When Song Suisui entered the house, she saw her sister Song Niannian spacing out in the kitchen. Fortunately, Niannian wasn’t stir-frying anything—just boiling water—otherwise, whatever was in the pot would have been ruined.  

“Sis, what are you thinking about? The water’s boiling.”  

“Ah!” Hearing this, Niannian snapped back to reality and hurried to scoop out the boiling water.  

“Suisui, you bought meat?” Niannian noticed the meat in her sister’s hand.  

“Yep~” Suisui nodded and handed it over. “Sis, I’m craving braised pork. Can you make it?”  

She would’ve cooked it herself, but her skills weren’t up to par. No point wasting good ingredients.  

“You spent your allowance again, didn’t you?” Niannian knew her little sister was usually thrifty.  

“Hehe~” Suisui chuckled awkwardly.  

Niannian gave her a knowing look.  

She wasn’t about to scold her sister—after all, the whole family would get to enjoy the meat. It’d be ungrateful to criticize her after benefiting from it.  

“Do you want the braised pork sweeter or saltier?”  

The original “Song Suisui” had always been picky—sometimes complaining it was too sweet, other times too salty. If it wasn’t balanced just right, she wouldn’t eat it.  

So, whenever the family made braised pork, they’d ask her preference.  

Ma Xiumei had even grumbled about “Song Suisui” being too fussy.  

“A little sweeter, please!” Suisui, being from the south, preferred her braised pork on the sweeter side.  

“Got it.” Niannian agreed and swiftly started preparing lunch.  

…

Meanwhile, at Tan Kai’s place, after Suisui left, the young man who had remained silent the whole time finally spoke up. He toyed with the watches Suisui had sold to Tan Kai.  

They had inspected all five pairs—same brand, but different styles.  

After a brief glance, he stood up and said to Tan Kai, “I’m heading out.”  

“Sure, take care.”  

Once he was gone, one of Tan Kai’s lackeys sidled up and asked, “Boss, who was that guy? Why were you so polite to him?”  

Tan Kai shot him a glare and waved him off impatiently. “Scram! Don’t you have anything better to do? Stop asking questions—unless you’ve got a death wish.”  

The lackey muttered under his breath as he slunk away.  

Back in his room, Tan Kai shut the door and couldn’t help but think about the man who had just left.  

Remembering the ruthlessness that belied his youth, a shiver ran down his spine.  

…

During lunch, Song Niannian announced to the family that her job had been secured, and she would start work the next day.  

“Then the meat I bought today counts as a celebration for your new job!” Suisui said.  

“Thanks, Suisui.”  

The family happily enjoyed their meal together. Suisui didn’t mention her own job situation—after all, she couldn’t easily explain where her money had come from.  

Asking Ma Xiumei and Song Jianjun for money didn’t sit right with her.  

Niannian could comfortably request money from the couple because, first, she genuinely had none at the moment, and second, she was their biological daughter.  

Though Suisui had “Song Suisui’s” memories, she still couldn’t bring herself to act so entitled just yet.  

As for whether she’d get scolded when she returned in the afternoon to talk about her job—well, that was a problem for later.  

Worried about Suisui being sent to the countryside, Niannian decided to go out again to see if she could find any other job opportunities.  

After Niannian left, Suisui quietly entered Song Jianjun and Ma Xiumei’s room and retrieved the household register.  

…

At the Machinery Factory Gate

When Suisui arrived, she spotted a girl in faded clothes waiting in the shade.  

The moment the girl saw Suisui, she knew this was the person buying her job.  

Suisui also guessed her identity—before leaving the black market, Boss Tan had mentioned that the girl selling the job was named Zhou Xiuna.  

“Hello, are you Zhou Xiuna?”  

“That’s me. And you are?” Xiuna’s eyes lit up at the sight of Suisui’s pretty face.  

She had no particular hobbies—just a weakness for good-looking people.  

Staring at Suisui’s face, she felt she could eat an extra bowl of rice.  

“I’m Song Suisui.”  

“Song Suisui? That name sounds familiar…”  

Xiuna felt like she’d heard it somewhere but couldn’t quite recall.  

Suisui’s lips twitched. Had the original “Song Suisui’s” tough reputation spread this far?

“Oh! I remember now!” Xiuna suddenly exclaimed. “You’re the one those street punks call Sister Suizi, right?”  

Suisui’s expression turned awkward. “My reputation’s reached you?”  

Xiuna chuckled and waved her hand. “Not really. It’s just that my stepbrother got a lesson from you once.”  

“Oh… uh…” Suisui didn’t know how to respond.  

“He complained about you at home, so that’s why I remembered.” Xiuna grinned. “I’d love to see his face if he finds out you’re the one buying my job. Wonder if he’d dare cause trouble.”  

“He definitely wouldn’t!” Suisui replied confidently.

The original “Song Suisui” had disciplined plenty of troublemakers, and aside from that foul-mouthed Yang Lao’er, none of them had ever dared to provoke her twice.  

Even if someone really did come looking for trouble, Suisui had ways to handle it.  

“Let’s not dwell on that now. I’ll take you inside to get everything settled.”  

Zhou Xiuna enthusiastically pulled Suisui into the machinery factory and led her to the personnel office.  

“Uncle Zhong, this is my cousin. She’s taking over my job.”  

Xiuna was clearly familiar with the personnel staff. The man, Zhong Zhengmin, asked Suisui about her age, education, and family background before quickly stamping their paperwork.  

“Come back tomorrow at 8:30 AM sharp to report for duty.”  

“Got it. Thank you, Director Zhong.”  

Only after speaking with him did Suisui realize Zhong Zhengmin was the head of the factory’s personnel department.  

Once the formalities were done, Suisui noticed Zhong Zhengmin glaring at Xiuna with an unreadable expression.  

“Uh, why don’t you two talk? I’ll wait outside for Xiuna.”  

Ignoring Xiuna’s pleading look, she quickly slipped out—even thoughtfully closing the door behind her.  

She didn’t eavesdrop on their conversation, but when Xiuna emerged a while later, her eyes were red-rimmed.  

Zhong Zhengmin patted her shoulder and said, “Don’t bottle things up alone from now on. Write or telegram me if anything happens. And if you don’t want to tell me, at least confide in someone else. Understand?”  

Xiuna replied in a choked voice, “I understand.”  

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on the Zhou family for you. They won’t have it easy for long.”  

Hearing this, Xiuna thought of the traps she’d left for the Zhous and immediately felt a little better.  

After bidding Zhong Zhengmin farewell, Suisui and Xiuna left the factory.  

They found a quiet spot to chat, and Suisui realized Xiuna wasn’t a transmigrator or reincarnator like she’d initially wondered—just a clever, clear-headed local girl with sharp instincts.  

“Suisui, can I write to you after I go to the countryside?”  

As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of beauty with sky-high standards, Xiuna rarely took a liking to anyone. But she’d instantly warmed to this pretty, patient girl who’d listened to her ramble all afternoon.  

Suisui liked Xiuna too, so they agreed to exchange letters once Xiuna settled into her new life in the countryside.