The next day, Jiang Ruyu got up, washed her face, brushed her teeth, ate breakfast, and then took the package that her grandmother had prepared the day before. Inside was a jar of pickled radish cubes, a jar of stir-fried beef sauce, a pair of cloth shoes that her grandmother had made before, and a letter.

She went into the kitchen and, discreetly, took out a five-pound bag of refined white rice, which she had received from signing in at home earlier. The five pounds of rice, packed in an ordinary cloth bag, was also stuffed into the package her grandmother had prepared.

"Grandma, Jiang Hui and Jiang Lin, I'm off to work." Jiang Ruyu said goodbye while holding the package and left.

"Go ahead, but keep an eye on things on the way."

"good."

Jiang Ruyu hurried to the post office as soon as she left the house. She mailed the letter first, then the package. Now, the post office has to check packages before you can mail anything.

The post office staff were somewhat shocked to see a bag of polished rice in the package, and looked at Jiang Ruyu with some surprise: "This rice was also sent?"

"Yes, my brother is only twenty years old. He has never worked before. In the first year, he received government subsidies for grain and money, but this year there are none. He doesn't even earn enough to eat, so my grandma squeezed out some of the family's food rations and sent it to him."

The post office staff were itching to buy some of the excellent rice: "Do you have any more rice this good? Can we exchange some?"

Jiang Ruyu was a little confused. She had no idea how this could be done. Looking at her older sister, it was as if a block had been opened in Jiang Ruyu's mind. She coughed twice and said, "Um, I need to go back and ask Grandma about this."

Wang Fang smiled and said, "Of course, of course. My name is Wang Fang, you can call me Sister Wang. You can come find me once you're sure."

“Okay, Sister Wang, I work at the city department store. If you want to buy something in the future, come to me and I’ll give you special treatment so you don’t have to wait in line.”

"Oh, that's great! It's settled then." Wang Fang's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected that anyone could work as a sales clerk at the city department store. No wonder they could send such high-quality white rice; their family must be quite well-off.

After sending the items, Jiang Ruyu went to work. When she arrived at her workstation, Master Zhang had already arrived. She had been working for a few days and was adapting well. Master Zhang was an easy-going and good-tempered person who was also very attentive to her. She quickly adapted to her current job. Wu Mei was fired on the second day after she arrived. Out of humanitarian considerations, Jiang Ruyu did not accept the half-month's salary that belonged to her family.

Jiang Ruyu's colleagues all thought she was very generous, but Wu Mei thought she was awful. She was doing her job perfectly well, but Jiang Ruyu's arrival made it impossible for her to finish. Not only did she not appreciate the favor, but she also glared at Jiang Ruyu fiercely when she left.

Jiang Ruyu actually thought it was fine this way. She didn't feel guilty at all. This job originally belonged to her family, but Wu Mei made it seem like she had stolen it from her. It was ridiculous that after so long, she thought that the job rented to her was her own.

The candy counter did brisk business all morning. They have a wide variety of candies, including chocolates that used to be only available abroad, but now the country has its own production lines for them. They also have many different flavors, such as fruit candies, milk candies, and mints. Cadres and employees who come to Beijing on business trips always make a stop at the Beijing Department Store to buy some things to take back with them. All the items from the Beijing Department Store come in packaging bags with the Beijing Department Store logo printed on them, and when they take them back, their colleagues and neighbors are always envious.

After a busy morning, around 10 a.m., a young couple came to Jiang Ruyu's counter. It was obvious that they were a couple, but she recognized the man; he was Zheng Yang, the eldest brother of the Zheng family who had saved her before.

Zheng Yang was two years older than her. They used to play together often when they were young. But as they grew up and became aware of gender differences, they gradually drifted apart. Later, Zheng Yang passed the exam for a transportation team and became a truck driver, while she was still a student. They became increasingly estranged from each other.

"Brother Zheng, what would you like to buy?" Jiang Ruyu asked with a polite smile.

Zheng Yang looked at Jiang Ruyu, who was wearing a white shirt with pink floral print, and a sadness hidden in his eyes that no one else could see. This girl is getting more and more beautiful. He just wondered who would be lucky enough to marry her in the future...

"It's you. You work here now? How's the injury on your head?" His gaze fell on the pink scar, and he immediately pursed his lips.

"Yes, if you want anything in the future, you can just let Xiaoyue tell me, and you won't have to make another trip. My little injury is nothing serious. Oh, right, I haven't thanked you in person yet. This is a life-saving favor." Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Yang's younger sister, Zheng Xiaoyue, are only one year apart and get along quite well. She and Zheng Yang are only two years apart and often played together when they were little.

"Zheng Yang, who is this? Aren't you going to introduce her to me?" Jiang Xiaoyu, who was standing to the side, felt a little uncomfortable watching her boyfriend chatting so animatedly with a pretty woman. She moved closer to Zheng Yang, snuggled up to his arm, and said with a coquettish smile.

Zheng Yang glanced at Jiang Xiaoyu, who was squeezed next to him, and felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything. He just smiled and introduced her to Jiang Ruyu, but there was a strong bitterness in his smile: "This is my blind date, Jiang Xiaoyu." He then introduced her to Jiang Xiaoyu: "This is my younger sister who grew up in the same courtyard as me, Jiang Ruyu."

"Hello, Ruyu, it's nice to meet you. We'll be neighbors from now on." Jiang Xiaoyu shook hands with Jiang Ruyu with a fake smile. For some reason, she disliked Jiang Ruyu from the first moment she saw her.

Jiang Ruyu is very shrewd. She could tell at a glance that Zheng Yang's partner didn't like her or even hated her. So she didn't try to curry favor with her: "Haha, then I wish you two a happy ending soon."

Jiang Xiaoyu smiled and glanced at Zheng Yang: "Thank you for your kind words, Zheng Yang. I want White Rabbit milk candy. Can you buy me two pounds?"

Jiang Ruyu was taken aback when she heard "two jin". Master Zhang was already used to it and knew all kinds of people.

Zheng Yang chuckled, ignoring Jiang Xiaoyu, and said to Jiang Ruyu with a smile, "Give me half a pound of apple-flavored fruit candy, half a pound of milk candy, and a pound of sponge cake."

"Okay, I'll get it for you." Jiang Ruyu turned around to get the things.

Jiang Xiaoyu's face instantly fell: "Zheng Yang, what do you mean? I only want two pounds of White Rabbit candy and you can't even part with it?"

Zheng Yang, hands in his pockets, looked down at Jiang Xiaoyu and said, "First of all, we're on a blind date, and it's not certain whether it will work out! Also, you need to understand that we've only known each other for two days. Do you think it's appropriate for you to ask me for two pounds of milk candy that costs 2.5 yuan per pound? Do you think I'm a sucker? How much do you earn a month? How dare you ask for something worth five yuan?"

Jiang Xiaoyu felt incredibly embarrassed by Zheng Yang's words and pointed at his face, saying, "You said you drove a truck, but I didn't expect you to be so stingy. Bah, I really misjudged you."

Jiang Ruyu, holding the brown paper bag, looked at Zheng Yang and mocked him mercilessly: "Your girlfriend ran away, aren't you going to chase after her?"

Zheng Yang raised an eyebrow: "Tch, we've only known each other for two days, what kind of relationship is that? Why bother pursuing him?"

"Tch, be careful when you get back and Uncle Zheng beats you up. Do you still want your things?"

"Yes, I'll buy it for Xiaoyue."