National Tide 1980.

In fact, Yujiro Sakai's misfortune cannot be considered a real misfortune.

Because to a large extent it is actually caused by his inability to correctly understand himself and to look at the objective world rationally.

Besides, at least he still has a family, at least he still has a house, at least he still has a wife who truly loves him.

There are many people in this world who are more miserable than him. Compared with those who have lost their families and loved ones and encountered real misfortune, he should be grateful to the world and be satisfied with his current situation.

For example, Mi Xiaoran, who had just come to terms with the death of her husband.

Zhao Hanyu's accidental death caused everything in Mi Xiaoran's world to collapse, especially her life.

Mi Xiaoran was unable to accept the news of her husband's accidental death.

After figuring out what happened and going to identify the body, she almost went insane when she saw Zhao Hanyu's miserable condition.

Perhaps it was a stress response. When she was most emotional, she felt dizzy and passed out.

After waking up, Mi Xiaoran found herself lying in the hospital, and the person accompanying her was Zhao Hanyu's sister-in-law.

At this time, Mi Xiaoran felt that her life had lost its hope and she was completely in despair. If she hadn't remembered that she had a child who was only a few months old, she really wanted to die.

On the day of Zhao Hanyu's funeral, Mi Xiaoran's eyes were red and swollen like peaches from crying. She was in much more pain than Zhao Hanyu's blood relatives.

Although when she first married Zhao Hanyu, she didn't love him that much.

But in the years after marriage, after several years of mutual support, after discovering that Zhao Hanyu treated her consistently and that the two had a child, Mi Xiaoran had already given up on Zhao Hanyu and regarded him as the only partner in her life, never thinking about anyone else in this life.

Her emotions, her family, her expectations, her future, and everything she could imagine about happiness were all based on his participation.

And now, she has lost her husband and lost everything. How can she control her grief?

That’s not all. After the funeral, the situation Mi Xiaoran faced was even more serious.

Because in her life, Zhao Hanyu is still the economic pillar of the family and her support.

Now that Zhao Hanyu has passed away suddenly, she has even lost the basic security of life.

First of all, they had just bought a house, and she had no ability to afford the huge mortgage and continue to pay the mortgage.

Secondly, she has a hungry child to feed.

In addition, she had no job, no source of income to pay the bills, and no savings.

The worst thing was that they had to use their meager savings to pay the down payment for the house, and even the little financial compensation Zhao Hanyu received when he was fired was used to deal with his funeral.

Otherwise, with the original 20,000 US dollars, Mi Xiaoran could at least support herself independently for a period of time.

But that is no longer possible. Not only does she not have any extra money to calm down and heal her pain in peace, but she can also think carefully about what to do in the future.

She even had to force herself to deal with the many bills that were due and the bank's debts.

Mi Xiaoran is now deeply in debt, in trouble, and penniless.

Even though she was exhausted physically and mentally, and had a young child to take care of, she had no choice but to cope with everything and had to accept the cruel reality.

In the end, with the help of the Zhao family, he managed to deal with everything, transferred the house to someone else at a low price, and barely got back two thousand dollars.

Twenty-five thousand dollars became two thousand dollars, and this does not include the monthly mortgage payments that were paid on schedule for the first few months of living there.

Such a huge loss made Mi Xiaoran almost cry without tears.

But even so, it is better than nothing. After all, the current world situation has caused the stock market crash to a point where it is out of control.

The number of unemployed people in the United States is increasing every day, stores are closing down every day, and entire commercial buildings cannot be rented out.

Now, let alone houses, even daily necessities are piling up in stores and cannot be sold.

But the bank is an impartial government agency. If you delay for a day, your interest will be deducted.

If you don’t pay for one month, you will be given a yellow warning slip immediately. If you don’t pay for two months, you will be given a red warning slip.

If you don't see the money within three months, the house will be directly owned by the bank and you won't get a penny.

So if the Zhao family had not been deeply rooted in the United States and knew enough people to help her find an old overseas Chinese who was a landlord to take over, Mi Xiaoran would not even be able to get this little money.

Even the old overseas Chinese, considering his friendship with Zhao's parents, sympathized with her situation and allowed her to stay until New Year's Day.

For her, this was a blessing in disguise.

But then again, there is no free lunch in the world, and the Zhao family’s help does not come without a price.

After all, Americans are very pragmatic when it comes to finances and they are very clear about the differences. No one will make sacrifices for someone who is not related by blood.

And even if they are blood relatives, there are conditions and it is not in vain.

Mi Xiaoran never expected that after dealing with those creditors who sent bills or came to collect debts, another heavy blow would follow.

Surprisingly, it was Zhao Hanyu's relatives' turn next. Those who, like her, were also grieving over Zhao Hanyu's accidental death - came to force her.

Zhao Hanyu's parents had a private talk with Mi Xiaoran. Their meaning was very simple. They wanted to hand Zhao Enxia over to Zhao Hanyu's brother and sister-in-law to raise, and she would be considered their child from now on.

The old couple argued that although Zhao Hanyu had passed away, he still left them a grandson, and the Zhao family could not ignore Zhao Enxia, ​​the bloodline of the Zhao family.

But Mi Xiaoran is different. She is still very young and she has to continue living. She will definitely move forward and marry someone else in the future.

Of course, it is inconvenient for a single mother to raise a child alone.

Given the situation of an orphan and a widow, not only is survival difficult, but it will also hinder her future happiness.

So in view of this, Zhao Hanyu's parents suggested that she should simply give up custody of the child, hand the child over to the Zhao family to raise, and move forward in search of a happy new life.

Especially now that the child is still young and won’t remember too many things, it would be easiest for Mi Xiaoran to leave, and it wouldn’t have any impact on the child’s future.

Zhao Hanyu's brother and sister-in-law will definitely take care of Zhao Enxia as if he were their own child, give him the best education, and let him go to the best university.

The Zhao family is willing to give Mi Xiaoran 50,000 US dollars as compensation.

As long as she promised not to come back and interfere with the children's lives, and was willing to leave New York forever.

If Zhao Hanyu's death was an unbearable blow given to Mi Xiaoran by God, then the Zhao family's request at this time was like rubbing salt into Mi Xiaoran's bloody wound.

Mi Xiaoran never thought that the Zhao family would actually come up with such an absurd and shameless suggestion.

They actually wanted to take her child away!

He actually wanted to use money to sever the blood relationship between her, the mother, and her own child!
Never let them meet again!
How is this possible?

How can this be?

How could they be so cruel!
Of course she couldn't agree to it. In her opinion, the price offered by the Zhao family was to ask her to sell her own child, which was a great insult.

So she flatly refused on the spot, and told the Zhao family with tears in her eyes that she would never be separated from her children.

She said her child didn't need anyone else to raise him, not even the Zhao family's help.

No matter how difficult the future may be, she will try her best to raise her children and help them become successful.

However, although her angry words made her seem particularly ambitious, she forgot that things are different now and it is no longer the time when Zhao Hanyu is alive.

In the past, the Zhao family treated her as their own daughter-in-law, but because they were concerned about Zhao Hanyu's face and feelings, they did not want to do some things too excessively.

But things are different now. Apart from a little baby who still makes the Zhao family feel a little warm towards her, the Zhao family now regards her, the widow of Zhao Hanyu, as an unrelated outsider and a woman who will marry someone else sooner or later.

How could they allow the bloodline of the Zhao family to call a person who has no blood relationship with them father?

So the Zhao family stopped pretending. False kindness was meaningless at this point. Since they had become the two sides of an irreconcilable conflict over the custody of the child, the Zhao family simply used the law as a weapon and money as a means to coerce Mi Xiaoran into submission.

"Come on, you know what you said is meaningless. This is America, a girl from the mainland of China like you can't possibly do what you said. Take basic living for example, you don't even have a stable job, you don't have any source of income, how can you raise your child?" "Well, even if you can find a job, then what about the child when you go to work? Can your income support you and your child? What if you get sick? What if the child gets injured accidentally? Do you and your child have medical insurance? Even if these are not a problem, how can you guarantee the best education for your child? Just rely on those public schools? Are you going to move your child to the slums?"

"Listen to our advice and don't be obsessed. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to take legal action. Needless to say, given your conditions, the court will never award you custody of the child. And you don't even have a lawyer, so how can you win this case?"

"Don't look at us like that. We are not cruel. We are doing this for your own good and for the good of the child. If you really love your child, you should change your perspective and think about Enxia's future. What will the child become like if he follows you? Can he go to a prestigious university and have a good future? If something happens to you, will he be sent to an orphanage? This is the priority issue for a mother who loves her child. If you just can't bear to part with your child, isn't that selfish?"

"We really don't want to make this matter a stalemate, so let's be rational and solve the problem properly. Take the money and leave the child. You can at least go somewhere else to start a new life, marry again, and have children. As long as you want, you can have your own children. Why do you have to go to extremes? If you feel that fifty thousand dollars is not enough to alleviate your emotional pain, then considering that Hanyu loves you so much, I will make a final concession of eighty thousand dollars."

"This amount of money is indeed not too much, but you should know that in today's world, the economy is about to collapse. Now no one has money and it is difficult to find a job. With the Zhao family's ability, this amount of cash is not easy to collect. If you don't want to stay in the United States anymore and return to your hometown, with the consumption level in mainland China, this money is even enough for you to live a rich life for the rest of your life. Isn't it? In short, think about it again..."

These were the last words the Zhao family left for Mi Xiaoran.

Ever since coming to the United States, Mi Xiaoran has heard that people here are inhumane.

Originally she thought that it was referring to the white and black people here, or non-Chinese people of color, but today she finally experienced it!
Even though they are all descendants of the Chinese nation, after coming to such a place and being surrounded by the smell of money every day, they have long since become cold-blooded animals.

The United States has everything: the moon is round and the air is sweet, but it lacks conscience and emotions.

Here, people don't have to feel ashamed about eating each other.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Even if they are former relatives, even if they are friends who grew up together.

As long as it is right for Jing'er, he can turn against her if necessary, even point a gun at her and kill her at will.

Realizing this suddenly with deep pain, the light of the beacon of the free world dimmed in Mi Xiaoran's heart.

In this shabby place, without Zhao Hanyu, the mother and daughter would starve to death and no one would care.

But having said that, no matter how angry you are, the reality is that the predicament will not be changed because of these bad emotions.

Although the Zhao family is shameless and excessive, some of what they say does make sense. Mi Xiaoran cannot help but seriously consider some of their words for the future of her and her children.

That’s right, there are too many unemployed people in the United States now, and it’s not easy for Mi Xiaoran to find a job.

Although she already had a more than adequate academic degree, she had no relatives or friends here, and it was a pipe dream for her to expect to find a well-paid, comfortable white-collar job with just this degree.

Even Zhao Hanyu, who graduated from a prestigious university, was fired by the company, so how could she survive?
The most likely possibility is to work in a restaurant or store and make a living by doing physical labor.

At her age, she is still competitive in this industry, not to mention that she has sufficient experience. She has done some work in the Zhao family, but don't expect too much from her salary.

It would be good enough if I could have a monthly salary of 1,500 yuan and have my boss buy medical insurance for me.

But the question is, how can this money be enough for her and her children to live on?
She doesn't have any requirements for housing. She just wants a place to sleep in a safe community.

But she couldn't be too lenient with the food because her child still needed breast milk.

If she cannot ensure healthy nutrition in her diet, the quality of her milk will not be guaranteed, and she will have to feed her child with formula, which costs twenty dollars a bucket.

Various fruit pastes, vegetable pastes, and meat pastes, each small bottle costs about one dollar.

"Export" also costs money. Diapers, 124 pieces, cost twenty-five dollars, and a box of wet wipes costs two dollars.

There are also children's toys, toiletries and other things that cost dozens of dollars every month.

These daily expenses are barely enough for basic living expenses.

But the most expensive thing is the labor cost of taking care of children. It costs $1,500 a month to hire a nanny to take care of a child. Sending a child to daycare is cheaper, but it still costs at least $700 to $800.

This creates a paradox: if she has to take care of the children, she can't go to work, and if she has to work, she can't take care of the children.

Besides, the income she earns from work is almost the same as the fees others charge for taking care of her children, so there is no point in working.

This situation may only be resolved when the child is five years old.

Because only when children are five years old can they enter kindergarten and enjoy all the free benefits in this regard in the United States.

Therefore, economic issues have indeed become the most difficult problem that needs to be solved in Mi Xiaoran's life.

If this problem is not solved, even if the Zhao family does not compete with her for the child, she and her child will not be able to live a normal life.

What should we do?

Forced by the situation, Mi Xiaoran did not cry or shed a single tear.

Without a husband to rely on and being persecuted by the Zhao family, her heart was filled with hatred and grievance, but also with a determination.
Be determined to face reality, bravely eliminate all obstacles and keep fighting.

She wants to be a person, a real person, a strong mother.

As the saying goes, women are weak by nature, but become strong when they become mothers.

For the sake of this child, Mi Xiaoran, the woman who had worked in the countryside in Shanxi and dared to compete with men in driving donkeys and horses, came back.

All her pampering and vanity faded away, and the toughness of the girl from Beijing still remained in her bones, the Mi Xiaoran who believed in the teachings that "fighting with others is endless fun, fighting with heaven is endless fun" is back.

It's really amazing that even in this situation where he was surrounded by enemies on all sides, Mi Xiaoran still managed to come up with a work-around.

She could just send the child back to her hometown in Beijing, why not?

Not only are there my biological father, mother and sister, but also the old neighbors from Yard No. 2.

No one will mistreat their children.

If people knew that the child was an orphan, they would take better care of him and would never let him suffer any injustice.

My hometown is poor, but it is full of friendly people.

Mi Xiaoran was absolutely sure of this.

In addition, the cost of raising children is really low.

Not to mention that I can work in the United States and send money home, even if I don’t have money, it’s no problem to support such a little kid with my family’s income.

In this case, although she would be separated from her child temporarily, the separation would not last long. As long as she could gain a foothold in the United States as soon as possible, she could bring the child and her parents over when the child was four years old.

And the worst thing is, in this case, the Zhao family can't do anything to her even if they file a lawsuit. Her children are not in the United States, what can the Zhao family do to her?
Yes, escape. As long as she takes the child back to the capital, all problems will be solved.

But the problem is... I need to buy a plane ticket to go back, how can I solve the problem of paying for the ticket?
That’s right, in the end the problem is back to the starting point: without money, you can’t move forward.

In fact, Mi Xiaoran didn't even have a thousand dollars on hand.

You know, after she got the two thousand dollars from selling the house, she had already spent a lot of it because she needed to move to a new place and buy some things for her children.

The airfare from New York to Beijing is at least a few hundred dollars.

No money, this is the key factor that makes the Zhao family think they can control her.

Thinking of this, Mi Xiaoran, who was unable to cook without rice, became worried again. She had no other choice but to open her things and choose the jewelry that could be pawned.

Zhao Hanyu bought some for her before he died, but it was hard to say how much money she could get from these things in the pawn shop.

She felt both distressed and helpless. Now that things had come to this, she could no longer keep the things she had originally wanted to keep.

However, sometimes the turning point comes so coincidentally. After finding the jewelry box, Mi Xiaoran took out all the jewelry and suddenly became excited.

Because she suddenly discovered that in the bottom layer of the jewelry box, there were more than a dozen green hundred-dollar bills.

Mi Xiaoran covered her mouth in surprise. She couldn't believe her eyes, and even more so her luck.

How could she have forgotten? It turned out that she still had the money that Ning Weimin had asked Zhang Shihui to give her - fifteen hundred US dollars!
She once despised the money and even thought that she would never need it in her lifetime, so she wanted to return it to Ning Weimin.

At the beginning, Ning Weimin told her to deal with emergencies, but he didn't expect that this guy would come true again.

Today she actually used it! (End of this chapter)