Within the Zhang family, the treatment given to someone with a job versus someone without one was like heaven and earth.
Now, Zhao Pinglan no longer thought her youngest daughter had been wasting time before. Instead, she believed the girl had been planning ahead for herself all along—just like her mother.
The anger vanished from her face, replaced with warm kindness. Seeing there was not much corn grits porridge left in the pot, she even scooped half of her own bowl into Zhang Yunqing’s.
“Come on, eat. It’s been simmering all afternoon—the rice oil’s all come out. If it’s not enough, Mom still has more.”
Zhang Yunqing could not help sighing inwardly.
No wonder the original owner’s mother had been such a formidable woman, capable of raising four children on her husband’s salary alone in this era.
Her ability to change expressions was truly impressive.
If the original owner had inherited even a fraction of that skill, she would not have been exploited to death in the Northwest farm in the original novel. At the very least, she could have bitten a chunk out of that scumbag Shen Changlin before going down.
Zhang Yunqing shook her head and tossed those thoughts aside.
Anyway, now that she had taken the original owner’s place, she definitely would not follow the original plotline. Whatever happened to Shen Changlin in the future had nothing to do with her.
Zhang Junzhong rubbed the rim of his bowl and, unusually, spoke up.
“Since you’ve got a job now, work hard. Learn properly from your master. If anything happens, tell the family right away.”
This was the first time since transmigrating that Zhang Yunqing had heard the original owner’s father speak so many words to her at once.
Even in the original owner’s memories, scenes like this were rare.
Because both father and daughter were taciturn by nature, most of their interactions usually revolved around things like:
“Where’s your mother?”“What’s your mother doing?”
Zhang Yunqing did not brush aside his goodwill. Her brows relaxed into a bright smile.
“Got it, Dad. Don’t worry—I know what I’m doing.”
Seeing her smile, Zhang Junzhong paused slightly.
His little daughter suddenly seemed different from before—much more lively and open.
Still, the father and daughter had never been particularly close, so he could not pinpoint exactly what had changed. After giving a simple “Mm,” he returned to his usual silence.
Zhang Yunqing sipped a mouthful of porridge from the cooler edge of the bowl, then picked up a bite of stir-fried wild rice stem to eat with it.
Only to notice Zhang Hongbing grinning at her obsequiously.
The oily smile gave her goosebumps all over.
She smacked him hard on the head.
“What are you staring at? Eat your food.”
Normally, with Zhang Hongbing’s habit of crying seven points over three points of pain, he would already have jumped three feet high and demanded compensation after getting hit like that.
But this time, his expression did not change at all.
Still wearing that ingratiating grin, he pinched his voice sweetly:
“Third Sister, do you have enough food? If not, I still have some. I can give you mine.”
Zhang Yunqing immediately hugged her bowl protectively toward herself.
“No thanks. Eat your own. Mine’s enough.”
Even if it were not enough, she still did not want Zhang Hongbing’s leftovers.
Not even if he was technically the original owner’s biological younger brother.
After failing to flatter her, Zhang Hongbing immediately revealed his true goal.
“Third Sister, once you start working, if you hear about any other factory recruitments, let me know right away. I’m your real little brother—you can’t bear to watch me get sent to the countryside, can you?”
Actually, she could.
He was not really her brother anyway.
Zhang Yunqing very much wanted to say that.
In the end, however, she only nodded.
“Alright. But don’t get your hopes up too much. Dad, Eldest Sister, and Second Brother have all been working for years and never stumbled across recruitment opportunities like this. Today I was just a blind cat running into a dead mouse.”
She had relied entirely on spoilers from the original novel, and this was probably the only chance she would ever get to exploit that advantage.
Once Shen Changlin went off to the countryside, Pingcheng barely appeared in the story anymore.
As for the timing of the next recruitment drive, she truly had no idea.
Knowing she was not just brushing him off, Zhang Hongbing was not disappointed. Instead, he joked around:
“I’m not trying to cling to you. This is called poking around just in case there are dates on the tree. What if Third Sister’s luck strikes again?”
Then maybe he would not have to go to the countryside.
“Enough.” Zhao Pinglan interrupted her youngest son. “With your grades, even if there were recruitment exams, you’d probably fail anyway. Stop making things difficult for your third sister.”
Then she turned probing eyes toward Zhang Yunqing.
“You just entered the factory, so you’re on apprentice wages, right? How much do you earn?”
“You said it yourself—I’m just an apprentice. How much could I possibly make?” Zhang Yunqing replied with a half-smile.
The Zhang family was hardly unfamiliar with factory jobs.
Four years ago, they had spent money to buy a job for the eldest daughter, Zhang Suqing.
Two years ago, they had bought one for the eldest son, Zhang Hongwei.
Both had started as apprentices and needed to complete three full years before becoming regular workers.
Even now, Zhang Hongwei was still in his apprenticeship period. Every month, his wages were handed over entirely to Zhao Pinglan, with at most one or two yuan left for pocket money.
And that was only because he had a girlfriend.
As for Zhang Suqing, she had not even touched her own salary until the day she got married.
So Zhao Pinglan knew perfectly well how much Zhang Yunqing would be earning.
The purpose behind her question was obvious:
Just like with the eldest daughter and eldest son, she wanted to keep control of the youngest daughter too.
“I’m your mother. Can’t I even ask a couple questions?”
Seeing Zhang Yunqing evade so smoothly, Zhao Pinglan raised her voice, trying to increase her authority through sheer volume.
“So raising you children only earned me resentment now? Guarding yourself even against your own mother? Fine then—if you’re so capable, don’t call me Mom ever again!”
As a mother, Zhao Pinglan understood her four children’s personalities extremely well.
She knew exactly what methods worked best to control each of them.
The original owner had been quiet and withdrawn, starved for parental attention, and most afraid of angering her parents.
If it had been the original owner standing here now, she would already have lowered her head apologetically, admitting fault even without understanding what she had supposedly done wrong.
But Zhang Yunqing remained perfectly calm.
“Alright, Auntie.”
That single word—“Auntie”—nearly made Zhao Pinglan choke with fury.
Zhang Hongbing stared at his third sister with worship in his eyes.
Having a job really was different.
She actually dared challenge their mother head-on.
At that moment, his determination to become a worker in the future only strengthened further.
Before Zhao Pinglan could truly explode, Zhang Yunqing looked directly into Zhang Junzhong’s eyes and said:
“Dad, Second Brother’s and Eldest Sister’s jobs were bought with the family’s money. When it came to me, I knew the family didn’t have enough left, so I voluntarily signed up to go to the countryside. Did I ever complain even once?”
She spoke calmly—not accusing, not resentful, simply stating facts.
And the original owner truly had never uttered a single complaint.
She had understood the family’s circumstances and long accepted her fate of going to the countryside.
Struck at the heart of the matter, the wrinkles between Zhang Junzhong’s brows deepened.
The four children were close in age, and the family could only prioritize the eldest ones first.
He had always felt guilty toward both his youngest daughter and youngest son regarding the countryside assignment.
Before he could answer, Zhang Yunqing continued:
“Eldest Sister’s job cost four hundred yuan. Second Brother’s cost five hundred and ten yuan. So it’s only natural that they hand over their wages to the family.”
Then her tone softened slightly.
“But my job wasn’t obtained with even a single cent from the family. So my wages should also be under my own control.”
After a brief pause, she added:
“Of course, the family raised me all these years, and I can’t keep eating and living here for free. I’ll contribute eight yuan from my salary to the household every month as living expenses.”
An apprentice worker’s wage during the first year was only eighteen yuan and sixty cents.
Handing over eight yuan already accounted for a very large portion of it.