"Mom, Jingwu is your son, but isn't Jingwen also your son?" Seeing Yang Yuelan's worried expression, Wu Xiufang knew that she still hoped her son would return to the city first, and said unhappily, "You only think about getting Jingwu back as soon as possible, but don't you think about how Jingwen's life has been any easier since we've been separated for several months?"
Zhou Chunyan was not an educated youth sent to the countryside, but rather from a village near her hometown.
When Wu Xiufang went to the production team to complete the procedures for returning to the city, she and her husband stayed at her mother's house with their child, instead of staying in the village.
Zhao Futang was unaware that he had gone to a neighboring county with the production team leader to buy calves, and had been there for three or four days.
In the future, if the second son's family asks, she will have something to say.
“That’s right. When Xiufang came, neither my dad nor Jingwu’s family were in the village. We wanted to tell them, but it was too late.” Zhao Jingwen tried to make amends, “Mom, you can’t just think about Jingwu and not our actual situation.”
"Then, you should talk to them properly when the time comes." Yang Yuelan was also at a loss. Zhao Futang didn't know, the second son's family didn't know, and only she knew that Wu Xiufang had taken the child back to the city.
“Why should I have to talk to them about finding a job for my wife?” Zhao Jingwen retorted, displeased. “I don’t owe them anything.”
He got this job for his wife.
It's not like his dad found him the job; he can give it to whomever he wants.
“Jingwen, don’t forget, your job spot was secured for you by your father through Dawei, out of respect for Jingyu.” Yang Yuelan didn’t expect Zhao Jingwen to say this. “Because you are the eldest, your father gave it to you, thinking that he could transfer Jingwu back when there was an opportunity. Now that you have given the spot to Xiufang, you should at least tell them.”
"Mom, Jingwen just said they're not in the village right now, so how can we tell them?" Wu Xiufang said impatiently. "Anyway, we've already settled them in, so there's no point in saying anything now."
"That's just how things are, and no one can change it." Zhao Jingwen stood up abruptly. "We have other things to do, so we'll head back first and come back in a few days."
"By the way, Mom, is my third sister-in-law going to give birth in the next couple of days?" Wu Xiufang asked when she didn't see Xu Qingning come out.
“About two weeks,” Yang Yuelan replied.
“Our family is going to have another baby this year, what a joyous occasion.” Wu Xiufang turned her head to look at Xu Qingning’s tightly closed door, and then laughed, “Third sister-in-law can really sleep, we can’t even wake her up when we’re talking like this.”
“As the pregnancy progresses, it’s easy to get tired,” Yang Yuelan said expressionlessly. “We’ve all been through this, we know that.”
"Mom, I didn't say anything else." Wu Xiufang smiled. "I didn't dare to say anything else either."
"..." Yang Yuelan was so angry that she couldn't speak.
"Let's go!" Zhao Jingwen pulled Wu Xiufang out, but when they reached the door, he remembered that Zhao Chengjun was still on the kang (a heated brick bed), so he turned back and told him, "Stay at your third uncle's house for a few days, and we'll come to pick you up in a few days, okay?"
"Okay." Zhao Chengjun was more than happy to stay here, his mind filled with candy sticks and comic books. He waved to them, "You guys should go now!"
The couple left without looking back.
Anyway, Yang Yuelan and Xu Qingning couldn't possibly kick their son out. The child wouldn't eat much of their food anyway, and besides, they brought a bag of cabbage with them.
The weather was gloomy, and it was windy outside.
It looks like it's going to snow.
Xu Qingning didn't want to get up from her bed, but was woken up by Zhao Chengjun's knocking on the door. She then drifted back to sleep.
When she woke up again, Zhao Jingwen and Wu Xiufang were already gone.
Yang Yuelan sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) lost in thought, while Zhao Chengjun nestled beside her, fast asleep.
Yang Yuelan then told Xu Qingning about Wu Xiufang's return to the city: "It's not that I'm biased towards Jingwu, it's just that the two of them are too selfish. Even if they got the job quota, they didn't need to rush back. They should at least have told your dad."
"Mom, my sister-in-law's job has already been arranged, so there's no point in saying anything now." Xu Qingning understood. "It all depends on what my second brother and sister-in-law think."
This matter can be big or small.
If Zhao Jingwu's family doesn't care, this is nothing; but if they do, it's a big deal.
“Your second brother and his family are definitely unhappy.” Yang Yuelan knows her son well. “When we gave the spot to your eldest brother, they were unhappy. It was only after your father promised to give it to him when there was another spot available that they calmed down. Now that your eldest brother has given the spot to your sister-in-law, they are definitely unhappy, especially since your father is not in the village.”
"Mom, I actually think it's a good thing that Dad doesn't know," Xu Qingning analyzed to Yang Yuelan. "Think about it, if Dad knew, it would be tantamount to him tacitly agreeing that the job spot was given to my sister-in-law, wouldn't that make the conflict even bigger?"
"Now that I know, what should I do?" Yang Yuelan's mind was in turmoil.
“You know now, but it’s too late.” Xu Qingning understood Yang Yuelan’s thoughts. “The job has already been arranged, and you can’t ask your sister-in-law to give it to your second brother. There’s nothing you can do.”
“Your older brother and sister-in-law are staying at the dormitory, saying it's inconvenient to bring the child, so they asked Chengjun to stay with us for a while,” Yang Yuelan said, pointing to her sleeping grandson. “He’s actually quite well-behaved and likes staying here. You won’t blame me for not discussing it with you, will you?”
"Then let him stay for a while!" Xu Qingning couldn't very well send the child back to them; the factory dormitory was indeed quite cold.
Besides, she quite liked Zhao Chengjun, which had nothing to do with Zhao Jingwen and Wu Xiufang.
In order to participate in this fashion competition, the state-owned garment factory in the provincial capital specially selected several models from the factory, and Liu Caixia was responsible for leading them in rehearsals.
The factory submitted three entries. In addition to Xu Qingning's entry, the other two entries were designed and produced by the factory's technical staff. They were Dongfanghong-1, Dongfanghong-2, and Dongfanghong-3.
Xu Qingning was an entry for the Dongfanghong-1 satellite.
It was also a piece that the factory focused on rehearsing.
The rehearsal was kept secret; apart from Liu Caixia, Wang Wenjian, and Zhao Jingyu, no one else was allowed to attend.
After the rehearsal, Zhao Jingyu was responsible for collecting his entry, which he kept in his room and safeguarded very well.
At home, Xu Qingning repeatedly told him to take good care of the sample garment. He knew that it was the result of his wife's hard work over many days, and he dared not be careless for a moment.
Zhao Jingyu has been here for three days, and apart from going out for a short walk that day, he has not left the guesthouse.
He can go home after the fashion competition ends tomorrow.
Zhao Jingyu lay on the hard bed in the guesthouse, missing his warm bed at home and the woman in it terribly. He wished he could fly back right now.
After tossing and turning for a while, he looked at his watch and saw that it was already past 1 a.m. He needed to go to sleep quickly, as he had to go to the competition venue tomorrow.
A moment later, he heard light footsteps in the corridor stop at his door, followed by the rustling sound of someone picking the lock.
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