There are few people in Xinhua Bookstore; these days, it’s hard to even have enough to eat, books aren’t cheap, and not many people co to buy them.
Gong Mingjie freed up a corner, a small round table, a few chairs, Xu Qinghuan and Song Wanlin sat there talking.
This could be considered the first proper conversation between the two of them as mother and daughter. Jiang Xingye went to the supply and marketing cooperative across the street to buy two bottles of soda for them and stayed outside.
"Go on, what have you co all this way for?"
Xu Qinghuan glanced at Song Wanlin’s sallow face; compared to the first ti she saw Song Wanlin, she indeed looked much more haggard.
The spots on her skin couldn’t be covered by makeup, and the wrinkles were much more pronounced; she seed to have aged even more since the last ti Qinghuan saw her at Old Mo’s Restaurant.
Indeed, the toxins would slowly rob her of her beauty and vitality, her face withering like a flower, her life fading like grass in the autumn wind.
If the first ti they t, thirty-six-year-old Song Wanlin looked like a twenty-six-year-old young woman, now she looked ten years older, even though she always lived in luxury and knew how to dress up, she still appeared embarrassed.
"Huanhuan, every ti we et, do you have to treat your mother this way? You say I haven’t cared for you all these years, but tell , would it have made any difference if I had? Without , even with the eighteen hundred yuan your father left, do you think Xu Liqun and his wife would have raised you well?"
As Song Wanlin spoke, tears started rolling down; she cried exaggeratedly, dabbing the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and her makeup smudged, making her face look like a palette.
Xu Qinghuan took a sip of soda, "Did you forget, my father has many comrades, those uncles never forgot about , and they never abandoned . Without you, I wouldn’t have to endure fourteen years of hardship in the Xu Family."
She was like an abandoned child, the ssage Song Wanlin sent to the Xu Family was just to keep her alive.
Song Wanlin cried, "Mother had no choice; if possible, I would have liked to raise you myself, but..."
"If you’ve brought to say all this, then I won’t stick around."
Xu Qinghuan had no patience for this; she was sitting here simply to find out Song Wanlin’s intentions.
Song Wanlin then wiped the tears from her face, "Huanhuan, last ti I ca to see you, the journey took its toll, my body really couldn’t take it. You know your stepfather is quite the charr; I checked, he really has been fooling around with that woman at his workplace."
Xu Qinghuan raised an eyebrow at her, with a half-smile, full of sarcasm.
"Isn’t that quite normal for you? You could betray my father, so why should Lu Ranglian be stuck with you for life? You’re old; he likes sothing fresh; I thought you understood that long ago."
Song Wanlin looked at her in amazent, "Huanhuan, I didn’t betray your father; being with your stepfather happened after he sacrificed himself."
Xu Qinghuan was defeated by her shalessness, "I heard Lu Mingxu was three months premature; is that true? To survive such premature birth, weighing six pounds seven ounces, that’s quite a miracle!"
Song Wanlin endured, still calmly saying, "Huanhuan, you are my daughter, if I’m well, you will be too, I have no reason to lie to you. No matter how good your father was, he is ultimately gone, and in the world, only we mother and daughter are the closest."
Xu Qinghuan also held her temper, turning her face away.
"You’ve never married, never given birth; don’t just trust what others say about having children..."
Xu Qinghuan couldn’t stand it.
"Ms. Song, did you forget I’m a doctor?"
Song Wanlin opened her mouth but was at a loss for words; she started crying again, "Then what do you want? You think I haven’t done my duty to raise you; I admit the distance was far, I may have been negligent, but no matter what, I am your mother."
Xu Qinghuan said, "I only have one request for you, let’s be strangers, I’m not your daughter, don’t expect to be my mother."
Song Wanlin shook her head, "Huanhuan, you know that’s not possible, I only have you as my daughter..."
"Do people in Yan City know you had a child out of wedlock? Know you’re a widow remarried? Know you have a daughter you’ve abandoned for fourteen years without a glance?"
Xu Qinghuan watched Song Wanlin’s shock with satisfaction, "No, right? You portrayed yourself as an unmarried girl when you married into the Lu Family, so how do you plan to explain to the people in Yan City?"
Song Wanlin pursed her lips, "Huanhuan, if I let you into the Lu Family, I suppose you wouldn’t want to; even if you did, would those uncles and aunts of yours agree?"
A tactic of retreating to advance, which Xu Qinghuan had used to the point she didn’t want to anymore.
"Of course I would, why wouldn’t I? Unless you’re not really my mother." Xu Qinghuan said.
Song Wanlin couldn’t commit, "Huanhuan, life in the Lu Family isn’t as you imagine."
"What’s so bad, at least you don’t have to toil in the fields, right? You can eat your fill every day, right? Do you know what life is like in the countryside? Has Lu Nianying told you?"
Lu Nianying did indeed say, last ti Song Wanlin ca; she cried and whimpered, wanting to return, unwilling to stay here.
Song Wanlin said, "Since you want to return to the Lu Family, I certainly wouldn’t wish for anything else, when I go back, I’ll discuss it with your stepfather, and quickly get you back to the city. But before that, Huanhuan, can you help your mother a little?"
Finally, it ca, Xu Qinghuan actually felt a sense of relief.
She said nothing, took a sip of soda, slowly waiting.
"Huanhuan, is the Beauty Pill that Shen Xiuqin has from you?" Song Wanlin was incredibly excited, as if clutching a lifeline.
"Yes, but there’s none left." Xu Qinghuan smiled slightly.
Song Wanlin’s hand on the table clenched involuntarily; she took a deep breath, "Huanhuan, mother knows you still have it, ever since the last ti I ca to see you, my body has been getting worse day by day, looking much older.
If not, your stepfather wouldn’t have gone outside... Huanhuan, we’re mother and daughter, aren’t we?"
"Would you dare to take pills I give?"
Song Wanlin was montarily stunned, "Why wouldn’t I dare?"
In reality, she wouldn’t dare; she’s not foolish; if she got the Beauty Pill, wouldn’t she send it for testing? Maybe even discover the formula.
"Huanhuan, you’re my daughter; would mother not trust you? Is it because you’re out of herbs that you haven’t made it? If not, could you write down the formula for , and I’ll find soone to make it for ?" Song Wanlin coaxed.
Xu Qinghuan said, "If you want the Beauty Pill, sure, divorce Lu Ranglian, let Lu Mingxu stay with you, change his surna to Xu, and I’ll give it to you imdiately."
Song Wanlin couldn’t believe it, "Huanhuan, being in the Lu Family benefits both you and MinxXu; you can’t stay in the countryside forever, can you? With the Lu Family in support, you could find a better partner."
Xu Qinghuan stood up, "Do you think I care about all this?"
Seeing Xu Qinghuan about to leave, Song Wanlin hurriedly blocked her, "I’ll let you into the Lu Family, and you’ll give the Beauty Pill?"
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