Chapter 74: Jealousy is Truly Terrifying

Zhao Dani, however, caught the words he said and exclaimed in disbelief, “What did you say? Bai Ruojiao got a job at the factory?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Zhao Sihai’s face turn cold. Her expression froze, and she quickly tried to salvage the situation with a forced smile, “Sister-in-law really got a job at the textile factory. That’s amazing.”

She said this, but her heart was filled with jealousy.

One after another, they were getting jobs at factories, becoming workers. How come all the good things happened to them? Heaven was so unfair.

The neighbor’s wife also came to her senses and quickly asked, “Sihai, is it true that Zhiqing Bai got a job at the textile factory? Was the exam she mentioned real?”

Previously, someone had said that Bai Ruojiao hadn’t been chosen, and that the test questions were given to her so she would know her place and back down. They said that if she really listened to her and wrote those old things, she would be asking for trouble.

No one knew who said it, but everyone started saying it, and they all believed it.

So, those who had wanted to go back and try it with their sisters or daughters-in-law had given up.

But now, Bai Ruojiao had actually gotten a job at the factory. That meant the exam she had mentioned was real.

And she had passed!

A fire ignited in the wife’s heart.

Damn it, who spread that rumor?

She had wanted her daughter Lan to try it.

Lan was a junior high school graduate, and she was quick and nimble. The clothes she made were no worse than Bai Ruojiao’s, and their education levels shouldn’t be too different.

In the end, she had given up because of that rumor.

Her first thought was, “Could it be that Bai Ruojiao deliberately spread the rumor?”

But then she dismissed it. After all, the rumor was accompanied by a lot of mockery and belittlement of her. Who would ruin their own reputation for no reason?

The wife was furious. She quickly asked, “Sihai, is the textile factory still hiring?”

Zhao Sihai smiled, “I don’t know about that.”

He took out a small stack of money from his pocket, a total of ten yuan, “The factory has been busy recently. I don’t know when I’ll be back next time. This is next month’s allowance. Sister, please give it to Dad. I have to go now.”

“Hey, wait, Sihai, I still…” The wife wanted to ask something else.

Zhao Sihai had already turned his bicycle around, stepped on the pedals, and slid away. He was out of sight around the corner.

But soon, the news that Bai Ruojiao had gotten a job at the factory spread quickly through the village.

Suddenly, countless people were sour.

When the family wasn’t back, a bunch of people gossiped every day, saying that they had become rich and didn’t care about their family or their elders.

Now that they had brought back a bunch of things, they said that the couple earned so much money a month but only sent back a little, they were too stingy.

Of course, those who said these things were just a small group of people with red eyes who couldn’t stand to see others doing well.

Zhang Rong was one of them.

As the oldest educated youth, Zhang Rong outwardly claimed to be open-minded and carefree, but deep down, she was extremely anxious.

Seeing that her age was increasing and returning to the city was hopeless, she was already anxious.

If everyone was doing poorly, she would feel more balanced.

But first, there was Su Huihua, who got a job at the health center, and then there was Bai Ruojiao, who got married. It was a bit of a blow to her.

Fortunately, although Su Huihua got a job at the health center, it was only a temporary position. Even though Bai Ruojiao got married, she wasn’t living well.

Zhang Rong could still be the head of the educated youth group.

But now, seeing Bai Ruojiao, who had been the worst off, suddenly start to soar, she felt unbalanced again.

Even Lin Qianqian’s miserable situation didn’t make her happy.

After Bai Ruojiao left, she would often fantasize about Zhao Sihai abandoning his wife after he became rich, and she would imagine Bai Ruojiao coming back crying one day.

But now, she had heard that Bai Ruojiao had also gotten a job at the textile factory.

Previously, she had heard that Bai Ruojiao had been noticed by the leaders of the textile factory, but she didn’t believe it at all.

The leaders were important people. How could they possibly notice her skills?

She thought that the leaders were just being polite because of Zhao Sihai and were just saying a few nice words.

She was looking forward to seeing her make a fool of herself.

But she didn’t expect that she actually got a job at the factory! She got a job!

Zhang Rong’s teeth were almost ground to dust. She deliberately told everyone that the couple had become rich and didn’t care about their family, they were heartless and ungrateful.

Many people were swayed by her words, and they were also a bit sour, so they said a lot of bad things.

After all, it was truly sour-making.

It was one thing that both husband and wife were workers, but their salaries were so high.

Zhao Sihai earned over eighty yuan a month, and Bai Ruojiao, even as a temporary worker, earned fifteen yuan a month.

That meant the couple’s monthly income was over one hundred yuan.

This was more than what other families of several people earned through hard work, how could it not make people jealous?

If they knew that Bai Ruojiao was not only a permanent worker but also a middle-level leader, earning over ninety yuan a month, their hearts would probably turn green with envy.

And they didn’t know that this amount of money, which made people’s eyes turn red with envy, was just a fraction of what the couple earned from their side hustle.

Of course, some people said bad things, and some people said good things.

Aunt Fang and Fang Meizi had argued with countless people because of this.

Even Fang Xiaoxiao had argued with Zhang Rong because she was annoyed by Zhang Rong’s constant sarcasm about Bai Ruojiao in the educated youth group.

Fang Xiaoxiao didn’t have any feelings for Bai Ruojiao. She was simply annoyed by Zhang Rong’s face.

Since Lin Qianqian left, Zhang Rong’s true nature had started to show. Her image as a kind and helpful older sister had completely collapsed.

It was one thing that it collapsed, but she also started to act like a bossy older sister, taking advantage of her seniority to boss them around.

She also liked to use Lin Qianqian as an example to educate them, warning them not to go out and flirt.

Fang Xiaoxiao had had enough.

She had been looking for someone to help her find a partner. She didn’t want to stay in the educated youth group and be an old maid.

Another reason was that the male educated youths in the front yard had been looking at them in a way that made her feel uneasy.

Lin Qianqian’s incident was like opening a Pandora’s box. Everything had changed.

Bai Ruojiao didn’t know that Zhao Sihai’s trip back had made their family the talk of the village again.

When Zhao Sihai came back, the food was already being set on the table.

There were five people, eight dishes and one soup, all hard dishes, all cooked by Tang Hua himself.

Bai Ruojiao and Xiang Zhigao were just helping.

Originally, Bai Ruojiao wanted to help cook, but when she saw Tang Hua’s way of stirring the pot, she knew he was a professional.

Then she heard Xiang Zhigao say that Tang Hua had been an apprentice in the back kitchen of a state-owned restaurant for several years and was a great cook.

She immediately thought of Zhao Sihai’s authentic Huaiyang cuisine. Had he learned it from Tang Hua?

Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Sihai came back, he saw her carrying a plate of “Bao Gong Fish” and smiled.

“Big Brother’s Bao Gong Fish is the best. Unfortunately, I didn’t learn how to make it.”

Xiang Zhigao also brought two large bowls of dishes. Hearing this, he said, “I think Hua ge’s One-Pot Dish is the best.”

As he spoke, his mouth was still chewing.

Zhao Sihai rolled his eyes at him and walked over to take the dish from his hand, “Don’t talk while you’re eating. Be careful.”

Xiang Zhigao waved his hand, “Don’t worry, I’m not a child. I won’t choke.”

Zhao Sihai looked at him sideways, “Do you think I’m worried about you choking? I’m worried you’ll spit on the food.”

Xiang Zhigao was stunned, then he exploded, “Fourth Brother, don’t slander me. I’m not that disgusting.”

Bai Ruojiao set the bowls and chopsticks while listening to them bicker, a smile unconsciously curving her lips.

Zhao Sihai seemed to be more lively when he was with these people.

She felt that Zhao Sihai hadn’t gone astray in that family.

It was probably because he joined the army early and because he knew people like Tang Hua.

Soon, the food was all on the table, and everyone sat down.

Tang Hua wanted to open a few bottles of wine and drink until they were drunk.

But the couple had to go to work tomorrow, and Zhao Sihai had to ride his bike back to the county with his wife and child tonight, so they could only have a few drinks.

Tang Hua and Xiang Zhigao didn’t hold back and started drinking together.

Soon, they started talking a lot.

They kept talking to Bai Ruojiao and An’an about how they met Zhao Sihai, about driving, and about their side hustle.

Bai Ruojiao listened to them chattering and actually learned a lot.

But the “storytelling session” was stopped by Zhao Sihai when Tang Hua started nagging him to contact his sister and ask her to send more goods.

Bai Ruojiao raised an eyebrow, looking at Tang Hua, who seemed to know he had said something wrong and started to change the subject by drinking more, and then at Zhao Sihai. She felt a little moved.