Chapter 542: Do You Have the Nerve to Say That?
Chapter 542: Chapter 542: Do You Have the Nerve to Say That?
The North!
After leaving Master Sun’s residence, Hua Zifeng stared off toward the North, lost in thought for a long time.
His assistant, watching from the side, couldn’t help but ask, "Mr. Hua, are you really planning to go see the North for yourself?"
"It’s worth a try."
"But," the assistant said, "the North is vast. By that logic, the entirety of mainland Hua Country is north of us in Xiangcheng. That’s no small area."
"If we’re going, we might as well go to the capital of Hua Country," Hua Zifeng said after some thought. "I hear it’s one of the most prosperous cities in the country. Since we’ve never been, we can just treat it as a vacation. We’ll relax and wander around as we please."
"Ah, that could work."
In a state-owned restaurant not far from the Beijing Department Store, Su Qing and her friends, having spent the day shopping, planned to have dinner before heading back to Beijing University.
"The food at this Beijing State-owned Restaurant is really different from what we have in Chuncheng," Meng Yanjing said with a smile. "And the portions are huge."
"Which one tastes better?" Chen Juan asked, smiling.
Meng Yanjing chuckled. "Each has its own merits. I think they’re both delicious, but neither is as good as the food Su Qing makes."
On weekdays, after class, if everyone was free, Su Qing would invite her dorm mates back to her courtyard to cook and eat. Meng Yanjing had eaten there a couple of times and was full of praise for Su Qing’s cooking.
As the girls ate and chatted, Li Huan happened to glance outside the restaurant and froze for a moment. Then she said, "Qingqing, it looks like your aunt is being pestered by someone."
"Hm?" Hearing this, Su Qing followed Li Huan’s gaze and her brow furrowed.
The one pestering Li Wan was none other than Su Mei.
"Auntie," Su Mei pleaded, trailing beside Li Wan. "Please, just talk to Su Qing for me. If this scar on my face doesn’t go away, how will I ever get married? You know how important a girl’s face is. I don’t even dare to show my face now, I’m so afraid of being laughed at. You used to dote on me so much. Please, just help me."
Su Mei had arrived in Beijing over ten days ago. After mulling it over for a few days, Wu Tao had decided that if he had a chance to woo Su Qing, not only could he win the beauty’s hand, but he could also get to live in a big house in Beijing. It was a perfect win-win situation. Compared to that, getting Su Mei an introduction letter and lending her some money was nothing.
That was how Su Mei had managed to come to Beijing smoothly. However, due to work, Wu Tao couldn’t come with her, so he had her come to Beijing first to scout out the situation and report back to him.
Su Mei had been fully convinced that once she had Su Qing’s address in Beijing, she would be able to see Li Wan and beg for her help. She believed that, given how much Li Wan used to adore her, she wouldn’t be able to stand seeing the scars on her face.
But to her surprise, Su Mei waited outside the residence in Xilin Alley for over a week without seeing a single person. Forget Li Wan, she didn’t even catch a glimpse of Su Qing.
This inevitably made Su Mei wonder if the address Su Qing had left at the county public security bureau was even correct.
But, as luck would have it, a child actually ran over and specifically told her Li Wan’s work address: the Beijing Department Store.
Although Su Mei didn’t quite understand why a child would come and tell her this, she figured it was worth a shot and decisively went to the department store.
Sure enough, she saw Li Wan working at the department store. Gazing at the bustling building and the dazzling array of food and goods inside, Su Mei was completely captivated. Xiyuan County didn’t have such a grand, lively department store—just a supply and marketing cooperative that was often out of stock. She saw many things here that she had never even seen in the cooperative back in Xiyuan County.
’When she thought about Li Wan working here, Su Mei’s heart began to race. The salary here must be high, right? And she could probably get her hands on defective goods at a low price. I know all about it. They call them ’defective,’ but they just have minor flaws that don’t affect their use at all. Like that flawed cloth—they say it’s defective, but it might just have a misprinted pattern or some uneven dye. Wu Tao’s family has connections at the cooperative in Xiyuan County, and he even gave me a piece of flawed cloth once. I get how it works.’
When Su Mei found Li Wan, Li Wan was writing up a bill for a customer. Su Mei thought about it and decided not to disturb her while she was working, afraid she might try to be clever and end up making Li Wan despise her. So, she waited outside the department store the whole time, only approaching Li Wan to cozy up to her after she got off work.
Originally, Su Mei had thought that, based on how Li Wan used to dote on her, a few sweet words would be enough to get her to agree. But to her dismay, Li Wan’s attitude was exceptionally cold, and she completely ignored her request.
How could Su Mei know that after Li Wan had come to her senses, she learned what Su Qing had suffered at the hands of the Old Su Family and hated them with a passion? If her older brother hadn’t already gotten revenge for her, she would have taken a train to the Northeast to settle the score with the Old Su Family herself. After they treated her daughter that way, it would be a miracle if she was nice to Su Mei.
Li Wan stared coldly at Su Mei. "Su Mei, I’ve already made myself very clear. I will not help you with this. Give up on that idea and go back where you came from. Besides, I have nothing to do with your Old Su Family anymore. Don’t call me ’Auntie.’ Now, hurry up and leave."
As she spoke, Li Wan frowned and waved a dismissive hand at Su Mei.
Su Mei bit her lip. "Auntie, you used to dote on me the most. Can you really bear to see my face like this?"
The mention of facial scars only made Li Wan angrier. "When my Qingqing was with your Old Su Family, she had her face ruined by that child, Su Tao, and I didn’t see any of you show a shred of concern for her! If my Qingqing weren’t so blessed with good fortune, who knows what kind of state you all would have tormented her into? And you have the nerve to come to me and complain about your face? Do you really think I’m the person to talk to about this?"
Hearing Li Wan’s words, Su Mei’s heart trembled. She knew Li Wan was taking her anger out on the entire Old Su Family. It was true that Su Qing had a hard time with the Old Su Family back then, but their branch of the family had never tormented Su Qing. At most, they had just ignored her. Still, when she thought about her own attitude toward Su Qing back then, Su Mei couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
But no matter what, Su Mei didn’t want to give up this opportunity. She said hurriedly, "Auntie, I know Qingqing was treated unfairly back then, I don’t deny it. But that was all my grandma and Third Uncle and Aunt’s doing! Our family never abused Su Qing. You can’t just lump everyone together! Besides, I was just a kid back then. There were a lot of things I had no say in."
Li Wan listened to Su Mei’s excuse, sneered, and stood her ground. Staring at Su Mei, she said, "Su Mei, do you have any shame, saying that?"