“If refusing your ridiculous demand makes me selfish, then sure—I’m selfish.”
Zhang Yunqing nodded in agreement.
She didn’t think selfishness was some kind of insult. If protecting one’s rightful interests counted as selfish, then she hoped every woman in the world would become a little more selfish.
And stop wasting sympathy on things that didn’t deserve it.
Her stubborn, immovable attitude left Zhang Hongwei completely helpless, forcing him to turn to Zhao Pinglan for support.
“Mom, look at her now. Ever since she got a job, she’s completely changed. Her wings have hardened. Does she even still care about this family?”
Zhao Pinglan frowned. As parents, they naturally hoped their children would get along and help each other.
Although she despised what her eldest son and Li Jinfeng had done, Zhang Yunqing’s utter refusal to show any familial affection also made her uncomfortable.
She couldn’t help wondering whether something was wrong with the Zhang family ancestors’ graves. Why was each child more cold-hearted than the last?
“Third Girl, that’s still your nephew. Even if you won’t do it for Li Jinfeng’s sake, at least think about the child…”
“Stop right there.”
Zhang Yunqing had no interest in listening to repetitive nonsense.
“That’s not my son. Whoever couldn’t keep their pants on should take responsibility themselves.”
“It’s not like I stripped them naked and shoved them onto the same bed.”
The words were crude—definitely not something a young unmarried woman was expected to say.
But Zhang Yunqing was truly tired of going in circles with Zhang Hongwei.
Whether black or white, she was determined to drag everything into the yellow zone.
Zhang Hongwei’s face immediately turned bright red, and for a moment he had no idea how to respond.
“Shut your mouth! Listen to the kind of things you’re saying! Do you still want to get married someday?”
Zhao Pinglan raised her brows. Looking at her youngest daughter’s ears, her hands suddenly felt itchy.
Come to think of it, it had been quite a few days since she’d last smacked her.
Mostly because what Old Second had done made both parents feel guilty toward their youngest daughter.
“They dared to do it, so why can’t I say it?” Zhang Yunqing muttered.
“You still dare talk back?”
Zhao Pinglan stretched out her hand as if about to twist her ear.
Not wanting to actually get pinched, Zhang Yunqing shot Zhang Hongwei a glare and shut her mouth.
But the defiance on her face was impossible to hide.
Red-faced and embarrassed, Zhang Hongwei threw out a vicious threat.
“In the future, when the child refuses to call you Auntie, don’t blame me.”
The threat carried no weight at all. If the kid didn’t want to call her aunt, then fine. Zhang Yunqing would be happier the less involved she was with him.
Did he really think she wanted to be the aunt of a future little parasite?
Well… maybe the original owner would have. After all, she’d even mailed him malted milk powder before.
Zhang Hongbing looked left and right, then quietly dragged his stool closer to Zhang Yunqing.
“Third Sister, don’t be scared. When I get married in the future and have ten or eight kids, the moment they learn to talk, I’ll have them take turns calling you Auntie.”
Absolutely no need for her to covet Old Second’s family.
Zhang Hongbing gave himself a thumbs-up, convinced there couldn’t possibly be a better idea.
The corner of Zhang Yunqing’s mouth twitched.
The mental image was a little too beautiful—she didn’t dare picture it.
Besides, at Zhang Hongbing’s age, before he could even have ten children, family planning policies would probably already be implemented.
Not wanting to crush the dreams of this future father of ten, Zhang Yunqing speechlessly patted his shoulder.
“Then… good luck with that.”
Afterward, she coolly warned Zhang Hongwei:
“I’ve already made myself very clear. You and Li Jinfeng had better behave yourselves. Otherwise, once I lose my job, I’ll go make a scene at the gates of your machinery factory every single day. We’ll see who outlasts whom.”
“I’m just one person. But you’re the ones planning to build a family. You’ve got far more to worry about than I do.”
Zhang Hongwei’s face shifted between green and pale white.
Based on his understanding of Zhang Yunqing now, she was absolutely capable of doing something like that.
Fearful of damaging both sides, all the little schemes in his heart were immediately scared back into hiding.
The next day happened to be Zhang Yunqing’s day off. Thanks to her biological clock, she woke up early anyway.
At this point in time, China still hadn’t implemented the two-day weekend system. Most state-owned enterprises worked six days and rested one.
Meanwhile, service industries directly dealing with ordinary people—such as grain stations, supply cooperatives, and transportation companies—operated on rotating schedules instead.
The printing factory’s unified rest day was Sunday, but since Zhang Yunqing had only recently started working there, she hadn’t yet been added to the duty roster.
Because she still refused to give up her job and hadn’t suffered the slightest loss, Zhao Pinglan no longer felt guilty around her like she had the previous few days. She had completely returned to her old self.
Early in the morning, she ordered Zhang Yunqing and Zhang Hongbing around nonstop.
Taking advantage of the sunny weather, Zhao Pinglan sliced dozens of pounds of radishes and yardlong beans for drying. Zhang Hongbing was forced to guard the bamboo trays, flipping the dried vegetables from time to time so they would dry evenly.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yunqing held a broom and lazily swept the yard.
“Third Sister, can’t you sweep somewhere else? The radishes are getting dusty.”
As he turned over the drying radishes, Zhang Hongbing grumbled unhappily.
The Zhang family courtyard was small, with only two rows of vegetable beds planted along the wall. Everywhere else was packed yellow earth, trampled down over the years until there was barely any loose dust left.
On top of that, Zhao Pinglan loved cleanliness and swept every day.
Giving this task to Zhang Yunqing basically meant giving her no real labor at all.
Naturally, there wasn’t enough dust to dirty the dried radishes. Zhang Hongbing simply wanted to go outside and play, and after being forced to stay behind, he intentionally started nitpicking.
Zhang Yunqing shot him a sideways glance and tossed the broom over.
“You talk too much. Then you sweep later.”
She wasn’t doing it anymore.
“Well, would you look at that? The sun must be rising from the west. You actually know how to slack off now? People really do change once they get a job.”
A crisp female voice rang out from the doorway.
The next second, a young woman with a large pregnant belly walked into the courtyard carrying a vegetable basket.
Zhang Hongbing’s eyes immediately lit up. Forgetting all about the dried radishes, he ran straight over.
“Big Sister! You’re here?”
As he spoke, he eagerly took the basket from her. Feeling how heavy it was, his expression became even more fawning.
“Why didn’t you let Brother-in-law come tell us first? I could’ve gone to pick you up. You’re carrying my future big nephew, after all.”
“Oh please, as if I could order you around. The food I brought for Mom and Dad probably wouldn’t even be enough for you to snack on during the trip.”
Zhang Suqing naturally rested a hand on Zhang Hongbing’s arm.
Clearly, she was already used to her younger brother’s sycophantic behavior.
This was the first time Zhang Yunqing had seen the original owner’s eldest sister since transmigrating into this world nearly a month ago.
In the original owner’s memories, no matter what she did, her eldest sister was always dissatisfied with her, leaving her deeply afraid of the woman.
Influenced by those memories, Zhang Yunqing softly greeted her.
“Big Sister.”
“Mhm.”
Zhang Suqing responded, somewhat surprised.
Ever since she got married, her younger sister would normally vanish the moment she greeted her, as though afraid Zhang Suqing might eat her alive. Today was different.
“I brought some meat and flour. Go pick a couple of Chinese cabbages. We’re making dumplings for lunch today—consider it Big Sister celebrating your success in staying in the city.”
Zhang Suqing instructed her:
“And mince some garlic too. We’ll use it as dipping sauce for the dumplings.”
The moment dumplings were mentioned, Zhang Yunqing became far more enthusiastic than she’d been about sweeping.
She immediately hurried off to pick vegetables.
Pork and cabbage dumplings!
The original owner hadn’t eaten them in a very long time—which also meant she herself hadn’t eaten them in a very long time.
Unexpectedly, the eldest sister whom the original owner remembered as treating her poorly was actually this generous.