“What else do you want?!” Zhang Guihua was on edge.
Her eyes were fixed intently on Yu Yin’s hand, terrified that she might pull out another fountain pen from somewhere.
Yu Yin’s smile deepened; it seemed the aftereffects of the fountain pen were quite severe.
But would she really stab her with a fountain pen in front of so many people?
She wasn’t that stupid.
Besides, fountain pens were so expensive—it wouldn’t be worth wasting one on Zhang Guihua.
“You’re wrong, Second Aunt. It’s not what I want; it’s what your family wants.”
“I heard our family has a job set aside for the daughter-in-law, which you’ve been helping to handle temporarily.” She paused.
Since getting the job back was something Yu Yin had just thought of, she hadn’t mentioned it beforehand to Madam Sheng. Afraid that Madam Sheng might be swayed by blood ties and family affection, she stole a glance at her.
At that moment, a flash of surprise crossed Mother Sheng’s eyes; she seemed puzzled as to how Yu Yin had found out about the job, but showed no intention of objecting or stopping her.
Yu Yin exhaled a breath of pent-up frustration. She could figure out the reason later; right now, this was a rare opportunity to reclaim the job.
In the book, precisely because no one ever mentioned the job—and the female supporting character was unaware it even existed—the male cannon fodder and his family were eventually schemed to death by his malicious second uncle and aunt.
Since the job belonged to them, even if they didn’t want it, it couldn’t be left to such malicious people.
The corners of Yu Yin’s mouth curled upward even higher as she continued, “Now that I’ve married into the Pei family and am Ah Zhan’s wife, I think it’s time to get that job back.”
“No way!” Zhang Guihua protested furiously.
“Why not? Is the job offer a lie?” Yu Yin asked Sheng’s mother.
“I said no, and that’s final.”
Sheng’s mother ignored Zhang Guihua’s screams and quickly concealed the emotion in her eyes. Her voice was soft and slow, but the meaning behind her words matched Yu Yin’s.
“It’s true.”
“I almost forgot about this, Guangyi. You mentioned earlier that A-Zhan hadn’t married yet, and since Jianguo was just loafing around at home, I wanted him to get some work experience, so I had him take over the job temporarily. ”
“Now that Yin Yin has married into our family, shouldn’t the job be returned?”
“Since Director Du and Director Zhang—who helped draft the agreement back then—are here as well, let’s have them all witness the handover of the job.”
At that moment, Pei Guangyi looked as though he’d swallowed a mouthful of shit—he was shocked and distressed.
His family had schemed so much, all for the sake of keeping the job. Now look—they’d spent the money, ruined their reputation, and ended up with nothing but shattered hopes.
What was the point of all that scheming, then?!
“…S-sister-in-law, the job…” Pei Guangyi’s mind raced; he still couldn’t accept it. If they gave the job back, what would happen to his son, whom he cherished most?
“It’s not like we can just give the job back right now. I heard from Jianguo that the food factory has a big order coming in recently, and everyone’s working overtime. If we give the job back now, we’ll have to handle the handover—it might even delay the factory’s progress.”
“Besides, Comrade Yu has just arrived in the provincial capital and doesn’t know anything yet. If something goes wrong when she takes over the job, what will happen to Big Brother’s reputation?”
“After all, this job was left behind by Big Brother, and Jianguo is his own nephew. Let’s wait a little longer.”
“No—”
Yu Yin squeezed Mother Sheng’s hand tightly, motioning for her to come over.
Yu Yin turned to face Pei Guangyi and sneered, “So, Second Uncle, when do you plan to return it? Since everyone’s here, why don’t you set a date? I don’t think the factory gets big orders like this very often. And even if it did, the other employees aren’t just sitting around doing nothing—if they can’t even handle a shift change and still meet their quotas, don’t you agree, Second Uncle?”
Yu Yin countered with the same line of reasoning.
Pei Guangyi felt he’d met his match and nearly gritted his teeth to dust.
Zhang Guihua, no longer caring about her fear of Yu Yin, rushed toward Yu Yin and Sheng’s mother, intending to pressure Sheng’s mother just as she had before.
Seeing her approach, Yu Yin quickly grabbed a chair nearby and pulled it toward her.
Zhang Guihua couldn’t dodge in time and fell flat on her face.
“Ha!” One of the Party members from the neighborhood office burst out laughing at this sudden scene—especially the comical sight of Zhang Guihua’s face scraping against the ground—and she couldn’t help but chuckle again.
Yu Yin wanted to laugh too, but she suppressed her laughter and exclaimed dramatically, “Oh my, Second Auntie, why did you suddenly rush over like that? Someone who didn’t know any better would think you were about to hit someone.”
“Zhang Guihua, what are you doing?” Zhang Xianglian rushed over, yanked Zhang Guihua to her feet, and shoved her in front of Pei Guangyi. “Pei Guangyi, if you don’t stop Zhang Guihua right now, do you think I won’t drag both of you to the Revolutionary Committee this very minute?”
Just moments ago, they’d guaranteed these two wouldn’t cause any more trouble, yet here they were at it again—did they have no regard for the Subdistrict Office at all?
Zhang Xianglian set a deadline right away. “One week. If you haven’t returned the work in a week, I’ll personally pay a visit to the food factory and the Sanitation Department.
The Sanitation Department was Pei Guangyi’s workplace. Terrified, Pei Guangyi grabbed Zhang Guihua—who was still trying to make a scene—and covered her mouth.
Gritting his teeth, he said, “We’ll return it!”
*
After seeing off the neighborhood office representatives and the Zhang Guihua couple, Yu Yin became very quiet.
She followed closely behind Sheng’s mother, saying nothing, just tagging along.
Yu Yin was actually still afraid.
She’d been getting along very well with the mother-in-law lately; she wasn’t the domineering, snobbish type who would pick on her daughter-in-law. On the contrary, the mother-in-law had a gentle disposition and never interfered in Yu Yin’s affairs.
Yu Yin didn’t want to create any unnecessary misunderstandings with such a kind person, making her think that Yu Yin had married into the Pei family solely for a job in the provincial capital.
Yu Yin could find a job on her own; she hadn’t been set on a position with the Pei family from the start.
She just didn’t want to let the villains get their way.
Yu Yin took a deep breath and was about to explain when Mother Sheng took her hand and led her into the bedroom.
Then, from a box hidden in the closet, she pulled out a certificate and handed it to Yu Yin.
Confused, Yu Yin blinked. “What… is this?”
She pushed the certificate into her hand. “This is my work certificate. I’ve been feeling unwell lately, so I’ve had a colleague cover for me. Keep this for now. I know what kind of people your second uncle and aunt are. Even though they were forced to say they’d return it today, they won’t actually do it.”
“So are we just going to let them get away with this?” ” Yu Yin cut off her mother-in-law before she could continue.
“Mom, I’m going to say something harsh—please don’t take it personally. The reason they’ve been bullying us all this time is precisely because you’re too weak. Not fighting back once, twice, or even three times is what’s led to their arrogance today—they think they can get away with whatever they want.”
Mrs. Sheng felt both embarrassed and guilty. “I know, but… we’re family, after all.”
“You may consider them family, but what about them?”
“Mom, I don’t want to just hand my job over to them like this. I don’t want your job.” Yu Yin handed the certificate back to Mrs. Sheng. “I want them to give it back.”
“But they won’t…” give it back.
“I’ll make them give it back—though my methods might not be very nice. Will you blame me for that, Mom? ” Yu Yin looked at Mother Sheng cautiously.
Her eyes held a mix of fear and a desire to please that even she hadn’t noticed.
Mother Sheng paused, ruffled Yu Yin’s hair, and smiled. “What would I blame you for? You’re doing this for the family, too. Of course, it’d be great to get the job back, but don’t hurt yourself in the process.”
“Also, if they lay a hand on you, just tell me. Mom may be frail and gentle-natured, but we have help.”
“You mean Uncle and Auntie, right?”
Mrs. Sheng tilted her chin like a child. “Of course.”
“Heh.” The two looked at each other and laughed.
After opening up like this, Yu Yin felt the barrier between her and Mother Sheng grow thinner, and their interactions were no longer as awkward as before.
And so, a week passed.
During that week, whether intentionally or not, Yu Yin didn’t see Zhang Guihua and Pei Guangyi—the married couple—even once.
The couple probably thought that as long as they stayed out of her sight, they could keep putting off the work indefinitely.
But Yu Yin wasn’t the Sheng mother; when she said she would make them return the job, she meant it.
The day after the week was up, Yu Yin arrived at the subdistrict office.
“Comrade Yu, what brings you here?” Zhang Xianglian wasn’t out on her home visits today, so she was surprised to see Yu Yin.
Yu Yin didn’t beat around the bush. “I’m here to see you, Director Zhang. Last time, you said you’d give Zhang Guihua and her husband a week to return the work, but now that a week has passed, I haven’t even seen a trace of Zhang Guihua.”
Zhang Xianglian felt awkward.
She was aware of the situation. Just two days earlier, she had gone out of her way to look for Zhang Guihua, only to find that Zhang Guihua had gone back to her parents’ home, and Pei Guangyi had claimed he couldn’t do anything about it. As for the person at the center of the matter, Pei Jianguo, he was even more stubborn—he was living right at the factory and wouldn’t even step outside the factory gates.
Zhang Xianglian gave a sheepish smile. “Comrade Yu, don’t worry. Zhang Guihua has gone back to her parents’ house for a few days. As soon as I find her, I’ll have her return to work immediately.”
“What about Pei Guangyi?”
Yu Yin wasn’t even bothering with polite formalities now; she addressed the couple by their first names.
“Pei Guangyi is here, but he says he can’t interfere in his son’s affairs. Plus, it was Zhang Guihua who helped Pei Jianguo handle the subcontracting paperwork back then, so—”
“So they just don’t want to cooperate, do they?”
“I see.” With that, Yu Yin bowed to Zhang Xianglian and turned to leave.
Seeing how decisively she acted, Zhang Xianglian had a feeling something big was about to happen.
She called out to Yu Yin, “Comrade Yu, where are you going?”
“To the Sanitation Management Station. Since Pei Guangyi says he can’t handle his own family affairs, I have my doubts about his professional competence. That being the case, for the sake of our subdistrict’s environmental improvement, don’t I, as a citizen of this country, have a duty to bring this to the attention of his superiors?”
Zhang Xianglian: “…!!!” That’s brilliant.
No, wait—that’s ruthless.
If this actually happens, won’t the Pei Guangyi family be utterly devastated?
“If there’s nothing else, Director Zhang, I’ll be on my way.”
“Wait! Have you… thought about the consequences? What if—”
“I know. Don’t worry, Director Zhang. I’ve got it all figured out.”
Yu Yin really did have it all figured out. This wasn’t the first time she’d approached Pei Guangyi’s superiors; at the very least, she’d made sure Pei Guangyi knew she wasn’t someone to mess with before taking this step.
*
Pei Guangyi’s brow throbbed violently, and by midday, he could barely keep his eyes open.
He finally made it through to lunchtime and was planning to head to the nurse’s office when someone rushed in and called out to him, “Comrade Pei, someone’s here to see you.”
“Who is it?”
“A female comrade.”
“Okay, thanks.” Pei Guangyi assumed it was Zhang Guihua. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he strolled slowly toward the exit, running into a retiring supervisor from their department along the way.
Pei Guangyi approached him with a fawning smile to pay his respects, but unfortunately, they parted ways after exchanging only a few words.
The old supervisor was heading to the cafeteria for lunch, while Pei Guangyi was going to the entrance to meet Zhang Guihua.
After parting ways, Pei Guangyi couldn’t help but feel resentful toward Zhang Guihua. He felt that lately, nothing she did pleased him. They’d clearly agreed she’d find some dimwit to marry off to Pei Zhan, but in the end, she’d found a real firecracker.
A firecracker would be one thing, but she was also smart and beautiful.
Wasn’t she just making things difficult for him on purpose?
It really drove him crazy.
Perhaps because he’d been thinking about it day and night, as Pei Guangyi approached the main gate, he actually saw Yu Yin smiling and waving at him—
“Second Uncle, it’s been a long time.”