Side Story: Changing Fate 5

There are many students now, but the workshops only need a limited number of people. It's not easy to get into the academy's workshops; only the top one or two students in the training course are eligible to compete.

Yuan Meiniang was naturally skillful, and she was also intelligent and quick to learn. She knew that this was her only skill to make a living, and whether she, her mother, and her two daughters would live well in the future depended on her ability. Therefore, she worked harder than anyone else.

Besides class, she could also practice sewing on the machine after school. She never wasted this time. When the sewing machine room was closed, she would think about it in her mind.

The two daughters must have suffered too much in the Sun family, so they were exceptionally sensible at a young age. Especially the Daya, who did a lot of things when she was in the Sun family. Now that she has come here with her mother, she is Gao Xing to be free from beatings and scoldings. She doesn't need her mother to worry about her and takes good care of herself and her younger sister.

When Yuan Meiniang saw this, she felt extremely sad and studied even harder.

Peaceful and quiet days always pass quickly, and the month-long training period soon came to an end. Yuan Meiniang came in first place in the exam.

The first-place winner gets to work in the workshop.

Working in the workshop provides a fixed basic wage, plus bonuses based on workload. Compared to renting a sewing machine and taking orders on your own, the income is more stable. Moreover, with the workshop as a backup, there's no need to worry about the Sun or Yuan families causing trouble.

Yuan Meiniang naturally chose to work in the workshop.

Madam Ma Madam Wen were very Gao Xing for Yuan Meiniang had won first place and stayed in the workshop.

Yuan Meiniang settled down near the college.

She still rented the same house.

Although I'll be sharing a courtyard with other people, I'll have company, and since everyone knows it's a courtyard rented by the college, they won't dare cause trouble, so I don't have to worry about safety.

Otherwise, if she were to divorce a young woman with two children, and a thug or hooligans showed up, her reputation would be completely ruined.

She worked during the day, and in the evenings she would take her daughter to literacy classes at the college— the Women's Technical College offered literacy classes in the evenings specifically for female students. The fees were not expensive, only twenty coins, and the classes lasted for a month. Upon passing the exam, students would receive a graduation certificate.

Yuan Meiniang was quick and diligent in her work, and when she received her wages at the end of the month, she received three hundred coins.

The rent wasn't expensive, and I ate all my meals at the college cafeteria. The college cafeteria was somewhat charitable, only trying to break even, so the food was good but inexpensive.

After deducting these expenses, she still had half of the money left, enough to recoup her tuition and living expenses from the previous period.

Holding the money, Yuan Meiniang both cried and laughed.

Such a wonderful day was something she could never have dreamed of.

As life improved, she began to think of her younger sister Lanniang, from her maternal family.

Her parents had three daughters before finally having a son. She was the eldest, Lanniang was the Second Brother, Third Brother was given away; no one knows where she was sent.

In their parents' eyes, both she and Lanniang existed solely for their younger brother.

From the time they can walk, they have to do chores for their families; when they reach a certain age, they are exchanged for a dowry, which is saved for their younger brothers to marry in the future.

Even after they get married, their parents still hope that they can squeeze money from their husbands' families to send back to their parents' and younger brothers for their own use.

That's the whole meaning behind her and Lanniang's existence.

When her parents chose a husband for her, they didn't consider the man's character, family background, or whether their daughter would have a good life after marriage.

They only care about who gives the most dowry.

Widow Sun was known for her meanness, Sun Baogen was a mama's boy who was incompetent and good-for-nothing; the mother and son were notorious in the area.

But because of the high bride price they offered, her parents married her off to this family.

Her life in the Sun family was Lanniang's future.

When Yuan Meiniang was at her parents' home, she and her sister served their parents and brother like slaves. After she got married, the only family member who cared about her was Lanniang.

Now that she's doing well, she wants to pull Lanniang out of her misery. She's worried that Lanniang's life will be ruined by her parents.

After much thought, she took some time to visit the Women's Federation and explained the situation to Madam Ma Madam Wen.

The Women's Federation has only been established for a year. Although it has used many methods to promote the concept of women's independence and autonomy, ingrained ideas are not so easy to change. Many women are clearly being abused at home, but they are unwilling to accept the help of the Women's Federation's Federation.

People like Yuan Meiniang only think of resisting when they are forced into a corner.

Now that she has realized her mistake, she wants to help her younger sister from her maternal family, so naturally Madam Ma Madam Wen do not object.

Madam Wen was in charge of Yuan Meiniang's matter, and naturally, she was also in charge of Lanniang's matter.

She asked, "How do you want to help your sister? Are you willing to contribute money or effort?"

"I'm willing to pay for her to study at the Women's Technical College, and I'll cover all her room and board during the training. Once she's learned, she'll be able to earn money to support herself and even save some money for her dowry. It's much better than her staying at her parents' house and being sold by them."

Hearing this, Madam Wen was very pleased.

The Women's Federation is not a charity, and there are eligibility requirements for helping people. If someone like Yuan Meiniang was desperate and couldn't get any money from the Sun family, the Women's Federation could provide financial assistance. But this wouldn't be the case for Yuan Lanniang.

Now that Yuan Meiniang is willing to spend money to help her sister, things will be much easier.

The next day, Madam Wen went to the Yuan family and told Yuan's parents that Yuan Meiniang had come to them and said that she had paid two hundred coins to the Women's Technical College to sponsor Yuan Lanniang to learn a skill.

If the Yuan family agrees to let Yuan Lanniang go to school, the money will be valid; if the Yuan family does not agree, the Women's Technical College will return the money to Yuan Meiniang when she comes to ask for it back.

Upon hearing that it was their eldest daughter who had given them the money, Yuan's parents were overjoyed.

For the past two months, they have been searching everywhere for Yuan Meiniang's whereabouts, and have even staked out the Women's Federation's Federation from time to time, but to no avail.

Unexpectedly, we've heard from our eldest daughter. She's even willing to get married and support her younger sister.

"Yes, yes, we're willing," said Mother Yuan.

After two months of silence, and now even when she's offering financial assistance to her younger sister, she's not doing so personally, but instead going through the Women's Federation. Yuan's mother knows that her eldest daughter is determined to sever ties with them.

Yuan Meiniang had made up her mind. With the Women's Federation backing her up, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to get the fifteen taels of silver from Yuan Meiniang and marry her off again for a dowry.

Now that there are benefits to be had, we should seize the opportunity.

Since Meiniang is willing to help Lanniang, it shows that she still cares about her younger sister. Later, we can have Lanniang find out about Meiniang and then gradually work on her.

"Alright then." Madam Wen didn't care what Yuan's parents were planning. She told Yuan Lanniang to register at the Women's Technical College the next day, and then got up to take her leave.

Yuan Lanniang sympathized with her sister's plight and regretted that she couldn't help her. Now that her sister had just settled down, she was already thinking of her, which touched her deeply.

She knew what her parents were planning.

So she went to the Women's Technical College, without looking for Yuan Meiniang or inquiring about her. When her parents asked, she simply said she had no news.

However, Yuan Meiniang secretly met with her younger sister a few times.

Yuan Lanniang knew she wasn't as capable as her older sister, so she didn't learn sewing but instead learned how to use a textile machine. A month later, she started working as a factory worker in a textile factory.

The textile factory was far from her home, and she needed to work overtime, so she used this as an excuse to live in the female workers' dormitory at the textile factory. She only went home for holidays.

Yuan's parents demanded that she hand over all her wages, or they wouldn't let her work anymore.

However, the textile factory had already signed a contract with Yuan Lanniang when she joined the factory, stipulating that she would have to pay a penalty for not going to work midway. When the textile factory manager went to the Yuan family to explain this, Yuan's parents obediently let their daughter go to work.

Yuan Lanniang thus escaped her parents' control. Even when her family arranged marriages for her, she ignored them and instead found a husband for herself through a coworker.

Yuan Lanniang had saved up some dowry herself and could still earn money after marriage. Therefore, the groom's family valued her and was willing to offer Qian Bushao dowry. Yuan's parents knew that they could no longer control their youngest daughter, and that the groom's family was already being generous with the dowry, so they agreed to the marriage.

"Meiniang, is that Meiniang?"

Yuan Meiniang was out shopping with her two daughters, heard the voice and turned around to see Lady Dong, the daughter-in-law of her former neighbor from the Sun family.

Lady Dong's situation in her husband's family was similar to that in her own family. The two were also of similar age, so they used to be quite close and had a good relationship.

"Sister-in-law Dong." Seeing that Lady Dong was alone, Yuan Meiniang felt relieved and called out to her, then told her two daughters to greet the others.

Lady Dong that Yuan Meiniang and her two daughters were all dressed in new clothes, and that all three of them looked plump and had smiles on their faces, quite different from when they were at the Sun family, Madam Dong couldn't help but ask, "You... you've gotten married?"

"No," Yuan Meiniang said. "I work in a textile factory."

To avoid trouble, she didn't tell the truth.

"Can working really support me?" Lady Dong asked.

"Yes." Yuan Meiniang hoped that Lady Dong could also defy fate like herself, so she told Lady Dong about the treatment and other conditions at the textile factory.

After Yuan Lanniang got married, the two sisters started seeing each other more often. Yuan Meiniang was very familiar with the situation at the textile factory.

"I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now." With that, Yuan Meiniang took her leave.

Watching Yuan Meiniang's departing figure, and her two daughters beside her who were much more lively than before, Lady Dong's face revealed a resolute expression.

She's going to the Women's Federation. She also wants a divorce and to work in a textile factory.