Outsider: The Fifth Young Master of the Kang Family

"That's enough, Miss. Is this correct?"

That day, my second sister-in-law went to the supermarket to buy toiletries. With so many people in the Kang family, it cost two or three hundred yuan to buy casually. When she checked out, she was told that she could participate in the lottery if she spent more than 200 yuan. So she went to the front desk to fill out the lottery ticket. The staff at the front desk took the lottery ticket handed over by my second sister-in-law and said, "No problem, you can use the lottery ticket and this tail ticket to redeem the prize after the lottery is drawn."

The second sister-in-law collected the lottery tickets and the last ticket and was about to leave. When she turned around, she saw a very familiar face. "Sister?" She called tentatively. The person turned around and looked at her. Then both of them were surprised. It turned out that the second sister-in-law met her cousin Sudan Hong.

"Wait a moment." Sudan Hong quickly filled out the lottery ticket and handed it to the person at the front desk, then pulled the second sister-in-law and said, "Aiya, you haven't changed at all, sister. You are still young and beautiful, and you know how to take care of yourself."

"I'm already in my forties, and you're getting prettier and prettier." The second sister-in-law praised, and then asked, "Why? Are you coming to Guangzhou to play?"

Sudan Hong shook his head and said, "No, I work in a supermarket now."

"Supermarket? You work in a supermarket, why do you come here to buy things?" Second sister-in-law asked in confusion. Sudan Hong replied: "My supermarket is far away, I don't want to carry it that far, so I come back here to buy it."

So that's what happened. The second sister-in-law chatted with her for a few more minutes and then said goodbye and went home. Before leaving, she asked her to come to her house when she was free.

As a result, only one day later, Su Danhong came to Kang's house with Su's father and mother. After a brief greeting, Su's father told the story of Su Danhong being fired from the supermarket. The second sister-in-law understood immediately, "She must have been fired because of her name."

"How could that be? Sudan Red is such a classic name, and it has so much connotations when you talk about it. It's really a perfect example of the integration of Chinese and Western cultures. Her father gathered the whole family together for a few days to come up with this name." Father Su couldn't stop talking about the past. "If you read the first part, Sudan, it's mysterious and Western; and Danhong, it has that kind of classical joy, and even Taiwanese people can sing it."

As he spoke, Father Su stood up and sang: "The red flowers of the mountain hollyhock are blooming, so bright red." Mother Su quickly grabbed him and pushed him back onto the sofa, then said: "Although he is exaggerating, when Danhong's father gave her this name, he consulted Feng Shui and said that she would be very rich and powerful, and bring good fortune to her husband and children."

The second elder waved his hand and said, "Do you know what Sudan Red is now?" Su's father and mother and Sudan Red all shook their heads, so the second elder revealed the answer, "It's an industrial pigment. A few days ago, on March 3, 'Sudan Red No. 4' was detected in chili sauces in Beijing and southern Hunan. I don't know how many factories and restaurants were closed. Now the entire catering industry is in turmoil because of Sudan Red."

"So her name is taboo, she must have been fired."

So that's the case. Su's mother said worriedly, "Doesn't that mean she will definitely not be able to find a job?"

"How could that be? Have you forgotten why we came here today?" Father Su smiled mysteriously, then looked at the second brother and said, "A Zong, can you let her work for you?"

"Would you like to come and work?" The second brother was shocked. He instinctively wanted to refuse. The three words "Sudan Red" were too lethal at the moment. No matter who you are, people would be scared as long as they heard these three words.

However, he was outnumbered. Su's father and mother, along with his uncle and aunt, joined the battle. He was quickly defeated and agreed to let Sudan Hong come to work in the tea restaurant. He could only ask Sudan Hong not to tell others his name when he went to the tea restaurant, and just say his name was Ah Hong.

Su Danhong had almost had her business closed down at Ruhao Tea Restaurant several times within less than a week after she started working there. The main reason was that she refused when others called her Ah Hong and she didn't realize they were calling her that. So Gillian asked her what her full name was, and she told everyone that her name was Su Danhong.

When people called her to work, she only realized it when they called her Sudan Red. She didn't respond when they called her Ah Hong. Many people who came to eat heard it, and they thought you used Sudan Red to cook. Some people listened to your explanation and then let it go, while others called the Health Bureau to report it.

In one week, the people from the Health Bureau came three times. In the end, not only Er Lao was fed up, but even the people from the Health Bureau were fed up and asked Er Lao to solve the problem quickly. Er Lao called Su Danhong to his office, and before he could say anything, Su Danhong asked to resign.

"Ah, Ah Hong, actually I can't do anything. Your name is really hard to deal with." Er Lao felt a little embarrassed when he saw her resign on her own. "But people's words are scary. They don't care what the truth is. If one person spreads it to ten people, ten people spread it to a hundred people, even if there is no Sudan Red, it will be regarded as Sudan Red."

"I understand, brother-in-law." Sudan Hong smiled and said, "So I plan to go back and change my name before looking for a job."

"Change your name?" Er Lao was stunned for a moment, then he agreed very much: "This is a good idea, Ah Hong, if you change your name, you are always welcome to come back here."

Su Danhong didn't expect to get a promise, so he went to Su's parents' house happily and told them that he wanted to go back to his hometown to change his name. Su's father was not happy when he heard it, "No, the name cannot be changed. As the saying goes, a person's name cannot be changed, how can a person's name be changed casually?"

"That was also a last resort. I don't understand why there are so many words in the dictionary but Sudan Hong. I'm not that lucky to win the prize." When talking about her name, Sudan Hong's face was full of resentment. Su's mother also persuaded Su's father: "Do you know that because of the name Sudan Hong, the main branch of Ruhao Restaurant was almost closed yesterday? Who would dare to hire her in this situation with her name?"

"That's right, uncle. Now people shake their heads when they hear the name Sudan Hong. I looked for so many jobs before but no one wanted me. I finally got a job in my brother-in-law's restaurant through my sister's connection, but you saw the result. How can I survive if I don't change my name?" Sudan Hong presented the facts and made sense.

Father Su was also very troubled after hearing this. He thought about it and decided to compromise: "How about this? How about changing to a fake name?"

"Is that just bragging?" Su Danhong asked. Father Su shook his head and corrected him, "It's called improvisation."

This improvisation caused Su Danhong to lose her job. She applied for a job at a supermarket. The manager was very satisfied with her and was about to sign a contract with her. But when she went to register her ID card, Su Danhong panicked and hesitated to produce it. Finally, the manager said he would cancel the contract and she produced her ID card.

"Sudan Red? So your name is Sudan Red? Then why did you fill in Sudan Red on the form?" the supermarket manager asked puzzledly.

Sudan's red eyes avoided the other party and said nervously: "Maybe I wrote it wrong."

"Just now you said you forgot to bring your ID card, and now you even filled in your name wrong. I think you are either a person with poor working ability or you are lying on purpose." said the supermarket manager.

"No, no, I was too nervous and wrote it wrong. Please believe me, Manager." Sudan Hong waved his hand and explained hurriedly. The supermarket manager smiled and shook his head and said, "Sudan Hong, you still don't tell the truth. Don't think I don't know your thoughts. In fact, the name is a small matter, but our company will definitely not hire someone as dishonest as you."

This made Sudan Hong more determined to change her name, and her father finally agreed, but on the condition that she had to change her name back to Sudan Hong after one year.

"What name do you want to change to?" Father Su asked curiously after he agreed. Sudan Hong shook his head, "I haven't decided yet."

"I thought you had it figured out." Father Su thought for a moment and continued, "How about this, remove one word from Sudan Red, and make it Sudan or Su Hong, which is easier to remember and sounds better."

Sudan Red shook his head vigorously and refused, "Sudan Red is everywhere on the street. No, I want something creative."

"Why don't we go ask Kang's uncle for help? He is a professor of Chinese, and it will be easy for him to come up with a nice name." Su's mother suggested. Su's father agreed very much and went out to Kang's house with Sudan Hong.

Kang Qirui happened to be at home today, and after they arrived, they exchanged a few pleasantries and then went straight to the point. After listening, Kang Qirui said, "Let me help you change your name? I'll say that this is definitely no problem, it's just a piece of cake. However, if you want to change back to Sudan Red in a year, there's really no need to change it, right?"

Kang Qirui was afraid that Su's parents would misunderstand that he didn't want to help, so he said, "If she really wants to change her name and use a new name from now on, I will definitely help her think of a perfect name. But if you just want to change your name because of the recent Sudan Red incident, and you want to change it back in a year, my advice is really unnecessary."

Sudan Hong sighed and said helplessly: "If I can keep it, I don't want to change it. I have used this name for decades and I am used to people calling me that. But if I don't change my name, I can't find a job. I can't just live off my parents at home, right?"

This problem is not really a problem in Kang Qirui's opinion. He smiled and said, "If it's just for work, I'll give you two choices. One is to work as a clerk in my friend Zhang Yongfang's clothing store, and the other is to work as an administrative assistant in my fourth brother's film and television company. These two positions have nothing to do with food, so people naturally don't care whether you are called Sudan Hong or Su Zhou Hong, hahaha."

Both of these positions are at the most basic level. No matter which one Sudan Hong chooses, it cannot be considered as nepotism. At most, it can be considered as taking care of her relatives and giving her a job to make a living.

Sudan thought about it seriously and said, "Then I'd better go work as a clerk in a clothing store. I'm afraid I can't be an administrative assistant. Companies like that should all use computers, right? I can't do that."

"Okay, then it's settled." Kang Qirui took out a piece of paper from the tea table, wrote down the address of the clothing store and Zhang Yongfang's phone number, and handed it to Su Danhong, saying, "This is the address of the clothing store and Zhang Yongfang's phone number. Call her when you arrive tomorrow. She works in the office upstairs from the clothing store. She will arrange for you then."

Father Su and his friends were very happy when they left Kang's house. Sudan Hong finally found a job that didn't dislike his name, and Father Su was happy because his niece didn't have to change her name. (End of this chapter)