Director Pan: …

Got it.

Director Pan immediately said, “Engineer Song, how about this? I haven’t figured out what exactly happened with Zhang Xiuli yet. How about handling it this way? I’ll first accompany you to the state-owned restaurant for a meal, and after we eat, we’ll come back and continue solving the issue with the movement…”

His attitude was extremely cautious.

Song Zhi frowned.

Director Pan quickly added, “…But don’t worry, by the end of today’s afternoon shift, I will definitely give you an answer! I guarantee you, I’ll get to the bottom of Zhang Xiuli forcibly taking Cheng Zhujun’s job!”

“If this really happened, I will definitely deal with Zhang Xiuli. I’ll also take care of the issue of unauthorized job transactions! You can focus on handling the machine core issue. What do you think? Would this arrangement work?” Director Pan looked at Song Zhi eagerly, his eyes filled with hope.

Song Zhi smiled. “Why are you telling me all this? I’m not the one in charge.”

Director Pan caught the slight change in Song Zhi’s tone and was overjoyed. “No, no, no! You count as… social supervision. If there’s a problem with my factory’s employee structure, we need to rectify it, and we must also humbly accept society’s supervision…”

Song Zhi turned to look at Taotao, who was already licking her popsicle down to the point where it was about to melt.

Taotao glanced at Song Zhi but was still thinking about her braised pork. “…I still want braised pork.”

Director Pan said, “Oh, Comrade Taotao! The braised pork at our state-owned restaurant is absolutely top-notch! Come on, let’s go eat!”

Taotao said, “My mom and my sister haven’t eaten yet!”

“We’ll all go together! The more, the merrier!” Director Pan said enthusiastically.

So, after finding out where Taotao’s mother and sister were staying, he sent Cheng Zhujun to fetch them while he took Song Zhi and Bai Taotao ahead to the state-run restaurant. He even ordered the food in advance.

When Tang Li and Bai Lili arrived, the group happily started their meal.

Director Pan ordered several meat dishes: braised pork, pork with garlic sauce, steamed pork with rice flour, and pork belly…

Taotao was eating so happily!

But Cheng Zhujun had disappeared somewhere and hadn’t returned for a long time.

Taotao ran out to look for her and found her squatting by the restaurant entrance, hugging herself and sobbing.

“Xiao Zhuzi, what’s wrong?” Taotao asked.

Cheng Zhujun looked up at Taotao, her face covered in tears. “Taotao, thank you… Wuwuwu, thank you… But I’m so useless. I… I might never be able to repay you in my lifetime…”

—How much good fortune had she accumulated over several lifetimes to meet someone as beautiful as a fairy and as kind-hearted as Taotao? Not only had Taotao given her capital and partnered with her in business, but she had also helped her reclaim her stolen job!

Taotao patted Cheng Zhujun’s head in a serious manner and said, “Then try to work a little harder?”

Cheng Zhujun sobbed uncontrollably. “Haven’t I already worked hard enough? The kids from the factory’s residential compound who are my age are still being treated like treasures by their parents, but I… I’ve already been working from dawn till dusk, juggling three to four odd jobs just to support my little brother and pay for his medical expenses.”

“But no matter how hard I try, I still… can’t even reach the others’ starting point.” Ever since her father passed away a year ago, Cheng Zhujun had endured endless hardship. She had nowhere to vent her emotions, but now that she had Taotao by her side, she couldn’t hold back her sobs any longer—

“Zhang Xiuli wanted to take my dad’s job. I know exactly how she went about it—Director Wu from the finance department has a mentally ill son. Back when my dad passed away, Director Wu came to me and tried to get me to marry his son, saying that if I agreed, he would transfer me to the finance office as a cashier.”

“I refused. That’s why, under the witness of Deputy Factory Director Dong, I signed an agreement with Zhang Xiuli, letting her temporarily take my dad’s job as a temporary worker in the factory. But after Zhang Xiuli joined the factory, Director Wu set his sights on her. In fact, there are very few female workers in our factory. Any unmarried female worker—Director Wu tries to convince her family to marry her off to his insane son…”

“That lunatic is violent. He even beat his own mother to death. Everyone advised Director Wu to send him to a hospital, but Director Wu said his son hadn’t left behind an heir yet… I’m guessing he and Zhang Xiuli worked together—one wanted to get my dad’s official position, while the other wanted to trick her into becoming his insane son’s wife…”

As she spoke, Cheng Zhujun sighed again. “I don’t know if Zhang Xiuli is just really stupid. Couldn’t she have done some digging first? Director Wu already found a rural wife for his son before. That poor girl was incredibly obedient, working like a slave for their family. But later, she was almost beaten to death by that lunatic…”

Taotao was shocked. “Did she die?”

Cheng Zhujun shook her head. “No. Some of the factory workers’ families took pity on her and secretly hid her, letting her stay in the factory until she recovered. Then, they helped her escape… Director Wu’s family thinks she died somewhere outside.”

Taotao was furious. “That whole family is terrible!”

Cheng Zhujun said, “So Zhang Xiuli is really… looking for death!”

Taotao comforted her. “You’ll have a better life than her in the future.”

These words warmed Cheng Zhujun’s heart, and she felt like crying again. “But when will things actually get better?”

Taotao didn’t have an answer.

Then, Cheng Zhujun suddenly thought of something else. “Taotao, what grade are you in?”

Taotao shook her head. “I’ve never been to school.”

Cheng Zhujun was stunned. “You’ve never been to school? Then you…” Aren’t you fluent in Russian?

“Song Zhi teaches me at home,” Taotao said.

Since the topic had come up, Taotao was thrilled. “Xiao Zhuzi! I never expected it—Song Zhi wasn’t lying! Knowledge really can be turned into money! And money can be turned into braised pork!”

Cheng Zhujun asked, “Then… how long have you been learning Russian from him?”

Taotao counted on her fingers. “Almost two months!”

Cheng Zhujun: !!!

Taotao said, “I’ve already made up my mind! When I get back, I’ll study hard and try to memorize that big Russian dictionary. Then I’ll learn English and Japanese… In the future, I’ll be able to make a living with knowledge! I’ll make sure I can eat braised pork every day and have ice cream whenever I want!”

Cheng Zhujun was so shocked she couldn’t even speak.

She had always known that knowledge equaled money.

That was a principle she had been exposed to since childhood.

But before meeting Taotao, her understanding of “knowledge” had only been the ability to write her name and address and keep track of the household expenses…

Until today, when she saw with her own eyes that young Taotao had used just two months of Russian to earn herself a lavish meal.

Even though Zhang Xiuli had ruined that meal, Taotao had indeed earned it.

After a long silence, Cheng Zhujun finally asked, “Taotao, do you think… I could learn too?”

“Of course!” Taotao answered seriously. “If I can learn it, why wouldn’t you be able to?”

Cheng Zhujun said, “Then teach me!”

“Sure!” Taotao agreed.

Bai Lili hurried over to find them. “Hey, what are you two squatting here for? Hurry up and go eat, Song Zhi has to go to work soon!”

Taotao pulled Cheng Zhujun along to the restaurant.

Song Zhi told Taotao to go shopping with Tang Li in the afternoon. Taotao had already seen the factory and wasn’t fond of its messy environment, so of course, she’d rather go shopping, maybe even find a business opportunity along the way.

So, everyone went their separate ways.

Song Zhi and Director Pan returned to Hongxing Machinery Factory, while Taotao went back to the guesthouse with her mother and sister. Cheng Zhujun, meanwhile, was busy packing up the leftovers to take home for her younger brother…

On the way, Taotao wanted to treat her mother and third sister to cream popsicles—she wanted one too.

But Tang Liren pointed out that Taotao had already eaten one earlier.

“That won’t do, eating too many cold things will hurt your stomach! Your third sister and I will have some, and you can just watch.” Tang Liren said.

Taotao pouted in grievance.

Feeling sorry for her, Bai Lili spent two cents to buy a skewer of candied hawthorns for Taotao, finally making her smile again.

Back at the guesthouse, Taotao was so full that she grew drowsy.

Tang Liren instructed Lizi, “You stay here and watch your sister nap. I can go out on my own.”

Bai Lili thought for a moment and said, “How about having the vendor deliver it? He can just call up from downstairs, and I’ll go down to get it. Or I can pick it up in the evening.”

Tang Liren replied, “Got it. I’m off now.”

After tidying up for a while, Bai Lili went to check on Taotao—

She was already curled up on the bed, sleeping soundly.

Bai Lili affectionately rubbed her sister’s soft, bouncy cheeks and gently said, “You should sleep on the pillow.”

Taotao drowsily opened her eyes to glance at her sister, then closed them again.

And continued sleeping.

Bai Lili had no choice but to lift a pillow with one hand and her sister with the other, settling her head onto the pillow before pulling a thin blanket over her…

When Taotao woke up from her nap, she heard her third sister Bai Lili softly humming a tune.

She opened her eyes and saw Lizi sitting on the opposite bed, holding a small mirror, seemingly applying something to her face.

The melody was a gentle and lilting folk tune, and though Bai Lili’s singing was sweet, her voice was too soft to make out the lyrics. Still, the longing in her tone was unmistakable.

Like a little inchworm, Taotao slowly wriggled to the foot of the bed, lying there with her head tilted, watching her third sister.

Bai Lili’s singing came to an abrupt stop—

She looked at her silly little sister, her face flushing slightly, then let out a chuckle. “What are you doing, waking up without calling out to me?”

“Third Sister…” Taotao said. “You sing so well! What song is that?”

Bai Lili, a little embarrassed, replied, “Nothing much, just a folk song my music teacher secretly taught me at school.”

“What song?”

“A Yunnan folk song, Xiao He Tang Shui (The Small River Flows).”

“This song is so nice! Third Sister, teach me to sing it!”

“Aiya, I can’t even sing it properly!”

“Third Sister, my dear Third Sister, please teach me!”

“Well… fine, but remember, you can’t sing it casually.”

Then, Bai Lili softly hummed again—

“The moon comes out, shining bright—
I long for my dear brother… in the deep mountains,
Brother, like the moon, walks in the sky, walks in the sky…”

Taotao understood instantly, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. “Ohhh… I get it now, it’s about a brother and sister in love!”

Bai Lili’s face turned red, and she scolded her silly sister, “You mustn’t sing it outside!”

Taotao bit her lip and asked, “Third Sister, what do you even like about Jiang Hongzhi?”

Bai Lili had never admitted her feelings to anyone.

Except for that one time—when Taotao had somehow tricked her into revealing them…