Chapter 035: So What If It’s a Tough Bone? I’ll Show You How I Chew It.

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The Madam Peng whom Tian Xiang mentioned was the same woman who had grabbed Feng Rui that morning, asking her to find a wife for her son when the three of them were making rounds in the family compound.

On her first day at work, Tian Xiang encountered two disputes and one request.

The dog-cooking incident from that morning had practically been settled with the local police station’s intervention. What remained now was Yan Xiaomai’s problem, along with Madam Peng’s urgent need for a daughter-in-law.

Yan Xiaomai’s problem could not be solved overnight. Madam Peng’s matter, however, seemed simple enough. It was only a matter of finding a wife; surely someone could be found.

Chen Yong stared at her in astonishment. “You’re not seriously planning to play matchmaker for Jiang Gaojun, are you?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Tian Xiang asked.

That morning, she had carefully questioned Madam Peng about her requirements. The girl had to have a job, appeal to her son, and be from Red Fifth Street.

There were requirements, certainly, but they were not unreasonable.

Jiang Gaojun had taken over his father’s position and was also an employee at the machinery plant, though he worked only as a repairman.

Chen Yong looked at her speechlessly. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Come with me.”

The two of them went to the plant’s production department, one following behind the other.

Instead of taking Tian Xiang directly to someone, Chen Yong waited with her at the roadside.

It was almost time for the shift to end. After they had stood there for a while, men and women in blue work clothes began slowly emerging from several exits, some carrying bags and others holding lunch boxes.

Tian Xiang had never before seen such a spectacle involving thousands of employees.

“There are so many people,” she said. “Keep your eyes peeled.”

“Do I really need to?” Chen Yong pointed toward the crowd. “Over there. See the man whose legs are different lengths?”

Following his gaze, Tian Xiang unconsciously opened her mouth wide. “That’s Jiang Gaojun?”

“Of course! Now you understand why Madam Peng can’t find a daughter-in-law for him.”

Chen Yong laughed so hard he could barely stop.

Tian Xiang pressed her lips together and turned away.

Seeing that she was angry, Chen Yong hurried after her.

“Hey, hey, are you really getting mad? Let me tell you the truth. As for the affairs in the family compound, Teacher Feng and Auntie Qu have already settled most of the ones that could be settled. These are all old, deep-rooted problems. So what if we’ve taken them over? They’re all tough bones, impossible to gnaw through.”

Chen Yong wore an utterly unconcerned expression. “If the bones are too hard, we simply won’t gnaw them. Besides, we have two months. If new activities come up or other problems arise, we’ll do our best to solve them.”

Chen Yong knew what Tian Xiang was anxious about.

Tian Xiang could not be bothered to argue with him. She rode her bicycle home after work.

Two months, he made it sound so easy.

But if she failed to achieve anything remarkable, even Chairman Jiang, who had written her recommendation letter, would not cast his vote for her.

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Tao Huilan was a local of Red Fifth Street, with connections everywhere in the neighborhood. Everything would be more convenient for her.

Compared with Tian Xiang, an outsider from Sanli Lane, Tao Huilan was actually the more suitable candidate.

Tian Xiang rode home in a foul mood.

At the entrance to the communal courtyard, Hu Honglian stood waiting eagerly with a basket of vegetables. The moment she saw her daughter, she hurried over.

“Xiangxiang, look! I managed to buy half a pound of fatty pork. Tonight I’ll render it into lard and use the cracklings to make dumplings for you.”

“But Mom, didn’t you send all those ration coupons to Big Brother?”

Hu Honglian clicked her tongue. “Your sister-in-law giving birth is important, but that doesn’t mean I can neglect you! My darling daughter has started working now. You’re going to be a person of Red Fifth Street from here on out, so of course your mother has to spoil you a little.”

Tian Xiang was touched, but whenever she thought about work, she could not help sighing.

Seeing that her daughter was in low spirits, Hu Honglian quickly asked what had happened.

Tian Xiang soon told her about the two difficult problems she had encountered at work.

After listening, Hu Honglian gave a soft laugh. “They’re nothing serious.”

Tian Xiang stared at her in surprise. “Mom, you have an idea?”

Madam Peng wanted a daughter-in-law for Jiang Gaojun, and Tian Xiang already had someone in mind.

But she still had no clue how to deal with Yan Xiaomai’s problem.

Hu Honglian ordered her husband to render the pork fat and pulled her daughter into the room to speak in a low voice.

That evening, Tian We兵 cooked for the second branch of the Tian family. He made dumplings filled with cabbage and pork cracklings, choosing several with extra meat and shaping them like ingots. He ladled them specially into his daughter’s bowl.

After dinner, Tian Xiang returned to her room and took out a notebook. She began writing and sketching in it.

Jiang Gaojun.

Character tags: Passerby D — easily swayed.

Male, twenty-five years old. An unmarried older bachelor with no partner. Lame due to a congenital condition.

Mother: Madam Peng.

Character tag: Passerby B — sharp-tongued.

Proud and haughty, with ambitions higher than the heavens.

Requirements for a wife: Must be from Red Fifth Street, have a job, and appeal to him...

The next day, Tian Xiang did not eat breakfast at home. She left half an hour early, went to a restaurant on Rear Street, and bought two large steamed buns. She gnawed on one herself and wrapped the other to put in her bag.

When Tian Xiang arrived at the Zhuang household in Courtyard Seven of the row houses on Third Lane, Rear Street, Zhuang Ermei was in the middle of fighting her stepmother, Dou Yuegui.

While preparing breakfast, Zhuang Ermei had secretly ladled out a bowl of the dry food for herself. Dou Yuegui discovered it, and the mother and daughter were now attacking each other with a spatula and a slotted ladle, respectively, each aiming for the other’s head.

Tian Xiang pushed through the crowd to see what was happening and happened to witness Zhuang Ermei smack Dou Yuegui squarely in the face with the spatula, drawing blood from her nose.

When Dou Yuegui saw the blood, she angrily snatched up the kitchen knife from the chopping board.

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Tian Xiang was horrified. “Ermei, over here!”

Zhuang Ermei ran toward her.

Tian Xiang grabbed her and pulled her out of the crowd. The two of them mounted their bicycles and sped away.

Dou Yuegui chased after them with the knife in hand. “Zhuang Ermei, if you’ve got the nerve, don’t ever come back!”

Hearing this, Zhuang Ermei threw the spatula behind her.

She missed the woman, but the spatula shattered on the ground.

Dou Yuegui was so furious that even her eyelids twitched. “You good-for-nothing spendthrift! Now you’re forcing me to buy a new one...”

Tian Xiang and Zhuang Ermei did not ride very far. They stopped beside the irrigation ditch.

A little tired, Tian Xiang leaned her bicycle against a willow tree, put her hands on her hips, and panted.

“What happened? Why were you two fighting first thing in the morning?”

Zhuang Ermei explained that she had set aside a bowl of food for herself.

“That’s all?” Tian Xiang asked.

They had turned a single meal into this sort of battle, and once Zhuang Ermei went home, she would probably have to fight another round.

Zhuang Ermei gave a mocking laugh. “In your eyes, it’s nothing but a trivial little matter. But to me, it’s my life.”

“That’s not what I meant. I just think it wasn’t worth making such a fuss over one mouthful of food. If you really wanted to hide something, you could have hidden an egg or two yuan. If someone found it, at least you would have spent the money and enjoyed something good. Hiding one mouthful of rice is just too pathetic.”

Zhuang Ermei fell silent.

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about that anymore. Didn’t you start working on Red Fifth Street? Why did you come looking for me?”

Tian Xiang had gone to work on Red Fifth Street yesterday, turning misfortune into fortune. The news had quickly spread through the neighborhood, and everyone was green with envy.

Tian Xiang took out the steamed bun and handed it to her. “Eat something first.”

Because of the morning’s fight, Zhuang Ermei had overturned her bowl and had not even managed to drink a mouthful of rice gruel. She did not stand on ceremony with Tian Xiang and immediately began devouring the bun.

It was a plain bun, but it was made with white flour.

Watching Zhuang Ermei wolf it down, Tian Xiang shook her head and sighed. “Poor thing.”

“Ermei, didn’t you ask me last time to introduce you to someone? I happen to have a man in mind now. Do you want to hear about him?”