Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 120 Zhou Jie Has a Job

“You will have friends, and your younger brother will be your friend when he grows up,” Jing Yan promised gently.

A glint of light appeared in He Chaoli's eyes as he revealed his feelings to his family for the first time: "I'm willing to come and study here."

Although Zhou Jie was reluctant, she hesitated for a long time but did not stop him. She was genuinely unaware that her son was being ostracized at school, but her ignorance was ironic to her self-perceived dedication to her family. In that instant, she suddenly began to doubt her nearly ten years of life as a housewife. Was her choice to stay at home and take care of her husband and children right or wrong?

Jing Yan looked at He Zhicheng: "Big brother, are you planning to have Xiao Li join the class next March or next fall to start second grade?"

He Zhicheng hesitated for a moment: "I'll go to the school here in a couple of days to ask. If I can transfer in, I'd prefer to come over when school starts in early March. If it's difficult to arrange things here, then I'll just go straight to the second year next year."

“You still have to go to work. If you trust me, I’ll go to the school and ask around. If there’s any news, I’ll call Mom so you don’t have to run back and forth,” Jingyan suggested.

He Zhicheng said somewhat embarrassedly, "Wouldn't this be too much trouble for you? Leaving the child with you is already a burden, and now you're asking for help with the school transfer..."

Jing Yan waved her hand dismissively: "I have time on weekdays. I can go to the school to ask. It's just a matter of making a few trips. If you need any materials, I'll let you know."

Cui Hongru smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Jingyan. Just call me if you need anything."

Jingyan is a woman of action; once she makes a decision, she's determined to put it into practice. So, after the weekend, she took the property certificate to the nearest elementary school to inquire. The admissions officer looked at the property certificate Jingyan handed over with some confusion: "Comrade, what do you want to ask?"

“I want to bring my nephew to my place to study, but I don’t know what documents or conditions I need. I brought the property certificate here to show that I am a resident of this area. What’s wrong? Did you bring the wrong documents?” Jingyan asked somewhat nervously.

The admissions officer smiled when he saw her nervousness. "Sir, don't be nervous. Our school doesn't have any restrictions on students from other places. When does your nephew want to come? How old is he? What grade does he plan to be in?"

"He's eight years old this year and just started first grade. Teacher, will he be able to come to school next semester?" Jing Yan looked at the teacher's smile, and her anxiety eased a lot.

The teacher nodded: "Our school has four first-grade classes, with about forty students in each class. If your nephew comes, he will probably be placed in the fourth class. I don't know how his academic performance is. He should have a basic foundation, right? If his foundation is too weak, then the parents and teachers will need to supervise and tutor him together. Can you fulfill the responsibility of supervising him?"

Jing Yan nodded, "That's no problem. I only have a junior high school education, so I should be able to tutor first graders. My husband is in college now, and he can tutor them during the holidays."

Hearing this, the teacher's smile brightened even more: "That's good. The tuition is six yuan per semester. What's your nephew's name? If you're sure he'll be coming next semester, I can give you a registration form to fill out."

There's also a transfer application. Submit this to your current school, and after they stamp it with their official seal, bring the transfer application, registration form, your child, and tuition fees to the school on the first day of the next semester.

Jingyan then realized that the procedures for enrolling in school in this era were really simple. She quickly thanked the teacher, who was very efficient. By the time Jingyan returned home with the two forms, less than half a day had passed.

Jingyan recounted the whole process, which greatly surprised her grandmother. She hadn't expected it to be so easy. That afternoon, Jingyan called Cui Hongru to confirm the mailing address and then mailed the two forms over.

After putting her mind at ease, Jingyan still wanted to continue making and selling braised meat. Now that it's cold, the braised meat won't spoil easily, so she doesn't go out much these days. She just waits for buyers to come to her. When she has extra time, she makes some sausages with Sister Wang. She'll sell them if she can, and if she can't, she'll have them as a treat for the New Year.

As for the He family in Yangzhou, Cui Hongru was very happy to receive the form. That very evening, she summoned He Zhicheng and his wife back. "Jingyan is so efficient. She has already spoken with the school's admissions office and they can go when the next semester starts. Let's get the transfer application sorted out first. Zhicheng, you can handle this. Half a day of vacation should be enough."

“Okay.” He Zhicheng nodded in agreement.

"Tuition is six yuan per semester, about the same as here. There should be extra money for books after school starts. The child is staying with your younger brother. You and your husband should discuss and come up with a plan for living expenses and pocket money when you get back."

This year, the Lunar New Year is late, so we'll still go to Haishi to spend it with your grandma. School starts in about a week after the New Year, so we need to pack Xiaoli's clothes, shoes, and socks in advance. The next time we come back will be during summer vacation, so please make sure you have everything you need.”

He Zhicheng nodded in agreement. Zhou Jie held He Chaoli's hand, feeling very reluctant to part with him. However, little He Chaoli didn't understand his mother's reluctance at all. He was very happy to hear that he could go to his aunt's house next semester. Zhou Jie felt even more heartbroken when she saw her son's eagerness to leave, but she didn't say anything in the end.

Cui Hongru glanced at Zhou Jie a few times, her tone tinged with exasperation: "Xiao Jie, the policies have been relaxed a lot now. Is there anything you want to do? After the New Year, Xiao Li won't be around anymore. You'll inevitably overthink things when you're home alone. Take advantage of this time to think about what you want to do to pass the time."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jie's expression visibly tensed up: "Mom, I don't know what I can do. Unlike Jingyan, I don't have any special skills, and my cooking isn't amazing. I really don't know."

Looking at her eldest daughter-in-law's appearance, Cui Hongru could only sigh. She turned to He Jiaoxu and He Zhicheng and said, "The people our hospital needs must have high psychological qualities. They face illness and bloodshed every day. Xiaojie's courage probably can't handle it."

"You two should help me inquire around these days. If there's any sales clerk or waiter position available, we could pay you to buy it."

The father and son readily agreed and immediately began inquiring about jobs. After asking around for several days, they discovered there were indeed two job openings, both in state-owned restaurants.

One job was helping out in the kitchen, which was just washing vegetables and dishes. The other was a cashier. Zhou Jie only had a junior high school education, so the cashier job wasn't difficult at all. After He Zhicheng found out, he preferred to buy the cashier job because the kitchen job was too tiring.

When he got home and told Zhou Jie about it, Zhou Jie didn't have any ideas either. In the end, the young couple took their son back to their parents' house. Cui Hongru understood why Zhou Jie was conflicted after hearing it once.

She probably lacks self-confidence because her parents favored sons over daughters and subjected her to a repressive upbringing. Otherwise, when her family was looking for a wife for their eldest son, they inquired with several families in the neighborhood, and any family that cared about their daughter was afraid of being implicated by their family's capitalist background. Even though they knew the family had some wealth, they were unwilling to marry their daughters off.

Only Zhou Jie's parents, seeing the high dowry and monetary gifts offered, hastily agreed to the marriage and rushed into the wedding. They didn't even provide a decent dowry, instead keeping all the dowry money for themselves.

She knew then that a daughter-in-law couldn't rely on her own family. Several times she wondered if she had made a mistake, if she should have found a wife for Zhicheng who could stand on her own two feet.

However, in the end, she was hardworking and diligent. To put it simply, Zhou Jie deserves great credit for Zhicheng's transformation from a domestic whiz she had nurtured into a useless man who wouldn't even lift a finger to pick up a fallen oil bottle.

There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but in this day and age, if Zhou Jie could stay home and be supported by her man, it wouldn't be a big problem. The real concern is that given her sensitive nature and low self-esteem, if she spends too much time overthinking, it's ultimately her son who will suffer.

So at this moment, she, who had never interfered in her son's family affairs, finally said something: "Xiaojie, if you are not afraid of hardship or fatigue, I suggest you choose a job in the kitchen."

Seeing the puzzled look in He Zhicheng's eyes, Cui Hongru shook her head. They say the eldest is foolish and the second cunning, and that's really true. Look at Zhicheng's clear eyes—he's already given the answer, yet he still doesn't understand. If it were Zhijun, he probably wouldn't even have come over; he could have made the decision himself. Sigh~

"Xiao Jie doesn't really like interacting with her neighbors, nor does she like listening to gossip, let alone getting involved in it. Although working in the kitchen is tiring, as long as you're willing to work hard, the head chef will always notice."

But if you're a cashier, not to mention dealing with all sorts of customers, do you think there wouldn't be anyone vying for this respectable and easy job?

China is a society based on personal connections. There are many elderly people working in state-run restaurants, and every family has younger generations. Xiaojie will have to face customers directly and be talked about behind their backs. How long do you think she can endure this, given her personality?

"I sent her out to work so she could regain her confidence, not so she'd be put down and lose even more." Cui Hongru explained to He Zhicheng, somewhat annoyed. "If your brother were here, I wouldn't even need to explain such a simple thing to him. You're such a blockhead."

He Zhicheng touched his forehead where Cui Hongru had tapped him with her index finger and chuckled, "With Mom around, I don't have to think about it anymore."

Cui Hongru didn't want to talk to him anymore and turned to look at Zhou Jie: "Xiao Jie, what's your opinion? If we're not satisfied with either of these jobs, we can wait a bit longer. There's no rush, we can take our time looking."

Zhou Jie wasn't stupid, she just lacked confidence. After Cui Hongru said that, she looked up at He Zhicheng and said, "Acheng, I want to work in the kitchen. I can't do cashier work. I'm really not good at dealing with people."

He Zhicheng respected her wishes and nodded: "Okay, I'll go and finalize the job for you tomorrow, and then ask when you can start work."

“Xiaoli’s winter vacation won’t start for another two weeks. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pick him up when he gets out of school. Why don’t you ask him again if we can go after the New Year? Xiaoli won’t be home then, so I won’t be worried about being late.” Zhou Jie was still more concerned about her son.

He Zhicheng patted her hand reassuringly: "I'll go check tomorrow. If the state-run restaurant closes early, you can pick up Xiaoli. If they close late, I can drop her off in the morning and pick her up in the evening."

Anyway, it won't hurt for me to go out during Xiaoli's break time. I can borrow Dad's car for a few days, but I still need to go back to work after picking him up, so I'll be home a little late.

He Jiaoxu nodded: "Okay, if it's confirmed, come to my house to pick up the car keys."

Zhou Jie was genuinely grateful: "Thank you, Mom and Dad."

The He family returned to the old house the next evening. After entering the house, He Zhicheng sighed, "It's a good thing I went early today. I just paid the money for the kitchen helper and two more people came to ask about the job. I heard that the job has already been decided. The two of them were quite disappointed. I didn't expect the job to be so popular."

He Jiaoxu nodded: "Since the educated youth who went to the countryside have returned to the city one after another, jobs are becoming increasingly scarce. It's because there are so many people coming back that there aren't enough jobs to arrange. Many young and strong men are just wandering around all day with nothing to do, which has led to a decline in the social atmosphere across the country recently. It's quite impressive that you were able to get a job for your wife at this time."

"How much do you get paid? How many hours do you work each day? How much are you paid per month? How many meals are provided?" Cui Hongru was clearly more realistic than the others, and her questions were very down-to-earth.

"The kitchen job pays 200 yuan, and the cashier job pays 600 yuan. We get off work from 8 a.m. to 7 or 8 p.m. every day. We only leave when we've sold out or when there's no one left. They say they provide lunch and dinner, and we get 30 yuan a month. There are no other benefits," He Zhicheng reported.

Cui Hongru nodded: "The price is not bad. If Xiaojie works for half a year, she can earn back the money for the job. It's not a loss."

Zhou Jie was also very happy. She envied her mother-in-law for being so energetic every day and looking so spirited when she went to and from get off work. She had wanted to have a job before, but she had children to take care of at home and her family couldn't help much, so she put the idea down.

Now that her child is going to be sent to Shanghai, she was worried that she would be too lonely at home. Unexpectedly, her mother-in-law asked her husband to find her a job. She is already very satisfied with the current situation. As for whether the work is tiring or not, she doesn't think that washing and cleaning can be too tiring.

"When can I start work?" Zhou Jie asked.

“I’ll be reporting for duty early the day after tomorrow. I can take Xiaoli to school, but I won’t have time to pick her up after school. I’ll pick her up after school and then go back to work. After work, I’ll bring her home to have dinner with my parents, okay? But Xiaoli’s winter vacation is almost a month away from the Lunar New Year. Will he be left alone at home during that time?” He Zhicheng was still a little worried about this.

“If you’re willing, you can send Xiaoli to Jingyan’s place after winter break. There will be someone at home there all day long, so you won’t have to worry about Xiaoli not eating or dressing well. It just depends on whether you two are willing to do it,” Cui Hongru said.