At the age of twenty-one, after graduating from night school, I took the adult college entrance exam.

Unfortunately, the fairy tale ending that comes with hard work did not happen to me.

I started learning to read at the age of seventeen, trying to learn in three years what others took eighteen years to learn was simply a pipe dream.

While I was working hard, others were working hard too.

In fact, many people worked harder than me and were more willing to invest.

Even though I was prepared, on the day I saw my results, I cried for a long time in my rented room.

I understand that there is nothing in this world that comes easily.

Things that are hard to obtain are hard to lose, and things that are easy to obtain are easy to lose.

After composing myself, I gritted my teeth and enrolled in a tutoring class again for more systematic learning.

At the same time, I took on two part-time jobs on weekends when I rested.

I squeezed every bit of time out of my schedule, sleeping only four hours a day.

All the remaining time was spent working and studying.

I used to naively long for the world beyond the mountains.

But as I gradually realized, whether in the mountains or in the city, life was no different when you were at the bottom.

It was just a change of scenery, the same hardships persisted.

Exchanging my hard work for rewards was not shameful.

I just wanted to break free from manual labor through education, to escape the fate of having to marry to change my destiny.

Women in this society suffer too much.

I cannot save others, I can only try to save myself.

So this time, I studied desperately, working harder and more diligently than before.

Perhaps finally, the heavens saw my determination and a little effort.

During this time, my employer gave me a raise, and even often gave me clothes her daughter had outgrown.

Many of those clothes were as good as new, with fabrics as soft as clouds.

Perhaps as women, we empathized with each other, and my employer was always generous towards me.

Her company always included me in holiday gifts.

She took care of me in daily life, this was the second time in my life that I encountered a true benefactor.