The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 166 - 163: Xia Lin’s Plan

Chapter 166: Chapter 163: Xia Lin’s Plan

Compared to the hustle and bustle downstairs, upstairs in the room, Gao Shu cuddled Xia Lin, coaxing her over and over again, "How about we go home this afternoon?"

"There’s no need, I don’t want to put you in a difficult position. After all, we are usually busy with school and can’t come back often. Now that it’s vacation and you still don’t come back, wouldn’t that just invite gossip?" Xia Lin’s words were all for Gao Shu’s consideration, but in her heart, she still had other thoughts.

Ever since their last argument, Gao Shu had been keeping a close watch. Over at the garment factory, she had come up with several designs and earned two hundred yuan.

But in such an open era, watching others surge forward and make loads of money, her anxiety grew.

Take Gao Da for example, she had always known that the fourth child and Lu Jingqiu’s cousin made a decent sum of money through the conveniences of the transport team. Just look at now; the two managed to get their hands on quite a few televisions, which was an achievement.

She knew that in her previous life, Gao Da and Yang Mingchao had parted ways, all because when the two were about to set out on their own, Gao Shu persuaded Gao Da to stay put, believing that having a private gig wasn’t as good as a state-owned job, which was stable and came with a pension for old age.

Ah, stability, a pension—Gao Da devoted his life to the transport team which later became a transportation company and Gao Da became a leader indeed. It was stable, but compared to the independent Yang Mingchao, there was no comparison. More than once in his life, he had heard Gao Da, while drinking, bring up these matters, with words and expressions of regret.

Gao Shu was good in many respects, but his only flaw was his tendency to patronize others with the air of a big brother. In his previous life, among the Gao Family, only Gao Shu had gone to college; the entire family believed he was knowledgeable and insightful, a civil servant, and also a leader. Big Uncle Gao also liked to consult with him on matters.

But Gao Shu’s insights weren’t necessarily far-reaching, and deep down, he still harbored some prejudice.

Therefore, during her visit this time, she wanted to discuss investment opportunities with Gao Da. She had money but no time, while Gao Da had both time and opportunities, so why not collaborate?

She knew previously that Gao Da was involved in trading goods. Because of Lu Jingqiu’s second cousin, she didn’t want to be involved, and besides, partnership businesses were never as good as doing it alone.

At night, when Gao Da returned, she was ready to discuss her plans with him in detail.

Compared to the liveliness of the Gao Family, Lu Jingqiu’s side was much quieter. Watching Hua Hua take the two children out to play, she sat in the yard continuing to knit the sweater.

Today, she had an appointment with Jiang Nanzhou to go check on the new house together, but he was unexpectedly detained by last-minute business and could only go by herself.

There wasn’t much to do today. When she arrived, she communicated with the two masons about laying the kitchen tiles and the style of the cabinets.

There were a lot of bricks, not just leftovers from demolishing walls but also some bought by Jiang Nanzhou, leaving quite a few unused. For the cabinet designs, Lu Jingqiu had drawn three sketches featuring the internal structure, exterior style, and the place for the sink.

These all utilized red bricks and cement, covered with ceramic tiles on the outside. After the masons asked about some areas they were unclear about, they got started, estimating it would take a week to complete.

The person Jiang Nanzhou found to paint the walls was coming the day after tomorrow.

Lu Jingqiu watched the two masters work for a while, their skill unquestionably superb. Seeing there was nothing more she could do, she rode her bike back home.

It was just past ten o’clock when she got home. With nothing else to do, she curled up in the yard to continue knitting the sweater.

Her aunt returned around noon, rushing back with two pounds of mutton, exclaiming, "Qiuqiu, two people from the mountains came to the restaurant today, exchanging over ten pounds of mutton for some salt and two big iron pots. I took the opportunity to buy two pounds. I’m off this afternoon, so I’ll make you some mutton soup tonight. Later, go tell your dad and uncle at the brigade to come back for dinner, and call Nanzhou over as well."

"Okay, Aunt, it’s just a shame that the second cousin can’t make it back from his truck run today."

"Don’t worry about your second cousin. He travels all over the country on public funds and eats better things than we do."

"You’re right."

In those days, pork was already in short supply, let alone beef and mutton. The last time the second cousin managed to get beef, she hadn’t had the heart to eat it, turning it directly into beef jerky instead.

Lu Jingqiu followed her aunt to the farmers’ market afterward, buying some side dishes and chili peppers, and helped prepare the mutton.

It was after three o’clock by the time she went to the troop location to find her uncle and father.

Her father wasn’t at the office, and her uncle was in a meeting at the moment. She left a message with a nearby young soldier, asking her uncle to come home for dinner and to let her father know as well.

After leaving the first floor, she went to look for Jiang Nanzhou, but unfortunately, he was not in the office either.

She turned toward the training field, but with so many people around, she couldn’t find him.

Just as she was about to leave, she saw Jiang Nanzhou under the shade of some greenery, dressed in camouflage, standing next to a young man in a green military uniform who looked quite familiar.

As she was thinking of moving closer, she saw the young man salute him and then run off.

Jiang Nanzhou then turned and saw Lu Jingqiu not far away, looked down at his watch and said, "Are you here to see me?"

"Yes, my aunt got a few pounds of mutton today. She wants you to come over for mutton soup tonight. Are you free this evening?"

"I might be free at seven."

"That’s just perfect. The young soldier just now looked so familiar."

Jiang Nanzhou smiled and said, "Do you remember the thief we caught after the New Year’s?"

Lu Jingqiu suddenly realized, "It’s that kid? He joined the army?"

Jiang Nanzhou nodded, "His name is Jiang Yuan. That day, I took him to his home. His parents were workers at the cannery, and they sacrificed themselves saving someone. Some unkind leaders at the factory saw the opportunity to take advantage of the siblings’ vulnerability and snatched away the jobs that were reserved for them. They gave the kids a few hundred yuan, but their grandparents took it away."

"That kid has spirit. He immediately split the family with his sister and lived in the yard left by their maternal grandfather. They scraped by doing odd jobs and making matchboxes for a living. That day, his sister was sick and had no money for treatment or food, so he thought about stealing. Seeing his first offense, and the fact he was struggling with his eleven-year-old sister, and the resilience inherent in him which reminded me of myself, I recommended him for the military."

"If he’s gone to the military, what about his sister? She’s still so young."

"His sister’s going to school. In the evenings, she stays with an elderly neighbor who’s given five yuan a month to care for her. The old lady’s son and daughter-in-law are rarely home, and she has a grandson and granddaughter, both about the same age as his sister; they go to school together."

"This kid just finished his recruit training and performed very well, so I transferred him here. That way, he can also go back to see his sister from time to time."

Lu Jingqiu gave Jiang Nanzhou a thumbs-up, "Nanzhou, you’ve done a good job." It’s not simply about giving aid, but doing what one can to create opportunities for others. Relying on others is never as good as relying on oneself.

Jiang Nanzhou was pleased with Lu Jingqiu’s praise. He took her aside to ask about the situation with the new house. After a brief conversation, Jiang Nanzhou took his leave.

It was clear that he was genuinely busy.

For some reason, the army training had recently intensified considerably. Typically, such intensity indicated that there was some situation afoot.

Lu Jingqiu thought back carefully and remembered her father mentioning that during those couple of years on a mission, he lost a very promising young protégé, something to do with feeling guilt toward an old comrade-in-arms.

With that thought, she felt a notion forming in her mind, but dared not dwell on it too much.