Chapter 8 Who Can Compete

Chapter 8: Who Can Compete with Her

Zhao Lan was so pissed off at Lu Yun that she couldn't even eat, only managing half a bowl of rice.

Aunt Han piped up, "If you can't finish it, why the hell did you take so much? Do you know you're wasting food! I've never seen a daughter-in-law act like this."

Sun Zhi just dumped Zhao Lan's leftover rice into his own bowl, "It's fine, I'll eat it."

The newlyweds went into their room, and Sun Zhi immediately embraced Zhao Lan. Without a second thought, she whispered in his ear, "Tell me about Lu Yun."

Sun Zhi's mood instantly died—not just died, he actually flinched. Zhao Lan bringing up Lu Yun out of nowhere made him super nervous, thinking she might have found out everything about him and Lu Yun.

Sun Zhi didn't seem to want to talk and just held her tighter. Zhao Lan shyly ducked her head, "Let's not talk about it for now."

The couple fooled around for a bit, but Sun Zhi's face turned bright red—even more embarrassing than when he was with Lu Yun. Zhao Lan was just as stunned, then snapped out of it and lightly smacked Sun Zhi, "I told you to take it easy last night. Let's go to sleep early tonight."

In the other room, Aunt Han was tearing into Uncle Sun, who didn't dare to retort. Zhao Lan as a daughter-in-law was indeed his choice.

Aunt Han: "Did I say it or not? These country girls are good for nothing and only know how to scheme! She just married in, and she's already trying to get one over on me?"

Uncle Sun: "Maybe she really just couldn't finish her food."

Aunt Han: "Maybe she really just couldn't finish her food—she wants Sun Zhi to eat her leftovers, she wants Sun Zhi to go against me. She's telling me, 'Your son listens to me now!' I raised my son through all kinds of hardship, and now he's turned out to be an ungrateful bastard! Go have a talk with Sun Zhi for me!"

Uncle Sun: "Let's get some rest and talk tomorrow."

Uncle Sun couldn't sleep anyway—he was just as frustrated. This daughter-in-law was no joke. He had totally misjudged when picking a daughter-in-law! His friend wasn't the honest guy he used to be—that had to be it, that's why he screwed up.

That night, Matchmaker Zhao couldn't sleep either. If she could find a good match for Lu Yun, she'd be the top matchmaker in the whole area! She woke her husband up and asked him to help think of any decent men.

Matchmaker Zhao's husband had no clue about good men—matchmaking was her thing. He was too sleepy and just mumbled, "Guys with those qualifications wouldn't come to you for introductions. You should go find them yourself. Isn't Lu Yun pretty and well-off? They'd probably be into it."

Matchmaker Zhao suddenly had a lightbulb moment—if no guys with those qualifications came to her for introductions, she could just go find them herself! Once her reputation spread, she could open her own matchmaking shop. With a good rep and her own shop, everyone in the area would think of Matchmaker Zhao's place when it came to matchmaking.

Matchmaker Zhao was dreaming too big—she even laughed in her sleep. Her husband, who had just been woken up and dozed back off, was jolted awake by her laughter. It was creepy! How could anyone laugh like that?

The Lu family had noodles again that morning. Ever since he learned oil-splashed noodles, Lu's dad had opened up a whole new world—from oil-splashed noodles to minced meat noodles to belt noodles, and even Chinese burgers.

Starting the day with carbs on carbs was seriously delicious. Lu Yun ate a bowl of belt noodles and a Chinese burger with green peppers in it, which made it even better.

Lu Yun was so stuffed she didn't want to go to work. She drank some warm water before heading off.

Zhao Lan stared at Lu Yun without even trying to hide it. Neither spoke. As Lu Yun left the courtyard, she ran into Sun Zhi coming back from shopping. Sun Zhi gave Lu Yun a look that was so loaded she couldn't quite figure it out.

They were married now—why were they still staring at her? Lu Yun couldn't wrap her head around it. If she had liked Sun Zhi and chased after him, Zhao Lan staring at her would make sense. If there had been something romantic between her and Sun Zhi, his staring would also make sense. But with Sun Zhi pestering her like that, why were both of them staring at her?

Even on Monday, Lu Yun didn't want to be at work. Not just her—everyone in the office was listless. The only one full of energy was Sister He, who was knitting. Lu Yun watched Sister He's knitting—she had already finished several sweaters in the past few days, even unraveling some to redo, and her skill was getting better and better.

Lu Yun: "Sister He, this sweater you're knitting is really beautiful."

Sister He had no other hobbies besides knitting. Flattered, she enthusiastically said, "Do you want one? I can knit one for you."

Lu Yun: "That would be great. Let me buy some yarn."

Sister He: "No trouble at all."

Chen Qiao quickly added, "Sister He, I love it too—could I trouble you as well?"

Sister He's smile grew even brighter, since her knitting was being appreciated. She said, "You both just buy the yarn and give it to me."

At noon, Lu Yun and Chen Qiao headed straight to the department store after work. Lu Yun bought light blue yarn—a very bright light blue. This kind of yarn was only easy to buy now; in the past, you'd be lucky to grab it even in a scramble.

Chen Qiao bought cream white for versatility. She found every color beautiful and couldn't decide, so she finally settled on cream white.

They couldn't let Sister He help knit for free. Chen Qiao wanted to buy something, but Lu Yun stopped her—nothing was more practical than giving money directly. Last time, Lu Yun had given Sister He money, and although Sister He said she didn't need it, you could tell she was happy. Buying things without knowing what someone needs was risky; money was more reliable. Most importantly, Sister He was extremely frugal and stingy—giving money was better than giving gifts.

Lu Yun and Chen Qiao both tucked money into the yarn and gave it to Sister He together when they returned.

Sister He admired the yarn and praised it, then saw the money inside and let out an "oh" with a delighted expression, "You two are too polite. We're all colleagues in the same office."

Lu Yun: "Just a small token from me and Chen Qiao. Sister He, don't refuse."

Sister He: "Alright, I won't argue with you two, so you don't feel awkward."

Sister He didn't refuse at all or put up much of a fuss—Lu Yun was absolutely right. Giving Sister He money was more practical.

At noon, to buy yarn, Lu Yun and Chen Qiao just grabbed two buns at the department store and each had a glass of soy milk. Before work ended, they were both hungry again.

Chen Qiao wanted to eat the sour soup dumplings from the shop near the clothing factory again. Lu Yun thought about it—her dad had probably almost learned to make them. She could boast that her dad's version was better than the shop's. He had some cooking talent. He shouldn't be a technical worker at the steel factory; he should be a chef at a state-run restaurant, work in a cafeteria, or open his own restaurant.

But as a technical worker, his salary was higher than any state-run restaurant or cafeteria job. And he'd definitely find opening a restaurant too unstable.

Her dad liked stability. He wasn't like that when he was young—he changed after marriage. He had to take care of the whole family and didn't dare take risks, just wanting his family to live well.

Finally, it was time to get off work. Sister Lü came to their office.

Sister Lü: "Our workshop definitely needs new thermoses. You have to approve it no matter what. It's getting cold, so everyone will use thermoses more often! Our workshop's thermoses have been used for so long. Look at your office—your thermos is brand new!"

Sister Lü tried to corner Lu Yun and Chen Qiao, the two younger ones, since the other old-timers were harder to deal with. But Lu Yun and Chen Qiao ran off quickly—very quickly.

Sister He: "Oh dear, I need to get home to cook dinner. The kids are waiting."

Before leaving, Sister He added, "Our office thermos is new because the old one was beyond repair, so we had to get a new one."

Sister He also fled. Sister Lü simply blocked the door of the logistics department.

It wasn't that they wouldn't approve it—there were rules. Sister Lü couldn't just rely on her workshop's good performance to get special treatment. If they approved it for her, what about other workshops? If other workshops asked, would they approve it too? If they approved for everyone, how would they explain it to the factory?

Chen Qiao took Lu Yun to eat sour soup dumplings again. Only after leaving the shop did Chen Qiao feel better. She declared righteously, "Food is the foundation—no meal should be skimped on!"

Lu Yun: "Absolutely right."

Lu Yun went home and saw another drama unfold—the good mother-in-law and virtuous daughter-in-law performing their act in the compound.

Aunt Han had deliberately gone out today and only returned when everyone had started cooking dinner. If you marry a country girl who doesn't work, can't she at least cook?

When Aunt Han returned, Zhao Lan had started cooking but was only at the vegetable-washing stage. She was washing the vegetables so slowly, almost scrubbing the leaves to shreds. Aunt Han's expression nearly cracked.

Aunt Han: "My friend asked me for help. Good thing you hadn't started cooking yet—let me help you."

Zhao Lan: "I knew my mother-in-law was kind. Since I married in, she never made me cook."

As soon as Lu Yun returned, both women stared at her. Aunt Han's cooking speed picked up. Zhao Lan dropped the act and looked at Lu Yun with the same complex expression Sun Zhi had this morning.

This family was truly interesting.

Lu Yun went inside, and Aunt Han deliberately shook, "Oh dear, too much salt! Zhao Lan, you take over—I'll go wipe the table first."

The old fox is the cleverest—Aunt Han slipped away fast, even knowing how to avoid the crowd as she quickly escaped the kitchen.

Lu Yun only ate a few bites of dinner, and her dad suspected his cooking wasn't good. Lu Yun said she'd already had dumplings in sour soup.

Her dad: "You like that? I'll make it for you tomorrow morning!"

Waking up to that in the morning? Man, life is good.

Sun Zhi stumbled out of the house and threw up with a loud retch.

Everyone in the courtyard scrambled out of the way, and people outside flat-out cursed at him.

"Go puke inside! We're all trying to cook and eat here—how're we supposed to eat with you doing that?"

Author's note:

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