In the past, Zhao Wan Qiu would have intervened to some extent, but she had already regretted it once before.
Zhao Wan Qiu had a pitiable background. At five or six years old, she was abandoned by her biological parents on the roadside and taken in by a family named Zhao. Unfortunately, her adoptive parents didn’t genuinely care for her either—they raised her as an unpaid nanny to look after their younger son. When she was sixteen, her adoptive brother stole eggs but pinned the blame on her. Her adoptive parents scolded her in front of her classmates, and the strong-willed Zhao Wan Qiu, overwhelmed with despair, attempted to drown herself in a river. Fortunately, she was rescued by a female student passing by.
That female student was Wen Yun’s birth mother. Not only did she save young Wan Qiu, but she also encouraged her to study hard, develop a skill, and eventually become self-reliant. She even sponsored Zhao Wan Qiu’s enrollment in a specialized nursing school, covering her tuition for several years.
Before graduating from nursing school, Zhao Wan Qiu followed her passionate classmates and joined the revolutionary forces, becoming a battlefield nurse. As she moved from place to place across the country, she lost contact with the older sister who had supported her. It wasn’t until several years after liberation, when she herself had married, had a daughter, and lost her husband, that she was introduced to the widower Shu Li Nong for a matchmaking meeting. By chance, she discovered that he was the husband of that very sister.
The sister had already passed away from illness, leaving behind three children, the youngest of whom was only four years old. Given Zhao Wan Qiu’s circumstances at the time, she could have chosen a better remarriage prospect. But driven by a desire to repay the kindness she had received, she resolutely took on the role of stepmother.
Of course, she also had her own considerations.
Her former in-laws had seized her home, leaving her and her daughter with nowhere to go. Meanwhile, the Shu family had two rooms, offering them shelter from the storm.
Little Jin Yue needed a gentle and genuinely caring father, and Shu Li Nong seemed like a suitable choice.
As a couple who came together later in life, there wasn’t much romantic passion—just mutual support. She didn’t regret remarrying, but when she saw Jin Yue’s frostbitten little toe, she regretted agreeing to let Shu Wen Yun take over the job position.
She had repaid her debt of gratitude, but what about her Jin Yue?
Fearing that Jin Yue might do something foolish like she had three years ago, she held her daughter’s hand. Compensation was necessary—what was 200 yuan? If they were to calculate it properly, 200 yuan would only be a fraction of what was owed.
Shu Wen Yun looked at Jin Yue and bowed deeply. "I’ve wronged you. Aunt Zhao’s job should have rightfully been yours to take over. It was my selfishness that caused you to… You absolutely cannot go back to the countryside. Take the job I found the day before yesterday. If necessary, I’ll step aside, and you can work at the district hospital instead. Additionally, for these past three years, I will return every cent of the wages you should have received."
Everyone was stunned. Not to mention her offer to step aside, even the three years’ wages alone amounted to a significant sum. Even Shu Wen Yan, who had been the most vocal earlier, fell silent.
Yes, Aunt Zhao owed their family nothing.
Jin Yue still didn’t speak. She wanted to see what trick Shu Wen Yun had up her sleeve.
"When I first started, my salary was 34.5 yuan. It wasn’t until the third year that it increased to 41.5 yuan. I worked for a total of 38 months. By rights, I should compensate you 1,409 yuan in wages. But I don’t have that much money on hand right now. As Aunt Zhao saw, I only have 280 yuan in my savings account. For the remainder, I’ll write you an IOU and pay it off within five years. Is that acceptable?"
Shu Jin Yue was utterly shocked. She doubted her own ears.
The next moment, she suspected Shu Wen Yun was playing some reverse psychology game, but her expression didn’t seem to suggest it.
She looked so serious and sincere. Such detailed figures definitely didn't come off the top of her head—she must have calculated them earlier when she saw her toes.
Not only the eldest and second child, but even Teacher Shu was shocked. Such a large sum of money, and she actually volunteered to take responsibility for it!
"Jin Yue, don't refuse yet. According to market calculations, I should give you half of my salary. But for the suffering you've endured these three years, I don't know how to make it up to you… If you don't accept the other half of the salary, I won't be able to forgive myself… Money can be earned again, but your toes… sob…"
Would never grow back.
The whole family was overwhelmed with sorrow.
Yes, they would never grow back. Shu Wen Yan irritably ran a hand through his hair, suddenly feeling that he and his younger siblings were utterly despicable.
Teacher Shu observed the children's expressions, feeling both sorrowful and relieved. He slapped the kang table and declared, "That's right! What belongs to whom should go to whom. Aunt Zhao and Jin Yue owe nothing to the Shu Family, let alone to you, Shu Wen Yun!"
Jin Yue's heart trembled. In her previous life, she had kept her disability hidden from her family until her death. This time, her mother knew and had openly revealed it. Without saying or doing anything, she experienced what it meant that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."
It seemed she really had been a naive fool in her past life—her death wasn't unjust.
For the first time, she also realized that Third Sister was a contradictory person. Did she harbor secrets as well?
No rush. She would uncover them slowly. As for the IOU, of course she would accept it—only a fool would turn down money!
Shu Wen Yun rounded up the savings to a neat 300, waiving the odd change, and promised to repay the remaining 1100 within five years. This was an astronomical sum!
Teacher Shu, whose nerves had been strained all day, finally relaxed. Based on the children's savings and personal willingness, he made the final decision: the eldest would borrow 120, the second child 150, Shu Wen Yun would contribute 300 without repayment, and the elderly couple would add 200, bringing the total to 770. If that still wasn't enough, Jin Yue refused to let them contribute more.
After all, she still had 370 on hand, originally set aside for this purpose.
Shu Li Nong seemed to have aged ten years in one night. He sighed, "I'm tired. All of you, go back and rest. It's settled then. Tomorrow we'll go to the state-run restaurant your sister mentioned. Being a waitress isn't so bad."
"If your home leave ends, it's fine. You don't have to return to the countryside immediately. When your eldest brother left, he mentioned he knows people at the hospital and the neighborhood committee. Your toes can be documented with a medical certificate to extend your leave for a few days."
Shu Jin Yue hadn't considered this. These past few days, she had been preoccupied with work and hadn't thought about sick leave. In her previous life, she hadn't applied because her introduction letter was stolen right after she got off the train, and the Educated Youth Office kept pressuring her to leave.
As soon as she slipped under the covers, she noticed her feet felt warm. It turned out Shu Wen Yun had quietly filled two glass bottles from the hospital—used for saline drips—as "hot water bottles" for her.
That night, she slept soundly for the first time since her rebirth. Shu Wen Yun, however, lay awake until dawn, silently shedding tears all night. By morning, her pillow was damp.
But she had been completely quiet, so Jin Yue never knew.
The thought of soon having a job made Jin Yue glow with vitality. Though Zhao Wan Qiu’s eyes were swollen like two large walnuts, her spirits were high. She counted the eight hundred yuan over and over, confirming repeatedly that not a single cent was missing, then tucked it into her grocery bag, covering it with an onion, two potatoes, and a large cabbage before heading out.
Shu Wen Yun couldn’t adjust her work shift today, so she had given them her classmate’s address in advance. The mother and daughter followed the directions to find the place.
Along the way, Zhao Wan Qiu rehearsed what she would say—politeness and courtesy were top priorities. To show sincerity, she had initially planned to bring two jin of eggs as a gift, but Jin Yue stopped her.
After all, this was purely a transactional relationship. Wouldn’t it be better to keep the eggs for themselves instead of giving them away?
“Do you remember Aunt Niu from Courtyard No. 3 in our alley? Her daughter works as a waitress at a state-owned restaurant, and she’s so proud of it. Soon, our Jin Yue will be a waitress too—hmph!”
“Work hard and try to master the chef’s signature dishes within a month. In half a year, you might even get promoted to chef. By this time next year, who knows, you could be a manager!”
Shu Jin Yue broke out in a cold sweat. Her mother, aside from having a fiery temper, also had a tendency toward unrealistic “fantasies.”
“Don’t take this lightly. I deeply regret it now—if I had been a bit more ambitious back in the day, I wouldn’t be left with no one to turn to for help this time.”
“Oh, right, right. With Mom’s ambition, by now you’d surely be a deputy director at the very least.”
Zhao Wan Qiu’s face fell. “You little brat, are you doing this on purpose?”
Just as they were talking, the door opened, and a middle-aged woman in her forties stood behind it. “You must be my daughter’s classmate’s sister?”
“Hello, Aunt Huang. You can call me Xiao Shu.”
Aunt Huang’s complexion was sallow, and she exuded an air of weariness and wariness. The entire area around her left eye was bruised black and blue, resembling a panda’s eye.
“Auntie, what happened to you?”
Aunt Huang touched her face, a flicker of discomfort crossing her expression. “I didn’t sleep well last night. Are you sure you want this job?”
“Yes, yes! Sister, we do. Please, do us this favor and have pity on my daughter.” Zhao Wan Qiu glanced around to make sure no one was watching and tried to slip the grocery bag to her.
But Jin Yue remained silent. Something felt off to her.
Aunt Huang’s panda eyes weren’t caused by lack of sleep—they looked more like the result of a beating. With sharp eyes, Jin Yue noticed varying degrees of bruising on her neck and wrists. She had seen similar injuries in the countryside, and without exception, they always appeared on married women.
At first, she had been naive and passionate, fervently advising them to divorce. But within days, when the couples reconciled, she ended up being treated like the villain. So, she had no intention of meddling in Aunt Huang’s affairs.
“If you really want it, the price is nine hundred yuan, non-negotiable,” Aunt Huang said, glancing back into the room and lowering her voice. “I can take you to the cafeteria to get it settled right now.”
Zhao Wan Qiu was shocked. “Wasn’t it agreed upon as eight hundred? How did it become nine hundred?!”
A hundred yuan was equivalent to a year’s income for many families. This Huang family couldn’t keep their word!
Shu Jin Yue quickly grabbed Zhao Wan Qiu’s arm, stopping her from arguing further. “Mom, let’s go home and discuss this with Dad first.”
Zhao Wan Qiu hesitated. If they left now, what if the job was sold to someone else? Just like at the pesticide factory—they had arrived only a little late, and someone else had snatched the opportunity. But nine hundred yuan… it was truly an exorbitant price.
The entire family had pooled their resources just to come up with eight hundred yuan, and nine hundred was far beyond their means.
"Eight hundred and fifty, let's make it eight hundred and fifty, and hurry, we can go handle the transfer right now." Seeing Jin Yue's reluctance, Aunt Huang seemed even more anxious.
Zhao Wan Qiu sensed an opportunity. If they haggled a bit more, they might be able to knock the price down further. She was about to speak when Jin Yue pinched her arm.
Zhao Wan Qiu immediately snapped to attention. Being able to get a fifty-yuan discount at once had initially delighted her, but on second thought, why would anyone willingly give up that much? Who would be foolish enough to throw money away?
"Right, right, we need to go back and discuss this with the old man first."
Seeing them turn to leave, Aunt Huang grew frantic. "Fine, eight hundred it is. Come on, I'll take you over right now."
Well, Zhao Wan Qiu's feet froze again.
Jin Yue grew even more suspicious and practically dragged her away as they ran. Even after running three hundred meters, Zhao Wan Qiu was still lamenting, "This job must have a lot of people eyeing it. If we leave now, won't we just…"
"If so many people are interested, why would she keep lowering the price? Don't you think that's suspicious, Mom?"
Zhao Wan Qiu couldn't grasp what was suspicious about it. To haggle over such a significant matter as if buying vegetables from a farmer—what a great bargain!
Shu Jin Yue didn't know the reason, but she was certain she wouldn't hand over the money lightly. After escorting Zhao Wan Qiu home and instructing Teacher Shu to keep an eye on her to prevent any rash actions, she headed straight to the district hospital. She needed to ask Shu Wen Yun for more information.
Although the sisters had their share of petty schemes, she believed that Shu Wen Yun's guilt from the previous night was genuine. It was unlikely that she would offer all her savings as compensation one moment and set a trap the next.
The district hospital hadn't yet specialized into detailed departments, only broadly dividing into internal and external medicine. Shu Wen Yun had taken over Zhao Wan Qiu's shift and was working as a nurse in internal medicine, exhausted like an ox every day. Even the most beautiful woman would look haggard after working two overnight shifts a week.
Having lost sleep again the previous night, Shu Wen Yun was listless, dark circles under her eyes as she prepared injections. Upon hearing Jin Yue mention Aunt Huang's matter, she immediately sensed something amiss. "It was wise of you not to pay upfront. Let me make some inquiries."
After finishing the injections and double-checking them, she administered all the necessary doses, then hastily requested a one-hour leave from her supervisor. Taking Jin Yue with her, she rushed straight to the water plant.
She had a classmate working at the water plant, but she didn't go directly to the Huang classmate. Instead, she sought out another classmate, Zhang. They had grown up together, with both their fathers working at the water plant and their mothers at state-run restaurants, though in different branches. He should be the most informed about the Huang family's situation.
Being visited by the class belle, Zhang was utterly flattered. Even though he was called out during work hours, he wasn't the least bit annoyed and showered them with a stream of flowery compliments, making Shu Jin Yue feel goosebumps all over.
Shu Wen Yun listened patiently for a while. "I came to see my old classmate today because I need a favor. I heard your mom's job is transferable, so we're here to ask about it."
Zhang was taken aback. "My mom's job is reserved for my sister; it's not being transferred. Did you hear wrong?"
"No, I heard correctly. They said they were my classmate, with a father at the water plant and a mother at a state-run restaurant. I thought you were the only one in our class who fit that description."
Classmate Zhang laughed heartily, "You forgot about Huang Mei. Her family is also… oh right, Aunt Huang has health issues. My mom said she took early retirement due to illness. You must be referring to her family, but—"
Huang Mei was precisely Shu Wen Yun's classmate.
Shu Wen Yun instantly grew tense, though her expression remained calm. "Can their job position not be transferred?"
"Hey, it's only because we're old classmates that I'm telling you this. I wouldn't bother meddling for anyone else."
As it turned out, the Huang family's job transfer was indeed problematic. The couple had been at odds for a long time. Since they had no son, the husband—typical of his generation—treated his nephew as his own son, hoping the nephew would perform funeral rites for him someday. Thus, he wanted to pass the job to his nephew. Aunt Huang, however, wanted to sell the position for money to fund her daughter's dowry. Neither could convince the other, and they had recently been fighting frequently over the matter.
But that wasn't the most troublesome part—
The Huang husband had a tendency to become violent when drunk. He had nearly been fired from the factory years ago for brawling while intoxicated. On one occasion, he beat a coworker so severely that the man suffered broken bones, resulting in a hefty compensation payout.
Such a violent individual—who abused his wife, daughter, and colleagues with brutal force—was someone Shu Jin Yue dared not associate with. Even if he didn't physically assault you, his habit of causing disturbances at the workplace every few days would make it impossible to hold the job properly.
Moreover, the situation involved the nephew's family waiting eagerly in the wings. In these times, taking someone's job was akin to murdering their parents. If things escalated into a messy conflict, the honest Shu Family would have nowhere to turn for justice!
After leaving the water plant, Shu Jin Yue walked in silence.
"Jin Yue, don't worry. I'll ask around with other contacts. I absolutely won't let you return to the countryside—I promise." Shu Wen Yun patted her shoulder, wanting to offer comfort but feeling any words would be inadequate. She silently resolved to secure a job for her sister no matter what.
"It's fine. You should head back to work first, sis. I'll walk home by myself." The distance from the district hospital to Liu Ye Hutong was only about twenty minutes on foot—not far for someone accustomed to mountain paths.
What had been repeatedly relayed, outdated information—or perhaps deliberately edited—had reached the Shu Family as tremendous news… This highlighted the importance of connections.
Had they not been extra cautious today, they would have fallen into a trap, likely wasting eight hundred yuan for nothing.
Jin Yue felt a heavy gloom. Remaining so passive was unsustainable; she needed to make more friends in the future.
As she mulled this over and reached the compound entrance, she suddenly heard someone shouting, "Find a doctor!" Some suggested going to the Machinery Factory clinic, while others argued its medical skills were inadequate and proposed borrowing a flatbed cart to transport the patient to the district hospital. Yet others worried it would be too late.
"Oh, Jin Yue, you're back just in time! Where's your mother?"
Zhao Wan Qiu, having worked as a nurse for years, was well-liked in the compound and often assisted neighbors during illnesses or emergencies.
Aunt Zhao, noticing Zhao Wan Qiu wasn't with her, said regretfully, "Auntie Li in the back courtyard drank pesticide. If only your mother were here—she might have been able to help."