Xinyan listened to her and laughed, "Being honest usually doesn’t matter if it doesn’t concern one’s own interests. Now with the family situation, if the job ends up with Qiu Qingmei, given her selfish nature, I’m afraid she wouldn’t contribute even a penny back.
Such a big family just relying on the temporary job salary of Qiu’s third, they’d end up scraping by like you said. Luckily, Qiu Qingmei’s mother wasn’t confused this time, otherwise, she’d be at odds with her son and daughters-in-law."
While talking, the steamed buns and rolls were already on the steamer.
Zhao Jianlan saw her finish, "Do you need to do anything else? I’ll help you."
Xinyan washed her hands with water, "No need, there’s nothing much left to do. I’ve packed everything. Tomorrow morning, just need to head to the city to catch the bus."
Zhao Jianlan suddenly remembered something and smacked her head, "Oh, I knew I forgot something! How could I forget such an important thing."
Xinyan looked at her puzzled, "What did you forget?"
Zhao Jianlan got up and moved closer to Xinyan, glancing outside the door, "Everyone in the compound is saying you’re seeing Director He. Is it true?"
Xinyan smiled at her and threw a few sticks of wood into the fire, "What do you think of Director He?"
Zhao Jianlan, seeing her expression, understood perfectly, "When did it start?"
Xinyan didn’t hide it, "We confirmed the relationship not long ago."
Zhao Jianlan���s expression turned serious, "Xinyan, I heard from my dad before that Director He is very capable and upright, but he’s a few years older than you, and he has two kids. Have you really thought it through?"
Xinyan knew Zhao Jianlan had her best interests at heart, "He’s responsible, and someone like that can’t be wrong, don’t worry. Besides, we’re just dating now. It’s a long way until marriage."
Zhao Jianlan knew Xinyan was steadier than herself and didn’t press further, "As long as you know what you’re doing."
She truly considered Xinyan a friend, a sister, and genuinely wished for her happiness.
After finishing the topic, Zhao Jianlan worried about Xinyan’s trip back to Yilan County the next day, "Xinyan, be careful on your way back tomorrow."
Xinyan nodded, "Don’t worry, I’m just going back to visit Granny Zhang, I won’t have dealings with the Yu Family or the Lyu Family."
The two chatted for a while longer before Zhao Jianlan left.
The next day, Xinyan got up early and headed to the Yuquan River with her gear. By the time the Hu Family arrived, she had already caught three big fish, although only one of them was a grass carp, which they needed.
Xinyan laughed, "You might have to wait a bit longer."
The Hu Family members laughed, "No rush, take your time fishing."
Before long, a black fish and a crucian carp in the bucket were swapped by others, which made the Hu Family a bit anxious; "Xinyan girl, don’t forget about our numbers."
Xinyan saw the float move and motioned for them to shush, starting to slowly reel in the line, and this time she caught a big grass carp. Now there were two grass carp in the bucket, both sizable.
While baiting the hook, Xinyan told the Hu Family, "Don’t worry, if we can’t get six grass carp by the end, I’ll trade other fish for you, priced as grass carp."
The Hu Family felt a bit embarrassed, but since she said so, they were reassured.
Soon she caught two more black fish, making the Hu Family think that if they couldn’t get six grass carp, trading with black fish would be a great deal indeed.
But soon after, they caught two more big grass carp in a row.
Xinyan had just been thinking that the river was teeming with grass carp; most of them caught each day were grass carp. Unexpectedly, today, except for one grass carp and one bighead carp at the start, they were all black fish.
However, the ones caught afterwards were all grass carp, dashing the Hu Family’s hopes for a bargain. Once they had six, Uncle Jiang weighed them and walked away with them.
Since Xinyan had matters to attend to that day, she packed up early. Uncle Jiang, carrying his own share of fish, cautioned, "Xinyan girl, try to steer clear of those two families when you head back, avoid any unpleasantness."
Xinyan felt warm inside, "Okay."