Liu Meilian was about to respond when a light cough sounded from outside the door.
Everyone in the room turned their heads to look.
Meng Suling pushed the door open boldly, followed by her five children.
Miao Xuewei’s shy and timid expression paled slightly upon seeing Miao Yunwei’s outfit, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost.
Today was her own engagement celebration, and since wearing bright red or green wasn’t allowed now, she had reluctantly used a somewhat festive pink cotton fabric to make a shirt. Her pants were military green, and her two long braids were tied with red ribbons, making her stand out like a crane among chickens.
Yet Miao Yunwei was wearing a full set of dacron, outshining her in both fabric and style. What was the meaning of this?
Ke Guixiang promptly noticed her daughter’s change, grabbed her wrist, shook her head at her, and stood up to greet them. “You’re here, have a seat!”
Her tone was lukewarm, and anyone could tell she didn’t welcome the second branch of the family.
Meng Suling wasn’t one to force warmth where it wasn’t returned. She turned her head and immediately began coquettishly complaining to Huang Caiying, “Mom! I listened to you and brought all the kids over! What delicious food are you planning to make today?”
Ke Guixiang was left embarrassed, her face alternating between green and white. The Du couple also frowned.
Huang Caiying sensed the atmosphere in the room turning cold and proactively asked, “We bought two jin of meat. Why is it just you and the kids? Where’s Jianguo? Isn’t he off work today?”
She knew her youngest son and second grandson worked the same shifts, coming and going together, sharing both workdays and days off. It didn’t make sense for the second grandson to be here while her youngest son wasn’t.
Meng Suling had been waiting for these questions. Feigning surprise, she said, “Mom, didn’t you know? Jianguo is working today! He’s on a long-distance run, left the day before yesterday, and won’t be back until tomorrow night.”
Miao Dashan, who had been silently smoking on the side, put down his pipe and asked curiously, “What’s going on? I remember Jianguo runs the route to the provincial capital, which only takes two days round trip. He’s about to retire internally, so why is he assigned other work? What about Pingkang?”
Meng Suling covered her mouth with a light laugh. “Dad, what era are you talking about! Our Pingkang is now capable of handling things on his own and doesn’t need his dad to guide him anymore. Besides, Yunwei is partnering with him on shifts now. The siblings go out and come back together, so Jianguo isn’t needed.”
Everyone in the room was stunned.
Huang Caiying urgently asked, “Second daughter-in-law, what do you mean? Wasn’t Yunwei a temporary loader? How is she partnering with Pingkang on shifts?”
“Mom! Our Yunwei is capable. She passed the internal assessment at the bus passenger transport company and transferred to the position of conductor and ticket seller. She’s a permanent employee now!”
Her words caused a stir. While the elderly Miao couple were genuinely surprised and delighted, the Miao family’s eldest branch and the Meng couple showed no signs of happiness—only suspicion, curiosity, and jealousy.
Du Zhenkai stood up at an inopportune moment, smiling warmly as he looked at Miao Yunwei, his eyes filled with admiration and sincerity. “Yunwei, congratulations. You finally don’t have to do those dirty, exhausting jobs anymore.”
Miao Yunwei awkwardly forced a smile and nodded politely.
Meng Suling subtly blocked Du Zhenkai’s line of sight, her smile fading slightly as she turned to Huang Caiying. “Mom, do you need my help? We need to eat and hurry back home! This time, Yunwei bought dozens of jin of sweet potatoes from Quan City, at one fen eight per jin. I left them at home and haven’t sorted them out yet. If you don’t feel like cooking these next few days, you and Dad can come over to eat. We’ll have sweet potato porridge—enough to fill everyone up!”
Ke Guixiang was so furious she was about to explode. Suddenly, Liu Meilian beamed with a smile and looked warmly at Miao Yunwei. “I remember Yunwei was always a good student, reliable in everything she did. She’s truly accomplished!”
These words made Ke Guixiang even more displeased. She muttered, “What’s so great about that! My brother also works at the bus station, and he’s a driver!”
Meng Suling immediately feigned surprise. “Oh? He’s still a driver at the bus station? I thought…”
Her reaction instantly piqued everyone’s curiosity.
Miao Dashan looked puzzled. “What do you mean, second daughter-in-law?”
Meng Suling smiled sheepishly and said lightly, “Actually, it’s nothing much. It’s just that Ke Youzhi deceived our Yunwei about the job. Well, the truth came out yesterday when the leaders at the bus station called me in to understand the situation.
I’m not very knowledgeable and easily frightened. When they looked stern, I panicked and couldn’t think straight, so I told them everything. The leaders were furious, saying it was undermining socialism and deceiving for collective interests—very, very serious.
So, Jianguo even got into a fight with Ke Youzhi. Ke Youzhi ended up in the clinic, and Jianguo took over his driving shift.”
Ke Guixiang, shocked and enraged, let out a cry and rushed out of the house without a second thought.
Miao Aiguo, pale-faced, hurriedly went back to his room to grab some money and chased after her.
Seeing the situation, the Du couple quickly stood up and said, “Uncle, aunt, we’ve been here for a while now, and there’s still a lot to do at home. We’ll head back first and wait until Aiguo and his wife sort things out over there. After all, we’re all in the same compound, so there’s no rush.”
“Leaving already? Stay for dinner! I’ve almost finished cooking!” Huang Caiying said anxiously.
Liu Meilan tightly held her son’s hand, skillfully maneuvering around Huang Caiying while quickly moving toward the hallway. In no time, she disappeared from sight.
Miao Xuewei covered her face and retreated to her room, slamming the door shut with a loud “bang.”
The elderly Miao couple were stunned. They looked at each other, then glanced at Meng Suling, who appeared completely innocent, and suddenly felt a pang of distress.
How did a perfectly good matchmaking dinner turn into such a mess? The eldest couple really shouldn’t have rushed back to their parents’ home at a time like this, leaving guests unattended.
And as for the second daughter-in-law…
Well, she’s never one to take a loss, and she had the facts on her side, so there’s nothing more to say.
“Second daughter-in-law, come here and tell us the whole story from start to finish. Your father and I shouldn’t be kept in the dark,” Huang Caiying said, putting down her work to understand the situation first.
Meng Suling pushed Miao Yunwei forward. “You should ask Yunwei about this. She knows best.”
With that, she took over Huang Caiying’s cooking duties.
Miao Yunwei sighed and recounted her experiences at the bus station in detail. “According to Director Gao, Ke Youzhi never intended for me to stay and work at the bus station. He didn’t expect me to persevere, so he told Director Gao that I was in poor health and couldn’t handle the loading and unloading work, suggesting that Director Gao transfer me to another position.
Transferring positions isn’t that easy. It was clearly a way to make things difficult for me, hoping Director Gao would fire me. Fortunately, Zhang Xiuqing, who works shifts with my dad, didn’t want to partner with my brother, and no one else was willing to switch with her. Director Gao had no choice but to think of me and organized an internal exam.”
I scored 99 points and successfully passed the probation period, getting transferred to a new position. When Ke Youzhi found out, he actually told my dad that it was all thanks to him that I could become a ticket seller. My dad couldn’t stand it and publicly exposed all the disgraceful things Ke Youzhi had done. Ke Youzhi flew into a rage out of humiliation and threw the first punch. My dad fought with him, and the situation escalated. The station leaders and the union secretary both stepped in, and this is how things ended up.”