Rebirth to Save Myself

Chapter 110 Preparations Before the Lunar New Year

The sisters' bickering ended with each giving in a little, and the two happily dragged Lulu to a convenience store, buying a bunch of potato chips, candy, and instant noodles, which they then gave to Chen Jianguo for reimbursement. Finally, the three of them finished their "battle" with a grilled sausage each, and happily strolled off with a bag of snacks.

"Thank goodness you came, otherwise my dad wouldn't have been so quick to reimburse me," Chen Yuan sighed. Her dad had drastically reduced her allowance since she started her internship. If it weren't for her mother's secret help, her meager salary wouldn't even be enough to eat.

"Luckily, I'm still in school, and my parents haven't skimped on my allowance, hahaha." Su Xia teased Chen Yuan, because Chen Jianguo and Chen Chunqi had given her extra allowance since she was preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam, fearing that she might not be able to eat or dress warmly enough and that it would affect her exam.

"Our Mr. Chen really treated us differently," Chen Yuan said indignantly.

"If you're willing to quit your internship and work at Mr. Chen's company, I guarantee he'll give you double your allowance," Su Xia immediately offered Chen Yuan a solution.

"We agreed that you'd take care of the company and support me after you graduate," Chen Yuan said playfully to Su Xia.

"Who said that to you? I'm going to go abroad to stay with Lulu, leaving you crying in China." Su Xia grabbed Lulu's left hand and made a face at Chen Yuan.

"No, Lulu, you absolutely can't take Xiaxia in." Chen Yuan immediately grabbed Lulu's right hand and looked at her pleadingly.

"I will still take Xiaxia in if she comes." Lulu glanced at Chen Yuan with difficulty and chose to tell the truth.

"Sigh, I've lost, I've lost." Chen Yuan lowered her head and made herself look very sad.

"But if you come, I'll take you in too," Lulu quickly added, hoping Chen Yuan wouldn't be upset.

"Oh right, you reminded me. If I had run away before Xiaxia, I wouldn't be the one crying!" Chen Yuan slapped her forehead, suddenly realizing.

"Don't think about it!"

The next day, Chen Chunqi dragged the group out of bed to go shopping for New Year's goods. As he pulled them along, Chen Chunqi said, "It's rare that you've all come back so early this year. You complained before that the New Year's goods we bought weren't good, so this year you're in charge. You're responsible for decorating the house and buying all the food."

"But Mom, I'm so sleepy, can't we go this afternoon?" Chen Yuan looked like she hadn't woken up yet, clutching the blanket tightly and refusing to let go.

"No, things need to be bought in the morning to be fresh. Look at Lulu, she got up early this morning and has already finished breakfast and is waiting for you. You and Xiaxia are still lazing in bed, what kind of behavior is that?" Chen Chunqi decisively rejected Chen Yuan's suggestion, and pulled back the curtains, opened the window, and yanked off her blanket.

"Ah, it's cold!" Chen Yuan curled up in bed and pleaded with Chen Chunqi, stretching out a hand: "Ms. Chen, a blanket!"

"You have five minutes to wash up and come out for breakfast." Chen Chunqi took the blanket, turned around, and left the room without closing the door.

A moment later, a scream of agony came from the opposite room, and Chen Yuan smiled knowingly. Then, thinking that she wasn't the only one being treated this way by Ms. Chen, she instantly felt relieved.

Five minutes later, Su Xia and Chen Yuan sat at the dining table eating breakfast. Chen Chunqi grumbled beside them, "How old are they? Still sleeping in. Have I ever stopped you from sleeping in? You promised to go shopping for New Year's goods with me yesterday, but you won't today. I'm so miserable. Both of my daughters are like this."

“Auntie, I can go with you,” Lu Lu said hurriedly as she walked over.

"Ms. Chen, we were wrong, okay? We'll finish eating right now and head out to buy New Year's goods." Chen Yuan downed her soy milk in one gulp, then gestured to Su Xia.

"My mom is like this all the time, you'll have to get used to it," Su Xia whispered in Lu Lu's ear, then picked up her phone and went to the door to put on her shoes.

When Chen Jianguo heard that Chen Chunqi was going out to buy New Year's goods today, he wanted to send a driver to pick them up and drop them off. Chen Chunqi said, "Why don't we just let Yuanyuan drive? She got her driver's license but won't be able to drive if she doesn't drive."

"Are you sure your daughter can drive? She passed her driving test on her fifth try! Are you out of your mind?" Chen Jianguo couldn't believe that Chen Chunqi would dare to let Chen Yuan drive, someone who could reverse the accelerator and brake!

"You have to believe in your daughter. You can't keep belittling her, or she'll lose confidence. She'll get better with practice."

"Then you'd better prepare a trash bag in case you throw up in the car. Oh, and take two extra for Lulu and Xiaxia."

Chen Chunqi felt that Chen Jianguo was making a mountain out of a molehill. No matter what, Chen Yuan had a driver's license, so what could he do? Ten minutes later, she sat in the back seat and said to Chen Yuan, "Get out and switch with Xia Xia. Don't touch the car anymore."

Chen Yuan muttered with a wronged look, "I told you I didn't want to drive, but you insisted I drive, and now you're complaining about me."

"It's not that Mom dislikes you, it's just that I don't want to go back the way I came with the breakfast I just ate." Su Xia was so full of vomit that Chen Yuan had made her feel nauseous, even though she doesn't get carsick.

"In order to reach our destination as soon as possible, let's change people," Lu Lu also suggested.

"Okay, I'll sit in the passenger seat and give you directions." Chen Yuan waved her hand, then walked around to the passenger seat. She connected via Bluetooth and started searching for a playlist, asking Su Xia, "Do you have any specific songs you want to hear?"

"Didn't you say you'd give me directions? Why are you looking for songs now?" Su Xia turned to look at Chen Yuan.

"Oh, hehe, I forgot. Mom, where are we going first?" Chen Yuan turned to look at Chen Chunqi in the back seat.

"Let's go to the wholesale market to buy New Year's goods first. Have you bought your New Year's clothes yet?"

"No," Chen Yuan and Su Xia answered in unison.

"Lulu, can Auntie call you Lulu?" Chen Chunqi asked Lulu, who was standing next to her.

“Yes, Auntie.” Lu Lu nodded.

"Have you bought your clothes for the New Year?" Chen Chunqi asked.

“No, we don’t buy new clothes for the New Year where I’m from.” Lu Lu shook her head. New clothes are for boys; girls wear hand-me-downs or gifts from relatives.

"How can we not buy new clothes for the New Year? We haven't bought these two yet. Let's go to the mall to take a look after we finish shopping for New Year's goods." Chen Chunqi knew perfectly well that Lu Lu was just making up an excuse.

"No need, Auntie. I have clothes to wear." Lu Lu quickly waved her hand. She already felt bad about coming over to celebrate the New Year with them, and now she wanted someone to buy her clothes. How could she accept that?

"Auntie is an elder, so you should accept the clothes she buys for you. There's no reason to refuse." Chen Chunqi pretended to be serious.

“Yes, there’s no reason to refuse.” Chen Yuan was very happy that she didn’t have to spend her own money to buy clothes.

“Yes, refusing would be disrespectful to elders,” Su Xia said, trying to comfort Lu Lu.

"Besides, clothes are just clothes, how much can they cost? When you come to our house for the New Year, don't be so reserved. Make yourself at home, and treat your parents like Yuanyuan and Xiaxia. When you go abroad in the future, just don't forget about us."

"No, I won't." Lu Lu shook her head. How could she easily forget such kindness? She would keep it in her heart for a lifetime.

"It's decided then. Let's buy New Year's goods first, then clothes." Chen Chunqi made the decision directly, and then said to Chen Yuan, "Give Xiaxia directions to the wholesale market."

"Okay, ma'am."

They drove leisurely, singing as they arrived at the wholesale market. First, they bought Spring Festival couplets, "Fu" characters (福, meaning good fortune), and New Year decorations. Then they bought melon seeds, peanuts, and candies—things that are easy to preserve—to entertain guests. Finally, they went to the fruit market and brought back three boxes of cherries, two boxes of strawberries, eight extra-large mangoes, as well as seasonal fruits such as tangerines and green dates.

"Isn't this too much?" Lu Lu asked Su Xia in a low voice.

“No, my family loves cherries and strawberries. We wash half a box or a whole box at a time, so they go by very quickly. We can also use the mangoes to make mango pomelo sago, and we need to share some of the tangerines and jujubes with Chen Yuan’s boyfriend’s family.” Su Xia patiently explained why she bought so many.

"What do you mean 'my boyfriend's family'? My mom promised Aunt Chen she'd come to the wholesale market to buy her some fruit, and we even video-chatted just now. What does it have to do with me?" Chen Yuan retorted to Su Xia after hearing her words.

“It’s easy to say, it’s easy to say. Besides, isn’t Aunt Chen’s son dating you?” Su Xia asked, looking at Chen Yuan.

"You know him, so why use Aunt Chen's son? Just call him by his full name, Chen Wenwei." Chen Yuan rolled her eyes, not understanding what Su Xia was doing.

"Oh, Chen Wenwei! I'd completely forgotten his name if you hadn't mentioned it. He's afraid of getting scolded by his dad, so he doesn't even dare to say it at home." Su Xia looked at Chen Yuan with an "I see" expression, teasing her.

"Hmph, Dad's just too proud to admit it." Chen Yuan ignored her and quickly walked over to Chen Chunqi to help her buy things.

"Lulu, do you prefer pistachios, almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts?" Chen Chunqi ignored Chen Yuan and turned to ask Lu Lu gently.

"Anything is fine, I'm not picky." Lu Lu smiled and shook her head. In the past, her family would mostly buy peanuts and watermelon seeds from the fields for Chinese New Year. Watermelon seeds were cheaper than sunflower seeds, so almost everyone would buy them.

Nuts were the most expensive. One year at the market, her younger brother wanted to buy some, but her mother disagreed. He sat on the floor and threw a tantrum. In the end, her mother reluctantly bought him a small fistful of pistachios and warned Lulu not to eat them. After that, every time her brother ate pistachios, he would stand in front of her as if showing off, seemingly wanting to see Lulu's craving expression.

"I'll buy a little of everything, boss, give me a few bags."

"Good."

In the end, the entire trunk was crammed full, leaving only a few bags of nuts on the back seat. As soon as Chen Chunqi got in the car, he opened the bags, took out a handful of almonds, and gave them to Lu Lu, saying, "These are called almonds. They're hard, but they taste good. You can pry them open with your fingernail through this seam and eat the kernels inside. Give it a try."

“Okay.” Lu Lu took the almonds, peeled off the flesh inside as instructed by Chen Chunqi, and started eating.

"Is the food to your liking?" Chen Chunqi asked her, afraid that she might not like it.

"Mmm, it's delicious." Lu Lu nodded, her voice slightly choked.

“Eat as much as you like, it’s such a big bag. There are also walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, cashews, and so on. When we get home, I’ll have my aunt put them in a small jar and put some in your room. That way, you can easily grab a bite to fill your stomach when you’re hungry,” Chen Chunqi said happily.

"it is good."

The group first went to Chen Wenwei's house to deliver the fruit, then headed straight to the mall and contacted a driver to take a truckload of dried fruit and goods back to their aunt. Chen Chunqi was very familiar with the mall; as soon as she entered, she went straight to the stores she frequented. She often bought clothes for Su Xia and Chen Yuan, so she knew their preferred styles.

As soon as Chen Chunqi entered the store, he said to Su Xia and the others, "I'll sit over there and wait for you. You can choose whatever you like first."

"it is good."

Su Xia pulled Lu Lu along, and Chen Yuan stood beside Lu Lu as the three of them looked at the clothes in the store. As they looked, Su Xia said, "Lulu, your clothes are usually mostly black and gray, which is too dull. I only realized how pretty you look in bright colors when we went to Wanying's house last time. Why don't you try something a little more vibrant this time?"

“Black and gray are more resistant to dirt,” Lu Lu said. From childhood to adulthood, her clothes have mostly been dark-colored, because children's light-colored clothes get dirty easily, and new clothes become old clothes. But they forgot that Lu Lu rarely has new clothes of her own; her clothes are all hand-me-downs from relatives that her parents borrow.

Her mother would also say to her, "Children grow so fast, the clothes we buy you will be too small after only a few wears. When you grow up, Mommy will buy you new clothes, okay?"

But Mom forgot that my brother got new clothes every year, even though he couldn't wear them for more than six months. Mom still insisted on buying him new clothes, saying, "It's the New Year, he definitely needs new clothes. If our relatives see him wearing old clothes, they'll laugh at us for not having money!"

So many things are quite simple. For example, her mother doesn't love her at all, and she knows this, but she's unwilling to admit it or face it. She brainwashes herself, telling herself, "Every mother loves her child, and she must have her reasons for doing what she did."

Until her dream was shattered and reality confronted her, forcing her to make a decision: continue to be exploited by her family, or bravely break free from her family of origin and create a bright future for herself? She knew too many girls like her, dropping out of school early to work, their earnings taken away by their parents under the guise of safekeeping. When they reached a certain age, they were called home for arranged marriages, essentially sold off with exorbitant dowries—dowries that would ultimately become the means for their sons to marry.

“It’s dirt-resistant, but people always have to try different colors to know what suits them, right?” Su Xia said to Lu Lu with a smile.

"Hmm." Lu Lu nodded. Look! There was a vivid example in front of her proving that girls don't have to be unhappy even without a family or parents. Girls can also strive for their dreams, and girls don't have to follow the path arranged by their families.

She can start over, she can make herself happy, knowledge can change her destiny!