Chapter 9 Taking Leave to Keep Watch Works Too

Chapter 9 Asking for Leave to Keep Watch Works Too

That really killed my appetite.

Lu Yun wanted to watch the drama but didn't want to go outside, and it was getting louder and more chaotic out there.

Sun Zhi's head was spinning from all the salt, and he couldn't even get a word in with everyone crowding around and yapping.

Lu Yun came out and ran into Old Sun coming out to apologize to everyone. Old Sun said, "Sorry, sorry, everyone go back, I'll clean this up—bleh—!"

The second Old Sun hurled, Sun Zhi felt like he was gonna hurl too. The two of them stood there puking by the door. Aunt Han came rushing out in a panic, pointing at Zhao Lan, who'd followed behind her, and snapped, "You bitch, did you put poison in the food?!"

Zhao Lan wasn't about to take that hit and shot back, "It wasn't me! Why would I poison the food? How could you even think that?!"

Old Sun didn't want to argue out in the open. His family's reputation was on the line. If they kept this up, they'd be the talk of the neighborhood. He tugged at Aunt Han's sleeve, opened his mouth, and was about to puke again!

The whole courtyard went dead silent. The word "poison" had everyone too scared to say a thing, and seeing Old Sun like that freaked them out too.

Old Sun finally managed, "Too salty."

Sun Zhi relaxed a little, "It really is too salty. And there's this weird aftertaste. No idea what the hell was in it."

Aunt Han finally had her excuse to blow up. She asked, "How the hell did you cook this? How could you mess it up this bad? Look what you fed the two men in this house! They're puking now—what if you'd really made them sick?!"

Zhao Lan put on a flustered look, "Mother-in-law, I'm not gonna cook anymore. You should handle the cooking at home. I guess I just don't know how to use a city stove. Back in the village, I only made big pot meals—nothing fancy."

Zhao Lan wiped her tears and apologized to Sun Zhi and Old Sun.

Zhao Lan didn't let them get a word in, "We still gotta eat dinner. I'll go out and grab food now—can't let the whole family starve. You all head back inside, I'll be right back with food."

Zhao Lan was feeling way too pleased with herself. She hadn't even made it out of the courtyard before she tripped and ate dirt. She picked herself up, didn't look back, and kept on walking.

Who wants to cook? Virtuous, my ass. She doesn't cook at her own home—why would she cook at the Suns'? She ain't stupid. The whole point was just to marry into the city. Now that she's got the chance, she's not lifting a finger. The Suns ate just fine before she married in.

Everyone had their own dinner to make, and with the show over, they all headed back inside.

Lu Yun went back inside but couldn't eat a thing. After a shower, she headed to her room. After the Suns' big blowout tonight, there wouldn't be any mother-in-law vs. daughter-in-law drama tomorrow.

The next morning, Lu Yun woke up and ate the sour soup dumplings her dad made. She even drank every last drop of the soup. Her dad loaded it with cilantro—Lu Yun loved cilantro—and scallions too.

When she reached the office, Lu Yun was stopped by Sister Lü, who brought up the thermos again. Lu Yun knew she couldn't just cave on this, so she just passed the buck to the office director. It wasn't Lu Yun's fault, but Sister Lü had now got it out for the whole logistics department.

It's just a damn thermos—why so cheap? They got no idea how hard the workshop crew works. She should be running logistics—send those office folks to the workshop floor.

Sister Lü didn't dare pop off in front of Lu Yun. This was Lu Yun, after all!

Lu Yun was gorgeous. When she first started at the garment factory, she had tons of guys chasing her. One guy had a girlfriend but still had a thing for Lu Yun and straight-up flirted with her. When his girlfriend found out, he told her Lu Yun was the one chasing him. Sister Lü figured that girl was a total fool for buying it.

Lu Yun chasing some guy? A dude her height who looked like her errand boy standing next to her?

That woman stormed into the cafeteria, found Lu Yun, and knocked her tray right over. Lu Yun grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head onto the cafeteria table.

Lu Yun said, "Don't you know you don't waste food?"

Everyone sucked in a breath. Nobody expected that from Lu Yun. With a face like hers, they figured she'd be the fragile type, the classy type, or the snobby type. It wasn't that they assumed all pretty women were like that—it was just the vibe Lu Yun gave off.

Still holding the woman's head down, Lu Yun turned to the guy and asked, "Me chasing you? Don't you ever look in a mirror?"

In the end, they both apologized to Lu Yun.

That one move made Lu Yun legendary, and a lot of her suitors backed way off. Sister Lü, who normally had a short fuse, was always on her best behavior around Lu Yun.

Sister Lü fumed on the inside, then slunk back to the workshop to keep working. She wouldn't have even brought it up again if she hadn't run into Lu Yun outside the logistics office. Plus, the factory's orders were drying up compared to before—otherwise, why would logistics be pinching pennies over a thermos?

Sister He was knitting in the office with even more focus. Lu Yun felt awkward even glancing over at Sister He. Every time Lu Yun looked, Sister He knitted even harder, like Lu Yun was purposely checking up on her.

Chen Qiao felt the exact same way. When they were chatting after work, Chen Qiao said, all worked up, "You have no idea—my neck's killing me. I try not to look her way at all."

Lu Yun rubbed her neck too, and they both cracked up.

That afternoon, the factory handed out paychecks. No bonus this time—they said last month's bonus would come separately in a few days. Lu Yun thought it was a little weird. She held her pay envelope, deep in thought.

Chen Qiao had been pinching pennies lately. Now that her pay was finally in hand, she felt relieved. But to avoid what happened last month, she was determined not to blow this month's pay.

On the way out, Chen Qiao spotted a stall selling sour plum juice with a sign that read "Extra Sour, Extra Refreshing Sour Plum Juice." Extra sour, my ass. How sour could it be? She had to try it—she couldn't let her taste buds down, right?

Chen Qiao grabbed two cups of sour plum juice and some roasted sweet potatoes, then came back to share with Lu Yun. She took a sip—damn, it really was extra sour and refreshing. The vendor wasn't lying.

Chen Qiao took another sip. "This month, I'm not spending a cent more than I have to. I gotta save!"

Lu Yun got home from work, and her dad was already in the kitchen. They had the best setup in the whole courtyard—a private kitchen, and her dad had even built a little shower room. Lu Yun had lived pretty comfortably her whole life.

Lu Yun told her dad she got her pay and mentioned the bonus was coming in a few days.

Lu Yun said, "Dad, you think the factory might go under?"

Her dad replied, "How could that happen? Finance is probably just swamped. The bonus just hasn't been processed yet."

Lu Yun's mom came home looking all jittery and went straight to her dad, "I saw Sun Zhi. He was looking around, then slipped out through our alley. Once he was out, he looked around again. No idea what he's up to. You think it's got something to do with Lu Yun?"

Her dad said, "I'll keep tabs on him for the next few days."

Her mom nodded. "This is serious. Even if you gotta take time off work to keep an eye on him, that works too."

Her parents didn't say a word to Lu Yun about it. She had her own stuff on her mind, so the house was quieter than usual.

Zhao Lan said she wasn't cooking, and she meant it—not one meal, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. She just sat around waiting for Aunt Han to cook. Aunt Han couldn't stand the sight of her.

Aunt Han and Old Sun got into it over Zhao Lan again. Sun Zhi went and married some country girl who doesn't earn a dime, and now she's gotta cook for her too? What kind of nonsense is that?

Old Sun didn't dare talk back. The daughter-in-law was his pick. The more he thought about it, the more he soured on Zhao Lan. His buddy must've picked wrong. Now look what they ended up with.

Sun Zhi came home, and the second he saw Zhao Lan, he hugged her. They stood there in silence for a long time.

Who's not annoyed? Zhao Lan's annoyed too!

Lu Yun spent most of her paycheck on herself and lived pretty comfortably. Her parents never took her money—sometimes they even gave her extra. She never had to worry about bills.

This month, when she got paid, Lu Yun didn't spend a cent. She saved it all.

A few days later, the bonus came, and she saved that too.

Sister He finished Lu Yun's sweater first. She had her reasons—Lu Yun had asked her last year too, and this year she asked again. Chen Qiao was a first-timer.

The light blue sweater—Lu Yun was in love with it. Only problem was, it was still too cold to wear. She held it up against herself. The loose fit was totally her style. Auntie He's knitting was getting better every year.

Lu Yun said, "I loved the one you made last year, but this one's even better—prettier than anything at the department store."

Sister He smiled. "What else do you want me to make? Just say the word."

Unfortunately, Lu Yun planned to save money this month, otherwise she would definitely ask Sister He to knit her a few more sweaters. She thought to herself, she couldn't completely forgo buying new clothes, so maybe she could ask Sister He to knit her a cardigan before it gets cold. She'd wait until next month's paycheck.

Chen Qiao was also being frugal this month, unwilling to spend money. She was surprised to see Lu Yun seemed to be saving too, and was touched, thinking Lu Yun was doing it to keep her company. Since they usually ate and shopped together, it helped that Lu Yun was also cutting back a bit.

Chen Qiao asked Lu Yun if she was saving money too, saying she could only keep up her own saving if Lu Yun was doing the same.

Lu Yun thought for a moment, then said, "So why do you think the factory delayed the bonus?"

Chen Qiao: "It must be that the accountant hasn't finished the calculations yet."

Lu's father kept an eye on Sun Zhi. He watched him for a few days—from the steel factory where Sun Zhi worked to following him out of the alley—but didn't spot anything unusual. So Lu's father decided to take a day off just to keep a close watch on Sun Zhi.

Sun Zhi came out of the steel factory and looked around again. He'd been acting strangely these past few days.

Seeing Sun Zhi board a bus, Lu's father got anxious and quickly covered his face, lowering his head as he got on.

He was determined to find out what Sun Zhi was up to!

Author's note:

None