The world really was a small place.
The military wives looked at one another awkwardly, each forcing a smile onto her face.
The smiles looked worse than crying.
Every time they gossiped about someone, they somehow ended up getting caught by the person involved.
The last time, they had practically brought it upon themselves by gossiping right outside someone’s house. Getting caught then had left them speechless.
This time, they had deliberately come all the way to the family compound’s small garden, only to be caught again.
That was just plain bad luck.
The most embarrassed of all was Wang Meizi.
Both times someone had been caught badmouthing another person, she had been involved.
She glanced at Liu Guilan. Earlier, Liu Guilan had been talking with great enthusiasm, but now her head was hanging so low it was practically buried in her chest.
Seeing there was no help to be had from her, Wang Meizi secretly looked toward Lu Cuilian, the most educated woman present.
She hoped Lu Cuilian would step in and smooth things over, sparing everyone the embarrassment.
Who would have thought that Lu Cuilian simply turned her head away?
Heh…
Looks like she was no help either.
In the end, Wang Meizi placed her final hopes on Sun Runzhi, silently begging her to say something.
After all, Sun Runzhi seemed to be the only one who had not spoken ill of Gu Panpan.
Sun Runzhi flashed her a look that clearly said, Leave it to me.
Wang Meizi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hello, Panpan. My name is Sun Runzhi. My husband is Political Commissar Liu, Liu Dawei. We’re all military wives who came here to join our husbands. My house is in the third row of the family compound, the courtyard all the way at the end. When you have time, have Qin Zhan bring you over for a meal.”
Sun Runzhi stepped forward with a warm smile and greeted Gu Panpan openly.
Looking at the bright and lively young woman before her, she found her instantly likable and felt quite fond of her.
“Hello, Sister-in-law Runzhi. Qin Zhan often talks about your cooking. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely come over and shamelessly eat at your place.”
Gu Panpan returned an equally sincere smile and deliberately complimented her.
After all, one should not strike a smiling face, and Sun Runzhi had not said anything bad about her earlier.
Sun Runzhi then introduced all the military wives present to Gu Panpan.
The long-faced military wife was Liu Guilan. She lived in the courtyard next to Gu Panpan and Qin Zhan’s. She had two children, one attending the elementary school attached to the regiment and another who was only three years old. She had been a military wife for three years and was currently waiting for the regiment to assign her a job.
The plump military wife was Wang Meizi.
Her appearance naturally made people like her. In this era, becoming overweight was no easy feat. Once Gu Panpan learned that Wang Meizi worked in the regiment cafeteria, it all made sense.
The fashionably dressed military wife was Lu Cuilian. She taught at a high school in the county town and returned home only once a week. She and her husband did not yet have children and were actively trying for one.
Gu Panpan was quite familiar with this woman.
In the original novel, Lu Cuilian had encouraged the original owner of this body to engage in illegal reselling of supplies.
Later, after the novel’s heroine arrived at the regiment headquarters and developed feelings for Qin Zhan, the original owner frequently ran to the art troupe to curse her out.
Once Lu Cuilian discovered how powerful the heroine’s background was, she reported the original owner in order to curry favor with her and help advance her husband’s career.
As a result, the original owner was arrested and interrogated.
What followed was public humiliation, public criticism sessions, and ultimately death.
Qin Zhan was also implicated in the incident.
He received disciplinary punishment and was forced to leave the army.
Before anything could happen between him and the novel’s heroine, he had already returned to the countryside to farm.
It could be said that Qin Zhan was the male character with the least screen time in this fake heiress novel.
…
This week, when Lu Cuilian returned to the family compound, her husband informed her that the regiment had recently opened a small number of job positions for military wives who were currently unemployed.
This round was different from previous years.
In the past, jobs had simply been assigned.
This time, however, the positions would be competitive.
There were many applicants and very few openings.
Among the available positions was a propaganda officer role within the regiment, which was her first choice.
The remaining positions were all support jobs, such as pig caretakers and cafeteria workers.
She looked down on those jobs.
Although she was a high school teacher, her workplace was in the county town, which meant she could only come home once a week.
Her husband was nearly thirty, and they still did not have children.
She needed to seize this opportunity to transfer back to the regiment headquarters and focus on starting a family.
Among all the military wives, she was the only one with a high school education.
The others were either illiterate or had never finished elementary school.
Because of that, she considered the propaganda officer position practically hers already.
As for this newly arrived military wife, who knew what level of education she had?
Judging by how rustic she looked, there was a good chance she was completely illiterate.
Still, asking would give her a better idea of the competition.
Lu Cuilian sneered inwardly, though the smile on her face never changed.
“Panpan, you probably don’t know this yet, but the regiment recently opened a few job positions for military wives. However…”
Gu Panpan’s interest was immediately piqued.
Talk about perfect timing. She had just been worrying about finding work.
Having a job would allow her to earn some money and also give her something to do.
But would Lu Cuilian really be kind enough to tell her this?
And what was that “however” supposed to mean?
If she did not want to finish the sentence, then so be it.
Gu Panpan was not in a hurry to ask.
If she wanted to know, she could simply ask Qin Zhan when she got home.
Originally, Lu Cuilian had intended to keep everyone in suspense.
She wanted to watch this country bumpkin get excited first before crushing her hopes.
Yet to her surprise, the country girl remained perfectly calm.
It seemed she was quite self-aware after all.
“Oh, Cuilian, what kind of jobs are they? My husband never told me.”
The moment Liu Guilan became nervous, her country accent became much stronger.
She had been waiting for the regiment to assign her a job for ages.
Wearing a mysterious smile, Lu Cuilian replied, “Well, this time the jobs aren’t being assigned. You’ll have to compete for them.”
“Compete? What does that mean? Are they going to make us military wives fight each other? Whoever wins gets the job?”
Wang Meizi already had a position in the cafeteria and had no interest in changing jobs.
That did not stop her from enjoying the drama.
“Hah! If it’s really a fight, then count me in. If winning a fight gets you a job, then goodness me, it’s finally my turn to enjoy some good fortune.”
Liu Guilan cracked her knuckles eagerly, looking ready to throw herself into battle.
“What are you thinking? The regiment does have positions available for military wives, but not everyone can get one. For example, out of ten military wives, perhaps only two will be selected. Those two will naturally be the ones the regiment believes are most suitable for the positions.”
Sun Runzhi was thoroughly annoyed by Lu Cuilian’s habit of speaking in half-sentences and keeping people guessing.
She never understood the roundabout ways educated people talked.
Her husband had already told her that the military wives would have to compete for positions this time.
She had been a military wife for more than ten years.
Back when jobs were freely assigned, she had been busy raising children.
Now that her children were older and she finally had the chance to work, she had to compete with a group of younger women.
Whether she could beat them was anyone’s guess.
Liu Guilan immediately looked crestfallen.
“Sister-in-law Runzhi, now I understand. I really thought we’d settle it with a fight and the winner would get a job. But I don’t know how to do anything, and I don’t have any education. How am I supposed to compete with everyone else?”
“Jobs come in different levels. Some are suited for educated people, while others are suitable for…”
Lu Cuilian deliberately glanced at the several less educated military wives standing before her.
Liu Guilan grew anxious.
“Just say it, sister. Is there anything suitable for someone like me?”
Lu Cuilian replied, “Well, Sister-in-law Guilan, there are still positions like pig caretaker and cafeteria helper. Those jobs don’t require educational qualifications. Of course, the number of openings is still limited.”
“…”
Gu Panpan stood there completely dumbfounded.
Wait a minute.
In this era, even feeding pigs required competitive recruitment?