Chapter 14: Playing Both Sides!

The days on the train were both tedious and fulfilling. Tedious because there was nothing to do. Fulfilling because she encountered all kinds of people, as if witnessing the myriad facets of human life. Just as Shen Zhiyu felt she was beginning to adapt to the pace of life on the train, her destination arrived.

She knew little about her previous life’s family, as the story hardly mentioned them, only bringing them up when comparing her previous self to the female lead, Qiao Xi. Stepping out of the station into the vast sea of people, memories of her former life surfaced, reminding her where her previous home was and what kind of family she came from.

In truth, her former self had come from a large compound. However, she had fallen out with her family. She had four older brothers and was the youngest, the only daughter. By usual logic, she should have been the most cherished. And indeed, she was favored. Yet Shen Zhiyu realized that this favor was merely a facade.

Her parents used her favored status to mask their deep-seated preference for sons. If she was well-behaved, they were displeased. If she caused trouble, they protected her, but only to emphasize how outstanding and sensible her brothers were by contrast. As for her being sent to the countryside? That was a performance by her parents, under the guise of “re-education,” claiming she had been spoiled by their indulgence.

This arrangement allowed their youngest son, still unemployed, to remain in the city and gradually find work. The occasional letters and money sent to her former self were merely to maintain appearances, showing they had not abandoned their daughter. In reality, aside from these sporadic gestures, no one thought to check on her well-being.

Though the amounts sent seemed considerable, for a family with multiple earners, it was hardly generous. Her father, Shen Ao, earned just over a hundred yuan monthly; her mother, Li Tunan, earned a similar amount; and each of her four brothers made at least forty yuan a month. Together, the family income approached four hundred yuan monthly. Over several years, the eight hundred yuan sent to her former self in the countryside was indeed significant.

Still, the family’s rationale was that they were simply supporting her so-called re-education, cautious not to give too much lest it foster further pampering.

Recalling her former family’s situation, Shen Zhiyu felt reluctant to return to that home. They were nothing if not hypocritical and self-serving. As someone unwilling to compromise herself, she instantly decided not to go back but to report directly to the factory.

Once her job was secured, her residency could be registered at the local street office. Since her household registration had been moved out of the Shen family at the moment she was sent to the countryside, not returning home posed no real problem.

Her family had arranged for her to work as a laborer in a textile mill, without specifying a particular position—it would be assigned by the factory. Shen Zhiyu knew working in a textile mill was no easy task but had no better options.

The factory she was assigned to, the Seventh Cotton Mill, was located in the suburban outskirts. This alone revealed that the Shen family truly wished to sever ties with her former self, casting her off to a remote, modest factory.

“Well, that’s not so bad,” Shen Zhiyu thought. After all, she was not her former self. Moreover, her previous incarnation seemed to have no lingering attachment or obsession with her family.

Her former self had been pitiable, spoiled and misguided by her parents. Only after being sent to the countryside did she finally understand everything—but by then, it was too late. Through Qiao Xi’s introduction, she had married Qi Huan, genuinely wanting a good life with him. That was why she endured the hostility from Qi’s mother, Zhou Cuihua, with such patience.

Unfortunately, she never truly grasped that momentary tolerance could only bring temporary peace. Yielding step by step eventually leads to having no ground to stand on.

Shen Zhiyu quickly completed the necessary procedures. Thanks to a small bribe, she avoided being assigned to the workshop and was instead placed in the office. As for housing, she was given a large west wing room in the central courtyard of a sprawling compound.

By later developments, this area would be beyond the city’s third ring road, yet it remained valuable property. However, Shen Zhiyu, with her foresight, knew that waiting decades for redevelopment and wealth would render her insight wasted.

“Miss, who are you looking for?”

Declining the overly enthusiastic offer of a young man from the housing management department to escort her, Shen Zhiyu found her way alone to the compound, only to be stopped at the gate by a kindly elderly woman.

“Grandma, I just arrived to report to the Seventh Cotton Mill. My housing is assigned here,” Shen Zhiyu explained.

“From the cotton mill, you say? Come on in!” The woman’s face softened into a warm smile. “Most of us here live in the cotton mill!”

“Which room were you assigned?”

“Central courtyard, west wing, a large room.”

“Oh, you’re lucky!” The elderly woman laughed and shared some details about the compound. That west wing room had belonged to an engineer who had been promoted to the cadre building, leaving it vacant. Many residents had eyed it, but none had acted before Shen Zhiyu secured it.

Shen Zhiyu hadn’t expected such good fortune simply from offering a few small gifts. Truly, the saying held: one can never be too generous with kindness.

After chatting for a while, Shen Zhiyu learned that the elderly woman’s surname was Li. She had been the original owner of the courtyard but had lost her family. In time, she had actively supported the government’s call to donate the property.

Now, she lived in the central courtyard’s main house, a bright and spacious three-room dwelling. She held the status of a “five-guarantee” elderly person, with the community helping her daily. She helped look after the children in the compound and occasionally took on the role of the gatekeeper auntie. Life was leisurely and comfortable.

Shen Zhiyu liked the woman’s sincerity, preferring honest people over schemers. Of course, just arriving at the compound, she was unsure whether its residents were friend or foe.

In dealing with people, it was best not to judge by appearances or words alone but by actions. Shen Zhiyu had no intention of being betrayed and ending up helping others count their gains.