"Oh? Your brother-in-law still restricts you from going out to work?" Huang Wanzhen asked curiously.
Lin Zexin smiled. "It's more than just a restriction. They completely disagreed with it. They even complained to my parents. My parents talked to me for a long time, and when they saw that I was unmoved, they suggested that I go to school to become a teacher."
Huang Wanzhen helped her pick up a piece of boiled chicken and said, "The teacher is pretty good too. I heard the salary is very high."
Lin Zexin shook his head. "Oh! It sounds good, but teachers can't even get paid these days. I've sneaked a peek at my father's files, and some of them are over two years in arrears. I'm not afraid of the two leaders calling me tacky. I came out to work just to have some money to spend, but I don't want to do this job that doesn't pay."
"When I was pregnant with our first child, I could have persisted, but because my salary was never paid, I took the opportunity to retire after I had the child. My father even said I had no dedication. He was a grown man, and all the family money went to him. How could he understand my hardship? Don't laugh at me, but when I was pregnant, I was greedy and sleepy. I woke up late in the morning and didn't have time to eat breakfast at home. I rushed to school, starving, and I couldn't even afford to buy food."
Huang Wanzhen interrupted, "That shouldn't be the case. With your family background, you should have a lot of dowry."
Lin Zexin spread his hands and said, "Why should I have such a family? My father works in the Education Bureau, which is known as the poorest government office. He holds a high position and has never had his salary docked, but he's very concerned about his reputation. He always pays out money to anyone who asks him for help. When he runs out of money, he always blames my mother for not being able to manage the household. He keeps cutting down on the family expenses. I don't starve, but I can't eat anything I like."
"I thought everything would be fine after I got married, but I didn't expect that after getting married, I would even start to starve. Pregnancy and childbirth are really the biggest disaster God has given women."
Song Wenyin nodded and blinked at Huang Wanzhen, as if to say, I was right to leave Beijing, look how wise I am.
After finishing her work at the company, Song Wenyin went to the Songhu Garrison to see her grandfather, but she didn't expect that he didn't come back that day.
At ten o'clock in the evening, the phone rang. Huang Wanzhen, who was waiting nearby, answered the phone immediately. Song Wenyin's voice reached her ears. Huang Wanzhen didn't even hear what she said before she started cursing, "Are you dead? Do you know what time it is? You're a girl, and it's so late. If you don't come back, you'll scare people to death, don't you? If you don't call back, I'm going to call the police!"
Song Wenyin glanced at Song Hexiang awkwardly and mouthed, "It's all your fault."
Song Hexiang pointed at the phone, signaling her to speak quickly.
Song Wenyin then gave a fake laugh. "Haha, Wanzhen, next time I'll definitely call you earlier. I was going to go back, but my grandfather bought a house in Zhaoqingbang, Xujiahui, not far from where you are. It would only take a while for me to go back. It's all my grandfather's fault for not letting me go back."
"Yes, yes, I should have called earlier. I was wrong. I'll treat you to a Western meal tomorrow. Okay, okay, shopping is on me."
Song Wenyin hung up the phone and reached out to Song Hexiang.
Song Hexiang took out a checkbook and signed a check for two hundred yuan to Song Wenyin.
Song Wenyin took it and looked at it, then whistled happily. Song Hexiang immediately turned around to look, but when he didn't see his wife, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's enough, go back to the room and sleep quickly. Little kids are really annoying."
"Come on, the one who pays is the boss, I'll listen to you."
Song Hexiang pointed at her and scolded her with a smile, "Your mother really made a mistake in giving birth to you. You're even more naughty than boys."
The next day, Song Wenyin met Huang Wanzhen and began to complain about the old lady and the old man wanting her to move in. "They said I can't live outside because I'm not married yet. They said they'll leave me alone once I get married. Wanzhen, tell me, why can't we women escape this bullshit of marriage?"
Huang Wanzhen smiled and said, "Then let's move there. I can have some peace and quiet for a few days."
This sentence made Song Wenyin tremble with fear. "Do you dislike me? I treat you better than my own sister, and you actually drove me away. You really hurt my heart."
Huang Wanzhen quickly raised her hands in surrender. "Hey, it was your grandparents who asked you to move there, not me. If you don't want to move, you can live here. I won't drive you away."
Song Wenyin stopped in a second, "You're smart."
Huang Wanzhen rolled her eyes.
In the next few days, Huang Wanzhen accompanied Song Wenyin to move and went shopping. Seeing that she had adapted well, she said goodbye to Huang Dongshi, Chen Hanfeng and others, and then took the train back to Peiping with Huang Dachui.
In the past, when I came to Shanghai, I never saw a single acquaintance on the train. This time, I came to Shanghai, maybe it was bad luck. What happened when I came here is in the past, so I won’t mention it. But on the way back, I actually met Fan Hengming.
Although the two had met several times, they couldn't really say they were familiar with each other.
If Fan Hengming had not taken the initiative to invite Huang Wanzhen to dinner, Huang Wanzhen would have wanted to hide back in the carriage and pretend not to see him.
"Hello, Brother Fan, are you going to Shanghai too?"
Fan Hengming smiled and nodded, "On a business trip."
"Your research institute also needs to travel. I thought you only needed to stay in the lab and do research."
Fan Hengming gentlemanly helped Huang Wanzhen cut the steak, "Yes."
Huang Wanzhen simply stopped talking about Fan Hengming's ability to end a conversation in just a few words and just enjoyed her favorite steak.
After finishing the meal, Huang Wanzhen saw Fan Hengming also put down his knife and fork, and stood up naturally. Before she could say goodbye, Fan Mutou spoke, "I'll buy Miss Huang a cup of coffee."
Huang Wanzhen's smile froze for a moment, and she sat down again. "Haha, do you have something to talk to me about?"
After the waiter who had served the coffee left, Fan Hengming pulled a check from his wallet and pushed it toward Huang Wanzhen, saying, "This is Professor Gao from your university. He asked me to pay you back the 700 yuan. Please keep it."
Huang Wanzhen was secretly shocked, but remained calm on the surface. "Oh, okay, I understand."
After a moment of hesitation, Huang Wanzhen picked up the coffee cup and drank it all in one gulp. "If Mr. Fan has nothing else to do, I'll go back to the carriage."
Fan Hengming stood up and buttoned his suit jacket, "I'll take you there."
Huang Wanzhen curled her lips inwardly and thought to herself, no wonder Ms. Chen treats you like a treasure, you are really good at it, you are just a few steps away and still give me a gift. People who know you say you are a gentleman, and those who don’t think you value me a lot.
In the next two days, Huang Wanzhen tried not to go to the restaurant for meals. She asked Huang Dachui to bring her food back every time. Only when Huang Dachui returned to Beijing safely did Huang Wanzhen feel relieved.
Huang Wanzhen returned to Jixiangtang in a good mood, but Zhao Dahua's words made her heart sink to the bottom again.
"Mr. Huang, the eldest lady is missing."
"Who? Who's missing?"
Huang Wanzhen picked her ears and felt that she had otitis media. Her ears were very itchy.
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