Mei Suqin carried two tins of Malted Milk Powder to the Bei family’s door. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to maintain a smile before knocking.
Yan Guifang was in the middle of stewing meat. She had added star anise and fennel, and the savory aroma filled the entire room.
The smell put her in an excellent mood, so she was still smiling when she pulled the door open.
But when she saw it was Mei Suqin, her smile faded. “What are you doing here?”
Mei Suqin still cared about her reputation.
The family buildings in these small apartment complexes were packed closely together. If one spoke a little too loudly, the neighbors would hear everything.
Smiling, she desperately squeezed her way through the door. “Guifang, what are you saying? Didn’t you say last time that you’d give me a reply about the wedding date? I’m here to ask for a date.”
Yan Guifang didn’t want her daughter to become the subject of gossip either, so she reluctantly let Mei Suqin in.
However, Yan Guifang ignored her and immediately returned to the kitchen to continue cooking.
Whether it was back when Bei Wenxuan was the glorious factory director, or now that she was left a widow with her orphan child, Yan Guifang had always looked down on Mei Suqin in her heart.
It had nothing to do with status or money; she simply disliked this woman.
But Yan Guifang also came from a good family and couldn’t bring herself to immediately resort to vicious words.
Ignoring her was the best she could do.
Mei Suqin shamelessly sidled up to her. “Guifang, where’s Huanhuan? She hasn’t gone out, has she?”
Yan Guifang replied, “She’s sleeping.”
“It’s so late, and she’s still sleeping?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Hey, you can’t say that. I’m her mother-in-law. It’s perfectly justified for me to say a few words about her.”
Yan Guifang finally threw down the spatula in her hand.
“Mei Suqin, I don’t want to argue with a shameless person like you. Huanhuan already went to your house to break off the engagement a few days ago. How do you have the face to call yourself her mother-in-law?
“I find you strange, too. You’ve clearly looked down on our family for a long time now. So why are you refusing to break off the engagement now that we want to? If you care about your reputation, you can just go out and say your family wanted to break it off. We don’t mind.”
Mei Suqin’s mouth twitched. “What are you talking about? When did I ever look down on your family? Our families have been engaged for so many years. If we wanted to break it off, we would have done so long ago. I already said we’d give the sewing machine and the bicycle. What more do you want?”
“We don’t want them anymore. You can save the sewing machine and the bicycle.”
“Hey, I say, Guifang, you can’t be like Huanhuan and really want us to pay five hundred yuan, can you? You’re not that kind of person.”
Thinking of the more than six hundred yuan her daughter had brought home a few days ago, Yan Guifang puffed out her chest. “You’re right, I’m not that kind of person!”
Mei Suqin beamed with joy. “I knew it…”
Before she could finish, Yan Guifang shot her a sideways glance. “I think five hundred is too little. I want a thousand!”
“You! Have you gone mad? Yan Guifang, you and your daughter are truly shameless! Are you marrying off your daughter or selling her? Don’t you forget, if it weren’t for Qin Dagang and me speaking up for you two back then, you wouldn’t even have this house to live in. How dare you ask me for money!”
With the two of them talking like this outside, Bei Qinghuan had long since woken up.
She had been dreaming all night.
First, she dreamt of dragons, old men, rabbits, and tree stumps. Bei Qinghuan subconsciously knew this was because she had been drawing too many idiom stories, and her mind couldn’t stop.
But gradually, her dream became clearer.
She felt herself in Si Hao Yuan, where the Qin family lived, washing clothes and cooking every day.
Including her, there were seven people in the family. Just doing the laundry every day took two hours.
The most agonizing part was that there were two boys in the family, both over three years old, who were lively and active. She had to take care of the children and do the housework, leaving her as exhausted as a dog every day.
And every member of the Qin family acted like a lord, only ordering her around when they got home.
Strangely, she didn’t consider herself a weak-willed person, but in the dream, she willingly took care of this entire family, young and old.
This frustrated her so much that she woke up.
Then she heard the voices from the outer room, and faintly, Mei Suqin’s inner thoughts also reached her.
【This damn woman, making such an outrageous demand, a thousand yuan! Even if I had a thousand yuan, I wouldn’t give it to you. Aren’t you the ones who gave birth to a daughter, you lowly wretches? You only deserve to be slept with by my son for free!】
Bei Qinghuan was furious. She flung open the door to her small partitioned room.
With a “whoosh,” Mei Suqin turned her head to see Bei Qinghuan, with sleepy eyes, rushing up to her. “Get out! We’ve already broken off the engagement. What are you doing here?”
Mei Suqin hadn’t expected Bei Qinghuan to be so direct.
She wasn’t giving her any face at all. On the contrary, Mei Suqin didn’t dare to be perfunctory and quickly put on a placating smile. “Oh, Huanhuan, you’re up. It was my fault the other day. I came to see if your face is better.”
Bei Qinghuan pointed at the door. “Out! I’ve already said it. From now on, our two families will go our separate ways. Don’t make me say anything uglier.”
Facing her, Mei Suqin didn’t dare to be as forceful as she had been with Yan Guifang.
“I’m sorry, Huanhuan. I was wrong that day. Hey, look, I brought Malted Milk Powder. Oh, right, and about the job. I spoke to your Uncle Qin. The main workshop can add a spot for a sewing worker in a few days. I got you an application form.
“Your Uncle Qin has already signed it. You just need to fill out the form and report directly to Director Gao at the third workshop. But be careful, if anyone asks, just say you were transferred from another workshop. See how good I am to you!”
She hurriedly pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Bei Qinghuan with a fawning expression.
Just as Bei Qinghuan was about to push it away, she heard Mei Suqin’s inner thoughts:
【Hmph, trying to play games with us? Can you outsmart us? If you want a job, we’ll give it to you. But if we can give it, we can also kick you out. After you get what you want, we’ll make sure something happens to you. Lie in the hospital for half a month, and firing you will be a piece of cake!】
Something happens?
This was the second time Mei Suqin had mentioned it.
Last time, she only said something would happen. This time, it was more detailed: lying in the hospital for half a month.
Did this mean that whether something happened, and how serious it was, was something Mei Suqin could control?
Heh, fine. I’ll be waiting!
Bei Qinghuan’s hand, which was about to push the paper away, changed its motion and grabbed it instead.
She took a look at the application form. It was real. At the bottom were Qin Dagang’s signature and the seal of the comprehensive management department indicating her employment.
Qin Dagang was doing quite well for himself, wasn’t he? For such a large factory to hire a sewing worker, they didn’t even need a skills assessment or a household registration check anymore?
How arrogant of you!
Bei Qinghuan smiled, folded the paper, and put it in her pocket.
“Alright, who would turn down a job? But the matter of marriage can’t be discussed like this anymore. What era are we in now? Are we still doing blind marriages? Still practicing the backward custom of child betrothals? After all, I’ve even returned the betrothal gift money you gave. Let’s just consider that child betrothal a thing of the past.
“If you genuinely like me and still want me to marry Qin Zhenghua, then have Qin Zhenghua come and court me. If his attitude isn’t good, I still won’t marry him.”
Mei Suqin was fuming inside but didn’t dare to be forceful.
“You… Huanhuan, why make it so troublesome! Zhenghua is busy. At his Supply and Marketing Cooperative, he has to go out and conduct a supply survey today. Otherwise, he would have come long ago. But if you insist he comes, that’s fine. Next Sunday, how about it?”
Bei Qinghuan was extremely straightforward. “Fine. Then we’ll talk about the marriage next Sunday as well.”