Chapter 41: Cold Bench

Jiang An’an helped her mother back onto the bed. “The brigade has been in a huge uproar these past few days over those six slots. Eldest Sister got one of them—can you resist the urge to show off?”

Lin Meiru shook her head. “No way.”

“Last time, Eldest Sister’s child support stirred up a whole lot of trouble because of jealousy. From now on, we need to keep a low profile and make quiet gains. What if someone messes up Eldest Sister’s slot out of spite?”

Lin Meiru finally understood. She chuckled helplessly and poked her youngest daughter’s forehead. “Fine, I’ll feign illness for three to five days. I promise I won’t say a word to anyone who asks.”

Expecting her parents to suddenly develop ambition was unrealistic. But with a proper excuse to dodge the storm of gossip—and a chance to rest—why not take advantage of it?

That evening, they indeed invited Zhou Yinghuai over as a guest. Along with him came Wen Hao and Xiang Hongbin.

Given how stingy the couple was, hosting two extra guests would normally drive them mad. Yet now, they were all smiles, clearly having prearranged everything.

In reality, the elderly couple was quite tense, sneaking glances at Jiang An’an. They feared she might develop improper feelings toward the handsome Zhou Yinghuai.

Fortunately, Jiang An’an’s expression remained calm, which allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief. Even so, Jiang Deguai stuck close to Zhou Yinghuai, monopolizing the conversation to prevent the two from interacting.

“Duobao, this is a gift for you.” Wen Hao brought a box of chocolates as a present.

Jiang An’an noticed how Lin Meiru’s eyes lit up instantly. She suddenly realized that the reason her mother agreed to let Wen Hao join them for dinner might be because he was well-off and wouldn’t come empty-handed.

After all, last time Jiang An’an brought home a few pieces of chocolate, the entire family had been overjoyed.

“Xiao Hao, you’re too kind. Here, have some sunflower seeds,” Lin Meiru said warmly, grabbing a handful and stuffing them into Wen Hao’s hands. “If you want to improve your meals in the future, just come to Aunt Lin. I’m not bragging, but my cooking skills are the best in ten miles around.”

Wen Hao, who had been eating cornbread for over a month and had lost more than ten pounds, couldn’t help but tear up.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want better food. First, neither he nor Xiang Hongbin could cook, and Zhou Yinghuai’s cooking barely kept them alive, let alone tasting good. Second, he didn’t know anyone in the brigade well enough to trust them not to cheat him out of his food stamps.

But the Jiang family was different. Not to mention their good conditions, the fact that Yinghuai was Jiang An’an’s savior was enough to put them in a league of their own.

Standing in the courtyard, inhaling the aroma of stir-fried chicken wafting from the kitchen, Wen Hao swallowed hard and decisively pulled out a thick stack of food stamps from his pocket. “Dear Aunt, this is our food budget for the next month.”

Everyone else: !

Lin Meiru accepted the food stamps with a broad grin, clutching Wen Hao’s hands tightly. “Don’t you worry, Xiao Hao. From now on, Jiang Uncle will deliver three meals a day to you on time.”

The others: !!

What a bold one to make the offer, and an even bolder one to accept it.

Jiang An’an tilted her head and glanced at her father. Seeing that he showed no sign of displeasure, she realized that her parents had tacitly agreed to use this opportunity to repay Zhou Yinghuai for his past kindness.

Though the stack of food stamps seemed generous, three grown men—especially someone like Xiang Hongbin, who was a big eater just by the look of him—meant there wasn’t much room for profit.

The stir-fried chicken had been simmering on low heat for over two hours. Even the dried mushrooms soaked up the flavors, and the bones were tender enough to fall apart. Around the iron pot, a circle of steamed buns—each as big as two fists—soaked up the rich broth.

Jiang Shulan, ever the diligent one, also whipped up a large bowl of cold cucumber salad and made a pot of spinach and egg soup. By village standards, this meal was exceptionally lavish.

Everyone at the table ate without lifting their heads, too engrossed in the food to speak. The guests left thoroughly satisfied.

---

Jiang An’an spent three days being ignored.

The entire commune was waiting for her to make a fool of herself.

It wasn’t until the fourth day that Secretary Yang of the commune returned from his meeting at the county. Secretary Yang was an interesting character; before doing anything else, he sought out Jiang An’an.

In his thirties, he wore black-rimmed glasses and had the air of a well-read intellectual. When Jiang An’an knocked on his door and entered, Secretary Yang warmly stepped forward to shake her hand.

“Director Gao spoke to me about you yesterday,” he said with a smile. “She asked me to look out for you, worried that you might be bullied here. Comrade Xiao Jiang, you’re quite patient, aren’t you?”

Jiang An’an, as if oblivious to his veiled remark, responded with a perfectly innocent smile. “I’m new, so I ought to take my time to learn and improve.”

Secretary Yang’s brow twitched slightly as he studied the seemingly naïve young woman before him. He decided to push further.

“I wasn’t at the commune these past few days. How’s your work going? Are your colleagues easy to get along with?”

Usually, this question would prompt a subordinate to air grievances, allowing him to offer small favors and easily win their loyalty.

Though Jiang An’an was just an intern, the fact that the Women’s Federation Director had gone out of her way to ensure someone watched over her hinted at her bright future.

“Everything’s going smoothly,” Jiang An’an said earnestly. “Everyone’s dedicated and diligent in their duties.”

Secretary Yang was momentarily stunned.

Smoothly?

His informant had told him Jiang An’an had been isolated for days, without even a proper desk to work at. How could she call that “smooth”?

“It’s okay, there are no outsiders here, our conversation definitely won’t get out.” Secretary Yang almost said directly, “Come on, tell me about Chen Xingtong’s workplace bullying, I’ll back you up.”

The little girl’s eyes were clear and innocent as she looked back at him: “Really not, everyone is very nice, it’s just Director Chen…”

She frowned.

Secretary Yang sat up straight, listening intently.

But he heard: “Director Chen is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He clearly wanted me to learn more about the commune first, but he wouldn’t say a word, causing everyone to misunderstand that he was leading the charge in isolating me and not assigning me a work station. These past few days, I’ve been reading a lot of materials in the conference room, and I’ve learned a lot about the basic situation of the jurisdiction, which has been very rewarding.”

“…” Secretary Yang almost choked on his own saliva, but the little girl spoke so earnestly that he even thought Chen Xingtong was such a good comrade with a warm heart but who wasn’t good at expressing himself.

Right?

Warm heart, my foot!

Chen Xingtong had always disliked the cadres appointed by the county, and over the years he had thrown countless obstacles in his way, wishing he could step on him as he climbed up.

“If you have any difficulties in the future, don’t be afraid to bring them up, I will help you solve them.” Secretary Yang sighed softly, deciding to let Jiang Anan experience the wickedness of the world, and once she saw Chen Xingtong’s true colors, she would obediently come to rely on him.

Jiang Anan exclaimed: “No wonder Director Chen insisted on having you arrange a work station for me, you are truly a good secretary who cares about your subordinates and is approachable.”

Who doesn’t like to hear good things, especially since Jiang Anan’s voice was incredibly sincere. Secretary Yang’s lips couldn’t help but curl upwards, his head feeling dizzy. Old Chen was actually praising him behind his back?

Jiang Anan changed the subject and handed over the plan: “These past few days, Director Gao asked me to make a plan for a marriage law education lecture, jointly promoting it with the Public Security Bureau. Originally, the location was set at the Public Security Bureau. But our commune’s grand auditorium is spacious and bright, and can accommodate a hundred or so people, which is more suitable than the other units. I just don’t know if the grand auditorium can be used?”

Two departments jointly carrying out a law education lecture, the scale sounds pretty big. At the end of the year, not only the Women’s Federation, but also the grassroots cadres below are all racking their brains to come up with a big event.