Chapter 422 Many Facets

Su Liting felt very tired: "I've already argued with Jiang Zhizhi once. She's a very smart woman. If I say more, I'll reveal more flaws."

Liao Guoqing frowned: "Are you willing to accept that?"

Su Liting looked up at Liao Guoqing: "I'm willing, why wouldn't I be? I know very well whether I'm academically inclined or not. Jin Huaiying did teach me back then, but I just couldn't learn it."

“I’ve thought it through. You called me here because you wanted that handwritten copy, right? You’re the one who wanted it.”

Liao Guoqing was a little anxious: "I do want it, but my purpose is also for Jin Kang. Do you want Jin Kang to be mediocre for the rest of his life? Look at the present, the college entrance examination has been reinstated, and there will be more and more talented people in the future. Don't you want Jin Kang to have a bright future?"

Su Liting hesitated again. Jin Kang was indeed her weakness, and she also wanted her son to have a bright future.

But now it seems that Jin Kang is not cut out for studying. He didn't even graduate from junior high school. In the past two years, when the college entrance examination was reinstated, she wanted Jin Kang to give it a try, but Jin Kang couldn't even concentrate on reading.

They say they get sleepy as soon as they start reading.

They were worried that Jin Kang wouldn't be able to endure the hardship of working as a laborer.

Seeing that Su Liting remained silent, Liao Guoqing quickly said, "Think it over carefully. As I said before, this is Jin Kang's only way out. Although I can't openly acknowledge him, I will definitely want him to have a good future, after all, I only have two daughters and no sons."

"My future will definitely be left to him."

...

Jiang Zhizhi has been extremely busy with work these past few days.

Now that she's in charge of the lab's operations, she has to be extra careful. Also, since some of the work was previously handled by Liao Guoqing's people, she doesn't trust them at all and has thoroughly checked everything.

I work overtime until very late every day before I get home. Sometimes when I get home, both of my children are already asleep.

Zhou Xiye would come to pick her up from get off work every day, and if they encountered a noodle vendor, he would take her to eat a bowl of noodles by the roadside.

On a cool September night, Jiang Zhizhi felt happy sitting by the roadside eating a bowl of hot soup noodles.

The noodle stall was set up under the streetlights, with a kerosene lamp on the cart and a honeycomb briquette stove on the ground next to the cart for cooking noodles.

The noodle vendor was an old woman. Her old stainless steel pot contained a vegetable broth that she had prepared at home. After cooking the noodles, she would pour a spoonful of the broth over them, and a bowl of hot noodle soup would be ready.

Jiang Zhizhi had eaten it yesterday, and when she saw it today, she couldn't resist asking Zhou Xiye to stop the car and buy her another bowl.

Firstly, she was indeed a little hungry, and secondly, the old woman looked quite old, with a hunched back, bound feet, and not very agile.

Jiang Zhizhi smiled and went over to order a bowl of noodles. The old woman obviously recognized her and even gave her a little extra noodles: "These are all handmade at home, and I also put an egg in them."

He happily explained the process to Jiang Zhizhi as he worked.

The policies have loosened considerably in the past two years, so it's not allowed to do other businesses yet, but selling snacks or something similar is still possible.

Jiang Zhizhi quickly stopped her, saying, "Grandma, that's enough. You don't need so many noodles. This is enough."

Although the old woman's face was full of wrinkles, she was optimistic: "It's okay, you young people must be tired from working so late."

After saying that, he looked at Zhou Xiye and asked, "Young man, are you in the army?"

Jiang Zhizhi exclaimed in surprise, "Grandma, you have such a good eye!"

The old woman glanced at Zhou Xiye again, then lowered her eyes and silently grabbed another handful of noodles and put them into the pot.

When it was finally done, an extra spoonful of sauce was added.

Jiang Zhizhi looked at the large bowl of noodles and was both amused and exasperated. She couldn't return it, so she thought she would give the old woman a few extra cents later.

He took another pair of chopsticks and shared the food with Zhou Xiye.

The old woman sat on a small stool, looking at the two of them with loving eyes: "When you came back from the army, what unit were you assigned to?"

Zhou Xiye paused for a moment, then replied, "I haven't been assigned yet. I'll rest at home for a while first."

The old woman nodded repeatedly, "That's wonderful, that's wonderful!"

Then he started talking to himself: "It's good that you can come back. If you can come back, the family will be reunited."

Jiang Zhizhi glanced at the old woman, but didn't ask any more questions out of caution.

Just as I was eating my noodles, someone rushed over and said, "Grandma, I'm sorry, something came up and I'm late."

Hearing the voice, the old woman stood up happily: "Girl, you've come? If you're busy, you don't have to come. I'm an old woman, I can manage."

Jiang Zhizhi recognized the voice and turned around in surprise. It was indeed Chen Luojia standing in front of the cart.

Shen Luojia was quite surprised to see Jiang Zhizhi, and after glancing at Zhou Xiye, she greeted him first: "Sister-in-law, are you eating noodles here?"

Jiang Zhizhi nodded: "You know this grandma?"

The old woman smiled and waved her hand: "I don't know her. This girl is kind-hearted. The other two days it rained, and she saw that I was having trouble packing up my stall by myself, so she helped me pack up and even took me home. She's been helping me set up and pack up my stall for the past two days."

Shen Luojia blushed slightly, a rare occurrence for her: "Mother-in-law, this is what I should do. Shall I put away the noodle soup first?"

The old woman didn't stop her: "Okay, pour the noodle soup into the bucket, I can feed it to the dog when I get back."

As she spoke, she gathered up the bowls and chopsticks from the car, and muttered to Jiang Zhizhi, "Oh, this girl is so kind. She knows that I'm just an old woman living alone, so she comes to help me every day."

“I originally had three sons, two of whom died on the battlefield, and another was lost during flood relief efforts.”

The old woman spoke as if it were something very ordinary, but Jiang Zhizhi and Zhou Xiye felt a sinking feeling in their hearts at the same time.

No wonder the old man could tell that Zhou Xiye was a soldier, and no wonder he asked Zhou Xiye if he had been assigned a job after returning.

Jiang Zhizhi put down her chopsticks and went over apologetically to help tidy up the condiment bottles on the cart.

The old woman quickly stopped her, saying, "Oh, you don't need to do it. You've already worked hard all day. Go and eat."

Shen Luojia glanced at Jiang Zhizhi and, for the first time, became quite talkative, saying in a very low voice, "My mother-in-law is a little hard of hearing. She doesn't like being pitied. She didn't accept the money the government gave her and insisted on going out to cook and earn some money herself."

"Don't make it too obvious, or your mother-in-law will be sad."

After saying that, she smiled sweetly at the old woman and said, "Grandma, I've helped you pack up your stall. When you get home, cook me a bowl of noodles too."

The old man chuckled and said, "Sure, I can afford a bowl of noodles."

After finishing his noodles, Zhou Xiye brought over the empty bowl and helped the old man carry the small table and stool onto the cart.

Jiang Zhizhi quickly took out one yuan and fifty cents and stuffed it into the old woman's apron pocket: "Grandma, I've put the money for the noodles in your pocket, please keep it safe."

The old man was happy as he and Shen Luojia used ropes to secure the table and benches.

Shen Luojia deftly put the rope around her shoulders and smiled at Jiang Zhizhi: "Sister-in-law, we're leaving now."

Jiang Zhizhi watched as Shen Luojia bent over pulling the cart, while the old woman, leaning on her cane, followed along with shaky little feet.

Watching their figures grow smaller and smaller, she whispered to Zhou Xiye, "Shen Luojia, we've really been very lucky lately."