They rushed to pick up Wei Shuqing, and the couple didn't return with their child until 9 p.m.

After settling her child to sleep, Wei Shuqing remembered that the book she had dreamt of clearly started in 1961, but it was now 1958. She recalled that there were three years of natural disasters in 1959, 1960, and 1961. She had two sons, but now she only had one. She hadn't even experienced the natural disasters yet, so what about next year…? She still didn't dare to gamble. She decided to slowly exchange her money for food and then ask her supervisor for a job in the canteen. After all, even a three-year drought wouldn't starve a cook, and besides, the canteen had two shifts, which was much easier than working in the factory.

Thinking about this, she slowly fell asleep. The next day, she took her son to the factory's kindergarten, paid one yuan, and went to the factory office to tell the factory manager her request. The factory manager was dumbfounded; everyone was trying to find a way to get into the workshop, and this person wanted to be transferred from the workshop to the canteen. Wei Shuqing said, "Factory manager, you've watched me grow up. I joined the factory at 16, and I'm hardworking and have never caused any trouble for the organization. It's just that I recently had a miscarriage, and I'm very weak. I'm afraid of slowing down the workshop's production, so I'm willing to be transferred to the canteen!"

The factory manager said, "You're a level four worker now, and you'll be promoted to level five soon. If you go to work in the canteen, your salary will be significantly lower!"

Wei Shuqing looked at the factory manager cautiously and said, "Factory manager, what do you think..."

The factory manager said, "Here's what we'll do! You'll work in the kitchen as a level six worker, with a salary of 32 yuan. But if there are any leftovers in the canteen, you can bring them back with you."

Wei Shuqing smiled and agreed; that was exactly what she had been waiting for. After thanking the factory manager, she left.

He switched jobs with a relative of the factory manager in the kitchen, who was in charge of chopping, and both of them were happy.

Wei Shuqing spent the whole morning frantically chopping potato shreds. Chef Zhao Dahu couldn't help but feel sorry for this thin but energetic woman, and secretly gave her two meat buns at noon.

Wei Shuqing thanked Zhao Dahu gratefully, ate one herself, and put the other in her lunchbox. After get off work, she took four steamed buns and a large lunchbox of leftovers, and picked up her son to go home.

As soon as he entered the house, he started a fire, cooked porridge, and heated up the cornbread and meat buns. When it was almost done, he cooked the leftovers for a while, tasted them and found them a bit bland, so he added some salt. The steaming hot dish was then served. Just as he finished cooking, Qi Zhijun came home from get off work and was stunned when he saw the dish. He said, "What is this?"

Wei Shuqing set out the bowls and chopsticks and said, "I asked the factory to let me switch to working in the canteen. That way, it's two shifts, and I can pick up and drop off the kids. This is the food I brought back from the canteen. Eat up!" Actually, she had very complicated feelings for Qi Zhijun. In the book, he was supposed to cheat on her, but it hadn't actually happened. Forget it, she decided to take it one step at a time.

She broke the meat buns into pieces and fed them to her son, along with some rice porridge. The little guy ate without even looking up, while Qi Zhijun ate his cornbread and greasy food without saying a word. After the meal, Wei Shuqing tidied up and then washed herself and her son. She also collected Qi Zhijun's clothes and had him tell stories to their son, ostensibly to cultivate their father-son bond, before going to do the laundry.

After washing and drying the clothes, Qi Zhijun returned to find her son asleep. She leaned against the headboard, quietly reading. In fact, Qi Zhijun was a gentle and refined person who loved reading. She had fallen for him at first sight and was deeply in love with him. She was willing to endure so much for him in that family for so long. It was only after she dreamed of that strange book that she came to her senses.

She sighed. If things could stay like this, life wouldn't be unbearable. She turned over, got into bed, and pulled the covers over herself. The next day, as soon as it was light, Wei Shuqing reheated the leftovers and the porridge. She woke Qi Zhijun and asked him to get their son up for dinner. Qi Zhijun rubbed his eyes and said, "Why aren't you eating?"

Without turning her head, Wei Shuqing said, "The canteen opens early, I'll eat there. Don't forget you still need to take your son to daycare for breakfast."

Qi Zhijun nodded, watching Wei Shuqing leave in a hurry. The canteen was unbearably hot and stuffy early in the morning, and everyone was drenched in sweat. Wei Shuqing had to help everyone steam buns and cornbread in the morning, and then go to the window to get food. By the time they finished working around nine o'clock, everyone finally sat down to eat the leftover porridge, cornbread, and pickled vegetables. After eating, they started cutting potato shreds and cabbage slices.

After a busy evening, Wei Shuqing picked up her son and took him home with a full load of food, steamed buns, and a white flour roll.

Just as they were starting the fire, Qi Zhijun returned. He handed his son over to Qi Aiguo to take care of. He quickly heated up the fire, picked out a few pieces of deep-fried tofu, and put the stewed potato shreds into Qi Aiguo's bowl. He fed him quickly and then ate almost all of his own.

Qi Zhijun asked, "Shuqing, do you have any sugar coupons at home?"

"Sugar coupons? Why are you asking about that?" Wei Shuqing looked at Qi Zhijun suspiciously. Qi Zhijun said, "Zhifang miscarried, and we don't have any sugar coupons at home, so I wanted to ask you..."

Wei Shuqing's face turned cold. She remembered that the book described how Qi Zhifang, pregnant with Wang Yanda's posthumous child, miscarried while queuing to buy shelled eggs because of the crowd. That book was too realistic, except for the New Year's Eve dinner. But Wang Yanda had been dead for over a year, and Qi Zhifang, a widow, had miscarried?

However, she still shook her head and said, "No, I bought it when I had my miscarriage a few days ago. I still have some brown sugar at home. Why don't you take it to her?"

Qi Zhijun gripped his chopsticks tightly but ultimately didn't utter those words.