"Sister-in-law, Shanghai is really beautiful, and the provincial capital doesn’t have so many nice places," Shen Xiu said both excitedly and a bit disappointedly.
"What are you talking about?" Lin Xiaoguai couldn’t help laughing, "Who told you that the provincial capital doesn’t have nice places?"
Although she was used to calling it the provincial capital, you should know, as the provincial city of Z province, people from all over the country are more accustomed to calling it Hang City, where the attractions are definitely no fewer than those in Shanghai.
"Really?" Shen Xiu asked skeptically, "But whenever I suggest going out to play with my classmates, except for watching movies and shopping, we haven’t been anywhere special."
"I think you could ask Ji Hongfen, she should be very willing to go out and play with you." Lin Xiaoguai could tell that Ji Hongfen’s family was well-off, so while other people might worry about expenses, she probably wouldn’t have that problem.
Shen Xiu, though now financially comfortable, had experienced hardships in life and caught on to the crux of the issue, "Are they reluctant to spend money?" She had learned that day that many places did not charge an entrance fee, but to enter various attractions, you had to buy a ticket, some for a few cents, some for a dime; it might not seem like a lot, but it adds up after visiting many places.
Lin Xiaoguai nodded with a smile, "Actually, if they are hesitant to spend money, although they can’t visit famous sites like West Lake, there are still other places they can go. You should know, Z province has quite a few ancient towns, you could go visit those together."
She had visited many such places in her previous life, after all, back then, the landmarks were crowded with people. To find tranquility, besides private islands, those ancient towns were a great choice.
"Really?" Shen Xiu’s eyes widened.
Lin Xiaoguai nodded, "You can find out the specifics yourself." She knew quite a few ancient towns, but was not able to specify their exact locations because the geography and road conditions at this time were very different from the future.
"Wanwan, Xiu’er, stop chatting and go to sleep," Shen Chi said as he came out of the room after bathing and settling his son.
"Got it," Shen Xiu replied and turned to Lin Xiaoguai, "Sister-in-law, I’m going to sleep."
"Go ahead," Lin Xiaoguai nodded and watched her enter the guest room.
In the following days, although Shen Chi was busy, Lin Xiaoguai still managed to take Shen Xiu to several of Shanghai’s attractions, even calling Su Qianqian out to join them.
The three women got along very well, until Shen Xiu started school, and Su Qianqian still came to visit Lin Xiaoguai from time to time.
Of course, this was also because she currently had no job, so she had more free time.
"Xiao Guai, are you knitting gloves?" One day, as soon as she entered the door and saw Lin Xiaoguai quickly knitting with yarn and needles, Su Qianqian exclaimed in surprise.
"Have a seat," Lin Xiaoguai greeted her to sit down before responding, "Yep, for Shen Chi. Do you want a pair? If you want, I can knit you a pair too." A pair of gloves was just an afternoon’s work for her, so she didn’t mind knitting an extra pair.
"No need, I have a pair my mother knitted for me," Su Qianqian said, blushing slightly before hesitantly asking, "But can you teach me? I want to knit a pair for Chen Han."
"Sure," Lin Xiaoguai answered readily, yet felt somewhat puzzled by Su Qianqian.
To say that Su Qianqian felt nothing for Chen Han would definitely be a lie, given her attitude of ignoring all men except Mr. Su. Although she didn’t talk much to Chen Han, she definitely treated him differently; after all, she was even planning to knit gloves for him now.
But to say that Su Qianqian was in love with Chen Han didn’t seem right either. While she blushed when talking about him, it was certainly not out of shyness, but merely embarrassment. Women of this era were conservative in expressing their emotions, and that was typical.
Lin Xiaoguai always felt there was something missing between those two, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
"Xiao Guai, what kind of job do you think I should look for?" Lin Xiaoguai was chatting with Su Qianqian while knitting when she suddenly asked.
"A job?" Lin Xiaoguai found her sudden change of topic rather perplexing.
Su Qianqian spoke with her head down, "I’ve been to a textile factory before, but the workshop owner was always pawing at me, so I left after two days. I’ve also tried a food factory, but the women there were incredibly mean; I endured it for a month before giving up. I then went to the meat processing plant..."
She paused there, taking a while before adding, "Although my parents say they can support me, I always feel that I should have a job."
"What did you study?" Lin Xiaoguai inquired after some thought.
Hearing her mention several workplaces, she couldn’t really discern any connection between them.
"I studied accounting," Su Qianqian said with a wry smile, "My father was planning to arrange a clerical officer position for me, but now..."
Lin Xiaoguai liked this trait of Su Qianqian’s—despite caring about outside gossip, she never shied away; she was open and straightforward.
However, upon hearing her words, Lin Xiaoguai also felt troubled. It was clear that Su Qianqian was delicate and couldn’t take grievances—Lin Xiaoguai didn’t see anything wrong with that. In fact, she was someone who also couldn’t take offense. But now that the best path was closed to her, and other jobs... Given Su Qianqian’s naivety and lack of worldly wisdom, it was really tough to choose.
— In fact, after spending some time with her, Lin Xiaoguai found that Su Qianqian was not so much ignorant of the ways of the world as she was too direct, and without guards against others. No matter who it was, if they did something wrong or something she found unacceptable, she would point it out directly, and she would think she was being kind, without considering whether the other party might hold a grudge.
Lin Xiaoguai didn’t dis; she actually quite liked it, but there were always more narrow-minded people in the world, especially since Su Qianqian had such an enviable and beautiful face.
Lin Xiaoguai thought that finding a suitable job for Su Qianqian wasn’t about the workplace but the people in it.
But there couldn’t always be broad-minded individuals everywhere, so this was indeed a big conundrum. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian, along with monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)