Chapter 10

Now everyone in the Accounting Section was confused.

Jiang Ling’s partner?

They had never heard of such a person before.

Li Chunjiao, who was winding yarn, turned down the volume on the radio. The storytelling program would be replayed, but once gossip was missed, it would be gone for good.

Since Jiang Ling had gone out with Wei Ming, it was no surprise that everyone’s thoughts had gone in the wrong direction.

Everyone was thinking: Jiang Ling was being way too bold.

How could she say something like that?

Not to mention that Wei Ming was already married. If they were caught messing around, they could end up in prison for inappropriate male-female relations.

Besides, Wei Ming was the factory director’s brother-in-law. Wasn’t Jiang Ling afraid she’d no longer be able to stay at the Daily Chemical Factory?

Although Lu Jianjun was Wei Ming’s lackey, upon hearing this news, his first reaction was to report it to the factory director.

The director would never tolerate his brother-in-law getting involved with a female subordinate. Whether Wei Ming got dismissed or divorced, the position of deputy section chief would be vacated, and Lu Jianjun would have a real chance of getting promoted before retirement.

Jiang Ling had deliberately left her words hanging halfway, letting others overthink it.

“Your partner, who is it? Don’t tell me it’s our Deputy Section Chief Wei? He’s a married man.”

Jiang Ling wore a look that clearly said “What nonsense are you talking about?” and replied, “Of course not. What are you all thinking? I’m at least a decent young woman with proper values. How could I possibly be a homewrecker?”

She huffed and said, “My partner is a staff member from the Technical Section. You all should’ve seen him before. His name is Song Guanshu.”

At the mention of that name, Section Chief Tang and Lu Jianjun, the two male comrades, had to think hard to figure out who that was.

But the few female comrades instantly had a moment of realization. “So it’s him.” This man was so good-looking that all the female workers in the factory knew about him.

When it came to someone surnamed Song in the Technical Section, everyone immediately thought of him.

The two male comrades were utterly confused. Just who was this person that everyone seemed to know, making it seem like the two of them were the only ones who had never seen the world?

Section Chief Tang wasn’t ashamed to ask, “Is Comrade Xiao Jiang’s partner really that well known?”

Li Chunjiao clapped her hands and said, “No wonder you don’t know, this Xiao Song is really good-looking…”

Men could be lustful, but so could women.

Now Section Chief Tang understood why he didn’t recognize Jiang Ling’s partner.

Jiang Ling nodded proudly. “Sister Li is right. My partner is especially handsome.”

Even after experiencing all kinds of beauty filters flooding the world in the future, she still had to admit—he was incomparably good-looking.

You could say he was mentally twisted and had questionable character, but when it came to Song Guanshu’s face, there was simply nothing to criticize.

He shook his head with a smile. “You lot…”

The elder sisters of the Accounting Section had all once suspected Jiang Ling and Wei Ming of having an affair in private, but upon hearing that her partner was Song Guanshu, all their doubts vanished.

As long as Jiang Ling wasn’t blind, she would naturally make the right choice between Song Guanshu and Wei Ming.

Everyone had once harbored a faint sense of hostility toward Jiang Ling, misunderstanding her for taking a shortcut. Not only was that kind of behavior frowned upon by society, it also meant destroying someone else’s family.

Of course, they also looked down on her for hanging around an older man at such a young age.

Those who had daughters of their own were the least tolerant of young girls going astray.

But once they heard that her partner was Song Guanshu, their attitudes shifted. When it came to sweet young love, everyone was quite curious.

They all began chiming in, asking how the two had met and what their daily interactions were like.

But in truth, Song Guanshu didn’t interact much with her at all.

But that didn’t stop Jiang Ling from going around talking up their relationship. “He’s very patient, takes special care of me, and can tell what I want just from a single glance.”

The older ladies smiled warmly as they listened and chimed in, “Just by looking at his face, you can tell—Xiao Song is especially patient, definitely the kind of man who treats his wife well.”

Lu Jianjun nearly had his teeth turned sour from all this sweetness. He really didn’t get it, how could anyone tell from someone’s face whether they were good to their wife?

“Jiang Ling, you’re lucky, snatching up Xiao Song as your partner.”

Jiang Ling, looking completely immersed in bliss, replied, “He’s lucky too, having such a pretty girlfriend like me.”

The older ladies all wore doting smiles, the kind only aunties had. It really was amusing watching young people date.

For a moment, Jiang Ling could completely understand why Song Guanshu would build a wholesome image and flaunt their relationship. It really did save a lot of unnecessary trouble.

“When are you and Xiao Song planning to get married?” one of the elder sisters in the office asked earnestly. “A good man like Xiao Song, once you meet someone like that, you can’t let go.”

The way all the office ladies kept calling Song Guanshu a good man over and over again showed just how deeply his image had taken root in their minds.

Jiang Ling thought to herself, she needed to learn from Song Guanshu too.

With a shy expression on her face, she replied, “It depends on what he thinks. I’m fine with whatever.”

She was the very picture of someone hopelessly smitten with her man.

The elder sisters, having all been through this stage in life, could completely understand Jiang Ling’s reaction.

But Section Chief Tang and Lu Jianjun, the two male comrades, couldn’t understand her behavior at all. A young lady should know how to be reserved, this was just too…

Jiang Ling didn’t care what anyone thought. She was determined to fully establish her persona as a love-struck girl!

Her heart was filled only with her partner, Song Guanshu. All the other so-called demons and monsters could get lost.

Xie Lang? One slap.

As for Wei Ming, he could take a whole set of Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms.

Xie Lang hadn’t done anything wrong, but so what? He was the male lead, the official pairing for the female lead. That alone meant he needed to stay far away.

A supporting female character should never get close to the male lead. Otherwise, misfortune would follow.

“I remember, Xiao Song isn’t a local. When he joined the factory, there were no more factory-assigned housing units left. Where is he living now? In the staff dormitory? Then what about after you get married? A young couple can’t live separately. You should go talk to the Logistics Section. In cases like yours, maybe the factory can make a special exception and allocate you a single room.”

All the employees at the Daily Chemical Factory were locals. Situations like this had never come up before.

Jiang Ling smiled as she agreed, knowing full well it was a situation that would never happen.

She had no interest in living with Song Guanshu, and she figured he wouldn’t want to live with her either.

Yu Jiafeng asked, “Since Xiao Song isn’t a local, after you two get married, will he live with his parents, or will it just be the two of you?”

The smile on Jiang Ling’s face was starting to falter, these older sisters were really thinking too far ahead.

She replied, “I don’t know. I think he’s an orphan.”

Yu Jiafeng clapped her hands in excitement. “Being an orphan is great!”

Faced with the others’ strange looks, she realized something was off in what she’d said. Yu Jiafeng quickly explained, “I mean, there won’t be any trouble from a mother-in-law in the future. That’s a good thing.”

After saying that, she still felt something wasn’t quite right, so she continued patching it up. “I’m not saying Xiao Song’s mother would’ve been a bad mother-in-law or anything, just that it’s usually hard for daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law to get along. This way, you’ll have less trouble in the future.”

She then started going on and on about her own absolutely terrible mother-in-law—someone so awful it practically roused the wrath of both heaven and man.

“When I gave birth to our eldest, my mother was busy taking care of my sister-in-law during her postpartum confinement. Our old Zhao brought his mother into the city, paying her ten yuan a month to help take care of me and the baby. But after she arrived, she didn’t even cook. I had to hold the baby and still make meals for both of us. In the dead of winter, I had to wash vegetables with cold water. Even after all these years, I still can’t bring myself to touch cold water in winter.”

Lu Jianjun, being a man, naturally sided more with mothers over daughters-in-law. In his eyes, any daughter-in-law who thought poorly of her mother-in-law was a bad one.

So he really looked down on Yu Jiafeng, thinking she was being completely unreasonable.

“It’s been so many years already, and you’re still bringing this up? Just let it go. Forgive when you can. Your mother-in-law had a hard life too. You’re the younger one—how can you hold a grudge against an elder?”

The moment the topic of mothers-in-law came up, Yu Jiafeng was instantly furious. “That wretched old woman didn’t even pour me a single cup of hot water during my postpartum confinement, and now that she’s old and can’t move, she expects me to clean up after her like a servant? Why should I?”

The other women could deeply empathize with her. Even though they’d heard her complain many times before, they still nodded along in agreement.

Section Chief Tang and Lu Jianjun, on the other hand, clearly didn’t approve. But they had a realistic understanding of their own standing. Knowing they couldn’t win an argument against the female comrades, they wisely kept quiet.

Not wanting to hear any more of the women’s chatter, Lu Jianjun turned to Jiang Ling and asked, “By the way, why did you come back alone? Where’s Deputy Section Chief Wei?”

Jiang Ling replied innocently, “Deputy Section Chief Wei said he suddenly remembered he had a meeting to attend, so I came back to the office first.”

Wei Ming had actually spent the past while sulking in the restroom, smoking through half a pack of cigarettes before finally returning to the Accounting Section.

He didn’t have any meeting to go to. He just didn’t want to see that sweet little couple flaunting their affection and had walked away on purpose.

When Wei Ming returned to the Accounting Section, he carried with him an indescribable odor.

Even after coming back, he didn’t forget to check on Jiang Ling’s progress with the Logistics Section.

“Xiao Song from the Technical Section went with you to the Logistics Section, right? How did things go?” He added a bit of an explanation for his sudden departure. “You know how the factory leaders value me—big or small, they always want me to accompany them.”

Jiang Ling replied, “You left for a meeting all of a sudden, so I didn’t go to the Logistics Section. I turned back halfway.”

That result wasn’t what Wei Ming had expected, but it pleased him. Without him present, nothing could get done—that was the conclusion he drew.

He felt that Jiang Ling was still fairly sensible, knowing that just relying on that boyfriend from the Technical Section wouldn’t be enough.

Wei Ming’s voice took on a touch of pride. “Next time, we’ll find another opportunity. I’ll take you to the Logistics Section myself. That department is just full of paper tigers^[1]Paper tiger refers to someone or something that appears powerful or threatening but is actually weak or ineffective when challenged.,nothing to be afraid of.”

“Your boyfriend in the Technical Section is just a junior clerk, right? Just a little errand-runner, what abilities could he possibly have? Being with him will only hold you back,” Wei Ming said earnestly. “You’re the youngest and most outstanding staff member in our Accounting Section. You’ve got a good personality and strong character. With your qualities, you could find someone with much better conditions.”

“Young people need to look at the long term. Choosing a partner isn’t just about looks. What matters is their inner character, and also their status, background, and financial stability. A lot of the leaders in our factory admire you and would gladly marry you. Don’t tie yourself to a crooked tree.”

Inwardly, Wei Ming thought maliciously—so what if the guy had a face that could fool people? He probably didn’t have much capability to speak of.

But Jiang Ling was clearly a hopeless romantic. How could she possibly care about those external conditions? With a lovestruck expression on her face, she said, “I don’t care about external conditions. I just like him. As long as he’s got that face, I’d be willing to support him even if he doesn’t lift a finger.”

The elder sisters in the Accounting Section didn’t particularly like or dislike Wei Ming.

Although they didn’t particularly like how Wei Ming always put on airs, he did bring tangible benefits to everyone. Like the extra New Year’s goods he helped them get, and the radio the section was still using.

Since they had taken his favors, they were willing to tolerate some of his petty faults.

To them, Xiao Song represented the ideal son-in-law.

But seeing that ideal son-in-law being belittled by Wei Ming as if he were worthless made everyone feel quite displeased.

Wei Ming was, after all, the factory director’s brother-in-law and a well-known figure with connections. No one wanted to confront him directly and risk offending someone powerful, so they simply crossed a silent “X” over him in their hearts.

Although Wei Ming had gotten his position through connections, he placed great importance on the mass line and cared deeply about how ordinary workers and staff viewed him.

His goal wasn’t just to be section chief of the Accounting Section, but he wanted to become the factory director of the Daily Chemical Factory.

Wei Ming believed he had what it took to achieve that.

So he was very mindful of his reputation. He brought his family’s radio into the office for everyone to listen to, hoping to win favor with his colleagues.

Li Chunjiao had originally been the internal candidate for the next section chief of the Accounting Section. Once Old Tang retired, she was supposed to take the position.

But then the factory suddenly parachuted in Wei Ming—who, as it happened, was the factory director’s brother-in-law.

Wei Ming was younger than her and had stronger connections, so her chances of getting promoted weren’t high.

Unlike the other clerks in the section, her attitude toward Wei Ming had always been lukewarm.

Since they held the same rank and she had seniority, even if she jabbed at him with a few sharp words now and then, Wei Ming couldn’t say a thing in return.

“Xiao Song is a college graduate. Back when the factory wanted to keep talent, they gave him a deputy section chief’s salary package. He’s young, but he’s got real prospects.” She glanced at Wei Ming with a trace of mockery in her eyes. You had to rely on your powerful brother-in-law, the factory director, to become a deputy section chief. Song Guanshu is younger than you, and yet he earned that title all on his own. And you still have the nerve to call him unpromising?