I remember my father saying nothing at all. He was always like that. Whenever I was about to make an important decision, he would remain silent. Even when I later returned to him after suffering setbacks, he still offered no comment.
I still remember that summer when I carried my suitcase to the place that served as both my mother’s office and her home. The first thing she said when she saw me was: You are dressed so unfashionably. That day I was wearing a simple white shirt and a long skirt. My mother always thought I was not attractive enough, because in her view, that made it difficult to find a wealthy boyfriend. She looked quite young and told me that in front of outsiders, I should not say I was her daughter. In her opinion, for a woman doing business and trying to survive, it was more advantageous to hide her age and marital status.
At that time, I sincerely believed that my mother, who had never lived with me, must have gone through many hardships, so I chose to understand her and stay to help.
As time went on, I gradually came to understand the difficulties of life. Opposite my place was a dormitory for young migrant women from Hunan. Every mealtime, they would simply eat plain rice with a bottle of chili sauce, yet still enjoy it.
Our own life was not wealthy either. I noticed that my mother did all kinds of business, as long as it could make money, even if the profit was very small. When dining out, she always insisted on paying the bill and appeared generous, but at home, every meal was extremely simple, usually just one meat dish and one vegetable.
However, my mother is the kind of person who, even with only two yuan in her pocket, can still present herself in front of others as if she were a millionaire. Even today, she continues to live in this way.
