Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 244: Setbacks

"Taotao, what kind of store do you think we should open?" Hu Bugui asked excitedly, his eyes sparkling with longing for the future.

Since Wu's father's successful operation, they have begun to seriously consider establishing themselves in modern society. Wu Tao tapped his chin with his finger, thought for a moment and said, "How about we open a specialty snack bar? I'll teach you how to make Tang Dynasty delicacies, it will definitely be very popular!"

Hu Bugui's eyes lit up, as if he had seen the endless stream of diners, but soon dimmed again: "But we don't have the capital..."

"We can start with a small stall first!" Wu Tao clenched his fist to encourage him, "Once we make some money, we can open a store!"

They started their entrepreneurial journey with great enthusiasm, but reality gave them a blow. In today's fiercely competitive society, it is not easy for a small food stall to stand out. Although Wu Tao's carefully crafted Tang Dynasty pastries have a unique taste, the high cost and the limited acceptance of the public for novel flavors made their business in the first few weeks extremely bleak.

"Don't lose heart, we'll think of another way." Hu Bugui comforted the dejected Wu Tao, his heart also filled with anxiety. In order to save money, they could only sleep in the snack cart every day, and the originally strong Hu Bugui became visibly thinner.

In order to change the status quo, Wu Tao decided to try investing, hoping to accumulate funds quickly. However, lacking modern financial knowledge, she easily believed the so-called "inside information" and invested all her hard-earned savings in the stock market, resulting in a total loss.

"How could this happen..." Wu Tao sat on the ground helplessly, tears blurring her eyes. Looking at the empty rental house, she doubted her choice for the first time.

Hu Bugui hugged her in his arms and comforted her softly, "Don't be afraid, I'm here for you." However, he, who was once omnipotent, also fell into a deep sense of powerlessness. In this era, his martial arts skills were useless and he could only make a living by doing odd jobs.

The burden of life was like a mountain, weighing them down so hard that they could not breathe. And just then, the hospital called...

The harsh ringing of the phone broke the depressing atmosphere in the rental house. Wu Tao mechanically picked up the phone, and the nurse's formulaic voice came from the receiver: "Hello, Mr. Wu's follow-up treatment plan has been formulated. You need to come to the hospital as soon as possible to handle the relevant procedures..."

Wu Tao's fingers turned pale as she held the phone. The content of the call was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in her heart. Although Wu's father's operation was successful, the subsequent rehabilitation treatment and care would require huge expenses.

"What's wrong?" Hu Bugui noticed that something was wrong with her and asked worriedly.

Wu Tao took a deep breath, trying to suppress the pain in her heart, and forced a smile: "It's okay, Dad's treatment plan is out, let's go to the hospital."

Hospitals are always filled with the smell of disinfectant and an uneasy atmosphere. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui came to the doctor's office, where the doctor explained Wu's father's condition and subsequent treatment plan in detail, and finally handed them a bill filled with numbers.

Looking at the astronomical amount of money, Wu Tao felt dizzy and almost lost her balance. Hu Bugui held her, his brows furrowed, his eyes bloodshot.

"Doctor, can... can it be cheaper? We really..." Wu Tao's voice trembled with a hint of begging.

The doctor pushed up his glasses, with a hint of helplessness in his tone: "Sorry, this is the hospital's rule, there is nothing we can do."

Walking out of the hospital, the biting cold wind blew on his face, and Wu Tao felt cold all over. During this period of time, they had spent all their money on Wu's father's illness, and now they were heavily in debt.

"What... should we do?" There was a hint of despair in Wu Tao's voice.

Hu Bugui held her hand tightly and said firmly: "Don't be afraid, we will find a way!"

However, the pressure of life was like an invisible mountain, which made them breathless. In order to raise medical expenses, Hu Bugui worked day and night, and his originally upright body became hunched. Wu Tao also ran around, looking for various opportunities to make money.

Fatigue and pressure gnawed at their love like a poisonous snake, and their once sweet world of two was now filled with quarrels and complaints.

"Can't you find a proper job? How much money can you make doing odd jobs every day?" Wu Tao looked at Hu Bugui's rough hands, his tone full of fatigue and dissatisfaction.

Hu Bugui put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, a trace of hurt flashed in his eyes: "I have tried my best. In this era, this is all I can do!"

"Do you think I don't want to find a good job?" Wu Tao burst into tears, "But, I have no education and no experience, who would want me!"

After the fierce quarrel, there was endless silence and loneliness. They lay back to back on the narrow bed, and the distance between them that once hugged each other tightly now seemed like an insurmountable gap.

The next day, Wu Tao pulled herself together, changed into her only decent outfit, and went to an interview. The position she was interviewing for was a copywriter in an advertising company, which had nothing to do with her previous major, but she still wanted to seize any opportunity.

The interview process was not smooth. Facing the interviewer's sharp questions, Wu Tao was so nervous that sweat broke out on her forehead and her mind went blank. Just when she was feeling extremely frustrated, the interviewer suddenly asked her an unexpected question: "What do you think about overtime work?"

Wu Tao was stunned for a moment. Before he could answer, a girl who was also interviewing next to him said, "Overtime is the norm. I am available anytime..."

Wu Tao looked at the girl's confident smile, and suddenly felt a sense of uneasiness in his heart...

Wu Tao finally got the job, but the reality was far more cruel than she had imagined. The work pace of the advertising company was fast and stressful, and Wu Tao often had to work overtime until late at night. In order to familiarize herself with the business as quickly as possible, she humbly asked her colleagues for advice, but in return, her colleagues gave her cold perfunctory responses and gossiped about her behind her back.

"Why would someone who got in through the backdoor pretend to be working hard?"

"That's right, don't you even look at your academic qualifications? Do you still want to compete with us?"

These harsh words stung Wu Tao's heart like a needle, and she realized that in the workplace, in addition to ability, there are many invisible rules and social conventions. Wu Tao's efforts and talents were regarded as threats by her colleagues, who began to intentionally or unintentionally exclude her, assign her some tedious and meaningless work, and even deliberately concealed important information to make her look bad in front of customers.

Wu Tao felt extremely frustrated. She didn't understand why it was so difficult for her to just work hard. Hu Bugui's situation was not optimistic either. In order to relieve Wu Tao's burden, he found a job as a martial arts performer. Although this job was hard, the income was much better than doing odd jobs. However, fate always seemed to play tricks on them.

During a performance, Hu Bugui was accidentally injured and rushed to the hospital. After the doctor's diagnosis, he told Wu Tao solemnly that Hu Bugui's injury was serious and he needed a long period of rest. It was very likely that he would have sequelae and could no longer do strenuous exercise.

This news was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Wu Tao. Hu Bugui was her only support. Now that he had fallen, what would happen to their future? Looking at the pale Hu Bugui lying on the hospital bed, Wu Tao could no longer hold back her tears.

“I’m sorry…” Hu Bugui raised his hand with difficulty, trying to wipe away the tears on Wu Tao’s face, but his hand fell down powerlessly, “I’m useless and can’t take care of you and your parents…”

"Don't talk nonsense, you will be fine, we will all be fine..." Wu Tao held Hu Bugui's hand tightly, suppressing the grief in her heart, and comforted him.

However, the burden of life was like a mountain, pressing them to the point of being unable to breathe. Wu Tao had to take care of the injured Hu Bugui while facing the pressure of work and the exclusion of her colleagues. She felt like a trapped animal, struggling in the abyss of despair.

"Should we...go back?" Late at night, Wu Tao muttered to himself as he looked at the flashing neon lights outside the window.

"Go back?" Hu Bugui was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Wu Tao, his eyes filled with mixed emotions, "But, can we still go back?"

Wu Tao was silent. Yes, can they still go back?

Wu Tao finally rejected the idea of returning to the Tang Dynasty, at least not yet. Hu Bugui's injury needed time to recover, and she also needed a stable income to support her life.

As the days passed, Hu Bugui's injuries gradually improved, but the doctor's words were still like a huge rock pressing on his heart, making him breathless. He could no longer wield a sword as flexibly as before, which meant that he had lost the skills he relied on to survive. Seeing Wu Tao toiling for a living every day, he was filled with self-blame and a sense of powerlessness.

"Taotao, why don't we go back to the Tang Dynasty." One night, Hu Bugui said softly as he looked at Wu Tao who was sorting out documents.

Wu Tao stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Hu Bugui, his eyes full of fatigue and helplessness: "Go back? What can we take back with us? What can we do after we go back? Don't forget, we are no longer the same as we were before."

Hu Bugui was silent, he knew that what Wu Tao said was true. They had a hard time in modern society, and they might not be able to live well if they returned to the Tang Dynasty.

Just when they were confused about the future, an unexpected opportunity arose. A man who claimed to be a scout from a film and television company found Hu Bugui and said that he had seen his previous performance videos and was impressed by him, and wanted to invite him to play the role of martial arts instructor in a costume drama.

This news gave Hu Bugui and Wu Tao renewed hope, but the scout also admitted that since Hu Bugui had not received professional martial arts training and was also injured, he needed to pass an assessment before he could officially sign the contract.

In order to seize this opportunity, Hu Bugui began to actively carry out rehabilitation training, and Wu Tao also fully supported him and even quit her job to take care of his daily life. They placed all their hopes on this assessment, but fate always seemed to play tricks on them...

On the day of the assessment, Hu Bugui's performance impressed the judges. Just as he was about to complete the last difficult move, an accident happened...