“Stop tidying up for now. We can finish after dinner.”
“Tonight we will keep it simple and just have noodles.”
Wei Hong quickly cooked three bowls of noodles and added the leftover fried tofu and diced pork fat topping.
“You must be quite hungry Xiao Qin. Go ahead and eat,” Wei Hong said seeing her sit down hesitantly.
Qin Jian smiled shyly. “Thank you Uncle Wei then. I will not stand on ceremony. I really am quite hungry. I have not eaten properly all day.”
Wei Hong laughed heartily.
Granny Wu looked at her with warm affection. “You are such a good and capable girl. I am sure you would do well at any kind of work.”
Qin Jian shook her head with a smile. “I only finished high school. I am already very grateful just to have found work here at the restaurant.”
She had graduated two years earlier right around the time the national college entrance examination was reinstated. She had missed the first round of registration but sat for the exam in 1979.
Unfortunately she had not been admitted. Her sister Qin Yun on the other hand had received an offer from the provincial university. Qin Yun went home every holiday to the textile factory compound where their family lived.
Qin Yun had always earned lower grades yet she had still been accepted. Qin Jian could only assume she had performed poorly on her first attempt and fared better the second time around with extra tutoring from someone she was seeing. Qin Yun was simply lucky.
“I see. Well you work hard for Uncle Wei then and he will treat you fairly,” Granny Wu said kindly.
Qin Jian nodded in full agreement.
When they finished eating Qin Jian felt satisfied. She offered to wash the dishes but Wei Hong gave Granny Wu a look and Granny Wu stepped forward to collect the bowls. “Let me take care of these Xiao Qin. Washing up is my job. If you take it from me I would feel awkward collecting my wages.”
Before Qin Jian could reply Wei Hong motioned to her. “Xiao Qin come over here. I want to talk to you about your position.”
Qin Jian sat down immediately looking at him expectantly.
“You can stay Xiao Qin. Your pay will be twenty yuan a month with meals provided. There will also be a monthly bonus based on how well the shop does. The better business is the more you will earn.”
Qin Jian stood up and bowed to him. “Thank you Uncle Wei. I will work very hard.”
She knew the noodle shop would do very well in its first month and even be mentioned in the newspaper. She could expect to earn around thirty yuan in bonuses. Combined with the thirty yuan from Lu Qingshen that would make sixty yuan a month in total.
In two or three months as her pregnancy advanced she would no longer be able to work. Even so she would have saved enough money to cover her confinement and support her child.
Thinking of her little one Xingxing she felt a pang of tenderness.
In her past life her daughter had been a sweet and thoughtful child. She had grown up without a father’s love and yet excelled in her studies and behaved with great maturity. She turned out far better than Qin Yun’s children. Yet Qin Yun’s children had secretly bullied Xingxing behind her back. By the time Qin Jian noticed the change Xingxing had become quiet and withdrawn.
Eventually Qin Jian had stood up for her daughter and confronted Qin Yun. She had called Lu Qingshen and arranged to move away with Xingxing to another province. Only then had her daughter found peace of mind. That was when Qin Jian finally realized her family had never truly cared about her. They had never respected her and only wanted her to hand over her earnings to support Qin Yun and Qin Yun’s family. They had even allowed Xingxing to be mistreated.
Remembering all this Qin Jian clenched her fist. This time around she would never take Xingxing back to Southern Province. There was no rush to confront Qin Yun. Qin Yun would not rise to prominence until she married Gu Yanming two years later. Both of Gu Yanming’s parents were government officials and that marriage would secure Qin Yun’s position. Qin Yun had won Gu Yanming’s favor by spending generously on him throughout university and presenting herself as gentle and unassuming.
Now that she and Lu Qingshen were divorced Qin Jian’s mother could no longer turn to the Lu family for money. Qin Jian would watch how Qin Yun maintained her pretense now that her funds had been cut off.
“Xiao Qin do you have somewhere to stay?” Wei Hong asked suddenly as if remembering something important.
“I do. I am staying in Baixiang Street. It is just two stops away by bus.”
“Uncle Wei may I stop by your home first to familiarize myself with the way? I would like to know where to find you should anything come up.” Qin Jian wanted to visit Aunt Wei and find a way to reassure her so she would not be swayed by unkind rumors.
Wei Hong would have refused anyone else but he had taken a liking to Qin Jian. “Very well.”
After they finished cleaning up and locking up the shop they walked together to the residential lane where Wei Hong and Granny Wu lived. Many neighbors were eating outside in the courtyard. When they saw Wei Hong return several people stopped him to ask how business was going. Someone noticed Qin Jian and asked who she was.
“She is my wife’s niece visiting from out of town. She will be helping out at the shop,” Wei Hong explained. They had already agreed on this story.
Hiring Granny Wu had already drawn disapproval from some neighbors. It was not that they wanted the work themselves but that they believed Wei Hong was taking unnecessary risks. In those days private businesses were widely viewed as precarious. People feared the shop could be shut down at any moment and that those involved might face imprisonment. For that reason no one wanted Wei Hong to offer them work there.
Hearing Wei Hong’s explanation many of the neighbors looked visibly relieved. They regarded Qin Jian with sympathy. Qin Jian felt tired and chose not to engage. She offered a gentle smile and followed Wei Hong into his courtyard.
She went to see Aunt Wei who was resting in bed. Her face looked pale. “Xiao Qin tell me honestly how is business going?”
Qin Jian’s heart sank. Had someone already been speaking ill of the shop to her?
“Business is very good Aunt Wei. I am so grateful to Uncle Wei for taking me in. I would never have found work so easily otherwise,” Qin Jian said warmly and described how busy the restaurant had been. She spoke with such enthusiasm that Aunt Wei seemed reassured.
“Is that really true?” Aunt Wei asked uncertainly.
“It is absolutely true. I care more about this shop doing well than anyone else because I depend on it for my livelihood.”
Aunt Wei appeared convinced. Her husband was a kind man she knew but their savings had been exhausted paying for her medical care. He would never have gone out of his way to help a stranger unless the business was truly thriving.
“Aunt Wei has someone been saying discouraging things to you?” Qin Jian asked gently.
Aunt Wei smiled weakly and said nothing. Her silence spoke volumes.
“Instead of listening to what others say why not visit the shop yourself and see? Who knows what those people’s true motives are?” Qin Jian knew better than to overstep. She left it at that.
Aunt Wei relaxed visibly and patted her hand to show she was welcome.
Qin Jian soon said goodbye and headed home. After seeing her safely out of the lane Wei Hong returned to his wife’s bedside. He looked at her pale face with deep concern. “Chunya has someone been filling your head with nonsense?” He had been listening outside the room all along. He would never have left his wife alone with a stranger he had only just met.