Chapter 106

Chapter 106

A woman's place is in the home after marriage, tending to her husband and raising children.

Putting food on the table is the man's job.

"Granny, that's such backward thinking. Back in the day, they'd have sent you off for thought reform."

"These days we believe in equal rights for men and women."

Granny Hu's stuck in the past with her old-school ideas that shouldn't poison them.

Now we all stand for equal rights. Why should women stay at home, living hand-to-mouth?

What's wrong with men being stay-at-home dads?

"Thought reform, huh?" Granny Hu raised her hand as if to hit Jiang Yiwei.

Jiang Yiwei quickly ducked behind Fu Xunian.

"I had a point. You really need reforming—that feudal nonsense."

She wasn't wrong. Granny Hu was still stuck in that old era, always putting women down.

"You should take lessons from Grandma Xu."

She ought to learn from Grandma Xu—now there's a progressive old lady.

"No matter how open-minded she is, she's not blood family and can't meddle in our affairs."

Granny Hu knew Jiang Yiwei and Grandma Xu were close, practically family compared to her.

"That stuff doesn't matter to either of us."

Blood ties or not, Jiang Yiwei and Grandma Xu couldn't care less.

"Hmph!" Granny Hu scoffed.

"Grandma, Yi Wei's right. These days the government pushes for equal rights. Women can work, men can work."

"Even married, she's still her own person, not just some wife or mom."

Fu Xunian explained gently.

Granny Hu frowned. "You're fine with her neglecting her wifely duties?"

"Grandma, Auntie and Yi Wei's second aunt both have jobs, and Yi Wei's sister-in-law too. They're making it work."

"It's different for you folks. Their families got money like yours?"

Granny Hu had asked Fu Xunian point-blank about his background. How many matched his means? Marrying him, Jiang Yiwei could live the good life—what's she need a job for?

She just doesn't know what's good for her.

To Granny Hu's way of thinking, Jiang Yiwei was plain foolish.

If a catch like Fu Xunian came calling in her day, she wouldn't be dead set on punching a clock like this silly girl.

"Granny, I like having a job."

"I only want to rely on myself."

"And I'm doing great. My own shop is thriving, and I've even participated in several competitions, making a name for myself. Now some people come to me for clothing just because they've heard of me."

Jiang Yiwei refused to be some fragile vine dependent on a man—she grew into her own mighty tree.

Besides, how long can you really count on others?

Her shop was doing well, and thanks to her competition appearances, she'd built a reputation. Some customers even came just because they'd heard of her.

She wasn't one bit worse than anybody.

Fu Xunian's smile deepened, while Granny Hu's face soured.

"Women oughta be soft—that's how men like 'em."

"Grandma, not all men like delicate women. Yiwei's exactly my type."

This was the Yiwei he loved.

Suddenly, Granny Hu remarked to Jiang Yiwei, "You've got all the luck."

She'd always believed Jiang Ningning had the best fate among her granddaughters.

And Jiang Yiwei, from childhood to adulthood, was just average, never the charming one.

Even Jiang Sanjie and Zhang Cuifen favored Jiang Yuexin, always overlooking her.

But now, it seemed Jiang Yiwei had turned out the best.

Even though Granny Hu doted on Jiang Ningning, she couldn't deny that Fu Xunian was a way better catch than Qu Zhenxin.

"Thank you for the compliment, Grandma."

Though Jiang Yiwei didn't understand why Granny Hu suddenly praised her, she still appreciated the kind words.

Granny Hu curled her lips. "You're getting shameless."

Not bothering with her anymore, she turned away to play with Jiang Minghua.

Jiang Yiwei and Fu Xunian sat under the big tree in the yard, chatting. Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Yiwei noticed Lin Meixiang and Liu Xian returning.

She hurried to greet them. "Meixiang-jie, Xian-jie, you're back."

"Yeah, we're back."

Perhaps due to a sleepless night, Lin Meixiang and Liu Xian looked dead tired, barely able to speak.

They were the only ones in the household without jobs, stuck with all the kid-watching and housework.

Now they had Huang Cuizhu on their hands too.

"Meixiang-jie, how's Cuizhu-jie? Everything okay?"

Jiang Yiwei was dying to know how Huang Cuizhu was doing.

She'd been fretting over her this whole time.

Here’s the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

"She’s okay. Fortunately, she was sent to the hospital in time, and both mom and baby are doing fine."

Lin Meixiang thought about what happened last night and still felt a chill down her spine. Luckily, Huang Cuizhu was okay and had safely given birth.

Hearing that Huang Cuizhu had safely given birth, Jiang Yiwei finally smiled. "That’s good. I was so scared something might’ve happened to Sis Cuizhu."

At least Huang Cuizhu was okay—that was a relief.

"Was it a boy or a girl for Xue Yu’s wife?"

Granny Hu caught Jiang Yiwei and Lin Meixiang’s conversation and immediately asked about the baby’s gender.

Lin Meixiang and Liu Xian’s faces fell, and Liu Xian elbowed Lin Meixiang.

Lin Meixiang hesitated before answering. "Granny, Cuizhu had a girl."

Huang Cuizhu’s baby was a girl.

Even though Jiang Erjie and Xu Qi weren’t thrilled that Huang Cuizhu had another daughter, her being safe was the real blessing.

"A girl." The moment she heard "girl," Granny Hu tuned out and went back to keep Jiang Minghua company.

Lin Meixiang and Liu Xian could clearly see that Granny Hu was unhappy about Huang Cuizhu having a daughter. Since Jiang Xueyu already had a daughter, Jiang Ying, they were really hoping for a son this time.

"Mom and Grandma both wanted Cuizhu to have a son, but now they’re out of luck for a few years." Liu Xian knew that both Xu Qi and Granny Hu had hoped for a boy this time.

But Huang Cuizhu had just suffered severe bleeding, and the doctor advised her to focus on recovering before considering another pregnancy.

So, a son was off the table for years.

Moreover, with the new family planning policy in place, even if she recovered, whether she could have another child was uncertain.

Liu Xian couldn’t help feeling smug.

Thankfully, she already had two sons and a daughter.

Back then, not having a son meant you couldn’t hold your head up in public.

"Xian and I’ve got a ton of work left. We should get back to it."

Lin Meixiang and Liu Xian had a pile of chores waiting and needed to finish them quickly. After that, they still had to take care of the children and bring food to Huang Cuizhu.

Jiang Yiwei nodded.

She let out a heavy sigh.

"A son, huh?"

With the family planning policy being enforced, there was no way Huang Cuizhu was having a son now.

She could just imagine how people would react.

Suddenly, she turned to Fu Xunian.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Fu Xunian arched a brow, confused.

Jiang Yiwei moved closer to him. "So, which do you like better—daughters or sons?"

Fu Xunian smiled dotingly, "So that's what you wanted to ask. As long as it's yours, I'll love them no matter what."

Whether it was a daughter or a son, Fu Xunian didn’t care—as long as the child was Jiang Yiwei’s, he would love them.

Jiang Yiwei searched Fu Xunian’s face, confirming he was telling the truth, then hugged him.

"I'm so lucky."

Lucky to have found Fu Xunian in this life.

"If anything, he was the lucky one."

She was the one who gave him love, warmth, and the ability to feel happiness.

Jiang Yiwei leaned against Fu Xunian’s chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

Ten days later, Huang Cuizhu, bundled up tightly, was helped inside by Jiang Xueyu from the tricycle.

That afternoon, when Jiang Yiwei and Zhang Cuifen went to visit Huang Cuizhu and mentioned Huang Zhenzhu, Huang Cuizhu said she planned to give her job at the First Textile Factory to Huang Zhenzhu.

Jiang Yiwei was surprised—she never imagined Huang Cuizhu would give her job away.

"Cuizhu-jie, are you absolutely sure about this? You’re really giving your job to Zhenzhu?"

Huang Cuizhu nodded. "Yes, I’m giving it to her."

"Cuizhu, I don’t mean to overstep, but once you give up this job, it won’t be easy to get it back. Besides, you and Xueyu have children to raise, and costs will keep rising. You need to save as much as you can."

Zhang Cuifen didn’t agree with Huang Cuizhu’s decision.

If Huang Zhenzhu took over the job, reclaiming it later would be difficult.

Even though Jiang Xueyu now worked at the publishing house with a monthly salary of 80 to 90 kuai, he had two daughters and might have more children.

Back when she and Jiang Sanjie were younger, raising several kids meant their wages were spent each month—putting money aside was nearly impossible.

Moreover, Zhang Cuifen felt even food prices were higher now, stretching every penny.

Without this job, they’d have to rely solely on Jiang Xueyu’s income.

"Auntie, I’ve weighed this carefully before deciding to give my job to Zhenzhu."

Huang Cuizhu understood Zhang Cuifen’s concern, but her decision was final.

"If I go to work, what will happen to Jiang Xuan? There’s no one to mind her—my da-sao and er-sao definitely won’t."

Huang Cuizhu was reluctant, but she had no choice.

"If you give Lin Meixiang and Liu Xian a little money each month, they’d probably babysit Jiang Xuan for a bit of cash."

Since neither had jobs, they’d likely agree.

"Once she’s three or four, you can bring her along to work and leave her at the factory nursery."

Zhang Cuifen was a bit better off—other than Jiang Lingxin and Jiang Weilin, who were looked after by her mother, her other kids were raised by Jiang Lingxin and her siblings as they got older.

(Note: *Kuai* = colloquial term for yuan; *jie* = respectful term for an older sister/sister-in-law; *da-sao/er-sao* = terms for eldest/second eldest sister-in-law.)

"Third Aunt, I was the one who asked Cuizhu to give her job to Zhenzhu."

Jiang Xueyu set down a bowl of freshly cooked chicken soup on the nearby table.

He had overheard Zhang Cuifen's words to Huang Cuizhu.

"Cuizhu lost a lot of blood this time—it took a heavy toll on her. I want her to rest properly and recover at home."

"My salary at the publishing house is more than enough to support them."

"Besides, the one-child policy is in place. If Cuizhu hadn’t gotten pregnant early, we wouldn’t have had this child."

After Cuizhu’s hemorrhage, she was left weakened. He hoped she could stay home to recuperate. The baby needs its mother now more than ever.

So Jiang Xueyu brought it up with Huang Cuizhu. At first, she refused to give her job to Huang Zhenzhu.

Huang Zhenzhu was her younger sister, but Cuizhu now had her own family—a husband and daughter. Expecting her to sacrifice for Zhenzhu was unfair.

She didn’t want to give up her job.

It was only after Jiang Xueyu laid out the reasons and persuaded her that Huang Cuizhu finally agreed.

"If Zhenzhu works at the factory, she can move into factory housing and won’t be a burden on our parents."

"That’s a fair point."

Listening to Jiang Xueyu, Zhang Cuifen found his reasoning sound.

Since it was something you two agreed on, she didn’t feel it was her place to interfere further.

"Since you’ve decided, put the job out of your mind. Focus on recovering, and later, you can give Xueyu a son."

She needs to recover first.

Jiang Yiwei couldn’t help but interject, "Mom, such bias. Daughters aren’t enough? Why must it be a son?"

Son, son, son.

Like a daughter’s worthless—was having one unacceptable?

"What do you know?" Zhang Cuifen was tempted to smack Jiang Yiwei.

"Having a son gives a woman a place in her in-laws’ household. It gives her confidence and spares her their scorn."

Otherwise, why would every family want sons?

"What about Lingxin? She only has a daughter."

By that logic, Jiang Lingxin had only given birth to a daughter.

"Well, there’s Wenhai, isn’t there?"

Even though Gao Wenhai wasn’t Jiang Lingxin and Gao Zean’s biological child, he was still their son.

Jiang Yiwei scoffed, "So as long as it’s a boy who carries the family name, blood doesn’t matter?"

According to her, any male with the husband’s surname would do.

"Ah..."

Jiang Yiwei rubbed her pinched arm.

"Keep yapping, and you’ll pay for it tonight."

If Jiang Yiwei kept it up, Zhang Cuifen wouldn’t go easy on her.

Jiang Yiwei scowled, digging in her heels. She could be forced into silence, but not into changing her mind.

"There’s a policy now—only one child allowed."

‘Pop out babies, why not?’—like the policy didn’t exist.

"Just sneak one in. Who cares about the policy? You can always keep it quiet."

"Wow, Mom, brilliant idea."

Jiang Yiwei couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up at such a terrible plan.

"Honestly, Third Aunt, I don’t care about having a son."

Jiang Xueyu’s heart froze at the blood pooling under Huang Cuizhu. A son didn’t matter—he just wanted her safe.

"That’s not acceptable. What about your parents?"

No son? Out of the question.

Especially since Jiang Sanjie and Xu Qi would never allow it.

Jiang Xueyu shook his head. "My parents’ opinion doesn’t matter. I just want Cuizhu safe. Yingying and Jiang Xuan are all we need."

He and Huang Cuizhu had two daughters. That was enough.

"‘Cuizhu, you agree?’ Zhang Cuifen pressed."

As a rural woman, Huang Cuizhu should’ve cared even more about having a son.

"Third Aunt, I’ll go along with Xueyu."

Like he said, their two daughters were enough. Besides, this time she’d almost crossed over to the other side. Just living safely was all she wanted now.

Zhang Cuifen studied them, her arguments dying on her lips.

"Fine, have it your way."

As the elder, she’d said her piece. If they wouldn’t listen, so be it.

Jiang Xueyu wasn’t her son anyway.

Let Xu Qi, his real mother, handle the headaches.

Noticing Huang Cuifen’s eyelids droop, fighting sleep, Jiang Yiwei nudged Zhang Cuifen, and they left.

Outside, Zhang Cuifen badgered Jiang Yiwei nonstop about ‘needing a son.’

"Mom, it’s one child now—boy or girl, take what you get!"

"Just cheat the system—what’s the big deal?"

Here’s the refined translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

---

The policy only allows one child, but if you sneakily have a son, wouldn’t that do the trick?

"Alright, alright, you win."

Jiang Yiwei gave up arguing—it was like talking to a wall.

No matter how she argued about having a son, it seemed impossible to get through to them, so she simply gave up.

Suddenly, Jiang Yiwei noticed a group filing out of Jiang Dajie’s place, with Jiang Dajie and Wu Xueying grinning ear to ear.

As the group passed by, an old woman among them eyed Jiang Yiwei up and down, her look like she was sizing up livestock, making Jiang Yiwei extremely uncomfortable.

Especially when the old woman stopped at the courtyard gate, yanked Wu Xueying over, and pointed toward the yard—Jiang Yiwei felt it was directed at her.

"Mom, is that old lady with Auntie pointing at me?"

Zhang Cuifen glanced casually and only saw the old woman Jiang Yiwei mentioned talking to Wu Xueying.

"No," she said dismissively.

"Go grab the dough I mixed up earlier. I’ll make noodles for us later."

Zhang Cuifen told Jiang Yiwei to fetch the dough from the house.

Jiang Yiwei took another look in the direction of Wu Xueying and the old woman before going inside.

"Don’t even think about it. My niece already has a boyfriend, and they’re deeply in love. Plus, her boyfriend isn’t short on money."

Wu Xueying couldn’t help feeling bitter—why’d Fu Xunian have to end up with Jiang Yiwei? If only he were Jiang Lixi’s instead.

"Pity," the old woman clucked.

"Aunt Liu, don’t you dare short me a single penny of that thousand, got it?" Wu Xueying’s eyes gleamed with greed.

"Yeah, yeah." Aunt Liu’s nod was ice-cold.

She flapped a hand and stalked off.

Wu Xueying scurried inside, buzzing with excitement.

Jiang Yiwei eyed Wu Xueying, her brow furrowing.

"Quit gawking and lend a hand."

"Coming now."

Jiang Yiwei pushed up her sleeves and went to assist Zhang Cuifen.

Inside a weathered three-and-a-half-story building,

Fu Xunian kept his hands firmly over Jiang Yiwei’s eyes as she inched up the stairs, step by step.

Every few steps, she’d ask, "Xu Nian, how much farther?"

---

Here’s the refined translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The moment Fu Xunian saw her today, he said he was taking her somewhere.

When they arrived, he covered her eyes and said he had a surprise for her.

Jiang Yiwei rarely saw Fu Xunian with such a childlike expression, so she let him have his way and went along with it.

Fu Xunian whispered in Jiang Yiwei's ear, "We're almost there."

They walked for seven or eight minutes before Fu Xunian finally stopped. Jiang Yiwei stopped too, sensing they'd arrived.

"Are we here?"

Blindfolded, Jiang Yiwei couldn't see anything but felt they must be at the place Fu Xunian mentioned.

"Mm-hmm. We're here."

Fu Xunian released his hands, and Jiang Yiwei could see again. Before her eyes was a sign:

Jing City Wei Nian Auto Parts Wholesale Company.

Jiang Yiwei gazed at the sign for a long time before turning to Fu Xunian. "This is your company's address?"

"Yes, this is my company's office address." Fu Xunian nodded. This was where he worked.

He took her hand and led her inside. The office was modest—the main area had six desks, with a smaller room which appeared to be used for storage.

While small, in 1982, this was the nicest office Jiang Yiwei had seen.

Noticing her careful inspection, Fu Xunian explained the layout and their plans for operations.

He detailed his and Jiang Kangjie’s specific responsibilities, explaining everything in detail to Jiang Yiwei.

To Fu Xunian, Jiang Yiwei was his life—everything he had belonged to her.

After finishing, he held her hand and said, "From now on, we'll only keep improving."

"Yes! We’ll get better and better."

Both she and Fu Xunian would thrive.

In this era of hope and vitality, their future would blossom.

"Yi Wei, the company hasn’t officially opened yet. Once it does, I might be too swamped to see you often."

After the launch, Fu Xunian would be tied up constantly, possibly even traveling to other provinces for business. He'd be swamped, really.

Too busy to see Jiang Yiwei.

"I know."

Jiang Yiwei understood.

"Promise me you'll be careful. Don’t forget, I’ll be waiting for you."

She wanted Fu Xunian to stay safe.

Stay out of harm's way.

Fu Xunian gently caressed Jiang Yiwei's face as sunlight streamed through the window, bathing them in its glow.

"I promise you, I will stay safe."

"I will always remember you're waiting for me."

He made his vow to Jiang Yiwei.

Jiang Yiwei cupped Fu Xunian's face and kissed him before he could react.

Feeling the warmth on his lips, Fu Xunian closed his eyes and deepened the kiss.

An electric tension swirled around them.

Like dandelion fluff carried by the wind, they drifted together, coming to rest as one, indistinguishable.