The offices of Oriental Ocean Shipping Company are on the second floor.
Once inside the office, Wang Yaqiang pulled out a chair for her to sit in and poured her water from a thermos, being very attentive.
Xu Qingning sat down and smiled, "You don't need to bother. I just came from home and I'm not thirsty."
Wang Yaqiang chuckled and continued pouring water. He glanced at his watch and said, "We agreed on six o'clock. If the boss is delayed by something, it will take a few minutes."
"It's alright, I'm fine too, I'll just wait a bit." Xu Qingning had a good appetite and looked radiant. She chatted with him whenever she had free time. "How long have you known Zhao Jingyu?"
“My brother and I joined the company in the same year. We worked on the same cargo ship. I get seasick and feel sick every day. Everyone said I was slacking off, but only my brother knew that I was actually unwell,” Wang Yaqiang said emotionally. “He often helped me and even fought with others for me. If it weren’t for my brother, I would have lost my job. My brother is a good person.”
Zhao Jingyu fought for him and often helped him out, getting him through the initial period.
He kept all of these things in his heart.
"You're a good person too, you care a lot about your brother's affairs." Xu Qingning wasn't interested in the brothers' business, so she just listened and let it go.
The phone rang as soon as he finished speaking.
Xu Qingning answered the phone, said "Hello," and heard Zhao Jingyu's cheerful voice come through: "Honey, what did you have for lunch? How are you feeling today?"
"Mom's here, she made me lots of delicious food, it feels so good." Xu Qingning then asked him, "Where are you now?"
"There was a small problem at the dock, and we won't be able to depart until next week. Once I'm on the ship, it won't be convenient for me to make phone calls. I'll write to you when I have time."
"Okay," Xu Qingning replied, then felt she had nothing more to say. "Is there anything else? If not, I'll hang up."
Phone calls are quite expensive.
This awkward conversation is pointless.
"Do you miss me?" Zhao Jingyu asked her. He really wanted to tell her that he wanted to go home and be by her side right now. He hadn't even boarded the ship yet, but he was already eager to go home.
He didn't know why either.
He had only known her for three days, but he was already inseparable from her.
He thought about how she looked when she was angry, how she would kick off the covers while sleeping, and her sly smile.
"Yes," Xu Qingning answered without hesitation. "You focus on your work, take care of yourself, and I'll be waiting for you to come back."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yaqiang lowered his head and chuckled to himself.
He could tell from her tone that his sister-in-law's answer was really perfunctory.
“I’ve already asked, and I can go back by the end of the year.” Zhao Jingyu knew that Wang Yaqiang was with her, so she didn’t say anything else. “Give the phone to Yaqiang.”
"Your brother is looking for you." Xu Qingning handed the phone to Wang Yaqiang, feeling a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.
Oh my god, I hope he doesn't call again, it's so awkward!
Zhao Jingyu spoke briefly with Wang Yaqiang about work before hanging up the phone.
It wasn't dark yet, and Xu Qingning said she could go back by herself, it wasn't far, just a few steps away, but Wang Yaqiang insisted on taking her back.
Halfway there, Yang Yuelan came to greet her with a flashlight. When she saw Xu Qingning, she quickly walked a few steps forward and took her arm: "You're finally back! I've been waiting anxiously."
"Mom, I'm all grown up now, you don't need to worry about me." Xu Qingning also held her hand, her hand was rough but warm.
Back home, Yang Yuelan watched Xu Qingning get into bed before sitting down beside her: "Qingning, I'm thinking of putting up a kang (heated brick bed) in my room. It'll be warmer on the kang when we have a baby. What do you think?"
"Mom, it's fine. You can do whatever you want with things at home. I have no objections." When Xu Qingning was little, she slept on this kind of earthen bed at her maternal grandmother's house, and it was very comfortable.
"That's good." Yang Yuelan smiled. "There's no rush to build the kang (heated brick bed). We can talk about it after your aunt and cousin leave. I just wanted to ask you first so we can prepare the adobe bricks in advance."
“If you need to move anything, just tell me, and I’ll ask Wang Yaqiang and the others for help. We’ll treat them to a meal.” Xu Qingning said, taking out her wallet from under her pillow and counting out twenty yuan and a stack of food coupons for her. “Mom, please take care of the daily shopping. Just go and buy whatever you need.”
“You don’t need to give it to me. You can give it to me when we need to buy more.” Yang Yuelan refused. “I brought these vegetables and cornmeal from home. It’s enough for us to eat for several days.”
"Mom, please don't stand on ceremony with me, take this." Xu Qingning insisted on giving it to her, and then pointed to the fabric that had been cut on the desk, saying, "I would like to ask you to sew this for me, I need it urgently."
"Don't worry, Mom can do it." Yang Yuelan flipped through the stack of fabrics and smiled. "Mom can finish this little job for you very quickly."
"Thank you, Mom." Xu Qingning's eyes lit up. Once the sample garment was finished, she would go to the department store to find Liu Caixia.
Once she has an income, she will give her mother-in-law more money.
Let my mother-in-law also live a good life.
Yang Yuelan was very efficient; she finished all the sample garments in less than three days.
It is finely crafted with dense stitches and looks very high-end.
Yang Yuexiang looked down on Yang Yuelan for doing chores for her daughter-in-law like an old ox, but she didn't dare to say anything because of Xu Qingning's domineering attitude.
Wu Huihui started working on her second day after arriving, leaving early and returning late, and basically never saw Xu Qingning.
When she left in the morning, Xu Qingning hadn't gotten up yet; when she returned in the evening, Xu Qingning was already asleep.
Wu Huihui saw all this, but dared not speak out against it.
Xu Qingning slept alone on the big bed in the new house. She shared a bed with two old ladies, and it was difficult for her to even turn over at night.
Yang Yuexiang complained several times that it was too crowded, but Xu Qingning ignored her and didn't even suggest that she sleep in the new house. She has no manners at all.
That afternoon, Xu Qingning took the sample garment to the department store to explain her purpose to Liu Caixia.
Liu Caixia sells ready-made clothes from the provincial capital's state-owned clothing factory at the department store. When she saw the sample clothes Xu Qingning made, she was amazed and exclaimed, "Jingyu's wife, did you come up with all these designs yourself? They're so beautiful!"
Two-tone cardigans, three-tone dresses, stylish little suits, flared pants, and two adorable children's sets.
Having grown accustomed to seeing only blue, green, and gray, Liu Caixia found this color combination visually striking.
"Yes, I designed them all." Xu Qingning is familiar with the fashion trends of the past two years and is very confident in her designs. "If the factory needs them, I will continue to design new styles."
"Jingyu has really found a skillful and clever wife." Liu Caixia was more and more satisfied with her, and immediately said to Xu Qingning, "Jingyu's wife, wait a moment, I'll go to my office to make a call and then give you an answer."
Xu Qingning's eyes lit up; the deal was done.
Having acquaintances makes things easier.
After a while, Liu Caixia came out of the office with a smile, holding six ten-yuan bills in her hand: "The factory said they'll give you ten yuan for each design, and asked me to deliver it to them tomorrow. They said if it sells well, they'll continue to order new designs from you. What do you think?"
"Okay, it's settled then." Xu Qingning took the money, her heart filled with joy. She pulled out a ten-yuan note and stuffed it into Liu Caixia's hand. "Thank you for your hard work, Auntie."
"Oh, no need, I did this all for the factory." Liu Caixia was embarrassed to accept it, but Xu Qingning insisted that she take it, and said with a smile, "If it weren't for my aunt's introduction, I wouldn't have been able to get ten yuan."
Let's all make money.
Only a win-win situation can lead to a longer-term future!
Having earned her first sum of money, Xu Qingning was in high spirits. She went to the food counter on the first floor and bought two pounds of bread for Yang Yuelan.
Her mother-in-law was good to her.
She wants to treat her mother-in-law even better.
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