Chapter 26

I did it because I have a child of my own. I wanted to earn a little good karma for her, so there's no need to be so polite."

"Young man, you're a father already?"

Lan Yeping sounded surprised.

Gu Jinshui looked barely past twenty. Lan Yeping hadn't expected him to have a child.

Gu Jinshui picked up Gu Yousi. "This is my daughter. She's two by traditional reckoning."

In fact, she was only eleven months old.

"What an adorable little girl." Lan Yeping couldn't help smiling. "Then you have even more reason to accept my gift. There's some milk powder in it, and a child her age can drink it. Please take it."

"That's right, Comrade Xiao Gu. It's Mr. Lan's way of showing his gratitude. He won't be at ease unless you accept it," Zhang Yun urged.

Gu Jinshui hesitated and looked at Liang Ying.

Liang Ying made the decision. "All right, we'll accept it. But you have to do us the honor of staying for dinner tonight. If you won't agree, we won't take the gift."

"That sounds wonderful! You were making spring pancakes just now, weren't you? They're hard to come by abroad. Looks like we're all in for a treat today." Lan Yeping agreed at once.

Zhang Yun smiled. "Then we'll share in Mr. Lan's good fortune."

Even so, Zhang Yun quickly sent Xiao Xu to a restaurant to bring back several dishes.

They ate at Old Gu's home. It was seven or eight in the evening before Lan Yeping and his party rose to leave.

Only then did the onlookers reluctantly head home.

In the East Wing Room next door,

Song Jianshe was so angry he couldn't eat.

"Jianshe, what's wrong? So you couldn't buy it. You should still eat." Lin Lianhua considerately put some stir-fried cabbage in his bowl.

Song Jianshe slammed down his chopsticks. "How am I supposed to eat? Do you know I saw that child trafficker on the bus today too?"

"You caught the trafficker too?"

After spending the whole evening envious, Lin Lianhua grew excited at once.

Song Jianshe's face fell. He lowered his head. "I was in a hurry to take care of something, so I didn't pay much attention. Who knew the boy's grandpa was such an important man?"

Beside him, Song Chaohua stared with her mouth open, disbelief written all over her face.

She had thought her father had missed the whole thing. Instead, he had seen it and chosen to do nothing.

Lin Lianhua opened her mouth, but for a long while no words came out.

Huang Xirong tried to smooth things over. "You can't blame yourself. Not everyone is as sharp as Gu Jinshui. Besides, that Overseas Chinese looked stingy to me. Someone saved his grandson, and all he gave them was milk powder and a few other gifts. Who'd care about that? It's only worth a few hundred yuan."

That's not true.

Song Chaohua didn't know how to explain it.

That Overseas Chinese was very rich. Later, he would build many shopping centers across the country, and many cinemas too...

"Mom, come here. Something's strange about this milk powder."

Liang Ying knew her daughter had a sweet tooth and didn't like porridge, so she thought she would open a tin of milk powder and let her try something special tonight.

But when she opened the tin, she found a thick stack of something inside, wrapped in red paper.

"What is it? Oh my, could that be money?" He Chunlian came over for a look. Startled, she hurriedly lowered her voice.

Gu Yinxing and Gu Jinshui couldn't stay seated. They crowded around as He Chunlian took out the bundle and unwrapped it. The whole stack was Foreign Exchange Certificates!

"They're all hundred-yuan notes!"

Gu Jinshui pulled one out and examined it under the lamp. "On the Black Market, a hundred in Foreign Exchange Certificates can get you a hundred and thirty-eight yuan!"

"Mom, give me one! I want to buy cosmetics at the Friendship Store!" Gu Yinxing said eagerly.

The Friendship Store accepted only Foreign Exchange Certificates. Gu Yinxing had long heard about all the foreign cosmetics there, but between her thin purse and her lack of certificates, they had remained out of reach.

"This money belongs to your brother and sister-in-law. You'll have to ask them."

He Chunlian was excited, but she kept her head.

Her son had saved the boy, and this was the family's gift to him. She couldn't decide what to do with it herself.

"Sister-in-law." Gu Yinxing immediately turned pleading eyes on Liang Ying. "My favorite sister-in-law in the whole world."

"And if I don't give you one, I won't be anymore?" Liang Ying teased with a smile.

"How could that be? Whether you give me one or not, you'll always be number one to me."

Gu Yinxing gave her a thumbs-up.

Liang Ying laughed and handed her a certificate. "Take it. After all that, I'd feel bad saying no."

Liang Ying also decided to give He Chunlian three hundred. "Mom, don't you need cosmetics for Peking opera too? Go have a look with Yinxing. Didn't you say Teacher Lin had a lovely scarf from the Friendship Store? You should buy one too!"

He Chunlian was a little embarrassed, but she accepted it without fuss. "All right. When we perform, you'd better come cheer us on."

"Of course we will," Liang Ying promised.

She counted twenty Foreign Exchange Certificates, worth two thousand at face value, though their actual value was certainly higher. The unexpected windfall left the whole Gu family too excited to sleep well that night.

The Thirtieth Day of Being Overheard

Good news really did put a spring in a person's step. Gu Jinshui got up that morning brimming with energy.

He put on his shoes, picked up the Snuff Bottle he had received the day before, and said to Liang Ying, "Honey, I'm counting on you to help Da Ya find a job."

"Leave it to me," Liang Ying said confidently.

Jobs in the city were hard to come by, but it helped to know where to look. Working at the factory, Liang Ying occasionally heard that someone wanted to sell a job.

As it happened, a relative of an older coworker at the factory wanted to sell one. Liang Ying had made a mental note of it, and now the information could come in handy.

As soon as Liang Ying got to work, she took advantage of the quiet to find Sister Deng in the Third Workshop.

"Sister Deng, you mentioned your cousin's family wanted to sell a job at the garment factory. Has anyone bought it yet?"

Sister Deng had been wondering why Liang Ying had come to see her. At the question, she said quickly, "Not yet. Are you looking to buy it? I thought your family had all the jobs it needed."

Liang Ying took a few sweets from her pocket and pressed them into Sister Deng's hand. "We do, but as luck would have it, a relative's granddaughter needs a job. Sorry to trouble you, but if you can put us in touch, we'll make sure to thank you properly afterward."

With the sweets in her hand, Sister Deng's smile grew warmer.

"That's easy enough," she said at once. "If she's your relative, she's practically family. Wait for me after work today, and we'll go over together. But let me warn you first: the job won't be cheap. It'll cost at least five or six hundred."

"We know. If we come up short, the relatives can pitch in."

Liang Ying didn't let on that she had money. Instead, she made a show of being somewhat hard up.

Sister Deng figured it would be a strain for Liang Ying's family to raise the sum. But it wasn't her own family's problem, so she didn't give it much thought.

After work, Sister Deng took Liang Ying to see her cousin.

Her cousin had three sons. Sister Deng said, "Everyone used to envy her for having so many sons. They could pull their weight and keep people from pushing the family around. But once they got old enough to marry and have children, things got difficult. The whole family has only two rooms. Where would everyone sleep? It's manageable before they marry, but what young woman would agree to squeeze in there? And none of the sons has a steady job. They just pick up odd work wherever they can. My cousin's about to retire, which would leave her job open. If she gave it to one son, the others would object. So she has no choice but to sell it."

"Isn't that the truth? Sons can be such a burden."

Liang Ying knew Sister Deng had only two daughters, so she added, "You're lucky with your girls, Sister Deng. They both have jobs, they found good husbands, and they bring you plenty of gifts for every holiday."

Sister Deng's smile turned contented.

It was true. People used to whisper that with only two daughters, she would have no one to support her in old age. But both daughters had married nearby and visited often with gifts, and her sons-in-law were thoughtful too. Sister Deng and her husband were living comfortably.

"Here we are."

Sister Deng led Liang Ying to a Compound Courtyard.

Her cousin's home occupied two small rooms in the east wing of the second courtyard. The moment they stepped inside, they saw belongings everywhere. There was barely room to move.

"Third Sister? Are you home?"

Sister Deng had bought some fruit on the way. It was inexpensive, but she hadn't come empty-handed.

Her cousin came out from the back, still working on a shoe sole. "Meizi! What brings you here? And why did you bring something?"

Sister Deng smiled and gestured to Liang Ying. "Third Sister, didn't you want to sell your job? A relative of my coworker here wants to buy one, so I brought her over. You two can talk it through."

Hearing that, her cousin became much friendlier. She set down the shoe she was making, poured two cups of water for Sister Deng and Liang Ying, and asked, "How much is your relative prepared to offer, comrade?"

"My relative's family isn't well-off. They're from the countryside. I reckon they could manage about four hundred and eighty."

Liang Ying noticed a greasy film on the grimy cup. She lifted it, touched it to her lips, then put it down.

The cousin paused, and some of the warmth left her face. "Four hundred and eighty is rather low. You know how hard city jobs are to find these days. And the work at the garment factory is easy, with no wind or sun to contend with. It pays thirty or forty a month. If I didn't need the money urgently, I couldn't bear to sell the job."

"I know you sincerely want to sell it, but we have our difficulties too. How much can a rural family save in a year? This would empty their pockets."

Liang Ying sighed. "Besides, I asked around. Your factory isn't doing well. Thirty or forty is what workers earn in a few good months. Usually it's just over twenty, with little in the way of food subsidies or bonuses. Anyone looking to buy the job would hesitate at those wages."

Liang Ying had hit the sore spot.

Deng Mei's cousin worked at a small factory with only a few dozen employees, and the pay was low. Otherwise, the job would not have remained unsold for so long.

If it reliably paid thirty or forty every month, someone would have bought it long ago.

Seeing the embarrassed hesitation on her cousin Deng Zhu's face, Deng Mei quickly said, "Liang Ying, that's not quite fair. The offer really is a bit low. Could you raise it?"

"Mom, is someone here to buy the job?"

A dark-faced man came in from outside. It was still cold in February, but he wore only a thin cotton jacket, hanging open at the front, and beads of sweat rolled down his face.

"Big Ox, why are you back?" Deng Zhu asked in surprise. "Have you eaten?"

"I have, I have." Big Ox waved a hand.

His gaze settled on Liang Ying. "Are you the one buying the job?"

"It's for a relative," Liang Ying said. She hesitated. "Though I'm not sure we'll reach an agreement."

"Why not?" Big Ox grew anxious at once.

Deng Zhu's face darkened. "This doesn't concern you. I'm discussing it with her!"

"Mom, we can't put it off! Hongyan's mother said if we don't come up with the money soon, our wedding is off!"

Big Ox was frantic. He looked pleadingly at his mother.

Deng Zhu was furious. She was trying to negotiate a price, and her foolish son was undermining her.

But Liang Ying sounded unexpectedly understanding. "I think the most we can add is another hundred. Five hundred and eighty is our absolute limit. I'd have to lend my relative that extra hundred myself. We truly can't go higher. If you agree, we can settle everything tomorrow. If not, we'll leave it at that."

With that, Liang Ying started to stand.

Deng Lan hurriedly caught her arm and shot Deng Zhu a look. "Cousin, say something. Will you agree or not?"

"Another twenty." Deng Zhu's lips moved. In the end, she couldn't withstand her son's pleading gaze and reluctantly gave ground.

Liang Ying was silent for a moment. She glanced at Deng Lan, then relented. "All right. For Sister Deng's sake, I'll pay that twenty out of my own savings. After all, I want this to work out for both families."

Sister Deng was especially pleased.

She liked Liang Ying even more now and turned to Deng Lan. "Third Sister, six hundred is plenty. That's about the going rate, don't you think?"

"Bring her here the morning after tomorrow. I'll take her to the factory