Chapter 15 Plan

The next morning, Wan Chu'er woke up to the sound of Bai Zhixi cooking breakfast. She looked around the familiar room and at the calendar on the table; her heart slowly settling, she was still sixteen.

She lay in bed, savoring the warmth of home for a moment before getting up.

Taking a step, Wan Chu'er paused momentarily, somewhat surprised that her limbs didn't hurt as much. She lifted her arm and noticed the bruising had changed color, unsure how long Bai Zhixi had massaged her the night before.

After washing up, Bai Zhixi had just finished cooking.

"Chuchu, breakfast is ready."

"Okay, coming."

Breakfast included Xiao Mi porridge, corn cakes, and pickled cucumbers made by Bai Zhixi, which were crunchy and slightly sweet, very delicious.

She hadn't had such tasty pickled cucumbers in nearly twenty years. In her past life, she had put effort into finding them but never found any as tasty as those made by Bai Zhixi.

"Chuchu, don't just eat the pickled cucumbers, have some Xiao Mi porridge to nourish your stomach," Bai Zhixi, keeping a close eye on her daughter, gently reminded her.

"Mhm." Wan Chu'er gave Bai Zhixi a smile and picked up her bowl to sip the porridge.

The Xiao Mi porridge was thick and delicious too; Wan Chu'er found everything Bai Zhixi made delicious.

Looking up, she saw Bai Zhixi holding her chopsticks, frozen in place, motionless for quite some time.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Wan Chu'er asked, puzzled.

Bai Zhixi came back to her senses and said, "Chuchu, you haven't smiled at me like that in a long time." Her voice choked up a bit with emotion.

Wan Chu'er paused, her emotions swirling; it probably started when she was ten, the year her father died. An Lian occasionally appeared, which strained her relationship with Bai Zhixi—either throwing tantrums or sulking.

"Mom, I was too willful, too selfish, and too foolish before. I will definitely take better care of you from now on, I'm sorry." Wan Chu'er put down her utensils and spoke sincerely.

Hearing Wan Chu'er's words, Bai Zhixi's eyes widened in disbelief, and after a moment, tremblingly she asked, "Chuchu, are you serious?"

Wan Chu'er nodded emphatically and said, "Yes, from now on, I'll do whatever you ask me to do, and if you ask me not to do something, I won't do it. I'll become the daughter you like."

Living anew, Wan Chu'er knew how important Bai Zhixi was to her. Without Bai Zhixi, she was like the rootless duckweed, unsettled everywhere.

Bai Zhixi watched Wan Chu'er doubtfully for a while, and seeing her sincerity, tentatively said, "I hope you study hard and get into a good university."

"No problem."

Bai Zhixi ventured further, "I hope that in the future, no matter what upsets we have, we can open our hearts to each other, communicate, and promise not to leave home or lose temper."

Wan Chu'er thought for a moment and then nodded, "Okay, I'll try my best."

Observing such a significant change in her once rebellious daughter overnight brought joy to Bai Zhixi, yet a part of her felt uneasy, deciding to observe gradually.

After the meal, Wan Chu'er even volunteered to wash the dishes.

Naturally, Bai Zhixi stopped her. "Chuchu, you are already in second year of high school. You should focus on your studies. Just rest and read at home today. You must go to school tomorrow, okay?"

Seeing Bai Zhixi's determined attitude, Wan Chu'er decided to go along with her, obediently returning to her room.

In her room, Wan Chu'er browsed through the textbooks on her desk, familiar yet foreign.

Actually, Wan Chu'er was very intelligent. In elementary school, she had always been the top student, and in middle school, although teenage rebellion caused her grades to slip slightly, she never fell below the top five. However, during the first mock test in high school, she placed sixth in her class, which made Liu Li target her, allowing herself to be mistreated weakly.

In her second year of high school, at Zhuo Yao's suggestion, she neglected her studies, resulting in a disastrous college entrance exam.

And for the following years, Wan Chu'er never really studied again, having long forgotten the contents of her high school textbooks.

Although she is now in her second year of senior high school with less than two years left until the college entrance exam, Wan Chu'er is very confident. She believes she can ace the exam and achieve great results for Bai Zhixi, making up for the shortcomings of her previous life.

After thinking about it, Wan Chu'er found a blank sheet of paper and earnestly wrote a daily schedule.

When she finished writing the plan, Bai Zhixi's voice came from the living room.

"Chuchu, mom's going to set up a stall. You stay home and study well."

Wan Chu'er quickly left her room, and in the living room, Bai Zhixi was carrying a machine in one hand and a big bag in the other.

"Mom, don't go to Southern City today. It's too far, just stay nearby from now on."

"Huh?" Bai Zhixi didn't react at first.

"Don't go to Southern City anymore." Wan Chu'er repeated, and Bai Zhixi finally understood what her daughter meant. She smiled and said,

"It's okay, it's not far. Mom can get there quickly by bus." She was afraid of embarrassing her daughter.

Wan Chu'er had also thought about this and seriously said, "Mom, I've changed. I won't be so vain anymore."

Eventually, with Wan Chu'er's persistence, Bai Zhixi agreed to set up a stall at a nearby market.

They walked for just twenty minutes and arrived at a market closest to the Glass Factory Family Quarters. Since it was located in the center of Wutong County, there was a large flow of people. Wan Chu'er helped Bai Zhixi find an empty spot, paid a three yuan management fee, and set up the shoe repair stall.

"Chuchu, you should go back now. Have lunch on your own and don't worry about mom." Bai Zhixi forcefully gave Wan Chu'er five yuan and told her to go home.

Wan Chu'er didn't argue with Bai Zhixi. After taking the money and checking that there were no issues around Bai Zhixi's stall, she left the market.

However, after leaving the market, she did not go straight home but wandered along the road again.

Seeing Bai Zhixi sitting in the open area of the market, waiting to repair shoes for people, she felt distressed. Not only was it a struggle to earn money, but also it was suffering. She wanted to explore Wutong County's market to find a suitable business for their family.

Unfortunately, after wandering all morning, she didn't find anything promising, yet she wasn't disheartened, knowing the difficulty of life.

Wan Chu'er decided to have lunch outside. She slightly pickily chose a clean and formal-looking restaurant.

The restaurant was quite busy, with almost all seats occupied. She ordered a bowl of noodles and sat in a corner. At her table were two middle-aged men, one of whom had a black briefcase on his lap with "Wutong County Government" written on it. She guessed they might be government employees.

Wan Chu'er quietly waited for her noodles.

"Old Wu's noodles are tasty indeed, but this pickle served with the rice is really not good. If they provided some good pickled vegetables, I might eat another bowl of noodles," one man told the other.

"Indeed, I thought of bringing my own pickled vegetables, but Old Wu doesn't allow it. Look at this pickle they offer; it's really bad. Can it even be called pickle!" The other man also complained.

Wan Chu'er glanced at the dish of free pickles placed in the middle of the table. The chopped turnip mixed with soy sauce indeed didn't look appealing.

When her noodles arrived, Wan Chu'er picked up a chopstick full to taste. The noodles were indeed chewy and had a rich topping.

She also grabbed some pickles and put them in her mouth.

Ah!

She almost spat it out, but seeing no trash can around and no tissues, she felt it was unsanitary and swallowed it forcefully, then quickly ate two more mouthfuls of noodles to suppress the salty taste.

The two middle-aged men across from her couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

The pickle had so much salt, it was deathly salty.

Was the salt seller killed?!

She complained to herself.

Looking at the pickle, Wan Chu'er had an idea in mind.