Chapter 220: Securely First

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Securely First

"The department has a rule: once you’re three months pregnant, you must take a break from hands-on work. Your job requires a steady hand and a sharp eye, but now you can barely even stand for long. How can you possibly continue handling those delicate objects?"

He waved his hand.

"Just rest for now. The work isn’t urgent. We can talk about it again after the baby is born safely."

After speaking, he settled all of her wages on the spot.

Song Yao took the heavy envelope with a smile.

"You’re right. It’s been so hot lately I feel like I’m melting. My palms are always sweaty, so I can’t even hold my fine tools steady."

She tucked the envelope safely against her chest, then glanced down at her slightly protruding belly.

"Just the other day, my hand slipped and my tweezers fell right into the basin of painting wash."

Director He nodded repeatedly.

"Exactly! Safety first!"

He casually took an enamel mug from his drawer, poured it half full with cooled boiled water, and pushed it toward her.

"Have a sip to soothe your throat. Don’t get worked up."

The very next day, just as Song Yao was settling in to relax at home, Wei Guilan arrived, covered in the dust of her journey.

When Song Yao saw the string of baskets Li Hanchen had carried upstairs, her eyes went wide.

"Mom! Did you bring the whole village with you?"

The most incredible thing was a basket of fresh greens, plucked straight from the vegetable garden, which the old woman had painstakingly guarded all the way to Beijing.

Wei Guilan stood in the room, her eyes sparkling as she looked left and right, taking everything in.

"Oh, this is nothing special! I just did what the second son does, threw it all on a carrying pole and came on over!"

"Actually, I barely had to carry it at all."

"I was in a vehicle the whole way, my feet barely touched the ground. Why would I be tired?"

She placed her blue cloth bundle on the sofa.

"I was afraid of losing things on the way, so I tied it up good and tight."

Song Yao grinned from ear to ear and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Mom, please sit down and catch your breath! I’ll go get you a glass of water!"

Wei Guilan waved her hand.

"I’m not thirsty, don’t fuss over me!"

The words had barely left her mouth before she was already strolling slowly around the living room.

She didn’t go into the bedrooms, just wandered around the main area.

She touched this and prodded that, a grin stretching nearly to her ears.

"This is really different from our place! It’s even neater than the displays on the counter at the commune’s supply store!"

She bent down to look under the sofa.

"Whoa, it’s swept so clean there’s not a speck of dust. And the wood is so smooth, no splinters."

She turned her head and froze, spotting a show playing on the television.

"Huh? How are these people so lifelike? It’s like watching someone walk past the window!"

Song Yao leaned in to explain.

"It’s recorded and stored inside..."

Wei Guilan immediately shook her head, waving her hands frantically in the air.

"No, no! I saw one at the village chief’s house once. The people on that one were all hazy and gray. The figures were so blurry you couldn’t even tell if they were men or women, let alone see the wrinkles on their faces or the patterns on their clothes!"

"Oh, that was a black-and-white TV. This is a color television,"

Song Yao then lowered her voice and whispered in her mother-in-law’s ear, "Mom, this thing isn’t cheap. It’s way more expensive than a black-and-white one! Old Li from the factory had someone buy one from Shanghai, and the machine alone cost over eight hundred yuan."

Wei Guilan’s arms immediately shot out to form a big circle, her fingers stretched straight.

"Heh! It’s really worth the extra money! The picture is so clear and grand, it’s just a pleasure to watch!"

She turned again and fixed her gaze on the big metal box by the kitchen entrance.

"What’s this treasure? It’s all dark and square, just sitting there like a big iron lump!"

The old woman circled it, patting it here and tapping it there.

But it didn’t budge an inch, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was for.

Song Yao walked over and pulled open the refrigerator door, and a gust of cool air hit Wei Guilan in the face.

"Whoa! Where’s that breeze coming from?"

Wei Guilan flinched, pulling her shoulders in and tucking her neck into her collar.

No sooner had she said that, she tried to stick her head inside to get a better look.

Song Yao grabbed her arm, her fingers clutching it tightly.

"Mom! Don’t stick your head in there! This is a refrigerator. It’s for keeping meat, vegetables, cold water, and ice pops frozen!"

The moment she mentioned ice pops, Wei Guilan understood. Her eyes shot wide open.

"What? This is the box that hides the ice pops?"

"Ice pops won’t melt if you put them in here, but it’s not a machine for making them. You need a big factory like the ice pop plant for that. This refrigerator only stores things and keeps them cold; it doesn’t use fire or boil sugar syrup."

Wei Guilan stroked the cold exterior again.

"The city is just amazing! This trip was so worth it, so incredibly worth it! This refrigerator alone costs as much as half a year’s worth of food rations for three families in our village!"

"When I go back home, I’m definitely going to have a long chat with Third Aunt and the others about all these newfangled things! I’ll let them hear all about how the electric fan spins, how people appear on the TV, and why the refrigerator breathes cold air!"

Song Yao took a bunch of grapes out of the refrigerator.

"I’ll go wash these for you to try, Mom!"

Wei Guilan waved her hands frantically, her palms shaking quickly from side to side.

"No, no, I won’t! They’re so sour they’ll set my teeth on edge! You eat them. You’re the one with a baby in your belly, you should eat whatever you’re craving!"

Song Yao smiled and said, "Later, the two of us can peel and eat them together. You peel, I’ll eat the flesh, and I’ll spit the seeds into a bowl so I don’t make a mess."

Hearing this, Wei Guilan smiled and didn’t refuse again.

Song Yao took her arm.

"Mom, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping."

The room had already been tidied up, and the bed was made with fresh cotton sheets—white flowers on a blue background.

An electric fan was placed beside the bed.

Song Yao lightly pressed the switch.

The fan started spinning with a WHIR, sending a breeze straight into their faces.

Wei Guilan leaned in for a closer look, her hand just starting to reach out to touch it.

Song Yao immediately put out a hand to block her.

"Mom, you can’t touch that! If you stick your hand in there, the blades will CHOP it right off! They’re made of hard steel, and when they spin, they’re just like knives. If you really try it, your fingers will be ruined in an instant!"

Wei Guilan quickly snatched her hand back. She craned her neck forward, staring intently at the whirring fan.

"Oh my, the city is really something else. The Capital is so grand! This trip was definitely not a waste, definitely not..."

After they had toured the entire apartment, inside and out, Song Yao took the old woman’s hand and headed toward a state-run restaurant.

Originally, Song Yao had wanted to take her to the National Guest House to try something new.

But Wei Guilan refused, no matter what.

"What’s wrong with making something at home? Why do we have to go out? It’s expensive and a hassle. Not worth it!"

They each compromised, finally settling on going to the restaurant.

On the way back after eating, Song Yao bought a creamy milk-flavored ice pop for her mother-in-law.

For herself, she gulped down a bottle of orange soda. GLUG, GLUG.

Wei Guilan took the ice pop, had a taste, and nodded approvingly.

"This is good. It’s as comforting as drinking warm milk, but it also cools you down."

She resolutely refused to touch the soda.

"The moment I drink it, my stomach gets all bloated and starts rumbling. It’s so uncomfortable!"

As they were walking upstairs, they passed a landing, and Song Yao pointed a finger at He Wei’s door, lowering her voice. "Those people aren’t on good terms with us. If you run into them when you’re out, don’t talk to them. And more importantly, don’t smile at them."

Song Yao was afraid that since her mother-in-law had just arrived in Beijing and didn’t know the situation, she might think greeting people with a smile was the proper thing to do.

If she were to actually flash a grin at someone like He Wei, they would just see her as a pushover.

Not only would it be a waste of effort, but she might even get stepped on harder for it.

So, on the very first day, Song Yao laid out the social landscape for her mother-in-law—who to be close to, and who to keep at a distance.

As soon as she heard this, Wei Guilan slapped her thigh. "Right! I’ll remember that!"

But then she turned and asked with a frown.

"What happened? What did they do?"

Song Yao explained the whole story from beginning to end.

Wei Guilan’s face instantly darkened.

"That’s rotten to the core! You’re carrying a child, and they—both the big one and the little one—have the nerve to push you around? Who gave them the gall?"