Before school even started, news of Meng Zikang and Luo Wei's marriage had already reached the courtyard. Meng Zikang probably feared things might get complicated and didn't dare delay any longer.
On her return to school before the start of the new semester, Xu Keke saw Luo Xi. Luo Xi was arm in arm with a female classmate, walking past her with a smug look on her face. All the panic from the previous semester and the resentment from their last meeting were gone.
A summer breeze carried Rosie's cheerful laughter over, "My brother-in-law is such a good cook! I went to their house the other day, and he made a whole table of dishes. You have no idea how good he is to my sister; he doesn't even let her do the laundry. My brother-in-law is also very clean..."
Xu Keke knew she was doing it on purpose; the young girl had quite a strong sense of revenge. But knowing that Meng Zikang was doing 'well' put her at ease.
School has been in session for a while now, the weather has turned cool, and final exams are approaching.
One weekend, Luo Wei came to the courtyard to find her. She wanted her to bring her sister and live with them. She said their house was big and more suitable than her living with someone else.
Xu Keke simply looked at her without arguing. Living in someone else's house wasn't appropriate, but it was Meng Zikang who had made them homeless in the first place. Besides, they'd been married for several months already; wasn't it a bit late to think about it now?
Xu Keke quickly discerned the reason from her words: she was pregnant. Now, the exploitation of the working class was prohibited, so their housekeeper had returned to her hometown. Even if Meng Zikang was incredibly hardworking at home, he couldn't avoid going to work. So, she set her sights on the sisters.
She wanted Xu Keke to be her free babysitter. If Xu Keke didn't have to go to school, she would have genuinely wanted to go. Some people aren't afraid of death, so you can't blame her.
Of course, there was another main reason why she wanted the sisters to move there, a reason Xu Keke later heard from Manager Lin: Meng Zikang, thanks to his father-in-law's influence, had now secured a minor official position in the factory. He was eager to join the Party and then advance his career.
Unfortunately, the next step he takes will attract more attention. He himself has had issues with his lifestyle in the past. Fortunately, he's now married, about to have a child, and treats his wife well. So, at most, he's recognized his mistakes and corrected them in time. The only thing people can still criticize him for now is his indifference towards his sisters.
That's why Luo Wei and he thought of taking the sisters in, so outsiders could see that Luo Zikang hadn't neglected the children. They were afraid they'd have to put on a show of how much they cared for the sisters to shut people up.
So once people have desires, many things become easier to handle. After listening to Manager Lin's words, Xu Keke wanted to go even more. Besides considering Xiao Mengjia's feelings, there was also Qi Chang's disapproval. Of course, Xu Keke's laziness was also a major factor, causing her to miss such a 'great opportunity'.
Xu Keke, already feeling somewhat disappointed, was further provoked by Luo Xi at school. In front of everyone, Luo Xi righteously questioned her, "Meng Dong, you don't even want to be a sales clerk at the grocery store? It's such a good job. Do you know how long my sister begged my dad to find you this job? What's wrong with you? It's just that you want to go to university, what's with your arrogance?"
It won't take long; in two years, Rosie's words will be perfectly valid. But even now, going to university is still seen as a remarkable achievement. People still hold knowledge in high esteem.
So Rosie's outburst startled the female classmates who were standing next to her, and they all instinctively took a half-step back. In their eyes, Rosie's thought process was simply too unusual.
Although they thought selling meat was a good job, being the top student in the entire grade, the pride of the teachers, and someone the principal said would be rewarded by the school if they got into university—it seemed inappropriate for them to now be selling meat.
"Rosie, what are you saying?" Ms. Liu and several older teachers suddenly came out. Not only Rosie, but Xu Keke was also startled.
"Our classmate has lofty aspirations; shouldn't we be happy for her? Why do you feel that studying..."
"Teacher!" Xu Keke hurriedly interrupted Teacher Liu. She understood that Teacher Liu wanted to help her, but saying these words in front of everyone today would become a weapon against her later.
“Going to university and then starting work is serving the people. Selling meat is also serving the people. To me, as long as it involves labor and serves the people, all jobs are the same.”
Rosie, your sister asked me to go not to arrange a job for me, but just so that there would be another nanny to take care of her at home.
If you, like her, think this arrangement is good, then why don't you drop out of school early and do it? Selling meat and going to university, aren't they the same thing for you? Especially since this job was arranged by your father with great difficulty. It's even less appropriate for an outsider like me to take it. To avoid wasting it, I suggest you go.”
"You want me to sell meat?" Rosie questioned Xu Keke, ignoring the presence of the teacher.
Xu Keke: "If I can do it, why can't you? Are you different from me?"
Faced with Xu Keke's question, Luo Xi really wanted to say, "We're different! Of course, she's different from Xu Keke. Her father and her family are things that people like Xu Keke can't compare to."
Seeing the conflicted look on her face, Xu Keke was too lazy to pay attention to her.
Not long after, Manager Lin brought more news. Meng Zikang had become the deputy factory director. He no longer saw anyone like Manager Lin in his eyes. When he ran into Manager Lin at a district meeting, Meng Zikang actually waited for Manager Lin, his former boss, and took the initiative to go over and greet him.
Xu Keke smiled and patiently waited a few more days until she finished her final exams. It wasn't that she was worried about it affecting her exams; she simply felt that some events happening during the Spring Festival would be more to her liking.
Using Qi Chang's connections, Xu Keke sent Luo Wei's father, the deputy director, to the interrogation room via an anonymous letter.
Based on her memories from her previous lives, Xu Keke knew that at this time, the authorities were cracking down hard on any acts of abusing power for personal gain or personal profit. Once verified, the consequences were far more serious than simply being dismissed from office. As far as she knew, serious offenders could be imprisoned for over a decade. There was no room for sentimentality, no seniority, and no concept of offsetting wrongdoing with merit here.
So when the Spring Festival arrived, Luo Wei's father was completely stripped of his power. One of his crimes was abusing his position to arrange a job for his morally questionable son-in-law. He also condoned his children's bullying and harassment of others. The other charges were all reported by others during the investigation. But these two charges were written by Xu Keke in an anonymous letter.
Meng Zikang lost his job and was even sent to a labor camp for a few days. Manager Lin learned that Luo Wei said she was pregnant and in poor health, with no one at home to take care of her. So she contacted the relevant departments. Considering the actual situation, Meng Zikang was released early.
When school reopened, Xu Keke didn't see Luo Xi at school and heard that she had transferred schools.
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