Chapter 9: Tape

That night, Qu Zhi couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. Her mind was filled with plans for the renovation of the new house. From the lamps and facilities in each room to the baseboard lines in each corridor, she planned everything seriously.

She wanted to turn this big house into a shelter for her small family.

From then on, there was no more hatred and suspicion, only peace and happiness.

Ever since that day, Qu Zhi had been extremely busy.

She did all the carpentry, brick-pasting, and furniture shopping by herself.

However, she couldn’t always bring Chuchu with her. The dust from the renovation wasn’t good for the child, and she had to wear several layers of masks before she dared to go in.

She decided to settle down Chuchu first.

The first person Qu Zhi thought of was Sister Song.

Song Mei and Chuchu got along very well, and she did her homework well. She could even help Chuchu with supplementary lessons.

This morning, when she went out, she left Chuchu at the neighbor’s house.

Qu Zhi knew that Sister Song rarely gave Song Mei pocket money, so she pulled Song Mei to the side. “Meimei, Auntie knows that you’re good at your studies. Help your sister catch up with her studies. Auntie will pay you for it. How about three hundred a month?”

Seeing Sister Song standing at the side, Song Mei swallowed her saliva and hesitated, not daring to take it.

She actually needed some pocket money.

She had wanted to buy some tapes to listen to songs for a long time. It would be best if she could save some money to buy a tape recorder. Then, she wouldn’t need to borrow it from her friend.

“Auntie is asking if you can do it or not.” Sister Song didn’t seem to object and indifferently urged her. She was still busy playing mahjong.

Song Mei nodded and took the money. She smiled sweetly at Qu Zhi, “Of course, thank you, Auntie!”

Back then, a tape cost five yuan, and a tape recorder cost four hundred yuan.

Song Mei loved to listen to music and saved all the money she had for breakfast to buy some tapes to listen to.

The collected tapes were neatly stacked into a small mountain under the bed. If she could save enough money to buy a recorder, she wouldn’t have to run around to borrow other people’s recorders to listen to these precious things.

Chuchu was so obedient, so she was willing to play and study with her.

Auntie Qu was too kind.

“Then, Mommy will go out now. You stay at home and listen to Big Sister Meimei!” Qu Zhi waved goodbye to the children. She was indeed very busy. The lighting workers came today. She had to go and take care of the small details.

The house of her dreams was born little by little under her command. A bright balcony, a comfortable and generous living room, and an exquisite bedroom. She quickly turned the seemingly lifeless, rough room into a beautiful well-decorated room.

However, Qu Zhi was very picky and was not satisfied yet.

This was far from enough.

More details, more sophisticated.

She couldn’t be satisfied with just doing an average job. She wanted to let everyone who came to visit see at a glance that the designer of this house was a fantastic person.

She was so busy that she had forgotten about the effects of pregnancy, and she was as energetic as a young girl.

If the workers needed something, she would even drive to get some materials back in order to rush the work.

She gradually lost weight, and no one remembered that she was pregnant.

She didn’t seem to remember herself.

Every day, she diligently recorded the bill for the materials, and every expense could not escape her eyes. She had saved a lot from the budget that Liang Wen had given her, but when Liang Wen asked, she could always answer him clearly.

Qu Zhi also found it funny. She didn’t expect herself to be so good at falsifying accounts. She should have learned accounting when she was young.

“That powerful?” Liang Wen ate the supper she made without looking up. Since then, Liang Wen has been coming home less often. Even if he did, he would not drink too much.

He was tired of eating big fish and meat. He recently liked the onion noodles she made, and he pestered her to make it when she returned.

The noodles were soft and chewy, and Qu Zhi’s soy sauce was very flavorful so that he could finish many bowls at once.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Qu Zhi didn’t show much expression on her face, but her heart was already in turmoil. All these years, the number of times he praised her could be counted with both hands.

Every time she heard it, her heart would tremble.

“Mom, I’m back~” The door creaked open.

The little dumpling was happily in her arms.

“What did you play today?” Qu Zhi gently hugged Chuchu in her arms.

“After we finished our homework today, Sister Meimei took me to the store to buy a tape! Then, we went to Sister Mingming’s house to listen to it. It was so good.” Chuchu’s big eyes blinked, and there were stars in them. “We even sang together. Mommy, listen to me sing…”

The child’s sweet and tender voice floated in front of the small wooden table. Qu Zhi and Liang Wen clapped for the child and hummed softly.