If it were any other time, Song Weiguo might have coaxed Lu Xiaoxiao a bit.
But right now, he was holding back anger and feeling anxious, with no patience left.
His tone grew harsher.
“Xiaoxiao, in so many households, what man goes into the kitchen? These hands of mine are meant for scientific research—how could I do such rough work?”
“You’re skillful and clever. Even if you just make something simple, it’ll definitely be better than what I could do, right? In the future, I’ll take you out to eat every day—we won’t have to suffer like this.”
Though Lu Xiaoxiao felt unhappy, after hearing this, she still dragged her feet toward the kitchen.
After a flurry of clumsy effort, not only did she fail to make any food, she even burned a hole through a pot.
The two of them went hungry, sitting in silence, enduring the entire night like that.
Early the next morning, Song Weiguo rushed out impatiently.
With dark circles under his eyes, he planned to inquire about Jiang Li.
But before he had gone far, he ran into several familiar colleagues.
“Hey, have you heard? His wife sold her job at the seed station.”
“Really? That’s such a good job! She gave up an iron rice bowl?”
“Of course. The paperwork was done yesterday afternoon—sold it to Old Chen’s daughter from the cotton factory. I live next door; it’s absolutely true.”
Their conversation drifted into his ears.
Song Weiguo stood frozen, his body trembling.
When he snapped back to his senses, he suddenly grabbed one of them by the arm, eyes wide.
“What did you say? Jiang Li sold the job?”
Seeing his reaction, the man shook him off and sneered.
“Oh? You didn’t know? Your wife didn’t discuss it with you?”
“Tsk tsk… what a marriage…”
At that moment, Song Weiguo’s mind went completely blank.
Ignoring the mockery, he grabbed Lu Xiaoxiao, who had just come out of the house, and the two rushed toward the seed station.
When they arrived, they happened to see the workshop director from the cotton factory and his daughter.
The young woman was already seated at the workstation, looking completely satisfied.
“Oh, Comrade Song, you’re here.”
The director clasped his hands together, smiling with barely concealed mockery.
“What brings you here? Want to see how my daughter is doing at her job?”
“But speaking of which, I really must thank your wife for giving up the job so readily. Don’t worry—my daughter definitely won’t disappoint Comrade Jiang Li’s goodwill.”
A crowd had gathered around, all watching the scene unfold like a spectacle.
Song Weiguo and Lu Xiaoxiao felt their faces burn with embarrassment.
After all, they had previously spread the word that Jiang Li would give the job to Lu Xiaoxiao.
But now it had been sold—and they were the last to know.
They had become a laughingstock.
Once they returned home and shut the door, Lu Xiaoxiao finally exploded, crying in anger.
Song Weiguo gritted his teeth.
“Jiang Li, you’ve got some nerve! Not only did you sell the job, you even ran away?”
“Fine! Let’s see where you can run to! Your household registration is still with me—what can you possibly do?”
“Just wait until you run out of money in a few days! Let’s see how you come crawling back to beg me!”
These words were meant to comfort himself as much as Lu Xiaoxiao.
But unexpectedly, his misfortune didn’t end there—proving that trouble never comes alone.
That very afternoon, Song Weiguo was called into his superior’s office. An anonymous report was slapped onto the desk.
“Comrade Song Weiguo, explain to me—what is going on here?”
“Someone has reported issues with your personal conduct, as well as falsification in your academic achievements! You must immediately provide a written explanation!”
“Based on the current situation, the organization has decided to suspend you pending investigation. What happens next depends on your explanation!”
Song Weiguo felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He swayed where he stood.
Jiang Li—it must be Jiang Li again!!
He swore that if he found that woman—
He would make her pay!
Meanwhile, while his life descended into chaos,
Jiang Li slept peacefully in the military family compound.
After resting, she got up and tidied herself.
Hearing a knock at the door, she hurried to open it.
There stood the political commissar, smiling broadly, holding two bright red booklets.
“Comrade Jiang Li, congratulations! These are your marriage certificates with Comrade Si Nancheng. I hurried to get them processed for you.”
Jiang Li instinctively took the two red booklets and opened them.
Seeing her name and Si Nancheng’s printed together, stamped officially below,
She touched the tip of her nose, feeling both amused and ironic.
In her previous life, her wedding with Song Weiguo had been widely known, yet the certificate was fake.
In this life, it felt more like a transactional marriage—but these vivid red booklets and official seals proved that it was real.
“Thank you, Commissar. You went through the trouble so early in the morning.”
Jiang Li came back to her senses and gave a slight bow.
The commissar waved his hand, smiling even more.
“No trouble at all. Keep these safe.”
“Nancheng is busy these days. Stay at home and settle in. If anything comes up, just let us know.”
After a few brief instructions, the commissar didn’t stay long.
Once Jiang Li saw him out and returned inside, she looked at the certificates and couldn’t help but laugh.
“When it’s handed over to the state, the efficiency really is high.”
“But it’s obvious these leaders are quite eager to get Si Nancheng married off…”
Amused by her own words, Jiang Li chuckled and carefully put away the marriage certificates. The heavy burden in her heart finally lifted.
With this, her relationship with Si Nancheng was secured.
More importantly, she could now rightfully break free from that scoundrel Song Weiguo.
By now, he must have realized she had run away.
Thinking of his expression, Jiang Li curled her lips into a cold smile.
Serves him right.
A moment later, Jiang Li boiled two eggs for breakfast. After eating, she carefully counted the money she had left.
She had no intention of touching Si Nancheng’s salary savings.
That would be considered cooperative funds—a fixed reserve in case of emergencies.
As for the money she took back from Song Weiguo, plus what she earned from selling the job—
Altogether, it was a considerable sum, but she couldn’t just sit and spend it away.
Looking at the numbers in her ledger, Jiang Li rested her chin on one hand, lightly tapping her cheek with her fingers.
“I still need to find a way to make money… but first, I should go out and familiarize myself with the surroundings…”
More importantly, she needed to see if there were any opportunities for her to make use of her abilities.
After changing her clothes, Jiang Li stepped out.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she reached the door, she saw Wang Xuelian sighing in her yard, looking rather down.
“Big sister, what’s wrong?”