Chapter 3 A New Job? Dad said you'll be my new...
Wu Cong ran over and opened the door himself.
Seeing this, Chen Mian asked, "Little friend, where's your dad?" Why let a child open the door by himself? Aren't you afraid of running into bad people?
The little boy looked distressed and pointed to the location of the kitchen.
Chen Mian put down her luggage and went into the kitchen, puzzled. She saw the blackened egg carcasses in the pot and the horrific scene on the cutting board.
"..." How did this person raise his son all by himself? It's lucky they never get food poisoning.
Chen Mian said helplessly, "Mr. Wu, let me do it..."
Wu Wei breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the newcomer. He quickly raised his hands to indicate that he was leaving the kitchen. "Mumian, please let us know what dishes you have and cook whatever you like. We're not picky. Could you please help us tidy up the counter?"
The result of not being picky was that an hour later, both father and son were so exhausted that they collapsed on the sofa. Chen Mianmian finished cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen, came out and saw this scene, and couldn't help but smile.
These two are truly father and son; they look alike and even behave similarly in some ways. They seem quite loving, and Mr. Wu is willing to spend more money to take care of his son.
After resting on the sofa for a while, Wu Wei noticed the luggage piled up by the door. He quickly got up and apologized to Chen Mian, "Look at my memory, I forgot you had luggage with you and just asked you to cook."
Chen Mian smiled gently: "It's alright, I'm here to work anyway, so any arrangement is fine."
Wu Wei stepped forward, picked up the luggage, and led the way. There were two guest rooms on the first floor of the villa, one of which was used for Chen Mianmian to stay in.
Chen Mian originally wanted to take it herself, but seeing that she couldn't refuse, she had no choice but to let him go. Following behind the man, she entered the room, which was fully furnished. The bed sheets and duvet covers looked a bit dusty, but they could be used after a little tidying up, so it wasn't a big problem.
Over the next two days, Wu Wei showed Chen Mian around the villa, explaining how to use the water and electricity, and what they needed to prepare to take care of Wu Cong. He then left them 500 yuan for groceries and emergencies before heading out with his luggage.
Before leaving, Wu Wei said to Chen Mian and his son, "You two stay home and I'll bring you gifts when I come back."
Chen Mian thought to herself, "This family is quite nice. They trusted me so much from the start, and I even got a gift when they brought me back from their business trip."
In the days that followed, Chen Mianmian and Wu Cong lived very regularly. Every morning, the children would get up at eight o'clock to wash up, eat breakfast, and then obediently do their homework or play with building blocks.
Besides preparing three meals a day, Chen Mian helps Wu Cong with his summer homework and does other chores. Every afternoon at two o'clock, she takes the child to his extracurricular class.
These days were no different from being at home, and Chen Mian even wondered if she had gained weight. Because she wanted to ensure her child received adequate nutrition and grew properly, she also ate a lot of good food.
Wu Wei was worried that his son would be too bored at home alone during the summer vacation, and that he wouldn't have time to spend with him. So he enrolled him in a bunch of extracurricular classes, such as painting, calligraphy, and martial arts, changing the activities every day.
Chen Mian accompanied the children to their extracurricular classes for a few days and realized that it must be tough for the kids. She could just sit and wait by their side while they attended, and even go for a walk if she got bored, while the students had to concentrate fully.
Wu Cong, however, acted as if it were a habit, attending every class diligently and comforting Chen Mian, "It's already very good as it is now, at least I still have you, sister, to keep me company."
After returning home, she prepared the ingredients for making dumplings in the kitchen. The child wanted dumplings with chives and eggs today. Chen Mian kneaded the dough and then began preparing the vegetables.
Wu Cong curiously came over, picked up a leek, and wanted to help her with the work. Chen Mian then taught him step by step how to pinch off the yellowed parts, leaving only the tenderest leaves for the filling.
She picked and chopped the chives into small pieces and put them in a bowl. She added a little oil to lock in the moisture, quickly scrambled an egg in a pan, added seasonings, and mixed them together. The chive and egg filling was ready.
The dough was kneaded a few times on the work surface, divided into small portions, and then quickly rolled into round wrappers.
"Open your little hands, let's put on the dumpling wrapper and the filling..." Chen Mian pulled Wu Cong along, patiently teaching him how to make dumplings step by step.
"Sister, I wish you could be my mother!" Wu Cong suddenly said, looking up at the other person with pure and bright dark eyes.
Chen Mian was startled. How old was she? How old was Wu Wei? What nonsense was this kid talking about? She turned her head and glared at Wu Cong.
Seeing that things were going wrong, Wu Cong quickly changed his tune, saying, "I was just kidding, sister..."
The two of them finished making dumplings in no time. Once the water boiled, the plump dumplings slowly floated to the surface, accompanied by gurgling sounds.
Discovering that the child could eat a little spice, Chen Mian didn't prepare a special dipping sauce for him. She simply made a vinegar sauce with chili oil.
"It's so delicious," Wu Cong said, swallowing the steaming dumplings in big gulps. "I want to be able to eat my sister's cooking all the time."
"Just eat your food and then do your homework," Chen Mian replied without looking up.
After finishing their meal, Chen Mian quickly cleared away the dishes and then collapsed on the sofa to watch TV. After Wu Cong obediently finished his homework, he ran over and snuggled up to her.
It was only after Chen Mian came to the Wu family's house that she was able to see what was being shown on the television up close; before that, she had only seen it from afar a few times in the village chief's yard. In those days, families who could afford a television were all very wealthy and willing to spend money.
In Chenjia Village, only the village chief's house has a television. Every time, it is moved to the yard and a group of people gather around to watch it. People who are far away can't see what is being shown, they can only hear the sound.
The following afternoon, Chen Mian accompanied Wu Cong to his extracurricular class as usual. The weather was not good when they went out; it was gloomy and made them even more irritable.
Sure enough, by the time Wu Cong finished his two classes, it was already drizzling outside.
Chen Mian didn't realize she'd forgotten her umbrella when she left. She looked at Wu Cong, took his schoolbag, and put it on the little boy's head. "Let's go, let's walk faster."
"Okay..." The child seemed quite happy, probably because he had never experienced anything like this before.
"Charge!" she shouted as she ran off. "Sister, let's race and see who gets home first..."
"Slow down, don't fall!" Chen Mian quickly chased after him.
"Hahahaha...you can't catch me."
Because the rain wasn't heavy, the two of them arrived home without their clothes getting completely wet. Chen Mianmian quickly made Wu Cong take a hot bath and then made him some ginger soup.
But unexpectedly, the child developed a fever in the middle of the night. Chen Mian was a little anxious, blaming herself for being too careless. She quickly dressed him and carried him to the hospital.
In the hospital, Wu Cong lay on the hospital bed. Because he was young and uncooperative when getting injections, and because they were afraid the needle would slip, they had to tie his hand to a cardboard box to receive the IV drip.
Chen Mian sat on a chair next to his hospital bed, watching him and occasionally using a cold towel to cool his forehead.
"Mommy..." the little boy mumbled sleepily, clutching the cotton tree with his other hand, "Don't go..."
"I won't leave, you just go to sleep." Chen Mian replied, unable to bear looking at Wu Cong's flushed face.
"Sister Kapok, don't go."
"Dad said you'll be my new mom from now on..."
!
Chen Mian was stunned upon hearing this, and asked incredulously, "What did you say?"
Wu Cong slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. "Dad told me this before he left, but he told me not to tell you."
"I'm so sleepy, I want to go to sleep..."
Chen Mian was filled with thoughts, not understanding what exactly went wrong. Looking at Wu Cong's flushed face, she could only say, "You go to sleep first, I'll watch over you."
She had only found a job as a tutor, which involved taking care of children and cooking, but that was completely different from becoming someone's stepmother. No wonder she always felt that Wu Wei and Chen Zhelan's conversation during the interview sounded strange.
She said, "Who's so kind? A group of young girls are working together in Xinjiang, why would they specifically introduce me to a job first?" Xianyu thought she'd met a good boss, but it turned out to be nothing like what she expected.
Thinking of this, Chen Mian suddenly realized that she had given Chen Zhelan two hundred yuan as a referral fee, which was all the money her family had prepared for her.
She grew angrier the more she thought about it, pacing back and forth in the ward with her hands on her hips, even contemplating abandoning Wu Cong and going to confront Chen Zhelan.
But seeing the child's brows still furrowed even after falling asleep, she couldn't bring herself to be so harsh. She secretly thought that the child was innocent, and she would ask Wu Wei himself what had happened when he returned!
Fortunately, Wu Cong's high fever came on quickly and subsided quickly; he was fine the next day.
When the two returned home, Chen Mian pulled the child aside and questioned him, "What did you mean yesterday when you said I would be your mother from now on?"
"I...I..." Wu Cong stammered, "I don't know, that's what my dad told me."
“Dad said he would find a beautiful mom to take care of me,” Wu Cong added. “Then…and then, you came along, sister.”
Wu Cong kept his head down, fidgeting with the hem of his clothes, not daring to look at Chen Mian. He was unaware of any further details.
Chen Mian could only wait for Wu Wei to return from out of town. For the next week, the two of them longed for Wu Wei (the father) to come back.
Chen Mianmian hoped someone could give her an explanation. She didn't want to believe that Wu Wei was that kind of person, nor did she want anything to go wrong with her comfortable new life. Wu Cong, on the other hand, hoped that her father could persuade her sister not to leave.
...
Finally, Wu Wei returned.
"Congcong, come out and see what fun things Daddy brought you!"
The little boy hugged his father's leg, glanced at Chen Mian's direction, then turned back and called out in a soft, sweet voice, "Daddy..."
Wu Wei sensed his son's low spirits and asked, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy with Teacher Mu Mian?"
Wu Cong shook his head and remained silent.
“Mr. Wu, let’s talk,” Chen Mian said.
Wu Cong went into his room to do his homework, while Chen Mianmian and Wu Wei sat at opposite ends of the sofa.
"Mr. Wu, what does Congcong mean when he says that I will be his mother from now on?" Chen Mian asked, staring intently into Wu Wei's eyes.
"Oh, that? Zhelan should have told you that. I'm aiming for marriage, and I've already given a bride price..."
Wu Wei smiled gently at Chen Mian and said, "Don't worry, after we get married, I will hand over all my earnings to you, or you can continue to receive a salary if you wish, it's up to you."
Wu Wei: "From now on, I'll be responsible for earning money to support the family, and you can just stay home and take care of the kids..."
“Aunt Zhelan only said you were hiring a tutor,” Chen Mianmian said with a sarcastic laugh as she listened to Wu Wei’s vision of married life, then stood up agitatedly. “Aren’t you lying to me? You didn’t say I’d be someone’s stepmother when you hired me…”
"I need to go talk to her and explain things!"
“Mumian, I’m not lying. Zelan said that she was your only relative, and you had no choice but to come to Xinjiang to seek refuge with her.” Wu Wei tried to stop Chen Mumian.
"And I also gave her two thousand yuan as a bride price, saying we'd have a wedding banquet when I got back..."
"Heh..." Chen Mian looked at Wu Wei, her lips trembling with anger. What a fine excuse! "My parents are both alive, and my siblings and I get along well. How come she's my only family?"
"I called her 'aunt,' which was just a polite way of addressing people from the same village. And she turned around and sold me out?"
"Two thousand yuan..." Chen Mianmian murmured, "She's got a good plan. She introduced me to a job and swindled me out of two hundred yuan. Now she's introducing you to a wife and swindling you out of another two thousand yuan!"
Wu Wei finally realized what had happened when he heard this. Although he was indeed eager to find a wife, it was a matter of mutual consent. He never expected to be dragged into this kind of thing.
"Don't worry, I'll take you to her." Wu Wei's face also showed a hint of anxiety at this moment; two thousand yuan was not a small amount for him.
Wu Wei told his son to stay home and behave himself, then quickly drove with Chen Mian to the courtyard in the east of the city.
However, the courtyard was already deserted.
Chen Mian looked at the empty courtyard, unwilling to believe it, and hurriedly ran in, pushing open the doors of each room to search.
The empty room contained only a few bed frames and a table; there were no bedding. Even the rice, flour, and pots in the kitchen were nowhere to be found.
"Chen Zhelan, come out here!"
"Come out!" Chen Mian gasped for breath, her face flushed with anger. "Stop hiding, come out and explain yourself to me, and give me back my money!"
A note from the author:
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Mini-theater:
Wu Cong: Mature children will find their mothers on their own.
Little Cotton: Shuan Q
Wu Wei: I just made the mistake that all men make: I trusted one beautiful woman and then fell for another. I'm actually a good person.
Random thought: The male lead is really, really about to appear, believe me!
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