Inside the red paper packet sealed with paste were twenty “Great Unity” bills—two hundred yuan in total.
Two hundred yuan was enough to get Jiang Ming or Jiang Jun a wife.
Adding the two hundred from selling the job and the ten yuan from selling cured meat, she had secretly saved two hundred and ten yuan!
Jiang Zao quickly took off her pants and used a scrap of cloth to sew a pocket on the inside. After putting the money in, she stitched it shut—no matter how much she jumped or moved, it wouldn’t fall out.
She had just put her pants back on when the door to the small room opened from outside. Jiang Xing walked in, her eyes sweeping up and down.
“Drawing the curtains in broad daylight? What are you, a thief?”
As she spoke, she pulled the curtains open, pushed the window wider, and lay back down on the bed.
The two sisters shared a small room. In summer, Jiang Xing was afraid of the heat and slept by the window. In winter, afraid of the cold, she would switch places with Jiang Zao—taking the spot by the wall and letting Jiang Zao face the cold draft.
They were all small matters of daily life, yet Jiang Xing always managed to hold tightly onto the better end of things—letting others suffer inconvenience while never wronging herself.
Jiang Zao wiped the sweat from her forehead, picked up a fan, and slowly waved it.
“The sun was hurting my eyes. I closed the curtains to take a nap.”
That was close—her eldest sister had almost seen.
Since wearing the necklace, her luck had improved quite a bit.
“Third sister.”
Jiang Xing, lying with her back to Jiang Zao, suddenly called out.
Jiang Zao responded, “What is it, sis?”
Her tone was the same as always—simple and guileless.
Jiang Xing’s voice was lower than usual, a little cold.
“When you marry Xiao Shuisheng, what will you do with the bride price he gives you?”
Jiang Xing was troubled. What was she troubled about?
She was worried about herself and her fiancé, Li Ming.
Li Ming worked at a distillery. He made and repaired barrels—for liquor and soy sauce.
Besides earning forty-five yuan a month at the distillery, during holidays he would be borrowed by the food factory’s soy sauce department to help hoop and repair barrels, earning a bit extra each time. Over a year, he could make an additional thirty to fifty yuan.
Thirty to fifty yuan was a month’s salary. Over a year, that extra income might seem small, but if spent carefully, it could cover more than half a year’s expenses.
Li Ming had an older brother who already had a job, and his sister-in-law also worked. Their child was four years old and about to start kindergarten.
Although Li Ming’s parents didn’t have jobs, they had just finished helping raise their eldest grandson. Once Jiang Xing married in and had a couple of children to stabilize her position, she wouldn’t need to take care of them herself. After two or three years, Li Ming would definitely be promoted, and by then, after having children and with her husband advancing, Jiang Xing could be arranged a dependent job.
So what was she worried about?
She was worried that the sewing machine Li Ming bought and the fifty yuan bride price—she might not be able to take even a single cent with her.
Li Ming’s family conditions were better than theirs. She was already at a disadvantage. If the bride price stayed with her natal family, she wouldn’t be able to hold her head high after marrying in.
Jiang Zao was in a similar situation. Jiang Xing wanted to hear her thoughts.
But whatever Jiang Zao truly thought, she couldn’t say a word of it. On the surface, she remained obedient and naive.
“What can I do? I’ll definitely listen to Mom. Whatever she says, I’ll do.”
Her answer was both expected and unexpected.
“Aren’t you afraid that if the bride price all stays here, your in-laws will be unhappy?”
“I don’t know,” Jiang Zao replied.
Jiang Xing: “……”
Fool.
Among the four siblings, Jiang Zao was so foolish she didn’t seem like she came from the Jiang family at all.
Jiang Xing said, “Zao’er, the Xiao family has high standards. You need to think more for yourself. You should be brave and fight Mom for your bride price. You can’t let her keep it all, or your marriage might not go well.”
What Jiang Zao heard was: Zao’er, be my weapon. If you argue with Mom and win, I won’t have to.
Jiang Zao pretended to be afraid, her voice timid.
“Sis… I don’t dare say anything.”
Jiang Xing: useless!
…
Three days later, the food factory posted the list of accepted employees. Three people were hired—and Jiang Zao’s name was clearly on it.
“See? I got in on my own!”
Standing beside Xiao Shuisheng, Jiang Zao lifted her smooth chin, full of pride.
That morning, she had gone to the research institute to ask if he was free, saying she wanted to take him somewhere.
Xiao Shuisheng rarely took leave—even on holidays. But when he requested it, approval came quickly.
“Zao’er is really amazing.”
He couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle her smooth hair.
The gesture was too intimate. Jiang Zao jumped away as if shocked.
“Wait here for me. I’m going inside to report.”
Watching her flee in shy embarrassment, Xiao Shuisheng curled his hand into a fist, bringing it to his lips as he chuckled softly.
Jiang Zao ran into the food factory, gradually slowing her pace.
That morning, she had used the excuse of grabbing discounted defective fabric to borrow the household registration book from Liu Chunhua. Now she brought it to the personnel department of the food factory to complete her registration.
She handed it over.
“Hello, Section Chief. I’m Jiang Zao.”
Hearing her name, Zhang Jisheng, the head of personnel, looked up and smiled.
As one of the accepted candidates, Jiang Zao was the last to arrive. While waiting in line, she had seen Zhang Jisheng looking serious and thought he might be hard to deal with.
But he remembered her.
“You portioned the dough very precisely. More than half of what you handed in was exactly fifty grams, and the rest weren’t far off. Master Sun personally requested to assign you to the pastry team to learn from him. Work hard—you have a bright future ahead.”
“Master Sun?” Jiang Zao asked.
Zhang Jisheng finished most of the entry procedures, stamped the documents, and said with a smile,
“Master Sun is the one who interviewed you. He’s the most experienced and capable master in our factory. Learn well from him—you’ll definitely achieve something.”
Even though the girl had no background and no one speaking for her in the factory, being favored by Master Sun meant she would surely have a promising future.
Zhang Jisheng had sharp judgment and handled matters thoroughly. He didn’t look down on Jiang Zao just because she lacked power or influence.
Jiang Zao had always known she was talented in cooking. She humbly thanked him.
“Thank you for the guidance, Section Chief Zhang. I’ll definitely study hard under Master Sun.”
After completing the procedures, Jiang Zao left the office. Just as she was about to go, a woman’s sharp voice cursed from behind:
“Using that seductive face of yours to flirt everywhere—bah! Aren’t you ashamed?”
The food factory had hired three people—two women and one man, all around twenty years old.
The one speaking was the other female recruit. She had a student-style haircut with thin bangs, looked decent, and dressed well.
When she spoke, she practically looked down at others through her nose.