Chapter 265: Life Is More Important Than Face

Chapter 265: Chapter 265: Life Is More Important Than Face

Ji Xuelan didn’t have time to ask for details. She first led Ji Huan into the courtyard, found a stool for her to sit on, and then bustled into the house to pour her some hot water.

Hearing a visitor, Yang emerged from the kitchen, wearing an apron. Her hands were dripping wet, one holding a spatula and the other a small brush. She must have been scrubbing a wok.

When she saw it was Ji Huan, her lips parted as if to speak, but she said nothing, simply turning and going back inside.

Ji Huan’s greeting of "Auntie" caught in her throat, and she never got the chance to say it.

Ji Xuelan came out of the main hall and handed her the warm water, saying awkwardly, "My mother... she’s just like that. Don’t take it to heart."

Ji Huan gestured that it was fine. She took the rough-hewn bowl and took a sip. It was sweet—they had added sugar.

"Where is everyone else?"

Ji Xuelan pointed behind the house.

"Your auntie brought home a few new chicks to raise, which finally gave Daya and Erya something to do. They spend all day thinking about digging for earthworms to feed the chicks, but since they can’t find any themselves, they just order their little uncle around."

As Ji Xuelan spoke, faint laugh lines crinkled the corners of her eyes. However, she didn’t look well; her whole bearing was one of exhaustion.

"You just said you were going to town. Are you going to..." Ji Huan’s gaze shifted to the large bundle on Ji Xuelan’s back.

Ji Xuelan opened the bundle for her to see. Inside was a large pile of freshly washed and starched clothes.

"Don’t laugh, but I looked for days in town and couldn’t find any suitable work. I was lucky to run into a kind person who introduced me to a job washing clothes for people at a construction site. These are..."

It wasn’t that there were no workshops hiring in town, but most didn’t want Ji Xuelan.

Sanyang was still too young for Ji Xuelan to leave her without worry, so she had to rush back every day.

What workshop owner would want a female worker whose mind was always halfway back at home?

She’d leave early and arrive late, and if her child so much as had a headache or a fever, she’d have to ask for time off.

Women like her were never even a consideration. It was just too much trouble.

Ji Xuelan faced setbacks at every turn. Left with no other choice, she finally took the job from the construction site.

As a recently divorced woman, she wasn’t without shame, earning money by washing clothes for a group of rough men. More than that, she was afraid of the gossip if anyone found out.

But she had three children to raise. She couldn’t rely on her family forever.

Especially when her own family was also struggling.

This year’s harvest had been poor. After paying the summer tax, they had little grain left, and they still needed to set aside some as seeds for the next crop.

The sweet potatoes would be ready for harvest around the end of the month, with corn to follow, but then came the autumn tax...

Who could have imagined that after escaping one quagmire, she would still be faced with such a bleak and sorrowful outlook.

Otherwise, Ji Liansong wouldn’t have gone to the brick kiln.

The work at the kiln was for strong, able-bodied men. He was getting on in years and lacked the explosive strength of the younger workers. No one had wanted to hire him; he only got to stay after begging and pleading desperately.

Ji Xuelan had been to the brick kiln once.

At the time, Ji Liansong was hunched over, hauling a cart fully loaded with adobe bricks up a slope. He gritted his back teeth, his eyes bulging like bronze bells. With one foot pushing off and the other straining forward, the veins on his neck popped out before his leading foot could finally, painstakingly, land on the ground. Sweat poured down his face as if he’d been caught in a downpour.

Witnessing this with her own eyes, Ji Xuelan couldn’t bear it any longer. She asked someone to deliver the clothes she had brought for her father and wept the entire way home.

That night, she lay in bed, tossing and turning. By morning, she had come to a clear resolution.

’Pride isn’t as important as staying alive.’

As long as she could earn money, feed her children, and lighten her parents’ burden, she was willing to do anything.

Once her mind was made up, Ji Xuelan accepted the laundry job. Since she could do the work at home, Ji Liansong and Ji Mingfang could no longer use Sanyang as a reason to stop her.

And just like that, she had been keeping at it for quite a few days.

Ji Huan glanced at her chapped, wrinkled, and pale hands, momentarily at a loss for words.

After a long pause, she finally asked, "How much does it pay?"

Ji Xuelan smiled. "Right now, the clothes are all thin. It’s five or six pieces for one cent. If anything is torn, I mend it as part of the job. The pay should be better when the weather gets colder."

’Only one cent for five or six pieces of clothing, and that includes the time spent on mending. Even if she washes from dawn till dusk, how much can she possibly make in a day? And it goes without saying how filthy clothes from a construction site must be. Besides, the workers are all poor themselves. If it weren’t for the free mending, I doubt many would be willing to pay even that one cent. When it gets cold, people won’t change their clothes as often as they do in the heat. And once it’s colder still, the site will shut down for the winter, making it even harder to find work.’

It wasn’t that Ji Xuelan hadn’t considered these things herself. But with no better options at the moment, she could only take things one day at a time.

Having gotten a clear sense of the situation, Ji Huan stated her purpose for coming directly.

"I actually have a job opening, but I’m not sure if you’d be interested."

At first, Ji Xuelan was pleasantly surprised to hear Ji Huan offer her a job. But after Ji Huan finished explaining, she began waving her hands in refusal.

It wasn’t that she was unwilling, but rather...

"Oh, so that’s what this is about! You should have just said so. It’s just lending a hand, why bring up money at all? I’ll just take this bundle of clothes to town, let them know I won’t be coming for the next few days, and once we’re finished... By the way, how many days do you think it will take? Should I have your uncle come back too?"

Ji Huan shook her head.

"I need help, but it’s not just about getting the harvest in from the fields. There’s follow-up work that will also need people. Let me put it this way: I’m planning to start a small business. I won’t go into the details just yet, but the bottom line is, if you’re willing to come help me, then I have to pay you wages. If you won’t accept the money, then I’ll have to find someone else."

Ji Xuelan looked conflicted. "But we’re family... I don’t want to upset you by saying this, but I’m your older cousin. What would it look like if I took money to work for you? Your uncle would scold me if he found out."

"I’m... I’m not upset. It’s just a matter of principle. If it were for just a day or two, I wouldn’t say a thing, but this isn’t going to be over in a couple of days. You have Daya, Erya, and Sanyang to support; you can’t afford to waste time. Besides, it’s only right and proper to be paid for your work. It’s no different whether you’re working for me or for anyone else."

Ji Huan stood up as she spoke.

"Please, think about it. There’s nothing shameful about earning money with your own two hands. Either way, I’m going to have to pay these wages to someone. I’d just rather that someone be you. Because... you’re my cousin."

Ji Xuelan didn’t know which part had truly moved her: the sentence, "There’s nothing shameful about earning money with your own two hands," or the words, "Because... you’re my cousin."

After seeing Ji Huan off, she stood in the courtyard in a daze for a while. Then, hugging the bundle of clothes, she hurried to town and was back before noon.

Seeing her return empty-handed, Yang looked worried. "What happened today... You didn’t get any work?"

"No, there was work, but I didn’t take it. I’ve decided to do something else."

Ji Xuelan explained the reason for Ji Huan’s visit, finishing with a resolute tone:

"Mother, I’m going to work with Wan."