After graduating from junior high school, Zhao Zhenzhu waited at home for more than two years before finally getting the opportunity to work as a temporary worker at the supply and marketing cooperative.

After passing a series of exams, Zhao Zhenzhu became a saleswoman at the supply and marketing cooperative.

More than six months later, Zhao Tianyu got into trouble.

During those years, the political movement was intense, and schools were frequently closed.

Zhao Qingshan was busy with work, and Wu Meiyun was often ill, so neither of them had the time or energy to take care of Zhao Tianyu. Previously, Zhao Tianyu had been cared for by Zhao Zhenzhu.

After Zhao Zhenzhu went to work, Zhao Tianyu had no one to supervise him, and soon he started hanging out with a group of "young thugs" in town. He often went with them to watch the struggle sessions.

On one occasion, a "bad element" was kneeling on a high platform being criticized and denounced. The scene was lively, and Zhao Tianyu was also present.

When it came time to throw rotten eggs at the "bad guys," Zhao Tianyu had a rotten egg stuffed into his hand by his teammate.

In a fit of rage, Zhao Tianyu threw it without even looking, and it hit the "bad guy" right on the head.

The "bad element" collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely.

People around him screamed, and Zhao Tianyu realized that what he had just thrown was not a rotten egg, but a stone the size of an egg.

Fortunately, the hospital wasn't far away, and because of timely treatment, the "bad guy" didn't die. However, he was left with a large scar on his face, disfiguring him.

Zhao Qingshan felt very guilty.

That "bad element" and Zhao Qingshan used to be friends.

That person hadn't actually done anything wrong, but because of a single wrong comment, he was seized upon and labeled a "bad element."

His own son threw stones at his former friend, nearly killing him.

This incident filled Zhao Qingshan with immense guilt.

To compensate the family, Zhao Qingshan gave Zhao Zhenzhu's temporary job to the family's daughter.

Zhao Tianyu was also terrified by that incident and remained depressed for a long time.

In order to prevent Zhao Tianyu from continuing to associate with the "youngsters" and to prevent Zhao Tianyu from having the opportunity to do something even worse, Zhao Qingshan retired early and let Zhao Tianyu take over his job at the supply and marketing cooperative.

When Zhao Qingshan applied for retirement, someone from higher up spoke with him. The person said that a leader in the county greatly admired Zhao Qingshan and planned to transfer him to Taohua Town as the top official at the end of the year, and asked Zhao Qingshan to withdraw his retirement application.

Zhao Qingshan refused.

Compared to his son's future, Zhao Qingshan felt that his own future was not important.

If Zhao Qingshan hadn't retired early, he might already be a member of the leadership team in Qingshan County.

Fortunately, Zhao Qingshan's painstaking efforts were not in vain.

After that incident, Zhao Tianyu changed his impetuous nature and worked diligently and conscientiously at the supply and marketing cooperative, achieving considerable success. This led to his recent promotion to deputy director of the cooperative.

Zhao Qingshan and Wu Meiyun both felt very sorry for their daughter.

In order to clean up the mess left by Zhao Tianyu, Zhao Zhenzhu's interests were sacrificed.

Because she wanted to make amends to Zhao Zhenzhu, when Zhao Zhenzhu got married, Wu Meiyun gave her dowry box and all the contents to Zhao Zhenzhu, leaving nothing for Zhao Tianyu.

Wu Meiyun felt that all the children were her own flesh and blood, and since her son got Zhao Qingshan's job, her entire dowry should go to her daughter—that was fair.

"Mom, please don't say these things in front of Xiaoyu, it will make him sad. What happened back then is not Xiaoyu's fault, if anyone is to blame, it's the person who stuffed stones into Xiaoyu's mouth," Zhao Zhenzhu advised Wu Meiyu.

Back then, Zhao Tianyu was probably set up. Otherwise, how could a perfectly good rotten egg turn into a stone?

However, there were many people at the scene, and Zhao Tianyu was caught up in his excitement, so he didn't notice who was the person who was putting the stone in his hand.

Zhao Zhenzhu gave up her job willingly and never blamed her younger brother.

Zhao Zhenzhu is very open-minded. As long as her family is all well, what does a job matter?

Even without a job, she has a pair of hardworking hands and is not afraid of not being able to support herself.

Zhao Zhenzhu didn't want Wu Meiyun to bring up the past because she didn't want Zhao Tianyu to always feel sorry for her.

When Zhao Tianyu first took over the job, he was only sixteen years old, young and inexperienced. It wasn't until a few years later that Zhao Tianyu understood what his sister had sacrificed for him.

Although temporary workers are not guaranteed to become permanent employees, two of the temporary workers who joined at the same time as Zhao Zhenzhu have gradually become permanent employees.

Those two people were far less capable than Zhao Zhenzhu.

The worse Zhao Zhenzhu's life was in the Zhou family, the more guilty Zhao Tianyu felt.

If Zhao Zhenzhu had a job, even a temporary one, she wouldn't have been looked down upon by Ding Ermei for "marrying up" to her military officer son after marrying Zhou Bingchen.

In recent years, Zhao Tianyu has also asked people to help Zhao Zhenzhu find a job.

Unfortunately, jobs are really hard to find.

When Zhao Zhenzhu found out, she told Zhao Tianyu to stop making trouble.

Finding a job requires using a lot of personal connections.

After getting married, Zhao Zhenzhu was busy having and raising children, and even if she had the opportunity, she couldn't leave.

Besides, once Zhou Bingchen has served in the military for a certain number of years or risen to a certain position, he can bring Zhao Zhenzhu and her children to join him in the military.

At that time, Zhao Zhenzhu longed to reunite with Zhou Bingchen with her child.

"Pearl, Xiaoyu is so lucky to have you as his older sister." Wu Meiyun patted Zhao Zhenzhu's hand, putting her worries at ease.

“Mom, I’m not at a loss either. Have you forgotten the box you gave me? That was part of your dowry. My brother doesn’t have anything,” Zhao Zhenzhu said with a smile.

“Your father and I have never had anything good in our lives. Xiaoyu got your father’s job, and what I had was shady stuff that you can’t use now. You’ve lost out.” Wu Meiyun sighed.

Wu Meiyun was determined to plan for her two children's future, but unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

“Mom, in a few years, all these things of mine will be worth more than my brother’s job. I won’t lose out at all,” Zhao Zhenzhu comforted Wu Meiyun.

Zhao Zhenzhu has the experience of two lifetimes.

Don't be fooled by Zhao Tianyu's seemingly decent job. In reality, by the 1990s, a "secure job" was no longer desirable. At Zhao Tianyu's age, he would likely be caught in the wave of layoffs that swept through the late 1990s.

By the late 1990s, any one of Zhao Zhenzhu's treasures could fetch more money than Zhao Tianyu's salary over several decades.

"I'm so glad you think that way," Wu Meiyun said, patting Zhao Zhenzhu's hand with satisfaction.

In Wu Meiyun's view, nothing is more precious than family affection.

In this day and age, it's common for siblings to fall out over a job, even to the point of never speaking to each other again.

Zhao Zhenzhu is a rare find.

"Mom, were your ancestors from a wealthy family?" Zhao Zhenzhu asked curiously.

Wu Meiyun is a skilled tailor, and her embroidery skills are even more exceptional.

However, Wu Meiyun never showed off her embroidery skills in front of others.

Before the movement, Wu Meiyun would hide from people and embroider handkerchiefs and pillowcases at home.

After the movement began, Wu Meiyun never picked up an embroidery needle again.