Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The old man agreed, and Jiang Yiwei bottled up her excitement.

She was also relieved that the old man hadn’t taken the wooden box to examine it closely. The box didn’t look big, and it looked empty, but it weighed a ton.

Anyone guarding a scrapyard had to be shrewd—he would surely have noticed the box’s peculiarity if he had inspected it.

When she asked to take the box, Jiang Yiwei felt uneasy, afraid the old man would discover something. But she decided to roll the dice, and luckily, it worked out.

Whatever was hidden inside the box would not disappoint her.

Jiang Yiwei could hardly keep from grinning.

She forced herself to suppress her excitement and put her timid act back on.

Clutching her finds, she approached the old man.

"Grandpa, I just want these few books and the wooden box."

The old man gave the books a once-over and, seeing nothing problematic, nodded. "Take them."

A little smile tugged at her lips as Jiang Yiwei thanked him and left the scrapyard, heading home.

Two hours later, Jiang Yiwei entered the Jiang family’s courtyard with her haul. The place was dead silent—no one seemed to be around. Seeing the locked door, she realized Jiang Yuexin and Jiang Weilin hadn’t returned since she left. She took out her key and was about to push the door open when Jiang Ningning’s voice came from behind.

"Yi Wei, where have you been? What’s that in your arms?"

Jiang Ningning’s eyes were fixed on the items Jiang Yiwei carried.

Jiang Yiwei noticed her gaze. "It’s Songzhi’s stuff. She asked me to keep it for her for a few days."

At the mention of Chen Songzhi, a hint of disgust crossed Jiang Ningning’s eyes, though she said, "If it’s hers, then don't lose it. Wouldn’t want you to be blamed if anything goes missing."

Jiang Ningning knew exactly what kind of person Chen Songzhi was.

Only a fool like Jiang Yiwei couldn’t see it—treating her like a BFF while getting played like a fiddle.

"Okay, I will."

Once Jiang Ningning learned the items belonged to Chen Songzhi, she lost interest and didn’t press further.

Jiang Yiwei slipped into her room undetected.

Setting everything down, she finally breathed easy.

Thank God, Jiang Ningning hadn’t insisted on inspecting the items.

She wasn’t about letting anyone know about her score.

Unwrapping the books and the wooden box, she fished out the hidden gems from her clothes and placed them all together.

Each item was caked with dust. Jiang Yiwei fetched a wet rag and a basin of water, carefully wiping away the grime until everything shone like new.

Her eyes lit up with excitement.

Jiang Yiwei picked up a small gold nugget, her eyes sparkling with delight.

She then turned her gaze to the wooden box, carefully examining its sides. The box had once been adorned with delicate carvings, but they had been destroyed during those troubled times—otherwise, it would've been catastrophic.

With a sigh, Jiang Yiwei opened the box. It was empty inside, yet the box itself was unexpectedly heavy.

The base of the box...

As she felt around the bottom panel, she found a spot that could be prized open. She hurried to get a tool and slowly pried open the wooden plank. Beneath it lay several thumb-sized gold nuggets and a few pure white jade pendants, all covered in dust.

"So many gold nuggets!"

Jiang Yiwei couldn't help but let out a gleeful laugh.

After laughing for a while, she struggled to contain her excitement.

She had to tuck them away carefully.

The gold, jade pendants, and jewelry represented a small fortune.

After looking around the room, Jiang Yiwei decided to store her finds in a small hole behind the wardrobe.

This hole had been made by the previous owner after her eldest sister, Jiang Lingxin, got married. No one else knew about it except the original owner.

Thus, Jiang Yiwei chose to hide the items there.

Even Jiang Yuexin wouldn’t be able to find this hiding spot.

She was now a woman of means—well, not yet, but she would be soon.

As time passed, the bitter cold of winter gradually gave way to the warmth of spring, replaced by spring breezes.

During dinner that evening, everyone was present except Jiang Haolin. Jiang Yiwei enjoyed every mouthful of steamed buns with plain porridge.

She placed a slice of egg on a bun and took a satisfying bite.

Delicious.

Jiang Yuexin gave a disapproving glance at Jiang Yiwei's way of eating.

Her gaze then turned urgent as she looked at Zhang Cuifen and Jiang Sanjie.

Finally, Jiang Yuexin blurted out, "Dad, Mom, you said you'd find me work. It's been so long, and you still haven’t managed to."

Biting her lip, she added, "Mom, you said if you couldn’t find one, you’d let me take over your job."

At these words, both Jiang Yiwei and Huang Manjun paused their actions.

They turned their eyes to Zhang Cuifen.

Jiang Yiwei chewed on her bun, pondering Jiang Yuexin's words.

Lately, Jiang Yuexin had been nagging Zhang Cuifen and Jiang Sanjie to find her work. In these times, even garbage-collecting jobs were in high demand, leaving so few jobs to go around.

Even temporary positions were hard to come by.

Otherwise, so many people wouldn’t have been sent down to the countryside.

Now, there were only two ways to land work.

One is when a factory needs to hire, and people sign up for it. However, since positions are highly sought after, most are prearranged through connections. Even if not prearranged, you still have to take an exam and meet their requirements to get the job.

The other way is to take over a parent’s job.

With Jiang Yuexin’s attitude, don’t expect her to pass any exams.

As for taking over a position, Jiang Yuexin is really scheming.

Zhang Cuifen works at a state-owned children's food factory. She mentioned before that her job is quite easy—just sitting and packing food into boxes.

Since Zhang Cuifen is a Grade 4 worker, she earns fifty-two yuan a month along with some vouchers.

If Jiang Yuexin were to take over the position, the income would be slashed by more than half.

Even though Jiang Sanjie and Zhang Cuifen are partial to Jiang Yuexin, they wouldn’t do something so unprofitable. Moreover, even though the couple isn’t as son-preferring as Jiang Dajie is toward Jiang Liling, in their hearts, their daughters will never be as important as their son.

This is deeply ingrained in them and simply cannot be changed.

Even Jiang Ningning knows that, despite Granny Hu doting on her, Jiang Erjie and his wife only favor her a little more.

Otherwise, why would Jiang Ningning be willing to act like a good granddaughter in front of Granny Hu?

Zhang Cuifen’s face stiffened. She had just opened her mouth when Jiang Sanjie spoke first.

"Yuexin, your mother’s position can’t be passed on to you."

At this, Jiang Yuexin blew up and banged the table. "Why can’t I take over Mom’s position?"

Even now, they’re still refusing her.

"We’ll help you find a temporary job."

Jiang Sanjie could pull strings to get a temp position.

"I don’t want a temp job—I want a permanent one!" Jiang Yuexin was ambitious; she didn’t want just a temp job—she wanted a permanent position.

Jiang Sanjie patiently explained, "Yuexin, start with the temp job. Down the line, you might get a shot at becoming permanent."

"If I take over Mom’s job, I can be permanent right away. Why should I put up with a temp job?"

Jiang Yuexin refused to accept it. If she could just take over Zhang Cuifen’s job, why wouldn’t they let her?

Then it hit her.

She immediately glared at Jiang Yiwei, who frowned in confusion. "Jiang Yuexin, why are you glaring at me? Don’t snap at me!"

Jiang Yiwei thought Jiang Yuexin was taking it out on her, same as always.

If she thought she could take it out on her now, not happening.

Jiang Yuexin’s anger flared. Pointing at Jiang Yiwei, she shouted at Jiang Sanjie and Zhang Cuifen, "Mom, you won’t let me take over your job—are you saving it for Jiang Yiwei?"

If they wouldn’t let her take over, were they saving it for Jiang Yiwei?

Recently, Zhang Cuifen had been walking on eggshells around Jiang Yiwei, as if afraid of upsetting her.

Jiang Yuexin knew damn well why—it was because Jiang Yiwei had called Zhang Cuifen out for playing favorites before, leaving her mom feeling guilty.

The first thing Jiang Yuexin thought of was that Zhang Cuifen wanted to compensate Jiang Yiwei, and the only way to do so might be to let Jiang Yiwei take over Mom's position.

Jiang Yuexin wouldn't have it.

After all, she was their favorite daughter—why wasn't she the one taking over Mom's position instead of Jiang Yiwei?

"What nonsense are you talking about? Neither you nor Yiwei will be taking over your mother's position," Jiang Sanjie said angrily.

Because Jiang Sanjie and Zhang Cuifen had no such intention—letting either of them take over wouldn't make sense. It was better to find them temporary work. Temporary jobs were already hard to come by, let alone permanent positions.

And having to find jobs for both of them at once had Jiang Sanjie turning gray with worry.

"Well as long as it's not her."

Hearing that it wasn't Jiang Yiwei, Jiang Yuexin immediately visibly relaxed.

Noticing Jiang Yuexin's expression, Jiang Yiwei said with a cold laugh, "Even if it's not me, if Mom and Dad can't find you a job, you'll still have to go to the countryside as an Educated Youth."

The policy of sending Educated Youth to the countryside hadn't been abolished yet, and both she and Jiang Yuexin were the right age without jobs.

Coincidentally, someone they knew working at the neighborhood office had already let slip that she, Jiang Yuexin, and Jiang Ningning were all on the list for this round of rural postings.

They had advised Jiang Sanjie to quickly find jobs for them or arrange city marriages, otherwise they'd have to go to the countryside. Jiang Yuexin's current panic was precisely because she was afraid of being Sent Down.

Jiang Yuexin, flushed with anger, shot back, "If I have to go to the countryside as an Educated Youth, so will you!"

She absolutely wouldn't be Sent Down—no matter what, she refused to be sent down.

Glancing at Jiang Yiwei, she added, "Who ends up going is still up in the air."

Jiang Yiwei smiled faintly. "Oh? Then we'll see."

Jiang Sanjie looked at the two of them. "I won't let you be Sent Down. I'll find a way to keep you in the city."

In truth, Jiang Yuexin should have been Sent Down last year, but Jiang Sanjie had pulled strings and called in favors to keep her in the city. This year, however, that method wasn't working, so the only option was to find them jobs as soon as possible.