“I’ll definitely work hard.”
Feng Juan almost rolled her eyes. In her opinion, there wasn’t a single thing her sister-in-law was good at.
If Meng Guyu hadn’t helped take care of the children over the past few years, she would’ve long since lost patience.
Hearing Liu Sulan’s words now, she couldn’t help mocking,
“Mom, what are you dreaming about? Even being a nanny isn’t something just anyone can do. What era do you think this is? Families who can afford nannies have high standards. Why would they take a liking to Guyu?”
Meng Guyu wasn’t angry. To be honest, even she still found it hard to believe. Taking a deep breath, she said,
“I got the job.”
Silence instantly fell over the room.
She pulled a stiff card from her pocket.
“They told me to report for work tomorrow.”
Clutching the card tightly, she looked at the people closest to her. Her voice trembled with excitement, carrying a faint trace of tears.
“Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister-in-law… from now on, I have a job.”
In her previous life, before marriage, she had stayed home taking care of children, washing clothes, and cooking.
After getting married, she had served her husband’s entire family, spending every day around the stove. She had been nothing more than a housewife cut off from society.
But this life was different.
She had a job now.
She would never have to stretch out her hand and ask others for money again.
She could support herself.
“Oh my, really?” Liu Sulan slapped her thigh in delight and quickly took the card. “Let me see.”
Feng Juan hadn’t expected Meng Guyu to actually succeed and hurried over to take a look.
The pass was simple and plain. Across the top were the words:
“158 Military District Family Compound Pass.”
Below were several lines containing basic information. Most eye-catching of all was the bright red official seal stamped upon it.
Feng Juan looked at Meng Guyu in surprise.
“You really did it?”
Meng Guyu herself didn’t know what feelings she had toward her sister-in-law.
In her previous life, the person who had looked down on her most was Feng Juan. Yet every time she suffered grievances at the Zhao family, it was Feng Juan who would march over and give the Zhaos a piece of her mind on her behalf.
She knew her sister-in-law despised her not because she hated her, but because she hated seeing her meekly endure everything and having no ability to stand up for herself.
She nodded. “I’ll definitely work hard.”
Feng Juan truly hadn’t expected her silly little sister-in-law to find a job. At least she hadn’t ended up empty-handed on both fronts.
Seeing the joy on everyone’s faces, she couldn’t understand what they were all so happy about.
“At least you’ve found something to do. But if you ask me, marrying Jinlai would’ve been better. How can serving people compare to having a husband with an iron rice bowl? Once you’ve worked for a few days, you’ll know how hard money is to earn.”
Meng Gucang thought his little sister was incredible.
That was a military family compound. Everyone inside was connected to the army. He couldn’t put down the pass with its bright red seal and, unusually, spoke up in disagreement.
“Guyu found a job. It’s something to celebrate. Stop talking already.”
After some thought, Feng Juan decided it wasn’t entirely bad. If Meng Guyu did well and could bring money home, even better. If she failed, she could always coax Zhao Jinlai again and still marry him without losing anything.
Waving her hand, she said, “Fine, your sister’s impressive. I won’t say anything more.”
She went back inside to accompany her little daughter, leaving Meng Gucang scratching his head and laughing.
“Don’t mind your sister-in-law. She’s just sharp-tongued.”
Sharp-tongued she certainly was, though whether she had a soft heart was another matter entirely.
Liu Sulan muttered that to herself. But she was an honest, simple woman—or perhaps the entire family, including Meng Guyu, shared that same meek temperament. In the end, she said nothing and merely urged Meng Guyu to hurry and eat.
Once the initial joy faded, the sadness of parting crept in.
That evening, Liu Sulan helped her daughter pack while constantly nagging,
“I’ve heard there are people from all over the country living in that military compound. I wonder if they’ll be easy to get along with. Just work honestly and behave yourself. Don’t cause trouble.”
“You’ve never been away from home your whole life. I wonder if you’ll manage on your own.”
“Aunt Qian has worked there for years. If there’s anything you don’t know, ask her. Don’t go causing trouble.”
From childhood, the words Meng Guyu had heard most were:
Be honest. Don’t cause trouble. Don’t make mistakes.
They weren’t wrong, but after living through another life, they somehow sounded different.
Still, she couldn’t refute them and simply comforted her mother.
“Mom, don’t worry. Didn’t Aunt Qian say the nanny positions in the military compound are specially approved? Once they can spare someone, I’ll be able to come back. Maybe I’ll only work for a year or so.”
Of course, if she could last a full year, that would be best.
But even if she couldn’t, she wasn’t afraid.
She had already made plans.
During her time as a nanny, she would study diligently whenever she returned to her room. When all that chaos had broken out years ago, she had only been in third or fourth grade.
Afterwards, she never had the chance to continue her education properly. Later, after her brother married and had children, she quit school entirely to take care of them.
Though she was considered an elementary school graduate, in truth, there were many characters she couldn’t even recognize.
Because of that, the Zhao family had secretly looked down on her in her previous life.
She knew that in a few years, the college entrance examination would be reinstated.
She didn’t dare dream of getting into university, but learning more could never be wrong.
She would first relearn all the elementary school textbooks and then study middle school material on her own.
She would save money from being a nanny. Once opportunities opened up, she could use those savings to find some way to support herself.
Thinking of that, Meng Guyu felt reassured.
“Mom, anyway, I’ll just focus on doing my job well.”
Liu Sulan hesitated.
“But… if this job isn’t long-term, wouldn’t marrying Donglai be better? That’s an iron rice bowl.”
Meng Guyu shook her head.
Everyone in the family was indecisive by nature.
But in this life, she would follow her own wishes.
“Mom, don’t talk about that anymore. I’m not marrying Zhao Jinlai. I’ve already agreed to the nanny work. It’s for the military—we can’t go back on our word.”
After thinking it over, Liu Sulan nodded.
“That’s true. If you don’t go, Aunt Qian will get dragged into it too.”
Seeing the uneasiness in her mother’s eyes, Meng Guyu thought for a moment and said something that greatly reassured her.
“Mom, I’ll do my best there. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even find someone in the military to marry. Who can predict the future?”
Those words immediately gave Liu Sulan something new to hope for.
The more she looked at her daughter, the more she felt that was possible.
Her face lit up.
“That’s right! Maybe you’ll find someone even better than Jinlai.”
As for finding a husband, Meng Guyu wasn’t thinking about that at all.
All she wanted was to work, earn money, and live comfortably.
And she had to do this job well.
She absolutely couldn’t get kicked back home after only a few days.
If that happened, she would have to listen to all of her sister-in-law’s sarcastic remarks again.
Just thinking about it made her shudder.
With the nanny job finally settled, after breakfast the next morning, Meng Guyu headed to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some needles and thread, just in case.
Unexpectedly, she ran into Yang Xiaofang from the front courtyard.
Yang Xiaofang was the same age as Meng Guyu, and they’d even been classmates in elementary school.
Unlike Meng Guyu, however, she hadn’t needed to stay home and care for children, so she had managed to graduate from middle school—though how much she had actually learned was another matter.
Though they had been neighbors and childhood playmates, those friendships had faded with age.
And if there was one person Yang Xiaofang disliked most in the alley, it was Meng Guyu.
As children, they had all been the same—dirty little girls from the alley.
But as they grew older, Meng Guyu became different.
As the saying went, fair skin hides a hundred flaws.
Not only was she fair-skinned, she wasn’t ugly in the slightest.
Her large round eyes curved like crescents when she smiled. Her face was fresh and radiant, bright and generous—the kind of beauty everyone admired.
Out of ten young men in the alley, eight would blush upon seeing her.
Yang Xiaofang hated that.
And after discovering that the Zhao Jinlai she liked also liked Meng Guyu, she hated her even more.
But today, she looked especially excited.
Wearing blue Liberation trousers and a synthetic shirt, she stood out among the crowd dressed in coarse work clothes.
Since Zhao Jinlai and Meng Guyu had fallen out, Yang Xiaofang had never imagined such good fortune would come her way.
More importantly, when she had gone to see Zhao Jinlai a few days ago, he had spoken gently with her and made it abundantly clear:
Meng Guyu didn’t know how to appreciate him.
And he, Zhao Jinlai, no longer wanted her.
If he didn’t want Meng Guyu anymore, didn’t that mean her chance had finally come?
Stepping out of the crowd, she happened to meet Meng Guyu head-on.
“Oh my, Guyu, what brings you here?”
She twirled one of her braids and looked Meng Guyu up and down.
Seeing Yang Xiaofang, Meng Guyu remembered what her sister-in-law had once said.
The moment she broke things off with Zhao Jinlai, Yang Xiaofang immediately threw herself at him.
That had been the same in her previous life.
Yang Xiaofang had desperately wanted to marry Zhao Jinlai. When Meng Guyu failed to have children, Yang Xiaofang had constantly spread rumors and even encouraged Zhao Jinlai to divorce her.
This time around, she would probably get her wish.
But that had nothing to do with Meng Guyu anymore.
“I’m just buying some thread.”
She headed into the cooperative, but Yang Xiaofang brazenly followed beside her, unable to hide the pride in her voice.
“Guyu, you don’t know this, but Jinlai has been coming to see me every day lately and talking with me.”
Meng Guyu selected black, white, and blue thread and two needles of different sizes while listening to her boast.
“He’s really considerate. He says marrying a wife means bringing someone home to enjoy life. He can support her. She doesn’t need to work—just stay home every day.”
Meng Guyu remained unmoved.
After she had exposed Zhao Jinlai’s true thoughts that day, the scumbag had learned to dress up his intentions with prettier words.
He said his wife wouldn’t have to work, but what he really wanted was a woman who couldn’t work.
His father was in poor health, his mother was a shrew, and his younger sister was a spoiled troublemaker who expected everything to be handed to her.
If he married a working woman, who would serve them?
Only later had Meng Guyu realized why, with his decent conditions, Zhao Jinlai had never found a woman with a job.
After paying, she headed outside.
Seeing the dreamy look on Yang Xiaofang’s face, she hesitated before offering a reminder.
“Whether he’s really good or not, I think you should think it over carefully.”
But no sooner had she said it than she knew it was pointless.
In her previous life, Zhao Jinlai had openly said he wanted her to marry into his family and properly serve his parents, yet she had still believed he was a good man.
Sure enough, Yang Xiaofang pouted angrily.
“Meng Guyu, what do you mean by that? Just because Zhao Jinlai doesn’t want you anymore, you’re going around speaking badly about him? How can you be like this?”
“If a man like Jinlai isn’t good, then are there any good men left in this world? You’re just sour grapes because you can’t have him! Let me tell you, Jinlai likes me now. Don’t even think about stealing him back.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she looked up, and her eyes immediately lit up.
Waving excitedly toward the distance, she called out, “Jinlai!”