At the door, a woman in her thirties was leading a six or seven-year-old little girl, holding a handful of green beans in her hand.
Seeing Lin Chuxia, she smiled and greeted her, “You must be Mr. Qin’s family, right?”
“Hello, you are…?”
“I’m Sister-in-law Feng, Feng Dajun, from the Second Engineering Division’s family. We live just over there. I saw Mr. Qin coming with a female comrade earlier, so I knew it must be his family arriving. You two really make a handsome couple. I figured you just got here and probably haven’t prepared any vegetables, so I brought you some green beans. They’re homegrown in our yard, just take them if you don’t mind.”
The woman was quite enthusiastic, and Lin Chuxia glanced at the beans she held, but they didn’t look like they were freshly picked.
They’ve gone to seed, must have been sitting for at least two days.
Lin Chuxia, being new to the area, didn’t know anyone aside from Li Wei and Zhang Da Wei whom Qin Yang had introduced, let alone the relationship between Qin Yang and Feng Dajun, so she smiled and tactfully declined.
“Thank you, Sister-in-law, but you see, we don’t have anything in our dormitory and can’t cook, so giving me the vegetables would really be a waste.”
She subtly stepped aside, merely to illustrate her point, but to her surprise, Sister-in-law Feng’s child broke free and ran straight into the house.
“Mom, Uncle Qin’s house is so clean. Look at these clothes, they’re so pretty. Uncle Qin’s family has a lot of beautiful clothes.”
She pointed to the new clothes lying on the bed and the red windbreaker Lin Chuxia had taken off and placed beside it.
Sister-in-law Feng, looking a bit embarrassed, smiled at Lin Chuxia apologetically and quickly went to pull her child away.
“How can you be so ill-mannered? Mr. Qin is a proper university graduate and very capable at work. What’s so surprising about having a few nice articles of clothing? Your Aunt Qin clearly works an office job; of course, it’s different from our house. Our family has to toil in the soil to survive. Your father managing to work and bring us out here is thanks to our ancestors’ blessings. Don’t touch anything recklessly; if you dirty something, we can’t even afford to compensate.”
If it weren’t for Sister-in-law Feng’s stern expression, truly scolding the child, Lin Chuxia would have thought she was being sarcastic.
“Sister-in-law, it’s not that serious,” Lin Chuxia, for the first time in two lifetimes, didn’t know what to say to such an encounter, embarrassed.
Sister-in-law Feng waved her hand dismissively, “No, the child needs to be taught from a young age. If she’s not taught well now, what will become of her when she grows up?”
“Maybe you should take her back with you and teach her?” Lin Chuxia suggested directly.
She might not have raised children herself, but she knew that it wasn’t nice to berate a child like that in front of others.
Sister-in-law Feng paused, then awkwardly chuckled, “That works too. I won’t bother you anymore. We live right over there, second row, third house. When you’re free, come over and visit.”
“Okay,” Lin Chuxia agreed and then saw her to the door.
Watching Sister-in-law Feng come with a handful of beans and leave with the same, Chuxia really couldn’t fathom what she was thinking.
From a distance, she could still hear Sister-in-law Feng lecturing her daughter.
“How many times have I told you to behave outside? What kind of people are they, and what kind of people are we? Living under the same roof as them is already a blessing for us. How could you be fit to touch their things? Remember this, you’re from a rural area, not comparable to those city folks…”
Lin Chuxia: “…”
She didn’t want to meddle in other family’s affairs and went back inside to continue unpacking.
Meanwhile, in Minister Wang’s office.
“Minister, did you want to see me?”
Qin Yang glanced around the office; besides Minister Wang, there was also the Party Branch Secretary, Xu Qiang.
Minister Wang pointed to a seat, “Sit down, let’s talk.”
He poured a glass of water for Qin Yang, “I heard Liu Tao’s family came looking for you. It’s been two years since that incident; why are they coming to you again? I also heard something about twenty dollars. What’s that all about?”
Qin Yang nodded, “It was an oversight on my part. When I was bringing Liu Tao’s ashes back to their hometown, his mother couldn’t accept his death. She called the town’s elders to demand justice, or else they wouldn’t let me leave. Ultimately, I had no choice but to agree to send her twenty dollars a month until her youngest daughter came of age. Recently, I stopped sending money when her daughter’s age came up, but they came looking for me again.”
“Nonsense, how could such an important matter not be reported to the department?” Minister Wang slammed down his glass, “Liu Tao’s death was his own fault. He caused a major accident, and although it brought direct economic losses to the state, we didn’t pursue his responsibility, and the deceased are like extinguished lamps. Moreover, the unit even provided some humanitarian compensation. They’re being unreasonable.”
He certainly wasn’t blaming Qin Yang; Qin Yang was someone he had mentored, and he knew his character well.
Rough mountainous terrain can often breed stubborn people, and Qin Yang, going to Liu Tao’s hometown alone, would really not have been able to leave if the villagers had insisted on keeping him.
“This was an oversight on the part of our department too. We should have had the union assist you at the time.”
Qin Yang hummed in agreement, “I was just about to bring this up to you. Today, when Liu’s mother and daughter came to the unit, Manager Xu from the union was sent to handle it, yet he asked me to be understanding of Liu’s family’s difficulties and to give them more money. The union is supposed to be the backbone for us workers, but resolving the issue this way is quite disheartening. I don’t know if this was Manager Xu’s individual thought, or the union’s stance. I had planned to ask the union about this, but then you called for me first.”
Secretary Xu coughed lightly upon hearing Qin Yang’s words, “Mr. Qin misunderstood. Manager Xu is just young and inexperienced in handling emergent situations. I found out about the issue too, and that’s why I came to see Minister Wang right away. I hope Mr. Qin can understand the young comrades and give them more opportunities to grow.”
Qin Yang glanced at Secretary Xu, suspecting that Manager Xu’s brazen conduct was probably because she knew her father would handle any fallout.
“I can provide them with opportunities to learn, but has Secretary Xu considered the consequences of handling the issue this way? Our unit was in no way at fault, but now that Liu’s family has come to us and the union has capitulated, what does that signify? How will it look to the other staff? Is Secretary Xu intending to use the department’s reputation and credibility as a training ground for your daughter?”
At that last accusation, even Xu Qiang’s expression shifted slightly.
A heavy accusation like that wouldn’t just affect his daughter; he too would face disciplinary action.
“Mr. Qin, that’s a serious accusation.”
Qin Yang’s expression darkened slightly, not even sparing Xu Qiang a glance, indicating he wasn’t just speaking offhand.
Xu Qiang looked helplessly at Minister Wang, who had no choice but to intervene.
“I’ll take note of this. I’ll discuss it with the union, and about the money you’ve sent to the Liu family these past two years, we’ll sort that out for you too. But let me repeat, any future issues should be communicated with the department.”
Qin Yang’s expression relaxed slightly, “I understand.”
“I hear your wife has come to see you; do you need a few days off? Though there’s nothing but sand here and no scenic spots, it’s rare for newlyweds like you to be together; it’s important to spend time with your wife.”