She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

Chapter 370

Qiao Yi swallowed hard, feeling that it was very abnormal for Fang Yingdi to tell her how terrible her family was. She used to avoid talking about her family, only mentioning it when her parents came to ask for money. After saying that she had given them the money, she would emphasize how good her parents were to her and how they brought her homemade pickled vegetables.

Most of the time it was pickled vegetables, but once they brought a very small piece of cured meat. Fang Yingdi was very touched and ate it carefully. That night, she was sent to the hospital because she got an upset stomach.

Thinking about that incident still makes Qiao Yi feel it's outrageous. Fang Yingdi stubbornly insisted it wasn't the meat's fault, but that she caught a chill and got a stomachache. It's ridiculous; it was the hottest time of summer, where would a cool breeze come from? Their entire dormitory only had one fan, and it was broken that day.

Fang Yingdi was still saying, "Qiao Yi, I'm so envious of you. You go home once a month, and every time someone comes to pick you up, it's either your dad or your brother. Sometimes they even bring you food so you don't go hungry on the way."

But I go home every week, a three- or four-hour walk over mountains and valleys. Once it gets dark, all the roads are dark, and I have to walk in the dark. If I lose focus for even a moment, I might take the wrong turn and end up walking for five or six hours. I can't afford a flashlight. Once, I accidentally slipped and tumbled down a mountain, hitting a tree. It took me a while to recover, and by the time I got home, it was almost dawn. My mom even said I was late, and the dishes from last night were still there for me to wash.

Qiao Yi scratched her head, not understanding at all. "Then why do you go back every week? It would be better if you didn't go back. It's so much better to stay in the dorm. Don't give out your salary. Your brothers are all able-bodied and won't starve. You can keep it and go shopping with me, buy some nice clothes and good food. Isn't that better than anything else?"

Fang Yingdi: "You don't understand. If I don't go back, my reputation will be ruined, and the whole village will say I'm an ingrate."

Qiao Yi: "So what? Your household registration is still at the factory, isn't it? You can just not go back. Do you expect me to marry someone from your village? You're a good worker, you should be able to figure this out."

Fang Yingdi was confused for a moment, then said, "But they raised me all these years, and if I do this, it's no different from severing ties. It's really heartless of me."

Qiao Yi: "You've given them so much money over the years. How much money did it take to raise you? How much do you still owe them?"

Fang Yingdi fell silent again. How much money could it cost to raise her? Before starting elementary school, she had always helped with chores at home, spinning around like a little top, finishing her chores and then going to the mountains to pick wild vegetables and mushrooms. The money she gave them from elementary school to high school was more than enough to cover their tuition and meals for a year.

She had never eaten anything good since she was a child. When she went to school, she would take some pickled vegetables and sweet potatoes. Those sweet potatoes were grown by her and her two older sisters in their private plot. Her parents didn't care at all.

Fang Yingdi: "If you really think about it, I don't think I owe them any money anymore, but..."

Qiao Yi: "But what? You can't work for your parents and your brothers your whole life, can you? At worst, you can do what most of the workers in our factory do—donate half of your money—and be like them. Even though their half is saved by their parents and they'll pay back a portion when they get married, your family probably won't pay you back. But that's still better than just keeping five yuan for yourself."

Fang Yingdi: "But don't many people only keep five dollars for themselves and hand over the rest?"

Qiao Yi: "That's because they live at home, eat and drink at home. That five yuan is just pocket money, money beyond their daily meals, clothing, and shelter. Are you stupid?"

Fang Yingdi: "But my mom said..."

Qiao Yi: "Did your mother ever work at the factory?"

Fang Yingdi shook her head.

Qiao Yi: "That's settled then. How would your mother know what kind of people in our factory get five yuan pocket money? You'd be better off asking her yourself than listening to her."

After saying that, she casually grabbed a worker she didn't recognize and asked, "How much do you spend on yourself each month?"

Unfortunately, the person he grabbed was Jiang Wenhua, the one who had been scolded by Grandma Xia this morning. He was a worker in the unloading team of the textile factory. He had argued with someone this morning and was so angry that he didn't eat breakfast and almost couldn't hold on until the morning. He had originally planned to eat the pickled vegetables and sweet potato rice that he brought with him, but he was too weak to do anything else, so he had to come to the canteen to eat some meat to replenish his energy. He still had a lot of goods to unload in the afternoon.

He had just finished getting his food and was about to find a familiar colleague to eat with when someone stopped him. He was in a bad mood and his tone was sharp, "What are you doing?"

Qiao Yi: "I was just asking. If it's inconvenient, then forget it."

Seeing that the two women had ordered so much stuffed meat, Jiang Wenhua made a request, "If you want to know, give me a few pieces of stuffed green peppers."

Qiao Yi: "?"

Jiang Wenhua: "If you don't want to, then forget it. I'm too lazy to talk to you."

"I'll share one with you." Qiao Yi stingily took a piece from her lunchbox, placed it on the lid, and handed it to him.

Jiang Wenhua immediately poured it into her bowl, saying, "My monthly allowance goal is to spend one yuan."

Qiao Yi and Fang Yingdi: "?"

Jiang Wenhua: "Money is hard to earn, so every little bit saved counts. What, you look down on me?"

Qiao Yi was just about to ask what kind of person would spend only one yuan a month, and whether they were just lying to them, when she heard Fang Yingdi humbly ask, "May I ask, comrade, how do you manage to spend only one yuan a month?" Even she couldn't do it, yet a man with such a big appetite could do it.

That's a good technique; I should learn it so she can save a lot of money.

Jiang Wenhua was surprised that a young girl would be willing to learn this. He was extremely unpopular among the men in the unloading team.

Because he's so stingy. Not only does he refuse to drink and brag with them, but when you ask him to go out for a nice meal, he not only refuses to pay but also expects them to pay for his company. Is there any justice in this world? Is this reasonable?

Upon hearing that someone was willing to learn his skills, Jiang Wenhua immediately felt the urge to share. However, he felt it would be a loss to teach others for free, yet he also wanted to share his own experiences. Jiang Wenhua wavered between his desires and his principles.

Seeing his hesitation, Fang Yingdi assumed he was considering something important, so she said, "It's okay if you don't want to. Do you want another piece? I bought a lot today, so I can give you another one."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Wenhua placed the lunchbox next to her.

After successfully obtaining the two pieces of meat, Jiang Wenhua wanted to sit down and carefully impart his experience. However, he was worried that people would talk about him sitting with two young girls. He wasn't afraid of the gossip, but he was afraid that the two girls wouldn't be able to withstand it.

For the sake of the meat, Jiang Wenhua started talking right next to the two of them.

Having just begun, Fang Yingdi and Qiao Yi took out small notebooks from their pockets and started writing. The door to a new world they had never explored before was about to open.