Before Li Fugui could say anything, Li Fukang’s complaining voice came from inside the house.
“Mom, Big Sis, can’t you write it yourselves? I’m starving! I want to go eat.”
Gu Wan burst out laughing and called toward him, “Little Brother, come out and eat. The braised pork is going to get cold.”
“Ah! There’s braised pork? I want braised pork…”
As he spoke, he charged out like a cannonball, rushed to the table like a whirlwind, grabbed a piece of braised pork, and stuffed it straight into his mouth.
Watching him eat with grease all over his mouth, Gu Wan suddenly felt hungry too. Without bothering to call anyone else, she sat down and started eating.
The brother and sister completely ignored everyone around them and ate happily.
Li Fugui was just about to lecture Gu Wan, but when he saw his beloved son eating so enthusiastically, he was afraid of frightening him. He swallowed the words that had been about to leave his mouth and silently picked up his own bowl and began eating as well.
By the time they were nearly finished eating, Li Mingyue and Liu Jihong finally came out.
Li Mingyue was holding a piece of paper and muttering to herself.
She glanced up at Gu Wan, who was eating without even raising her head, then quietly folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket before sitting down to eat.
Gu Wan didn’t want to look at the faces of this family either, so she went straight back to her room after eating.
The next day, after breakfast, Li Mingyue shoved the résumé she had written into Gu Wan’s hands.
“Take this. Hurry up and get this matter settled. Otherwise, don’t blame me if I stop putting in a good word for you with Zhang Xiaowei.”
Hmph… As if I need you to!
Gu Wan disdainfully unfolded the résumé.
Oh my goodness!
Her eyes hurt just looking at it.
She quickly folded it back up.
Were those wild, jumping, crooked characters—with strokes seemingly missing here and there—really written by a high school graduate?
“All right. If you have nothing else to do, find a few books and read them. Our workplace is a cultural institution. Not just anyone can work there. At the very least, you need to know some basic history, like the order of dynasties such as Xia, Shang, Zhou, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. Don’t stand there unable to answer a single question when they ask you something. If they refuse to hire you then, don’t blame me.”
Gu Wan ignored Li Mingyue, who was practically jumping with anger, and left with the piece of paper.
When she passed a trash station, she initially wanted to throw the eyesore away. But then she thought that something written in Li Mingyue’s own handwriting might prove useful someday, so she stuffed it back into her pocket.
As soon as she arrived at the Cultural Relics Management Office, Lin Yong came out to greet her.
“Gu Wan, about what you said yesterday about selling your job—does the offer still stand?”
Gu Wan nodded.
Of course it did!
Lin Yong immediately pulled her into his office. He then took out a paper-wrapped bundle from his clothes and opened it, revealing banknotes of various denominations.
“There’s 1,876.89 yuan here. I’m still short 123.11 yuan.”
He then took out another paper bundle. Inside were various grain coupons, cloth coupons, meat coupons, and other ration tickets.
“These are various coupons, more than thirty in total. Take a look…”
Lin Yong was somewhat nervous. But his family truly couldn’t come up with any more money or coupons.
Gu Wan glanced at the money and coupons.
She knew this was everything the middle-aged man had.
She reached out and took all the money and coupons, pretending to put them into her pocket while secretly transferring them into her space.
“All right. This works. Let’s go complete the paperwork now.”
Lin Yong immediately became ecstatic!
He had finally secured a decent job for his son.
His son wouldn’t have to be sent to the countryside!
Lin Yong was one of the old employees at the institute, so the procedures went very smoothly. There was no need for any complicated handover, and all the paperwork was completed quickly.
As Gu Wan was about to leave, Lin Yong called out to her.
“Your salary will be paid in another ten days. You can still collect this month’s salary, so remember to come back and get it.”
Gu Wan waved her hand.
“I’ve already sold the job to your son, so let him take the salary.”
Lin Yong felt embarrassed about accepting it.
They had originally agreed on 2,000 yuan, but in the end, he had been more than 100 yuan short, and the coupons weren’t worth enough to make up the difference.
He had already gotten such a good job at such a favorable price, meaning he had benefited tremendously.
How could he possibly take Gu Wan’s salary as well?
“No, that won’t do. What belongs to you is yours. You’ve already done me a huge favor. How could I take advantage of you too?”
Gu Wan shook her head.
“In ten days, I may already have left the city. Just take it.”
Lin Yong wanted to pay the money to Gu Wan first, but after purchasing the job, he had spent all of his family’s savings. He didn’t have a single yuan left.
After thinking for a moment, he said to Gu Wan,
“Don’t leave yet. Wait here for a moment.”
With that, he ran back into his office.
Soon, he came running out carrying something wrapped in newspaper.
Lin Yong shoved the item into Gu Wan’s hands.
“I happened to acquire this thing many years ago. It’s just a little trinket. I thought it was a decent piece, so I bought it. Now that you’re leaving, I don’t have anything to give you. Consider this a keepsake.”
The moment Gu Wan heard that, she knew it was something Lin Yong had personally collected.
Lin Yong was an antique appraisal expert, so there was no doubt about his eye for valuable pieces.
“Since you were willing to collect it in the first place, it must be something you really liked. How could I take away something you treasure?”
Lin Yong helplessly shook his head.
“Take it. My wife has always complained that I waste money buying things that can’t be eaten or used. Sigh… These days, we’re already struggling just to make a living. Where do we have the time or money to fuss over things like this? Besides, consider it my way of thanking you for solving such a major problem for me!”
Gu Wan understood.
Before people could have enough food and clothing, they simply didn’t have the spare money—or the spare energy—to preserve and study cultural artifacts.
After all, survival came first.
Culture flourished alongside economic development. The time for that hadn’t come yet.
Gu Wan knew this was Lin Yong’s sincere gesture. It would be awkward to refuse.
At worst, if the item turned out to be valuable in the future, she could return it to him.
Besides, things were safest and most secure inside her space.
Gu Wan nodded and accepted it before saying goodbye to Lin Yong.
After leaving the Cultural Relics Management Office, Gu Wan casually placed the item into her space.
She had already developed the habit of putting everything into her space. No one could steal or snatch anything from her there, and retrieving things was convenient too.
Gu Wan suddenly remembered the house her grandfather had bought for her.
Now that she had sold her job, there was no need for her to continue living here.
She should go over and pack up the things inside.
The last time the original owner had gotten into a huge argument with Li Xiaoyu, she had stormed out by slamming the door behind her. Later, Li Xiaoyu had left in a fit of anger as well.
The house should have been so messy that there was barely room to walk.
Gu Wan had mentally prepared herself for the state of the place.
But when she pushed open the door, what she saw was surprisingly clean and tidy, as though the owner had only just left.
It was a two-bedroom apartment.
The front room served as the living room, furnished with a sofa, coffee table, dining table, coat rack, and cabinets. Everything was arranged neatly, and every piece of furniture had been covered with a square cloth.
There were even traces of red “Double Happiness” characters on the glass that hadn’t been completely cleaned off.
The inner room was the bedroom.
It was understated yet luxurious, with a double bed made of rosewood, two huanghuali wooden chests, and a large Manchurian ash wardrobe standing against the wall.
All of these furnishings had been provided by her grandfather.
Gu Wan walked around the apartment once and discovered a problem…