Chapter 32
Her stomach was already hungry at twelve o’clock at night, but Pei Yunle chugged a few glasses of water to fill it, so much so that she had already run to the toilet twice before dawn.
The longer she stayed in Pingshun, the more Pei Yunle seemed to be quietly assimilated by this place. She went to bed early and got up early, except that she still wasn’t used to the salty congee.
Looking at the distant night still shrouded in fog, she had no desire to sleep. She hastily washed up and went into the kitchen. The broken induction cooker was still not repaired, still broken. Pei Yunle, following the example, put some hay in between the wooden blocks and then used a lighter to light the hay.
She didn’t know how to steam things in a big pot, and she didn’t see any tools with holes around. So she had to use a few chopsticks to make a rack in the iron pot, then carefully placed some sweet potatoes and corn on it, and then adjusted it to keep it balanced.
It wasn’t until the bright daylight shone on her dark face, accompanied by the steam rising from the stove, that Pei Yunle lifted the lid, scooped everything onto a plate, and then carried the plate out.
Just as she lifted the cloth curtain, she saw a stooped figure leaning against the doorframe.
Pei Yunle brought the plate to Grandma Liu’s eyes. “Morning, Grandma. Why are you up so early? It’s only just past 6 o’clock, right?”
Grandma Liu’s hands were tucked under her clothes. Seeing her favorite grains, she had no appetite.
“You’re up even earlier. Didn’t you used to sleep until 12 o’clock before?”
Pei Yunle kicked a small wooden stool over with her toes, placed the plate on it, and said with a smile, “Young people should stay up less and sleep in less.”
Grandma Liu’s voice was like the wind, light and fleeting.
“It’s good to be young. No matter how much you play, it doesn’t affect your body.”
Pei Yunle had never been shy about talking about illness with the elderly. She looked down at Grandma Liu’s wide, loose pants that didn’t fit her legs, but she didn’t dare to touch them.
“How are your legs these past two days?”
“Not good. They still hurt. Sometimes I can’t sleep because of the pain, like today.”
“Grandma, you still have to walk more. Exercise can relieve it a little.”
The old woman was as stubborn as a child. “Ai, I want to, but when it hurts, I don’t have the mood to get up and walk around. It’s suffering either way. I might as well just stay put. Sometimes I think it would be better to just die. The worst thing about getting old is being tormented by illness.”
Pei Yunle’s mouth was slightly open. She didn’t know what to say. So, like Grandma Liu, she propped her chin on her hand and looked at the scenery in the distance. She saw figures coming and going outside the door, looking in a hurry, probably on their way to work.
She picked up a sweet potato from the plate and stuffed it into Grandma’s hand. “You still have to eat. Otherwise, it will be even more suffering. I’m going to work now. I’m afraid I’ll be late and get my pay docked.”
“Eh, what work are you doing?”
Since returning from the hospital, Grandma Liu had been lying on the second floor. She would occasionally see that Pei Yunle was not around and thought she had gone to open the store with Chen Qingtang again.
“I’m just working at the clinic.” Pei Yunle had a piece of corn in her mouth, and her words were a little slurred. “I’m leaving now. The clinic is a bit far. I’ll cook you some bean and melon soup when I get back.”
With that, Pei Yunle waved at the house. She, who had always hated working, now had to hide in the crowd.
Today, there were fewer patients at the clinic than usual. A few doctors were idle, gathered around the iron stove, cracking melon seeds and chatting, occasionally talking about some troublesome patients they had encountered.
Pei Yunle was still standing in front of the medicine cabinet with her back hunched. The past two days, she had been busy changing dressings and giving IV drips. Now that she had some free time, she could finally identify the medicine bottles.
She roughly identified the commonly used medicines that were almost empty and then neatly put them back in their original places.
The image of the old woman in pain had been in her mind all day. No matter how she tried to suppress it with other thoughts, this matter would still pop up. There was no other way. She had come to work because of this matter, so how could she not be anxious?
There were a few transparent thin papers on the table. Pei Yunle unconsciously poured out the medicine. A few yellow round pills rolled around on the paper and finally met her gaze.
The clinic had no second floor. Pei Yunle walked to the very end, where Dr. Chen’s personal office was. She was also the one who had hired her, so she was naturally the boss here.
Pei Yunle bit her lower lip until the blood drained from it and the circle of red flesh bitten by her teeth began to turn pale. Only then did she raise her hand to knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Pei Yunle released her lips, a formulaic smile on her face. She tugged at the corner of her clothes before she dared to go in.
Dr. Chen was looking down at something, the ballpoint pen in her hand spinning in various arcs on her knuckles.
“Oh, it’s you. What is it?”
Pei Yunle saw that the pen had slowed down because of her arrival, and her consciousness was also stirred into a messy ball of thread. For a moment, she had completely forgotten the draft she had just prepared.
Dr. Chen’s eyebrows pressed down a few degrees, and the tip of the pen began to spin quickly again. She repeated, “What is it?”
Sister, boss, doctor.
She didn’t know which of these three titles to choose for a moment. After a long time, Pei Yunle briefly introduced the situation at home. Dr. Chen’s eyes went from confused to clear, and finally, there was only a calm and emotionless look in them.
It was as if Pei Yunle was just talking about the weather today.
To Dr. Chen, this was all nonsense. She didn’t care.
“So?” Dr. Chen only cared about the intention.
“So I was thinking, can I get an advance on this month’s salary?”
Pei Yunle knew that the two or three thousand yuan salary was a drop in the bucket for the twenty thousand yuan surgery fee. The difference was ten times, not ten yuan.
But when people are anxious, their minds get muddled. She was eager to narrow the gap. Only by seeing the balance increase would she have a sense of security. She could wait, but the illness would not. Sometimes Pei Yunle would sigh that having strong empathy was really a bad thing.
At first, she just didn’t want to see Chen Qingtang stay up until 4 or 5 in the morning worrying about how to raise money. Until she saw Grandma Liu this morning, she became anxious again. Maybe it wasn’t just for Chen Qingtang, but her own empathy had returned. Pei Yunle felt that sometimes her heart was like a stone, but now it was overflowing with compassion.
This complex psychology was pulling her along. Pei Yunle simply divided herself into several pieces.
Just as Grandma Liu had said, young people’s bodies were good. So Pei Yunle did not hesitate to sacrifice some of her physical strength. This was probably the punishment for her years of idleness, to snatch it back in a very short time.
She thought that she had never been afraid of anything. Good or bad, weren’t they all the same? It was just that her luck was not very good in this life, and she always encountered some difficulties at different stages.
“I know you’re having a hard time, and I know that the old person is sick and needs money urgently, but this is really not possible.”
The pen completely stopped spinning and fell on the blue folder with a “thud.”
“When I first hired you, I asked you if you could endure hardship, if you were afraid of hardship. You said you could definitely do it. Now it’s not even the first month. What if you take the money and run away and don’t come back?”
Pei Yunle had not signed a labor contract. This was how private shops in the town hired people. If they thought you were suitable, they would let you come to work. There was no five insurances and one housing fund. The basic salary was just that much. You could take it or leave it. If you didn’t, there were plenty of people who would. After all, there were enough people in this world who were short of money to circle the earth three times. There would always be beasts of burden who were willing to work hard for little.
Pei Yunle was suddenly speechless. “You can go and find a lawyer to draw up a contract now…”
Although she had no idea if this would be effective, she had no social work experience and really couldn’t give any better guarantee.
“Little sister, this is not a public hospital. If I have to find a lawyer for everything and draw up a bunch of contracts, can I still do business? This is a private clinic. I only care about maximizing my profits. I was already afraid that a young girl like you wouldn’t be able to endure hardship and would just quit. And we’ve only known each other for a short time, and you’re not a local. I’m even more afraid to give you 3,000 yuan in advance.”
Dr. Chen waved her hand. “Anyway, it’s not possible—”
Pei Yunle’s mouth was slightly open. She listened to the other person’s pile of right and wrong reasons, but she couldn’t refute them. She had originally thought that what Dr. Chen had said was unreasonable, but she couldn’t find a breakthrough to fight for her own interests.
After all, as Dr. Chen had said, what she wanted was to maximize her profits. Any damage was not allowed. The maximization here was naturally also achieved by plundering the interests of others.
In a moment of silence, Pei Yunle bit her lip. The two words “thank you” were scraped out of her throat, like two knives. It was difficult to say, and after she said them, her mouth was filled with the taste of blood.
She turned and left, remembering to close the door behind her.
This corridor was very long, giving Pei Yunle enough time to think about Lin Zilan’s original intention.
She had said to let her find a job, but Pei Yunle had thought about it and didn’t feel that there was anything good about working. The grievances she encountered in school could be directly torn apart. The grievances she encountered at work could only be swallowed. And she had to say thank you to people.
…
When Chen Qingtang came back, she still had a smile on her face. The dreamcatchers they had stayed up late to make the past two days had already been sold out.
Because the original price was not high, and the people here had never seen such a new thing before, they sold very well. But because the original price was low, the profit was destined not to be high, but it was a good start.
As for the merchandise, it also sold very well. As Pei Yunle had said, chasing stars was something for all ages. According to Pei Yunle’s suggestion, Chen Qingtang had raised the prices of a few popular celebrity merchandise, and people still rushed to buy them.
In these two days, they had earned an extra seven or eight hundred yuan. Although it was not much, it was a huge improvement compared to the pure sales of the convenience store before.
When she entered the door, she saw Pei Yunle squatting in the flower bushes, fertilizing. Even though Grandma was sitting at the door watching, with the flower bushes as cover, Chen Qingtang patted Pei Yunle’s left shoulder.
When Pei Yunle turned her head, she turned to the right and patted her again. Pei Yunle, who had already seen her shadow, of course knew this childish trick, but she still pretended not to know and played with her for a few rounds.
Chen Qingtang held up the bag in her hand, which contained a cleaned sea bass.
She didn’t usually eat much fish. Today, it was specially made for Pei Yunle.
The moment her lover hugged her, Pei Yunle felt a bitter taste in her throat, and she didn’t want Chen Qingtang to know what had happened today.
She didn’t tell Chen Qingtang that Pei Yunle, who had been so excited to go to work during the day, had now resigned.
There was no point in going to that kind of slave driver. She even reasonably suspected that the salary that this Boss Chen would pay at the end of the month would not be 3,000 yuan at all. She might even deduct some money for other reasons.
Even if she had to wash dishes in a restaurant, she didn’t want to go to this kind of private clinic again.
The ends of Chen Qingtang’s hair were already starting to fade, turning a greenish-yellow, like the green leaves of spring tinged with the witheredness of autumn.
The pleasant scent of shampoo drilled into Pei Yunle’s nostrils, as if it were determined to sweep away all her air. Pei Yunle’s heart also seemed to be squeezed out of something.
Bitter, sour, astringent, something else was slowly secreted, drawn out by the scent of her lover. Pei Yunle tilted her head, and a tear fell from the corner of her eye and hit the ground.
Chen Qingtang wondered why Pei Yunle was hugging her for so long today. The key was that it would be troublesome if Grandma became suspicious. In fact, she didn’t dare to tell the old woman about this kind of thing. After all, Grandma Liu had grown up in Pingshun. Who knew if her thinking was the same as the locals?
As she was thinking about how to push Pei Yunle away, the person in her arms took the initiative to end the comforting embrace.
“I’m hungry. I’m still waiting for your steamed sea bass.” Pei Yunle said with confidence, and Chen Qingtang agreed with a smile.
Chen Qingtang showed her three fingers, indicating that she would finish the kitchen battle in 30 minutes.
Pei Yunle also showed her three fingers, but it was the “okay” sign.
The sun was setting, and it was like a peddler selling the last bit of its brilliance.
Pei Yunle felt that this meal was tasteless. It wasn’t that it wasn’t delicious, but that she wanted to cry when she lowered her head. Her mouth was filled with a bitter taste, which suppressed the aroma of the food.
This feeling was like coming home from school and facing a table full of delicious food, but she could only hand over a 59-point test paper.
After washing the dishes, Pei Yunle sat on a small stool and looked at the moon. Her brows had been furrowed all day. If she relaxed, her tears would fall.
She didn’t know how long she had been looking at the moon. A dark shadow pressed over from the side. Pei Yunle didn’t dare to turn her head to look at Chen Qingtang, just secretly sniffled in a low voice.
After a long time, something covered the back of her hand. It was not heat or sticky sweat, but a soft and faint warmth.
Pei Yunle lowered her eyes and quietly looked over. It was Chen Qingtang’s hand.
Chen Qingtang didn’t say anything, but it was as if she had said everything.
The two of them just leaned against each other in this cool night, the bright moon still hanging high above their heads.
It was already the latter half of the night when they went back to the house.
Pei Yunle held up her phone, wanting to find someone to complain to about what had happened today. But after scrolling through her contacts, she couldn’t find a suitable person. It wasn’t until she opened the long-dormant short video app.
A variety of content immediately popped up. She swiped a few times and watched a dozen videos. When she was done, Pei Yunle didn’t even remember what the content was. She only vaguely remembered a very cool beauty dancing in one of the videos.
She swiped to the messages section. Other than messages shared by friends, there was also a not-so-conspicuous message. Pei Yunle looked at the incomplete message and was stunned for a moment.
Then, her fingers were faster than her brain. She clicked on it. It was a brand that wanted to advertise with Pei Yunle. Pei Yunle had accumulated tens of thousands of fans before, and there was almost no limit to her traffic. She had a good figure and could dance, so some brands would always look for her to cooperate, asking her to wear their clothes and shoot a dance video.
It was just that since coming to Pingshun, Pei Yunle had been in a bad mood all day and hadn’t shot any videos. Later, when she was with Chen Qingtang, she had completely thrown this matter to the back of her mind and simply deleted the contact information for cooperation.
Pei Yunle immediately wanted to reply to that message, but found that it had been sent several months ago. It was too long ago, and it was probably a lost cause.
But she was still not willing to give up and sent the message.
But another inspiration came to her. She could also shoot videos to attract traffic and attract brands. As long as one took the bait, wouldn’t half of the twenty thousand be solved?
It was just that she hadn’t shot a video in a long time, and her fans had probably all left. This matter could not be achieved overnight.
Pei Yunle exited the messages and saw Chen Qingtang’s profile picture. She had been the one who had insisted on dragging Chen Qingtang to download the short video app and follow each other. If this method didn’t work, she would laugh at Chen Qingtang for being out of touch with the world.
Chen Qingtang couldn’t stand this kind of goading and immediately downloaded two apps, only following Pei Yunle. Although she would occasionally watch some videos, she mostly didn’t play much.
And, those videos were all of Pei Yunle. Now that she wasn’t shooting anymore, Chen Qingtang didn’t watch them either.
Pei Yunle opened her chat with Chen Qingtang and sent a very abstract death sticker.
Almost when she was about to fall asleep, Chen Qingtang replied with a question mark.
Pei: Our little flame is dead. Look what you’ve done to our child ( ‘-‘ )ノ)`-‘ ).
Chen Qingtang was lying in bed, trying to understand this sentence. She didn’t know why Pei Yunle wanted to pinch her face, but that emoticon seemed to mean that? But she still honestly asked, “Is it dead?”
Pei: It’s dead!
Chen: But I’ve raised you very well. Just let it be dead for a while.
Pei: How cruel.
Chen: owo
This was the first time she had seen Chen Qingtang use an emoticon. Even though it still seemed so nostalgic, Pei Yunle felt that this was a remarkable progress. To reward her, Pei Yunle decided to temporarily forgive the still-cute Chen Qingtang.
