He worked at a cotton textile factory not far from home, responsible for monitoring the weaving machines.
There were plenty of people outside who envied him, thinking his job was close to home and easy.
But what job is ever easy?
He stood in front of the machines, watching them run. Not only was the air hot, but the machines were scorching too. When his hands touched them, it felt like being placed on a grill.
The third child had it easy—no studying, no working, yet she managed to find herself a regimental commander as a partner.
He didn’t approve of that match. It wasn’t that the man was bad—he just didn’t think it was reliable.
The third child had nothing to her name. Sooner or later, the marriage would fall apart. Every extra day she spent with Xiao Shuisheng felt like Xiao Shuisheng was taking advantage for one more day.
They were all men—who didn’t understand each other?
Xiao Shuisheng would have to be crazy to marry her.
“What? Just because you’re dating Xiao Shuisheng, you don’t even see me, your second brother, anymore? Do you know I didn’t eat all day and worked until I was nearly starving to death?”
“Third sister, you forgot your brother the moment you saw a man!”
“I advise you not to be so short-sighted. Whether Xiao Shuisheng will even want you is still uncertain.”
A single meal brought out all of Jiang Ming’s true thoughts.
Jiang Zao wasn’t surprised by what he thought, nor did she care.
“Some things happened today, and I didn’t have time to bring you food. I’ll cook now.”
She didn’t bother wasting words on him. Carrying a basket, she went to the backyard to pick potatoes.
Jiang Ming grabbed a ladle and gulped down half a scoop of water.
After working like an ox all day, he was starving. His colleague Li Xiong had eaten braised pork ribs at noon—the fat and lean meat mixed together, releasing an irresistible aroma. Jiang Ming had nearly drooled himself to death. A few words couldn’t possibly extinguish the anger of going hungry.
He went inside to complain to Liu Chunhua.
“Mom…”
Liu Chunhua stopped him and pulled him outside to talk.
At that moment, Jiang Dashan was still distressed. Even though he had made a decision, his brotherly bond, hanging by a thread, still caused him pain.
Liu Chunhua wasn’t just good at handling relatives—she was even better at handling her husband.
After so many years of marriage and four children, she could still make Jiang Dashan sigh from time to time:
“I must have accumulated virtue in my past life to marry Chunhua in this one.”
Liu Chunhua pulled Jiang Ming outside and told him about Jiang Zao and Jiang Shan.
Jiang Ming wasn’t angry about offending his second uncle’s family.
Because when he was looking for a job, he had asked his second uncle for help, but they had hesitated and refused, saying it wasn’t convenient at the moment, and that they would help when the fourth child needed a job.
They had brushed him off completely.
Since Jiang Ming hadn’t gained any benefit from them, he naturally didn’t feel any need to fear them.
“Oh, even if your second uncle’s family can’t be relied on, don’t trust the Xiao family either. Xiao Shuisheng is a regimental commander—he’d have to be blind to take a liking to the third child.”
“Only when families are well-matched can a marriage last. His mother doesn’t think much of you—would she let the third child marry in?”
“Can Xiao Shuisheng go against his mother?”
Liu Chunhua snorted confidently. “Why not?”
“Even if he doesn’t marry the third child, I can still squeeze a breakup fee out of him.”
“Our third child’s hand wasn’t touched for nothing!”
Jiang Zao, who had just finished picking potatoes and walked out: “……”
See? The strength of your enemy is often beyond imagination.
Only after Liu Chunhua and Jiang Ming went inside did Jiang Zao come out from behind and head to the kitchen to cook.
After dinner, Jiang Zao rinsed herself briefly and returned to her room to sleep.
Her eldest sister, Jiang Xing, was about to get married. Her fiancé had taken her to the county town to buy fabric for the wedding.
Her younger brother, Jiang Jun, had eaten at a classmate’s house and came back late. He probably ran into their second uncle and aunt on the way, returning home in a huff.
“Why offend Second Aunt for Third Sister? Do you think you offended just her? That was my job!”
Liu Chunhua explained things to her children for what felt like the hundredth time, her mouth dry from talking.
The mother and son muttered outside for a long time before coming back in. Jiang Jun was still unhappy, slamming the door hard to express his anger.
Jiang Zao ignored him.
She turned over to face the wall. The jade pendant on her chest felt cool, calming her as she slowly fell asleep.
Before dawn, she got up to chop firewood, light the stove, and cook porridge. After cooking, she set bowls on the table. Once everyone finished eating, she washed all the family’s clothes. After that, she boiled a small pot of mung bean soup, poured it into a clean white liquor bottle, sealed it, and called out in the yard:
“Mom, I’m going to see Xiao Shuisheng.”
“I made potato stew with eggplant for lunch, and the sorghum pancakes are ready. You can just heat them up at noon. I won’t be coming back to eat.”
Liu Chunhua used to have a job, but when Jiang Ming finished school and couldn’t find good work, she gave her job to him.
She usually stayed at home. Recently, she hadn’t been doing much. With a new sewing machine in the house, she took out the men’s clothes and patched them up to look nicer.
As for the women’s clothes…
Did altering clothes not require thread?
Wouldn’t it wear out the sewing machine?
Why bother altering them?
As long as they could still be worn, that was enough.
Without even lifting her head, Liu Chunhua said, “Go ahead. I’ll cook dinner tonight. You can eat at the institute before coming back.”
“But after dinner, you must come home to sleep!”
Between cooking one meal and saving two meals’ worth of grain, Liu Chunhua naturally preferred to cook.
“I know,” Jiang Zao replied.
She placed the liquor bottle into a netted string bag and carried it as she went to catch the bus.
After getting off near the research institute, she walked for more than ten minutes to reach the place.
Yesterday, Jiang Zao had said she would come to see Xiao Shuisheng, so early that morning, he told his assistant to call him from the lab when she arrived.
She usually didn’t go into the lab to disturb him and would wait under the shade near the dormitory. Yesterday, rushing in had been an exception.
She had barely walked toward the dormitory for two minutes when Xiao Shuisheng, dressed in a white shirt, hurried over with a slightly anxious expression.
“Zao’er!”
Jiang Zao turned around. The sun was scorching, forcing her to squint.
“You came back quickly.”
The organization had planned to assign housing to Xiao Shuisheng. At the time, there was a researcher with six children, whose wife lived in the countryside. If he got housing in the family quarters, they could reunite in Lin’an.
When the allocation was made, there were two senior researchers but only one available residence.
Based on merit, the one with greater contributions would get it first, and the other would have to wait.
Originally, it was assigned to Xiao Shuisheng. But seeing how anxious the other researcher was—his mouth even breaking out in sores—and considering that he himself wasn’t married yet, he gave it up.
That researcher was deeply moved. When his wife arrived, she brought two bundles of cured meat, totaling six or seven jin, along with more than a dozen sausages.
Thus, despite being a senior researcher, Xiao Shuisheng still lived in the dormitory with everyone else.
When he saw Jiang Zao, the joy in his heart was impossible to suppress. He wasn’t someone who showed emotions easily, but the tenderness in his deep eyes gave everything away.
He walked over and, pretending not to care, took her hand.
His palm was warm and damp with sweat.
Jiang Zao held his hand in return.
The two of them, restraining themselves, walked to the flowerbed in front of the dormitory and sat down.
Jiang Zao was 1.65 meters tall and weighed just over eighty jin.
Xiao Shuisheng was 1.88 meters tall and weighed over one hundred fifty jin. The muscles on his body weren’t exaggerated, but their lines were smooth—both strong and aesthetically pleasing.
As soon as he sat down, his gaze clung to Jiang Zao’s face like two flames, as if he wanted to set her alight.
Jiang Zao removed the wooden lid.
“I made mung bean soup for you. Try it quickly.”