Chapter 2

“Dad, didn’t you promise to let Jiang Ci take your job? Why are you backing out now?”

Jiang Dayou stood in the courtyard, puffing on his dry tobacco pipe, unsure of how to respond to his daughter-in-law’s questioning. He had indeed promised Jiang Ci the job.

Jiang Dayou had two sons and one daughter, all of whom had secured formal employment. He had even helped arrange jobs for his second and third daughters-in-law. However, he had not managed to find a job for his eldest daughter-in-law, Lin Wan. She had taken a job as a private caregiver on her own and still had to come home to handle all the household chores.

Grandpa Jiang felt guilty about this situation. When he retired, he suggested that Jiang Ci take his place at Qinchuan Machinery Factory. It was one of the best-paying companies in the entire Qin Province, and many people envied it. Some relatives were even willing to pay money to secure that coveted position.

“Dad, say something!”

Lin Wan’s husband had gone to the frontier for construction just days before their wedding, and only a few months later, news came that he was missing.

At that time, she was already pregnant with Jiang Ci.

Her family had told her that her husband wouldn’t return and urged Lin Wan to quietly terminate the pregnancy and seek another family to marry.

Lin Wan, feeling the movements of her baby bump, stubbornly refused to give up.

She had severed ties with her family to stay in the Jiang household, vowing to honor her missing husband, Jiang Guozhu, for seventeen years.

“After guarding his memory for seventeen years, you must give this job to Jiang Ci,” she insisted.

“I just don’t understand. Everyone in the family has a job except for Jiang Ci. It’s not like we’re starving or can’t make ends meet. If we have to sell the job, then I absolutely refuse!”

Without a job, Jiang Ci would have to go to the countryside to work, and the surrounding areas of Qin Province were rough, full of mountains and rivers. It would be dangerous for her delicate daughter, with her slender arms and legs, to endure the hardships of such work.

This family had turned heartless and callous; they were not allowed to harm her daughter.

Jiang Dayou’s brows were furrowed in worry.

Lin Wan’s words made sense, and he felt a pang of guilt. But if he had given the job to Jiang Ci, her scandal would undoubtedly have become public knowledge, and how could he, the old secretary of Qinchuan Machinery Factory, hold his head high afterward?

Just then, Grandma Xu returned, storming through the door and immediately berating them. “How can you still refuse?!”

“Jiang Ci accused Gu Qingchuan of ruining her reputation; giving her the job would only let the neighbors know about this disgrace. She should go to the countryside immediately and never come back!”

After identifying Jiang Ci at the police station, Grandma Xu couldn’t be bothered to visit her in the hospital.

In Grandma Xu’s eyes, Lin Wan and her eldest son had never gotten a marriage certificate, so Jiang Ci didn’t count as a legitimate granddaughter.

How could this illegitimate granddaughter expect to take her husband’s job, especially when it had cost her 800 yuan? Did she deserve it?

Grandma Xu had just visited her family, who had pooled together 800 yuan for her, and they had agreed that she would go to the machinery factory tomorrow to finalize the job transfer.

She entered the house, drank a few sips of water, and walked over to Grandpa Jiang, pulling out three hundred yuan. “Take my nephew to the machinery factory tomorrow to handle the job transfer. Keep this is the three hundred yuan his family sent you.”

In the 800-yuan deal, Grandma Xu pocketed five hundred.

Grandpa Jiang did not accept the money.

Lin Wan trembled with anger. Jiang Ci was her lifeline; why would her own grandmother spread rumors that harmed her daughter’s reputation?

Gu Qingchuan attended the same elementary school as Jiang Ci; when Jiang Ci was in the first grade, Gu Qingchuan was in the fourth. As children, he often walked Jiang Ci home.

He was a decent young man; how could he possibly harm Jiang Ci?

Lin Wan couldn’t believe it.

“Mom, you can’t spread rumors about your granddaughter. How will she explain herself to her in-laws in the future? Besides, where is Jiang Ci? We can just find her and clarify everything!”

“What’s there to ask? That useless girl is still lying in the hospital. She’ll come back when she wakes up,” Grandma Xu snapped.

As for Lin Wan, her constant complaining was driving everyone mad. She still hadn’t started making dinner, and soon, her son and daughter-in-law would be back from work, along with her grandchildren from school. What would they all eat?

“She can forget about finding a good in-law in Qin Province,” Grandma Xu continued, glaring at her eldest daughter-in-law. “Why haven’t you gone to make dinner? Do you want to starve this whole family?”

Lin Wan didn’t have the heart to cook. “I’m going out to find Jiang Ci,” she replied.

“You’re not allowed to go! It’ll be dark soon; she’ll be back. Hurry up and get into the kitchen to make dinner!” Grandma Xu ordered.

Ignoring her mother-in-law, Lin Wan walked straight toward the courtyard door.

At that moment, Jiang Ci collided with her mother at the entrance. It had been over ten years since Lin Wan had seen her mother, as she had passed away before Jiang Ci was released from prison.

Lin Wan immediately enveloped Jiang Ci in a tight embrace, her nose tinged with a hint of bitterness. “Mom, I’m back.”

For Lin Wan, it had only been a day since she had seen her daughter, but for Jiang Ci, it felt like an eternity since she had last been with her mother.

Seeing her daughter’s pale face, Lin Wan noticed that the new clothes Jiang Ci had worn out that morning had been replaced by a hospital gown, and her eyes were red.

A pang of worry shot through Lin Wan’s heart. Could it be that someone had really bullied her daughter?

“Jiang Ci, tell me who hurt you! I’ll go confront them right now!” she exclaimed.

“It was Grandma and Auntie who bullied me,” Jiang Ci replied.

Jiang Ci ran over to Jiang Dayou and began to recount everything she had overheard in the hospital, spilling the details like a bamboo tube pouring out beans.

“My grandfather, Gu Qingchuan’s aunt, gave Auntie 500 yuan, and Auntie came to the hospital to make Grandma insist that Gu Qingchuan harassed me. Is my innocence worth just 500 yuan?”

“And Grandma received 800 yuan from her family to sell my job to Xu Duobao. Am I not worth more than a stranger? At least I still have the Jiang surname. Grandpa, you have to stand up for me!”

Upon hearing Jiang Ci’s accusations, the teacup in Grandma Xu’s hands crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

She thought to herself that the girl had probably woken up in the hospital and heard everything. When she had grabbed Jiang Ci earlier, she had used considerable force, not expecting the girl to endure it and pretend so well.

This troublemaker wasn’t honest; did she want to ruin her chances of earning that 1300 yuan?

“You useless girl, you spoke nonsense just to protect your reputation. In any case, Gu Qingchuan has already tarnished your purity, and your grandfather can’t provide you with a job.”

Jiang Ci sneered. In her previous life, she had spent half a month asleep, which allowed Grandma Xu to bully her and Gu Qingchuan, resulting in both of them spending several years in prison. However, in this life, she had woken up ahead of time.

She said to Jiang Dayou, “Grandpa, don’t give the work to anyone for now. The Xu family can’t hold their composure and will soon come to make a fuss. Then you’ll see how the Xu family offered my grandmother 800 yuan instead of 300 yuan to have Xu Duobao replace your job.”

“And my aunt also received 800 yuan from Gu Qingchuan’s aunt. My own aunt and grandmother sold my purity and job for 800 yuan each. Our Jiang family really knows how to make a good deal.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Your aunt only received 500 yuan…”

Grandma Xu abruptly stopped speaking. She had fallen for this useless girl’s trick. How did she end up admitting it herself?

She anxiously looked at her old husband, feeling somewhat flustered.

Seeing the panicked expression on his wife’s face, Jiang Dayou understood everything.

He thought of their useless daughter-in-law and the idleness of his old partner, almost scared out of his wits.

One could push her family into the fire pit for just 500 yuan, and another could disregard her own granddaughter’s life for 800 yuan. What kind of misfortune had their Jiang family created?

As the head of the Jiang family, he would be ridiculed mercilessly if these two matters got out.

He had worked his whole life at the Qinchuan Machinery Factory, and now his reputation was in shambles.

The younger generation at home was still in school and would need to marry in a few years.

What good families would still want to connect with the old Jiang family?

Jiang Dayou knocked the pipe he held against the courtyard wall, glaring at Grandma Xu. “Forget about the job. I’ll take Xiao Ci to handle the handover tomorrow. Return the money you received immediately.”

“What about my grandnephew? He’s just waiting to take this good job to propose to his partner!”

Her family had emptied their savings and borrowed money just to scrape together that 800 yuan, and Grandma Xu was reluctant to part with it.

“With six children among the second and third, their salaries aren’t high. Who doesn’t have to spend money after the kids finish school and need to marry? You’re retired, and our household income has decreased significantly. Why give the job to Jiang Ci? Selling it to my grandnephew would be much better.”

“In my Jiang Family, it’s not your turn to decide.”

Jiang Dayou was an extremely proud old man. With direct relatives waiting to replace him, he could never sell the job. He was so angry that he didn’t want to talk to Grandma Xu.

Seeing the 800 yuan slipping away, Grandma Xu could only vent her anger on her eldest daughter-in-law. “Aren’t you going to hurry and make dinner? Do you want your mother-in-law to starve?”

Lin Wan silently turned to go to the kitchen. Now that her daughter had a job, she wouldn’t have to go to the countryside anymore, and she was willing to endure the hard work in the Jiang family.

She was willing, but Jiang Ci was not.

Jiang Ci grabbed her mother, who was about to start cooking. “Grandpa, my mom isn’t the family’s maid. She has a job and earns money, too. Why should all the housework fall on her? If Mom isn’t cooking today, then Grandma can make her own food if she wants to eat.”

“Does you expect me to serve my son’s wife? This is outrageous.”

Grandma Xu didn’t favor the wives of her other two sons; it was just that Lin Wan cooked exceptionally well. Even a simple dish like stir-fried greens turned out delicious under her skillful hands.

Once the whole family had tasted Lin Wan’s cooking, they were unwilling to eat anyone else’s food. As a result, she had been making dinner for the family all these years.

Once Jiang Ci took over the job tomorrow, she planned to move out with Lin Wan. She didn’t want Lin Wan to continue making buns and preparing dinner for such a large family for even one more day.

“Then let everyone go hungry.” Jiang Ci refused to back down. “Grandpa, my mom has been making dinner at home for seventeen years; isn’t it time for her to take a break?”

Grandma Xu opened her mouth to curse, but Jiang Dayou shot her a glare, silencing her. “Before the eldest daughter-in-law came here, I didn’t see anyone starving at home. You can wash the rice and cook it. When the second and third wives come back, let them help you cook together.”

Jiang Dayou then noticed his granddaughter was still wearing the hospital patient gown and spoke up, “Xiao Ci, change out of those clothes. Tomorrow morning, come with me to the machinery factory to handle the job handover.”

—o—o—o—

“Gu Qingchuan, you can leave now.”

“Leave?”

Gu Qingchuan had originally held no hope. After bringing Jiang Ci to the hospital, his aunt pointed at the unconscious Jiang Ci and accused him of being a hooligan.

Because he was the “wolf cub” of a landlord family, those people didn’t even ask questions before they sent him straight to the police station.

Then Grandma Xu arrived, firmly asserting that Jiang Ci had been ruined by him and demanding that the police take him to prison.

The only person who could prove his innocence, Jiang Ci, was still in a coma.

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Gu Qingchuan asked, “Officer, didn’t you just say you were going to lock me up?”

The female officer closed the case against Gu Qingchuan. This young man had done a good deed but had suffered an undeserved disaster. If he were truly labeled as a lecher, he would face at least twenty years in prison.

“It was all a misunderstanding. The young girl you saved has woken up. She pulled out her IV and ran over to prove your innocence. You should hurry home; it’s dark now, and your family must be worried sick.”

Her tone softened a bit as she handed him the coat in her hands. “This was brought over by that young girl. She said it’s cold outside, so wear it on your way back.”

Did she wake up?

Gu Qingchuan’s heart skipped a beat. Did that girl know someone had pushed her from behind, causing her to roll down the slope?

He needed to warn that girl to be cautious of the person who meant to harm her.