After leaving the post office, Xiao Mandong went directly to the supply and marketing cooperative. Since she was heading to Hongqi Brigade that evening, she decided to use the time to buy some food and daily necessities to bring to her sister. She hadn't seen her sister in two lifetimes, and her heart was filled with both an urgent longing to see her and the regret of not having seen her at the end of her previous life.
She couldn't imagine how desperate her sister must have felt at that time. Every time she thought of this, a sharp pain gripped Xiao Mandong's heart.
Wang Xiumei — she would make this woman pay the price.
She bought a new thermos, two jin of sponge cake, Jiangmi sticks, White Rabbit candy, peach pastry, and brown sugar. She also bought two cartons of Daqianmen cigarettes and two bottles of Maotai liquor. Since she was going to a new place, she needed to prepare some gifts. After purchasing everything, she found a secluded spot and put all the items into her space.
Finally, she ate lunch at the state-run restaurant. Before leaving, she bought six steamed buns and stored them in her space as dinner for herself and her sister.
When she returned to the factory, she saw Wang Xiumei and Lu Hong waiting for her at the factory gate from a distance. Xiao Mandong walked up to Lu Hong:
"Have you prepared the money?"
"Of course I have. Let's go inside." Lu Hong looked smug.
Xiao Mandong glanced at her thin clothes and the blue cloth bag in her hand. Given that the largest denomination of money now was ten yuan, two thousand yuan was no small sum — it was obvious the bag wasn't big enough.
"Lu Hong, if you don't really want to buy it, then forget it," Xiao Mandong said and turned to leave. Lu Hong was treating her like a fool.
Lu Hong quickly grabbed Xiao Mandong:
"How could I dare carry that much cash on me? I have a bankbook. Once the paperwork is done, I'll go withdraw the money right away."
Xiao Mandong shook off Lu Hong's hand and kept walking.
"Oh, you're such a capitalist snob. Fine, fine, fine — we'll get the money first," Lu Hong rolled her eyes dramatically. Only today did she realize how stingy Xiao Mandong could be!
Xiao Mandong followed the two to the bank. They withdrew 1,500 yuan and put it into the cloth bag. Lu Hong clutched the bag tightly against her chest. She and Wang Xiumei practically jogged to the factory gate — it was her first time carrying so much money, and she was extremely nervous.
Director Liu had already arranged things with the Factory Director and the Personnel Section Chief, so the paperwork went smoothly.
Lu Hong went to the restroom, took the remaining 500 yuan from her underwear pocket, and reluctantly handed it over along with the 1,500 yuan she had withdrawn from the bank — all 2,000 yuan to Xiao Mandong.
Xiao Mandong took the money, counted it carefully, and, using the bamboo basket as cover, slipped it into her space.
Lu Hong stared at the bamboo basket, practically wishing she could bore a hole through it. Her heart ached — that was five years' worth of her wages. But then she thought about how she would soon have an iron rice bowl, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.
Her happiness lasted less than three minutes before the Personnel Section Chief shattered her dream:
"As a new hire, you'll need to work as a temporary worker for three months. After three months, you can be promoted to a regular position. You must perform well, or you won't get the opportunity."
Lu Hong's voice suddenly shot up:
"What? I bought the position of statistician! Why am I being sent to the spinning workshop?"
Lu Hong's face twisted in anger. She wanted a dignified office job, not to work on the factory floor.
Xiao Mandong tugged at Lu Hong's arm:
"Regardless of which factory you go to, new hires always have a three-month probation period. Do your best — you’re smart, don’t tell me you’re afraid you can’t handle it?"
"Of course I can handle it!" Lu Hong shook off Xiao Mandong's hand. How could she not manage it? Xiao Mandong was just looking down on her!
"Let me introduce you to a few people — they’ll help you settle in at the factory," Xiao Mandong said, changing the subject.
Lu Hong thought that made sense. As a newcomer surrounded by strangers, she did need a couple of familiar faces to guide her.
The first person Xiao Mandong introduced was the factory accountant. Why not let Lu Hong get acquainted with this old lecher first?
Lu Hong wasn't exactly a great beauty, but she was fairly pretty and young — definitely more than Chu Xin could measure up to.
The factory accountant greeted Lu Hong enthusiastically. Xiao Mandong noticed his gaze always wandered toward Wang Xiumei. Deciding to go all the way in her kindness, she introduced Wang Xiumei too.
"Accountant Zhao, this is my widowed sister-in-law." Xiao Mandong stressed the word 'widowed.' "My eldest brother just passed away. My sister-in-law is looking for work too. If there are any temporary openings at the factory, could you keep an eye out for her?"
Xiao Mandong had to admit that Wang Xiumei was quite attractive, with the charm of a mature woman — no wonder she had completely dazzled Lu Jianguo.
Even Lu Jianjun had been taken by Wang Xiumei's looks back then. Otherwise, with her family background, she would never have matched with Lu Jianjun and been taken along when he was stationed with the military.
Accountant Zhao, at this moment, couldn't take his eyes off her. When he heard she was a widow, his heart even bloomed with joy. He preferred widows over unmarried women — unmarried ones could spell trouble, but widows were different. A little favor here and there and they were safe and easy.
Having achieved her goal, Xiao Mandong led the group to the workshop. The next person introduced was Chu Xin, followed by the people involved in that morning's confrontation. With the director following behind, none of them dared to cause trouble and warmly greeted Lu Hong instead.
Director Liu could see what Xiao Mandong was up to. When a normally honest person decides to get revenge, few can withstand it.
The Personnel Section Chief told Lu Hong to start work on Monday. As Lu Hong and Wang Xiumei were about to leave, Wang Xiumei felt someone staring at her. Turning around, she saw Accountant Zhao watching her from a distance.
She remembered Xiao Mandong had asked Accountant Zhao to help find her a temp job. Thinking he might be useful in the future, she nodded and smiled at him. That smile was seen by Chu Xin, whose jealous eyes burned with hatred. If that slut dared to go after her man, she would scratch her face to pieces.
Accountant Zhao's heart nearly jumped out of his throat. His mind was now filled with images of the young widow in bed.
After Lu Hong and Wang Xiumei left, Director Liu called Xiao Mandong into her office and pulled a envelope out of a drawer.
Xiao Mandong opened it and found 200 yuan inside along with various ration tickets — cloth tickets, cotton tickets, and even an industrial products ticket. She knew how hard these tickets were to come by. It was clear Director Liu had put thought into it, preparing things that would be useful for the countryside.
"Mandong, you'll need a lot of ration tickets in the countryside. I have a lot of kids at home, so I don’t have much money to spare, but I managed to exchange for some tickets for you. If these aren't enough, I'll help you find more." Director Liu knew she had gotten the better end of the deal, but she truly couldn't spare more money at the moment.
Xiao Mandong didn't stand on ceremony — she really needed these things:
"Sister Liu, thank you. You've been a huge help. Having these tickets is wonderful. I won't be polite with you."
Xiao Mandong was in a hurry to get back to the village, so after a few more words, she left.
After returning to the village, she went straight to find the Brigade Leader. She secretly slipped him a carton of Daqianmen cigarettes. The Brigade Leader initially tried to refuse but worried that struggling over it might attract gossip, so he simply accepted it.
He thought to himself: A fine girl like her — she had a job, was hardworking, and pretty. He really couldn't understand the Lu family's thinking. They'd regret it someday.
The Brigade Leader sent two people to help Xiao Mandong load her things onto the ox cart.
Ma Lanying watched as Xiao Mandong loaded things onto the cart, stamping her feet in frustration. The thick quilt, the enamel basin, the camphor wood cabinet—these had all entered the Lu family home, so they should belong to the Lu family. How could Xiao Mandong just take them all away? It was truly infuriating.
That basin with the big red peonies—she had loved it the moment she first laid eyes on it. And that enamel mug, not a single chip of paint missing, still shining like new—and now she could only watch helplessly as they were loaded onto the ox cart.
From the window, Lu Jianguo watched Xiao Mandong’s retreating figure, his heart filled with regret and resentment. Why couldn’t she have been more magnanimous? Because he had married her, he had spared her the hardship of being sent to the countryside. He was her benefactor, yet she was repaying kindness with hatred. He would never give this woman a chance to regret.
The Brigade Leader’s face was filled with shame:
“Mandong, my cousin is the Party Secretary of the Hongqi Brigade. If you need anything, you can ask him for help. I’ve already spoken to him about you. If you run into any trouble you can’t solve, you can also come back to me. It’s all my fault for misjudging people—you’ve suffered because of me.”
“Uncle Brigade Leader, please don’t say that. After all, I wasn’t sent down to the countryside. Compared to being sent down, I think things are fine now. I still want to thank you. This isn’t your fault. I appreciate all your support this past year.” Xiao Mandong didn’t blame anyone. In her previous life, it was she herself who had failed to stand up for herself.
Hearing Xiao Mandong’s words, the Brigade Leader’s heart felt somewhat soothed. The guilt that had been pressing down on him eased a little.
