Miao Jianguo naturally wouldn’t stoop to arguing with a junior, merely staring coldly at Miao Aiguo. “Big brother, do you think I’m easy to push around just because I’m honest, so you can recklessly scheme against our family? When Dad’s job was given to you back then, I didn’t say a word. Now that it’s time for this job to come around, it should be our second branch’s turn, don’t you think?”
Miao Aiguo had been taking hits since last night and was now furious too. “What good does my opinion do? My brother-in-law guaranteed he’d get Xuewei a ticket seller position—how could I doubt him? Who knew it would turn out like this? Second brother! Do you have to keep harping on this one thing?”
“Yes!” Miao Jianguo roared in anger, and the entire house fell completely silent.
Meanwhile, Meng Suling, now dressed and ready, took Miao Yunwei’s hand and declared loudly, “Let’s go! Mom will take you to see the office director. We’ll make things clear—today, no matter what, I’m getting this job back for you!”
At this, the first branch family could no longer sit still.
Ke Guixiang even blocked the main door, refusing to let them leave.
The two sides were locked in a heated standoff.
Huang Caiying couldn’t take it anymore and shouted angrily, “Enough! Split! Split the family! Let’s do it now. The sooner we split, the sooner I’ll have peace!”
Meng Suling immediately responded, “Mom, this time it’s our second branch that’s been wronged. Either way, the first branch should be the ones to move out. You can live with us!”
Ke Guixiang was both shocked and furious. “Nonsense! This house belongs to the sugar factory. If we split, it should go to us!”
“Then give the job back!” Meng Suling held out her hand, looking as if she had nothing to lose.
The first branch couple were nearly fuming with rage, while Miao Xuewei was solely worried about losing the job, almost ready to lunge at Miao Yunwei and fight her.
The commotion in the Miao household had alerted all the neighbors.
Soon, someone came knocking to inquire about the situation.
Huang Caiying shot everyone a fierce glare before going out to deal with it.
She returned a while later, exasperated. “Let’s eat first! Those who need to go to work, go to work. Those who need to go to school, go to school. We’ll talk about it again tonight!”
But Meng Suling refused to back down. “Mom! Xuewei hasn’t started working yet! If I take Yunwei over now, there might still be room to turn things around.”
Huang Caiying felt a suffocating tightness in her chest, as if she couldn’t catch her breath. “Second daughter-in-law, do you think the sugar factory is our family’s business? This temporary job was bought with your dad’s money in the first place. If you go to the office and make a scene, not only will you not get the job back, but you might even jeopardize the eldest son’s job.”
She knew the first branch had acted unfairly, but if their actions ended up costing the eldest son his job, the two brothers would become sworn enemies for life.
“Mom! He brought that on himself—what does it have to do with us? We can’t just take this loss lying down!” Meng Suling was certain the first branch couldn’t afford to gamble.
Sure enough, seeing Meng Suling’s stubborn refusal to yield, Miao Aiguo had no choice but to swallow his temper and turn to Old Man Miao. “Dad! Since second brother wants to split the family, let’s split!”
Old Man Miao glared at him with disappointment, his cloudy old eyes slightly reddening. “Easier said than done! Our family is just this tiny bit of space—how do we split it? Where will the other side live?”
Miao Aiguo’s mind raced. “Dad, isn’t there the old house in Hekou Village? At worst, we can use that for the split!”
As he spoke, he turned to Miao Jianguo, his tone softening involuntarily. “Second brother, Hekou Village is closer to the bus passenger transport company and has more spacious land. The only issue is that the house isn’t habitable. We can pay to have it repaired so your family can move there. How does that sound?”
Miao Yunwei exchanged a surprised glance with Meng Suling.
How strange! Why had Miao Aiguo suddenly become so generous? He was even willing to pay for the repairs! This saved them the trouble of endless arguing.
Miao Jianguo didn’t agree immediately. Instead, he turned to Meng Suling. “What do you think?”
Meng Suling kept a stern face, her eyes lowered. She remained silent for a moment before reluctantly asking, “How much? If the house is too dilapidated, it’ll need to be rebuilt. That’ll cost at least eight hundred or a thousand yuan!”
“Thousand…” Ke Guixiang widened her eyes and was about to shout, but Miao Aiguo stopped her.
Gritting his teeth, he said, “Fine! We’ll pay! Consider it compensation for you!”
“Words alone aren’t enough. Let’s put it in writing first, so you don’t change your tune after work.”
Ignoring Ke Guixiang’s murderous glare, Meng Suling opened her youngest son’s schoolbag, took out a crumpled notebook, tore out a page, and carefully wrote down the agreement word by word.
Only after everyone had signed and stamped it did she finally relax. She took the written agreement and left the house with a confident stride.
Miao Yunwei quickly followed her.
“Mom, you were amazing just now! No woman in our compound is more capable than you!”
Meng Suling gave her gentle daughter a weary look and shook her head worriedly. “What are we going to do with you? Even men struggle with the loading and unloading work at the passenger station. How will you manage?”
“It’s all that damned Ke Guixiang’s fault! I’m not done with her!”
During this time, the situation was tense. Any household with idle students at home would be pressured to mobilize them. She didn’t have the courage to ask her daughter to give up this thankless job.
Miao Yunwei, carefree as ever, laughed cheerfully. “Mom, don’t worry. Things will work out when the time comes. There’s always a way.”
“What way! Do you think work is that simple? Never mind! You wouldn’t understand even if I told you! Go to work with your father first!”
The mother and daughter walked together for a while before parting ways outside the compound.
Miao Yunwei stood at the intersection for a moment and soon saw Miao Jianguo riding his bicycle over. She quickly hopped onto the back. “Dad! Let’s go!”
Bathed in the morning glow, she felt her mood was unprecedentedly good because the trajectory of her life had completely changed in both lifetimes!
Sensing his daughter’s cheerful mood, Miao Jianguo couldn’t help but smile. “So happy to go to work? Loading and unloading isn’t easy! Girl… if it’s really too much, just say so. At worst, we can quit, and I’ll figure something out.”
Miao Yunwei knew Miao Jianguo was just comforting her. If there were really other options, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.
“Dad, don’t worry. I can handle it!”
Father and daughter chatted and laughed all the way.
As soon as they entered the bus passenger station, Miao Jianguo first took Miao Yunwei to the bus he drove. “Girl, familiarize yourself with the bus first. I’ll go clock in and then take you to meet the team leader.”
After Miao Jianguo left, Miao Yunwei sat in a passenger seat, looking at the prominent slogan behind the driver’s seat: “Safe and punctual, serving the people.”
The entire bus was filled with a strong smell of rubber, along with faint scents of gasoline and hot engine oil—truly unpleasant.
Just as she frowned, a mechanical voice echoed in her mind. “Congratulations, host, for unlocking the Passenger Transport System. I am your intelligent assistant, Jinbao.”
“Complete the tasks, unlock rewards, and turn your life around.”
“Passenger Transport System? What tasks?” Miao Yunwei widened her eyes in disbelief.
Yuanbao explained, “The host has three tasks. First, help one hundred passengers in need solve their problems; second, connect all villages with underdeveloped transportation; third, gain VIP loyal passengers. As task progress increases, corresponding rewards will be randomly unlocked.”