Chapter 14: They Came Looking

Zhang Qinghong clicked her tongue and made a swatting motion in the air toward her two coworkers. “Ye Honglian, Wang Aixiang, do you two want a beating?”

Then she turned her head back to Lin Chaoyang. “Don’t mind what they’re saying. You’re new here, that’s all—I just want to get to know you better.”

Lin Chaoyang’s heart stirred a little, and he smiled at her. “It’s fine, Hong-jie. I don’t have anything I can’t talk about. My family situation is a bit complicated, so I’m not thinking about relationships for now.”

Zhang Qinghong’s interest was piqued. “Xiao Lin, if there’s anything difficult going on, tell us! Maybe we can help out.”

Lin Chaoyang shook his head. “It’s not something that can be solved easily. My parents passed away. I have a younger brother—he’s only four years old. I have to raise him myself.”

The three women couldn’t help but show surprised expressions—mixed with sympathy.

Wang Aixiang, who had a straightforward personality, blurted out, “Then how come there’s such a big age gap between you and your brother?”

One was already working and earning money, while the other was only four. It was indeed rare for siblings to have such a big gap.

Lin Chaoyang looked a bit embarrassed and sighed, then repeated the story he’d told Old Guo earlier.

The three women shook their heads and sighed—this kid, Xiao Lin, sure had a hard life.

Zhang Qinghong comforted him. “Well, at least things are better now. You’ve got a proper job at the coal mine, and life will improve from here.”

Lin Chaoyang gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “My three younger siblings aren’t the easy type. I bet they’ll show up and cause trouble within a few days.”

“When that happens, I’ll probably end up bothering the leadership and coworkers here.”

As he spoke, his face showed shame, and the three women couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him.

“Don’t worry—leave it to me, your Hong-jie. If they dare to show up and make a fuss, I’ll scold them right off!”

“That’s right! If they come, I’ll help scold them too!”

The three older women were all warm-hearted. After thanking them, Lin Chaoyang asked, “Jie, I have one more question. Do we have to pay to eat in the canteen?”

Zhang Qinghong nodded. “Yes, but no ration coupons are needed. Each meal comes with two taels of rice and costs five cents. You can choose any dish—meat dishes are ten cents, veggie dishes are five.”

Wang Aixiang added, “If you bring your own grain and give it to the canteen, you won’t have to pay for the rice.”

Lin Chaoyang seemed relieved. “That’s good. I was worried they might ask for coupons. I came from the countryside and didn’t bring any ration coupons—or even any grain. I left it all at home.”

Ye Honglian clicked her tongue. “Xiao Lin, I’m not blaming you, but like the old saying goes, ‘a pint of kindness turns into a bushel of resentment.’”

“You spoiled those siblings of yours too much. Even after what they did, you still left all the grain for them.”

As she said this, Lin Chaoyang’s expression darkened.

“I couldn’t just take the grain and watch them starve. After all, I’m the eldest brother.”

“But I didn’t expect that even leaving food for them would turn into a reason for resentment.”

Zhang Qinghong looked furious. “You were able to feed several mouths as a teenager—why can’t they earn even a few cents for themselves?”

“If you ask me, you should start thinking about yourself more. Save up and find yourself a wife. Otherwise, who’s going to take care of you in the future?”

Lin Chaoyang smiled awkwardly. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. For now, I just want to raise my little brother properly. He’s never had a good day in his life so far.”

The three women all felt deeply for him. This Xiao Lin was truly a good man—just unlucky with the family he was stuck with.

Soon it was lunchtime, and Lin Chaoyang hurried off to the dormitory to take Lin Chaoxing to eat.

Since it was his first day, he didn’t dare leave his post casually, and he was a little worried about how his little brother was doing alone in the dorm.

When he opened the door, he saw Lin Chaoxing sitting obediently on the bed. He had even tried to make the bed a bit.

“Big Brother!”

As soon as he saw Lin Chaoyang enter, Lin Chaoxing’s face lit up with a big smile.

He quickly climbed down from the bed and ran over. “Big Brother, I need to pee!”

Lin Chaoyang hurriedly took his little brother to the restroom, feeling a little guilty.

He couldn’t return to the dormitory during working hours, and Lin Chaoxing had obediently stayed inside without stepping out—not even to go to the bathroom.

Looking at his younger brother’s round little head, Lin Chaoyang thought to himself—maybe he should send him to kindergarten. That would be better than leaving him alone in the dorm all day, waiting for him.

That afternoon, Lin Chaoyang started asking a few of the ladies in the office about it.

“Kindergarten? Our coal mine has one! It’s free!”

Zhang Qinghong enthusiastically filled him in, and Lin Chaoyang finally learned that the mine had a kindergarten specifically for employees’ children.

There were no tuition fees, and the children there were all from mine workers’ families. It was one of the employee benefits.

Lin Chaoyang was quite happy—this coal mine really did have decent benefits. Even sending kids to kindergarten cost nothing.

Although he wasn’t strapped for money at the moment, saving where he could was always good—he was still hoping to save enough to start a business.

Speaking of making money, he suddenly remembered the job reassignment exam that was coming up in a month.

He wasn’t sure how the test worked. His education level wasn’t very high, so he didn’t know if he’d have a chance at getting into the procurement department.

There weren’t many ways to make money in a county like this. If he could become a procurement officer, that would open up many more opportunities.

—

A few days later, Lin Chaoyang had gradually adapted to his job at the mine.

What surprised him most was that those ungrateful siblings hadn’t come to the mine to cause trouble.

The household really didn’t have any grain left, and he’d expected them to crack within days.

That day, Zhang Qinghong brought up something in a mysterious tone.

“Hey, the mine’s going to assign housing again. Did you all hear?”

Wang Aixiang snorted. “Of course I know. Several people have already come to try and reserve my vote.”

Ye Honglian also nodded. “Same here—someone asked me to vote for them, but the official list hasn’t even come out yet.”

Zhang Qinghong looked over at Lin Chaoyang and sighed. “Still, it’s tough for Xiao Lin. He’s new here and doesn’t know anyone—nobody’s come to ask for his vote.”

Lin Chaoyang was a bit confused. “What does housing assignment have to do with voting?”

Zhang Qinghong explained, “Here at the mine, the leadership drafts a shortlist, and then the workers vote. The ones with the most votes get the housing.”

Lin Chaoyang finally understood—so even getting housing depended on popularity.

As they were chatting, Director Li walked in.

“Comrade Lin Chaoyang, the housing department is short-handed. Go over and help out for a few days.”

Lin Chaoyang quickly stood up and followed Director Li.

At the housing department, there were quite a few people inside. They were all gathered around a blackboard pointing at names.

As the newcomer, Lin Chaoyang just helped with odds and ends—organizing documents and listening from the sidelines.

After all, it didn’t concern him. As a single young man, he wasn’t eligible for housing anyway.

But ever since he started helping out in the housing department, more and more people had begun greeting him each day.

All of them were there to fish for information about the housing assignment—or trying to cozy up to him in hopes he’d help them get votes.

Just as he finished work that day, an older woman was chatting with him, when suddenly a young girl came running over.

“Comrade Lin Chaoyang! Your younger siblings are here looking for you!”