Chapter 4 Selling Work

The neighbors were once again shocked by this bombshell.  Unexpectedly, Jiang Wenjun was a “phoenix man” (a man from a humble background who marries into wealth), and his pursuit of Chen Lin had been solely to leverage her father’s position for his own benefit. Jiang Wenjun often spoke of missing Chen Lin, leading everyone to believe he had genuine feelings for his deceased wife.

  It was all fake? All an act? If it hadn’t come from Jiang Wenjun’s own mouth, no one would have believed the truth. The neighbors’ looks towards Jiang Wenjun turned contemptuous. “Wenjun, even if you didn’t have feelings for Chen Lin, Xiaoli is still your biological child, your only child. How can you not care about her at all? You treat Jiang Wan and Jiang Chengye, your stepdaughter and stepson, better than your own daughter.” Jiang Wenjun continued to spill the beans. “Jiang Wan and Jiang Chengye are my biological children. What’s wrong with me treating them well? They’re smart and sensible, much better than that dead girl Jiang Li.” As soon as Jiang Wenjun said this, he covered his mouth in fright.

 It’s over, it’s over. Why can’t he control his mouth?  With this secret out, he’s finished. Not only was Jiang Wenjun panicked, but Xia Meifeng’s face also turned pale. Everyone knew Jiang Chengye was two years older than Jiang Li, and Jiang Wan was only three or four months younger than Jiang Li.

 Revealing that Jiang Chengye and Jiang Wan were Jiang Wenjun’s children was tantamount to admitting that Jiang Wenjun had been with Xia Meifeng before marrying Chen Lin, and that after marrying Chen Lin, he had been having an affair.

 The neighbors in the apartment building were stunned by the continuous revelations of the Jiang family’s secrets. The gossiping aunties continued to question Jiang Wenjun. “Director Jiang, according to you, weren’t you already with Xia Meifeng, specifically to deceive Xiaoli’s mother?” Jiang Wenjun covered his mouth, trying to stop himself from speaking, but strangely, after being questioned, his mouth uncontrollably continued to blabber. “Yes, that’s exactly what happened.

 Xia Meifeng and I got together in the countryside. If it weren’t for wanting a promotion and to climb the ladder by marrying into the Chen family, I wouldn’t have wasted my time on Chen Lin. Heh, luckily, Chen Lin didn’t live long; she died in childbirth, so I could openly bring my lover and children to enjoy the good life…”  With Jiang Wenjun’s words, the neighbors couldn’t contain themselves. Damn it, Jiang Wenjun was shameless. Some employees who had received favors from Factory Director Chen were already angrily demanding that the factory uphold justice for Jiang Li and not let her be bullied.

They also demanded Jiang Wenjun’s dismissal. A person with such poor character shouldn’t be allowed to remain in the factory, let alone as a workshop director; he wasn’t even fit to be a regular employee. This time, Jiang Wenjun and Xia Meifeng had angered everyone. Without Jiang Li having to say anything, the neighbors had already reported the matter to the factory director.

The current factory director of the machinery factory was named Hu, a man in his fifties. Director Hu immediately started investigating the matter. After the investigation, he also felt that Jiang Wenjun had gone too far. Such a morally corrupt person could not be allowed to remain in the factory and corrupt its atmosphere.  Director Hu immediately decided to fire Jiang Wenjun. Hearing the factory director’s punishment, Jiang Wenjun and Xia Meifeng turned pale.

Their good life depended on Jiang Wenjun; if he lost his job, their family would struggle. Although Jiang Chengye had started working and earning a salary, his expenses were high, and his salary was low, so he couldn’t support the whole family. Now that the matter had become so big, Jiang Chengye’s job was probably also in jeopardy.

Without a job, how would their family survive in the city? They had saved some money, but a family of several people couldn’t live on savings alone. Jiang Wenjun and Xia Meifeng rushed to Director Hu to plead, but were immediately berated by the factory workers.  After doing such disgusting things, they still dared to stay? Director Hu ignored Jiang Wenjun and Xia Meifeng’s pleas and looked at the frail Jiang Li.

 Seeing the pitiful girl, Director Hu felt sympathy. “Xiaoli, if you have any difficulties in the future, feel free to speak up, and we’ll all help you. You poor child, you were bullied so much and didn’t say a word. If you had spoken earlier, we would have helped you long ago.” Although Old Man Chen was gone, he still had influence in the machinery factory. If Jiang Li had truly sought help from the factory, the factory leaders would have been willing to help.

 However, the original owner’s timid personality meant she had endured the bullying without speaking up. Seeing that Director Hu was taking her side, Jiang Li didn’t hesitate and put on a weak and pitiful appearance. “Director Hu, since you said that, I’ll take this opportunity to ask for your help. My stepbrother took my job; I hope the factory can give it back to me.” Everyone felt that Jiang Li’s request was reasonable.

 Jiang Chengye had taken Jiang Li’s job; it was only natural to get it back. Director Hu immediately agreed. Xia Meifeng immediately tried to stop her. “Jiang Li, your father’s job is gone; your brother’s can’t be gone too. You’ve already been registered for the countryside program; it can’t be canceled. Even if the factory gives it back to you, you can’t work.” Once registered for the countryside program, it couldn’t be canceled. Xia Meifeng was telling the truth, but Jiang Li wasn’t willing to let Jiang Chengye benefit from her job. Jiang Li sneered, “If I can’t work it myself, I can sell it.

The countryside is so hard; I need some money. I’ll sell this job and get some money.” Jiang Li looked at Director Hu. “Director Hu, after my job is returned, please help me sell it.” Director Hu nodded in agreement. When the machinery factory saw that a job was being sold, they immediately started bidding in front of Director Hu. In the city, if children didn’t have jobs after coming of age, they would be sent to the countryside. Parents who didn’t want their children to suffer would buy job positions for them.

However, job opportunities in the city were scarce, and even with money, it wasn’t easy to buy a job.  Jiang Li’s job position was immediately sought after.  Through open bidding, Jiang Li’s job position was sold for 1600 yuan. At that time, ordinary job positions were around 800-900 yuan. Jiang Li’s position was more expensive because of the good unit and position. Director Hu thought the price was reasonable and asked Jiang Li if she was willing to sell.