Knowing that Xu Keke didn't need to go to the hospital during the day, Yuanbao's reaction surprised Xu Keke quite a bit. He even seemed a little regretful; yes, the dissatisfaction in his soft "Ah!" was all too obvious.
Da Cui was even more direct, "So, Mom, does that mean we can't go to Mr. Cao's house for dinner?"
Xu Keke was speechless at being so bluntly criticized for her cooking skills. She really didn't have any talent in this area, and even with the original owner's memories, it didn't seem to be of much help to her.
So when the neighborhood committee members came to register her and asked if she was interested in working, she agreed without hesitation. What she was thinking at the time was that if she got busy, her two children would have an excuse to freeload off her.
The two women who came to register stood in the courtyard, taking notes as they listened to Feng Lichun's past stories. Hearing from Xu Keke that she could read but had never attended school, the two women became very curious and asked more detailed questions about her past experiences.
Fan Wu was helping A Qiu carry some things into the yard—cut wooden planks. He was feeling cooped up inside, and when A Qiu mentioned building a small kitchen for Xu Keke outside, he immediately took on the task.
As they placed the wooden plank in the corner of the yard, they heard Xu Keke reply to the two women, “I’m open to any job, but it would be best if I waited a while. We’ve just arrived, and the children are still adjusting to the environment. I’m worried that if something happens, I’ll have to take time off. My children are all grown up now, so I don’t have any worries. I think once everything is settled, I can focus on my work.”
The two comrades expressed their appreciation for her thoughtful consideration of the issue.
Fan Wu lowered his eyes and stood there for a long time without moving.
"Ah Wu, but my leg hurts again. I told you I'd come get it, but you insisted on coming." Ah Qiu walked in from the outer courtyard after he hadn't returned for a while and saw Fan Wu leaning on the plank in a daze. She couldn't help but complain.
Fan Wu didn't say much. He nodded to Xu Keke and the others who were looking over as a greeting, then put the wooden board against the wall and followed A Qiu out first.
Comrade Ding, with short hair and a round face, finished asking Xu Keke about the situation, screwed his pen on, clipped it to his notebook, stood up briskly, walked to Miss Feng's door, and gently knocked on it. His voice was much louder than before, "Chen Baozhen, we've been here for ages, why aren't you coming out?"
Before long, Miss Feng opened the door. Her hair was loose, and she was wearing a cotton robe. She stood by the door, exuding charm.
In Feng Lichun's memory, Miss Feng the Fourth was a beautiful but somewhat vague woman. After they moved to the courtyard, Xu Keke saw her up close and realized that Miss Feng the Fourth was not only beautiful in appearance, but also possessed a unique charm in every smile and gesture. True beauty lies in the bone structure, not just the skin.
Unfortunately, these two women couldn't appreciate her beauty. "Chen Baoling, what's wrong with you? Why do you always belittle yourself like this? Do you think that with this attitude, you don't care what others say about you? What's the point of confronting us with this attitude? This negative attitude won't help you."
Comrade Ding didn't look very old, probably around the same age as Chen Yurong. She was like a friendly girl next door when they were chatting just now. But in the blink of an eye, she exuded a powerful aura, and Xu Keke was immediately impressed.
The woman in the hat who had been standing with Xu Keke also walked over. "You! Now that you're free, if you really feel that your adoptive mother has been kind to you, you can find time to take care of her in your spare time. There's really no need to run over there every day. Is it really necessary to make others misunderstand you?"
Xu Keke then realized what Miss Feng was doing every afternoon. Judging from her tone, she seemed quite rebellious; "You all say I'm bad, so I'll just let you misunderstand me." What kind of mentality is that?
The woman was still trying to persuade her, "Why don't you find a job and live your own life? Look at Comrade Feng, she has two children to raise, and she's still thinking about getting a job and integrating into society. You're so young and have no burdens, why do you insist on clinging to your old life?"
"That's right, Chen Baoling. The show you performed during your reform period that I told you about last time, the comrades from the opera and dance troupe saw it and wanted you to work for them. They even asked me a few days ago, 'Aren't you going to consider it?'"
Miss Feng sneered, "You used to be a socialite, now you're an actress?"
"What kind of talk is that!"
The woman in the hat pulled Comrade Xiao Ding aside, saying, "Chen Baoling, it's your own business if you belittle yourself, but you can't insult our artists. They sing for the people, they sing for the motherland; they are not the actors you talk about. That's how the old society looked down on them. We hope you will seriously consider our suggestion."
After everyone left, Miss Feng straightened up and stared blankly at the empty courtyard gate. It took her a while to come to her senses. She looked at Xu Keke, who was still standing in the courtyard, and asked, "What kind of work do you want to do?"
Xu Keke didn't expect her to ask her that question. "It doesn't matter, as long as I can earn money to support my child and myself, that's fine."
Miss Feng smiled dismissively, "You certainly don't know how to reason."
“I also said,” Xu Keke said without a smile. The transition between the old and new eras requires some people to undergo a complete transformation to adapt. The unknown can cause panic in some insecure people.
"When the country was destroyed and the family was destroyed, I would protect them even if it meant my death. Now I'm just living my own life well, and that's enough for me. There's nothing wrong with that. People are always changing, and it's better to adapt to the times than to be left behind by them."
"You're not like a country woman. You're practically showing your true colors, yet you're still trying to advise others." The woman smiled, rolled her eyes at her, and turned to go back into the house.
Xu Keke was stunned by her alluring appearance. This woman was a vixen! Fan Wu happened to walk in and saw this scene, frowning, "Why are you still staring like that?"
"Don't you think she's pretty?" Xu Keke's eyes were still fixed on the house across the street. From the moment Fan Wu stood at the gate of the courtyard, Miss Feng glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and knew he was there.
"What did you say?" Xu Keke turned to look at Fan Wu. Recently, since Mr. Chen hadn't been in Baijia Lane, he no longer concealed his appearance, and his features became more defined. His eyes were clear and bright, and he possessed an air of nobility. No wonder Chen Yurong had harbored a secret crush on him for so many years.
"You misheard me, I didn't say anything." After saying this, he turned and left. He had already walked out of the courtyard when he remembered that he still needed to find Xu Keke, but he couldn't go back. He just went back into the house with his head down.
Remembering his reddened earlobes, Xu Keke smiled. This man, who had been with her through two worlds, even shared this little habit. She had overheard him say, "You're prettier than her." She had deliberately teased him by asking him again.
This man has been with her through two worlds. In the last world, she had already guessed some of it. Meeting him in this world made her even more certain.
She was incredibly sensitive to her surroundings, as if it were some kind of training. But with him, she relied solely on her intuition. In her previous life, because it was an additional mission, she actually felt resistant. But as they spent time together, their images gradually overlapped. And in this world, she knew it the moment she saw his eyes.
It seemed that only this man could attract her attention. Xu Keke chuckled, wondering what kind of relationship they had.
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