Lin Wan broke through the crowd and walked forward a bit, then saw her younger brother Zhang Hongqiang playing by the water pool with a group of kids.
He had tied a ragged cloth strip around himself and was holding a wooden stick. On the stick was tied someone’s tattered red underpants with holes in them.
He was swinging the red underwear like it was a mighty battle flag.
The ragged cloth strip also looked strangely familiar to Lin Wan.
“Comrades, charge!”
The group of kids behind him shouted in unison, “Charge!”
“Zhang Hongqiang!” Lin Wan called out loudly.
Zhang Hongqiang jumped in fright and quickly hid the rag and underwear behind his back.
“Sis…” he stood there like an obedient little quail.
The other kids also shrank back like quails when they saw Lin Wan.
Other people’s sisters didn’t dare hit their younger brothers and even had to coax them.
But Zhang Hongqiang’s sister was different—she not only hit her own brother, she also hit other people’s brothers.
“Sister Lin Wan.”
The group of “quails” shrank into the corner, then hurriedly tattled.
“It was Zhang Hongqiang who led us!”
“The underwear belongs to his older brother!”
“The cloth strip is your family’s San Dan’s diaper cloth…”
“This time we really didn’t steal anything!”
Zhang Hongqiang was so angry his face twisted—none of them had any loyalty!
But Lin Wan didn’t hit him. Instead, she stuffed a net bag into his hands.
“Take it. Go home.”
“Hongqiang, your sister got into the post office!”
“You’re really lucky. When you grow up, just let your sister give you her job so you won’t have to go down to the countryside!”
Aunt Su’s heart twisted with jealousy as she deliberately stirred trouble.
Everyone in the compound knew Lin Wan was selfish.
She definitely wouldn’t give her job to her brother.
But if Zhang Hongqiang took it seriously, the Zhang family would be in chaos!
After all, Zhang Hongqiang was a son—Lin Wan was just a daughter. Old Zhang would definitely side with his son.
“That’s right, Hongqiang. Go quickly and say some nice things to your sister, or she won’t give you the job later.”
“What are you all so idle for? Why don’t you tell your own daughters to give their jobs to your sons?”
“My family’s affairs are none of your business!”
Huang Guixiang stormed down from upstairs, wielding a rolling pin, and scolded Aunt Su and the others fiercely.
Zhang Hongqiang jumped beside her, echoing loudly.
“That’s right!”
“I don’t want my sister’s job! I want to go down to the countryside!”
“I’ll grow vegetables for my sister!”
“I’ll raise hens to lay eggs for her!”
“I’ll earn work points so she can exchange them for good food!”
“I’ll make you all jealous to death, you old dried-up bitter things without a brother to support you!”
“You old witches… bleh!”
He stuck out his tongue and made faces, infuriating Aunt Su and the others.
This brat—no one knew what kind of “bewitching potion” Lin Wan had given him.
Just wait.
When he grows up and goes to the countryside and suffers through farm work, he’ll regret it.
Good intentions treated like donkey liver and lungs.
He deserves to work like a cow and horse for that black-hearted Lin Wan for his whole life!
At that moment, Huang Guixiang had no time to argue with the neighbors. She hurriedly pulled Lin Wan back home, shut the door to block the outside gaze, and asked excitedly,
“Baby, you really got into the post office?”
Lin Wan nodded and handed over her admission papers and household registration transfer documents.
Huang Guixiang wiped her hands repeatedly on her apron before carefully taking the papers.
Although she wasn’t educated, she wasn’t illiterate either—Lin Wan’s biological father had taught her literacy.
“Mom, Mom, let me see too!” Zhang Hongqiang bounced around beside her, anxious like a monkey.
Huang Guixiang examined the documents over and over, her eyes turning red.
After reading, she carefully returned the papers to Lin Wan.
“You child… why didn’t you tell your mother? When did this happen?”
“Tell me properly.”
Lin Wan pulled her to sit down and handed her a tea mug.
“That day I heard people in the public toilet talking about the post office hiring… It just so happened it was the last day of registration, so I lied and said I was introduced by internal staff to get in.”
“Because I snuck in to register, I wasn’t sure if I would be kept, so I didn’t tell you.”
“Otherwise, Mom, I’d be afraid you’d end up disappointed and heartbroken if I failed.”
“Hehe, who would’ve thought your daughter is lucky? Not only did I rank first in the exam, but a new director from the Post Bureau just happened to come to inspect the exam site. He saw my results and directly hired me.”
“He said it didn’t matter whether I was from inside or outside the system—whoever performed well would be chosen!”
After hearing this, Huang Guixiang was overjoyed. She grabbed Lin Wan’s hand and rubbed it affectionately.
“As expected of my daughter, she’s amazing!”
“My daughter was born with good fortune!”
“Your grandmother and the others were blind—what use are sons anyway?”
“A hundred useless sons together can’t compare to one capable daughter!”
“Oh, so that’s why you suddenly bought so many envelopes and stamps… turns out it wasn’t for fun, but to prepare for the exam!”
“All those bitter old women mocked you for being crazy!”
“Heh.”
“What do they know? Their brains are full of tofu residue. They don’t understand my daughter’s ambition at all!”
For this matter, Huang Guixiang had argued with several people before.
Now she finally felt proud and vindicated.
“Come, come, kowtow to your father and thank him for blessing you!”
She pulled Lin Wan into her room, opened a locked box, and took out a photo of Lin Wan’s late father. She placed it on the desk.
“Old Lin!”
“Our daughter has turned out well—she got into the Post Bureau!”
“I raised her well, didn’t I?”
“You must work hard too—keep blessing her so she can achieve even greater success in her career and live a happy marriage!”
“You carry a heavy responsibility, so don’t rush into reincarnation!”
Lin Wan: “……”
In her heart, she silently lit a row of candles for Old Lin, who had been dead for more than ten years.
After finishing her muttering, Huang Guixiang motioned for Lin Wan to kowtow.
“Come, Wanwan, kowtow to your dad.”
Lin Wan obediently knelt and knocked three firm bows to the photo.
Dad.
Rest assured.
I’ll take good care of Mom.
Don’t worry about us.
The faint memory of her father became clearer after seeing the photo. Old Lin had been a handsome and gentle man, often carrying little Lin Wan on his shoulders, letting her “fly.”
Whenever he got his salary, the first thing he did was buy candy for her from the supply and marketing cooperative…
“I, Lin’s dad, will take care of sister and mom. I won’t let anyone bully them!”
Thump, thump, thump.
Even Zhang Hongqiang, who followed them in, kowtowed more forcefully. After three heavy bows, his forehead was already red.
“Sis, why do I feel a bit dizzy?” the child asked, rubbing his head in confusion.
Lin Wan: “……”
She pulled him up and walked out of the room, ignoring her mother’s eye roll.
“Mom, I need to go to the neighborhood office to transfer my household registration and get a certificate. I also need a marriage certificate.”
“I’ll take Hongqiang with me!”
“Oh right, Huo Xiao bought a lot of dishes from the state-run restaurant. I left them on the table…”
Seeing the insulated net bag filled with lunch boxes, Huang Guixiang complained:
“Why did he buy so much? The Zhang family is going to take advantage again!”
“Honestly, Xiao Huo—don’t buy so much next time. Once you’re married, his money is your money, and your money is still your money!”
“Spending like this is wasting your fortune—don’t you understand?”
Lin Wan nodded vigorously.
“Got it!”
Without slowing down, she dragged Zhang Hongqiang out.
At the neighborhood office, Aunt Qin and Aunt Yang refused to believe she had actually passed the Post Bureau exam.
They called the post office to confirm—and after getting a definite answer, both women had expressions that were hard to describe.
How did someone like Lin Wan—so unruly and troublesome—end up getting into the Post Bureau?
Were the leaders blind?
Lin Wan lifted her chin smugly.
“Aunties, don’t bother coming to persuade me to go to the countryside anymore. I’ve got a job now!”
The two women were left speechless.
After finishing the household registration and police station paperwork, Lin Wan hooked her arm around Zhang Hongqiang.
“Let’s go!”
“Sis will take you to buy grain!”
She brought him along as cover so she could secretly move some grain out of her spatial storage.
Their rice jar at home was almost empty. Earlier, when Huang Guixiang queued at the grain station, she hadn’t managed to buy anything.
Food supply was tight—every household treated grain purchases like a battlefield, and people had to struggle for it several times a month.