Liu Yilan finally understood, and it was all she could do not to point to her own nose and call herself a fool. Her face flushed red, her brows knitted tightly, she held back her anger and said, "Are you really so fearless?"
Yang PeiMin shook her head, doubting how soone with her intelligence had gotten into university. She looked at Yilan with so pity and said, "Those two kids really are my friend’s. I don’t know how you ca to think they were my stepdaughters."
She was indeed curious. Was it written on her face or sothing?
She couldn’t help but want to laugh again...
Liu Yilan’s face was stern. "If it weren’t for a second marriage, how could a country girl like you have such a good life? at for every al, all nice clothes on your bed? And even saring on face cream?"
Yang PeiMin sat back down at the dining table, deciding to talk to her. So what if she ca from the countryside? Did that step on Yilan’s toes?
"Sit down. I’ll tell you why soone from the countryside can’t have a good life."
Yilan drew in a breath, looking like she had been holding it in for a long ti, and sat across from Yang PeiMin, "I want to see how you’re going to argue your way out of this!"
Oh no...
Yang PeiMin let out a breath and managed to keep her smile from her face, saying, "And yet, a country girl like got into university. What do you say to that?"
Liu Yilan muttered, "It’s not like country people aren’t allowed to go to school."
"That’s true, so what’s with you looking down on country people?"
Liu Yilan pouted, "I’m not looking down on you. I’m just stating facts. Tell , isn’t the countryside poorer than the city? Relying on labor to earn work points for food, only knowing how to farm, not capable of anything else, barely making a bit of money all year round. Don’t people in your area always want to move to the city to beco city dwellers? Country people are also generally illiterate, uneducated, crude in speech, only recognizing money. How could your family be any better? Everyone talks about matching social status. With your country identity, you could only marry another country person. What kind of good family would you marry into? Unless you beco soone’s stepmother."
"So I’ve heard your man is an officer, right? If he were a country person, he couldn’t have climbed so high so young without connections. In that case, your man cos from so capable family. But then, how could such a capable family possibly marry a country woman like you? Even if you did go to university, you still couldn’t be brought out as part of that identity. Reputable families care the most about this sort of thing. Unless he was married for the second ti, already had kids... there you go, it fits you, doesn’t it? Once you beca their stepmother, then you could live well, with fish and at every day and new clothes every month."
"Dressed well and fed well yourself, but dressing your stepdaughter like a beggar, and claiming they’re your friend’s kids. If they were your friend’s kids, could they afford a five yuan a month daycare but not afford clothes? If they were your friend’s kids, would you and your man take them to the park? Is there such a man who’d co out just to accompany soone else’s kids? Pei Min, you’re really good at lying, aren’t I right?"
Liu Yilan looked at her smugly.
Yang PeiMin shook her head, "No, you’re wrong."
"I am a country person, my whole family is. But my maternal family are all skilled artisans. The carals I brought for you last ti were made by my family. Before the war, our house was one of the prominent wealthy households in our area. During the revolution, my grandfather, fully recognizing the greater good, donated all our family wealth. The leaders praised our high consciousness and gave our family good status. When the brigade canteen needed a chef, my grandfather was there. When the commune lacked soy sauce, my grandmother made it. As I said, our family has all sorts of skills—using these skills, my family supplied the county and town with ordinary pastries, candies, liquors, soy sauces and such. Gradually, we beca a well-known food processing workshop in the vicinity... Let tell you, it’s my family that’s rich, not my in-laws... I spend my money however I want... Yilan, do you have a problem with that?"
Liu Yilan listened, dumbfounded, "Weren’t you all a wealthy household before? How co you have so many skills?"
"So wealthy households hold onto their own heritage, so are in food or clothing businesses and they have their own people. Even after many leave, so things are left behind... So, Yilan, don’t think too much about it. There are few things so simple that you can see all their mysteries at a glance... All right, the pig’s trotters earlier were really good, I accidentally overate. I have to go lie down now. Don’t overthink... "
Leaving a Liu Yilan who couldn’t calm down behind.
Yang PeiMin left the canteen and ran to the small woods next to the dormitory, where she laughed heartily until she felt satisfied.
When she returned to the dorm, she was once again the usual gentle and polite girl.
"Pei Min, co quick, Zhu Qing’s article made it into the city literary newspaper, look, right here, Pei Min, co over..." Cheng Aihua stretched out her hand from the crowd to drag Yang PeiMin in to see what article.
"Pei Min, look here, Zhu Qing is so talented. She truly is the talented writer of our departnt..."
Yang PeiMin widened her eyes; the print was a bit small. She looked at the article title on the bottom half of the newspaper: The Rising Sun, My Dream.
The author’s na just listed Zhu Qing’s two characters.
Cheng Aihua explained to Yang PeiMin, "You’re not from our departnt, so you don’t know Zhu Qing is really talented. It’s not her first ti being published. She’s been interviewed by journalists in high school. She is impressive, don’t you think?"
Yang PeiMin nodded, "She is quite impressive. Congratulations, Zhu Qing."
Zhu Qing herself responded indifferently, "Thanks, I was just lucky."
Her deanor was markedly different from the enthusiasm of Cheng Aihua—as if they were talking about soone else entirely.
Zhu Qing wasn’t just a talented writer; she was also known as the ice beauty in the departnt. She didn’t interact much with others in the dormitory and always seed detached, as if nothing captured her attention. Even though she was sowhat of a lone wolf and not particularly social, she could never be overlooked in the dormitory or in a crowd. It was her aura, replete with the elegance of a person well-read and learned, that set her apart as the talented writer she was.
Cheng Aihua, who slept in the bunk above Zhu Qing’s, could actually converse with her—perhaps due to sharing a bunk bed.
Tan Yan also ca over to take a look and nonchalantly asked, "Getting published ans a fee, right? Zhu Qing, in your position, it must be a decent amount, no? Do you have thirty?"
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