They could make a round trip in a day. It wasn’t a place far from home, and Whitaker Scarlett thought Elizabeth could adapt.
Hadn’t Elizabeth been running to the commercial city to deliver eels and sell oil residue these days?
“Then what about you?”
“There are buses from the commercial city to Greenfield County. If I need to go to school, I’ll take the bus back. It’s better than the muddy roads from the village to the county.”
Elizabeth was speechless.
“Go tell your aunt. I don’t have the face to say it.”
Elizabeth couldn’t find a reason to object either, and felt a little down. Whitaker Scarlett immediately changed her tone, “If you really don’t want to move, I won’t force you. But I’ve already rented a house in the commercial city, and they won’t refund the money. Then I’ll live alone in the commercial city, and no one will cook or clean for me…”
Elizabeth became anxious, “I’ll go with you!”
She loved Whitaker Scarlett so much. Thinking that Whitaker Scarlett might go hungry or cold, living alone in a rented house where she might be bullied, she didn’t care about anything else and wanted to go with her.
A parent’s love is truly selfless!
…
Amanda wasn’t too surprised to hear that Whitaker Scarlett had rented a house in the commercial city. Whitaker Scarlett was determined, and now she had a good opportunity and found a way to make money. What was she doing staying in the village?
“Your uncle asked me to take care of you, and I also think you’re a sweet girl. With your mother living with you in the commercial city, I don’t have to worry about your life. But you must ensure that you don’t forget your studies!”
Whitaker Scarlett made over a thousand dollars in one trip to Sablewick.
University graduates get paid about that much a month after they start working. The difference is that their lives and work are respectable and stable. Amanda was afraid that Whitaker Scarlett would be blinded by the money she earned from reselling clothes, and if she thought that going to university was meaningless, how would she explain it to William?
“Aunt, I know what’s important.”
Amanda poked her head, “Take your bicycle with you too. I can’t ride a bicycle anyway, and it’ll just rust away at home. It’s embarrassing to refuse when villagers ask to borrow it.”
William’s new bicycle was used to carry goods every day, running back and forth between the commercial city and the countryside. The bicycle’s quality was good, but the paint on the outside was inevitably scratched. It had made significant contributions to Whitaker Scarlett’s initial capital.
Whitaker Scarlett wouldn’t leave the used bicycle behind. She planned to buy a new bicycle after another trip to Sablewick, and she and Elizabeth would use the old one. Amanda was very thoughtful. When Micheal wasn’t in school, all four of them went to the commercial city.
Micheal went to the capital for the first time, and his mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of several rather imposing buildings.
They moved their clothes over today. Amanda and Elizabeth went to buy bedding, and Whitaker Scarlett also took Micheal to do other things. They had two rooms, and she and Elizabeth each had their own room. They didn’t need to buy very good beds; the money they had was needed for purchasing goods. They used red bricks as bed legs, placed an old door panel on top, and laid thick quilts on it to make a bed.
The table and wardrobe were also second-hand goods discarded by the municipal committee guesthouse. They paid a symbolic amount of money, and Hughes Lawrence allowed Whitaker Scarlett to choose whatever she wanted.
After several trips back and forth, the two rooms were gradually tidied up.
Amanda and Elizabeth made the beds and wiped the tables. After cleaning and tidying the rooms, they both felt that the dwelling, pieced together from second-hand goods, was really good, especially since it didn’t cost much!
“Scarlett didn’t get you to live in an apartment building, this house isn’t much different!”
City people have to spend money on everything, but everything is convenient.
Looking at Johnson’s family’s toilet, Amanda wondered if her family should also save money to move to the city.
She was thinking about the county town, but Whitaker Scarlett set a much bigger goal for her:
“The schools in the capital are better than those in the county. If Micheal can study in the capital, the gap with children in the countryside will be widened.”
Amanda was a little moved, “But Micheal is a rural resident, can he study in the capital?”
Whitaker Scarlett didn’t know much about this either. People find ways to solve problems. You can’t go to school if you don’t have a household registration. In a few years, the country’s policy on “agricultural to non-agricultural” transfers might be relaxed, and it won’t be too difficult to obtain urban household registration then. Before that, Micheal could “borrow” a place in a school in the provincial capital. Once his foundation is solid, it won’t matter where this child studies in the future.
“Creak—”
