Chapter 39: I Won’t Let Yi Jixiang Have a Good Life

“Oh my goodness, isn’t this Section Chief Wang? Don’t you have a wife?” one of the female employees remarked.

“Yi Jixiang, just now Section Chief Wang came to buy a TV. I told you not to butt in—after all, you’re just someone who sells pickles. But now I see… gosh, how did our supply and marketing cooperative end up with someone like this?”

“No, that’s not what happened. You’ve misunderstood! We were bitten by a dog—look inside, there’s a big black dog in there, it was attacking us!” Yi Jixiang became anxious. Because of what happened yesterday, when Yi An’an bought that red wool coat, several of the shop assistants thought Yi Jixiang was stingy and avoided her. Now this mess had happened, and they were definitely going to gossip behind her back. Just yesterday, Sister Yao had even said she’d introduce a good match to her…

“Sister Yao, you were saying you wanted to introduce the president’s son to Yi Jixiang, weren’t you? Good thing you didn’t—otherwise, your job might be on the line too!” said another unmarried employee sarcastically.

Sister Yao, who later became a supervisor at the cooperative, frowned slightly and said in a low voice, “That’s what I said before. I take it back now.”

Yi Jixiang rushed up and grabbed Sister Yao’s hand. “Sister Yao, please believe me. There’s really nothing between me and Section Chief Wang. I was just asking him for help with something—nothing happened! It was all because of that black dog!”

She was about to cry. So the match she was introduced to was actually the president’s son! She’d heard before that Sister Yao was related to the president—it turned out to be true!

Sister Yao coldly brushed off Yi Jixiang’s hand. As a woman who had been married, she wasn’t as gullible as a young girl. Section Chief Wang had a bad reputation. He often touched this girl’s hand or pinched that girl’s bottom when shopping. If it weren’t for the fact that his office was a higher authority over the cooperative, none of them would have tolerated it. He was basically a creep—a textbook example of harassment.

For Yi Jixiang, a young girl, to sneak into an alley with such a man—even if it was in broad daylight—Sister Yao didn’t believe anything serious had happened, but she also didn’t think Yi Jixiang was completely innocent.

“Enough. It’s daytime—what could they really have done? Don’t jump to conclusions. But Xiao Yi, you should really be more careful. Section Chief Wang is a procurement officer for our place. It’s against the rules to have private contact with customers.” Sister Yao lowered her voice.

Previously, she had liked Yi Jixiang a lot—she was pretty and sweet-talking. Now, she didn’t want to embarrass herself too much by taking a complete 180.

Yi Jixiang looked gratefully at her. “I understand, Sister Yao.”

Sister Yao waved her hand. “Everyone, disperse. Don’t stand around gawking. It’s not a good look for us cooperative employees.”

Since Sister Yao had spoken, the crowd slowly broke up.

When Yi Jixiang turned around, she realized that Section Chief Wang had run off at some point. Coward! Looks like she got taken advantage of for nothing today.

But why had that black dog rushed into the alley like that?

What a rotten day.

Yi Jixiang stomped her foot and hurried back to the cooperative.

Meanwhile, Yi An’an emerged from the corner, frowning slightly.

She didn’t expect Sister Yao to defend Yi Jixiang like that.

Yi An’an remembered this Sister Yao—she had been the witness at Yi Jixiang’s wedding.

Back then, Yi Jixiang’s wedding had been the grandest in the village. The cooperative president had somehow managed to get a jeep, followed by a procession of twenty Phoenix bicycles. The dowry included the “three rounds and one sound” (a bicycle, a sewing machine, a watch, and a radio), and even the “forty-six legs” (bed, sofa, cabinets, tables, chairs, etc.). There was even a parental gift fund. Yi An’an’s father had already passed away at that point, so Wang Guihua and the village head escorted Yi Jixiang to her new home, parading the car around the village three times—and honking the horn loudly in front of her house.

That same day was also the day her daughter Xiaoni drowned. Startled and feverish, the girl had a seizure from all the loud noises—the horn, the firecrackers—and her condition worsened. She passed away that very night…

Yi An’an’s past life had been filled with pain and hatred. She didn’t dare dwell on it, but in this life, she would never let Yi Jixiang be so fortunate again!

That afternoon, Yi An’an went to the black market.

The black market had much more variety than the cooperative, but the prices were outrageous—twice as high. For in-demand items like bicycles and watches, prices could be three or four times higher.

Yi An’an wanted to buy a watch to tell the time. After a long round of inquiries, she finally found someone selling them. But when she asked the price, she was shocked.

A Shanghai “Gem Flower” watch would normally cost around 100 yuan at the cooperative, plus 100 industrial coupons. But in the black market, it was 500 yuan.

Though it pained her to part with 500 yuan, the watch was a necessity. She decided to come back the next day with the money.

The profit margin on watches was incredible! Yi An’an thought of those who made money selling watches in her previous life. Once the bookstore matter settled and Zhan Nan Hui finished his exams, she’d find a way to go south and bring back watches to sell!

Just as she was about to leave the black market, she heard a sharp whistle from behind. Suddenly, everyone panicked—stallholders packed up their goods, some pushing bicycles and running.

Yi An’an quickly stepped aside to avoid getting caught in the chaos.

At that moment, the man selling watches ran over and shoved one into her hands. “Help me out—I’ll give you a discount later!”

Yi An’an took the watch, put it on her wrist, and covered it with her sleeve before swiftly leaving the market.

Not long after, screams erupted from inside. It seemed the security team had clashed with some of the sellers. Soon, the patrol left with a few people in custody—including the watch seller.

Yi An’an stood by and watched as the man was taken away. She hesitated, then turned and went home.

Having a watch was indeed convenient. Yi An’an confirmed the evening bus schedule, realizing she only needed to arrive ten minutes early from now on, instead of waiting forever.

That evening, she boarded the late bus and looked around. Tang A’ren wasn’t there today.

Yi An’an sighed in relief. Good—once she and Zhan Nan Hui had settled things, she would investigate whether Tang A’ren could actually swim.

At the station, Zhan Nan Hui wasn’t there either.

Yi An’an walked home alone. She thought about the books and decided to stop by the cave and bring them back.

At home, Zhan Nan Hui was setting the table. When he saw her come in, he sat down to wait for her.

Yi An’an was hungry and began eating as soon as she sat.

Zhan Nan Hui wasn’t a great cook—he had just reheated the leftover pan-fried buns from the morning.

Watching her devour the food, he hesitated slightly, then took off the watch on his wrist and placed it in front of her.