The man who should have been the backbone of the family, the one who should have been the most solid and upright, was suddenly pampered.
Treated like a delicate child, protected, allowed to be capricious.
Hua’s father found himself speechless for a long while, looking at his wife and children, feeling a pressure in his heart that was about to explode.
Tough men do not cry, he hadn’t shed a tear since he was thirteen.
He could be angry, he could be silent, but he could never be weak.
Yet at that moment, his eyes felt a bit sore.
He turned to look at Shen Mo with a smile, then withdrew his gaze, staring at the back of his hand in a daze, trying hard to suppress his emotions.
Under his palm was 90,000 RMB earned from his daughter’s painting sales, enough to do much.
If he neither bought a house nor rented a shopfront for business, it would be enough for his family to live on for seven or eight years without a problem.
So much money…
His daughter was only 15 years old, and she was already so capable.
It seemed he had fathered a little money-making fairy.
His heart was filled with joy and amazement, feeling like life was a play. Although he thought he had foreseen how things would unfold, there were always surprises.
Instinctively, he wanted to save the money, like every person who had ever feared poverty; spending it never felt right, hiding it felt safe, it kept the fear of poverty at bay.
But then he remembered what his daughter had just said.
“Dad, this money can buy you another kind of life, one that’s more to your liking, more thrilling. I think it’s worth it.”
He took a deep breath, and when he looked up again, his mind was made up.
…
Hua’s father began planning what to do next, his right hand sketching on paper while his left still pressed on the money.
With that much money at home, he felt uneasy. He doubted he would sleep well tonight, worried about thieves breaking in to steal it.
He patted Huanhuan’s head and muttered, “Good dog, keep the house safe.”
Huanhuan wagged his tail excitedly, even though he didn’t understand a word.
Shen Mo had not expected that coming over for dinner would involve him in such an important family meeting at the Hua Jie household.
It seemed he had played a significant role during the event.
Feeling a slight thrill, he thought he was pretty awesome.
Yet, there was also some anxiety. This was a major turning point for Hua Jie’s family, and for him, it was a big deal to put everything he had learned and thought about into practice.
If Hua’s father’s business venture really succeeded, did that mean his business acumen and thinking were excellent?
As Hua Jie saw him off, he felt as if there were a little cat scratching inside his heart, eager to try his hand at some business too.
Stepping out of her door and hit by the cold wind, he remembered he was still a student, and many conditions were not favorable.
Maybe he could consider tapping into his own father’s resources…
Since he had come by car, he could only borrow Hua Jie’s small bicycle to go back.
The tall boy on her bike made it look like a child’s toy.
“See you at school tomorrow. I’ve fallen behind a lot in classes. I’ll find time to tutor you next week,” said Shen Mo as he put on his earmuffs and gloves, speaking to the girl beside him.
“…” Hua Jie looked up at him, her expression hesitant.
“Don’t worry, I won’t break your bike,” he said, poking her forehead in annoyance.
“I didn’t say you would break it,” Hua Jie retorted, rubbing her head and pouting.
“Then why do you look so troubled?” He looked up at the sky, where the crescent moon was thin but bright.
“Shen Mo, if I gave your dad a 50,000 yuan red envelope, do you think he would accept it?” Hua Jie was a bit conflicted. Mr. Shen had been so kind to her, and it seemed right to give half of her first earnings to him.
But it also felt weird.
Even having lived two lives, she still wasn’t quite sure how to navigate these social intricacies.
“No way!” Shen Mo raised his eyebrows in disbelief and poked her forehead again, “What are you thinking about all day?”
“Ah, I’m thinking about how to repay Mr. Shen.” She bit her lower lip, looking distressed. “Help me come up with an idea.”
“Repay him?” Shen Mo stared at her. “He doesn’t need money. The best way to repay him is by focusing on your painting.”
“…That’s nonsense. How can that be the same?” she retorted, wrapping her arms around herself. “Then maybe I should buy him some gifts.”
“Don’t waste your money frivolously. He spends his days in the studio and lacks nothing. Just save your money. In a few years, you can buy him some brain supplements during the holidays,” Shen Mo advised sensibly.
Is Mr. Shen really his biological father?
“Your words don’t sound very nice,” she said, kicking his bicycle. After the kick, she remembered it was her own bike and bent down to check it, relieved that she hadn’t kicked too hard.
“Buy some groceries over the weekend and make a big meal for him as a sign of respect; he will definitely be happy,” Shen Mo reached out, grabbed her head, and vigorously ruffled it, intentionally messing up her long hair in front of her face before smiling and saying:
“I’m going home now; you should head back too.”
“Hey!” She grabbed hold of him again.
“?” The young man turned his head.
Under the moonlight, Hua Jie clutched his sleeve, gazing into his eyes with a sigh that carried a mix of sentiment and complexity, and said:
“Shen Mo, thank you.”
“…” The young man’s ears warmed up, “What for?”
“You’re really nice!” She smiled slightly, observing his impatient desire to go home and feeling warmth in her heart, finding him truly adorable. She couldn’t resist reaching for his head to ruffle his hair, just as he had done to her, expressing her approval and tenderness for him, the good kid.
The boy instinctively leaned back, easily dodging her hand.
He was too tall; it wasn’t easy for her to mess up his hair from that angle.
“Speak without getting physical,” he said, sitting on the bike seat with his feet planted on the ground, as if he were sitting on a chair.
“Stingy,” she pouted, then cheerfully announced, “I’ve also prepared a gift for you.”
“Frame the paintings you made of me and give them to me. If one painting is worth 100,000, I’d consider myself rich,” Shen Mo said.
“Alright, I’ll bring them next weekend; there are several of them. It’s like I’m holding an art exhibition in your study and bedroom,” she couldn’t help but laugh.
“…” Shen Mo frowned.
Her words sounded strange.
She was having an exhibition in his study and bedroom?
Shen Mo imagined what the public reaction would be if that really happened.
A female painter holding an exhibition in a man’s bedroom.
It’s bold of Little Potato to say that; is she missing a screw in her head?
Hasn’t she grown up yet?
Doesn’t she have any of the shyness a girl should have toward him?
How could she casually mention his bedroom in front of him?
Silly girl! She doesn’t understand a thing!
He suddenly felt a bit angry.
He stepped on her little boot, then left with the words:
“My bedroom is for other purposes, not for holding art exhibitions.”
With that, he kicked off on his bicycle, quickly riding several meters away.
Hua Jie glanced at her little boots, relieved to see the round toes weren’t squashed, and looked up to scold Shen Mo.
But she found that he had already ridden far away.
The young man’s long legs couldn’t fully extend on her small bicycle, making him look somewhat constrained.
Unconsciously, she walked to the entrance of the alley, watching him ride onto the main road, his figure gradually blurring under the dim street lights.
Before meeting Shen Mo, if someone had told her there was such a good person in the world, she wouldn’t have believed it.
The wind blew through her shoulder-length hair. The girl tightened her collar, looked down at her little boots, wiped the toes against her trouser leg, and then hurriedly ran back home with small steps.
After taking several days off, she needed to seriously review and catch up on the lessons she had missed.
In the northeast, winter vacation starts early, with final exams at the end of December. She needed to work even harder this time.
Three years might seem long, but they pass in the blink of an eye. You must constantly move forward to catch up with your goals.
The path is long and arduous, Comrade Hua must strive!
…
…
Early Monday morning.
Hua Jie went to school.
Her mother took some money to the bank.
Her father rode his motorcycle to Fuyun Building. There was much to inquire about first, understanding the market thoroughly before implementing plans step by step.
In the morning, he met with the representatives from Fuyun Building, having a series of discussions with each department head.
They talked about the rental for the coming month, explored various payment methods, and discussed discount benefits.
At noon, he hosted a lunch for a few of the heads, where they delved deeper into the future operational strategies of the building. Hua’s father was amazed and suddenly realized that business was not as simple as just buying and selling.
Promotions, discounts, customer acquisition strategies—each aspect was a science in its own right.
After parting with the team from Fuyun Building, he rode his motorcycle to several furniture factories on the outskirts of the city, visiting both large and small operations and briefly discussing potential partnership models with them.
Afraid of forgetting, Hua’s father jotted everything down in a notebook.
He also managed to fill in answers to the questions he had pre-written in his notebook the night before.
In the evening on his way home, he considered which furniture factory was more powerful, which was weaker;
Which one, although small, had a visionary owner and skilled carpenters;
Which factory had modern lathes that could increase efficiency—all these details were thoroughly assessed.
Everything was progressing in an orderly manner.
Collapsing into a chair, he reflected on everything that had happened throughout the day and suddenly felt a resurgence of passion in his life, feeling somewhat exhilarated.
Thus, an extra bottle of white liquor found its way onto the dinner table, and Hua’s father insisted that his wife have a small glass with him.
When Hua Jie returned home, she found her parents’ cheeks flushed, not with foolish laughter but with playful antics.
Hua’s father even opened the birdcage and took out the lark, intending to perch it on his shoulder as he planned to train them to accompany him outdoors.
He was quite drunk indeed.
Eventually, the lark defecated on his shoulder and fluttered around the room, and it took Hua Jie an immense effort to catch the two small larks and return them to their cage, nearly collapsing from exhaustion.
Hua’s mother stood by the whole time, directing the bird-catching efforts while laughing uproariously.
Once the larks were finally back in the cage, Hua’s father, while nibbling on an apple, complained there were stones inside it.
Hua Jie looked and saw no stones—just the seeds, apple seeds.
She tried to reason with her father, insisting that the fruit seller hadn’t deceived them, nor had they inserted stones into the apples; those were just seeds, seeds!
Hua’s father stared at her seriously and said:
“Kids know nothing! How could I possibly confuse seeds with stones?”
He was too drunk.
Hua Jie held her mother’s hand and pleaded sincerely:
“Mom, please, persuade Dad to go to sleep.”
She was tired.
Eventually, after wandering restlessly from room to room, Hua’s father finally settled down to sleep.
Sitting on the kang, she looked at her father’s red face, slightly snoring. Hua Jie grasped his hand that was draped over the side of the kang; his knuckles were thick, his palms rough with calluses from hard work, and his fingernails were tough—these were the hands of a laborer, of the working people.
She sat quietly for a while, her mind flashing back to various interactions with her father.
As a child, she sat in the backseat of their old motorcycle, her father climbed on wildly, accidentally kicking her head, causing her to cry out. He looked back while riding, hoping she would stop on her own, but she cried the whole way as he rode on with a stern face, never stopping to console her.