Chapter 67 Sour Grapes
Du Ruoxia returned Director Xin's polite smile, "Yes, there are people like that who only appear at night!"
Du Ruoxia emphasized the word "person," and Director Xin immediately looked away, scratching his head sheepishly.
"With your speed, you could work at the National Translation Department, what a pity!" Director Xin said regretfully, as Du Ruoxia had other jobs.
Du Ruoxia smiled. If she had a medical license, that would be the greatest contribution she could make to the country.
"Don't bother me anymore. I'm going on a long trip after I finish translating this. Use these drafts sparingly, as I might not be back for ten days to half a month." Du Ruoxia said, trying to shoo her away.
Director Xin couldn't agree to that. "Comrade Du, you can't do this! This little bit of manuscript isn't enough!"
He now pays 20,000 yuan every day, and his boss is all smiles. If he pays less, his boss will criticize him!
"I can't take them out. I'm afraid they'll spoil in this weather. Let's talk about it when we get back!" Du Ruoxia said coldly.
Director Xin was on the verge of tears; he only had 200,000 words left in his manuscript!
Du Ruoxia looked at him and wanted to laugh; this man had actually become greedy.
"Unfortunately, it's not difficult to settle all these royalties, but it will probably cost money over there."
Du Ruoxia pondered, wondering if she could ask Director Xin to pay in advance.
She had something on her mind, and only managed to finish 20,000 words that morning before leaving.
Director Xin was already waiting at the door. He said ingratiatingly, "Comrade Du, can you tell me where you're going?"
Du Ruoxia raised her eyebrows slightly. Was she planning to translate remotely?
She has already taken leave from the county hospital.
"Xilan City, are you going there?" Du Ruoxia asked Director Xin leisurely.
Director Xin frowned. "Xilan City is so far away. What are you going there for? Today, a colleague even asked for leave to go home, saying that a mountain collapsed in his hometown and he needed to go back to repair it."
Du Ruoxia looked up abruptly, "Who was that? Are they gone?"
Director Xin shook his head, "No, we're waiting to settle this month's wages."
Du Ruoxia immediately beamed with joy, "Can we settle the wages in advance?"
Director Xin covered his mouth, wishing he could slap himself.
“Mine is fine too, right? I want to be paid for the parts I’ve already translated!” Du Ruoxia said excitedly.
She has translated nearly 300,000 words here, which is no small sum of money!
"My dear girl, you're going to kill me! Where would we get so much money in our vault?" Curator Xin cried, his face contorted with grief.
Du Ruoxia looked at him suspiciously. She didn't believe that a government-affiliated organization couldn't even come up with five thousand yuan.
Seeing that Du Ruoxia still looked unconvinced, Director Xin knew he couldn't keep up the act any longer and had to soften his tone.
“My dear lady, how about you settle half of the account and leave some funds for us? It’s not easy to apply for funds right now.”
Du Ruoxia thought about it and realized that it was almost the end of the month, and it was indeed difficult to apply. She hadn't submitted her manuscript, so the library had covered the cost for her.
"Okay, settle half for me, I'll deposit it in the bank later." Du Ruoxia nodded in agreement.
Yang Zeyan still has more than three thousand yuan, and with her five thousand yuan, they will have nearly ten thousand yuan, which can be used to help in an emergency.
Du Ruoxia wanted the curator to transfer the remaining royalties to her account, but after thinking about it, she realized that saying it would scare him, so she decided against it.
"When is the comrade who asked for leave leaving?" Du Ruoxia asked Director Xin.
"The earliest it will be is tomorrow; today's train has already passed," Director Xin replied.
"Then could you ask if you could show me the way? I'm going the same way as him," Du Ruoxia said earnestly.
“What road are you on? His home is in the countryside, and the roads are difficult to travel now,” Director Xin blurted out.
"Yes, I know. It's good to have company on the train together," Du Ruoxia said calmly.
"Okay, I'll tell him for you." Director Xin finally let go.
Du Ruoxia eventually met with that comrade, a tall, thin young man named Xiao Gao, whose face was somewhat dark, suggesting he usually did a lot of farm work at home.
I agreed with the boy at the appointed time when we left the library.
The security guard saw her and immediately smiled, "Comrade Du, are you about to leave work?"
Du Ruoxia nodded, "The man at home is injured, I'll go back to take care of him."
"Your husband is a soldier, very handsome. He was so worried when he came looking for you that day," the old man said with a smile.
Du Ruoxia paused, "My man came looking for me? On which day?"
The old man tilted his head and recalled, "It must have been the first two days after you started working that he asked me if anyone was bullying you. I said I didn't know because you had just left. He left in a hurry after hearing that."
Du Ruoxia's heart sank. No wonder Yang Zeyan reacted so strongly that day; it turned out that he couldn't find her and thought she had been hurt.
Du Ruoxia nodded and smiled in return, "I understand."
Her heart suddenly felt lighter. It turned out that Yang Zeyan had taken off his clothes to check if she had any injuries. It seemed that he had misunderstood him.
The bus swayed and drove towards the compound, and Du Ruoxia wished she could get back to the compound right now.
When they passed the vegetable market, Du Ruoxia got out of the car for the first time ever.
She headed straight for the meat and vegetable section, where the ground was covered in dark, sticky water from the rain.
Du Ruoxia waded through the puddles, and her feet quickly turned black, but she didn't care.
"Boss, two pounds of spare ribs and one pound of pork shoulder." Du Ruoxia ordered two large items in one go.
The butcher's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he looked at Du Ruoxia with a scrutinizing gaze, wondering where this rich person came from!
Du Ruoxia wasn't dressed like a farmer, but she looked like an ordinary office worker.
"Young lady, is there some happy occasion in your family?" the shopkeeper asked Du Ruoxia warmly.
Du Ruoxia smiled and shook her head, "No, my man needs some nourishment."
After eating in the cafeteria for several days, Du Ruoxia had forgotten the delicious food she had eaten in her previous life. She didn't know how to cook, but she remembered one meat dish that was relatively simple—sweet and sour pork ribs.
This was because she couldn't eat spicy food after she got sick, and the doctor told her to change her taste, so she started trying sweets.
However, she had only seen how to make the dish; she had never actually tried making it herself, but hopefully she wouldn't mess it up.
"Oh my, girl, you're so good to your man. Does your mother-in-law know you've bought so much?" The shopkeeper looked at Du Ruoxia with his dark eyes, implying that she was being too extravagant.
“We live alone, so I’ll just buy enough for a few days to marinate,” Du Ruoxia replied with a smile.
"Okay, I'll cut it up for you!" The boss was overjoyed.
After getting the meat, Du Ruoxia went to buy some other ingredients and vegetables, planning to cook a meal.
She originally came back empty-handed, but by the time she left the market, both her hands were full of bags.
Strangely, she also felt that someone was following her, and that person seemed to be around her at a distance.
She chose to walk towards crowded places, and the feeling of being followed didn't disappear until she returned to the compound.
There were many people chatting at the small shop in the courtyard, and they scoffed when they saw her carrying groceries.
"Oh dear, having to cook for my wife while injured, this is just terrible!"
"Yeah, they really have the nerve to eat like that, aren't they afraid of stuffing themselves to death!"
Several women watched as Du Ruoxia made sarcastic and veiled criticisms, but Du Ruoxia smiled calmly.
"Some people are just like sour grapes," Du Ruoxia said, then walked home with her head held high.
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