A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Sun Yongxian thought that Chef Jiang was humbly asking Zhuang Qingxiang to come back and take charge of cooking, and she gave Zhuang Qingxiang a smug wink.

Zhuang Qingxiang, however, did not think so.

How could a head chef so easily invite an outsider to interfere with his work?

Sure enough, Master Jiang made an unreasonable request.

He wanted to invite Zhuang Qingxiang to come to the kitchen every day to teach his son.

Master Jiang is nearing retirement age. He has a son who works alongside him and has learned to cook very well. When someone in a nearby village holds a wedding banquet, they ask him to cook.

Master Jiang will retire in two years, and his son will become the head chef of the canteen after he retires.

He wanted his son to learn more skills, so he told him to learn from Zhuang Qingxiang.

"My son currently earns 35 yuan a month. If Comrade Zhuang is willing to come and take care of him every day, I can have him give you 18 yuan of his salary each month, whether it's tuition or your wages."

Zhuang Qingxiang's heart skipped a beat.

Eighteen yuan a month, plus five yuan from Director Lu, makes twenty-three yuan a month.

If I had the chance to go to the black market a few times a month to sell things, I could earn at least thirty yuan a month...

This is almost the salary of a full-time employee.

Zhuang Qingxiang almost blurted out her agreement, but Sun Yongxian was quicker than her.

"Master Jiang, that's not fair of you. My sister Zhuang comes over every day to work and teach your son. You're only getting eighteen yuan a month to teach away your best skills? You're a master craftsman yourself. Would you do that?"

Of course, Master Jiang wouldn't do that.

His face stiffened for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Teacher Sun, this...this is Comrade Zhuang's matter..."

Zhuang Qingxiang swallowed hard, and facing Sun Yongxian's piercing gaze, she dryly refused, "Master Jiang, this is indeed inappropriate."

"Look at you, kid..." Master Jiang said with a troubled expression.

Taking eighteen yuan from my son's salary is already painful enough; I can't just give it all to her, can I?

If she can learn it, that's fine, but what if she doesn't teach it? If a year or two goes by, our family's life will be difficult.

Zhuang Qingxiang was filled with anxiety, but she had to comfort the child and didn't have time to argue with Master Jiang about this matter.

Watching Zhuang Qingxiang gently coax the child, Master Jiang suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if something had come to mind.

This woman is a widow!

Isn't this just a coincidence...?

Master Jiang's smile widened: "I didn't think it through. How about this, I'll take the liberty of making a decision this time. Comrade Zhuang, you can come over and help for two hours every noon. You don't need to teach him anything. Let my son assist you. If he can learn, that's his skill; if he can't, that's his incompetence! But... I can only give you ten yuan a month."

Fearing Zhuang Qingxiang might be unhappy, he quickly added, "Look, you're taking care of the child at Factory Director Lu's house now, and you can't really leave to work in the kitchen all day, can you? How about you take on a part-time job?"

"If you work hard these next two years, when I retire and my son becomes a head chef, I'll talk to the factory leaders and maybe they can get you a permanent position, let alone a temporary one."

Master Jiang offered such a tempting offer that he didn't believe Zhuang Qingxiang wouldn't agree.

Zhuang Qingxiang was indeed tempted, but the price dropped from eighteen yuan to ten yuan, which really pained her. However, the availability of both temporary and permanent positions made her unable to move forward.

Zhuang Qingxiang desperately wanted a job where she could live in peace. She was skilled in kitchen work and knew how to do it; she wanted to stay!

Ten yuan is not a small amount, and you only need to come here for two hours every day. Who wouldn't be envious if you told others?

Before Sun Yongxian could speak, Zhuang Qingxiang eagerly agreed.

The two jobs together paid a total of fifteen yuan, and both were jobs she was capable of doing, which was really good.

With this fifteen yuan, I should be able to make a thick coat before winter...

Zhuang Qingxiang walked back with light steps and a cheerful mood.

Sun Yongxian: "Sister Zhuang, are you so happy? If you ask me, you're still at a disadvantage. Master Jiang's son will definitely try to steal his skills, so you must make sure he doesn't see it."

Zhuang Qingxiang smiled brightly: "You won't lose out, you'll get ten yuan."

"Tch... If you talk to Director Lu and ask him to arrange for you to work as a temporary worker in the kitchen, you'd earn more than ten yuan a month." Sun Yongxian said dismissively.

Zhuang Qingxiang's smile faltered, and she quickly pulled her back: "Yongxian, could we not tell Director Lu about this for now?"

Although the canteen job pays ten yuan, it doesn't provide accommodation. But Director Lu's family provides food and lodging. She's offended him these past few days. What if she gets kicked out?

"But this can't be kept secret for long." Sun Yongxian frowned, feeling that this was not a good idea.

Zhuang Qingxiang pursed her lips: "We'll keep it a secret as long as we can..."

Maybe she can appease him? If she does, he's kind-hearted and might not pursue the matter of her doing extra work.

Zhuang Qingxiang returned to Lu Congyue's house with this little thought in mind.

Sun Yongxian followed her back, put the child on the kang (a heated brick bed), and hurried back to work.

Zhuang Qingxiang was distracted while taking care of the child. She wanted Lu Congyue to come home, but she didn't want him to come back either. She was conflicted.

If she comes back, it will be awkward for both of them; if she doesn't come back, she won't be able to comfort him.

With a final burst of determination, she made a pot of steamed cakes. When Xiao Qianyue returned from kindergarten, she asked her to look after her two younger brothers. She then took the steamed cakes and headed straight for the old warehouse.

At this time, only the afterglow of the setting sun remained in the sky. We didn't encounter many people on the road. When we arrived at the old warehouse, we saw people on the roof.

"Director Lu," Zhuang Qingxiang called out.

Lu Congyue, who was busy on the roof, paused and turned around. He saw Zhuang Qingxiang waving at him with a basket on one arm and a smile on her face.

Lu Congyue's feelings were complicated.

He stayed in the office for the two days it rained, and didn't go home during the day. After the rain stopped, he moved to the old warehouse and repaired the roof after get off work. During that time, he only saw Zhuang Qingxiang once, and the meeting was awkward.

I didn't expect her to come today, and she was all smiles.

What do you want?

"What's up?" Lu Congyue asked, sticking his head out from the roof.

Seeing that he showed no intention of getting down, Zhuang Qingxiang raised the basket in her hand and said, "I made some food and brought it to you, you..."

"No need!" Lu Congyue refused directly. "I've already eaten in the cafeteria. I'm not finished here yet, so I won't keep you any longer. You can go back now."

After saying that, he continued working, trying to finish before it got dark so the roof would be repaired; he didn't want to waste any time.

Thinking of Zhuang Qingxiang's smile, he was somewhat absent-minded. After mechanically fixing a loophole, he turned his head to look, but he didn't see Zhuang Qingxiang's departing figure or hear her movements. He couldn't help but change his position and look down.

As a result, Zhuang Qingxiang was still standing in the same spot, holding a basket, her head slightly tilted back, her eyes looking a little red.

Lu Congyue frowned: Sad? He only said that one sentence... but she was quite blunt back then...

Just then, Zhuang Qingxiang saw him too, and the corners of her lips lifted again, but her eyes were filled with timidity.

"Director Lu, the steamed sponge cake I made isn't very sweet, would you like to try some?"

Lu Congyue stared at her.

Annoying! So annoying!