Chapter 71 - 25: "Sending Away

Chapter 71: Chapter 25: "Sending Away

With Yang Junzhi’s help, Lin Zhao easily passed the exam and successfully transferred her grain and oil rations.

And just like that, she had obtained an urban household registration.

"Thank you. I’ve really put you out," Lin Zhao said, her face beaming as she thanked Yang Junzhi from the heart.

Yang Junzhi thought she was being far too polite and chuckled. "Chenghuai and I are comrades who’d trust each other with our lives. It was nothing, really."

But Lin Zhao was not one to be ignorant of social customs. She shoved the large cloth bag she was holding into his hands and took a few steps back.

"This is a thank-you gift. Please take it. I have things to do at home, so I’ll be going now."

Before Yang Junzhi could even react, she turned and bolted.

Soldiers had a principle of not taking so much as a needle or thread from the common people, and veterans were just as stubborn about it. Lin Zhao hated the song and dance of polite refusals, so her only option was to shove the gift at him and run.

After all, he had helped her immensely. Not giving a thank-you gift would make her seem ungrateful.

Yang Junzhi was left with a look of utter resignation.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t catch her, but... she was running as if she’d grown two extra legs, desperate to disappear from sight. He was afraid if he chased her, she might panic and have an accident.

Left with no other choice, Yang Junzhi could only take the items home.

His wife worked the night shift and slept during the day. She had just woken up and, seeing him holding an unfamiliar cloth bag, asked curiously, "What’s that you’ve got there?"

"It’s from Comrade Lin," Yang Junzhi replied.

He never kept secrets from his wife, so she already knew about him helping his comrade’s wife find a job.

"She actually sent a gift?" Jiang Huiqiao asked, taken aback. She clearly hadn’t expected it.

She had also been a military wife and knew the hardships they faced. The moment Yang Junzhi said the job was for a soldier’s wife, she had agreed without a second thought, not expecting anything in return. But since the other party was so thoughtful, she was happy.

Jiang Huiqiao sat on the sofa and opened the cloth bag to take a look.

"Whoa! Look at all this good stuff!" She snapped her head up to look at her husband, visibly moved. "She didn’t give us everything good she owns, did she? This woman is so down-to-earth."

In that instant, the image of a simple, sincere country woman’s face appeared in her mind.

’How touching.’

Yang Junzhi looked over.

A chicken, a fish, a tin of malted milk powder, a carton of cigarettes, and a bag of sugar.

By any standard, this was a generous gift.

"She wouldn’t have given us everything. Chenghuai’s stipend isn’t low; it’s more than enough to support their family."

Jiang Huiqiao hesitated. "So... should we keep it?"

"We should," Yang Junzhi said.

Based on his impression of Lin Zhao, she would only be at ease if they accepted.

"Alright. In any case, she’s working in the county now, so we’ll have plenty of opportunities to see her in the future." Jiang Huiqiao accepted the kind gesture.

Seeing that the chicken and fish were quite large, Yang Junzhi immediately said, "Let’s take the chicken and fish to your parents’ place. We can all eat together."

The two of them didn’t have any children yet, fitting the saying, "when two are fed, the whole family won’t go hungry." When they were too busy to cook, they would often eat at his in-laws’ house, so it wasn’t strange for them to bring meat over to share.

"Okay."

When Jiang Huiqiao brought the chicken and fish back to her parents’ home, the Jiang family was stunned.

Because of this, Brother Jiang, who was the director of the supply and marketing cooperative, formed an extremely favorable impression of Lin Zhao. In his mind, she went from being a military wife who had endured great hardship to a military wife who had endured great hardship *and* understood the ways of the world.

-

When Lin Zhao returned to the village, the villagers all crowded around her.

"Da Zai’s mother, I heard you found a job in the county, and at the supply and marketing cooperative, no less?" Wang Chunhua asked.

"Yes, I just had my grain and oil rations transferred this morning," Lin Zhao said with a smile.

"Oh my, that’s wonderful news! Congratulations." Wang Chunhua was happy for her, but she was even happier that she now had a connection for buying defective goods.

"Da Zai’s mother, if the cooperative has any flawed goods, you should save some for us." Her relationship with Lin Zhao was decent, so she didn’t mince her words.

Lin Zhao nodded. "Of course."

She had barely finished speaking when Mother Gu rushed over, her eyes shining brightly and her tone filled with unconcealed excitement. "Daughter-in-law, is the job confirmed?"

"It’s confirmed. I start in a couple of days." The new counter at the supply and marketing cooperative wasn’t ready yet.

Mother Gu was overjoyed. "Good, good, good!" she exclaimed. "This is wonderful news! Come to the old house for dinner tonight. We’ll celebrate!"

"Alright." The little old lady was so happy; Lin Zhao would at least grant her this much.

Soon, the news that Lin Zhao had officially become a salesclerk at the county supply and marketing cooperative spread throughout the entire production brigade.

Da Zai and Er Zai heard the news too. The two little brothers lost all interest in playing, dusted themselves off, and shot off toward home like a pair of little firecrackers.

Their hands had just grabbed the wooden door when a loud voice called out.

"Mom! Mom!"

Hearing the urgency in her second son’s voice, Lin Zhao thought something was wrong and hurried outside.

Before she could ask, Er Zai rushed over, his body lurching forward before he stopped himself just in time.

His little face was flushed, and in a chipper voice, he asked, "Mom, did you pass the test?"