Left alone in place, Zhou Weidong stood frozen like a statue.
Only now did it finally sink in—what Shen Xuezhi had said might not have been anger or impulse.
But… how could she suddenly not want him anymore?
She used to love him so much.
He couldn’t understand it, so he blamed everything on Chief Li.
He admitted that Li Chengyuan was indeed outstanding—well-born, young, and already a rising star in the military. Compared to him, Zhou Weidong felt insignificant.
Maybe Shen Xuezhi had met someone like that and her heart had changed.
But did she not think about it? A man like Li Chengyuan—would he even look at someone like her?
Zhou Weidong spent the night drowning in frustration.
With all the furniture gone, he ended up sleeping directly on the floor of the empty marital home.
The next morning, he went early to the provincial hospital and bought a bag of egg pastries.
When he arrived, Zhou Yuwei frowned slightly at seeing how little he brought.
“Brother… didn’t I tell you to bring more things from home?”
She was dissatisfied, thinking he must have forgotten.
“Don’t even mention it,” Zhou Weidong said darkly. “Xuezhi took everything. There’s nothing left at home.”
Nothing left—maybe a few rats and cockroaches, at best.
“What?!” Zhou Yuwei was shocked, then immediately angered. “How could she do that? Brother, those things aren’t just hers—you paid for them too!”
“She’s being too selfish!”
“Enough,” Zhou Weidong cut her off, unwilling to talk about it in front of the child.
“We’re still hungry,” Zhou Yuwei muttered.
“Eat this first,” he said, handing over the pastries.
After the child finished eating, Zhou Yuwei pulled him outside.
“Brother, why did sister-in-law suddenly act like this? Didn’t you try to coax her?”
“I don’t know!” he snapped impatiently. “Stop talking about her. Let her do whatever she wants.”
But in truth, Zhou Yuwei had a guess.
Her brother treated her too well—so well that no woman could tolerate it.
But Xuezhi used to endure it. Why now suddenly explode?
She felt irritated, even slightly resentful.
“I think she’s just angry,” she said slowly. “She’ll calm down eventually. She loves you too much.”
Zhou Weidong thought so too.
And right now, he had no money left anyway—everything had been used for hospital fees.
So letting her cool off wasn’t a bad thing.
Once the marriage certificate came through, everything would be settled anyway.
He didn’t think he was mistreating her—he only intended to make it up to her later.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Zhou Yuwei said, “The doctor says a surgery slot is available if we pay the remaining fee…”
“What?!” Zhou Weidong was suddenly alert.
But then reality hit him—where would he get the money?
“Brother… maybe you can ask the unit for an advance on your salary?” she suggested.
“I can’t,” he frowned. “Xuezhi already went and advanced my salary—two and a half months of it. She took it back as her dowry money.”
“What?!” Zhou Yuwei’s voice cracked in shock.
Meanwhile, Shen Xuezhi had already started her new job early that morning at the state-run restaurant.
The chubby chef, surnamed Xie, was half-bald and sleepy-looking. His name was Xie Ding—when she first heard it, she almost thought it sounded like “balding.”
He was easygoing and tossed her two steamed buns.
“You can come a bit later next time. We don’t open that early. Breakfast is included anyway.”
“Thank you, Master Xie!” she said happily.
She hadn’t expected the job to include meals.
In this era, jobs like this—even if not official—still had hidden benefits.
In the 1970s and 80s, the most desirable jobs were in supply cooperatives and state-run restaurants. Even teachers and doctors sometimes ranked behind them in practical benefits.
She felt lucky—she kept running into good opportunities.
Of course, the best job was still a cultural troupe position assigned to military wives.
But now that she had left Zhou Weidong, she no longer cared.
And even if she had married him, she still wouldn’t have truly owned that position.
“Comrade Xiao Song, come here, I’ll introduce the restaurant to you,” Chef Xie said.
She listened carefully.
There were four staff members in total, including her.
The rest all worked in the kitchen—she alone worked front of house.
Her job was simple: take orders, pass them to the kitchen, and announce when dishes were ready. Customers usually picked up their own food.
The restaurant was quiet. Most of the time, there were only a few customers in the morning.
Even the leftover steamed buns didn’t sell.
At noon, Chef Xie reheated some soy milk and called them over to eat lunch together.
That was when she finally met Xiao Li, who had been hiding his face in the kitchen earlier.
He was thin, dark-skinned, and looked shy and honest.
“This is Li Daming, my apprentice,” Chef Xie said. “And she’s our new waitress.”
“H-hello, comrade,” the young man stammered, not knowing where to put his hands.
“Look at you, so useless!” Chef Xie smacked him lightly on the head.
His ears turned red, and he lowered his head even further.
Xuezhi didn’t notice and just kept eating.
She got two big meat buns and a cup of soy milk—more than enough.
Her stomach felt full and satisfied.
This life was so much better than before—when she had to starve herself to leave food for others.
After work, Chef Xie even let her take leftovers home: fried fish, stir-fried cabbage, and rice. Rich in oil and flavor.
She thanked him happily and went home.
But when she arrived at her door, she found two unexpected visitors standing there waiting for her.