After the initial excitement faded, the honest and kind-hearted family quickly came to their senses.
Her uncle, Lü Bing, was the first to speak.
“Jiaojiao, I know you’re trying to help your cousin out of the goodness of your heart, but a job isn’t something you can simply give away.
It’s not easy to find work these days. Your mother practically gave her life to secure this position for you.
You must cherish it. You can’t just hand it over to someone else.
I know you’re a good girl, and I appreciate your kindness, but I can’t accept such a generous offer.”
Although Aunt Li Ruyi was reluctant, she also spoke up.
“That’s right, Jiaojiao. Your uncle is right.
It wasn’t easy for you to get this job. We can’t be so selfish as to take it from you.”
Hearing her parents’ words, Lü Li finally snapped out of her excitement.
She wanted the job too and didn’t want to be sent to the countryside.
But her cousin didn’t owe her anything, so there was no reason for her to accept such a valuable position for free.
Thinking of that, she also tried to persuade Lin Jiaojiao.
“That’s right, Cousin. Mom and Dad are right. I really do need this job, but I can’t just accept something without earning it.
Jobs like this are incredibly valuable. People fight tooth and nail for them and still can’t get one.
Yet here you are, offering yours to me with just a few words. You’re so silly.
Besides, if you give me your job, what about you? I heard that your scumbag father already signed you up to be sent to the countryside.”
Lin Jiaojiao couldn’t help laughing.
She reached out and poked Lü Li on the forehead before rolling her eyes.
“And you call me silly? I think you’re the foolish one.
Did you forget? I’m getting married, and my fiancé is a soldier. After we’re married, I’ll be joining him at his military station.
So whoever wants to go to the countryside can go. It certainly won’t be me.”
People often lost their composure when they cared too much.
If Lin Jiaojiao hadn’t reminded them, not only Lü Li but also Lü Bing and Li Ruyi had completely forgotten that her fiancé was a soldier.
Even so, despite the fact that Lin Jiaojiao would no longer need the job after moving to the military base, the upright and honest Lü family still didn’t think it was right to accept such a coveted lifetime position without paying a single cent.
Besides, even if Lin Jiaojiao didn’t need the job anymore, it shouldn’t automatically go to the Lü family.
Wasn’t there still an unemployed daughter in the Lin family?
Thinking of this, Li Ruyi looked worried.
“Jiaojiao, this is such a major decision. You should go home and discuss it with your father first.
Even if you don’t need the job anymore, don’t you still have that stepsister of yours?”
Lin Jiaojiao let out a cold laugh.
Linking arms with Li Ruyi, she said,
“Auntie, I didn’t even consult them about my marriage. Why would I discuss the job my mother left me with them?
My mother exchanged her life for this job.
Do they deserve it?
Lili is my cousin. I believe that if my mother is watching from heaven, she would never object to me giving the job to her beloved niece.”
After hearing her words, Lü Bing and Li Ruyi exchanged glances before Lü Bing spoke.
“Jiaojiao, you’re right. Your mother sacrificed her life for this job. If it ended up in the hands of that wretched family, it would be an insult to her memory.
Since you don’t need it anymore, let your cousin have it.
But let me make one thing clear—we’re buying the job from you, not taking it for free.”
As soon as Lü Bing finished speaking, Li Ruyi hurriedly added,
“Your uncle is right, Jiaojiao.
The fact that you thought of your cousin first is already more than enough to make us grateful.
We absolutely can’t let you suffer a loss because of this.
How about this? People usually sell a position like this for eight hundred yuan.
We probably don’t have that much cash, but we can make up the difference with ration coupons. Would that be acceptable?”
Originally, Lin Jiaojiao wanted to refuse both the money and the coupons.
But seeing the determination in her aunt and uncle’s eyes, she could only nod helplessly.
Still, she silently made up her mind that even if they insisted on paying her, she would secretly leave part of the money behind before she left.
Others might not know her uncle’s financial situation.
But as someone who had transmigrated into this novel, she knew it all too well.
Forget eight hundred yuan.
Her uncle’s family probably couldn’t even gather five hundred.
Making them go into debt was never her intention when she decided to transfer the job to her cousin.
Meanwhile, at the Gu residence in the capital…
“Xiao Huo, are you telling me the truth? That dense grandson of mine actually submitted a marriage application to you? Over the phone? And he was in such a hurry?”
The elderly Gu Nanan, former commander of the Beijing Military District, gripped the telephone tightly, his entire body trembling with excitement.
His grandson was outstanding in every way.
But he was also an endless source of frustration.
At twenty-seven years old, already a regimental commander, he still hadn’t settled his personal life.
It had worried both the old man and his son’s family for years.
To him, talent meant nothing if his grandson refused to marry and give him a great-grandchild.
The grandson he had always been proud of simply refused to fall in love.
Now, at long last, there was finally good news.
If not for his aging body, he would have run several laps around the courtyard just to vent his excitement.
From the other end of the line came the hearty voice of another man.
“That’s right, Old Commander. Surprised, aren’t you?
To be honest, when Tingzhou told me he wanted to apply for marriage, I was dumbfounded too.
Who would’ve thought an iron tree would finally bloom?”
Gu Nanan burst into hearty laughter.
“Haha! Isn’t that exactly what happened? I’ve been waiting nearly ten years for that iron tree of my grandson’s to blossom.
Enough talking. Approve it. Approve it immediately.
The sooner the better, before anything unexpected happens.”
“Yes, Commander. I’ll approve it right away.”
Huo Jianzhong, commander of the military district where Gu Tingzhou was stationed, quickly agreed.
After hanging up the phone, Gu Nanan was so excited he didn’t know what to do with himself.
He simply paced back and forth around the room.
“Dad, what’s gotten into you?”
Dong Fang, Gu Tingzhou’s mother and the Gu family’s daughter-in-law, had just returned home from work. Seeing her usually stern father-in-law acting so strangely, she immediately stepped forward in concern.
“Haha! Fang, wonderful news! Absolutely wonderful news!”
The moment Gu Nanan saw his daughter-in-law, he excitedly announced.
Dong Fang looked at her normally cold and dignified father-in-law in confusion.
“Father, what good news?”
Privately, she even wondered whether the old man had somehow found romance in his later years to be this happy.
Just then, Gu Tingzhou’s father, Gu Bonian, walked in from outside.
Glancing at both his son and daughter-in-law, Gu Nanan smiled mysteriously.
“That brat Tingzhou is getting married.”
His words landed like a bomb.
The couple’s eyes widened, and their mouths hung open wide enough to fit an egg inside.
“That’s good news, isn’t it?”
Watching his son and daughter-in-law stand there in stunned silence, Gu Nanan finally felt much better.
At least he wasn’t the only one who had been shocked speechless.
“Dad… are you serious?”
After what felt like forever, Dong Fang finally found her voice and looked uncertainly at the old man.
Gu Nanan immediately frowned.
“When have I ever lied?”
“Dad, that’s not what Fang meant. It’s just… this came so suddenly that it’s hard to believe.”
Seeing his father becoming unhappy, Gu Bonian quickly stepped in to explain.