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After Han Jiushu and Han Shimin left, Jiang Qian turned to Han Shiguo and asked, “Did Uncle Jiushu serve in the military and fight the Japanese? I heard from Jiang Xiaogu
“Yes,” Han Shiguo nodded. “Uncle Jiushu has made significant contributions in the past. He sustained a leg injury, which left him slightly lame, and he can’t read. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be living in the village now.”
Uncle Jiushu and Jiang Xiaogu’s father-in-law, Commander Han were from the same lineage. If you traced their ancestry, they shared a common ancestor with Han Shiguo’s father and Old Secretary Han. They were all from the same family line.
Uncle Jiushu was also known as an important figure in Zhao Family Village.
Just the fact that he could privately raise a donkey was a testament to his status, and he wasn’t worried about others reporting him because it was permitted by the government.
In addition to raising this big black donkey for income, he also received twenty yuan a month as a pension from the accounting department in town.
This pension was a government provision that he could continue to receive until his passing, making it a unique benefit in Zhao Family Village!
As a result, Uncle Jiushu’s family lived in a brick-and-tile house that had been built several years prior.
While they were talking, the couple had finished organizing their luggage and boarded the bus.
At this time, there weren’t many passengers on the bus, so they found two seats and bought tickets from the conductor.
More people gradually arrived to take the bus, and when the time came, the conductor called out, and the bus driver started the engine.
Jiang Qian usually didn’t get motion sickness, but the bumpy road, poor shock absorption, and strong smell of gasoline made the ride quite uncomfortable.
Next to them, a woman sitting across the aisle suddenly looked pale and hurriedly covered her mouth, swallowing back the nausea while patting her chest.
Seeing this, Jiang Qian felt even worse.
She instinctively leaned against Han Shiguo’s shoulder.
Thinking she was feeling car sick, Han Shiguo quickly rubbed her back. “Just hold on a bit longer; we’ll be there soon.”
Jiang Qian murmured in response. Having woken up early and with the current rough conditions, even someone like her, who never got motion sickness, started to feel dizzy. Before she realized it, she had fallen asleep against Han Shiguo.
It was unclear whether she had drifted off or fainted.
By the time Han Shiguo called her name to wake her, they had already arrived.
Jiang Qian quickly followed him off the bus, and as soon as she stepped down, she felt like a fish that had come back to life!
Han Shiguo used a shoulder pole to carry the quilts while holding onto the suitcase that Jiang Qian had brought as part of her dowry.
Jiang Qian held a small bag in one hand and a basket of food in the other.
This was typical of the era—they had to carry many packages wherever they went.
Next, they needed to catch a bus, and after waiting for about ten minutes, they finally got on. After buying their tickets, they settled in for another hour-long ride to the train station.
By now, it was almost noon.
Han Shiguo promptly took out his identification to buy their soft sleeper tickets for the two o’clock train, and they still had plenty of time.
He also made a phone call.
He asked the operator to inform his comrades of his arrival time so they could come to pick him up.
After the call, the couple went to eat at a state-run restaurant.
On the bus to the provincial capital, Jiang Qian found that she didn’t get motion sickness anymore; however, her appetite was still a bit off, so she only ordered a bowl of lamb noodles, sharing half with Han Shiguo.
Han Shiguo, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected. This man was as resilient as iron.
Jiang Qian couldn’t help but feel a mix of admiration and envy as she said softly, “How come you’re so healthy?”
“This is nothing. When we were on missions, the conditions were ten times or a hundred times worse, and we made it through just fine,” Han Shiguo replied with a smile.
So for him, the difficulties encountered on the bus were nothing at all.
Jiang Qian looked at him and asked, “Am I being too delicate?”
“No, you’re different from me. You haven’t received professional training, and this is your first time traveling far. It’s normal to be uncomfortable. You don’t have to force yourself,” Han Shiguo comforted her.
Jiang Qian honestly replied, “It’s not my first time. I came to the provincial capital with my fourth brother before.”
“When did you come, and what did you do?” Han Shiguo asked, curious.
“Two years ago, I wanted to find a translation job,” Jiang Qian said as she slurped her noodles.
When she first arrived in this world, she had nothing to do. But she didn’t want to sit at home and eat idly, so she made arrangements with her fourth brother to come to the provincial capital and look for English translation work at the bookstore.
Back in high school, her English teacher had mentioned this job.
Before entering the provincial capital, she and her fourth brother had gone to her English teacher’s house to ask specifically.
The English teacher had encouraged Jiang Qian to try it, believing that she had a natural talent for languages. The teacher, who valued talent, suggested she try translation work and offered to answer any questions she might have at his home.
He even wrote a letter of recommendation to take with them to the Xinhua Bookstore in the provincial capital.
Since the English teacher himself took on translation work, he could act as a reference, increasing the chances of securing a job.
Unfortunately, when she and her fourth brother arrived in the provincial capital, it happened to be the most chaotic time, with everything in disarray.
Jiang Shouchuan was worried about his sister being caught in the chaos and advised her to give up.
Although their family was politically reliable, they were afraid of getting caught in a situation where they couldn’t explain themselves, especially since they didn’t know anyone in the provincial capital.
If anything went wrong, it would be difficult to handle.
Jiang Qian was also scared, as she didn’t want to experience that scene again. Considering that her family wasn’t struggling financially and that she had so many valuable things in her space, she decided not to risk it.
Upon returning home, she happened to hear about a job opening at the town primary school and decided to become a teacher instead.
Han Shiguo was surprised to hear this. “A translation job? You can do that?”
“I don’t know if I’m capable. I’ve never done it before, but my English scores were good,” Jiang Qian said. In her previous life, she had graduated from university and had passed the English proficiency exam.
Although she hadn’t worked in a related field after graduation, opting for a career in social media instead, she hadn’t abandoned her English studies and had even taken self-study courses.
She could communicate with foreigners without major problems.
Moreover, she had English books in her space, although they weren’t from her previous life; they were collected from this era. However, with the current unrest, it was not a good idea to take them out. She only read them in her room.
During this era, translation work did exist. As long as one’s background was clear and they had the skills, they could find a job.
For example, her English teacher had resigned from his teaching position without hesitation when the school principal was implicated in the chaos. He had then dedicated himself to translation work.
The last time she saw him was a year ago. When she and Su Lili went to visit again, they heard that he had moved.
According to the neighbors, he had been recruited by a department in the provincial capital and had moved there with his family.
Han Shiguo realized that his wife was like a treasure chest; she had hidden talents that kept revealing themselves!
He was also very supportive of his wife’s career and said, “The Xinhua Bookstore in the provincial capital’s military district seems to have this kind of work. If you want to do it, I’ll take you to inquire about it later?”