Shirley didn’t understand what Xifeng meant, but the grip she had on her food loosened. They were all there to see her, especially Xifeng and Lianhua; hardly a few women in the village were as pitiable as them.
"Things will get better, what do you mean by that? Did Zhenping get a promotion again? It couldn’t be, isn’t he on family leave right now?"
"No, that’s not it. It’s about Shen Meng herself. A county official came yesterday and arranged a job for her, a ticket seller in the county. She got a formal position with a salary of thirty a month, and benefits too. She’ll start after the New Year. Look at that, she landed such a steady job without making any noise, truly enviable."
"Oh wow, that’s really great news! Congratulations, Shen Meng!"
Shen Meng smiled and pushed the bag of things she brought towards Shirley.
"It’s thanks to Zhenping. He had a comrade who recommended me, and since I haven’t been following the army, the government took care of me. It’s nothing much. Now you can accept this, right? From now on, just take good care of yourself and live a prosperous life."
Wang Lianhua and Xifeng also took out what they had brought—one brought half a pound of brown sugar, and the other brought five eggs.
"We sisters don’t have as much as they do; these were all saved by us. Take these to eat and nourish Daya and Xiao Ya. From now on, you can’t slack off. We know you weren’t like this before. Don’t worry, I have talked to Yong Jun, and he has discussed with a few other people in the village. They are all keeping an eye on Lai Zi’s family. If they come to bother you or your kids, we won’t stand for it."
Shirley’s eyes reddened with tears, crying softly. There was nothing more heartwarming than having someone pull you up when you’ve fallen into a quagmire. All these people were her benefactors; she felt that she could never repay their kindness, no matter what.
"That won’t happen anymore. From now on, I will take good care of the two kids and live a decent life. I won’t let everyone down."
Wang Lianhua felt envious seeing her like this. Unsatisfied with her own life, she too wished to live like Shirley, with her children under her own care. But she dared not do so. Lu Yonggang was not as bad as Lai Zi. He was harsh on her and the kids but had his good moments, so she thought she might as well live this life as it is!
After returning home, Shen Meng felt somewhat emotional. However, her sentiments didn’t last long because her son, Lu Mingkai, came home wailing, covered in mud and emitting an unspeakable stench, while his biological father, looking grim, disgustedly picked him up with one hand.
"What’s the matter? Why do you smell so bad?"
"Mom, sob sob, Mom, I fell into a manure pit, sob sob... I smell so bad..."
Shen Meng: "....."
Shen Meng took a big step back after seeing the father and son like that, and Mingkai, noticing his mother’s actions, realized he was being scorned and immediately cried even louder.
"Mom~....."
Looking at the child’s accusing... rather, his pleading eyes, Shen Meng felt a bit guilty.
"Look, Mingkai, it’s not that Mom is disgusted by you, but she can’t hold you looking like this. Let me go get some hot water ready, and let your dad give you a bath."
"No, no! I don’t want Dad, I don’t want Dad, he’ll hit me; I want Mom, I want Mom, sob sob sob..."
He hadn’t realized how awfully he smelled, and even stretched out his arms, hoping Shen Meng would quickly come over and hold him like usual, and hopefully give him a kiss.
Shen Meng’s face twitched. No way could she hold this child now; he was like a ball of manure. She felt like giving him a kick and sending him flying like a ball, but forget it, this manure ball was far too repulsive to even get close to.
"Would you just shut up, Lu Mingkai? You had a perfect chance to go out and have fun with your dad, how did you manage to mess it up like this?"
"Whaaa, I want Mommy, whaaa..."
The child offered no explanation, so she had no choice but to look at Lu Zhenping, whose frustration had him red in the eyes and short of breath, an eagle-like man now flustered by his own child.
"I’ve been in the army for so many years, I’ve suffered all kinds of hardships. Today, he insisted on going out with me to help with the village work. Xiao Meng, do you know? Before, Mingyang and the others could just glance at their books and he’d understand instantly, but today I don’t know what got into him; he even got simple math wrong, 1875+37258, he couldn’t add it up correctly and was so stubborn about it. I told him he was wrong, and he still wouldn’t admit it. I’m like a man of steel; I really wanted to smack him. Not only did he talk back, but he was also hopping around and fell into a manure pit. If it weren’t for Yong Jun pulling him back, he could have become the first kid in Lu Family Village to drown in shit and piss."
Shen Meng: "...."
She felt like crying, she really understood how angry one could be!!!
"Steel, no, I mean Zhenping, calm down. He’s your own child; don’t be angry, don’t be angry. Besides, the question you asked was a bit too advanced. Ming Kai is still young, what’s the rush? I could be infuriated to death by you guys every day. I’m going to boil some water, sigh!"
Shen Meng said this and ran off to the kitchen as if making her escape.
Lu Zhenping: "..."
Lu Mingkai: "..."
At the end of the day, the disdain was obvious, so obvious!!!
These days, aside from looking forward to food distribution, the people of Lu Family Village were discussing Shen Meng’s new job as a ticket seller in the county town. Zhou Jiaojiao got a bit angry when she heard about this.
She might have had a slot for a textile factory worker, but could that be the same as being a relaxed ticket seller?
Moreover, she was pregnant. After giving birth next year, she would have to delay starting the job for several months. This comparison made her feel very uncomfortable, feeling that the Li family and the Hu family were clearly looking down on others.
In her irritation, she took her sewing basket and walked out of the house, seemingly forgetting to lock the door.
Hearing something, Wu Xianglan hurriedly came out of her room, anxiously and nervously running over. After entering the room, she rummaged around, making sure everything was put back in its place.
It took a while, but she finally found the notification in Zhou Jiaojiao’s vanity drawer, read it, and then put it back.
Knowing where it was would be enough; it was necessary to take it only when reporting for the job. Otherwise, letting Zhou Jiaojiao find out it was missing would certainly cause trouble. They couldn’t tear each other apart just yet.
Zhou Jiaojiao originally took her sewing stuff to find someone familiar to do some sewing work with, but suddenly, seeing two kids playing with pebbles, transferring them from the left hand to the right, she paused, had a flash of insight, and turned back to the courtyard.
They were both iron rice bowl jobs with similar salaries. She couldn’t do heavy work while pregnant, but the elder sister-in-law wasn’t pregnant and could easily swap jobs. This way, she could relax a lot.
Thinking this, a smile of relief appeared on her face, and she thought that since her elder brother and sister-in-law were so filial, buying big head cotton shoes for their parents, as long as the parents spoke up, the elder sister-in-law would definitely agree.