Chapter 11 : Why are you here?

Thinking that she hadn’t bought the egg cake yet, Jiang Yu turned around and returned to the supply and marketing cooperative.

She saw the salesgirl named Fei fei again.

Fei fei was very cheerful, quite different from those stern-looking salespeople.

“Why are you back again?”

Realizing that she was speaking to her, Jiang Yu paused for a moment.

Fei fei laughed, her eyes curving into crescents.

“I have a good memory, and besides, you’re so pretty, I remembered you right away.”

Jiang Yu smiled. “I forgot to buy the egg cake.”

Fei fei quickly weighed half a pound for her and took the payment.

Since there were fewer people now, she chatted with Jiang Yu a bit more.

“You look new around here, you haven’t lived in this area before, right?”

Jiang Yu nodded. “I’m from the countryside, staying at my aunt’s place for a few days.”

Fei fei teased, “Here to find a boyfriend, huh?”

Jiang Yu’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Not necessarily looking for a boyfriend.”

“With your looks, you should definitely marry someone from the city, find a good one to take care of you.”

Fei fei spoke so candidly, without any mockery, she simply thought Jiang Yu was attractive.

“By the way, I didn’t ask your name. I’m Fei fei, what about you?”

“I’m Jiang Yu, the ‘yu’ from the ‘elm tree’ .”

Fei fei was the first friend Jiang Yu made in the city.

She was warm and generous, even inviting Jiang Yu to have noodles, which Jiang Yu politely declined.

Thinking of Sun Zailiang, Jiang Yu sincerely felt he wasn’t worthy of Fei fei.

“Fei fei, the guy who sent you the scarf today,is he your boyfriend?”

Mentioning her romantic interest made Fei fei blush slightly.

“Not confirmed yet, but he’s sort of a prospective boyfriend, he’s still pursuing me.”

Fei fei had her own ideas, she thought that if it came too easily, he wouldn’t cherish it, so she let Sun Zailiang pursue her for a while.

But Jiang Yu could see that Fei fei probably liked Sun Zailiang quite a bit.

This made things a bit tricky for Jiang Yu, unsure of what to say.

“What does your aunt do? Can she help you find a job? A woman should have her own career. Our neighbor has a woman from the countryside who married here but doesn’t work, she gets treated like a servant by her mother-in-law every day.”

Seeing Jiang Yu’s expression darken a bit, Fei fei quickly covered her mouth.

“I didn’t mean anything bad, I just talk a lot.”

Jiang Yu was actually lost in thought about Sun Zailiang and didn’t mind her words.

She smiled. “I don’t mind, jobs are hard to find.”

“True. A while back, a friend of mine, her family bought her a job to keep her from going to the countryside. She started as a temp, and it cost 1,200 yuan!”

Jiang Yu’s eyes widened. “1,200! That’s way too expensive!”

“Isn’t it? But there’s no choice, it’s a stable job. Not to mention 1,200, even if it were 2,000, plenty of people would be fighting for it.”

After all, if you quit that job, you could pass it on to your children, worth it.

Jiang Yu’s mood soured further, with prices like that, she couldn’t even afford a temp position.

She said goodbye to Fei fei and took the egg cake back home.

Yao Xiangling saw her downcast expression and thought she had been bullied.

Hearing that jobs cost 1,200, she wasn’t surprised.

“Even if you marry a city person, you can’t just transfer your household registration, you understand that, right?”

Jiang Yu nodded. “I know.”

Yao Xiangling continued, “But having a job is different; the workplace will accept your household registration. Then you’ll truly be a city person.”

So even at 1,200, many people wanted to buy one.

But it wasn’t something you could just buy; you needed connections.

“Don’t think too much about it. Once you’re married, just have your husband buy it for you.”

Jiang Yu pouted. “Then wouldn’t I be taking advantage of him?”

Yao Xiangling scoffed. “Marrying a man means having clothes and food. If you want nothing, why would you marry him? If he wants to marry you, he’s clearly interested in your beauty and youth. It’s a mutual need, marriage isn’t about selfless giving.”

Of course, if there really were a way for her to help Jiang Yu buy a job for 1,200 yuan, she would be willing.

But Jiang Yu’s family had some troubles, and she suspected they would come over, unashamedly trying to take advantage.

“Stop thinking about it, hurry up and cook.”

She always ate dinner early and planned to go out for a walk afterward.

Jiang Yu was very aware of her responsibilities. Since she was staying at her aunt’s house, it was only natural for her to do what she could to help.

After dinner, it was still light outside.

Yao Xiangling pulled Jiang Yu out for a walk, and just as they were about to leave, they saw Jiang Ting at the door.

“What are you doing here?” Jiang Yu asked.

Jiang Ting flashed a smile at Yao Xiangling, trying to ingratiate herself. “Auntie.”

Yao Xiangling had no fondness for her and coldly nodded in response.

“You two can talk, I’m going to take a walk.”

Her attitude still showed little regard for Jiang Ting.

Jiang Ting watched Yao Xiangling’s back, biting her lip in frustration.

For a moment, she forgot to ask if she could come over for the wedding banquet another day.

If Yao Xiangling came, it would add to her prestige.

Jiang Yu asked again, “What are you here for?”

Jiang Ting scoffed, “Do you think I want to see you? There’s a wedding banquet in the village tomorrow, you shouldn’t come. But when it’s in the city, you have to show up.”

She wanted Jiang Yu to see how impressive she was, hoping to make her jealous.

Jiang Yu asked coolly, “When is it?”

“On the ninth day of the month. You can ask Auntie if she has time to come.”

Jiang Yu glanced at her. “Why didn’t you ask just now?”

Jiang Ting shot her a glare. “I told you to ask, just do it. Why are you talking so much?”

After they finished talking, Jiang Ting’s eyes sneakily darted towards the room, landing on the egg cake on the coffee table, stirring a pang of jealousy within her.

Living in such a nice building and having egg cake to eat.

No way, she absolutely couldn’t let Jiang Yu marry into the city.

She wasn’t worried that Jiang Yu would take Yao Xiangling’s job because in her previous life, Yao Xiangling had sold her job and used the money for her retirement, completely ignoring Jiang Yu.

In Jiang Ting’s mind, Yao Xiangling’s kindness to Jiang Yu was just superficial, not sincere at all.

It was like playing with a pet, just for fun.

Jiang Ting kept telling herself that her good days were still ahead and she didn’t need to be jealous of Jiang Yu.

She quickened her pace, wanting to visit the communal courtyard again to see Fu Xiangyang.

Even though she had just seen him yesterday, she found herself already missing him.

Jiang Ting pressed the back of her hand against her warm face, feeling shy. She wasn’t a little girl anymore, why was she acting like this?

She lingered at the entrance of the communal courtyard for a moment, then adjusted her clothes and walked in.

Fu Xiangyang’s mother, Lin Hongxia, spotted her right away as she stood at the entrance.

Immediately, she frowned, feeling a bit displeased.

“Jiang Ting, what are you doing here? It’s so late, is there still a bus back?”

Jiang Ting had no intention of going back this time.

After all, there was a wedding banquet in the countryside tomorrow, and Fu Xiangyang would be going too. She planned to go with him then.