Chapter 26 From Now On, You’re My Sister

“We all get to keep our jobs!”

“No one will be laid off!”

The office erupted in a wave of relief.

Then, a tall, lanky announcer looked at Gu Qinshan and stammered,

“Only Old Gu has a personnel change. You’ve been transferred to be a bathroom cleaner. It’s an order from the new boss…”

“What?!” He couldn’t believe it.

Gu Qinshan’s eyes widened, his teacup falling and scalding his toes.

He clutched his leg, crying out in pain, “There must be a mistake! This is unbelievable! I’ve been a top employee for over 20 years!”

The good news was that no one would lose their jobs.

The bad news was that Gu Qinshan was transferred to cleaning toilets.

No, it wasn’t bad news for everyone, only for Gu Qinshan.

He’d been gloating over his daughter’s marriage, and the factory workers had secretly resented him.

Now, they feigned sympathy while secretly rejoicing.

The new boss had guts and vision! Unprecedented!

Gu Qinshan held a broom, standing at the entrance to the foul-smelling bathroom.

He gritted his teeth, seething with anger.

What was going on? Did the new boss have a grudge against him?

He’d worked diligently and cautiously for years, all for a meager salary of thirty-something yuan a month. Now, he was inexplicably cleaning toilets.

He wanted to go to Human Resources to ask the new boss what was going on, but upon reaching the door, he wilted.

“The new boss surely knows my son-in-law is a general’s son. Why would he target me? I’m just a low-level employee with no power. Did I offend him?”

For years, he’d lived a simple life, never causing trouble.

Could it be his son-in-law’s rival? Unhappy about his marriage, they were deliberately targeting him.

This made sense.

He sighed. He hadn’t even enjoyed his good fortune as a father-in-law, and already faced this setback.

If he refused to clean toilets, he might lose his job. He was only in his forties, far from retirement.

Without money, how would he live?

This was tantamount to driving him to his death.

He looked around; passersby glanced at him, seemingly mocking his plight.

To avoid the crowd, he wore a mask, enduring the stench, but he couldn’t help but run out to vomit.

He threw the broom down, shouting,

“This is a terrible job! I can’t take it anymore!”

He was about to leave, but thinking of his future, he picked up the broom and returned to cleaning.

On the sixth floor of the office building, the new owner of the car factory stood silently by the window, observing.

He watched the man cleaning the toilets below, a strange smile playing on his lips.

…………

“Sister, your brother-in-law called. Hurry, only a minute.”

Before Gu Congli finished, Gu Congshuang grabbed the phone.

The man’s breathless voice came through.

He seemed to have run a long way.

“What are you doing?” His magnetic voice sounded.

“What else? At home. I can’t drive properly without you.”

Gu Congshuang spoke quickly, her face reddening slightly. The word ‘drive’ felt awkward.

“What’s wrong? Your voice sounds strange.”

A cacophony of sounds followed, someone urging him:

“Hurry up!”

“I want to call too.”

“The phone’s far from our unit. I have to run over. Only a minute. In the army, it’s all training. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

More shouting. Someone was impatient.

“Don’t rush me!” Ye Bei covered the mouthpiece, shouting at someone.

This was the first time Gu Congshuang heard his rough side; he was usually gentle. She was surprised.

Gu Congshuang chuckled; her laughter seemed to reach Ye Bei’s ears through the phone line, sending a tingling sensation…

Ye Bei felt a warmth in his abdomen, momentarily stunned.

“I really have to go…!”

“I’ll call you tomorrow. And…”

More shouting.

“I miss you…”

This declaration of longing, loud amidst the noise, was tender and quiet.

Then, a click. The call ended.

Gu Congshuang looked out the window; factory smoke rose in the distance.

The leaves outside were withered, the trees bare.

Gu Congshuang felt melancholic.

It was like a new kind of long-distance relationship.

She resented this world without instant messaging or video calls, relying only on letters and phone calls.

She slapped her cheeks to clear her head. She had much to do; she couldn’t get lost in this subplot. Making money was the main plot.

She started planning her next business venture, listing new ideas in her notebook.

A knock came. Gu Congshuang opened the door and froze. Sister Luo was at her doorstep.

She regretted revealing her name; her engagement to Ye Bei would easily reveal her address.

Sister Luo smiled, carrying two red gift boxes.

“Finally found you! I picked some fruit and Da Bai Tu milk candies. Take them.”

Gu Congshuang accepted them, inviting Sister Luo in for tea.

Sister Luo got straight to the point, offering 1000 yuan a month to be her driver.

Gu Congshuangwas shocked. As a modern woman, she wouldn’t care about that much money, but in that era,

1000 yuan was a fortune!

For a month!

Gu Congli wanted to hug Sister Luo’s legs, crying, “From now on, you’re my sister!”