Chapter 27: The Mission

"I don't know." Su Qiqi had told Grandmother Su about Su Yanchu landing a job on purpose.

"Grandma, I think if you just ask around, you should be able to find out where they live."

"What use are you?"

Grandmother Su slapped Su Qiqi across the face.

The county town was neither large nor small, and ever since Su Da moved into the city, Su Yunzhi had stopped coming back. Finding out where they lived was not an easy task.

"...Grandma..."

Su Qiqi took the slap, feeling her right cheek go numb with pain.

"Crying, crying, all you know is crying! You’ve cried away all the good fortune of this family!"

Grandmother Su scolded her irritably, "Get out and cook!"

Su Qiqi covered her red, swollen right cheek and went into the kitchen. Her hatred for Su Yanchu grew even deeper.

...

When Su Dawei and Qin Jiuhong returned from work, Su Yanchu told them she had secured a job position and had already sold it.

"My daughter is amazing, earning eight hundred yuan so easily," Su Dawei exclaimed in admiration.

Thinking back, he had spent seven hundred yuan just to buy his own job.

"If you kept taking recruitment exams, we’d be rich! Why would you even need to work? You could just take the exams, earn a lump sum, and wait for the economic reforms."

"Where are you going to find that many recruitment exams?" Qin Jiuhong rolled her eyes at Su Dawei.

"That's true," Su Dawei said, scratching his head.

Jobs nowadays were scarce, and most factories were already fully staffed; there weren't many places hiring.

"Chuchu, keep the money yourself," Qin Jiuhong said after finishing dinner, preparing to wash up and go to bed.

"Mm," Su Yanchu replied, heading off to read for a while before sleeping.

...

Time passed quickly, and the day arrived for Su Yanchu to report to her school in the provincial capital.

Since it was the provincial capital, the distance was significant, so she had to take the train.

In this era, the cutoff scores for technical secondary schools were higher than for high schools, and graduates were guaranteed government-cadre status, making them a top choice for many ordinary families.

Moreover, attending a technical school came with monthly food rations and subsidies—the benefits were undeniable.

Su Yanchu was up early with her luggage, ready to head to the train station.

"Take good care of yourself out there. Should your father and I go with you to the school dormitory?"

Having lived two lifetimes, Qin Jiuhong still hadn't fully adjusted to Su Yanchu being so far away.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll come home to visit when I'm on break," Su Yanchu said, not worried about Qin Jiuhong and Su Dawei encountering any difficult people. Even if they did, the two of them could handle it.

"Come home often," Su Dawei added.

"I will," Su Yanchu promised.

Because she carried her spatial storage with her, Su Dawei and Qin Jiuhong had been well-provided for over the past few years. Before leaving, she had left behind plenty of supplies, and she would bring more long-lasting items whenever she returned home.

Despite Su Yanchu’s repeated insistence that they stay, Qin Jiuhong and Su Dawei still saw her off onto the train.

The train ride to the provincial capital took over an hour, so Su Yanchu had prepared plenty of food.

...

After an hour on the train, Su Yanchu arrived at the main gate of the Qingzhou Mechanical School.

She completed her registration and headed to the dormitory as assigned by the school. Exhausted from the journey, she tidied up briefly before lying down on her single bed to sleep. As for her roommates, she would get to know them tomorrow.

...

The next day, Su Dawei woke up and immediately went to wash up.

"Morning, honey."

After washing, he planted a kiss on Qin Jiuhong’s cheek.

"Eat your breakfast."

Qin Jiuhong wiped her face with a look of slight distaste.

"Alright, alright, thank you for your hard work, my dear wife."

Su Dawei picked up a meat bun from the table and took a bite. He had long since grown accustomed to Qin Jiuhong’s feigned coldness; in fact, he quite enjoyed it.

After breakfast, they left for work. Qin Jiuhong headed straight to the Street Office, which employed only a dozen people.

It was mostly women, along with a few men who were typically part of the patrol team, responsible for catching spies and maintaining regional security. After all, in this era, spies and bandits were still quite common.

Upon arriving at the office, Qin Jiuhong heard Sister Xu, who had arrived earlier, teasing her: "Jiuhong, you're later than yesterday. Did your husband work you too hard last night?"

Sister Xu had been at the Street Office for years and was currently a second-level clerk; both her salary and seniority were higher than Qin Jiuhong’s.

"Oh, Sister Xu, please don't tease me."

Even though Qin Jiuhong and Su Dawei had been married for years, she couldn't help but blush at such teasing from an outsider.

"Say, let me ask you one thing, sister."

"Sister Xu, what is it?" Qin Jiuhong felt a sense of foreboding but replied, "Go ahead and ask!"

"You and your husband are still quite young, aren't you planning on having another one?" Sister Xu asked with a playful look.

"We're too old now. Besides, I had complications after having my daughter, so I can't," Qin Jiuhong waved her hand.

"What a pity." Sister Xu looked disappointed and was about to say something else when Director Cai walked in.

"Jiuhong, there's a big task from the provincial level today that needs your attention."

"Director Cai, please tell me!" Qin Jiuhong turned her full attention to her.

"Last Tuesday, the Great Leader promulgated the 'Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security.' This is a good thing; it will help us and the police force punish minor illegal acts according to the law. The higher-ups now require every street office to promote this vigorously so that the common people are aware of it," Director Cai explained.

"That doesn't sound too difficult," Qin Jiuhong said.

"Then I’m assigning this task to you," Director Cai said. "Write a first draft in the next two days."

"No need for two days, Director Cai. I can write a draft for you to look at right now."

Before the apocalypse in her previous life, Qin Jiuhong had worked in community outreach for a time. She had written countless similar proposals based on the collective wisdom of seasoned professionals; any one of them could be adapted to fit this situation.

"Very well, write it now. I'll wait here for you," Director Cai nodded.

"Then please wait a moment, Director Cai." Qin Jiuhong took paper and a fountain pen from her drawer and began to write.