"Which factory is recruiting?"
Zhao Juxiang furrowed her brows after being scolded by her mother-in-law in a passive-aggressive way, not understanding what was wrong this time.
Ever since Ji Ying had moved out after the family split, her mother-in-law had found fault with everything she did. She’d had to do even more chores around the house, and she had been grumbling inwardly for a while now, thinking it would have been better if they hadn’t split the family in the first place!
As for Zhihao, he neither found work nor got paid!
"Isn’t Ji Ying working in that factory owned by some doctor’s grandson? I heard that Yuchun’s wife has gone there too, as well as people from the Yao Family and the Cai Family." Liu Sanmei didn’t get along with these families and, paradoxically, the very people from the families she didn’t get along with had all gone there.
"What, are they still hiring at the factory?" Zhao Juxiang stood up immediately at the possibility. Working in a factory meant there was money to earn.
Liu Sanmei had argued with Hu Aihong and was feeling uncomfortable all over.
Zhao Juxiang figured that working in the factory might mean, at best, thirty yuan. She would probably have to watch Ji Ying’s face, but with a shift of her eyes, she said, "Mom, don’t be angry. We don’t care about getting a job at the factory. Even if Ji Ying doesn’t tell us, we don’t need it."
Liu Sanmei gave her a sidelong glare that seemed to say, "But it’s money!"
"Zhihao’s father-in-law works at the supply and sales cooperative, a formal institution. If us mothers and grandmothers go work in a factory, wouldn’t that be embarrassing for Zhihao?" Zhao Juxiang said, smiling. She added, "By the way, a couple of days ago, Zhihao brought back some fabric, saying it was a gift for grandma."
"Really?" Liu Sanmei was skeptical.
If it truly was Zhihao who brought it when he came back, why had it taken several days for it to come out?
Zhao Juxiang awkwardly explained, "Mom, I’ve been busy lately and just forgot about it. Mom, come and choose some, the fabrics are quite nice."
Seeing the fabric Xu Zhihao brought back, Liu Sanmei was immediately pleased, boasting, "My grandson really knows how to care for his grandma."
Zhao Juxiang smiled affectionately. She had planned to make several outfits for herself, but now it seemed she would have to make one less. Oh well, compared to working at Ji Ying’s factory, she felt it was better to dote on herself.
Her husband worked at a school, and his monthly salary wasn’t small. Zhihao was promising; worried that his mother might need money, he often gave her some. The tuition for Zhiyuan and Jiaojiao was covered by their grandparents, so her own money was enough for herself and to buy pretty clothes for Jiaojiao. She even had some savings set aside.
Zhao Juxiang wasn’t worried about money and didn’t want to work in the factory.
Taking advantage of a class-free weekend afternoon, Xu Nianhua planned to buy a pair of shoes for her second brother using her allowance and the money he had given her.
Her second brother was still wearing a pair of liberation shoes, which had been patched up twice. With the weather getting cooler, it was time for a change.
Liberation shoes cost five yuan a pair, whereas layered cloth shoes with better designs cost six yuan. Xu Nianhua decisively bought a pair of the latter, feeling their softness in her hand and taking care to buy the right size for her brother.
When she left, Ji Ying thought her daughter wanted to buy clothes, so she gave her twenty yuan.
Now that she was earning money, her daughter had translated contracts and made a hundred yuan, in addition to selling mung bean jelly and bean sprouts; it had certainly been hard work.