CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 365 HELPING OUT

Thankfully, the weather had begun to warm up, and Yang PeiMin thought that even if she brought the quilt back, she wouldn’t bring two anymore.

The dorm conversation awkwardly shifted to the topic of spring outings.

Jiang Xin, due to losing money, had a gloomy expression and ignored everyone.

Ge San Ni was calculating the tight budget for future meals, but what worried her more, was that in just over a month she would give birth and she had no idea what to do. She had neither people nor money on her side. Looking at Yang PeiMin, she sighed inwardly with regret, wishing she hadn’t offended her.

Yang PeiMin went to the restroom, washed her hands with cold water, and prepared for class. She needed to get to the classroom early to review the math she would be learning. Even if she didn’t understand it, becoming familiar with the material would still be helpful.

Since the start of school, the coursework had always been intense. She had fallen far behind without even noticing, and the math teacher had already spoken to her about not neglecting her studies. It was really because Gao Lingfeng had praised her too much in the office. His initial disdain for her laboratory skills had slowly turned into recognition of her potential. Her foundation was strong, she caught on quickly to new concepts, and she even offered several suggestions that pleased the teacher.

Her mind, it seemed, had never really rested lately, juggling both her studies and businesses.

As she walked out of the dorm, Guo Cai Xia caught up with her and walked alongside her, "I need to go back and review some material as well."

Yang PeiMin nodded, "I was thinking the same."

"The dorm has been rather noisy, everyone has their own concerns. We’ve had such issues a few times before. When Ge Sanni slept in your bed last night, no one actually knew. It must’ve happened after lights out. Otherwise, I would have stopped her. Taking advantage of someone so brazenly, it’s truly despicable. When you think about it, you can usually spot certain traits, but we figured since we were all brought together by fate, being classmates and all, everyone has their little flaws. As long as it’s not a major issue, most don’t take it to heart. But repeatedly taking advantage, that becomes tiresome. Didn’t she end up in the hospital? Erxi and I took care of her for two days, and she borrowed money from us too, which she’s yet to pay back. A person’s true nature reveals itself over time... I almost applauded you just now. But selling your quilt at half price, didn’t you lose out?"

"I did lose a bit, but not much. Although quilts are essentials, they didn’t lack any, and asking them to suddenly pay up was difficult for them as well. Consider it me letting off some steam." Especially Jiang Xin, who ended up with the scented quilt. Her claim about the smell was half-true, half-false – it definitely wasn’t sweat; if it had been dirty, that would have been unbearable. Her presence and words earlier were infuriating, so let her have a taste of her own medicine.

Guo Cai Xia laughed and shook her head, "You really can’t stand being wronged." If it had been her, she probably would have just asked to have it washed and let it be, considering it wasn’t a major issue and not worth making a big fuss among classmates. But this roommate, she seemed unable to bear the slightest grievance. Thinking about it, she could understand; perhaps it was due to different personal upbringings. She appeared to be a girl who had never suffered, enviable both before and after marriage.

"I had sent Xiao Lian to her aunt’s house a few days ago. After all, staying here was no solution. I couldn’t read for four years and have her locked up for four years, could I? It pained my heart just thinking about it. Although her aunt might not treat her as she would her own child, at least she can be fed well and keep warm, playing freely with other kids," Guo Caixia slowly spoke of her daughter’s situation.

Yang Peimin had also noticed, the absence of the little girl Xiao Lian in the dormitory—it turned out she had been sent back. She glanced sideways at Guo Caixia, unsure of what to say. While it was good for children to be with their parents, the environment in the dormitory was not suitable; being confined to four walls every day, surrounded by a bunch of noisy or gloomy aunts, with no peers and no space to move around, it indeed seemed very pitiful.

In the dormitory, she could carry on a conversation with Guo Caixia. Usually, when she hung out her clothes to dry, Guo would help fold them and place them on her bed—a very easygoing person. Because of Xiao Lian, she felt embarrassed towards her roommates, always rushing to do the cleaning and tidying of the dormitory and being the first to lend a hand whenever anyone needed help.

Yang Peimin then suggested, "Have you thought about sending her to kindergarten?"

Guo Caixia smiled bitterly, "No, I don’t have a job and rely solely on Xiao Lian’s father’s income. I also have to pay for my meals at my in-law’s place. If Xiao Lian went to kindergarten, there simply wouldn’t be enough money. After all, her aunt’s home is another’s home. If there were a way, I wouldn’t want her to go there. Since sending her away, I’ve really missed our routine..."

Although her elder sister-in-law was looking after Xiao Lian not entirely out of kindness and asked for some grain in return, Yang Peimin’s husband’s family hadn’t yet split their household, and her brother-in-law still worked the fields, so the grain was something they could indeed afford. Thirty kilos of grain per month, despite the disapproving looks from her mother-in-law, she had managed to get her husband to agree.

Yang Peimin then asked, "Would you be willing to do some handicraft work to make ends meet?"

Guo Caixia immediately looked up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Peimin, do you have a referral? I’m sorry, but I’m very willing, what kind of handicraft work is it?"

Now the factory was diversifying its products, and recently they’ve been making a batch of women’s blazers and lightweight jackets. These garments needed buttons sewn on, which wasn’t a job for machines, so it required manual labor. The tasks didn’t need much technical skill and could be done by the apprentice workers, but there were only seven or eight apprentices and they had other tasks beyond sewing buttons. So, she discussed with Sister Liu and tried to outsource the work to get some help with button sewing.

She explained the situation without mentioning that it was her own workshop, saying she knew of the job because her sister-in-law worked there, "I’m afraid you won’t have time, and you need to be pretty quick to make it worthwhile. One point five per piece of clothing, what do you think, can you do it?" At that time, handicraft work wasn’t worth much, she even decided to pay half a cent more as a way to help out the well-behaved child, Xiao Lian.

Guo Caixia nodded eagerly, "I can do it, I can do it. I’ve always been doing needlework, that’s not a problem for me. As for time, I’ll make some, don’t worry, Peimin. I’ll make sure the work is neat and nice. And thank you."

They settled the matter there and reached the entrance of the classroom.

Their classes were in different buildings. Guo Caixia had to go up further, and before leaving, she seemed a bit reluctant, "Peimin, I’ll come find you after class to chat some more."