RIRW – Chapter 133

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At this moment, the Old Zuo household was bustling with excitement. Zuo Shuisheng and the village elders were all sitting in the courtyard of the Old Zuo residence, feeling proud and happy for Zuo Cong, a young man who had now secured a government job.

Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui weren’t stingy either—they brought out sunflower seeds and peanuts they had brought back from the provincial capital to treat everyone.

Grandmother Zou watched as things were brought out for the guests. Although it pained her a little, thinking about the great news involving her grandson made her feel at ease.

This was a big deal for the Zuo family. It was only right to spend a little on such a joyous occasion.

“Zuo Cong!”

Just as everyone was praising Zuo Cong, a shrill scream came from the entrance, startling the people in the courtyard.

Grandmother Zou frowned and said, “What’s all the yelling for? Trying to summon spirits or something?”

Li Xue ran in from outside, her eyes red and brimming with anger as she glared at the Zuo family. Her voice was sharp as she shouted, “Where did you get this job from? Was it really my father’s job that you took?!”

The others were all confused by what she was saying.

Why was this female educated youth involved with the Dacheng family again? No one had noticed anything before.

Zuo Shuisheng spoke up, “Comrade, what are you saying? This is Xiao Cong’s uncle’s job. It has nothing to do with your father!”

Upon hearing that, Li Xue’s expression grew even darker. “It really was my dad’s job! How is that possible? Why would he give it to you? Did you trick him?!”

Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui both wore grim expressions.

The details of this job handover couldn’t be explained easily. It was just too shameful.

Zuo Dacheng said, “Comrade Li Xue, go back for now. I’ll explain things to you later.”

“Explain what? You just don’t dare to tell the truth, do you? You tricked my dad out of his job and now you’re too ashamed to admit it!” Li Xue snapped, seeing their evasiveness as a sign of guilt.

Zuo Dacheng’s face darkened. “No one tricked your father. He gave the job to Xiao Cong himself.”

“I don’t believe that! If my dad was going to hand over his job, why would he pass it to an outsider and not me, his own daughter?!”

“What’s going on here, Dacheng? How is Xiao Cong’s uncle also Comrade Su Xue’s—oh, I mean, Comrade Li Xue’s—father?” someone asked in confusion.

Zuo Dacheng answered awkwardly, “Her father is Xiao Hui’s biological older brother. A few years back, Xiao Hui’s family got in trouble and was sent to the farm. She and her mother remarried and changed their surname. We didn’t acknowledge the relationship earlier because we didn’t want to drag her down.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened. But since the surname’s been changed, they’re outsiders now. Why is she still trying to fight for the job?” Zuo Shuisheng said.

Grandmother Zou, furious, snapped, “This is just shameless! How much food has Dacheng’s family sent to the farm over the years? Her dad didn’t lack a single bite! Now that he’s given us the job, what’s wrong with that? Don’t think you can bully our Zuo family!”

The old lady didn’t care about any of the messy details—anyone trying to snatch food from their family’s mouth was her enemy.

“You’re all bullies! Shame on you!” Li Xue yelled, furious at how smug the Zuo family looked after taking advantage.

Zuo Cong had been silent the whole time. But now, hearing Su Xue (now Li Xue) start cursing, he couldn’t hold back anymore. “Your mother’s the one who’s shameless! You want to know why the job wasn’t given to you? It’s because your mom committed a crime. She falsely accused her ex-husband during the divorce and got caught. She’s already been arrested! You’re her daughter, so you’re implicated. You failed the political review and can’t inherit the job!”

Li Xue was stunned for a moment, then shouted, “Liar! I don’t believe you!”

“Believe it or not, your own dad gave the job to whoever he wanted—what right do you have to interfere?” Grandmother Zou yelled. “Your dad was at the farm all this time, and you never even visited. Now that there’s a job to be had, you show up to snatch it? Shame on you!”

Zuo Shuisheng’s wife added, “Exactly! She’s just an ungrateful little brat. No wonder her dad didn’t want to give her the job.”

The Ninth Granny chimed in, “Some people just know who’s good and who’s not.”

Even the Third Granny, who had poor eyesight, joined in, “She didn’t even acknowledge her own aunt to avoid getting dragged down!”

Surrounded by these sharp-tongued elderly women, Li Xue’s face turned bright red with anger.

She didn’t dare argue with them, so she shouted at Zuo Dacheng instead, “Write me a statement! I’m going to ask my dad myself. I don’t believe a word you people say!”

Grandmother Zou said, “Write it, write it! Save us the trouble of her coming here and going crazy. She’s ruining a perfectly good day.”

Zuo Dacheng agreed. This was something Li Wenchang needed to explain himself. No matter what they said, it wouldn’t convince her. Better to stop her from causing a scene in the village.

Truthfully, he was already considering asking Secretary Zhang whether they could transfer her to another production team.

Once Zuo Cong’s matters were settled, he’d go look for Secretary Zhang.

As for Zuo Cong, the job handover was going smoothly. He even wrote up a teaching syllabus and gave it to Li Hui, who would substitute for now. A new teacher would be found later. After finishing things at the school, Li Hui and Zuo Dacheng helped him pack some essentials to bring to the city.

Grandmother Zou even stuffed ten yuan into his hand, telling him to spend it in the city—dress neatly and look like a city person. Ideally, he’d find a city girl to marry.

Zuo Cong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He didn’t want to take the money, but Grandmother Zou shoved it into his pocket, and he couldn’t push it away. Zuo Dacheng told him to just take it and buy something for his grandma after he got his salary.

Grandmother Zou nodded vigorously—that was exactly what she had in mind.

The next day, Zuo Cong and Li Xue ended up taking the same bus to the provincial capital. But they didn’t exchange a single word during the trip. Li Xue looked at him as if he were her enemy, and Zuo Cong didn’t bother with her.

By the time they arrived in the provincial capital, it was already evening.

As soon as he got off the bus, Zuo Cong saw Shen Yiming’s jeep and ran over with a smile. “Brother Yiming!”

Shen Yiming waved at him, motioning for him to get in the car. The two of them drove off in style.

Li Xue watched them leave so dashingly, then looked at herself standing there all alone. She bit her lip in frustration. Come to think of it, she was the one who knew Shen Yiming first and was the first to fall for him. If she hadn’t later fallen for Li Chenliang, how could she have let Zuo Dan swoop in and benefit?

“What’s so great about it? He just works at a newspaper. He’s got no real backing—let’s see how far he really goes.”

She muttered to herself and headed home with her bag.

It was already late, and taking a bus wasn’t convenient. Li Xue actually walked all the way home from the station. Fueled by frustration, she knocked on the door with extra force, making a loud racket.

Li Wenchang thought someone was here to cause trouble again and was too scared to open the door.

Hearing no response, Li Xue shouted, “Dad, open the door!”

When he recognized her voice, Li Wenchang realized it was his daughter and quickly opened the door. As soon as it opened, Li Xue barged in with her things and slammed her luggage onto the table. She noticed how unusually quiet the house was and how empty it felt—there was no trace of cooking or life. And her mother wasn’t there. A bad feeling instantly crept into her heart.

“Where’s Mom? Did something really happen to her?” she asked anxiously.

Li Wenchang sighed. “So you already know?”

“What happened? What do you mean something happened to Mom? And did you really give your job to Zuo Cong?”

Li Wenchang felt too ashamed to talk about what Guo Caiping had done. “Don’t worry about your mom for now. As for the job, yes, I gave it to Zuo Cong. But don’t worry—even if I don’t have a job, I can still support you.”

“You really gave it to him?!” She had come back for exactly this reason. Now, hearing confirmation, she was furious and completely forgot about her mother. “How could you give him the job? I’m your real daughter! Why would you give it to someone else? Are you stupid or just heartless?!”

Faced with her accusations, Li Wenchang felt extremely aggrieved. First Guo Caiping had blamed him, and now even his own daughter. Holding his head, he said, “What good am I? It wasn’t even my decision to make. Your mother… she made a mistake. And because of her, my conduct was called into question, so I couldn’t keep the job.”

“Then why not give it to me? I’m your daughter!” Li Xue was so angry, her eyes were red, looking at him as if he were her enemy.

Li Wenchang explained helplessly, “Because your mother got in trouble, you were implicated. The education bureau wouldn’t approve your political background check.”

Li Xue didn’t believe it. “That again? What could my mom possibly have done that would cause such a big problem?! That Zuo Cong said she framed someone—what happened exactly?”

“…” Seeing that she wouldn’t let it go, Li Wenchang knew he couldn’t hide it any longer. “Your mom really did cross the line…” He told her how Guo Caiping had falsely accused Su Yidao and a woman from the slaughterhouse just to get a divorce, and how the slaughterhouse had raised hell at the education bureau, leading to a police investigation.

“No one even got hurt! Why did it have to blow up like that?” Li Xue said angrily. “That butcher just didn’t want to divorce and kept dragging it out. So what if she wrote a letter? Who did it hurt? How can the police just arrest people without figuring out the truth? And why can’t I take over the job?”

Li Wenchang hadn’t expected his daughter to say something like that. Even though he didn’t blame Caiping for dragging him into the mess—since he shared responsibility—what she did was still wrong. She hurt someone.

“Xiaoxue, your mom did mess up, but she did it for our family.”

“I don’t care who was right or wrong! That job shouldn’t have gone to Zuo Cong. His family has never treated us well—why should they get the job?”

Li Wenchang frowned. “It’s already been decided. There’s no changing it now.”

“Then they can’t just get it for free!” Li Xue took a few deep breaths and said, “They need to help me get my urban residency transferred back and help me get into the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University. Dad, that job was really valuable. They can’t get it for nothing—they have to do something in return.”

Li Wenchang looked helpless. “I… I’ll try to bring it up.”

Meanwhile, over at the Shen house, Grandma had already gone to bed because it was late. But Shen Yiming still needed to brief Zuo Cong on what to expect at his new job, so he brought him into the room to chat for a bit.

Shen Yiming said, “When you get to the office, don’t rush to open up to anyone. Be polite to everyone, but stay alert and watch closely. After a while, you’ll figure out who’s decent and who’s not—then you can decide who to befriend.”

“Got it, Brother Yiming.” Zuo Cong nodded obediently.

“When you get there, speak less and observe more,” Shen Yiming added seriously.

Zuo Dan chimed in, “Your brother-in-law’s right. You’re just a fresh kid, and the moment you talk, people will see right through you. It’s easy to get caught out. Keep your mouth shut and act like you’re deep.”

Shen Yiming ruffled her hair and said to Zuo Cong, “What she said makes sense. But that doesn’t mean don’t speak at all. Once you’re familiar with the environment and know what can and can’t be said, then you can start speaking up.”

“Mhm, I’ll remember it all.”

“Alright, it’s late. That’s enough for now. After work tomorrow, we’ll talk more. You’ll stay with us here from now on—it’s more convenient for commuting by bike,” Shen Yiming instructed.

“Brother Yiming, I can just stay in the dorm.”

Shen Yiming laughed. “Not for now. We’ll see later. Your sister’s worried about you.”

Zuo Dan nodded. That airhead—she really was worried he’d get taken advantage of. She’d keep an eye on him and train him properly before letting him out into the world.

Only then did Zuo Cong get up to go rest. Just as he was about to leave, he remembered something and said, “Oh right, Sis, I came here with Uncle’s daughter Li Xue this time. She found out I took over my uncle’s job and came back to ask him about it.”

Zuo Dan raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Alright, I got it. The job’s already yours. It doesn’t matter who comes back now. Go get some rest.”

Zuo Cong then left the room.

After Shen Yiming shut the door and returned to the bed, Zuo Dan said while sitting at the edge, “Comrade Yiming, I can already picture how furious Li Xue must look right now. I just hope she doesn’t cause a scene.”

Helping her take off her shoes and settle in bed, Shen Yiming turned off the lights and said, “I think that’s unlikely.”

Zuo Dan chuckled, “Honestly, I don’t even care if she stirs up trouble.”

Because Li Xue was in such a rush, Li Wenchang took her out early the next morning to make a phone call. On the way, he asked, “Do you want to go see your mom?”

“…No. Seeing her would just upset me.” Li Xue replied, then added, “What’s important now is handling my urban registration and the university issue. I can visit her anytime after I’m back.”

“…Alright then.” Li Wenchang sighed.

When they got to the public phone, he dialed the number for Zuo Family Village. It was Grandmother Zou who picked up—she usually helped out by answering calls when nothing else was going on.

Hearing that it was Zuo Cong’s uncle, Grandmother Zou was quite polite. “That matter with Xiao Cong—thanks so much… What? Li Xue wants to return to the city and go to university? Wants Dacheng to help? Dacheng’s not here—he’s busy. I’ll tell him when he’s back. My hearing’s not great either, so I’m hanging up now.”

And with that, she hung up the phone. Then she spat twice. “Going to university, huh? As if the university belongs to her family.”

On the other end, when Li Xue heard that it was the old lady and not Zuo Dacheng who answered, she got upset. “What’s the point of telling her? I’m heading back soon—if we don’t get this done quickly, I won’t know when I can come back again.”

Li Wenchang was at his wit’s end. “Why don’t you go back first? I can call Dacheng later and talk to him.”

“No way! My mom promised me last time too, but after I went back, there was no news at all. I’m not falling for it again. If they don’t fix this, I’m not going back!” Li Xue said angrily.

“You can’t just not go back! The note says you’ve only got four days. If you don’t return on time, it’ll be a big problem,” Li Wenchang tried to persuade her.

Li Xue shouted, “They stole my job—how can they still have the nerve to punish me? I’m telling you, if they don’t fix this, I’m not going back!”