Chapter13

When people are poor, everyone’s poor. But when one person suddenly becomes not-so-poor, that becomes a problem.

“How dare you stop being poor? We’re still struggling here!”

It’s nothing more than envy for what you have and bitterness for what they lack.

Today, with so many people watching the drama unfold, how many were secretly jealous or taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune?

And in the future, how many more “Old Lady Maos” would come after them?

It was clear: Li Juan and her daughter couldn’t stay in this crowded neighborhood any longer.

When would they move?

Li Juan didn’t know. She had asked someone to help find a place and kept looking herself whenever she had the chance.

She believed they would eventually find somewhere to go.

But where would that be?

Perhaps Tao Yu had some ideas.

Lately, she had been sitting on the roof every day, gazing into the distance as if she already had a plan.

Across the street was a large, quiet compound with 24-hour guards. If they moved to a nearby alley close to the guard station, any loud noise at night would surely catch the guards’ attention.

The guards were soldiers of the people; they wouldn’t ignore someone in trouble. Living nearby would give Li Juan and Tao Yu some measure of safety.

But could they even find a house there?

While the search for a home remained uncertain, Tao Yu didn’t delay her work.

At the factory cafeteria, Master Ding was busy preparing the meat dishes for the afternoon.

“Linzi! Linzi!” he called a few times, but no one responded.

Tao Yu overheard and stepped forward.

“Master Ding, Linzi went back to his hometown. If you need help, I can do it.”

Master Ding hesitated, then shook his head with a sigh.

“Oh, right, I forgot about that. Here’s the thing: the lunch hasn’t been delivered yet. Could you take it over? It’s just to the director’s office on the third floor next door. Someone will meet you at the door.”

Tao Yu agreed, “Okay.”

But before she could pick up the tray of lunch boxes, Chen Mei suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the tray first.

“I’ll go! I’ll go! Don’t worry about it. You can do something else.”

Chen Mei’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she lifted her chin and walked off with the tray.

Master Ding shook his head again.

One of the older women nearby chuckled at Chen Mei’s swaying walk.

“Ha! Chen Mei’s hoping to catch herself a rich husband in the office building. She’s desperate for a man.”

Tao Yu didn’t care and went back to her work.

In the days that followed, Chen Mei volunteered to deliver lunch to the director’s office every time.

The first couple of trips, Chen Mei came back looking pleased with herself.

But by the third and fourth trips, her face turned worse each time she returned.

Not only did Chen Mei look miserable, but she also started glaring at Tao Yu with resentment.

The cafeteria ladies whispered to each other, guessing that Chen Mei hadn’t found her “golden husband” and was stewing in frustration.

When it was time for lunch delivery again, Chen Mei, surprisingly, didn’t rush to volunteer. Instead, she sat sulking and cracking sunflower seeds.

Master Ding, tired of her attitude, waved her off to wash vegetables and assigned the delivery task to Tao Yu.

Tao Yu had never been to the office building before. She had always stayed in the cafeteria during work hours and went straight home afterward, never wandering around.

Carrying the tray, she walked steadily. Along the way, many male workers greeted her, and she nodded politely in response.

When she reached the third floor, someone noticed the tray she was holding and pointed her in the right direction.

“Take it to the biggest office inside. Someone from the secretary’s office will come out to take it.”

Following the instructions, Tao Yu walked calmly down the hall.

Soon, she saw the words “Director’s Office” written in bold calligraphy on a door.

Before she could knock, the door opened.

It was the same man who had blushed and asked her if she was single in the cafeteria that day.

But Tao Yu didn’t seem to recognize him. Her unfamiliar gaze made his smile falter.

“Hello, I’m here to deliver lunch,” she said.

“Oh! Oh, yes, yes. I’m the director’s secretary, Xu Guochao. You can give it to me.”

Tao Yu nodded, handed him the tray, and left without hesitation.

Xu Guochao stood at the door holding the tray, looking dazed.

Back in the secretary’s office, another male secretary, Lu Wu, noticed Xu Guochao’s blank expression and teased him.

“Guochao, what’s wrong? Did you just get dumped?”

Xu Guochao glanced nervously at the golden words “Director’s Office” on the wall—the director was still in a meeting.

Then he lowered his voice and sighed, “I didn’t even get the chance to be dumped…”

Hearing this, Lu Wu perked up.

“Wait, you mean the woman who just delivered lunch is the one you’ve been talking about? The one you’ve been crushing on?”

“That voice sounded so much better than Chen Mei’s from yesterday,” Lu Wu added with a smirk.

At the mention of “Chen Mei,” both men shuddered involuntarily.

Xu Guochao winced.

“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t asked Chen Mei about Tao Yu, she wouldn’t have found her way into our office.”

Chen Mei had been a nightmare, clinging to the secretary’s office, chatting nonstop, and refusing to leave no matter how they tried to send her off.

Luckily, the cafeteria sent someone else this time. Otherwise, they would have been driven crazy.

Meanwhile, Tao Yu thought to herself, So, the director’s secretary office only hires men, huh?

But that wasn’t what she was curious about.

What really intrigued her was whether Song Hecheng might be inside that “Director’s Office.”

After all, she had immediately noticed the golden characters on the door.