The third wife, Su Qinghe, said she was also helpless. She knew that her second sister-in-law just liked to overthink. But regardless of her thoughts, her second brother and second sister-in-law had already found her a job. So she couldn't make her second sister-in-law feel embarrassed. "Mom, second sister-in-law also means well. Dad said it's good to have a kind heart. I may not be able to do what she does."
Gu Ersao nodded quickly. "Yes, mom. I'm very interested. I didn't sleep all night..."
Well, the third wife can drink milk powder if she hasn’t slept all night, but she has to be scolded.
Gu Ma loved Su Qinghe now more than she could even describe. Of course, she was just talking, so she said to Gu Ersao, "Go to bed early from now on. If you don’t have the ability, why worry so much?"
"..."
Gu Ersao wiped away her bitter tears and decided to learn from her sister-in-law, work overtime, and continue working overtime at the unit!
She must be the last one to come home tonight! It's always good to learn from her sister-in-law anyway.
After Su Qinghe drank her milk, she hurried out. Anyway, she was the least busy at the restaurant. Before, she used some spatulas to level up. These past two days, she planned to take two days off and didn't intend to study new dishes. When she went to the restaurant, it was just to walk around.
When she arrived at the restaurant, she ate porridge and fried dough sticks with everyone and sat on the side reading a book... in a daze.
The new girl, Laixi, looked at Su Qinghe with envy.
Seeing that she was younger than herself and already a canteen master—so capable—and she was still reading and studying, she looked very motivated.
Laixi wanted to know what Su Qinghe was thinking, so when she wasn’t busy, she went over to find her. “Master Su, what are you studying? Are you going to night school?”
Su Qinghe was sitting on a chair dozing off with a book covering her face. When she heard this, she woke up and revealed a pair of round eyes from behind the book. “What night school?”
“It’s the school in the county. I heard there’s a technical secondary school you can apply for. Are you going to take the exam?”
Night school exam? Study in secondary school?
No way. Even though she didn’t have any formal education qualifications, she had studied for over ten years. She never planned to go back to school. The hard days of studying were terrible. She now earned a little salary every day, lived leisurely, did her tasks to earn some points and cash out, and waited for the reform and opening up in over twenty years... She would be old by then, and the children would be grown. She could open a shop and retire peacefully.
This life was going to be easy.
Seeing her expression full of longing, Li Laixi admired her even more. She saw that Master Su was young, capable, motivated, and eager to learn. No wonder even the deputy magistrate’s family begged for her to be their daughter-in-law.
Li Laixi couldn’t keep things to herself, so she told her aunt Li.
Aunt Li chatted while eating sunflower seeds and told Qiao Da.
In the afternoon, when Qiao Da was bragging, he told the purchasing department. So Director Liu found out.
...
After work in the afternoon, Su Qinghe went home early.
When she got home, she smelled something delicious. Deputy County Magistrate Gu was sitting at the table at home with a plate of peanuts in front of him. He was drinking wine and chatting with his son Gu Changzheng, while Madam Gu was sitting nearby drinking tea. When she saw Su Qinghe come in, she immediately stood up and walked over. “Oh, our young girl is back.”
Gu Ma’s voice was soft, and Su Qinghe trembled a little when she heard it.
“Mom, it smells so good at home. What are we eating tonight?”
“Your dad just came back with some meat.” Gu Ma looked very happy. “We’ll be eating some nice fatty meat tonight.”
Su Qinghe was immediately happy when she heard that. Her father-in-law was an old cadre and usually reluctant to spend money, especially on meat. This was great news—it looked like something had gone well.
Sure enough, when she looked up, she saw Deputy County Magistrate Gu smiling. When he saw her, he said with a smile, “Qinghe, come and sit. Eat some. Later, your sister-in-law will prepare the meat. Come eat with us.”
“Okay, I’ll just put my things away first,” Su Qinghe said happily. She put her things away and returned to the table. “Dad, I already ate, so I can’t eat much. I’ll just sit here with you all.”
Deputy County Magistrate Gu smiled. “Eat a little. Dad is happy today. You helped me a lot this time!”
Su Qinghe’s eyes lit up immediately. “Dad, what happened? Was it useful?”
“It was sent to the city’s agricultural science institute. They said there are some results, but they need to run tests. It will take a few days. Still, this is hopeful. Even if it’s just a little helpful, it’s a great thing.”
Deputy County Magistrate Gu finally felt something good had happened lately. Whether it would be a big success or not, he felt much more at ease.
Su Qinghe looked joyful—it wasn’t all for nothing.
Deputy County Magistrate Gu looked at Su Qinghe kindly. “Qinghe, you worked hard this time. It’s all thanks to you. If it really succeeds in the future, I’ll apply for a reward with the city. This is a big deal.”
Su Qinghe smiled shyly. “I just didn’t want everyone to go hungry, and I wanted to make Dad happy. I didn’t have any other thoughts.” Reward me, please! I’m really tired!!!
“Our Qingmiao’er is so sincere. She doesn’t brag when doing good things. Unlike my second daughter-in-law, who didn’t do anything but keeps showing off every day,” Gu Ma praised her while still criticizing the second daughter-in-law who had recently been unreliable.
“Mom, the second sister-in-law is also very considerate,” Su Qinghe said gently.
Gu Ma didn’t respond.
Deputy County Magistrate Gu realized his second son and daughter-in-law hadn’t come back yet. “Where’s the second couple?”
“Probably working overtime. Hao Mei and I were also going to work overtime today. If mom hadn’t called us back to cook, we would’ve still been at work,” said Gu Changzheng.
Deputy County Magistrate Gu was very satisfied. His son and daughter-in-law were now more motivated, which was a good sign.
“Working overtime is good. Let’s eat first and save some for them.”
When Sister Gu brought out the meat, Gu Lin and Gu Lei smelled it and came out from their room to eat happily.
Deputy County Magistrate Gu ate and drank with Gu Changzheng. Su Qinghe took a few yuan and went to wash up and rest.
Knowing she had been working hard recently, Gu Ma followed her into the room with a loving look and gave her a glass of milk. “You need to build yourself up. Look how thin you’ve gotten. Your chin is sharp now.”
When Su Qinghe lay on the bed and heard that, she immediately touched her sharp chin happily. Could she be turning into a melon-face beauty?
After Gu Ma left, she locked the door and lay on the bed to check the system.
She was already a C-level culinary worker—she could now be considered a real chef.
She decided to check the tasks for the next level promotion.
“Ten dishes will be randomly selected from the Man-Han Banquet as the evaluation dishes, which will be evaluated by the system.”
“…What? Man-Han Banquet? Sorry, I’ve never made that before.”
Su Qinghe closed the system task panel and looked at the jerky she made for Gu Changan in the storage space. She had already made five catties. After two days of rest, she would make another five catties and send them as a whole batch.
What should she write this time?
She thought about it and slowly fell asleep.
The old Gu family was almost done eating when Gu Ersao and Gu Changping finally came back.
Standing at the door, Gu Changping looked at his tired wife. “What’s wrong with you? Why work overtime this late? It’s important to be praised by the leaders, but you can’t skip meals. Others eat at their work units. Our food supply isn't tied to the unit. Why work overtime while hungry?”
“What do you know? This is called being motivated.” The in-laws liked motivated people—just like the eldest sister and third wife.
Gu Ersao opened the door with her key.
The family was eating deliciously.
As soon as she walked in, her son Gu Lin turned to look at her. “Mom, why are you back so late? We’re eating meat today, big fat meat!” His little mouth was shiny.
Gu Ersao: “…”
She had just worked overtime and the family ate big fat meat without her. How could she feel better after this... Oh oh oh...
...
After three days, there was finally news from the city. Some trial fertilizers had been made, but the effects were still unknown.
Deputy County Magistrate Gu asked to bring them back to the county. He thought about where to try them. Although the city had an experimental field, it was different from common people's fields. It was better to try it in real farmland.
“Dad, why don’t we try it at the Yellow River production team? I’ll go back and talk to our captain. I didn’t go back last week and I want to see my mom in a few days.”
Deputy County Magistrate Gu said, “Hmm, let me think about it.”
It wasn’t good for the daughter-in-law to step forward. If the fertilizer ended up being useless or harming the crops, it would affect her badly. She might not even be able to go back to her hometown.
Su Qinghe didn’t insist. Anyway, the Yellow River production team was the best choice.
In the evening, while resting, she made more jerky for Gu Changan. During the day, she wrote a letter asking about his life, telling him to take care of himself and eat and drink well. If he needed anything, he should write to her.
There was no other way—the money was coming to her. Changan probably wanted to eat but had no money.
After writing the letter and sending the jerky, Su Qinghe prepared to return to her family’s home.
Last week, to create a hardworking atmosphere, she didn’t return. This time, she brought pickled fish for her family to try.
She woke up early to pack her things. Gu Ma stuffed her bag full of items.
“It’s getting hot. Make new clothes for your mom. Take this brown sugar and drink it with water. Also, there’s some kudzu powder. Take these snacks home and eat them slowly. Don’t be too frugal.”
Gu Ma reminded her gently.
She now cherished her third daughter-in-law like her own daughter—caring and considerate. There was no difference from having a real daughter.
Su Qinghe couldn’t resist her mother-in-law’s enthusiasm, so she tied everything to her bicycle and rode home.