Chapter 300: Chapter 300

The young woman looked at her with a face full of surprise. Li Xianglu finally looked at her directly; the face did seem familiar, as if she had seen it before, but she couldn’t remember who it was.

Seeing Li Xianglu’s hesitant expression, the woman pointed at herself and said, "Guanzhong, remember? I took the bus to the province, and you hitched a ride in the same car."

Li Xianglu’s eyes instantly cleared up. Oh, it was her. But the way she said it was strange. It sounded as though that car was specially arranged to take them to the province to catch the train, but the woman made it sound differently.

With a slight smirk, Li Xianglu suddenly realized and said, "So you are that person from the Wang Family..." Li Xianglu saw that both their expressions changed before she continued, "who works there."

Zhou Qingfang breathed a sigh of relief. Although her mother worked as a nanny for a senior official’s family, it was still a nanny position after all, which was somewhat embarrassing to admit. She had no idea that this Li Xianglu would actually recognize her sister and even know her background. It was such a coincidence.

So she smiled and said, "Comrade Li Xianglu, this is my sister Zhou Qingxue, older than you, 25 years old this year."

Li Xianglu nodded indifferently and said, "Well, it’s just a brief acquaintance. Sister Zhou is too polite. You should go outside and talk. The director is still over there watching."

Zhou Qingfang quickly glanced and saw the director still standing at the counter watching them, so she hurriedly pulled her sister and headed outside.

Once outside, her sister broke away from her, looking upset, and said, "Sister, do you not want me to come? Didn’t I write to tell you I was coming? Why is there nobody at home!"

Looking at her sister’s attitude, Zhou Qingfang was infuriated and said, "What on earth are you doing in the capital? Without even finishing junior high school, what kind of job can you find?"

As soon as Zhou Qingxue heard the word "job," her eyes lit up, and she pointed inside and said, "Why is that woman working here? How could she get a job here? Sister, get me a job at the bank too!"

Zhou Qingfang was about to pass out. Her sister was twenty-five, but seemed to lack any common sense. Annoyed, she said, "That girl is a talented graduate from Capital University, sent here to intern. The bank was eager to have her. What about you? You haven’t even finished junior high school. Even the factories out there hiring apprentice workers at least require a junior high education."

Hearing her sister’s tone, Zhou Qingxue’s eyes widened with anger, and she retorted, "Is that how little you think of me? Are you even my real sister?"

Seeing someone else entering the bank, Zhou Qingfang quickly pulled out a set of keys from her pocket and said, "Alright, go back first. Remember to cook. Your brother-in-law and nephew will need to eat when they return." With that, she turned and went back inside.

That afternoon, Zhou Qingfang didn’t know why, but she made two mistakes at work. The director specially called her aside for a reprimand after work. Then, turning to Li Xianglu, said, "Comrade Li Xianglu, you are one of the young backbones of our bank. I’ll be going for training in two months, so starting from tomorrow, you will officially take over the personal savings business."

Li Xianglu was a little stunned and said, "Director, isn’t this too fast?"

The director, a middle-aged woman in her forties and with an accounting background, smiled when she heard Li Xianglu’s words, "My dear Xiao Li, it’s just a lack of confidence. Actually, you are doing very well, even more conscientiously than some colleagues who’ve been working for four or five years." She said this while glancing at Zhou Qingfang, who was standing by.

Zhou Qingfang’s face tightened, her hand clenched into a fist, jaw set firm.

Li Xianglu sighed inwardly. While the director had good intentions, this would bring her unnecessary trouble. How was she supposed to get along with Zhou Qingfang in the future?

Next, the director addressed everyone, saying that Pu Jianxin would take over her work for the next two months to ensure the business runs smoothly after she leaves.

After the director finished speaking, she left, and Li Xianglu went to the bank’s backyard to change clothes and then rode her bicycle. As she did, she saw Zhou Qingfang speed away on her bike without even a greeting.

Pu Jianxin also came out on his bicycle and, having witnessed what just happened, laughed and said: "Don’t take it to heart. It’s inevitable to encounter such things at work."

Li Xianglu nodded, comforting herself by thinking that only the mediocre are never envied. This must mean she’s quite exceptional.

While biking to the street corner, she saw Xiong Youxin waiting there, and Li Xianglu, feeling somewhat helpless, got off the bike to let him on and continued biking, asking, "Didn’t I tell you to go straight home after school and not wait for me? Why don’t you listen?"

Normally, this naughty kid would throw a tantrum, insisting on waiting and that it’s none of your business, but this time there was no response for a long while.

Li Xianglu got off the bike and saw a face behind her that looked like it could hang a ten-pound oil bottle from it.

She touched his already glossy black hair with amusement and asked, "What’s wrong, who’s bullied our baby Xiong?"

Xiong Youxin rolled his eyes and muttered, "They all say I have no mom and dad!"

Li Xianglu sighed, got back on the bike, and headed for a different direction instead of going home, prompting Xiong Youxin to ask curiously, "Where are we going now?"

Without responding, Li Xianglu rode directly to the Post Office, got off with him, and sent a long telegram, insisting not to change a word, so the sentiment would be fully conveyed.

A two-hundred-word telegram was sent, basically expressing that Xiong Youxin missed his mother and also a little bit of Mr. Qin, but not too much.

The person sending the telegram was utterly bored; are they crazy? It would be better to write a letter. A telegram costs fifty yuan! Fifty yuan is three months of her salary! Money to burn!

Li Xianglu didn’t bother with these details, and took the now cheerful naughty kid to Old Mo’s to buy a jar of stewed beef brisket, then to the nearby Overseas Chinese Store to buy two pounds of croissants and a large piece of cream cake.

They only got home when it was almost dark, and just as they reached the entrance, they saw Old Geng waiting there. He sighed with relief upon seeing them, quickly helped push the bike, and ushered them inside.

The naughty kid rushed into the living room with the cake and croissants, while Li Xianglu followed behind with a bag on her back and a jar of beef brisket in hand.

As they reached the second entrance, they met Qin Xi coming out to greet them, who helped carry the backpack and took the ceramic jar, almost as if wishing he could carry her into the house, which amused Li Xianglu: "What are you doing? I’m not a porcelain doll, look at you, being so careful."

Qin Xi’s gaze deepened as he cautioned her to watch the steps before following her into the house.

Once inside, they saw the naughty kid had already opened the cake and was showing off. Su Yan’s gaze swept over Li Xianglu’s lower body in a peculiar manner before she reproachfully said, "If you’re going out to shop, let the family know first. Your grandfather went out to look for you several times."

Li Xianglu sat next to the old man and acted coquettishly, saying, "It’s alright, I just went out to buy some food, including the jar of beef brisket Grandpa loves to eat."