Qin Hanshu saw through Liu Ercui's thoughts, and after Fan Hongxia left, she said, "Sister Ercui, although being a nanny earns a lot, living in the city may require more than just money; you also need ration coupons."

“If it were just one person, the host would provide food and lodging, but you have two children with you.”

Liu Ercui was taken aback for a moment, then quickly shook her head and said, "I didn't want to be a nanny. You've already found me a job as a sales clerk, how could I possibly want to be a nanny?"

Before the abolition of the unified purchase and sales system, sales clerks had a very high social status. How could Liu Ercui possibly give up her job as a sales clerk to become a nanny?

Qin Hanshu laughed and said, "I saw you looked so excited... I guess I was mistaken."

"I'm really tempted!" Liu Ercui said excitedly. "I have a sister I grew up with in the countryside. She's been having a hard time since she got married. Her husband doesn't earn much money and beats and scolds her when he comes home, complaining that she eats too much."

“I was thinking that if we could let her come to the city to work as a nanny for a year or two, earn some money, and improve her life, that would be good.”

This woman must have a good relationship with Liu Ercui; they've kept in touch all these years, otherwise she wouldn't think of her first whenever there's an opportunity to make money.

Qin Hanshu pondered for a moment and said, "It's feasible, but there will be difficulties in actually implementing it. For example, how do you find a reliable family to take over for her? What if the family doesn't get along well with her and something goes wrong?"

"Moreover, although the social atmosphere is much more relaxed than before, it is still an irregular thing after all."

Liu Ercui: "That makes sense."

Qin Hanshu said, "Let's wait a few more years. When things are more open, you can introduce people to the city then."

Liu Ercui nodded, "You're so thoughtful!"

***

The nanny Zhou Weiguang hired finally arrived just before Qin Hanshu gave birth.

The nanny was a teenage girl named Gu Yan. She had dark skin and large knuckles, and it was obvious that she had been working since she was a child.

However, seeing how young she was, Qin Hanshu was a little worried and asked her, "Do you know how to take care of a new mother and a baby?"

Gu Yan seemed afraid that Qin Hanshu wouldn't use her, so she nodded repeatedly and said, "I've served them. I served both of my sisters-in-law when they gave birth. I also raised my nephews and nieces, and they're all lively and energetic!"

Zhou Weiguang also said, "Since she has experience, let's let her try it first."

Gu Yan could tell that Qin Hanshu was in charge of the household, so she just stared at Qin Hanshu expectantly, waiting for her to make the decision.

Qin Hanshu nodded.

That's all we can do for now; there's no time to find another option later.

When Gu Yan learned that she could stay and take a look, she grinned from ear to ear, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

Qin Hanshu nodded in agreement. Rural areas are generally lacking in industrial products, and few people can afford things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and soap. Gu Yan's family probably wasn't very well-off either, but her teeth and nail crevices were clean, indicating that she had very good hygiene habits.

The house is cramped, so they could only put a cot in the living room for Gu Yan to sleep on at night, and then put the cot away during the day.

Gu Yan didn't have much luggage, and it didn't take up much space when piled up in the corner.

Qin Hanshu felt a little guilty and said, "The living conditions at home are limited, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Gu Yan was startled and quickly said, "You're paying me so much money, what's there to feel wronged about! Besides, there's a bed here, and it's clean and bright, much better than the cowshed."

Qin Hanshu asked, puzzled, "A cattle pen?"

Gu Yan smiled sheepishly, "My family is large, and there's nowhere for us to sleep, so I sleep in the cowshed."

"You sleep with the cow..." Qin Hanshu took a while to come to her senses. It seemed that the Gu family's conditions were even worse than she had imagined.

However, no matter what, there's no reason to make a young woman sleep in a cattle pen, is there?

Gu Yan explained, "There are no cows in the cattle pen; the cows are all raised by the production team. Actually, in winter, I wish I had a cow to sleep with, so I could hug it and keep warm, hehe."

Gu Yan's dark yellow face revealed his honesty and open-mindedness, which made Qin Hanshu feel uneasy.

It's obvious that the Gu family doesn't value this girl; she's done a lot of work but hasn't received any preferential treatment.

Gu Yan's next words confirmed Qin Hanshu's guess.

“My family originally wanted to arrange a marriage for me and have my third sister come to the city, but I’m ugly and they didn’t like me. They liked my third sister instead, so I ended up coming to the city.”

“My third sister was initially unwilling; she wanted to come to the city. However, the man later said that if we got married, he would buy my third sister a watch, so my third sister agreed to get married.”

Qin Hanshu asked with a smile, "So what do you think? Do you want to get married, or do you want to come to the city?"

Gu Yan was at a loss when asked the question.

No one ever asked her what she was thinking, and she didn't have any particular thoughts.

From childhood to adulthood, she did whatever her parents told her to do, and she felt that she could do anything.

She can get married, or she can come to the city to work as a nanny.

"I don't know... but now that I'm in the city, I have to work hard and try to earn more money so that my parents won't have to worry about my younger brother's tuition."

Qin Hanshu asked, "How many younger brothers do you have? Are they good students?"

Gu Yan replied, "I have two older brothers, two younger sisters, and one younger brother. Only my younger brother is in school because he is the smartest and always gets first place. He is currently in junior high school."

Qin Hanshu inquired about Gu Yan's family situation in detail, and finally instructed, "When you go out in the future, if others ask, just say that you are a distant relative of my mother's family, here to help take care of the child."

Gu Yan nodded repeatedly, "I know that, Brother Zhou has already told me."

"OK."

Gu Yan looks simple and honest, but she's actually quite clever and learns things very quickly. She's just a bit shy around strangers and doesn't talk much, but I guess she'll get better over time.

Qin Hanshu's pregnancy came later than her due date, and she figured she wouldn't be able to start school in time, so she took half a month's leave in advance.

However, she arranged everything in an orderly manner and then looked forward to her daughter's arrival with peace of mind.

But can anyone tell her why she had another son?!