In the afternoon, Tang Momo finally drew the first design and managed to organize her ideas. She planned to draw a few more designs tomorrow to give them more option. After all, everyone’s taste is different; it might lead to a discussion with everyone holding their own opinions. 

Tang Momo did not go back to the dormitory this time but went directly back to her house. 

When she went back, Zhang Xiaoli was already at home and was talking to Tang Jianan and the twins. 

“Mother, how was work today? Did you get along well with the other workers?” 

This is Zhang Xiaoli’s first time working, and to be honest, Tang Momo was a bit worried. 

“They are all very nice people, probably because of your dad’s reputation; they take good care of me.” 

 Zhang Xiaoli gently reassured Tang Momo. 

“That’s good.”  

After Tang Momo finished speaking, she turned to her younger siblings beside her. “What about you? Did you behave today?” 

The twins nodded. “We were good in the yard today.” 

“Very good.” 

Tang Momo reached out and ruffled their hair.  

“That reminds me, Momo, did the jam and dried fruit you made last time pass the inspection? When I went to work in the afternoon, I ran into Aunt Qin while going to work. She said it was thanks to you that the little fruits from our team could be sent to the food factory.” 

Zhang Xiaoli’s tone conveyed a sense of pride that she didn’t even know. 

“Yes, with the Mid-Autumn Festival coming up, the factory is planning to introduce new flavors this year.” 

Tang Momo briefly explained about the mooncakes. 

The family gathered together, and the atmosphere was warm and cheerful.  

“Aunt Qin also said that your grandma seems to have entered the city. She is probably looking for Tang Xiaoxue.” 

In fact, Zhang Xiaoli was a little worried that Chen Lanying would make trouble outside the factory. 

“She’s probably just trying to confirm whether Tang Xiaoxue has been fired. She might have already been sent back by now.” 

Tang Momo replied casually.  

“That’s right; Tang Xiaoxue’s in-laws have always looked down on her for being from the countryside.” 

Zhang Xiaoli sounded a little emotional. Years ago, Dajun had advised Tang Xiaoxue, warning her that her in-laws would always look at her in disdain, and she might have a hard time in the future, so she had to think about it carefully. 

Later, she insisted on getting married. To prevent her from being looked down upon by her in-laws, Dajun went everywhere to arrange her dowry, but unexpectedly, while she accepted these things, she had long since held a grudge against them in her heart.  

“Mother, don’t pay attention to them. Our new life has just begun.” 

Tang Momo’s hand covered the back of Zhang Xiaoli’s hand. She was still so young and should not be tied up by them. 

“You’re right. Oh, I just remembered that Vice Chairman Yang said they would take care of their schooling, so hearing that gives me some peace of mind.” 

After Zhang Xiaoli finished speaking, she rubbed Tang Yangyang’s head. 

“From now on, this place will be considered our home.” 

When Tang Momo heard this, she also looked above her head. Living in the city was good; at least there were lights. 

In a few years, when houses could be bought and sold, they could directly buy a courtyard.  

As for the Qingshui Brigade, they probably won’t go back except for the Qingming Festival every year. 

Tang Momo took a deep breath. In this way, she was far away from the male and female protagonists. No matter what Xu Xiaoyun did later, it would not affect her. 

Zhang Xiaoli glanced at Tang Momo and wanted to say that several people in the shoe factory had asked about her marriage today, but because of her previous words, she had refused all of them. 

After some thought, Zhang Xiaoli decided to have a serious talk with Momo since she was already working and her younger siblings’ schooling was settled. She hoped that Momo’s reluctance to discuss the matter was not due to family reasons. 

*** 

Yang Jianlin’s family lived in the mechanical factory’s residential area; both his grandfather and father worked there. His grandmother and mother were from the textile factory, making the whole family a bunch of workers and cadres.  

His father is the only male son, so now his grandparents live with them. The three aunts are married not far away and often come over to visit, so the house is always lively. 

Today was a bit unusual. The room seemed to be too quiet. He put his bicycle away and walked closer to find that his mother and grandma were talking about something. They didn’t even notice that he was approaching. 

“Mother, what are you and Grandma talking about?” 

Yang Jianlin’s tone was filled with curiosity. 

“Oh, Jianlin, you’re back so early today?”  

During this period, Yang Jianlin work overtime, so it’s no wonder that his mother, Zhang Yue, was surprised. 

“Today’s progress is going very smoothly, so there’s no need to work overtime.”  

Yang Jianlin sat down opposite them.  

“Is that so? I heard that you have a new publicity officer in your factory?”  

Zhang Yue asked hesitantly. 

“Well, didn’t I mention it to you before? She proposed the reform plan this time. Director Wu values her talent and recommended her to the publicity department.” 

After speaking, he glanced at Zhang Yue. “Why did you suddenly ask?”  

Zhang Yue knew her Jianlin was too straightforward to do something like what the Qiu family claimed. She didn’t understand why the couple from the Qiu family hated their niece so much. 

Thinking of this, Zhang Yue explained in a gentle voice what had happened just now that Qiu Ming and Tang Xiaoxue had come over.  

Yang Jianlin was really surprised, even angry. “This is the first time I have seen someone who confuses right and wrong.”  

“They even said you had your aunt help you favor your own interests by directly firing her aunt and letting her mother go to work instead.” 

Zhang Yue laughed at this. Even if her Jianlin had such intentions, her eldest sister-in-law wasn’t foolish, and did they really think she could do anything within her authority? 

Yang Jianlin’s frown deepened. He didn’t expect Tang Momo’s aunt to come home and spread lies like that. Was she trying to use his parents to help her get revenge on Tang Momo? 

At that moment, Yang Jianlin really wanted to open Tang Xiaoxue’s head to understand how someone could think so differently. 

“So what was their purpose in coming here?”  

Yang Jianlin was genuinely confused. 

Zhang Yue shot him an annoyed look. “You really don’t understand? They clearly think that Comrade Xiao Tang can get into the food factory because of you, and they want us to play the villains who break you two apart.” 

Yang Jianlin couldn’t help but be stunned when he heard this. It took him a while to said somethin. “I think she’s mentally ill.”  

 “I actually hope what she said is true.” 

Zhang Yue said with a look of regret. This child was almost twenty, and every time she brought up the topic of relationships, he refused. Plus, she hadn’t seen him getting close to any girl.  

Thinking of this, Zhang Yue suddenly sighed and then asked casually, “I heard that Comrade Xiao Tang is quite beautiful?”  

Yang Jianlin was stunned for a moment and then said, “I think so. I heard the others say the same thing.”  

He heard several times when he went to the canteen that the new publicity officer was good-looking.  

Zhang Yue glared at him, “I’m asking you.”  

“I think they’re all about the same.”  

Yang Jianlin has never told his family that he actually can’t distinguish people’s appearances. In his opinion, he can’t remember everyone’s looks, so everyone looks the same. 

 “Alright, alright, you go back to what you were doing.” 

Zhang Yue looked at her with a bit of a headache.  

“I already said it probably isn’t true. Why do you have to ask? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?” 

Yang Jianlin’s father, Yang Zhiming, just came back from work and poured a glass of water for Zhang Yue with a gentle tone.

“I’m just thinking, what if?”  

Zhang Yue looked a bit sad as she held the glass of water. Her eldest two children were already married, the third had been married for several years, and only her fourth son was a source of concern.  

“Enough, let the kids handle their own matters. Didn’t you complain a few days ago about how much of a headache it was to take care of your grandchildren? Why are you getting worried again now?” 

Compared to Zhang Yue’s anxiety, Yang Zhiming appeared calm.  

In his opinion, Yang Jianlin was only twenty, and wanting to establish a career before starting a family was perfectly normal. 

“What do you know? Forget it, I’m too lazy to argue with you. If this goes on, you two will eventually annoy me sooner or later.” 

Zhang Yue stood up and put the cup away, then decided to go outside for some fresh air. 

At that moment, Qiu Ming and Tang Xiaoxue were arguing as they headed home. In her frustration, Tang Xiaoxue forgot what she had just said to Qiu Ming and revealed that she had been fired. 

At this point, Qiu Ming understood everything; this woman wasn’t trying to avoid getting involved with the Yang family. She was clearly seeking revenge. 

“Have you ever considered what might happen if your niece actually married into the Yang family and then tried to get back at us?” 

Qiu Ming couldn’t understand how someone could become more foolish as time went on.  

“Impossible! How could the Yang family ever agree to let that vixen, Tang Momo, enter their family?” 

Tang Xiaoxue directly denied this statement without thinking. 

“Do you think people are as brainless as you?” 

At this moment, Qiu Ming was dying to crack her skull open and see if it was filled with nothing but bean curd. 

“Qiu Ming, what do you mean? Are you saying I’m stupid now? Who was it that said I could live my whole life without working? Now that I’ve just lost my job, you start looking down on me, right?”  

Tang Xiaoxue felt that Qiu Ming was just using this opportunity to create trouble. 

Qiu Ming no longer wanted to talk. His mind was filled with thoughts of how to explain to his mother and sister-in-law why Tang Xiaoxue wouldn’t be going to work the next day. 

When they had just gotten married, his mother and sister-in-law had tried to find work for Tang Xiaoxue. But when she was about to start, it was discovered that she was pregnant, and the reaction was so big that she couldn’t go. 

After that, everyone gave up on the idea. Then two years ago her eldest brother passed away, and she said that she wanted to buy her eldest brother’s job. His sister-in-law and mother both contributed money for it. What would they do if they learned the truth? 

At that moment, Qiu Ming began to hate himself for not stopping her back then, leading to this huge mess. 

*** 

Yang Jianlin felt that he needed to inform Tang Momo so she would be aware and be more cautious about Tang Xiaoxue. 

When Tang Momo heard this, she was furious. Did Tang Xiaoxue think everyone relied on men like her? After taking several deep breaths, she barely managed to control her anger. “Thank you, Brother Yang. I’ll handle this matter myself, and what happened yesterday won’t happen again.”  

“That’s not what I meant. What I meant is that you have to be careful. If she doesn’t achieve her goals here with my parents, she will definitely find other ways.” 

Seeing that she misunderstood what he meant, Yang Jianlin quickly explained. 

“Okay, I’ll take care of this at noon.”  

Doesn’t Tang Xiaoxue like to find another family to handle things for her? Then she would go to her in-laws’ house and have them manage her properly to prevent her from causing any more trouble. 

Because she still had to design, Tang Momo quickly adjusted her mood and continued once she calmed down. 

When Yang Jianlin looked up at the other end, he saw that the person who had just been filled with anger had started to work seriously. Because of this, his opinion of Tang Momo rose even higher. 

Tang Xiaoxue and Qiu Ming were the type of people who didn’t know how to be afraid until something happened right in front of them. So, even though they had a fierce argument outside last night, they silently agreed to never mention it again when they returned. They chose to take things one day at a time, thinking they could deal with it when they could no longer hide it.  

As a result, when the family was having dinner at noon, someone knocked on the door. When the door opened, the person outside was the neighbor downstairs. She said in an anxious tone. “Not good, Director Qiu! You need to come downstairs quickly. There’s a girl down here saying your family is going to kill her!” 

After the neighbor finished speaking, she casually looked at Qiu Ming and Tang Xiaoxue, filled with contempt. 

Tang Xiaoxue instinctively sensed that something was wrong, but she couldn’t stop them from going downstairs.  

Tang Xiaoxue couldn’t help but speed up and hurriedly followed them. The person downstairs was indeed Tang Momo. She felt anxious and squeezed in quickly. Her tone could not hide her panic. “Tang Momo, what are you doing here?” 

Tang Momo glanced at her, then grabbed her arm and said loudly, “I’m here to talk about this person, my aunt, Tang Xiaoxue. As the daughter-in-law of the Qiu family, I refuse to believe that the Qiu family is unaware of her wrongdoings since they are the ones benefiting.” 

“Tang Momo, stop talking nonsense and get back home!” 

Seeing the crowd growing around them, Tang Xiaoxue truly felt scared.  

Tang Momo loosened her grip on Tang Xiaoxue’s hand and said in a relaxed tone, “Why? Are you afraid that I will talk about the shameful things your Qiu family has done?” 

Hearing her speak about the shameful actions of the Qiu family, Qiu Ming’s father couldn’t hold back. “Young Comrade, what exactly do you want to say? Our Qiu family is not something you can slander without consequence.” 

Tang Momo snorted softly. “Slander? Am I slandering your family? Aren’t you afraid of the consequences of your actions?” 

The onlookers were eager to know more. Public opinion has always been a double-edged sword, regardless of the era. 

Seeing this, Qiu Ming’s father stepped forward and spoke gently, “Young comrade, why don’t we discuss this inside? What do you think?”  

Tang Momo couldn’t help but take a step back when she heard this, with a wary look on her face, “Go inside? I don’t dare to go inside of your house.” 

“Tang Xiaoxue, while we were busy dealing with my father’s funeral, you cooperated with my grandparents to take over my father’s job. Later, you even used my younger siblings to threaten my mother to stop her from going to the factory. Luckily, the people at the union were reasonable and fired you and return that job.” 

“What’s going on? Didn’t you say you bought it for three hundred yuan?” 

Qiu Ming’s mother looked displeased as she glared at Tang Xiaoxue. 

Tang Momo couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows when she heard this, as if she had heard a joke, “Bought for three hundred yuan? We didn’t even receive a penny.” 

“Tang Momo, you vixen, shut up!” 

Tang Xiaoxue said that and stepped forward and was trying to stop Tang Momo from continuing. 

Fortunately, someone quickly pulled her back. Tang Momo glanced at her, then changed her tone and continued, “I originally thought that this incident would be over since we already let go of what happen in the past two years. But I didn’t expect her to harbor such malicious thoughts. I got into the food factory through my own abilities, yet you went to the secretary of the factory director’s house to spread rumors about me having an inappropriate relationship with their son. Tang Xiaoxue, you managed to marry into the city relying on your looks, do you think everyone else is like you? I, Tang Momo, got into the food factory through genuine ability. As a woman and my own aunt, don’t you know the importance of reputation?”  

After Tang Momo finished speaking, she saw that the Qiu family members seemed to want to defend themselves, so she slowly continued. “Oh, you and Uncle Qiu are really a match made in heaven. You rushed together at their house, just to kindly remind them that your niece harbors ill intentions.” 

After Tang Momo finished speaking, she clapped her hands and said mockingly, “What a grand display of righteousness in cutting off family ties. Too bad I disappoint you—I have nothing to do with them.” 

Everyone was already excited when they heard the previous words. What happened? Tang Xiaoxue’s previous job was actually stolen from her widowed sister-in-law. 

At first, the Qiu family claimed they were kind-hearted, saying they were doing it out of pity for the poor orphaned family, paying double to buy the job. But it turned out they had taken it from someone else?  

Just as Tang Momo said, they didn’t believe that Tang Xiaoxue did it alone. After all, it was the Qiu family that benefited. With this in mind, the way people looked at the Qiu family became subtly different. 

Tang Xiaoxue knew that this matter was over. Her in-laws were the ones who loved face the most. After Tang Momo’s scene today, her good days in the Qiu family had come to an end.  

Thinking of this, she looked at Qiu Ming for help and saw that his face was filled with impatience. 

Tang Momo was very satisfied with the reaction of the people around her. After all, there were no legal letters in this era, so she could only resort to this method to resolve things. 

The Qiu family turned their attention to Tang Xiaoxue and Qiu Ming, and seeing their expressions, they understood that everything Tang Momo said was true.  

“Comrade Tang, this matter was a misunderstanding on their part. How about this: I’ll have them apologize to you, or you can decide how to resolve this?” 

Qiu Ming’s father spoke cautiously; they could afford to lose a daughter-in-law, but they couldn’t lose a son. 

“A person’s reputation is so important. Can it really be brushed aside with just a careless remark?” 

Tang Momo sighed again, realizing that not being from the same family really does make a difference. 

“What do you want, then?” Tang Xiaoxue glared at her, clearly frustrated; she felt that this girl must be trying to drive her to her death.  

“What can I do? You Qiu family are all high-ranking officials. It would be easy to ruin me, but I only hope you can apologize to the Yang family since you have bothered them for no reason.” 

Tang Momo said this with an air of self-righteousness.  

Qiu Ming’s mother felt the veins on her forehead twitching. This girl named Tang Momo was much smarter than Tang Xiaoxue. 

At this point, she could see clearly that Tang Momo wasn’t here to seek justice today but to embarrass the Qiu family. 

“Comrade Tang, don’t worry. I will make sure we apologize to the Yang family, and we will also give you an explanation.”  

Seeing more and more people coming around, Qiu Ming’s father hoped to resolve this matter quickly. 

“Oh, you’re not planning to have Qiu family’s uncle divorce my aunt, are you? That would be terrible; my aunt would probably come after me, and besides, they’re such a perfect match.” 

Tang Momo saw through the Qiu family’s plan. She wasn’t here today to do them any favors.  

The Qiu family’s parents had always been dissatisfied with Tang Xiaoxue, and they wanted to take advantage of today’s incident to get them divorced and at the same time blame everything on Tang Xiaoxue. But they didn’t expect Tang Momo to be so difficult to deal with. 

“Actually, my request is very simple. Please take care of Tang Xiaoxue and stop disturbing our family. After all, we severed ties with the Tang family when she came back last time.” 

Tang Momo dropped a big piece of news in a calm tone. 

Looking at the surprised expressions of the Qiu family, Tang Momo curled her lips. It seemed that the Qiu family didn’t know about this yet. 

Her smile widened as she looked at Tang Xiaoxue. “Aunt, this is the last time I call you that. You spread rumors about me, and even about Secretary Yang. The Yang family cares about this the most, so when you apologize, I hope you can be sincere.” 

Tang Xiaoxue didn’t respond and just stared furiously at Tang Momo. Tang Momo chuckled and didn’t care. Then she approached Tang Xiaoxue and said softly, “Tang Xiaoxue, remember to hold on to the big tree of the Qiu family. Don’t get abandoned and end up back at the Qingshui Brigade in despair.” 

After finishing, Tang Momo turned to the other Qiu family members: “I hope you’ll keep your word.”  

Even as she walked far away, she could still hear various discussions behind her, which made Tang Momo feel even happier. 

After the Qiu family’s plan was exposed, Tang Xiaoxue would definitely not be willing to divorce. The Qiu family was bound to have some entertaining drama ahead. 

Tang Xiaoxue would probably spend every day worrying about being divorced now. Even if her relationship with Qiu Ming was solid, such a life wouldn’t last long. 

Tang Momo thought that for someone like Tang Xiaoxue, this was probably the best punishment. 

In the afternoon, while at work, Yang Jianlin clearly noticed Tang Momo’s good mood, and he couldn’t help but smile as well. “Did you get everything sorted out?” 

“Yes, it’s almost settled. I’m sorry for causing trouble to your family this time.” 

Tang Momo looked apologetic. 

“This has nothing to do with you. Don’t worry, my parents are not unreasonable people. I explained it clearly to them yesterday.” 

“That’s good.” 

 Tang Momo also breathed a sigh of relief. 

Probably because she was in a good mood, Tang Momo design smoothly. Before getting off work, including the ones in the morning, she had already completed five different designs. 

She handed these to Director Wu, who fixed her eyes on the chibi design of the fruit. She thought this was quite novel, so she nodded to her: “It looks good; thank you for your hard work.” 

Tang Momo knew that these designs would likely go through a meeting before the final decision was made. Since she had drawn various styles, they should be able to pick something satisfactory. 

“The fruit flavor production line has already started, but they want to discuss the salted egg yolk flavor with you.” 

“Okay, I’ll visit the workshop tomorrow.” 

Tang Momo nodded in acknowledgment. 

Director Wu was pleased with Tang Momo’s attitude, so her tone softened, “Once this busy period passes, things will settle down.” 

After leaving the director’s office, Tang Momo went straight home. Although confronting Tang Xiaoxue and the Qiu family today had been satisfying, in case Tang Xiaoxue retaliated, she needed to inform her family to stay cautious for a while. 

*** 

After Gu Chengze rejected her that day, Xu Xiaoyun never took the initiative to look for him again. In the past few days, she had been paying attention to the movements in the team, and she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when she didn’t hear any bad rumors about her. 

With Gu Chengze’s vacation nearly over, how could Xu Xiaoyun not be anxious? Her family had already been planning to set her up with someone else, but she kept delaying it. However, she knew this wasn’t a long-term solution. Once Gu Chengze returned to his unit, she wouldn’t have any more excuses. 

She didn’t understand what went wrong. Even if Gu Chengze didn’t like her now, as for Zhao Xiuli, wasn’t she anxious to find a partner for Gu Chengze? Why wasn’t she in a hurry this time? 

“Xu Xiaoyun, it’s time to go to work. Why are you wasting time?” 

 Bailu’s urging voice came from outside.  

Xu Xiaoyun couldn’t help but clench her palms. Even Bailu was beginning to show her attitude. If her marriage wasn’t settled soon, who knew how Bailu might start ordering her around?  

No, this couldn’t continue. She needed to go see Gu Chengze. But remembering the mocking look in his eyes last time, Xu Xiaoyun hesitated. Maybe she should visit Tang Momo before meeting him? 

This thought only stayed in her mind for a second before Xu Xiaoyun decided to act. Even if Tang Momo wouldn’t see her, at least she would have an excuse to talk to Gu Chengze. 

Sure enough, when she arrived at the food factory, Xu Xiaoyun didn’t see Tang Momo. In fact, she left before Tang Momo even came out.  

In her previous life, after she and Tie Yanming parted ways, because she didn’t follow his plan to approach Gu Chengze, the two quickly went their separate ways. She had no face to return, so she drifted from place to place. 

Without proper documents, she had always worked the toughest and lowest-paying jobs. Eventually, due to irregular meals, she developed stomach cancer. If she hadn’t met Gu Chengze again, she might not have been able to die with dignity. 

Gu Chengze had already pieced together most of the truth behind Xu Xiaoyun’s words over the past few days. Although Tang Momo had escaped danger last time, there was still a chance she might face it again, so he planned to warn her. 

But he didn’t expect that Xu Xiaoyun would come to him again. Before she could speak, Gu Chengze took a step back. “If it’s about what my grandmother did at your house last time, and if it caused any misunderstanding, I apologize on her behalf.” 

“For the sake of your reputation, I think it’s better if we don’t have any further connection. Don’t you agree?” 

Without waiting for her response, Gu Chengze pushed his bicycle and left. 

“Xu Xiaoyun stood in place, watching Gu Chengze’s figure disappear into the distance. Her face turned red with embarrassment. She never expected him to reject her so bluntly.” 

Tang Momo didn’t expect Gu Chengze to come looking for her. When she saw him standing at the door, she hurried over; her tone was full of surprise. “What brings you here?” 

Gu Chengze could tell from her eyes that there was only surprise and no hint of joy. It felt as though something inside him hurt. He spoke softly, “In a few days, I’ll be returning to my unit. Since I was in the city today, I thought I’d stop by to say goodbye.” 

***

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