NOVPUB
Chapter 79: Chapter 79: The Tong Family Did Not Wrong the Si Family
In fact, Si Xiaohui wanted to say, their father’s death has benefited her elder brother the most.
Tong Yaohui funded her elder brother’s education and even married his precious daughter to him. Now, her elder brother is a doctor in the city, standing high above the masses. In contrast, without their father, she and her second brother, their mother without a husband, are living a miserable life in the village.
To her surprise, Si Xiaohui had been thinking about this. Si Chen frowned, his thin lips lining tightly, "You were too young back then, and you didn’t understand some things. Indeed, our father helped Tong Yaohui once, but his death has nothing to do with Tong Yaohui."
"Who says it’s not related?" argued Si Xiaohui, raising her voice, "Don’t think I was too young to remember. I knew everything. Our father was a carpenter, working in Tong Yaohui’s factory. One day, a pile of wood fell over. My father pushed Tong Yaohui away, but he himself was hit by the falling boards and ended up disabled. You were taken to Kyoto with mum and uncle to see our father. That’s when Tong Yaohui remembered you and later funded your medical school."
Si Chen’s black eyes filled with complexity, "It’s not entirely like that. You can’t take things out of context. Tong Family did nothing wrong to the Si Family. Don’t blame Tong Yao."
"Why not?" Si Xiaohui retorted, clenching her teeth, "You’re defending Tong Yao—that’s why you’re saying so."
Knowing that the elder brother is biased towards Tong Yao and that it’s useless to talk further, Si Xiaohui didn’t want to go on, "I don’t want to talk about these things anymore, brother, if you still consider me as your little sister, can you help me find a job in the city? I don’t want to farm at home anymore. Xiulan works at a textile factory in the city. She looked transformed when she came back the other day—her skin is white and tender. She said that everyone who works in the city is like this, only those who farm every day have a complexion as dark as coal."
Xiulan has grown up with Si Xiaohui since they were kids. Xiulan went to work in Jiang City at the recommendation of her relatives and had just returned a few days ago. After more than two years away, she has transformed completely. She can put on makeup and dress well. For the last few days she’s been home, she has worn a new outfit every day, looking stunning.
It’s said that Xiulan has earned a lot of money, and her family plans to build a new house this fall.
Si Chen pondered for a moment, "What kind of work do you want to do?"
When Xiaohui heard that there was a possibility, her eyes brightened, "As long as it is indoors and I don’t have to bask in the sun, anything works. It would be best if you could get me a position at your hospital."
When returning from the hospital the other day, Zhang Lijuan told her that once people knew they were there to find Dr. Si, they were especially nice to them. If she could work at the hospital, no one would dare to bully her with Dr. Si around.
"The hospital is not an option." Si Chen directly dashed Si Xiaohui’s hopes, "I don’t go out much, let’s see if Yaoyao can help you find a job in the school canteen."
Si Xiaohui looked disappointed, "If you let her help me, she will say they are not hiring even if they are."
Out of fear that Si Chen wouldn’t take this matter seriously, she decided to threaten him, "Brother, if you can’t find me a job, I will go with Xiulan. She came back this time to recruit workers for their factory. She has already recruited several girls, and I would have signed up too if it weren’t for mom stopping me."
This was one of the reasons why Lin Fengying was so eager to have Si Chen back. Si Xiaohui wanted to work with Ma Xiulan, but Lin Fengying was not at ease and therefore did not agree.
Si Chen clearly did not buy into her tricks. He stood up, "If mom agrees, go ahead."
With that, he left the room. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
"Brother..."
Si Xiaohui stomped her foot in annoyance. Her elder brother was not as easy to talk to as her second brother. If it was the second brother, he would agree as long as she acted a bit coy.
...
Elsewhere,
Tong Yao who had left the room did not actually go to the restroom. She strolled around the village. The family dogs in the village did not recognize her and kept barking at her. In the past, she would have been scared, but now that she could understand their language, she found it amusing.
[Bark! Bark! Get away from my house, or I’ll bite you, I’m serious...]
[Don’t think I won’t bite you because you’re pretty. If you don’t want me to bite you, throw over a bone.]
She pretended not to understand and walked around the dogs to the other side, soon hearing some strange noises. Following the sound, she spotted two sly-looking rats.
[Quick, run! I’ve chewed up the stash that Ma Fen hid under her bed. She’s bought several packages of rat poison...]
Tong Yao: It’s not easy for someone to save some money. If she won’t poison you, then who?
[Isn’t that Lin Fengying’s daughter-in-law? I heard she moved to the city. Why is she back?]
[Probably got kicked out for being lazy.]
Looking up, Tong Yao saw two small swallows under the eaves of a nearby house chattering. Just as she was about to rebuke the two swallows, a flamboyantly dressed woman walked out of the courtyard.
The woman looked young, probably in her early twenties, but her attire was bold and mature. Her permed hair, coupled with her leopard print dress, made people associate her with a certain type of career.
As Tong Yao assessed the woman, the woman was also looking at her, then began to strike up a conversation with enthusiasm, "Young lady, you’re not from this village, right? I don’t think I’ve seen you before."
Tong Yao shook her head, "I’m married into this place."
When the woman heard Tong Yao’s accent from another place, her eyes instantly lit up, becoming even more enthusiastic, "Whose wife are you? I’m Ma Xiulan, what’s your name? "
"I’m Tong Yao, Si Chen’s wife."
Although it was their first meeting, Ma Xiulan was very enthusiastic. However, Tong Yao didn’t like her at all, particularly the way Ma Xiulan looked at people, like she’s selecting cabbages in a vegetable market.
"Oh, you’re Xiaohui’s sister-in-law! Everyone’s been saying Xiaohui’s brother has married a beautiful wife. It’s true what they say: seeing is believing. You’re really pretty, like a fairy descended from heaven."
In this era, when people find someone attractive, they like to describe them as fairies. In their eyes, fairies are the most beautiful women.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Tong Yao turned to leave, but Ma Xiulan deliberately blocked her path.
"Xiaohui and I have grown up together since we were kids. Since you’re her sister-in-law, you are my sister-in-law too." Ma Xiulan was getting chummier with Tong Yao. Her single-lid big eyes never left Tong Yao, and she kept examining her as she spoke, "Sister-in-law, Xiaohui mentioned previously that she wanted to go work with me. Has she made up her mind? I’m planning to book the tickets tomorrow. The textile factory is quite busy, and the boss has been calling me to get back to work."
"Xiaohui wants to go work with you?" Tong Yao was intrigued by Ma Xiulan’s words and was not in a rush to leave now.
