Wen Ying quelled the itch stirring within her and, in the end, forbade herself from rifling through Old Wen’s chat logs.
Wen Ying had safeguarded her father’s privacy, and in so doing, upheld her own principles.
One could not forever demand respect from others unilaterally. She yearned for her parents’ regard, thus strove to accord them the same, yet curiosity gnawed at her fiercely. What on earth was Old Wen up to?
That night, Wen Ying drifted off to sleep, curiosity her bedfellow.
Life in the Wen Ying household blossomed day by day. All three members pressed onward with ambition. Save for Old Wen’s piteous rejections, nary a worry clouded their skies of late. Good cheer smoothed every endeavour, propelling them into a true virtuous cycle.
Akin to the Wen Ying home stood the households of her great uncle and young uncle. Each family toiled diligently for livelihood, their days bitter before sweet, their futures aglow with promise.
In stark contrast to these three families loomed Hong Yan, naturally.
At dawn, Hong Yan waited with Shu Lu at the prison gates.
When the hour struck, a bald-headed man emerged from the prison doors.
Jail life imposed rigid routine. Bereft of drink, Guo Bing walked with less sway than before, his spirits seemingly hale.
Long confined, one greets freedom with fleeting disorientation and unease, until Shu Guo Bing spied familiar figures. Only then did his wandering heart settle in his breast.
He had once found plump Hong Yan an eyesore, yet after months behind bars, even a sow might outshine Diaochan. Shu Guo Bing now beheld his wife with greater favour.
Hong Yan’s eyes reddened too.
A home could ill afford the lack of a man!
Even if that man did naught but swill booze all day, his presence anchored the hearth like a sea-stabilising needle, warding off slights from left and right upon the widow and orphan.
Hong Yan’s recent days had soured sorely. She reflected not upon her own faults, but ascribed every grievance to others’ “bullying”.
Grandma Wen withheld funds, bullying her, her own mother scorning the poor for the rich.
Neighbours shunned her, bullying her, deeming the mother and daughter defenceless.
The Wen clan had fallen out with her, bullying her all the more, her three brothers utterly unreliable!
Of course, her procured wares sold not a whit, bullied too by others. This society opposed her at every turn!
Eyes brimming, Hong Yan nudged Shu Lu, “See your father and speak no greeting?”
Shu Lu harboured grievances aplenty.
Unlike her mother, Shu Lu clung to clearer senses. Hong Yan fancied Shu Guo Bing’s release heralded better times; Shu Lu deemed it fanciful. How many “benefactors” like Boss Cai existed in this world? Having squandered that shot at fortune, her father’s rise grew ever more remote!
“Dad.”
Shu Lu mustered a listless call.
Shu Guo Bing glanced at his daughter.
Inmates might contact kin, and Shu Guo Bing knew of Shu Lu’s dropout, yet he truly spared it no heed now.
Eyes watery, Hong Yan drew out her cry, “Guo Bing~”. Shu Guo Bing scowled impatiently, “Where are the smokes you brought? Hand them over, quick!”
Fresh from the cage, Shu Guo Bing craved not reunion with wife and child, but a draw on a cigarette.
Cigarettes ranked hard currency in prison. Some afforded them; Shu Guo Bing could not.
Kin willing to splurge might better an inmate’s fare, yet Shu Guo Bing enjoyed no such grace.
His swift release stemmed not from true remorse, but intolerance for prison’s austere denial. He yearned for liberty… Seeing the cheap smokes Hong Yan proffered, Shu Guo Bing bridled, “You expect me to smoke this rubbish?”
He griped even as he snatched them roughly.
Lighting one, amid swirling haze, Shu Guo Bing sighed in bliss.
Shu Lu’s grievances welled boundless, “Spare your scorn for the smokes. Mum lacks funds for my school fees, yet you at least draw on tobacco.”
Some time had passed since Shu Lu’s moral shakedown at Zhu Meiqun’s fruit stall.
When Song Shao summoned police and Shu Lu slunk away in humiliated view of all, she had vowed to rise and make Zhu Meiqun rue the day. Reality, however, slapped her soundly.
Society was no schoolyard. Petty ploys and schemes held sway, yet availed little grandly.
Shu Lu boasted fair looks, and… that was the end of it.
Bereft of credentials or skills, underage to boot, no proper outfit would hire her.
Upright concerns shunned her; those that welcomed bore unsavoury marks.
Waitress at a noodle joint.
Greeter at a banquet hall.
Reception at a KTV.
Such were Shu Lu’s prospects.
Waitressing lay beyond her; trays and sinks wearied her. She had tried greeting, trained a few days ere starting, only to spy a former classmate from the provincial key junior section dining with parents. Terror-struck, Shu Lu fled lest old mates spot her; the post endured not.
KTVs rarely crossed old classmates’ paths, yet the role transcended dolled-up desk duty as mascot. Drink-fuddled patrons pawed and pressed; the mama-san wheedled her towards princess duties, crooning of easy riches… Shu Lu had wavered; KTV princesses outearned front desks, slumbering days and working nights, lives seemingly plush.
Yet Shu Lu, pampered in penury, once subsidised by Wen Dongrong and groomed a spell by Zhao Dong, scorned such mid-tier KTV trulls?
Thus, the KTV desk fell through too.
Successive rebuffs had crushed Shu Lu’s mettle.
Shu Lu now affirmed her old convictions: girls must study. Sans study, no fine post; sans fine post, no fine match.
Yet all thwarted her fate’s pivot. The more Shu Lu dwelt, the sadder she grew, dissolving into sobs.
“What tears? Your dad’s free; our days shall mend!”
Hong Yan railed at Shu Lu.
Shu Lu wept heedless, until Shu Guo Bing snapped, “Enough. Your mum’s right. What snivelling? I’ve scraped together scant luck, and you weep it away. No coin for school? Quit it, then. Plenty of big bosses make fortunes with mere primary learning. They coin it; why not you?”
Shu Lu scarce credited her father.
So long jailed, and still addled. The poor’s ascent proved arduous; he spied bosses’ scant schooling, blind to their iron ties!
Months adrift sans schooling, Shu Lu had carved no niche, yet society sharpened her: business demanded connections.
Shu Guo Bing first glowered, then chuckled, “You think I fool you? Chin up. I’ll take you to Boss Cai.”
Shu Lu perked faintly, “Dad, will Boss Cai still aid you?”
Shu Guo Bing bobbed his head wildly.
“Whether he or not, we go and see. Should Cai balk, little Cai aids me. Our cell-shared bond runs ironclad!”
Little Cai served as Boss Cai’s right hand.
When Shu Guo Bing fell for “soliciting assault”, little Cai, accessory, drew over a year, yet served shy of twelve months.
In the bust, canny little Cai stumbled, pinned by Shu Guo Bing’s unyielding bite, and failed to wriggle free. With such grudge festering, would little Cai aid her father?
Shu Lu doubted deeply.
Doubt availed naught; desperate, the family pinned hopes on this lame steed.
Shu Guo Bing led mother and daughter per little Cai’s address. To Shu Lu’s surprise, little Cai proved willing!
“To make hay in Rongcheng ill suits you, what with your foe’s iron grip here, outfoxing even Boss Cai. If amenable, I ship you to a grand city for coin.”
Little Cai’s tone dripped allure, “Grand cities brim with chance. Amass riches, return in glory; those who spurn you now grovel in turn.”
