Chapter 33 I’ll sign her up too

“Song Youyou actually reported me for slandering a military wife. She’s so vicious!” Song Baozhu sat on a chair at home, once again sobbing and cursing. “If she hadn’t been so petty and reported me in return, how could I have lost my job!”

“So, you went from a permanent employee to a temporary one because of this? Wasn’t it because you were stupid and made a major mistake at work?” Father Song said coldly. He couldn’t stand the daughter they had retrieved anymore. If it weren’t for her, would the promotion he was so close to have slipped through his fingers?

“Other people who quit their jobs can at least get a few hundred yuan. And you? You got fired for free!” Getting fired—in times like these—was rare and utterly disgraceful. Father Song was both furious and disgusted.

“I already said, this isn’t my fault! Even if I hadn’t messed up at work and gotten demoted to a temporary worker, being accused of slandering a military wife would’ve gotten me fired anyway! So it’s all Song Youyou’s fault! Waaah, Mom! Look at Dad—he’s not even standing up for me…” Song Baozhu turned and threw herself into her mother’s arms, crying.

These past few days, Father Song seemed like a different person—his expression dark, his mood gloomy and unpredictable. He would lash out at people at the slightest provocation. Song Baozhu didn’t dare cross him anymore and could only turn to her mother for support.

“Baozhu’s right. If Song Youyou hadn’t reported her for slandering a military wife, she wouldn’t have lost her job. And about that temporary worker thing—Baozhu just came back from the countryside. She doesn’t know much…” Mother Song hugged the weeping girl in her arms, quietly trying to speak up for her.

“Heh. You do know she doesn’t know much, yet you let her take Youyou’s job? You let her report Youyou in the first place?” Father Song’s words were full of accusation. Mother Song’s anger flared.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Old Song? Are you saying it’s all Baozhu’s fault? That Song Youyou is the good one? What, now that Song Youyou has climbed the social ladder, you regret cutting ties with her?”

“What else? I listened to your womanly nonsense and let that idiot ruin my promotion! You said she was a lucky star—I say she’s a walking disaster! Bringing her back has brought nothing but misfortune! She’s lazy, can’t even cook properly—what part of her compares to Youyou?”

“You old bastard, what are you saying?! Who are you calling a walking disaster? Who’s not as good as Song Youyou?!” Song Baozhu hated being compared to Song Youyou. Hearing this, it was like a fire exploded in her brain.

“Baozhu! Watch your mouth when talking to your father!” Her vulgar outburst startled Mother Song.

But Song Baozhu, overcome with rage, didn’t care at all and kept screaming hysterically, “I think you just can’t get over Song Youyou’s seductive little face! You dirty old man, don’t tell me you’ve got ideas about her just because she’s not your real daughter, huh? Hah! You men are all the same, lusting after that whore Song Youyou and her damn face!”

“That slut Song Youyou is the real walking disaster! I’m better than her—I’m the best!!” Song Baozhu was like a madwoman, yelling in a frenzy. Her father hated her now, and Wenqing-gege wouldn’t see her anymore. Why? Why was this happening? In her previous life, her father’s career had soared, and He Wenqing had been the perfect husband and family man!

Why was everything different now?!

She viciously shoved down the answer bubbling up from the depths of her heart—buried it in the darkest corner of her soul.

“It’s all Song Youyou’s fault!” With a crazed look on her face, Song Baozhu suddenly bolted out the door, leaving Father Song and Mother Song stunned and speechless.

“Did… did you hear what she just said?!” Father Song was so furious, his hands were shaking.

“She’s completely uncultured! Vulgar beyond words!” Even Mother Song, shocked by Baozhu’s crude and vile words, clutched her chest and was speechless. For the first time, she didn’t try to defend her.

Song Baozhu ran wildly through the streets until she reached the Educated Youth Office. As soon as she walked through the door, she started yelling at the staff inside.

“Slandering a military wife? What slander?! What the hell is your office doing, calling it slander?!”

“Who is this?” The staff looked at each other, baffled at the woman barging in and shouting.

“Comrade, who are you? What’s this about?”

The Educated Youth Office wasn’t idle these days—not everyone’s face was remembered.

Of course, Lao Wu recognized her.

“I’ll handle this,” he told his coworkers, then led Song Baozhu to a desk.

“I remember your failed report from last time. So, what do you want now? Speak.”

“Good, you remember! I didn’t slander her! You people better take back that accusation right now!”

Ah~ So it’s about that.

Lao Wu raised his eyebrows, expertly slipping into official mode. “That’s not possible. The investigation was done jointly with the Public Security Bureau. So whether it counts as slander or not isn’t up to us anymore. You’ll need to take it up with the police.”

The police?!

Song Baozhu’s heart skipped a beat. The thing she feared most was the police—those who could arrest people.

“I don’t care! Just remove that slander charge right now!”

“Comrade Song Baozhu, from what I know, the punishment you received for slander was already the lightest. You didn’t even get locked up.”

“They can lock me up?!” Song Baozhu cried out in shock.

“Yes.” Lao Wu nodded sincerely, eyes calm and harmless.

“But… but that charge cost me my job! Can’t you at least do something about that?!”

“Comrade, you must be joking. How could we possibly have control over that?” Lao Wu dodged the responsibility with official jargon, kicking the ball down the road, leaving Song Baozhu completely confused and stunned.

“But…”
“No! I don’t want this!!” Song Baozhu was about to say more, but a sharp shout interrupted her.

“Who’s being so noisy?” Song Baozhu frowned and turned around. Very quickly, the surrounding chatter answered her question.

“That guy’s the older brother from his family. They say his younger brother signed up for the countryside program on his behalf so he could stay in the city. Now he’s here trying to cancel it, only to find out he actually meets the criteria and can’t back out.”

“Sounds like the younger brother’s pretty heartless.”

“Sigh, jobs are like one radish per hole—one slot per person. Families have so many kids, how can they all have jobs? They can only give the job to one person, and the rest have to go to the countryside. Who wouldn’t fight for that?”

“Exactly, I’ve heard that a lot of educated youth come back from visiting the countryside all skinny and tanned. They say life there is really harsh!”

“…”

“Someone can sign up another person to go to the countryside?” Song Baozhu muttered to herself, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

“Forget it, I won’t pursue the slander thing anymore. Just give me one of those countryside program registration forms. I want to sign up.”

She took the form and filled it out quickly with a swipe-swipe-swipe of her pen. Once done, she left in a cheerful mood.

Lao Wu picked up the form and examined it carefully.

Sure enough, the name listed under applicant was: Song Youyou.

He immediately pulled the form out and got ready to claim credit for catching it.

Sitting at home and still getting dragged into trouble.

When Song Youyou saw Lao Wu show up with the countryside registration form, her expression completely changed.

“Song Baozhu filled this out?”

“Yeah! So, what do you think, little sis-in-law? I intercepted the form in time—don’t you think I deserve a big commendation?” Lao Wu said with a big smug grin, clearly very pleased with himself.

Song Youyou raised her eyebrows. “Your Educated Youth Office sure isn’t very rigorous. You’re telling me people can just sign someone else up?”

“Uh… yeah, maybe we were a bit lax…”

“Alright then.” Song Youyou tossed the form with her name on it straight into the trash can, then turned and said, “Give me a new registration form.”

“What do you want that for?” Lao Wu was confused.

“Didn’t you say Song Baozhu doesn’t have a job? I’ll sign her up then, let her respond to the government’s call and contribute to rural development,” Song Youyou replied calmly.

Lao Wu: “……”