Chapter 19 Who is outside the door

Song Baozhu and He Wenqing parted on bad terms.

When He Wenqing returned home, his father immediately called him over.
“Go get your marriage certificate with Baozhu tomorrow… I know you were fond of Song Youyou because she’s pretty, and now suddenly being told to marry Song Baozhu probably makes you unhappy. But a man should aim high and not be bound by trivial emotions.”

“Dad, can’t I rely on my own efforts…”

“Nonsense!” He Wenqing was immediately cut off by a sharp rebuke.
“You’re just a technical soldier—do you think promotion comes easily? And now your father is a useless cripple who can’t even get out of bed… Son, listen to me. Having a capable father-in-law will be a huge boost to your career!”

“Right now, Old Song hasn’t been promoted yet. If you and Baozhu get your marriage certificate first, no one can say we’re trying to curry favor after the fact.”

He Wenqing pressed his lips together and said nothing. He was clearly reluctant.

He had tried hard to forget Song Youyou, but no matter what, she kept popping up in his mind.

His father tried to reason with him patiently.
“Think it over carefully. Once you’re in a high position, with power in hand—what kind of woman couldn’t you have? If you still want her then, you can just go get her.”

A flicker of emotion flashed through He Wenqing’s eyes.

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Unaware of all the noise and drama outside, Song Youyou focused entirely on her translation work these days. Aside from eating and sleeping, every bit of her time was spent translating.

Currently, she could translate around 20,000 characters per day. At a rate of 3 yuan per thousand characters, that meant she could earn about 60 yuan a day.

However, since translations required review before payment, the money didn’t come in immediately. So far, she’d only received payment for her first job—20 yuan and 40 cents.

That amount was already about equivalent to a month’s salary for an average person.

When Wen Xiaorou found out how much she was earning, she immediately took it upon herself to supervise Youyou’s work.

Not only did she fetch and submit documents for her, but if she had time at noon, she’d even stop by to cook for her.

“You just stay in your little nest and keep laying golden eggs!” Wen Xiaorou had joked, treating her like a hen that laid treasure.

Youyou could only smile helplessly. During her brief breaks, she’d go out to the balcony to water her vegetables.

Interestingly, ever since she started using water mixed with spiritual spring water, her vegetables had been growing unusually fast—almost twice as fast as normal.

Originally, the little patch of greens would have only fed her for half the month, but now, she could eat fresh vegetables all month long without worry.

“Stop doting on those veggies and come eat!” Wen Xiaorou called out, carrying dishes out of the kitchen. Seeing her friend smiling foolishly at her plants, she sighed.

Youyou responded and walked back inside.

“Well? Doesn’t this look, smell, and taste amazing?” Wen Xiaorou took off her apron, proud.
“I think my cooking skills have seriously leveled up these past few days. My food tastes way better than it used to—don’t you agree?”

“Mhm, mhm, absolutely.” Song Youyou nodded repeatedly.
“Chef Wen’s cooking is divine! It’d be even better if she didn’t keep stealing vegetables and grain from her own home to cook here—this humble one feels guilty.”

“It’s just a few vegetables, stop worrying. My family’s got two plots of private land—way bigger than your little balcony. We grow so many veggies we can’t even eat them all!”

Youyou knew her friend wasn’t the type to take advantage of others—she had her own principles. Though she always joked about sticking together if they got rich, she was always the one helping others behind the scenes.

So Youyou tried to repay her in other ways.
“Chef Wen, try the meat—see if it’s good.”

“I don’t like meat. You need brain power every day—you should eat more.”

“…There’s way too much for me to finish. Should I feed it to pigs?”

At that, Wen Xiaorou looked distressed.
“Youyou, stop sneaking out to buy meat! I don’t eat it. Just cook a little for yourself. My job doesn’t need much brain power—it’s such a waste!”

“Nope. Rejected.”

“…”

Just as Wen Xiaorou was about to argue more, there was a sudden loud knock at the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Is anyone home? Open up!”

The two women looked at each other, frowning. The knocking was loud and the tone aggressive.

“Who’s outside?” Youyou walked to the door but didn’t open it. Her voice was cold and guarded.

Wen Xiaorou was even more direct—she grabbed a thick stick, about the size of a small calf’s leg, and prepared for a fight.

“We’re from the Educated Youth Office,” the people outside said.

Educated Youth Office?

Youyou glanced at Xiaorou, who nodded in confirmation. Only then did she unlock and open the door.

Whoosh—

The moment the door opened, the stick was the first thing visible. The two staff members outside gasped and stepped back.

“We—We mean no harm! P-please don’t do anything rash!”

“Then why are you here?” Wen Xiaorou stepped forward slightly, the stick thudding on the floor with force.

Her imposing stance made the staff instantly change their tone to one of politeness.
“Um… is Comrade Song Youyou residing here?”

“I am. What do you want with me?”

“Well, someone reported you for avoiding labor duties and following a reactionary bourgeois path…”

“Speak clearly,” Wen Xiaorou snapped.

The staff immediately cut to the chase:
“Someone filed a report saying you have no job and are refusing to go to the countryside.”

“Nonsense! Our Youyou has a job!” Wen Xiaorou scowled.

The staff instinctively took half a step back, lowering their voice even further.
“We’re just here to invite Comrade Song Youyou to come with us and verify things…”

“No way.” Wen Xiaorou immediately shielded her friend.

Song Youyou thought for a moment, then gave Wen Xiaorou a reassuring look and turned to the staff.
“You just said you’re from the Educated Youth Office?”

“Yes.”

That office handled the “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside” movement. Song Youyou instantly understood who was behind this.

“Was it Song Baozhu who reported me by name?”

“Uh… yes.”

“So if I can prove that I don’t meet the conditions for being sent down, that’ll be enough?”

“Um, yes, that would be sufficient.”

“Alright. Then I’ll go with you.”

“Youyou!” Wen Xiaorou pulled her back, subtly shaking her head out of sight of the staff.

Though her friend did translation work for a state bookstore, who knew if the Educated Youth Office would recognize it? If they sent her to the countryside, she’d be heartbroken.

“It’s fine—I can prove it. And if I don’t go, Song Baozhu will just keep piling on more accusations. I won’t have peace.”

Song. Bao. Zhu.
Wen Xiaorou ground her teeth in fury. But now wasn’t the time to get angry.

After Youyou left with the staff, she quickly grabbed her bag and rushed to the Xinhua Bookstore.

She was going to find the manager to testify that Youyou did have a job!