Transmigration: On the Gossip Front
Chapter 660 - 661 Sister Like Mother 78_1

Chapter 660: Chapter 661 Sister Like Mother 78_1

Ever since Zhao Mei returned from Capital City, her spirits had greatly declined.

She had never expected that Huang Man would truly vanish from the face of the earth after graduating from college.

Even though she knew Huang Man was attending a university in America, what could she do? She didn’t have a passport and couldn’t go to America.

Even if she made it to America, it would be a huge problem how an old lady who didn’t speak English could get around there.

Counting the days, the child should have long since graduated from her master’s program, but Zhao Mei had no idea about her current situation.

She didn’t know whether Huang Man had returned to the country or stayed in America; Zhao Mei knew nothing at all.

In the past few years, Zhao Mei had also become much more low-key, especially when she saw people around her discussing their children’s marriages, talking about how to raise grandchildren.

At these times, Zhao Mei could only listen dumbly and watch the children with envy.

Then she’d fall into deep thought, leaving others clueless as to whether she was regretting not saving her son or regretting the fallout with her two daughters.

Since Huang Man started college, Zhao Mei only learned about her admission to a prestigious foreign university with a full scholarship when she rushed to Capital City, which led to Huang Man’s overseas study.

After that, there was no phone contact, and everyone was completely in the dark about her circumstances.

As for Huang Lina, although she hadn’t returned to the village, people still had some news about her.

For instance, she later met a wealthy man who was older but seemed quite generous to her.

Villagers saw her one time in the city, dressed in fashionable clothes and looking glamorous as she stepped out of a car.

According to villagers, she had completely changed and was unrecognizable as Huang Lina.

Of course, she didn’t seem to want to acknowledge them and simply walked past, muttering "country bumpkins."

Hearing this, how could people not be angry? They claimed that Zhao Mei’s daughter was a lost cause.

In just one city, the daughter enjoyed a life of luxury dining and traveling by car to fancy places.

In short, her days were as comfortable as could be, but sadly Zhao Mei didn’t share in any of it.

Zhao Mei let out a light sigh, looking around as people started discussing their children’s money matters again. Finding the topic dull, she prepared to head home.

She still lived with Tian Zhiguo, but his sons and daughters were all married with children of their own. Every day after work, he would go to his son’s home to help with the kids and do chores.

It’s like he treated Zhao Mei’s place as a hotel, a place that needed his money and was always there to ask for it.

Zhao Mei of course knew Tian Zhiguo’s intentions were to get money from her bit by bit, but now, as a lonely widow, she had to rely on Tian Zhiguo for every little headache and fever.

The postman passed by on his bicycle, spotting Zhao Mei, "Zhao Mei, your international remittance slip."

At the mention of a remittance slip, an international one at that, everyone was stunned.

They thought about who Zhao Mei knew overseas. Then someone quickly remembered, "I recall, I recall, Huang Man did go abroad."

"Could it be from her?"

Some people then remembered the phone call Huang Man made before leaving the country, in which she said she would provide for Zhao Mei’s retirement when she turned 50.

"Zhao Mei, have you turned 50 yet?" someone remembered that she should have reached that age.

Zhao Mei certainly remembered her own birthday and hummed in response, "Yes, I celebrated it a couple of days ago."

Just two days ago was Zhao Mei’s 50th birthday, and right after that, her pension arrived.

Everyone craned their necks to see; they all wanted to know how much money Huang Man had sent to Zhao Mei.

Zhao Mei signed for the package and glanced at it, "Two hundred US dollars?"

They knew US dollars were valuable, but they didn’t know exactly how much they were worth.

"About 1200, 1300 yuan," said the postman, who was also seeing such a receipt for the first time. He had heard his colleagues discuss it and retained the information.

"That’s quite nice," exclaimed everyone, "My son works in the city area and only earns a bit over two thousand a month."

Instantly, everyone looked at Zhao Mei with envy and jealousy. An extra over a thousand each month, plus rent of more than two thousand in the city area, could be said to rival the salaries of retired workers in the city.

"You are really lucky." Someone else wanted to add something but found the words meaningless upon reaching their lips.

What to say, that Zhao Mei never looked after Huang Man, and now the child was still providing for her in retirement?

Was saying this meant to sting Zhao Mei or them? They had to work the fields, do housework, look after their grandchildren, but in the end, they still had to tread carefully around their sons and daughters-in-law.

In contrast, Zhao Mei, even if Huang Lina didn’t care for her, even though Huang Man was in another country, was still remembered by them and received pension remittances.

"Having money at hand, a man to serve you, someone to do the chores, no need to take care of children, no need to face anyone’s whims."

Someone sighed softly; what good were children and grandchildren surrounding them if only they knew the hardships they endured?

Zhao Mei looked at everyone’s envious faces and suddenly felt that not having children and grandchildren around was a relief.

"Not at all, you are the lucky ones, often able to see your sons and daughters, with grandchildren playing at your knees."

"I’m just alone," Zhao Mei repeated the bitter words they had said earlier, giving a retort. Hah, they wanted to provoke her; now she was throwing it back at them.

Listenting to the familiar words, even if they weren’t happy, they had no choice but to restrain themselves. Her life was simply better.

In the afternoon, Zhao Mei went to the post office to withdraw the money and decided to deposit it into her bank card after considering her options.

After all, she lived in the village and only had to provide for herself; her spending was truly minimal. Tian Zhiguo’s vegetables grown in his private plot were enough for her needs.

Whether she wanted to eat fish or chicken, she could simply buy them from the village, cheaper and fresher than outside, keeping her monthly expenses low.

Handling the money, and knowing Tian Zhiguo’s occasional remarks, she could tell that the moment he found out Huang Man had started sending her remittances, he would try to get his hands on the money.

Zhao Mei knew all too well that money should not be kept idle; even bank savings were depreciating. The best course of action was to buy property and then rent it out.

Zhao Mei directly approached the agent who dealt with her property rentals, informing them that she wanted to purchase another small studio to rent out.

The agent was of course happy to hear it. Buying a property meant a commission for them, and renting it out brought another fee.

Naturally, the agent recommended the best properties they had on hand to Zhao Mei. After a quick look, she soon made up her mind on which one to buy, paid for it, and just waited for the property transfer.

The agent knew Zhao Mei was a straightforward person, but even the most straightforward people didn’t usually act so decisively when buying property.

"Don’t you want to go back and discuss it with your family?" The agent was worried – if the old lady’s children came knocking with issues later, how would it be handled?

"No need, my daughter is in America." As for the other daughter in the city area, Zhao Mei regarded her as good as dead.

She never involved herself in her life, never seen a penny of her pension. Hmph, when she died, if there was still any money or property left, it would go to Huang Man.