“I told you, Xiao Mandong is a good woman. She’s beautiful, and she’s been divorced. I think finding someone whose experiences are similar to mine is the only way a marriage can last.”
“You thought highly of her at first, too.”
“But the moment you saw Liu Mengyao, you changed your minds. Just because she was good to the child, was unmarried, and had Director Huang’s connections, you pressured me into seeing how things would go with her!”
“Everything you do for me starts with weighing the pros and cons. From now on, stay out of my affairs. Good or bad, I’ll be the one living my life.”
With that, Lin Guoan picked up his car keys and turned to leave, but Lin Wenhui grabbed him.
“Brother, you can’t let your temper get the better of you. Since Director Huang is a spy, and Liu Mengyao even had a child by him, why would he introduce her to you? He must have an ulterior motive. You can’t ruin your own future. You work in a classified unit—if you become entangled with her, your workplace may transfer you elsewhere.”
Lin Guoan pulled his hand free from Lin Wenhui’s grasp. “I said I’ll deal with my own affairs.”
Without looking back, he walked away.
“Mom… Mom, what’s wrong?”
Old Mrs. Lin couldn’t catch her breath and fainted on the spot.
Lin Guoan had just reached the door when he suddenly stopped. He hurried back, picked up Old Mrs. Lin’s limp body, and staggered outside with her in his arms. Lin Wenya stayed home to look after the children, while everyone else followed them to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Xiao Mandong had already returned home. She slipped into her personal space and soaked in a warm bathtub, casting away all the recent chaos and anxiety.
A month passed in the blink of an eye. Although working at the hospital with Director Qi kept her busy, it was still a rare period of peace and comfort.
The weather gradually turned colder. The northern wind blew through the branches, sending the yellow leaves fluttering to the ground.
Xiao Mandong had already prepared padded clothes and quilts for her family for the winter, and her personal space was fully stocked with winter supplies.
One morning, as soon as Xiao Mandong entered the hospital, she sensed that something was different.
Her colleagues, most of whom she was not particularly close to, were now eyeing her with curiosity and whispering among themselves.
“Well, if it isn’t Doctor Xiao. You’re quite something, aren’t you? You kept saying you had no intention of taking the permanent position, but behind everyone’s backs, you went ahead and grabbed it for yourself.”
Zhou Qiaolian folded her arms, her eyes full of jealousy.
After their previous confrontation, she had stopped provoking Xiao Mandong. But now that her own chance at a permanent position was gone, she no longer wanted to swallow her anger in silence.
Xiao Mandong frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“What am I talking about? Stop pretending. You’re just a sent-down educated youth—how could you possibly get a permanent position directly? If you say you earned it by fixing some lousy machine, who’s going to believe you?”
“Who knows what you did to get the position? After all, you’re divorced. You’ll do anything if you’re desperate enough. Besides, it’s not like this is your first time. Once or a hundred times—it’s all the same.”
The expressions of several colleagues nearby changed. Some lowered their heads, while others began whispering among themselves.
Someone discreetly tugged at Zhou Qiaolian, signaling her to stop talking nonsense.
Xiao Mandong smiled faintly. “Zhou Qiaolian, for you, once or a hundred times really are no different. You may not be married, but you certainly seem very experienced. It’s quite surprising that you know so much.”
Her words immediately made Zhou Qiaolian’s face turn bright red. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
“Xiao Mandong, how dare you ruin my reputation?”
Xiao Mandong glanced at Tang Jing, whose eyes were darting about. She had no interest in dealing with this fool who had allowed someone else to use her as a weapon. Turning around, she walked straight toward the dean’s office.
It wasn’t that Xiao Mandong lacked confidence in her medical skills. She had been recommended by her village to study and work as a barefoot doctor. If she became a permanent hospital employee, what would happen to the village clinic? Besides, how could such a precious position possibly go to a sent-down educated youth?
Dean Cao was so delighted that he could hardly stop smiling. The hospital had received an official commendation from the Ministry of Health.
A permanent position had been issued specifically for Xiao Mandong. What an incredible honor! It was something Dean Cao had never even dared to dream of.
The office door was open. The moment Xiao Mandong reached it, Dean Cao personally came out to greet her.
“Congratulations, Doctor Xiao! You’re the great hero of our hospital.”
Before Xiao Mandong could say anything, Dean Cao continued enthusiastically.
“Doctor Xiao, considering your status as a sent-down educated youth, and the fact that the village also needs a barefoot doctor while grassroots medical care cannot do without you, you’ll come to the hospital for two fixed days every week. Your main responsibility will be consulting on difficult cases. And if any equipment needs to be adjusted or repaired, we’ll naturally need your technical guidance as well.”
“You can spend the rest of your time working at the village clinic. But don’t worry—your monthly salary won’t be reduced by a single cent. You’ll receive the full amount, along with all the necessary coupons.”
“And of course, the hospital’s benefits won’t be lacking either. I heard you’re renting a place in the village, so the hospital will assign you a residence. Since you’re only one person, and to avoid gossip, it won’t be too large. After the commendation ceremony, go with the logistics department chief to look at the available homes. There are several options, and you can choose whichever one you like.”
At first, Xiao Mandong was completely bewildered. It took her a while to process everything before she finally came to her senses.
Were they planning to use her as some kind of three-headed, six-armed deity? She was expected to work at the village clinic, consult on hospital cases, help adjust equipment, and now they were even arranging a home for her. Were they afraid she might have too much free time?
But after thinking it over, she realized that in her previous life, she had never taken the college entrance examination. In this life, there was no such thing as absolute certainty. What if she failed the exam this time? With a stable job, a professional title, and an official establishment, she could still live a secure life even without going to college.
She had plenty of money, but no amount of money could buy social status.
Besides, with the hospital’s recommendation, she could go out for further training and improve her educational qualifications. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this arrangement was actually quite good.
After the commendation ceremony, Xiao Mandong followed the logistics department chief to the hospital’s residential compound to choose a home.
She took a liking to a ground-floor apartment with a small courtyard. If she brought Diandian here, he could run around in the yard. Her younger sister could also stay here during the winter vacation instead of having to endure the villagers’ sarcastic remarks.
No one had expected Xiao Manxue to be the one who got into college. During the period after Xiao Mandong had returned, someone had even reported the matter to the commune.
Although the commune had ignored the report, Xiao Manxue would inevitably be subjected to gossip if she returned to the village. The more Xiao Mandong thought about it, the more fortunate she felt that she had been assigned this home.
She was still admiring the place that truly belonged to her and thinking about what she should add to it when a familiar voice came from outside the door.
“Mandong, congratulations.”
Lin Wenhui stood at the gate of the courtyard, beaming brightly.
“How did you know I was here?”
“My dad heard somewhere that you’d gotten a permanent position, so he immediately asked me to invite you home for dinner to celebrate.” Lin Wenhui looked around the house, her eyes filled with envy. “You’re really impressive. You managed to get a housing allocation without even being married.”
Xiao Mandong smiled. She, too, felt that everything had been going smoothly since her rebirth.
Ever since Old Mrs. Lin had been discharged from the hospital, Xiao Mandong had not yet gone to visit her. Since Lin Wenhui was so insistent, she found it difficult to refuse and agreed to go. On the way, she stopped by the supply cooperative and bought some fruit.
“My brother promised that he wouldn’t contact that Liu Mengyao anymore after seeing how sick Mom became.”
Lin Wenhui chattered on about everything happening in her family as they walked.
Xiao Mandong didn’t want to pass judgment on anything. She simply listened with a smile.
At first, when she saw Lin Guoan, she had thought that the man from her past life was rather innocent. But after what had happened that day and seeing how Lin Guoan had behaved, Xiao Mandong felt that he truly had brought it upon himself.
As they talked, they soon arrived at the Lin family’s home.
Old Mrs. Lin had been waiting in the main room. The moment she saw Xiao Mandong enter, she immediately rose with a smile and went to greet her.
She took Xiao Mandong’s hand and looked her up and down, growing more pleased the longer she looked.
The food was soon brought to the table. Old Mrs. Lin kept piling food into Xiao Mandong’s bowl, praising her nonstop.
“Mandong, Auntie really likes girls like you—steady, sensible, and with such a lovely appearance. A good girl like you is truly hard to find.”
Xiao Mandong sensed that there was something off about her words. Sure enough, Old Mrs. Lin changed direction and smiled at her.
“Mandong, Auntie won’t beat around the bush. You’re on your own now, and our Guoan… well, things have never gone smoothly for him romantically. He just hasn’t met the right person.”
“We want to find him someone who’s down-to-earth and willing to build a life together. You two… I think you’d make a pretty good match.”
“Auntie knows this is rather sudden, but we couldn’t find your parents, so we had no choice but to bring it up with you directly.”
The moment she finished speaking, the dining table fell completely silent.
