Chapter 72

The town was small, so after one loop around with the two kids, Qiao Xinyi started heading back. On the way, they ran into Feng Zhenzhu who had come out looking for them, and the four of them returned to the Feng house together.

Aunt Feng had already finished the laundry and returned from picking fresh vegetables from their garden. First, she saw Qiao Xinyi and Feng Zhenzhu walking in side by side, and then spotted the two little ones following behind Qiao Xinyi, entering one after the other.

Qiao Xinyi stopped to greet her, and the two kids bumped right into her legs, letting out little “ow ow” noises.

“Mom, I almost died laughing—Xiao Zhou and Xiao Yu are just too funny,” Feng Zhenzhu said, having basically laughed the entire way back.

Fu Linzhou and Fu Zeyu weren’t the least bit embarrassed. Since Qiao Xinyi wasn’t leaving just yet, they ran up to Aunt Feng to proudly show off their new toy.

“Grandma Feng, look at the slingshot Aunt Qiao bought us!” Fu Linzhou tiptoed and held it up high for Aunt Feng to see. “Aunt Qiao wanted to buy one for me and one for my little brother, but I told her just to get one so we can share.”

The two brothers had supported each other from a young age and were very close. Even when playing with toys, they didn’t fight over who got to go first. At first, Qiao Xinyi had suggested buying two, but the kids said that would be a waste of money, so they only got one—and had been giggling happily all the way back.

“Xiao Zhou and Xiao Yu are really thoughtful,” Aunt Feng said, clearly pleased and offering a few words of praise.

Fu Qingshan’s girlfriend was willing to spend money on the two boys—it showed she truly cared about his nephews. And the two children were sensible too. If they ended up living with Qiao Xinyi in the future, they wouldn’t make things difficult for her.

That afternoon, including Fu Qingshan’s side, there were four extra people joining the Feng family for lunch, so there were quite a few dishes to prepare and wash. Seeing Aunt Feng and Feng Zhenzhu busy, Qiao Xinyi called the kids over to play with the slingshot, then went over to help with the prep.

But Aunt Feng wouldn’t let her lift a finger. She stuffed a freshly picked tender cucumber into her hands for her to snack on instead. So two of them worked while one ate, chatting as they went.

Feng Zhenzhu was very curious about life in the provincial capital, so most of the conversation was her excitedly peppering Qiao Xinyi with questions.

As they were chatting, Zhang Zao showed up. She had come looking for Fu Qingshan, only to find out he wasn’t there—that it was just Qiao Xinyi and the two kids at the Feng house.

Zhang Zao’s eyes flickered, and then she smiled at Qiao Xinyi and said, “We’ve got guests at home. Since Qingshan isn’t around, why don’t you come with me and help entertain them?”

As soon as Fu Linzhou heard that guests had arrived, he shoved the slingshot into his brother’s hands and sprinted off toward home. Less than half a minute later, he came barreling back into the Feng house like a cannonball.

By then, Qiao Xinyi had already stepped outside and was standing at the gate. Fu Linzhou pulled her aside and whispered urgently, “Bald Auntie, that auntie from the county—the one Grandma Zhang found for Uncle—is at the house. Don’t go back.”

He pouted, “My brother and I don’t like her, and you’re not allowed to like her either.”

“She’s here to compete with me for your uncle? I’d have to be crazy to like her,” Qiao Xinyi said, laughing despite herself.

Once Fu Linzhou realized Qiao Xinyi was on their side, he patted his small chest in relief.

Children were incredibly sensitive, especially kids like Fu Linzhou and Fu Zeyu, who grew up in less-than-ideal circumstances. They could easily tell whether an adult truly liked them or was just pretending. No matter how kind someone acted on the surface, if they didn’t like the kids, the kids would know.

Qiao Xinyi was honestly quite surprised. When Zhang Zao said there were guests at home, she thought it might be relatives from the Fu or Zheng family coming by to see who Fu Qingshan’s new girlfriend was.

She hadn’t expected Zhang Zao to bring home the daughter-in-law she had in mind—and then, fully knowing that Fu Qingshan wasn’t there, still call her back to “help entertain” the guest? What kind of scheme was Zhang Zao running?

Qiao Xinyi rubbed Fu Linzhou’s head and followed behind Zhang Zao.

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw a young woman wearing a white blouse, a dark blue skirt, and black leather shoes standing there chatting with Zheng Dajiang.

Qiao Xinyi glanced down at her own clothes and didn’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed—was it a coincidence they were dressed so similarly, or had the woman done it on purpose?

“Let me introduce you,” Zhang Zao said warmly as she entered, pulling Liu Yun’s hand affectionately. When Qiao Xinyi walked in, Zhang Zao’s smile grew even more enthusiastic. “This is Liu Yun. She works at the county broadcasting station and is a full-time employee.”

The smile on Zheng Dajiang’s face hadn’t faded since Qiao Xinyi arrived—it was all flattery and ingratiation.

“Her parents are both minor officials in their workplaces. Her family can help me arrange a job—a proper, full-time one,” Zheng Dajiang said proudly, lifting his brows and glancing at Qiao Xinyi smugly. “There’s an opening at our county’s canned food factory for a warehouse position. You just sit there all day and still get paid.”

Because Liu Yun had instructed him beforehand, Zheng Dajiang didn’t directly say that she was the real second daughter-in-law the family favored. But the way he looked at Qiao Xinyi now was full of disdain.

“Comrade Liu Yun said there’s nothing so great about coming from the provincial capital. Lots of people in big cities live pretty hard lives. The bigger the city, the more ordinary people you find. Your family is probably just like the kind she was talking about, right?”

After leaving home, Zheng Dajiang had gone straight to the county to find Liu Yun and told her that Fu Qingshan had brought home a girlfriend from the provincial capital. He hadn’t expected that, after asking a few questions, Liu Yun wouldn’t seem the least bit concerned. She had even told him that big cities were full of poor, penny-pinching people.

She pointed out that Qiao Xinyi didn’t even wear a wristwatch—so even if she looked neatly dressed, it was probably just a new outfit bought especially for the trip to meet the family, purely for show. A girl about to get married who couldn’t even afford a watch obviously came from a struggling background. That’s why she hadn’t dared to agree to Zheng Dajiang’s offer to help her arrange a job in the provincial capital—her family probably couldn’t even pull strings for their own child, let alone someone else.

Liu Yun smiled politely at Qiao Xinyi and gave a token objection to Zheng Dajiang’s words: “Comrade Zheng Dajiang, don’t say that. We’re all just ordinary people.”

Then she turned back to Qiao Xinyi with a friendly smile. “Aunt Zhang told me your name is Qiao Xinyi? What a lovely name. So, you’re not in school anymore, right? Which unit are you working for now?”

“I met some classmates and friends from the provincial capital back in college, and I’ve even been there on work trips. Who knows, maybe we know some of the same people.”

From the very start, she was probing for information in a roundabout way—definitely a level above someone like Zhang Mengdi, who hadn’t even gone to school. She immediately made sure to show that she’d been to university, and subtly bragged about her wide network, implying that even though she worked in Tong’an County, she still had many contacts in the provincial capital.

“I don’t have a job,” Qiao Xinyi replied with a smile, looking straight at Liu Yun.

“What?” Liu Yun looked genuinely surprised. “You’re already nineteen and still unemployed? So you’ve just been staying at home since graduating high school?”

Then she added, “Aunt Zhang and I are good friends, and it’s fate that we get to meet through her. If I can help, I absolutely will.”

She smiled and walked over to Qiao Xinyi, linking arms with her in a familiar gesture. “Once I’m back, I’ll contact my friends in the provincial capital and help you look into job opportunities. If there’s a suitable one, I’ll let Aunt Zhang know. With just a high school diploma, it’s not that hard to find something.”