“Should you bring an extra set of bedding? Spring is almost here, but it’s still very cold.” Miao Daju leaned against the doorframe of Bai Lan’s room, watching her and Xu Jianbei pack their luggage, unable to resist fussing.
“Mom, no need. There are already two sets of bedding over there. And there’s a brazier too. The room is small—we won’t get cold.” Xu Jianbei said with a smile.
Bai Lan nodded along. The one-room apartment at the screw factory had been decorated by her back then. It had everything the two of them would need.
Thinking about staying at the screw factory for half a month, Bai Lan was actually looking forward to it.
A couple of days ago, the steel mill had finalized the material specifications, and now their screw factory needed to start making the molds. As a technical staff member, Xu Jianbei had to be there. Of course, Bai Lan wanted to go with him.
Just as the three were talking, the aroma of meat wafted through the air.
Miao Daju immediately stopped talking and shot a glare toward the eldest branch’s quarters. “Must have too much money to burn. Hiding in her room eating meat every single day, terrified someone might ask for a bite.”
Ever since Su Xiaomei had been caught sneaking pork belly in the middle of the night, the smell of meat in the house hadn’t let up for days. Some neighbors laughed at Su Xiaomei for acting like a thief. But Su Xiaomei loudly proclaimed that the meat had come from her family’s home. Eating it herself was perfectly fine.
Bai Lan certainly wasn’t coveting Su Xiaomei’s scraps of meat, so she simply ignored her existence. But Su Xiaomei was particularly good at demanding attention.
When she saw that no one craved her meat, she brought out canned fruit instead.
From this, Bai Lan confirmed that the things Su Xiaomei had brought back that day had indeed been given to her by Xu Qiang.
Those two had absolutely no connection to each other. Bai Lan was genuinely curious how they had gotten in touch.
——
Inside the eldest branch’s room, Su Xiaomei saw that the tantalizing aroma of meat hadn’t elicited any reaction from the rest of the family. Her desire to show off was once again thwarted.
“Hmph, I bet they’re craving meat but too embarrassed to say so.” Su Xiaomei could only try to assert herself in front of Xu Jiandong.
But Xu Jiandong ignored her. He just kept stuffing meat into his mouth. Only when he’d had his fill did he finally pick his teeth and ask, “Those siblings who gave you the meat—did they really say they have a way to buy it?”
Su Xiaomei nodded. “I keep running into that sister when I go out—the one named Xu Meili, I think. She just wants to find a match for her brother. If that Bai Li didn’t like the idea, why didn’t she just say so clearly from the start? Instead, she strung him along and then turned around and bit them. So shameless. No wonder Bai Lan is the same way. That Bai family…”
Xu Jiandong couldn’t stand listening to this kind of domestic chatter. He waved his hand impatiently. “Enough of this womanly nonsense. Just tell me how much meat we can buy. I’ve been in this position for a few years now, and I want to make a move. Our section chief’s wife is pregnant—I hear they’re looking everywhere for meat…”
Hearing there was something to gain, Su Xiaomei grew even more enthusiastic. “Alright, alright, alright. This is definitely no problem. Xu Meili said her family knows someone at the pig farm.”
The pig farm had suddenly become popular before the New Year. The meat in their own house had also been bought from there. So Xu Jiandong didn’t suspect a thing. Instead, he grew smug. “Third and fourth brothers are such slick characters. When I asked them where they got their meat over the New Year, they wouldn’t tell me. Hmph, now we have our own connections too. This time, we’ll get two big pork legs and send them to the section chief’s house. I guarantee I’ll get a raise.”
——
The eldest branch’s couple were busy scheming away, but no one paid them any mind.
Instead, everyone watched Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei push their bicycles loaded with luggage as they set off to move to the screw factory. Envy was written all over their faces.
“Bai Lan sure is lucky. The man she married has an apartment in the tower block.”
“No kidding. Why didn’t we think of introducing our own daughters to Xu Jianbei back then?”
As someone voiced this envy of Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei’s apartment, Widow Hu seemed to appear out of nowhere and suddenly chimed in.
Hearing this, the woman laughed. “With your Aihua’s education—didn’t even finish middle school—could she really be a match for Xu Jianbei?”
“What’s wrong with my Aihua? She’s about to become a permanent employee. How many girls under twenty can manage to secure a permanent job?”
As soon as she said this, everyone looked at Widow Hu in shock.
The recycling station’s quota for permanent positions this year hadn’t even been announced yet, and everyone had been guessing who would get them. They hadn’t expected Widow Hu to say something like that. Immediately, Aunt Qin—whose daughter was also a temporary worker at the recycling station—was displeased.
But she didn’t say anything, because she knew the Hu family had a good relationship with the recycling station chief. She could only go home first and discuss with her family whether they should try some other channels to get her daughter’s job made permanent.
——
Bai Lan hadn’t expected that just by moving out to live in the tower block apartment, the dynamics in the courtyard would already shift like this. In any case, riding side by side with Xu Jianbei on their bicycles, carrying their luggage through the streets, felt quite surreal.
“Once we get settled at the factory, I’ll need to report to the workshop. We won’t be cooking at home—we’ll just eat at the canteen.”
It wasn’t convenient to talk much while cycling, so Xu Jianbei didn’t say too much. He simply repeated a few key points, and then the couple fell silent.
They soon arrived at the screw factory.
After registering in the family quarters, Bai Lan smoothly followed Xu Jianbei to their one-room apartment.
The apartment was in Building 3, Room 301 of the family quarters, conveniently located as an end unit. It was right next to the water room, making washing up very easy. If it had been the other end unit, they would have had to share space with the public toilet instead.
The couple had arrived quietly, but word spread quickly through the building. Everyone was very curious about Bai Lan. Before she and Xu Jianbei had even finished unpacking, someone had already come to call on them.
“Bei-ge, sister-in-law. I was just saying, when were you two going to get here?”
Bai Lan smiled at Cao Changsheng. “You sure came quickly.”
Xu Jianbei had already started directly ordering Cao Changsheng to help fetch water. His unpretentious manner made Bai Lan laugh again.
Meanwhile, Xu Jianbei asked Cao Changsheng about the progress at the steel mill.
“I heard that while we’re working the next couple of days, they’ll send someone over to assist.”
When the conversation turned to work, Bai Lan didn’t get involved. After tidying up the bed, she began organizing their clothes. Once the outside area was cleaned, quite a few people had gathered outside, chatting and laughing.
Bai Lan recognized them all as technical department staff. She smiled and greeted them, then used her eyes to silently ask Xu Jianbei if they should treat everyone to a meal.
Xu Jianbei shook his head, so Bai Lan didn’t bring it up.
Sure enough, after helping with the work, drinking tea, eating peanuts, and chatting for half an hour, the group took their leave together.
“We don’t really have a tradition here of throwing a housewarming feast.” Truth be told, if they did that just once, several months’ worth of supplies would be wiped out.
“Alright. In a couple of days, when I have some free time, I’ll make some nice pastries, and you can take them to the office for everyone to try.”
A little while later, once everything seemed settled, the couple locked the door and headed downstairs to go out for a meal.
It was a day off, and they both wanted to treat themselves at a state-run restaurant.
But when they got there, they saw Su Xiaomei and Xu Meili laughing and chatting as they walked into the restaurant together.
Bai Lan looked at Xu Jianbei in confusion. “Are those two really that close?”
Xu Jianbei shook his head. “Let’s see how things play out.”
Although they didn’t like their eldest sister-in-law, they had no right to stop her from making friends with whomever she chose.
The couple entered the state-run restaurant and indeed saw Su Xiaomei and Xu Meili already seated. When they spotted the couple, they actually greeted them politely.
“Oh, Sister Su just told us you two had moved to the tower block apartment. I didn’t expect to run into you so soon.”
The overly familiar tone made Bai Lan frown.
Su Xiaomei also put on a warm demeanor. “Little brother, you two must be craving meat, right? I was just saying…”
Bai Lan didn’t want to listen to her ramble. She acted as if she hadn’t heard and went with Xu Jianbei to order their food.
Seeing how cold their attitude was, the two women stopped talking. There wasn’t a hint of provocation in their behavior, leaving Bai Lan’s prepared retorts completely unusable.
Two such arrogant people suddenly changing their tune—it was honestly a bit unsettling.
But soon, Bai Lan overheard fragments of their conversation. Or rather, she only caught a few words, because the restaurant was too crowded.
But just from those few words, Bai Lan turned to Xu Jianbei and asked quietly, “Are you going to step in?”
Xu Jianbei thought about what he had just heard and shook his head. “I’ll mention it to Mom.”
Their mother didn’t let them get involved in matters concerning the eldest sister-in-law. She handled it all herself, claiming that as the mother-in-law, she was the one best able to control someone like Su Xiaomei.
The couple didn’t linger on the topic. After finishing their delicious meal, they got up and noticed that the two women had already vanished.
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