Mrs. Guo said: "Hey, Huizhen, let me tell you, our country's workers are truly the masters now. Many state-owned factories are conducting worker evaluations and classifications, and my son is one of them.
If he does well in the evaluation, his salary will even increase!"
Liu Huizhen replied: "Mrs. Guo, congratulations! You're so fortunate! But how come I haven't heard anything about this?"
Mrs. Guo said with a smile: "You're still young. When your child grows up, you'll have good days too! Since you're not a worker, you wouldn't have heard about it. But in the factories, the older workers have all heard about it!
They've been practicing their skills day and night these past few days!"
Liu Huizhen and Mrs. Guo parted at the alley entrance. She carried her lunchbox and walked into the courtyard.
Yan Bu Gui was standing at the entrance, fiddling with his fishing rod. He glanced at Liu Huizhen as she entered, pretending to be indifferent by lowering his head. But then, he suddenly realized something was amiss. He pushed up his glasses, widening his eyes, and looked at Liu Huizhen:
"Huizhen, you're carrying a lunchbox?"
Liu Huizhen said: "Yeah, Director Wang said that those who help with cooking until late can take their meals home. It's allowed by the policy!"
Yang Ruihua exclaimed: "Oh, Huizhen, what did you bring today?"
She reached out to take a look.
Yan Bu Gui and his wife were notorious for taking anything they could. Even if a dung cart passed by the courtyard entrance, Yan Bu Gui would scoop a spoonful of dung to use as fertilizer.
Seeing Liu Huizhen carrying a lunchbox, they couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
First Aunt said: "Huizhen, you're back? Quickly, Yuanchao is crying at home. We can't seem to soothe him, no matter what we do!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Huizhen immediately rushed towards the west wing in a hurry.
Yan Bu Gui and Yang Ruihua slapped their thighs, their faces full of dejection: "What a loss! What a loss! Such a big lunchbox full of dishes, maybe even with meat!"
Yang Ruihua said: "First Aunt always comes at the wrong time. Why does she come now? She's a hen that can't lay eggs. It's not her child. Why is she in such a hurry?"
"Lower your voice, don't let Old Yi hear you!"
"What's there to be afraid of? We have several children. They haven't even had a single egg..."
As Liu Huizhen walked into the middle courtyard, Jia Zhangshi, who was mending shoes, and Qin Huairu, who was washing clothes, were stunned when they saw the lunchbox in Liu Huizhen's hand.
Ever since Qin Huairu married into this courtyard, she had always kept a close eye on Sha Zhu's lunchbox. She could tell at a glance whether it was empty or full.
Liu Huizhen's lunchbox was clearly full of food.
How could she, a rural widow who had lost her husband, bring a lunchbox home?
Qin Huairu felt a surge of jealousy.
Seeing Liu Huizhen rush to the back yard with the lunchbox, Jia Zhangshi was furious: "That Liu widow, only on her first day of work, and she already brought back a lunchbox. Who knows what dirty tricks she used to get it!"
Upon hearing that Liu Huizhen had brought a lunchbox home, Second Aunt was also envious: "This street office job, they should have prioritized giving it to our family. After all, Old Liu, you are the real leader in our courtyard!"
Liu Haizhong said: "We don't need to compete with Liu Huizhen's family. You should not only not compete with them, but also help them out. In case Old Yi dies in the future, if I get promoted, I might need Liu widow's crucial vote!"
Second Aunt said: "Alright, I'll go and do it later!"
Liu Huizhen hurried into the west wing. First Aunt pulled Liu Huizhen: "Don't rush, Huizhen, Yuanchao isn't crying. I deliberately asked you to hurry so you could avoid Third Uncle and his wife.
In this day and age, people must be smart. If you can twist your elbow to defeat your thigh, wouldn't that be evil? Yan Bu Gui and his wife even count the roof beams at night.
They keep all their money tucked into their ribs. That Xu Fugui, whenever he goes to the countryside to show movies, he brings back some local products, and if he's caught, he'll lose a few strings of mountain goods!"
First Aunt, speaking in the old Beijing dialect, told Liu Huizhen about the affairs of the courtyard.
Liu Huizhen also realized at this moment: "First Aunt, I've taken note of this. I'll be careful from now on. I don't want Yuanchao to suffer because of me in this courtyard!"
Seeing that Liu Huizhen understood her intentions, First Aunt smiled and walked towards the house with Liu Huizhen.
From inside the house, came the laughter of Shen Youchu, Shen Youtian, and He Yushui:
"Yuanchao is so amazing! Yuanchao is so good!"
"Yuanchao little brother, come on!"
They encouraged him one after another, and the little Shen Yuanchao, amidst all these cheers, forgot that he was still a baby.
He rolled over and over again.
In Shen Yuanchao's mind, a system panel appeared:
【Infant Stage, Roll Over 1000 Times, Receive Growth Reward, Current Progress: 9/1000】
When Liu Huizhen and First Aunt walked into the room, they saw Shen Yuanchao rolling over again.
"Oh, Yuanchao is learning to roll over! He's even more skillful than Bang Geng when he was learning!"
Liu Huizhen was also overjoyed: "That's great! Yuanchao can roll over now!"
Shen Yuanchao winked at Liu Huizhen.
Shen Youtian asked: "Mom, how was work today? Did everything go smoothly?"
Liu Huizhen said: "It went very smoothly. Mrs. Guo and the leaders over there were all very easy to get along with. I washed clothes today and helped with cooking. Chef Wang is a great person, and he brought me a lunchbox.
Yushui is also eating at home tonight. We're having cabbage and vermicelli stew!"
He Yushui cheered: "Then I'll go back and get my cornbread!"
Seeing that Liu Huizhen's work was going smoothly, First Aunt said happily: "That's great, Huizhen! With this job, you can finally have a good life!"
Liu Huizhen nodded: "I also plan to take on some extra work later when I have time. That way, I can earn more money. In the future, I'll need to help Yuanchao get married!"
Shen Yuanchao giggled. He was also happy to hear that Liu Huizhen's work was going well.
If he could, he truly hoped that Liu Huizhen and his two sisters could have a easier life!
First Aunt took an egg from her pocket: "Keep it. When he's a little older, make him egg yolk porridge to supplement his nutrition!"
"First Aunt, this is too precious. You keep it for yourself."
"No need. This is for the child. Huizhen, you go ahead and get busy. I have to go back and cook. Old Yi will be back soon!"
"Alright!"
After sending First Aunt away, Liu Huizhen took out the remaining sweet potatoes from home and stewed them with cabbage and vermicelli. She then scooped out the meat, chopped it into small pieces, and divided it into three portions.
One for Shen Youchu, one for Shen Youtian, and one for He Yushui.
She ate some vegetables herself.
He Yushui walked into the west wing with her cornbread. She couldn't help but sniff the air: "Liu Auntie, your food smells so good!"
Liu Huizhen said: "If you like it, eat more. When your brother is not at home, just eat here with Auntie!"
"Okay!"
He Yushui happily leaned against Liu Huizhen's arms. She couldn't help but think, if only her mom was like Liu Auntie!
Her brother always praised Qin Huairu for being gentle, virtuous, and kind, a good woman. But in her eyes, Liu Auntie was the most gentle, virtuous, and kind!
After finishing cooking, Liu Huizhen made rice porridge for Shen Yuanchao, adding some ABC Mickey Mouse milk candy.....