The next day at work, Nan Sheng brought up Mingli's job with Secretary Ma.
Secretary Ma praised Nan Sheng for her efficiency—this way, even if she were transferred, there’d be no worry about Yan Shaoshu and his wife being left unattended. He also guaranteed that he’d look after Nan Sheng’s younger brother in the future.
Soon, the entire village learned of Nan Sheng’s promotion. The Village Chief was overjoyed and personally went to town to buy meat for her. Lin Guozheng also brought over the eggs his family had saved.
Nan Sheng politely declined gifts from others. Initially, she didn’t even want to accept the Village Chief’s offering, fearing gossip, but the Village Chief took offense.
"What, now that you’ve been promoted, you’re too good for Uncle’s meat?"
Though he said it jokingly, Nan Sheng didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so she accepted.
"Alright, then I’ll make dumplings tonight. Uncle, you and Auntie should come over, and Grandpa too!"
It wouldn’t be proper for Nan Sheng to host the Village Chief alone, so she invited Lin Guozheng as well. As for her mother-in-law, Nan Sheng didn’t even mention her.
The Village Chief’s wife rushed over to help make the dumplings. The wrappers were made of cornmeal, and they stopped once they had enough for everyone.
Her eyes darted around, scrutinizing the house the moment she stepped in. "Lin Han’s wife, why isn’t your mother-in-law here? Didn’t you invite her?"
Nan Sheng simply hummed in response and crouched down to light the fire for boiling the dumplings.
She had originally planned to fry some meat too but decided on two cold dishes instead—people who talked too much didn’t deserve the good meat.
"Auntie, you’re so funny. Don’t you know my mother-in-law is working today? Besides, even if she came back, she wouldn’t have time—she has to watch Lin Xue’s kids."
When the two children came home from school, they dashed straight into the kitchen, calling out "Mom" nonstop from the yard to the house.
Only when they entered did they notice the guests—and their grandpa was there too. After greeting everyone, they went outside to wash up.
The Village Chief’s wife was already drooling over the dumplings and grumbled, "Lin Han’s wife, you really spoil your kids. In our house, we never wait for children to eat."
She thought Nan Sheng was putting on an act—no stepmother could be that good to her husband’s first wife’s children. She must be showing off for their benefit.
The Village Chief immediately glared at his wife. "Are you in such a hurry to stuff yourself? It’s only been a few minutes. If you don’t like it here, go home."
His wife shut her mouth. She wasn’t leaving—she wanted those meat-filled dumplings!
At the table, Siqi was surprised to see yellow dumplings, while Sizhe found the cold tomato and cucumber dishes unusual—it was the first time their mother had served such simple fare to guests.
Soon, everyone dug in.
The Village Chief loved his liquor, but Nan Sheng didn’t offer the prized ginseng wine, settling for ordinary baijiu instead. The household always had alcohol on hand for cooking.
However, Lin Guozheng got drunk faster than the Village Chief. By the end of the meal, he was ranting about his children’s failures. The Village Chief, sensing his mood, didn’t dare push more drinks on him.
After the meal, the Village Chief and his wife left.
Before it got dark, Nan Sheng sent her son to escort Lin Guozheng home. Drunk or not, she wasn’t about to wait on him.
When Sizhe returned, he was clearly upset. Nan Sheng guessed Lin Xue had made some snide remarks—like why hadn’t they sent dumplings to their grandmother?
But since her son didn’t bring it up, neither did Nan Sheng. No use stressing over things that’d age her prematurely.
Two months passed uneventfully. Recently, Nan Sheng had been packing up the house—dried fish and shrimp were only half-finished, the cured meat from Shitou untouched, along with the sun-dried vegetables. All of it had to be shipped to the military base.
Mushrooms had started sprouting in the mountains. When Mingli heard his sister wanted to dry some for the journey, he began waking up early to forage.
But the villagers relied on mushrooms as a food source, and within days, the mountains were picked clean—even the grass was trampled flat.
Nan Sheng said, "This is enough. We only use them to flavor chicken stew a few times a year anyway.
Mingli, Secretary Ma wants you to report to town tomorrow. Are you still planning to work the black market?"
"Of course!"
Mingli had thought it through—government work was respectable, but money was essential. Young as he was, he’d push himself to the limit.
"I’ll work at the government office by day and the black market by night. Neither will interfere."
At the town office, Mingli’s diligence and sociability impressed even Zhu Yi and Wang Xian, who remarked that he and Nan Sheng were clearly siblings.
Since the arrival of the "sent-down" individuals, Director Hu had grown bolder, and Zhu Yi and Wang Xian occasionally flaunted their authority. But with Secretary Ma keeping watch, they couldn’t stir up much trouble.
Nan Sheng advised her brother to stay clear of the revolutionary committee—no need to antagonize them, but no need to befriend them either. Avoid unnecessary trouble.
Xiao Yi had mentored Mingli, and his cleverness and tact pleased Secretary Ma. Though the secretary never said it outright, he entrusted Mingli with important tasks.
After her promotion, Nan Sheng’s workload lightened. Aside from meetings, she mostly handled inspections.
Lin Han’s return was delayed—he’d stopped at the military base for a mission first. By the time he got home, half of Xiangyang Village’s crops had already been harvested.
Coincidentally, the elderly Wang couple was visiting when he arrived.
Wang Yuyou still hadn’t secured a job. With Secretary Ma’s door closed to them, Nan Sheng—now a deputy director—became the Wang family’s last hope.
Inside, the Wang couple and Zhou Wei’s family sat awkwardly. Nan Sheng, who disliked them, didn’t even offer water. Yet they forced smiles anyway.
Wang’s Mother: "Sister-in-law, we heard you were promoted to deputy director? What wonderful news! Your uncle and I rushed to town to buy you a congratulatory gift!"
Nan Sheng replied coolly, "No need for the trouble. This happened a while ago, and government rules forbid accepting gifts from civilians—relatives included."
Wang’s Mother stiffened but pressed on. "We’re family—no need for formalities. We only just heard from Yuting, or we’d have come sooner."
She seethed at her husband—she’d wanted to visit earlier, but he’d refused, too cheap to spend the money.
Meek as he seemed in public, at home, he had a vile temper—cross him, and you’d get smacked.
Nan Sheng didn’t take the out they offered. Her refusal was blunt.
"Sister-in-law, take these things back. Ask around—have I ever accepted gifts from anyone in this village?
I’m not pretending to be noble, but if I took this today, tomorrow there’d be favors to repay. Why invite trouble?"
Wang’s Father, hot-tempered, stood to leave. Zhou Wei and her daughter-in-law stayed silent—picking sides would only backfire.
But after a few steps, Wang’s Mother yanked him back. Her tone had completely changed.
"Sister-in-law, this could’ve been a happy occasion. Must you make it so awkward?"
"Let me be blunt—since you have the connections to get your brother into the town government, why not do the same for our Yu? It’d be good for both of them to support each other in the future, wouldn’t it?
If you agree today, fine. But if you refuse, don’t blame us—we’ll go straight to the county and report you. Let’s see how long your deputy director title lasts then."
