He really had no idea how to cook. Growing up, he had so many older sisters at home who did all the meals for him. Then in high school and college, he simply ate at the school cafeteria.
In his past life, after he married Lin Sui, he’d learned to prepare all kinds of simple dishes and got quite good at it — in fact, he was usually the one who cooked.
Without thinking, he glanced at Chen Qinghe, wondering if she might offer to help out.
In his past life, the first time he brought Lin Sui home, the situation had been almost exactly the same.
Lin Sui had said nothing at all, just rolled up her sleeves and walked straight into the kitchen.
Chen Qinghe did know how to cook at home, but earlier that afternoon at her aunt’s place, her aunt had told her: “A woman living in her husband’s family shouldn’t act too eager to cook. If you do, that job will become yours forever. You’re not going to start doing it right away — that would make you look cheap.” So she had no intention of volunteering.
“Auntie, let me watch the baby for you,” Chen Qinghe offered instead.
Ma Qiurong had no choice but to hand the child over and go into the kitchen herself.
The baby wasn’t used to strangers and immediately burst into loud cries. Before long, probably from something he’d eaten, he wet himself — the cloth diaper hadn’t been fastened properly, and he soaked Chen Qinghe’s clothes.
She tried to pass the baby back to Gu Shaonan, but he had no clue how to look after an infant either. The two of them struggled until they were both sweating all over. In the end, Ma Qiurong had to tie the baby to her back with a sling to calm him down, leaving herself completely exhausted.
By the time dinner was finished, it was already past ten o’clock at night. Gu Shaonan walked Chen Qinghe back to the hotel. Although there were three small rooms in his house, they weren’t married yet, and if villagers saw her staying overnight, there would be endless gossip.
Chen Qinghe felt terribly uncomfortable, reeking of the baby’s urine.
“Your sister lived here last year, right? Where is her husband? Doesn’t he have a place to stay? Surely she isn’t planning to live here forever?” she asked. “What married daughter stays permanently at her parents’ home?”
It was no surprise Chen Qinghe didn’t know about Li Weixuan’s situation — the Gu family never spoke of such shameful matters to outsiders.
Gu Shaonan felt a headache coming on. But she was his only younger sister, and they’d been close since childhood. How could he just throw her out?
“Once we save enough money, we’ll buy a house in the county town,” he said.
“That sounds easy to say,” Chen Qinghe replied. “Believe me, it won’t be long before your parents realize they can’t let her stay here forever either. What kind of arrangement is this? Would they really push their own son out and leave the house entirely to your sister and her family?”
She also thought to herself, And look how tightly your mother dotes on her grandson. If we have children later, who will be left to take care of them?
But since she hadn’t officially married into the family yet, she had no standing to bring it up directly. She just smiled and said, “I’ll spend the next few days seeing if I can find work. Back in Ning County, I had a job assigned to me at the garment factory, but I quit to look after my father. Now that I’m moving to Nanfeng County, I’ll have to find something new on my own.”
With a college diploma, she didn’t want to settle for just any random job — she hoped to find something decent.
Gu Shaonan thought for a moment. “I’m working at the factory site; I can keep an eye out for opportunities. It would be nice if we could commute to work together every day.”
Then he added, “My younger brother just graduated high school and didn’t get into university. He could work as a regular line worker at the shoe factory. It’s a state-run enterprise — the pay isn’t high, but it’s steady and reliable.”
Gu Shaonan remembered clearly: in his past life, he’d pulled strings with the factory manager to get his brother hired as a production coordinator there. But his brother had been completely incompetent and had caused him nothing but trouble later on.
“Actually, starting a small business might be even better,” Chen Qinghe suggested. “The new market in town is almost finished. Why not rent a stall there for him to sell daily goods and groceries?”
Gu Shaonan shook his head firmly. “That’s not a good idea. Plenty of people are making good money running private businesses these days, but my brother just doesn’t have the knack for it. It would only be a waste of capital. Better for him to have a secure, stable job.”
Unable to argue her around, Gu Shaonan finally gave in. “All right, I’ll handle it.”
Chen Qinghe felt much more at ease now. When they reached the hotel entrance, she said a little awkwardly, “Am I supposed to stay here every day? It costs so much money… Maybe I should just go back to my aunt’s place instead.”
The Guanghui Hotel was the second-best in the whole county, charging thirty yuan per night.
Gu Shaonan laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I can afford a few nights here.”
“But your monthly salary is only just over three hundred yuan,” she pressed. “Do you have other ways of earning extra income?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Just stay here quietly and enjoy it.”
The hotel room was comfortable, and staying there also made her feel respected in front of her aunt and friends. Naturally, Chen Qinghe had no objections.
“All right then,” she said, feeling that he truly did care for her. Her earlier unease melted away almost completely. She leaned in quickly and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I’m going upstairs now.”
Gu Shaonan froze for a moment, then watched her walk up the stairs with a broad smile. Every bit of effort was worth it.
Early the next morning, Lin Sui woke up and realized she had drunk far too much the night before. She worried she might have acted improperly in front of Secretary Zhou — after all, he would be an important official in the future, and she needed to keep their relationship on good terms. She couldn’t afford to leave a bad impression.
The frustrating part was that she couldn’t remember a single thing she’d said; it felt like a whole section of her memory had been erased.
Outside the door, Liang Fengjiao shouted loudly, “Look at you! The sun is already high in the sky! Hurry up and get out of bed to help me chop sweet potato leaves!”
Chopped and dried sweet potato leaves could be boiled down to feed the pigs.
Lin Sui had never liked farm work, which was why she’d made up her mind from childhood to leave the small village of Cuizhuxiang. Suddenly, she remembered: That’s right! My aunt said she arranged a meeting for me at the station today. The manager wants to see me.
She quickly put on a crisp white shirt and black trousers, dressed like a professional, and slung a small black shoulder bag over her arm.
“Mom, did you wash the handkerchief that was on my desk?”
“Over there — see, hanging on the line!”
Liang Fengjiao thought to herself: My daughter usually has such bright, fancy things. Why would she use such a plain, checkered handkerchief? It must belong to some man.
Lin Sui folded the handkerchief and put it in her bag. “I might not be back tonight.”
“Going on a date? With who?”
“Work,” Lin Sui replied, rolling her eyes.
Liang Fengjiao looked slightly disappointed, but said, “Well, work is important too. Hey — if you mess this up, don’t you dare come back home again!”
“Look at that — such loving words from my own mother!” Lin Sui laughed. “But don’t worry. You know what kind of person your daughter is. And let me tell you — a ticket seller at the station is nothing. You wait and see, I’m going to do something much bigger than that!”
Liang Fengjiao thought her daughter was still half-asleep and almost grabbed a sweet potato vine to whip her awake.
“Hmph! You may be small in stature, but your ambitions are way too high! You need to keep your feet firmly on the ground! I have no idea who you take after!”
Lin Sui took a few steps forward, then turned back with a grin. “Oh right! I’ve decided I’m going to buy a tractor for Dad. He and Brother-in-law can use it to haul river sand and sell it. I’ve already planned out his career for the rest of his life!”
Liang Fengjiao stared at her in shock. “Are you… are you serious?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
“Goodness, you audacious girl!”
If Lin Sui hadn’t run away quickly, she would have felt the sting of her mother’s hand. She hurried out of the house laughing.
She had no intention of returning the handkerchief to Secretary Zhou; she was certain he wouldn’t ask for it back anyway.
This time, she took a bus into town. With frequent stops along the way, the journey of just over twenty kilometers took nearly an hour. Her aunt worked at the station and told her the manager had arranged a dinner meeting at the hotel that evening — it would serve as her interview.
Seeing she still had some time to spare, Lin Sui went to find Luo Feifei.
Luo Feifei was confused. Why is she looking for me again?
“Wait, what did you say? You want me to apply for the production coordinator position at the shoe factory?” Luo Feifei asked, her eyes going wide. Lin Sui was clearly not joking.
Gu Shaonan wants Chen Qinghe’s younger brother to get that job? Dream on, Lin Sui thought to herself.
“The shoe factory is doing quite well right now,” she explained. “They have their own cafeteria, dormitories, and even work injury insurance. Next year they might even start paying into a pension fund. Director Yang mentioned yesterday that the salary is decent — around three hundred yuan a month, and there’s room for growth. Prices have gone up this year, but just a few years ago, that same job paid less than a hundred.”
Even though the factory’s profits would drop in a couple of years and it would eventually face closure, she thought, Once you have work experience, you’ll never struggle to find another job. Especially now that so many wealthy investors from Hong Kong and Taiwan are opening businesses in the city…