Chapter 15: Shrimp Dumplings in Soup

As soon as Wang Cuilan entered, she spoke up, “Xiao Meng, the Division Commander said there’s a job for you. Are you going to take it?”

Meng Yufei was a bit stunned. “Sister Wang, you’re not joking, are you? I’ve only been on the island for two days, how would the Division Commander even know about me?”

Wang Cuilan cleared her throat and said, “I heard you’re a college student, so when I went to report to the Division Commander earlier, he mentioned needing someone to work in the family housing logistics office. That’s when I thought of you.”

“I told the Division Commander about your background, and he felt it would be a waste not to use your talents, so he wants you to help out in the logistics office for now.”

Meng Yufei’s eyes brightened, and she asked cautiously, “Sister Wang, is this job the one in the Finance Department?”

Wang Cuilan patted her shoulder and smiled, “Xiao Meng, you’re really clever. No wonder you’re a college student, you figured it out right away. The Division Commander wants you to start working immediately, tomorrow I’ll take you to the logistics office to report to Director Song.”

Meng Yufei hesitated, “So soon? Sister Wang, I just got here and don’t understand the situation yet. Can you give me some time to think about it?”

Wang Cuilan looked a little troubled, “Well… how about you come with me tomorrow and we’ll talk it over?”

She then turned to Xia Junshan and said, “Regiment Commander Xia, this is the Division Commander’s order, and you’re the one who brought him to the island. Hurry up and help persuade your wife.”

Xia Junshan shrugged and laughed, “Sister-in-law, if it were the Division Commander giving me a mission, I’d go through fire and water without hesitation. But my wife isn’t one of the Division Commander’s soldiers, how can I persuade her?”

Wang Cuilan pointed at him and laughed, “Looks like the real boss at your house is your wife, no wonder Old Yu always says you’re controlled by her.”

Xia Junshan shrugged with a smile, “Well, when the leaders say something, I can’t exactly argue, right? You should discuss it with her. I’ll go get you some tea.”

Meng Yufei sat down on the couch with Wang Cuilan, and noticing the newly changed sofa cover, she couldn’t help but compliment it.

Wang Cuilan sat on the blue sofa, took Meng Yufei’s hand, and sighed, “Ah, Xiao Meng, I’ll be honest with you. You probably already know about the financial situation in our family housing office…”

Xia Junshan brought two cups of tea and set them on the coffee table, sitting on the sofa beside Meng Yufei to listen.

Wang Cuilan then explained in detail the conflict between Battalion Commander Qin’s family and Accountant Zhou, and also conveyed the Division Commander’s instructions. When she mentioned that Meng Yufei would only be given a permanent position after solving the issue, Wang Cuilan looked a bit embarrassed.

“Xiao Meng, don’t worry, no matter the outcome, I’ll make sure you get a job. You’ll come to the Women’s Committee to work later. This time, could you do me a favor?”

Meng Yufei immediately responded, “Sister Wang, you don’t need to say that. Whether there’s a job or not, helping you and the family housing office is what I should do. Besides, I need the vouchers myself.”

She thought for a moment and said, “How about this, tomorrow I’ll go to the Finance Department to understand the situation and check the past accounts. If I can solve it, I won’t back down.”

Wang Cuilan was pleased and said, “That’s settled then, I’ll come by early tomorrow to find you.”

She took a sip of the tea from the coffee table and sighed, complaining, “In the end, the Division Commander is too stingy. He should’ve just given you a permanent job instead of having you deal with this mess.”

Meng Yufei smiled, “The Division Commander is testing me. If he wasn’t sure whether I could handle it, sending me directly to the post wouldn’t solve anything.”

Wang Cuilan chuckled, “I’m glad you understand. I’ll head back now, you two stay at home.”

Meng Yufei and Xia Junshan got up to see her out.

After she left, Xia Junshan asked, “Are you really going to the logistics office to clean up this mess?”

Meng Yufei raised an eyebrow, “What, you don’t think I can handle it?”

Xia Junshan said, “How could that be? Who’s my wife? At Haishi Bank, she handles thousands, even tens of thousands of yuan every day. A little family housing office like ours is nothing.”

Meng Yufei laughed and pinched his arm, “You’re just being sarcastic! Go check on how Qinqin is sleeping. I wonder if our conversation just now disturbed her?”

They tiptoed to the door, opened it, and saw their daughter quietly lying on the bed. Her round, rosy face was pressed against the pillow like dough, and her long eyelashes fluttered slightly with each breath. She was sleeping soundly, showing no signs of being disturbed by the conversation in the living room.

“She walked a lot today and must be tired,” Meng Yufei whispered as she closed the door behind her.

Back in the living room, Meng Yufei sighed, “What about me going to work, though? What will happen to Qinqin? I was thinking of taking her to visit the island’s kindergarten in a few days, and once she starts school, I’d consider the job. But now…”

Xia Junshan said, “How about I go tell the Division Commander tomorrow, and we’ll delay it for now?”

“Don’t,” Meng Yufei replied. “Tomorrow, I’ll have Qinqin stay at Sister Zhang’s house next door. She was playing happily with Sister Zhang’s daughter, Fangfang, today.”

“Yeah, that works,” Xia Junshan nodded. In this day and age, it was quite normal for parents to leave their children with neighbors when they had something to do. Some even left babies with neighbors to watch over them.

—

Qi Huiying returned home, her face dark, and forcefully pushed open the yard gate with a loud bang. The wooden door panel wobbled.

Deputy Regiment Commander Chen was hoeing in the yard. Hearing the noise, he looked over and asked, “Why are you back so soon? Didn’t you say you were going to Director Wang’s house?”

Qi Huiying glared at her husband, who was wearing coarse, homemade clothes and holding a hoe. Sweat the size of beans dripped from his dark forehead. A flicker of disdain flashed in her eyes as she frowned and asked, “Why are you wearing these ragged clothes?”

Deputy Regiment Commander Chen looked down at his old clothes and thought they were fine. Although they were old, they weren’t patched up. These days, clothes without patches were considered new.

“I was just hoeing the garden. I didn’t want to ruin other clothes.”

“Who told you to hoe the garden? Are you planning to grow vegetables like the neighbors?”

“No, you don’t like it. Besides, we eat at the cafeteria every day. No one would eat the vegetables anyway. You said you wanted to plant flowers, so I just loosened the soil a bit.”

“Flowers should be planted in pots, why waste time with this?” Qi Huiying muttered as she turned and walked into the house.

After a while, Deputy Regiment Commander Chen entered the house and saw Qi Huiying sulking on the sofa. He asked, “What happened? Did Director Wang criticize you? Director Wang is an old revolutionary and a bit strict. If she said something, don’t take it to heart. Just don’t visit her house as often in the future.”

Qi Huiying suddenly turned her head and said, “The Division Commander arranged a job for Regiment Commander Xia’s family. Did you know about this?”

Deputy Regiment Commander Chen shook his head. “How would I know? Who told you this? Regiment Commander Xia’s family just arrived a couple of days ago. How could they have arranged a job for her so quickly?”

Qi Huiying gritted her teeth and said, “Director Wang… Director Wang herself told me, can it be fake?”

Deputy Regiment Commander Chen asked, “Did she say what kind of job it is?”

Qi Huiying paused before replying, “She didn’t say, but now, besides the elementary school teaching position, what other job could there be?”

Deputy Regiment Commander Chen knew that Qi Huiying really wanted that job. For the past few days, she had been running to the Division Commander’s and Political Commissar’s homes, probably for this opportunity.

At first, he thought this behavior wasn’t good, but after a few times of advising her, Qi Huiying didn’t listen, so he let her be. And thinking it over, the elementary school teacher position seemed quite relaxed and respectable.

Deputy Regiment Commander Chen had somewhat of a patriarchal mindset. He didn’t care whether his wife earned money or not. He preferred her to stay at home, not needing to work or go out and show herself. After all, his salary was enough to support the family.

Seeing Qi Huiying’s unhappy expression, Deputy Regiment Commander Chen advised, “Let her have it, she’s a high school graduate and young. Don’t you worry, she’ll always have a job in the future.”

“Why should she get it?” Qi Huiying said angrily. “I came here first, isn’t the job assignment in the family housing based on seniority? Why should she get it first?”

Fuming, she stood up from the sofa and walked up to Deputy Regiment Commander Chen. “Tomorrow, you go ask the Division Commander for me. Why did he give the job to her? What makes her better than me?”

Deputy Regiment Commander Chen looked at her in surprise. “Have you lost your mind? You want me to go ask the Division Commander over such a small thing? As far as I’m concerned, just let it go.” He then grabbed a towel and turned to wash his face in the yard.

Qi Huiying glared at his back and stomped her foot in frustration.

—

The next day, Meng Yufei woke up early to get Xia Qinqin up, pulling the still-dazed child to wash her face and brush her teeth.

While changing Xia Qinqin’s clothes, Meng Yufei reminded her, “Qinqin, Mommy has to go to work this morning. Can you go next door to Aunt Zhang’s house and play with Sister Fangfang?”

Xia Qinqin hugged Meng Yufei’s neck and said, “Mommy, didn’t you say you weren’t going to work anymore?”

Meng Yufei patted her head and explained, “There’s a job that Mommy has to take care of today. I just found out about it last night.”

Xia Qinqin buried her face in her mother’s arms and whispered, “Mommy, can you not go to work? I want to be with you.”

Meng Yufei softly explained, “But Mommy really likes working, and only if I work will we have money to buy new clothes, buy candy, and toys.”

Xia Qinqin sighed softly and said, “Okay, Mommy, you can go to work.”

Meng Yufei kissed her daughter’s soft cheek and smiled, “Thank you for understanding, Qinqin.”

Xia Qinqin shyly smiled and tilted her head, asking, “Mommy, can I bring my doll to play with Sister Fangfang?”

The doll was made by Meng Yufei’s mother for her granddaughter. It could be dressed up and braided, and Xia Qinqin loved it. She had specifically brought it with her from her treasure chest this time.

Meng Yufei nodded and said, “Of course you can.”

They went to the cafeteria for breakfast. Meng Yufei ordered a bowl of wontons filled with shrimp. Although the small shrimp used were leftovers from the daily catch, after peeling and using them for the wonton filling, they were still very fresh.

A large bowl of shrimp wontons cost one yuan and five cents, and she also ordered two boiled eggs for eight cents.

The boiled eggs at the cafeteria were a bit more expensive than buying them at the supply and marketing cooperative, so very few people bought them there. The cafeteria didn’t prepare many either, and today, there were only two left, which Meng Yufei bought.

She asked the woman at the counter for an extra bowl, then scooped out a little less than half a bowl of wontons into the empty bowl and reminded her daughter, “Blow on it before you eat, it’s hot.”

“Mm-hmm, I know.”

Meng Yufei picked up a boiled egg, tapped it gently on the table, peeled it, and handed it to her daughter.

Xia Qinqin only ate the egg white and didn’t like the yolk because she found it too hard to swallow.

Meng Yufei knew about her habit and didn’t force her to eat it. She took the egg yolk for herself and ate it.