Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 303 Mother and Daughter Reunited

Qin Huairu got off the train. The clock tower in the center of Shijiazhuang Station was particularly eye-catching. The square in front of the station was bustling with people. Tricycle drivers shouted to attract customers, and roadside vendors set up wooden racks, displaying tea and boiled eggs. Passengers carried cloth bags and imitation leather bags, and the air was filled with the smells of smoke and food.

After eating a quick bowl of noodles and asking for directions, Qin Huairu took a bus to Hebei Normal University.

Holding her household registration booklet and ID card, she walked into the archives of Hebei Normal University and cautiously began to speak:

"Comrade, please help me. My daughter graduated from here more than ten years ago and became a middle school teacher in Hebei. We lost contact. I have her household registration booklet, which can prove that we are mother and daughter. I want to find out where she was assigned after graduation."

After checking the documents, the staff in the archives spent more than 40 minutes finding the unit that assigned Huaihua: Xingtai Middle School.

The staff specifically instructed her that the school only registers the assigned location immediately after graduation, and that subsequent transfers, changes of schools, or job changes are not recorded in the school's files.

Qin Huairu felt a great weight lifted from her heart and dared not linger in Shijiazhuang. She quickly thanked the staff, rushed to catch a bus back to the train station, and finally boarded the train to Xingtai at 4 p.m.

The journey from Shijiazhuang to Xingtai is very short. In the 1990s, a regular-speed train would take just over an hour to travel smoothly. At 5:10, the train slowly pulled into the old Xingtai station.

When she arrived at Xingtai Middle School, the iron gate at the entrance was half open, and an old man was sitting in the guardhouse.

"Master, I'm looking for Teacher Jia Huaihua." Qin Huairu took out her household registration booklet.

After a careful inspection, the old man said, "Teacher Jia, she's off work now and should be in her dormitory. Go straight to the end, the last room on the third floor."

Qin Huairu felt much more at ease and walked briskly into the school gate. There were sycamore trees on both sides, and the leaves were starting to turn yellow. A few leaves would fall down when the wind blew.

She slowed her pace as she walked to the third floor of the dormitory. The door to the innermost room was closed, and a curtain hung over the window. She stood at the door for a few seconds, then reached out and knocked.

The door opened. Huaihua stood inside, wearing a light gray sweater, her hair tied in a ponytail, her cheekbones slightly prominent, and her eye sockets slightly sunken, making her look younger than 31.

The moment she saw Qin Huairu, she froze, her hand still on the doorknob, unable to let go.

Qin Huairu looked at her too. It had been over a decade since they last met. The last time they saw each other was when Huaihua learned of her early release and rushed back from school. Back then, Huaihua still had baby fat, and her eyes crinkled when she smiled. Now, her daughter standing before her was thin, haggard, and had a blank stare; it seemed her life was far from happy.

"Mom..." Huaihua's voice was very soft, as if it were squeezed out from her throat.

"You still know how to call me Mom." Qin Huairu stood at the door, neither going in nor moving. "It's been over ten years, and you haven't written a single letter. Your brother supported your education, and you turn around and tell people your brother is dead."

Huaihua's eyes instantly reddened. She took a step back to open the door and said, "Mom, please come in."

Qin Huairu walked into the dormitory and glanced around the room. There was a single bed against the wall, and a desk by the window with several stacks of exercise books and a well-worn math textbook on it.

A wardrobe stood in the corner, its door ajar, revealing several pieces of clothing hanging inside—some thin, some thick, for all seasons. Winter and summer shoes were also present in the dormitory room, clearly indicating long-term residence.

Qin Huairu sat down on the edge of the bed, and Huaihua sat down next to her and poured her a glass of water.

"And him?" Qin Huairu asked. "Your husband, what's his name again?"

Huaihua looked pained. "Call him Zhao Zhigang. We're divorced."

"When did this happen?"

"It's been four years since we divorced." Huaihua's voice lowered even more. "It was... when they found out I couldn't have children, my mother-in-law made a fuss every day, and he couldn't do anything about it. Later, we went through the formalities and I moved to the school dormitory."

Qin Huairu remained silent for a while, but she was quite happy inside. With Huaihua alone, her chances of success were even greater.

"How much do you earn in a month?" Qin Huairu asked.

"With the subsidy, it's a little over two hundred," Huaihua said.

Qin Huairu was even happier; this was such a small salary. She and Banggeng earned over a thousand yuan a month, so persuading Huaihua would be much easier now.

"How have you been these past few years?" Qin Huairu asked, looking at her. "I live alone at school and don't go home for the New Year."

Huaihua was deeply moved by these words, and tears streamed down her face, as she had been neglected for a long time.

"Mom, I'm so sorry to you, and I'm so sorry to my brother." Huaihua's voice trembled. "That year... when I wrote that letter, I really didn't know what to do. I was afraid that others would find out about our family, afraid that people would look down on us, afraid that after all the hard work of getting into teachers' college, people would gossip about us behind our backs. I just thought that as long as I didn't say anything, no one would know."

"And the result?" Qin Huairu asked calmly. "They're not even doing as well as Banggeng and I are."

The locust flower didn't speak, it just kept crying.

"Huaihua, don't cry." Qin Huairu hugged her daughter and patted her back. "Mom doesn't blame you anymore."

Huaihua hugged her mother tightly and cried loudly.

"Mom came to see you this time because she wants to talk to you about something." After Huaihua finished crying, Qin Huairu took out the bankbook from her bag, opened it, and handed it to Huaihua. "Take a look."

Huaihua took it and glanced at it. "Mom, where did you get so much money?"

"I made it from recycling." Qin Huairu put the passbook back into her bag. "Your brother now works with me at a recycling station. He can earn more than two thousand a month, and up to three thousand during peak season. Yan Jiekuang and I are partners. I provided the capital, and we split the profits equally."

She closed her bag, looked at her daughter, and said, "Huaihua, you only make a little over two hundred yuan a month here. You're divorced and living alone at school; people will definitely gossip behind your back. I'll pay for it, and you can use your connections to get your job transferred to Shijiazhuang. Banggeng and I will come to Shijiazhuang to open a recycling station, and the three of us will live together from now on."

Huaihua was stunned. She looked at Qin Huairu, her lips moved, but she didn't answer.

Qin Huairu continued, "We can hire someone; earning two thousand a month is no problem. You and Banggeng can stay here, and Mom can help for a few more years. Your brother is not only lame now, but the tendons in both hands have been severed, so he can only do bookkeeping and other light work. He raised you and sent you to university; you owe him that."

Huaihua is all alone, and for the past two years she's been wanting to go back to Beijing. Nobody in today's society cares about the things that happened back home.

"Mom...actually, I've always wanted to go back after the divorce, but I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me, and I couldn't transfer my job. Now that you're making so much money from your scrap metal business, I might as well quit."

We'll stick with Beijing; business is better in big cities. Didn't you fund that recycling station? We'll run it ourselves. The old shop is stable and risk-free; let Yan Jiekuang and the others open another one.

Qin Huairu was dumbfounded; this wasn't what she had expected. That girl, Huaihua, was truly ruthless, not even considering Xiaodang for money. Back to Beijing… the capital has better conditions. That's right, back to Beijing. Yan Jiekuang was bound to get into trouble sooner or later; it would be better to let him open another shop and give him some compensation. In Beijing, Xiaodang could take care of Banggeng in the future.

She had already made up her mind, but then pretended to persuade her, "Huaihua, I know that if you resign, you'll only get 40% of your basic salary each month. Your brother resigned back then. You need to think it through."

"I know. My basic salary is 180, so 72 yuan a month isn't bad." Huaihua hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mom, will my brother... forgive me?"

Qin Huairu looked at her and said, "He definitely hates you. I'll try to persuade him when I get back. Besides, you're his sister. Even if he hates you, he can't disown you."

The locust flower's tears fell again.

That night, Qin Huairu slept in Huaihua's dormitory. Huaihua laid out a mattress on the floor, gave the quilt to Qin Huairu, and covered herself with a cotton overcoat.

In the middle of the night, Qin Huairu woke up and turned her head to look at Huaihua. This youngest daughter was too ruthless; she had to have Banggeng keep an eye on her.