Free Web NovelChapter 82: Chapter 82: Phone Call
In the end, Su Li didn’t go looking for Yin Cuihua.
She had wanted to, but after everything that had happened, she simply wasn’t in the right state of mind.
Just before dark, Su Li finally made it to the old grandma’s house near Fengcheng First Middle School.
Tang Yuanxiao had previously told her she had to stay in the village and couldn’t move to the county seat, and Su Li hadn’t argued much. It wasn’t because she was being obedient; she simply had no intention of listening to him.
She didn’t argue with Tang Yuanxiao because she couldn’t be bothered. Once he was gone, he’d be far away and unable to control her anyway.
Su Li had made up her mind long ago. As soon as Tang Yuanxiao left, she would follow her plan and move to the county seat. She would tell Mrs. Tang that she’d found a job in town and had to live there. Even if Mrs. Tang objected, Su Li didn’t care.
Living in the county seat would make it easier for Su Li to manage her business and study in peace. Plus, she wouldn’t have to face the people of Xinghua Village or Mrs. Tang. It was the best of both worlds.
She had no intention of staying with the Tang Family in Xinghua Village.
Even if she had to wait six months to get a divorce, she first needed to put some distance between herself and the Tang Family and Mrs. Tang.
As for Little Tang Mo, if he missed her, she could bring him to town for a few days at a time. That would work just as well. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Su Li had also given Little Tang Mo’s situation a lot of thought. She couldn’t bring herself to be cruel to him, so she decided to just let things develop naturally.
She was already fond of Little Tang Mo, and when she added the guilt from her past life, she knew she could never be cruel to him in this one. In the future, even if she divorced, the only thing that would change is that he wouldn’t call her ’Mom’ anymore. In any case, she would still be good to him if she could.
’Little Tang Mo had such a miserable fate in my last life. In this life, I have to make sure he grows up safe, sound, and healthy. I’ll look after him as much as I can...’
This was all part of Su Li’s plan. Although the incident with the human traffickers made her suspect she might have misunderstood Tang Yuanxiao in her past life, she still stuck to her original course of action.
Even if things in her past life had been exactly as she’d thought, her determination to divorce remained unchanged.
Su Li arrived without sending word ahead, so the old woman was very surprised, but happy to see her nonetheless.
"I was thinking you wouldn’t be here for another few days! But it’s good you’ve come. I gave the house a thorough cleaning for the New Year, so it’s not dirty yet."
The old woman’s surname was Li, and everyone called her Grandma Li.
"Grandma Li, sorry for showing up in such a rush," Su Li said with a forced smile.
"Nothing to be sorry about. Are you planning to move in today?" Grandma Li noticed Su Li looked a little unwell, but she didn’t press for details.
"Yes," Su Li nodded, taking out the rent money for Grandma Li. "Grandma Li, here’s the first month’s rent. I’ll pay the rest later."
"No rush, no rush," Grandma Li said, waving her hand dismissively.
With Grandma Li’s help, Su Li went out to buy a new quilt and other essential household items. Then she tidied up and cleaned the place.
Though it was just a single rented room, spartan and empty, it was now Su Li’s temporary little haven.
Grandma Li had already eaten, but seeing that Su Li looked like she hadn’t, she cooked her a meal while Su Li was getting settled.
Things were different back then, not like in later years. There was a genuine warmth between neighbors, and between landlords and their tenants.
Su Li ate the dinner Grandma Li made for her and listened to the old woman chat for a while. The color finally returned to her deathly pale face.
After dinner, Grandma Li went to bed, and Su Li finally lay down to rest as well.
So much had happened in just one day; Su Li was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.
She was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about the things that had been on her mind earlier.
’I know it’ll be difficult to investigate the events of my past life now, in this one, but I can’t help wanting to ask, to verify what really happened.’
Since she couldn’t fall asleep, Su Li finally got up, lit her kerosene lamp, and started writing a letter.
She wanted to write to Tang Yuanxiao and ask him a question: if Little Tang Mo really went missing, what would be the very first thing he would do?
The letter contained only that single question. Just as she finished writing it, Su Li heard a sound overhead. It sounded like rain.
Su Li opened the window and saw that it was, indeed, raining.
The rain had come suddenly and was falling hard, starting without any warning.
The rain, once it started, fell all night without stopping.
Su Li listened to the rain for half the night, finally falling asleep in the early hours of the morning. When she woke up the next day, it was still raining.
"I can’t believe it’s raining this time of year, and so heavily too! We weren’t prepared for this at all..."
Grandma Li grumbled to Su Li after waking up early. Su Li agreed, "Tell me about it."
She turned to look at the folded letter on her bed and sighed.
’This rain is so heavy, and it’s not letting up. I won’t be able to get back to Xinghua Village.’
’I wonder if it’s raining in Xinghua Village... I hope Little Tang Mo isn’t worried...’
As her thoughts ran wild, Su Li chatted idly with Grandma Li while they cooked together.
It would be difficult for Su Li to start her own cooking fire for meals, so she had arranged with Grandma Li the previous night to eat together in exchange for paying for groceries.
Grandma Li was more than happy with this arrangement, as cooking and eating alone was no fun.
After lunch, the rain still hadn’t stopped, and Su Li was starting to feel restless.
She had originally planned to return today, so she hadn’t brought any books with her and couldn’t study.
Finally, Su Li borrowed Grandma Li’s rain boots, put on a homemade plastic-sheet raincoat, and headed out.
Besides the stone-paved roads, Fengcheng County still had many dirt roads. With all the rain, they were now full of puddles and unbearably muddy.
Su Li had initially planned to go to Yin Cuihua’s house, but on second thought, she realized Yin Cuihua probably wasn’t home from work yet. So, she headed directly to the county post office instead.
Before she reached the post office, Su Li spotted the Xinghua Bookstore.
Xinghua Bookstore had just opened in Fengcheng County last year. Because of the rain, there were very few people inside.
The moment Su Li saw the bookstore, she stopped in her tracks. Forgetting all about mailing the letter she had been agonizing over, she went straight inside.
After a quick browse, Su Li found that the bookstore’s selection was reasonably comprehensive.
’It certainly couldn’t compare to the variety available in later years, but it still had a good number of the essential books.’
Su Li lost herself in the books, and the entire afternoon flew by. When she finally left, her hands weren’t empty; she had bought the one book she thought was the best of the lot.
It was still raining when she came out, so Su Li headed to Yin Cuihua’s house. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"The fabric has been delivered to Li Family Village, and everything with Hong Qin is going smoothly. Things on my end are fine as well..."
Yin Cuihua was delighted to see Su Li. After they finished discussing business, she went into the kitchen and cooked a sumptuous dinner for her.
The rain didn’t stop the next day, or even the day after that.
Figuring that sending a letter and waiting for a reply would take too long, Su Li decided against mailing it in the end.
On the third day, the rain grew even heavier, but Su Li left the house earlier than usual.
She went to Yin Cuihua’s fabric factory, not for any other business, but to use their telephone.
Telephones were a rarity back then, but the fabric factory had one.
Su Li needed to use the phone to call Tang Yuanxiao.
Tang Yuanxiao’s work unit, of course, had a telephone. He had sent the number to his family in a letter, but that was all. Telephones were so scarce that even knowing the number didn’t mean you could find a place to make the call. And even if you did, there was no guarantee Tang Yuanxiao would be the one to answer.
On their way out of the village, Tang Yuanxiao had mentioned the phone to Su Li, telling her she could send a telegram or call him if there was an emergency.
Su Li had a good memory; he had only told her twice, but she’d memorized it.
Su Li never expected she would be calling Tang Yuanxiao so soon.
