Chapter 68.2

Jiang Nian sat there until lunchtime. Seeing that she hadn’t started stitching, Jia Yuan began mocking again, “You’ve been sitting there all morning and haven’t started. Don’t know where to begin? Do you need me to teach you?”

Fan Shan suggested, “Sister Jia, let’s go eat.”

Jia Yuan ignored Fan Shan and continued, “After lunch, are you going to sit there all afternoon too?”

Jiang Nian finally responded. She folded the design and stood up, glancing at Jia Yuan, “If you stay silent, no one will mistake you for a mute.”

Then she walked out, asking Su Na, “Is my lunchbox with you?”

Su Na nodded, “Yes, Sister Ge gave it to me yesterday.”

“Jiang Nian, say that again!” 

Jia Yuan shouted, ready to follow and mock her more, but Jiang Nian’s voice came from outside the partition, “Jia Yuan, don’t make me report you to the director for provoking and targeting new colleagues. Such behavior reeks of severe personal vendetta.”

Jia Yuan’s anger flared even more. She forcefully pulled open the partition curtain, glaring at Jiang Nian, “If you have the guts, go ahead. Do you think I’m scared of you? When the director comes and asks, who can prove I’m bullying anyone?”

After saying this, she raised her chin defiantly.

Jiang Nian knew that Jia Yuan, relying on her influential in-laws, often acted arrogantly and did not regard Ge Mei at all. Although she initially intended to ignore her, she now felt compelled to curb Jia Yuan’s arrogance.

Accepting the lunchbox from Su Na, Jiang Nian said, “Reporting you is easy. I’ll bring it up with the higher-ups about your behavior. I believe they won’t just ask around our shop. They’ll inquire with the textile factory too.”

Watching Jia Yuan’s face stiffen, Jiang Nian continued, “Even if they find nothing in the embroidery shop, who knows what they’ll uncover at the large textile factory?If you can shut everyone up, I will report you to higher authorities. I will report you, an embroiderer, for being so capable of shutting everyone up. I believe our leaders will conduct a thorough investigation to find out the bad apples in the state-owned factory and correct the bad practices.”

Everyone in the shop was stunned, not expecting the newcomer to have such a sharp tongue and to hit the nail on the head.

Jia Yuan usually flaunted her in-law’s status, thinking herself superior. Even if nothing could be proven in the shop, any grievances from the textile factory would cause trouble not just for her but also for her in-laws. This would make her life difficult at home.

Realizing this, Jia Yuan, though seething, dared not retort.

Jiang Nian’s words not only silenced Jia Yuan but also made Dong Shu more restrained.

After all, Ge Mei is the director, and she cannot be as free-spirited as she is in her dealings with others. If she offends Jia Yuan, Jia Yuan might join forces with a few others to write a letter of complaint to the higher authorities to report Ge Mei. Even if Ge Mei did nothing, she would still be affected.

Jiang Nian now understood how difficult the past six months had been for Ge Mei. It’s no wonder Ge Mei had called her several times, hinting at wanting her to come to the city.

With her lunchbox, Jiang Nian went to the textile factory’s cafeteria. During lunch, she noticed Jia Yuan sitting with an older woman, likely her mother-in-law, and a man, presumably her husband. Her view was momentarily blocked, and she looked up to see Ge Mei sitting across from her.

She smiled, “Are you done?”

Ge Mei, looking a bit tired, nodded, “Almost.”

After taking a sip of soup, Ge Mei smiled and said, “Su Na told me about what had happened.”

Jiang Nian asked, “How is Su Na?”

Ge Mei understood her concern, “She’s good. She’s helping me a lot.” She gave Jiang Nian some meat from her plate, “Jiang Nian, the luckiest thing in my life is knowing you.”

Looking at the meat, Jiang Nian smiled, “Since you’ve given it to me, I won’t be polite.”

Ge Mei was pleased, “Eat up.”

After eating, Ge Mei left, not staying long with Jiang Nian to avoid gossip. Jiang Nian also returned to the shop. When she began threading the needle, the others slowly came back.

Shu Xue, sitting beside her, watched Jiang Nian’s skilled hands and exquisite stitches. Her doubts from this morning faded, and she curiously asked, “Don’t you need to look at the design anymore?”

Jiang Nian smiled, “I’ve memorized it.”

Shu Xue’s eyes widened in surprise, “You spent the whole morning memorizing it?”

Jiang Nian nodded lightly, “Yes.”

Shu Xue still seemed uneasy and whispered, “Aren’t you worried about the colors and details?”

Fan Shan, who was standing by, also heard it and turned her head curiously to look at Jiang Nian. Jiang Nian’s hands moved swiftly, her technique clearly showing experience, even surpassing Sister Yu’s. Dong Shu and the others also turned their heads to look at Jiang Nian, and their eyes were fixed on her fingers.

Her hands were fair, with slender and beautiful fingers that made the needle look elegant.

Jiang Nian said, “No need.”

Her tone was confident and sure.

Dong Shu frowned, her gaze lingering on Jiang Nian’s embroidery before looking at Yu Xia, who was also watching. Dong Shu commented, “No matter how good the memory, mistakes happen. I hope it’s not all for show.”

Yu Xia smiled, “It’s wise to frequently check the design. Overconfidence can lead to errors in colors and patterns, wasting thread and ruining good fabric. Especially for the pieces bound for overseas, there can be no mistakes.”

Jiang Nian replied, “Thank you for the reminder, Sister Yu. I will remember it.”

She didn’t say anything more.

Seeing Jiang Nian’s skilled embroidery, Jia Yuan just snorted coldly and turned back to her work.

The embroidery shop was quiet the whole afternoon, except for a few other people who would take a look at Jiang Nian’s embroidery, especially Shu Xue who was sitting next to her. She was distracted by watching Jiang Nian’s embroidery and had her fingers pricked by the needle several times.

Jiang Nian pursed her lips to stifle her laughter and didn’t point it out.

Sitting in front, Yu Xia and Dong Shu also turned their heads occasionally to look at Jiang Nian. Seeing her quietly embroidering without referring to the design once, Yu Xia frowned, then turned back to her work, her thoughts complicated.

She exchanged glances with Dong Shu, but neither said a word.

Jia Yuan, however, kept leaning back and shifting, nearly bumping into Jiang Nian’s embroidery frame several times. When she was about to continue, Jiang Nian’s cold voice came from behind her, “My needle isn’t blind. You’d better be careful.”

Jia Yuan’s back stiffened as she was about to lean back again.

She didn’t dare to risk her body and snorted, “I was just stretching. I accidentally bumped into your frame. How can you threaten people?”

Jiang Nian sneered, “Your waist must be quite thick to bump into my frame from that distance.”

Jia Yuan: …

At six in the evening, the shop closed.

Yu Xia got up first, stretched, and then walked over to Jiang Nian’s frame. “How’s your embroidery—” She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the work.

Dong Shu glanced over but didn’t bother. She got up and left for the cafeteria with Jia Yuan.

Jiang Nian smiled, “I’ve done a bit.”

She looked up at Yu Xia’s somewhat awkward expression and asked pretentiously, “Sister Yu, how is it?”

Yu Xia forced a smile, “It’s good.”

Shu Xue said, “Sister Yu, Jiang Nian didn’t look at the design all afternoon, yet she memorized the colors and design. She’s really smart.”

Fan Shan added, “My memory isn’t as good as hers, back even when I was young.”

Yu Xia looked at Jiang Nian and smiled, “You should still look at the design. What if you make a mistake? You can’t be overly confident in your memory just because you’re young.”

Jiang Nian replied with the same phrase, “Got it, thanks for the reminder, Sister Yu.”

A ringing phone interrupted them, followed by Su Na’s voice. Seconds later, Su Na opened the partition curtain and looked at Jiang Nian, “Comrade Jiang, your phone call.”

Jiang Nian knew it was Lu Yu calling.

She quickly got up and ran out. As soon as she picked up the phone, Lu Yu’s deep, magnetic voice came through, “Are you off work?”

Jiang Nian smiled, “Yes, I am. What about you?”

Lu Yu said, “Just finished.”

“Jiang Nian, who’s on the phone?” Yu Xia’s voice came from behind.

Jiang Nian answered without hesitation, “My boyfriend.”

Lu Yu’s low laughter came through the receiver, sounding very happy.

Jiang Nian’s face inexplicably turned red. She bit her lip and whispered, “I’m going to eat now.”

The man hummed and added, “I’ll come to see you in a few days.”

Jiang Nian smiled, “Okay.”

She hung up the phone and turned to see Yu Xia staring at her. Jiang Nian said nothing, picked up her lunchbox, and was about to leave when she heard Yu Xia ask, “Jiang Nian, what does your partner do?”

As they left the workshop for the cafeteria, everyone perked up their ears at Yu Xia’s question.

Jiang Nian simply said, “He’s a soldier.”

Yu Xia was stunned, as were Su Na and Shu Xue. They hadn’t expected Jiang Nian’s partner to be a soldier. Being a soldier was very prestigious in those days. If he was a high-ranking officer, it would be better than Jia Yuan’s marriage. Although Jia Yuan’s mother-in-law was the deputy director of the factory, her husband was only a team leader, which couldn’t compare to a high-ranking officer in the army.

Yu Xia wanted to ask more about Jiang Nian’s partner’s rank but saw that Jiang Nian and Su Na had already walked away.

Yu Xia: …

Jiang Nian and Su Na lined up to get their food and chose a corner table. While eating, they chatted. Jiang Nian learned from Su Na that Jia Yuan didn’t live in the dormitory. She had her own home. Fan Shan’s husband worked in a machinery factory. They had urban household registrations and lived in a tube-shaped apartment with two children. Her in-laws were also city dwellers, and the whole family crowded into the apartment.

The shop had three dormitories: one for Director Ge Mei, one shared by Yu Xia and Dong Shu, and one for Shu Xue and Su Na. Jiang Nian’s dormitory was with Su Na, and Ge Mei had already prepared the bedding.

Jiang Nian saw the shadow of Zhang Xiao in Su Na, but seeing that Su Na was older than Zhang Xiao, she asked, “How old are you?”

Su Na smiled, “30.”

Su Na was a talkative person, and once she started, she shared a lot.

She had two children, her husband took care of them at home, and she worked here, sending her salary back every month to support the family. Her home was not far, a five-hour bus ride away. Sometimes, her husband would bring the kids to visit her, and they were a happy family.

Although Su Na’s job could be done by anyone, she didn’t have an easier time in the shop.

The dormitory was close to the shop and the cafeteria.

After dinner, Jiang Nian and Su Na washed their lunchboxes in the bathroom. As they turned to leave, Jiang Nian saw a familiar face. A person she recognized passed by with a few others. The figure was no longer slim but rather plump. Su Na noticed Jiang Nian standing still and nudged her arm, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Nian snapped out of it and shook her head, “It’s nothing.”

She thought she had seen Sun Ying.

She wasn’t sure if it was a mistake.

When they returned to the dormitory, Shu Xue had already finished washing up. She greeted Jiang Nian and Su Na. Jiang Nian took her enamel basin to the bathroom and bumped into Dong Shu. Dong Shu merely gave Jiang Nian a cold look and walked away.

Jiang Nian ignored her.

After washing up, she got into bed. Each person had their own bed here. Jiang Nian found it hard to sleep in a new place and tossed and turned until late at night before finally falling asleep. The next morning, she was woken up by Su Na. She got up, got dressed, washed up, had breakfast, and hurried to the embroidery shop. As soon as she walked in, she ran into Ge Mei. They exchanged a few words before parting ways.

Ge Mei had a lot to do today because the city secretary was coming to inspect the embroidery shop and textile factory next month. The factory had to prepare thoroughly to ensure that everything was perfect during the inspection.

Jiang Nian quietly worked on her embroidery today. Jia Yuan didn’t cause any trouble, and Shu Xue occasionally glanced at Jiang Nian’s embroidery, getting more and more amazed. Eventually, she quietly asked, “Can I see your design?”

Jiang Nian hadn’t looked at the design all day. To be honest, Shu Xue was worried she might make a mistake.

Jiang Nian smiled, “Sure.”

She handed the design to Shu Xue. Fan Shan who was curious also leaned over. They compared the design to Jiang Nian’s work, finding not a single mistake. The stitches and craftsmanship were exceptional.

Shu Xue couldn’t help but exclaim, “You’re amazing.”

Fan Shan initially thought that despite Jiang Nian’s youth, her embroidery skills couldn’t be that good. But in just one day, Jiang Nian proved otherwise, showing not only her skill but also her incredible memory. She memorized the design after looking at them for half a morning.

Fan Shan glanced at Yu Xia and Dong Shu in front, pursed her lips, and said nothing, just handed the design back to Jiang Nian.

“Can you be quiet?”

 Dong Shu turned and glared at Shu Xue, clearly displeased.

Jia Yuan also turned around and glared at Shu Xue, saying unhappily, “Just a bit of embroidery and you think you’re great? No wonder your skills are inferior. How can you produce anything good with that attitude?”

Shu Xue’s face turned pale, and she lowered her head, saying nothing.

Yu Xia played the peacemaker again, “Alright, everyone, let’s quietly do our work and stay calm.”

Jiang Nian glanced at Shu Xue. Shu Xue noticed her gaze, raised her head and smiled at her. Jiang Nian smiled back and continued with her work.