People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

"Take Anhe to the cafeteria, it's already noon, he must be hungry! We need the best lion's head meatball set meal!"

When Zhuang Chaoying returned to her office, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses was standing behind her wooden desk.

Xu Zifu stood up and extended his hand to greet him. "I've heard so much about you! My daughter has read 'Youth in the Great Northern Wilderness' three times, and there's still a bookmark of yours on her bedside table."

Zhuang Chaoying glanced at the agreement on the table and immediately noticed the words "15 percent".

Xu Zifu looked at him sincerely and stated the publishing house's terms.

"Editor-in-Chief Zhou told me about your requirements, and we agree to them. The royalties will be calculated at 15%. However, we also have one requirement: your next work must also be published by our publishing house."

He had prepared for a protracted battle, but at this moment he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Editor-in-Chief Xu's 'retreat to advance' tactic is much more direct than Editor-in-Chief Zhou's."

I had initially thought they would make more demanding requests, like an exclusive agency agreement, but hearing that was all, I immediately felt relieved. Their hands clasped again. "Then I wish us a successful collaboration."

Xu Zifu laughed heartily, took his hand, and shook it gently.

"Okay, Xiao Zhuang is a straightforward person. I really like your work."

.......

Xinhua Bookstore.

She arrived at the bookstore early in the morning, her original plan being to pick out an English-Chinese dictionary.

When she walked into the bookstore, she was immediately drawn to "The Difficult Journey" displayed on the shelf by the entrance, described as "Zhuang Anhe's subversive work that tears open the bloody truth of life."

It attracted attention.

She couldn't resist picking up a book and starting to read, and once she started, she couldn't stop reading from morning till night.

As the story unfolded, her emotions rose and fell. When she read the part where the protagonist held his adopted son's mangled corpse in the rain and laughed with his head thrown back, tears suddenly streamed down her face, dripping onto the words "The End".

After reading it for the first time, she could only describe it with the word "miserable".

Even so, she felt she hadn't had enough and wanted to read it a second time, so she bought the book without hesitation.

......

Zhuang Chaoying finished her business in Shanghai and returned to Suzhou smoothly.

I thought life would continue peacefully as usual, but a month later, the weather suddenly became abnormal.

The sky seemed to have a huge hole torn in it, and the rain poured down for a week straight, getting heavier and heavier.

Suzhou is known for its frequent rainfall, and this kind of weather is common. At first, everyone thought that, as usual, the rain would stop after a few days.

But as the rainfall continued, Zhuang Chaoying keenly sensed that something was wrong.

Although it is said that "rain falls in torrents during the plum rain season," this kind of continuous rain, day and night, is really abnormal.

In 1991, the sluice gates in the old city area had not yet been repaired, and the outer sluice gates were also in poor condition.

Especially in areas along the river, such as Shantang Street and Guanqian Street, the river overflowed, and the floodwaters spread rapidly, soon reaching above ankle level.

Zhuang Chaoying sat under the eaves in the courtyard, watching the rain that was still falling.

[System, why isn't this rain stopping?]

[In response to the host, this plum rain season in the Taihu Lake basin will last for 56 days, which later led to the East China floods.]

Zhuang Chaoying quickly called her children in Shanghai.

"You must be careful. This heavy rain is unusual. Don't wander around. Stay at school."

The children responded sensibly on the other end of the phone, which reassured him a little.

Seeing Zhuang Chaoying's nervous expression, Huang Ling, who was used to rainy days, couldn't help but say something.

"Chaoying, aren't you making a fuss over nothing? There have been times when the rainy season lasted for a whole week."

Zhuang Chaoying shook her head with a serious expression.

"Ah Ling, I think this is not simple. In the next couple of days, I will move the things from the first floor to the second floor. Lin and I will get some sandbags to block the doorway. We will also buy some food to keep at home, just in case."

Seeing how serious he was, Huang Ling realized that things might not be so simple, so she nodded in agreement.

Just as the system predicted, the torrential rain relentlessly lasted for fifty-six days.

Anhui and Jiangsu provinces were the hardest hit by this prolonged rainstorm disaster.

The situation in Suzhou city was relatively better; the water level was only up to chest height, and only the first floor was flooded.

The situation in the countryside is much worse, with many people losing their homes.

Railways and passenger transport have stopped, but thankfully the children in Shanghai are all safe, which has put his and Ah Ling's minds at ease.

In July, good news came: Lin Dongzhe successfully signed a contract with the foreign company Baojie; Xiaoting, through her own efforts, was admitted to the Chinese Department of Fudan University for postgraduate studies.

Pengfei also successfully started working at the Shanghai Liaison Office of Brunner Man Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., serving as a salesperson and translator.

As expected, Xiao Zhou was admitted to the Computer Science Department of Jiaotong University for graduate studies, continuing his academic pursuits.

The rain continued until the end of June, turning the streets of Suzhou's old town into rivers, forcing people to travel by boat after get off work.

The rainwater rose extremely quickly, and the drainage system simply couldn't keep up. In the deepest parts, the water was up to chest level.

The first floor of Zhuang Chaoying's house was also flooded, with water reaching above her calves.

Finally, the rain that had been falling for fifty-six days stopped.

As the weather cleared up, the floodwater on the first floor gradually receded.

Looking at their homes after being ravaged by the rain, Zhuang Chaoying and A Ling discussed it and decided to donate 100,000 yuan in the hope of helping those who were more severely affected by the disaster to rebuild their homes and contribute to the recovery of the disaster-stricken areas.

In the face of this natural disaster, they not only protected their own families, but also showed great love.

.......

She looked towards Xiaoting's room on the third floor. "Chaoying, you said Dongzhe is going to Guangcheng for a year-long internship. If he stays in Guangcheng after his internship, what will happen to him and our Xiaoting?"

Zhuang Chaoying straightened up and shoveled the silt into a woven bag.

He pulled off the towel around his neck, wiped his sweat, and sat down.

“Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Xiaoting has always been strong-willed. This is just a test that God has given them for their relationship. If they can overcome it, they can stick together as one in the future; if they can’t…” He paused and draped the towel back over his shoulder.

"It's better to break up than to drag things out and end up resentful of each other."

Huang Ling sighed softly. "As parents, we always hope our children can have fewer hardships."

Just then, a sound came from outside the courtyard gate. Song Ying, wearing rain boots, walked into the courtyard one after the other with Lin Wufeng.

He stammered as he sat down next to Huang Ling. "Sister Ling, our Lin Dongzhe..." He choked up before he could finish.

Looking at Song Ying's expression, Huang Ling immediately understood her thoughts. "Song Ying, I know what you're going to say. Let the two children walk their own paths. Will you distance yourself from me because of Dongzhe and Xiaoting?"

Upon hearing this, Song Ying shook her head anxiously, tears welling in her eyes. "No, no, it's all Lin Dongzhe's fault, Sister Ling. I support him staying in Shanghai. Going back to Suzhou is fine, but no matter what happens in the future, you will always be my best sister."

Fearing that Sister Ling might misunderstand, she hurriedly expressed her attitude.

"That settles it then." Huang Ling gently took Song Ying's hand and placed it on her lap.

She understood that Song Ying was afraid that the relationship between the two of them would become distant because of the children's romantic problems. In fact, she herself was also worried that Song Ying had the same idea.

Huang Ling smiled and used her sleeve to wipe away Song Ying's tears. The way the two middle-aged women looked at each other and smiled made them feel as if they had returned to the time when they squeezed into the small kitchen together, cricketing together with Lao Wu and A-mei's family.

.....