After delivering the clothes, Fang Yun rushed to work at the hospital. These days, not many people choose to give birth in a hospital; most families prefer to give birth at home, so the obstetrics and gynecology department isn't particularly busy.

A familiar pregnant woman came for a prenatal checkup. She was about to give birth but seemed unusually anxious and often felt unwell. She came to the hospital more and more frequently, and even Fang Yun had a deep impression of her.

Faced with this emotional distress, Fang Yun could do very little, only gently advising her to relax and not be too nervous. The new mother would always nod in agreement, but within two days, she would reappear at the hospital with the same anxiety.

This time it's a bit serious; there's even bleeding.

Fang Yun could no longer ignore it. In the past, whenever she asked about the reason, the other party would always purse his lips and remain silent.

This time, however, the situation was clearly different. The doctor's expression was grim, and the pregnant woman was also frightened, so she stammered out her words.

It turned out that she was Zhang Jing, a saleswoman at the bicycle counter in the department store. In those days, very few people could afford a bicycle and had a bicycle ticket. Most people just came to look around, so this counter was very easy. She spent her days knitting sweaters or chatting with the saleswomen at the sewing machine and radio counter next door. It was a very leisurely job, unlike those who sold daily necessities, whose voices were hoarse from shouting every day, yet they still got the same pay.

She's about to give birth, and although she has maternity leave, the counter can't just stay open for her like that. Someone will definitely have to cover for her. If someone from another counter in the department store covers for her, she might not be able to stay at the bicycle counter anymore, or even leave the counter altogether. With almost two months of maternity leave, who will give her her position when she goes back?

She didn't dare tell her family yet. She had a younger sister-in-law who had been urged by the neighborhood committee to go to the countryside several times. She had been eyeing this position and wanted Zhang Jing to go back to take care of her child so that she could have the job.

She wasn't willing. That's how her mother gave up her job to her sister-in-law, and as a result, she lost her job and was exhausted at home. The whole family thought she was enjoying herself. She used to be a person who could say whatever she wanted, but now she can't even raise her voice at home.

“Dr. Fang, what should I do? I don’t want to stay at home taking care of the child every day and have to ask my mother-in-law for money every time I want to buy something. She’s already a little angry with me because I don’t give her my salary to manage, but I have a salary, so I have confidence and I’m not afraid of her.”

"If I really go back, won't I be completely controlled by his family?"

When Zhang Jing talks about these things, she can't stop feeling anxious, and she can't find any solace no matter how she thinks about it.

Fang Yun liked her quite a bit. Although she was a bit slow, at least she knew she couldn't lose her job. She thought of someone and casually flipped through the medical records on the table: "It's that simple. If you don't want to let someone else have the job, then keep it yourself."

“How am I supposed to keep this? I don’t want to give it to my sister-in-law, but I can’t give it to my own family either, otherwise I’ll please neither side. I’m at a loss. I’ve been thinking about this for the past two months, and I’m almost bald from exhaustion, but I still can’t come up with a solution.”

Zhang Jing had no choice. When people around her had children, most of them had their families cover for them. Some could even come back to work, but many couldn't. Their families simply gave them their jobs, and she really didn't want that to happen.

“Since you can’t give it to your family, then find someone outside to cover your shifts. She can collect your salary during this period, and you can go back to take over the shifts after two months. You can’t afford to break ties with your family, but it doesn’t matter if it’s someone outside.”

"That's right!" Zhang Jing suddenly understood. Those who hadn't gotten their jobs back either gave them to her sister-in-law or her cousins; it was like throwing good money after bad. But if it was a stranger, it would be much easier. Without the person's consent, who could take the job?

"Dr. Fang, do you have any recommendations?" Zhang Jing had been working for several years, and just because she hadn't thought of this before didn't mean she was stupid. Judging from Dr. Fang's expression just now, she knew she definitely had someone in mind.

That's fine too. She thought to herself that she would have to trouble Dr. Fang when she gave birth, and she knew Dr. Fang well. His family was also a leader in the machine factory, and he only had one son. He definitely wouldn't want her for this job. Giving her this opportunity would also make her feel indebted to him. He would definitely take good care of her when she gave birth.

Without any suspense, Fang Yun introduced Zhan Chunlan to her.

Zhan Chunlan didn't mind that it was just a substitute job; any job that could free her from housework was a good job.

Moreover, she also wanted to experience being a salesperson in this era, one who didn't adhere to the principle of "the customer is God."

Zhan Chunlan brought this up at the dinner table. Of course she had to inform them, otherwise she would have to continue taking care of the whole family after get off work, and who would want that?

Xu Lixia was the first to speak up: "No, I disagree. You should be studying now, why are you filling in for other classes?"

Li Xiuxiu was confused after hearing Zhan Chunlan's account: "Isn't this a good thing? You disagree? No, why?"

"Of course she disagreed." Zhan Chunlan could understand Xu Lixia's thoughts: "If I leave, there will be no one to do the housework. Comrade Xu Lixia will have to work and do housework at the same time. She has been idle for decades. She is old and will have to do these things. Of course she doesn't want to."

Fan Hongying really couldn't keep up with the Zhan family's thought process: "Then why did they agree to it?"

“Comrade Zhan Zhiqiang agreed, because he asked me to give him my salary.” Zhan Chunlan casually dropped a bombshell.

Fan Hongying and Li Xiuxiu were completely stunned, turning into two standing groundhogs: "Huh? You didn't actually agree, did you?"

Zhan Chunlan nodded with a smile.

"No, how can you still laugh? Aren't you just working for free?" The two friends were completely baffled.

"I'm just agreeing to it for now. Whether I actually do it or not is up to me." Zhan Chunlan wasn't worried about it at all. "Besides, even if I do give him my salary, it's just him holding onto it for me. I keep the money with them, and I can withdraw it whenever I need it."

Originally, Zhan Chunlan planned not to tell anyone. She would definitely find an opportunity to leave this family, or even this city, in the future. She didn't want to have any connection with this family, since they weren't her parents or relatives anyway.

Now, given the choice between doing housework at home and filling in for someone else, she'd definitely choose filling in. She certainly wouldn't actually pay them, but making a scene wouldn't change anything. In most families these days, the parents manage the money, especially since Zhan Chunlan is just a young woman who hasn't even graduated yet. Her parents are worried she'll squander the money and try to help her manage it; nobody will side with her.

So she won't do that useless work. Anyway, when she leaves, she'll take all the wages she's earned from working like a slave at home all these years, plus interest, with her.