A childhood playmate, a chance to spend money?

Wang Xiaoyan held on until Yue Meifen and the others were out of sight. Then she could no longer keep it together, and tears streamed down her face. Chi Qing hurriedly pulled her into the car; after all, people were constantly coming and going at the village entrance.

"What happened?" Chi Qing handed her a tissue.

Wang Xiaoyan cried quietly for a while, then wiped her tears and said, "It's nothing much. I wasn't going to tell you, but somehow I just couldn't hold it in back there."

Chi Qing watched her quietly. "It's just... Zheng Wei and I got divorced," Wang Xiaoyan said, unable to keep it in after all.

Chi Qing was startled. She had figured it was probably a problem between husband and wife, but she had only thought they had argued. She hadn't expected them to have already divorced.

"What happened? Why? Was there no way to work things out?" Chi Qing couldn't help asking.

Though Xiaoyan and her husband had never been all that inseparable, they had been married for years. Chi Qing hadn't usually heard of any major conflicts, and besides, they had a son and a daughter.

"He called another woman his wife in a game, and even ordered takeout and milk tea for her," Wang Xiaoyan said bitterly.

"Although he said they'd never met and nothing had actually happened, I'm really exhausted."

Wang Xiaoyan continued, "He only makes 3,000 yuan a month, and the moment he gets off work, he starts gaming. It's as though the house and the children have nothing to do with him. Yes, he hands over his entire salary. He even saved up the money for that other woman's takeout from his cigarette money. But 3,000 yuan a month isn't enough to take care of two kids and a family of four. I'm so tired."

Wang Xiaoyan paused, seemingly deflated.

"If he were motivated to get ahead, I could tough it out with him until the day our lives got better. But he makes me feel like there's no end to these days."

Wang Xiaoyan looked up at Chi Qing. "He saved his cigarette money to buy that woman milk tea that cost over twenty yuan a cup. I only let myself buy Mixue Bingcheng."

Had the circumstances been different, Chi Qing would have found that last remark a little funny for some reason...

Looking at Wang Xiaoyan, Chi Qing knew the milk tea was only a fuse, and what it had set off was an enormous stockpile of explosives that had accumulated over years. Once ignited, there was no going back.

Chi Qing didn't say much. She simply listened quietly as Wang Xiaoyan talked, then finally asked, "So what are your plans? What about the two kids?"

At the mention of her children, Wang Xiaoyan's emotions, which had just settled, stirred again, and her eyes quickly reddened. "Miaomiao stays with me, and Doudou stays with him."

After calming down a little, she added, "I'm planning to go out and work. Once I'm settled, I'll try to bring Doudou over too."

Hearing this, Chi Qing suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Have you found a job yet?"

"It's not that easy. After all, I don't have any qualifications, and I've been at home for so many years."

"Have you considered opening your own bakery?" Chi Qing asked.

Wang Xiaoyan had started working at a young age. Although she hadn't been good at school, she was actually efficient and capable, with plenty of work experience. She had previously worked in dessert shops and bakeries and enjoyed experimenting on her own. Chi Qing had tasted the desserts Wang Xiaoyan baked and thought they were excellent. All she lacked was a little professional guidance.

And wasn't I looking for investment opportunities, to invest the money I have to spend before the deadline and make even more money later!

"Open my own shop?"

Wang Xiaoyan seemed suddenly infused with energy, only to deflate again a moment later. "A bakery takes quite a bit of startup capital. And even if it makes money at first, that money has to go straight back into ingredients. Where would I get that kind of money?"

"How much do you think you'd need?" Chi Qing asked. "Rent, equipment, staff, ingredients... All told, you'd have to have at least 500,000 yuan ready," Wang Xiaoyan said. "I'm not too sure about the specifics, but it would have to be around that much."