The job was settled.
Ning Zhi had been waiting for news from Fan Minghua.
Ever since he left, she had been feeling anxious.
During this time, she breastfed her daughter.
Finally, she had milk now.
It had taken chicken soup, crucian carp soup, and much effort to finally produce milk.
But it wasn’t as abundant as that of other new mothers.
The other mothers in the same ward all had ample milk supply.
Even so, Ning Zhi was content.
Because she could finally breastfeed her daughter herself—something she, as a mother, most wanted to do.
However, her milk was still insufficient, so they still needed formula.
If her husband’s meeting with the leadership went smoothly this time, perhaps his job would be secured.
She hadn’t thought about entering the county; just getting into the Gongshe would be enough.
Even if he couldn’t get into the Gongshe, having a job in the brigade would be fine—like being a Work Points recorder or a broadcaster in the broadcasting room. The work would be light, and the Work Points would be high.
Ning Zhi didn’t know yet that Fan Minghua had already secured the job during this trip.
When he returned and she heard the news from him, she cried tears of joy.
“That’s wonderful!”
Overjoyed, Ning Zhi hugged her daughter and gave her a big kiss. “My little lucky star, bringing such good fortune to your father as soon as you were born.”
Little Gu Ningning, kissed so enthusiastically by her mother, drowsily opened her eyes but couldn’t see clearly.
She had no idea what was happening.
But she was still infected by her parents’ joy and broke into a sweet smile.
Fan Minghua gazed tenderly at his wife and daughter. He could finally provide a stable life for them.
He also felt that since his daughter’s birth, their family had indeed undergone earth-shaking changes.
Not to mention the several heavy rains that followed her birth, alleviating the drought in Shun County—even this matter had gone surprisingly smoothly.
He had worried whether something might go wrong, whether that hidden person might intervene to obstruct it, but nothing happened.
Fan Minghua didn’t know that his success in getting the job was indeed tied to luck.
If it had been before Zhang Bureau Chief was transferred here, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.
Zhang Bureau Chief had just been transferred from the provincial capital this month. He was a pragmatic cadre.
He cared only about actual achievements and talent. As long as someone could benefit agriculture, he would make exceptions to recruit them.
Even if someone’s background carried a stain, he would push aside objections and make the decision himself.
Take Fan Minghua, for example. Other cadres might have just praised him but never thought to recruit him.
But Zhang Bureau Chief was different. He saw the shining qualities in Fan Minghua and wanted to bring him on board.
Even if this person lacked formal education and his wife’s background carried a slight stain, so what?
Lack of education could be remedied through exams.
His wife’s background was her own, not his.
Besides, the domestic situation had improved significantly.
Even so, there were still people who tried to obstruct it, but Zhang Bureau Chief forcefully suppressed them, and the matter was finally settled.
Of course, that’s a story for later.
“Zhang Bureau Chief said he can’t give me a formal position for now, but he’ll make it permanent after a year,” Fan Minghua added.
This was different from being a temporary worker, who could be dismissed at any time. Although he didn’t have a formal position yet, Zhang Bureau Chief had given a definite answer: he would be made permanent after a year.
The new mothers in the adjacent beds all offered their congratulations.
They were envious—Fan Minghua was so outstanding that he could actually go work at the county Agriculture Bureau. That was a cadre position!
…
The next day, Fan Minghua went to report at the Agriculture Bureau.
He was assigned to the Crop Management Section of the bureau, working directly under Clerk Liu.
The personnel department issued him a transfer acceptance letter, instructing him to go home in the afternoon to transfer his household registration. Once that was processed, he could officially start his job.
Fan Minghua took the acceptance letter and headed to Jiangtaiba.
He knew a tough battle awaited him.
If the Fan Family didn’t know, he could quietly get the introduction letter issued and transfer his household registration at the Gongshe.
But he was also prepared for what might happen if the Fan Family found out.
This could be an opportunity to separate from the family and break away from the Fans.
For now, he didn’t want the Fan Family to know, mainly to avoid trouble.
And there was also that person who might intervene and ruin his job opportunity.
…
The Fan Family learned about Fan Minghua’s job at the county Agriculture Bureau even earlier than he had anticipated.
As for how they found out, they naturally had their own channels.
By the time Fan Minghua went to the Da Dui Bu to get his introduction letter, Old Woman Fan arrived, seething with anger.
“I don’t agree!”
Ever since this son of hers took his wife to the county town, he had never returned.
She never expected that the moment he came back, it would be to get an introduction letter to leave.
How could this be?
She wouldn’t allow it!
Old Woman Fan pointed at Fan Minghua’s nose and scolded, “You unfilial wretch! You ungrateful wolf, hurry up and give up that job for your brother-in-law.”
“Or, go withdraw the lawsuit, release your sister, and as compensation, give the job to her. Otherwise, I’ll report you to the Revolutionary Committee!”
“I’ll report you for being unfilial! I’ll report that your job was obtained through improper means and that your thinking is problematic!”
Her words stunned everyone present—except Fan Minghua.
Fan Minghua knew all too well what Old Woman Fan was capable of.
In her eyes, he was an outsider; only her own sons and daughters were family.
Now that her daughter had been sent to the detention center because of him, wasn’t it natural for her to want his job for her daughter or son-in-law?
Fan Minghua watched her outburst with a faint, mocking smile.
Old Woman Fan’s absurd idea was met with opposition from all the cadres at the Da Dui Bu.
Jiang Youliang said sternly, “What parent doesn’t want their children to succeed? I’ve never seen anyone ask their son to give up his job for a son-in-law. I’m starting to wonder if Iron Head is even your own son. Are you even fit to be his mother?”
His words struck a chord not only in Old Woman Fan’s heart but also resonated with the other cadres watching nearby, who nodded in agreement.
Old Woman Fan was panicking inside.
This was the secret she and her husband had tried hardest to hide. For this secret, they had even moved away from their hometown and considered changing their names.
They had swapped the commander’s son with their own child. No matter the outcome, if this were exposed, her entire family would be doomed.
She and her husband were old and didn’t have many years left—they could die, but her sons, daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren couldn’t.
She had worked so hard to have her own son replace Fan Minghua. How could she let it all go to waste now?
The whispers of the cadres echoed in her ears, and their suspicious gazes bore into her.
Even the Da Duizhang’s probing stare made Old Woman Fan’s heart race with fear.
She then looked toward Fan Minghua, hoping he would speak up and explain a few words, only to see Fan Minghua follow the Da Duizhang’s lead and also say, “Are you my birth mother?”
It was also a question. Jiang Youliang’s was heart-wrenching, questioning whether she was fit to be a mother by doing such a thing.
But Fan Minghua’s words were light and airy. Though it was a question, his tone was so certain.
Old Woman Fan’s pupils suddenly contracted, and she gasped sharply.
What did he mean?
Was he suspicious?
She didn’t know what to do.
Old Woman Fan was just an ordinary, utterly unremarkable rural old woman. She had little insight. Back then, swapping her own child had been the cleverest thing she had ever done.
Later, fleeing her hometown in panic and unease was also the cleverest thing she had ever done… No! That wasn’t her idea. The follow-up cleanup had all been thought up by her husband.
Yes! Her husband!
At this moment, Old Woman Fan desperately longed for her husband to appear. Her gaze swept through the crowd, and sure enough, she spotted Old Man Fan stumbling toward her.
A slap landed hard on her face, stunning her completely.
The next moment, she jumped up, shrieking, “You hit me? You hit me?”
This was the first time she had ever been hit, and she exploded instantly.
Having lived nearly sixty years without ever being struck, now, in front of the entire brigade, she had been slapped. Her face was utterly lost.
As she shrieked and tried to charge forward, Old Man Fan grabbed her arm forcefully and said, “How foolish you are! That’s our son, the son you and I eagerly awaited. Just because he harmed our Iron Hammer, you’ve hated him all this time. He was just a child back then—what did he understand?”
Old Woman Fan was completely bewildered.
Who was Iron Hammer?
Fan Minghua harmed her son? How did she not know?
But the not-so-bright Old Woman Fan had a rare moment of clarity. She suddenly played along with Old Man Fan and said, “What else could I do? My Iron Hammer—he was so young, only six! Because of him, he was lost!”
It must be said that in such a situation, for her to suddenly remember and act along with Old Man Fan, she was quite a talent.
She felt a surge of self-pity and grew more impassioned as she spoke: “Old man, you always say I shouldn’t treat Iron Head differently, but every time I see him, I think of my own son, whom I can’t see. My heart… it aches…”
As she spoke, what came to her mind was her own flesh and blood, whom she couldn’t see—the child who had left her at six, gone to another family, calling another woman “Mom” instead of her. Her heart felt as if it were being sliced by a knife.
Her son had to call another woman “Mom,” become a son to a stranger—how could she feel good about that?
What did it matter if she didn’t like Fan Tietou?
Who would like someone who wasn’t their own son?
This person had taken her son’s place, living under her son’s identity—how could she be happy about that?
She wished he were dead!
Every time she saw him, she thought of her own son, who had left home and his parents at such a young age, so pitiful, struggling out there on his own. How could her heart be at ease?
And because of him, they had to move, had to flee their hometown. How much suffering had they endured along the way? Back then, the country wasn’t yet liberated. How many straggling soldiers and bandits were along the roads? How many times had they narrowly escaped death?
Once, she had thought of abandoning him or simply killing him, but this boy was tough—he just wouldn’t die.
Even if abandoned, he would find his way back!
Every time she saw him looking up to her with admiration and calling her “Mother,” her extreme vanity swelled her up immensely.
So what if he’s the son of a high-ranking official? Couldn’t he only be her son? Calling her Mom?
So what if he’s the son of a high-ranking official? Wasn’t he still illiterate, only able to stay in the countryside as an old farmer?
Her own son was the one who could rise above others, the so-called “heaven’s favored child”—a phrase she had heard from her daughter.
That noble woman, what did it matter if she had so many guards around her? Couldn’t she only give birth on the battlefield and leave her child to be raised in the countryside?
Wasn’t she just like ordinary women, having to pass through the gates of hell to give birth?
She could also suffer from difficult labor.
Old Woman Fan felt smug and happy.
But thinking of her son who was not by her side, she cried again.
It was genuine crying. Tears and snot flowed down her face.
That heartfelt sorrow made people sympathize, and the brigade members thought to themselves: Had they gone too far?
Old Man Fan apologized to Jiang Youliang with genuine sincerity:
“Da Duizhang, my old wife is stuck in a dead end. She’s been thinking about our eldest son all along and treats Iron Head like an enemy. Ah! Such a family disgrace, what a sin!”
He then said to Fan Minghua: “Iron Head, forgive your mother. She’s just too angry. You had your sister arrested and put in prison, so she wanted to make it up to her. With three children at home losing their mother, how heartbreaking that must be.”
Fan Minghua watched Old Man Fan’s performance with amusement.
His adoptive father—how fair and just he pretended to be on the surface, yet how ruthless he was behind the scenes.
Whispers from the brigade members reached his ears:
“Old Auntie/Old Sister-in-law has it tough too!”
“Yeah, when one’s own son harms another child, who could feel good about it?”
“No wonder she’s like this.”
Some also raised questions: No matter what, he was still her own son, her only son, the one she would rely on for support in her old age.
To ruin her son’s job and even report him—could anyone really be that cruel?
It was hard to understand.
Fan Minghua leaned close to Old Man Fan’s ear and asked him: “Do they know that you two aren’t my parents?”
Old Man Fan’s heart raced wildly.
“My biological father’s surname is Gu, right?”
Old Man Fan managed his micro-expressions perfectly, showing no change in expression, but Old Woman Fan was different.
The muscles on her face trembled, and she looked utterly incredulous.
Fan Minghua took it all in.
“Let’s split the family!”
【Author’s Note】
Hmm, leaving comments for a chance to win red packets.