After breakfast, Ji Yang’s father and stepmother went to work.
Ji Yang tossed the clothes she had worn yesterday at Ji Man. “Wash them properly.”
“In your dreams!”
Ji Yang folded her arms. “You don’t want to wash them? Fine, fine. If you refuse, I’ll make a banner and take a stroll around Jiang Zhiyuan’s workplace.”
She lifted her chin slightly and looked at Ji Man with contempt. “The banner will say: ‘My younger sister secretly kissed my boyfriend!’ That’ll definitely cause quite a sensation!”
“You…” Ji Man felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness whenever she faced Ji Yang. It had started yesterday, and she couldn’t seem to do anything about it.
Whenever she remembered her previous life, when she and Jiang Zhiyuan had clearly loved each other but had been forced to let him pretend to be a married couple with Ji Yang to stabilize the company’s stock prices, she became furious. Every New Year and holiday, they had even been required to show off their loving relationship online, in magazines, and on television.
In this life, she had wanted Ji Yang to experience what it felt like to have someone flaunt their affection right in front of her. That was why she had deliberately acted intimate with Jiang Zhiyuan when Ji Yang approached them. She had never expected it to become evidence Ji Yang could use against her.
It was infuriating!
“Are you going to wash them or not?”
Ji Man said nothing. She picked up the clothes and angrily threw them into the washbasin.
Ji Yang smiled. Seeing other people get angry always put her in a good mood. Suddenly, the sky seemed bluer, the flowers smelled sweeter, and even the air felt fresher.
After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and changing into another outfit, she glanced at the calendar on the wall.
Ah, she really needed to hurry!
While Ji Man wasn’t paying attention, Ji Yang went into her father’s room and found the household registration booklet. If that man turned out to be suitable, she would simply go straight ahead and register their marriage.
Before leaving, Ji Yang called out to Ji Man, “Dear little sister, your older sister is going out to find herself a husband! I’ll do my best to find you a brother-in-law before I have to go to the countryside. As for you, don’t rush. You have nothing else to do anyway, so take your time washing the clothes.”
With that, she walked out the door.
Ji Man was so furious that she slammed the clothes in her hands into the basin. Water immediately splashed high into the air, soaking her clothes.
“Damn it! Why does a perfectly good woman have to have a mouth? Why, why does she have to have a mouth?!”
Meanwhile, Ji Yang, the woman with a mouth, reviewed the memories in her mind and recalled the plot of the book.
The female protagonist’s fiancé, who was destined to die young, was named Jiang Ye. He worked in the security department of a bicycle factory.
Security departments in this era were nothing like the security teams of later generations. They enjoyed a high social status and possessed certain weapons and equipment. They were quite formidable.
Unfortunately, a year later, an accident would cause a massive fire to break out at the bicycle factory. The flames would start in the paint workshop and quickly spread throughout the surrounding area.
While rushing into the burning factory to rescue people and save public property, Jiang Ye would tragically lose his life.
After being reborn, the female protagonist had been preoccupied with figuring out how to get together with Jiang Zhiyuan. She hadn’t given her former fiancé, Jiang Ye, any special warning about the impending disaster.
Afterward, she would even sigh sentimentally and remark, “Sigh, Jiang Ye. Even his name was unlucky. A wildfire can never be completely extinguished, and now the fire has spread right into the factory. If he gets another chance to be reincarnated, he should change his name first.”
In Ji Yang’s opinion, that was nothing but a callous remark. Anyone with even the slightest sense of right and wrong would never say something like that.
She shook her head, trying to clear away the plot that hadn’t happened yet.
What she needed to do now was find Jiang Ye and persuade him to marry her.
As for everything else, she could worry about it later.
Ji Yang lived in Beijing. In the 1970s, the city’s development was still relatively modest. There were vast stretches of land, old houses, dirt roads, and streams of workers riding bicycles to and from work. The workers of that era usually dressed in drab, grayish clothing.
Of course, their dull appearance didn’t reflect their spirits. They were full of enthusiasm and optimism.
Their eyes sparkled, their smiling faces glowed with a healthy flush, and people were warm and sociable, always exchanging a few words when they met. Whenever someone encountered trouble on the road, others would readily step forward to help.
As Ji Yang took in the scenery along the way, she felt that this was a fascinating era with many different facets. There was the somewhat rigid yet orderly lifestyle of a planned economy, the virtues of thrift and frugality maintained despite material shortages, and the spirit of selfless dedication sustained by ideals and convictions.
It was quite interesting.
The bicycle factory was more than forty minutes away from the Ji family’s home on foot. Although it was only a little after eight in the morning, it was already midsummer, and the weather was unbearably hot. By the time Ji Yang reached the factory, she was drenched in sweat.
Fortunately, she had exercised regularly in her previous life to maintain her figure, and the original owner of this body wasn’t the delicate, pampered type either. So even after walking for more than forty minutes, she didn’t feel particularly tired.
The elderly gatekeeper at the bicycle factory sat on a small stool outside the entrance, holding a newspaper. He glanced at everyone who came and went. If he recognized someone, he usually didn’t bother saying much. When people greeted him, he simply nodded in response, carrying himself with quite an air of authority.
“Good morning, Grandpa! Keeping busy?” Ji Yang bent forward slightly and greeted him politely.
The old man raised his eyes from the newspaper and looked at her. “What can I do for you, young lady?”
“Ah, Grandpa, I’m here to find someone. Jiang Ye from the security department. Could I trouble you to call him out for me?”
When he heard that she was looking for Jiang Ye, the old man finally shifted his gaze completely from the newspaper to Ji Yang. He looked her up and down before asking, “You’re looking for Jiang Ye?”
“That’s right. Jiang Ye.”
The old man gave Ji Yang a meaningful smile and said, “Wait here. I’ll go call him.”
Ji Yang was baffled by the way he looked at her. What was so funny about looking for Jiang Ye?
…
Although the security department’s workload wasn’t particularly heavy, its political responsibilities were significant.
In addition to patrolling the factory grounds, the department handled ordinary internal security incidents and mediated civil disputes. It also dealt with matters such as work transfers and household registration changes for employees and their family members.
When the gatekeeper arrived, several members of the security department had just finished their patrol. They were joking around, and the topic of conversation was none other than Jiang Ye’s new relationship.
“Jiang Ye, didn’t you say you didn’t want to get married? What changed your mind this time? Have you finally decided to settle down?”
“Exactly! Is the girl especially pretty?” As Yu Dagang said this, he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Jiang Ye held a cigarette in his hand but hadn’t lit it. He laughed and cursed, “Look at that sleazy expression on your face when you talk. Be careful someone accuses you of being a hooligan!”
“No, come on, Brother Ye! We’re talking about your love life here. At least tell us what you like about the girl!”
What did he like about her?
Jiang Ye narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. Perhaps he liked how quiet and gentle she seemed. She gave him the impression that she would be easy to get along with.
He replied, “My mother nags me about it every single day. If I don’t find her a daughter-in-law soon, I’ll never have a peaceful day again.”
Jiang Ye had four sisters. Including him, there were five children in his family, and he was the only boy. He was twenty-two years old now, which, in the eyes of the people around him, already made him an older unmarried young man. If he didn’t get married soon, his mother would start worrying herself sick.
As for why he had finally agreed to marry this time, it was probably because they had met at the right moment. He also felt that, at his age, it was time to settle down.
Beyond that, there wasn’t much more to it.