Xu Wantang had been busy all day since leaving the Lu family that morning.
She first went to the guesthouse to book a room. After putting her luggage in the room, she set off for the radio station she hadn't visited in so long.
Because so much time had passed, all sorts of people were bustling around, and quite a few stopped to greet her. Xu Wantang couldn't recall their names, only finding their faces familiar.
"Xiao Xu? Didn't you take leave?"
A round-faced woman of about thirty came walking toward her.
After Zhao Youyou arrived at the Lu family home, Xu Wantang, worried that Zhao Youyou wouldn't adjust well and that her mother-in-law Zhang Xiuju wouldn't take good care of the child, had requested a long leave to focus on caring for Zhao Youyou. She hadn't returned to work yet.
Xu Wantang looked closely and immediately recognized the woman. This was Sister Lin, her direct supervisor, who usually took good care of her. In her previous life, when she had been about to give her job away for free to her sister-in-law from her natal family, Sister Lin had patiently tried to talk her out of it for a long time, but she had been foolish then and hadn't taken Sister Lin's words to heart.
Looking back now, although she and Sister Lin were merely colleagues, Sister Lin had looked out for her more than her own family had.
Xu Wantang broke into a sincere smile. "Sister Lin, I came to the station to take care of something."
She didn't plan to hide anything from Sister Lin, and told her all about selling her job and moving to the island to join her husband in the army. Sister Lin had wide connections and might be able to help.
After hearing Xu Wantang out, Sister Lin's smile grew even wider. She patted Xu Wantang's shoulder. "Moving to the island to join your husband—that's wonderful news! Once you're there, not only can you reunite with your man, but you have broadcasting experience, and with such a lovely voice and such pretty looks, you'll have no trouble finding work!"
Sister Lin glanced around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, asked in a low voice, "Do you have a connection for selling your job? Who's the buyer?"
Xu Wantang pressed her lips together and shook her head.
She had planned to ask her colleagues at the station. Her job was easy—a desirable, sought-after position that would surely sell without difficulty. She just didn't know if she could get a good price for it.
Sister Lin saw through her concern at a glance and thumped her chest. "Xiao Xu, if you trust me, I'll make the connection for you. My neighbor's younger daughter just graduated from high school and is looking for a job. Her family is well-off—they'll definitely agree to a good price."
Hearing this, Xu Wantang hurried to thank her. "Thank you, Sister Lin! I'll be in your debt!"
Sister Lin shot her a playful glare and lightly punched her arm. "You little thing, why so formal with me? Just let me taste your cooking once it's all settled!"
Xu Wantang always brought her own lunch to work. At Sister Lin's words, she vaguely remembered having given Sister Lin a few bites of her food once. She hadn't expected Sister Lin to still remember her cooking so fondly.
Xu Wantang agreed readily. "Deal! Just tell me what you'd like to eat, and I'll make sure you're satisfied!"
Sister Lin was amused by her playful antics and agreed. "Alright, but you said it!"
She added, somewhat reluctantly, "Don't forget me when you're an officer's wife on the island. Remember to write to me."
Then, as if remembering something, Sister Lin gave a sly smile. "Better yet, send some local specialties too."
Xu Wantang almost burst out laughing at her, nodding earnestly in agreement. "I'll definitely send them."
Seeing how sincere Xu Wantang's gaze was, Sister Lin's eyes trembled, and she said with tenderness, "Don't just be good to others. Be a little kinder to yourself, you understand?"
She genuinely liked this girl Xu Wantang—smart and proactive at work, never once slipping up on a task. But when it came to family matters, she was hopelessly foolish. More than once, Sister Lin had seen Xu Wantang's mother come to the workplace demanding money from her, always with the excuse that her older brother and younger brother needed support.
If the family were truly poor, that would be one thing. But Xu Wantang's sister-in-law also worked at the broadcasting station—just in the logistics department—and colleagues often saw her eating sponge cake in the office while wearing new clothes. No matter how you looked at it, Xu Wantang was the one who needed looking after.
With such a soft, yielding temperament, Xu Wantang was bound to be the one who got the short end of the stick in marriage too, which was why Sister Lin had spoken up to remind her.
Sister Lin's words warmed Xu Wantang's heart. She lowered her eyes, her lashes fluttering like butterfly wings, then looked straight into Sister Lin's eyes and said solemnly, "I'll remember. Don't you worry."
Sister Lin smiled with relief, but before she could say anything, a somewhat gruff female voice interrupted.
"Missy, you're going to the island? So your job is about to open up?!"
Hearing the voice, Xu Wantang looked over to see her sister-in-law Sun Xiaofang standing at a nearby corner—no telling how long she'd been there. Her short, thick eyebrows were raised, the eyes beneath her puffy lids gleaming with shrewdness, and she stared at Xu Wantang excitedly, her greedy thoughts written all over her face.
Xu Wantang hadn't expected to run into Sun Xiaofang so soon after being reborn. Remembering the haughty, disdainful look Sun Xiaofang had given her back in her past life whenever she'd fallen on hard times, Xu Wantang curled her lips into a smile, revealing a pair of endearing dimples.
Running into Sun Xiaofang this early was just as well—not only could she give her a piece of her mind sooner and vent her frustration, she could also take this opportunity to get her money back, Xu Wantang thought with a smile.
"That's right, sister-in-law. In fact, I was just discussing selling my job with Sister Lin." Xu Wantang blinked her eyes, answering Sun Xiaofang with feigned innocence.
At those words, Sun Xiaofang stepped forward and excitedly grabbed Xu Wantang's hands with both of hers, so eager she looked ready to swallow Xu Wantang whole. "Missy, we're all family here—give the job to me!"
Xu Wantang sneered inwardly. This woman really was as shameless as in her past life.
Calmly, she pulled her hands out of Sun Xiaofang's grip, her smile unchanged. "Sure."
Sun Xiaofang was overjoyed, her mouth stretched nearly to her ears, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes blooming like flowers. "That's our Wantang for you! Your brother didn't dote on you for nothing all those years!"
Xu Wantang nearly laughed out loud at that. Her brother doted on her?
If stealing food from her bowl and pilfering her money counted as doting, then her brother was the most doting brother in the whole world.
Seeing how spineless Xu Wantang was being, Sister Lin glared at her in exasperation, coughing as she jabbed Xu Wantang's arm with her elbow repeatedly, shooting her meaningful looks the whole time.
Xu Wantang knew Sister Lin was worried about her. She reached out and gently patted Sister Lin's hand, giving her a reassuring look.
Then she turned to Sun Xiaofang. "So, sister-in-law, how much are you willing to pay for my job?"
Xu Wantang said with great seriousness, "Sister Lin just said she could get 3,000 yuan for it!"
Xu Wantang herself didn't really know how much her job could sell for—she'd made up the number on the spot, mainly just to spite Sun Xiaofang.
She hadn't expected Sister Lin to play along with her. Sister Lin reacted quickly, immediately picking up where she'd left off, "That's right! If I negotiate a bit, the price over there might even go up!"
The two exchanged a glance, and each saw the deep amusement in the other's eyes.
When Sun Xiaofang heard that Xu Wantang was actually demanding money from her, her face changed instantly. The smile that had been plastered across it just moments before vanished, replaced by an aggressive glare as she shouted, spittle flying, "I'm your sister-in-law—we're family! And you're demanding money from me?! Xu Wantang, how heartless can you be!"