“Lin Wanshuang, stop right there. I need to talk to you.”
Lin Wanshuang halted in her tracks.
Wind and snow howled in the space between them.
She turned around, her gaze landing on Shen Qian.
Shen Qian was wearing a freshly washed four-pocket Sun Yat-sen suit, and on his feet were a pair of black leather shoes, polished without a speck of dust. On the muddy, slushy road at the entrance of the village, those shoes looked entirely out of place.
Lin Wanshuang tightened the gray scarf around her neck. “Technician Shen, what business do you have with me?”
Shen Qian took two steps forward, hands thrust into his pockets, his chin slightly raised. “I heard you handed your job at the supply and marketing cooperative over to Baozong?”
“So what if I did?”
“Foolish!”
Shen Qian pulled his right hand out of his pocket and gestured forcefully through the air. “That’s an iron rice bowl at the cooperative! Do you have any idea how many people are eyeing that position right now? You’re just handing it away on a silver platter? How are you supposed to make a living in the future?”
Lin Wanshuang looked at him, her eyes completely devoid of emotion.
Looking at her fair, full face, a surge of desire for control welled up in Shen Qian’s chest. In their past life, though this woman was capable, she always carried a pride deep in her bones that made him feel stifled. Now, reborn with the gift of foresight, he not only held future knowledge, but he was also about to marry the gentle, sensible Lin Xiawei.
As for Lin Wanshuang, she was now nothing more than a jobless village girl. As long as he bestowed a tiny bit of favor on her, she would have to be deeply grateful to him.
“Wanshuang, listen to me,” Shen Qian raised his voice a notch. “As long as you go to the commune right now and ask for that transfer form back, I can help settle things for you. I have a major project coming up at the machinery plant next week. Once it succeeds, I’ll be the deputy section chief. When that happens, I can help introduce you to a temporary job in the city.”
The corner of Lin Wanshuang’s mouth twitched. “Technician Shen is truly warm-hearted. However, I don’t need outsiders sticking their noses into my personal affairs.”
Shen Qian’s expression darkened. “An outsider? Do you really have to talk to me in that tone? I’m doing this for your own good! If you stay in that household, sooner or later your mother and brother will suck you dry! Do you honestly think your brother is capable of anything? Put him in the cooperative, and he’ll cause a major disaster within three days!”
Lin Wanshuang took half a step forward, her leather shoes treading on the accumulated snow with a dull thud. She slightly lowered her head, glancing at Shen Qian’s footwear.
“Technician Shen, those shoes… you asked someone to buy them from the provincial capital’s department store, didn’t you?”
Shen Qian froze for a moment before a smug look surfaced on his face. “That’s right. Had a friend bring them back. Cost fifteen yuan, plus three industrial coupons. Things from the provincial capital really are a cut above.”
Lin Wanshuang raised her head, looking him dead in the eye. “Fifteen yuan is indeed not cheap. But if your major project flops next week, I’m afraid those shoes will have to be used to settle your debts.”
The smile froze instantly on Shen Qian’s face. “What do you mean by that?”
“The scrap steel from the machinery plant—delivery is at 10:00 PM next Wednesday at the east suburb warehouse.” Lin Wanshuang spoke softly, yet every word rang out with crystal clarity. “Technician Shen, am I wrong?”
Shen Qian’s pupils contracted violently.
He felt a chill rush straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
This plan was something he had only formulated in his head last night. He had only met once with Scarface—the black-market speculator from the county—and hadn’t even paid the deposit yet.
How did Lin Wanshuang know?
The time, location, and even the exact type of goods—she had named every detail flawlessly!
Could there be a mole at the factory? Or had Scarface leaked the information to her?
Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on Shen Qian’s forehead, quickly turning icy in the freezing wind. He glared at Lin Wanshuang, desperately trying to spot a sliver of panic on her face.
Instead, her face remained utterly wooden, bearing a subtle, faint trace of disgust.
“You… how could you possibly know all this?” Shen Qian’s voice trembled slightly as he fought to suppress the panic inside him.
“If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it in the first place.” Lin Wanshuang stepped closer, pressing him. “Technician Shen, illicit speculation money can’t buy you a cure for regret.”
Shen Qian took half a step back, stepping straight into a muddy puddle left by melted snow. The dirty slush instantly ruined his high-gloss leather uppers.
“Are you threatening me?” Shen Qian lowered his voice, a hint of viciousness creeping into his tone. “Lin Wanshuang, what good does it do you to report me? Don’t forget, your uncle is still a workshop director at the plant. If something happens to me, he won’t be able to wash his hands clean of it either!”
Lin Wanshuang let out a cold laugh. “Whether he can clear his name or not… what does that have to do with me?”
“You!”
Shen Qian panicked completely. He realized he couldn’t see through the woman in front of him at all. In their past life, Lin Wanshuang had been stubborn, but she was simple-minded and wore her emotions on her sleeve.
The Lin Wanshuang standing here now was so unfathomably deep it terrified him.
“What on earth do you want?” Shen Qian gritted his teeth, the blue veins at his temples pulsing slightly.
“I want you to get lost and stay out of my way.”
Lin Wanshuang brushed past him and walked straight ahead.
“Lin Wanshuang!” Shen Qian roared behind her. “Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! In this Hongxing Commune, without my support, you won’t be able to take a single step forward!”
Lin Wanshuang didn’t turn back, her footsteps steady and unhurried.
Watching her receding back, Shen Qian’s eyes burned red with rage. He couldn’t let this woman ruin his future. Since she knew this secret, he absolutely could not allow her to stay in this village and stand in his way.
Perhaps he should have Scarface take action on his end to teach her a lesson.
Just as Shen Qian was gnashing his teeth, calculating his next move, a loud roar suddenly thundered from behind him.
It was the deep growl of a heavy engine, sounding exceptionally jarring against the quiet, snowy landscape.
Instinctively, Shen Qian turned his head.
A green military jeep came speeding down the main road at the village entrance. It moved fast, its tires flinging up large sheets of black, icy mud from the slushy road.
Before Shen Qian could even dodge out of the way, the jeep zoomed right past him.
Splatter!
A half-meter wave of freezing mud splashed onto Shen Qian like a torrential downpour. From head to toe, not a single spot was spared.
The four-pocket Zhongshan suit was instantly covered in black and yellow mud spots.
“Bah! Ptui!” Shen Qian spat out the mud and grit in his mouth, shivering violently from the cold.
“Who the hell drives like that?!” He wiped the slush off his face and gestured furiously at the departing jeep, cursing at the top of his lungs.
However, the jeep showed no intention of stopping. Exhaust fumes scattered into the bitter wind.
Inside the jeep:
The young secretary in the passenger seat turned his head, glancing at the man resting with his eyes closed in the backseat. “Commander, it seems like we splashed mud all over someone by the roadside just now. Should we pull over?”
The man in the back slowly opened his eyes.
He had prominent brow bones, deep-set eye sockets, and a sharp, chiseled jawline. He didn’t bother to glance at the rearview mirror, his voice utterly devoid of warmth.
“The mission comes first. Keep driving.”
“Yes, sir!”
The driver hit the gas, and the jeep accelerated toward the Hongxing Commune.
In the swirling snow, Lin Wanshuang watched the military jeep vanish into the distance, a subtle flicker in her eyes.
The license plate belonged to the Jinling Military Region.
At a critical time like this, what was a military vehicle doing at the Hongxing Commune?
She withdrew her gaze and quickened her pace toward the supply and marketing cooperative.
Meanwhile, on the main road of the Hongxing Commune, Zhao Cuifeng and Lin Baozong were trudging through the wind and snow, taking deep and shallow steps toward the commune gates.
Zhao Cuifeng held her hand tightly against her chest, terrified that the transfer paper inside her coat might fall out.
“Baozong, hurry up! Once the official stamp is stamped on it, this job is locked down!”
“Mom, I can’t walk anymore! The snow is too thick!” Lin Baozong pulled his neck back into his collar, complaining endlessly.
“Hang in there a bit longer! Once you become an official cadre, you’ll sit in the office every day enjoying the heating!”
The figures of mother and son gradually vanished into the depths of the howling snowstorm.