present, and in the present, you’re living in a villa and driving a luxury car. You may even pay thousands for a simple meal. But the victims from that incident... apart from you, who would be able to make it right for them?”
Everyone nodded at those words.
As Qiao Lian looked at them, she heaved a sigh of relief.
At the very least, they were no longer being carried away by emotions and had regained their rationality.
She looked at them steadily and said emphatically, “Don’t worry! I will return that money! I, Qiao Lian promise here and now that from now on, I will do my best to return you what I owe with every cent that I earn.”