Chapter 60: Su He Writes Back to Gu Chiyan
The next morning, when Su He got up, Su Yongshi and his wife were already out. Only Su Jinbao was in the courtyard, energetically swinging a wooden stick around.
That’s when Su He remembered—it was Sunday.
She took out the breakfast Cao Hongmei had left for her, ate a few bites casually, and then pulled out pen and paper to write a letter to her “dear best friend,” Luo Xiaoling.
“Xiaoling:
Your suggestion last time to apply to the County Drama Troupe—I think it’s a good one.
Unfortunately, before I even had a chance to apply, I ran into a beast of a man. His name is Lin Bo…
Yesterday at the police station, he said someone had already set their sights on me. Could this mean he was acting under someone else’s orders?
Could you help me investigate this?
Also, Xiaoling, life has been difficult for me lately. If you’re doing well financially, could you send me some Huaxia currency again?”
Su He’s lips curved slightly into a smile. She was confident that after receiving this letter, Luo Xiaoling would make sure Lin Bo kept his mouth shut—and would probably have him sent off to some backwater for “reform through labor.”
Suddenly, Su He shivered as a thought struck her—she’d forgotten to reply to Gu Chiyan’s letter!
She had intended to keep him hanging, but if she strung him along too long, she might lose the fish altogether.
She quickly pulled out Gu Chiyan’s letter, reread it for review, and then began her reply:
“Comrade Gu Chiyan,
I hope this letter finds you well.
I have received your letter and was delighted to hear that the Heimlich maneuver will soon be promoted. It brings me great joy to know that many more people will benefit from it.
The way you described the beauty of the capital made me long to see it with my own eyes. If I ever have the chance, I will definitely visit.
Old Man Ge has been very kind to me, and I’ll be sure to take good care of him and keep you informed of his condition regularly.
On another note—please forgive my boldness—I would like to ask a favor.
Our Huaihua Commune is currently working with the textile factory on a hair accessory business.
If time allows, could you help me look into the hair accessory market in the capital?
I would be deeply grateful if you could write back with any information you find.
Yours sincerely,
Su He”
After reviewing the letter to make sure there were no mistakes, she signed it with her name and the date.
One Old Man Ge wasn’t enough to keep the correspondence flowing. With so many distractions in the capital, she needed to ensure Gu Chiyan kept thinking about her. Having him investigate the hair accessory market would cost him time and effort, which would naturally deepen his impression of her.
Su He placed both letters into her little crossbody bag and took Su Jinbao along to the post office.
Su Jinbao blinked at her curiously. “Sis, who are you writing to?”
Su He stuffed two pieces of chocolate into his hands, and he immediately fell silent.
She bought two envelopes, slipped the letters in, and carefully filled in the addresses. Then she triple-checked to make sure the letters weren’t mixed up before dropping them into the mailbox.
Afterward, she took Su Jinbao to Old Madam He’s house to keep the old couple company.
Older folks had no resistance to kids. Even though Su Jinbao wasn’t exactly obedient or sensible, the elderly couple laughed so much they couldn’t close their mouths. They even brought out all their best snacks for him.
Jinbao felt like a little mouse who had fallen into a jar of honey—he was so delighted his nose ran bubbles.
Unfortunately, his happiness didn’t last long. Su He promptly began instructing him to do chores.
Poor Jinbao, who wouldn’t even lift a tipped oil bottle at home, was now being ordered around like a little laborer—sweeping, mopping, wiping tables…
Old Madam He was distressed, and Grandpa He disapproved, but they couldn’t overrule Su He. They could only watch helplessly as little Jinbao toiled away.
He thought to himself: My cousin is scarier than the Big Bad Wolf!
The wolf might eat children, but Su He tortured them!
Once the place was tidied up, Su He left Jinbao in Old Madam He’s care and went off to visit Teacher Yuan.
She came back to pick him up around dusk.
His coat pockets were bulging with snacks.
“Sis, I’m coming back next Sunday to help Old Madam He again!”
Su He smirked to herself. Help? Yeah right. You’re just here for the snacks.
She didn’t call him out, though. Instead, she took him to buy a slab of pork belly and headed home.
As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, they heard Cao Hongmei’s furious shouting and sobbing from inside.
“It was Lü Xiaohua and the others who started it! I only fought back to defend myself! Why did Meng Yanjiao fire me?!”
“First she put a negative comment on my regularization form, and now she’s firing me—she’s clearly targeting me! Does she think I’m that easy to bully?!”
“If worst comes to worst, we’ll all go down together. If I’m ruined, she’s not going to get away clean either!”
Inside, another woman’s voice was trying to calm her down, suggesting that maybe things could still be resolved.
Su He nudged Jinbao, who quickly called out, “Mom, I’m home!”
The shouting stopped abruptly.
When Su He walked into the house, she saw not only Cao Hongmei, whose eyes were swollen and face scratched, but also a slightly chubby woman.
“Xiao He, you’re back? This is your Aunt Lu.”
Lu Xiang had heard of Su He before, but had never met her. One look and she thought, No wonder people gossip. This girl really is striking.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Aunt Lu made an excuse to leave.
The moment she was gone, Cao Hongmei burst into tears again.
“Xiao He, that Meng Yanjiao is a monster!
I wanted to tell you yesterday, but after what you went through, I didn’t want to upset you further.
You wouldn’t believe it—yesterday, when I got my regularization form, I was overjoyed!
But after I filled it out, Meng Yanjiao wrote ‘Disagree’ right on it!
With her disapproval, my chance of becoming a full-time worker is ruined!
And not just me—your second uncle’s form was also suppressed by his workshop supervisor, Shen Gang.
I’m sure she talked to Shen Gang beforehand.
She’s clearly out to get the both of us!”
Meng Yanjiao was Cao Hongmei’s workshop supervisor—the same woman who had once tried to push Su He into marrying Zhao Bin.
Su He frowned. “What about the fight?”
“After work, I overheard some old women gossiping.
They said you were first bullied by Zhao Bin, then targeted by Lin Bo.
Said things like, ‘Flies don’t land on uncracked eggs,’ implying you’re not decent—that you bring trouble upon yourself…
I couldn’t stand it and confronted them.
When they couldn’t out-argue me, they started hitting me!
And then that wretched Meng Yanjiao claimed I violated factory rules and wanted to fire me!
Can you believe that? Lü Xiaohua and the others attacked me first, and they’re fine, but I get fired?!”
A glint of coldness flashed through Su He’s eyes.
She said, “Second Aunt, don’t cry. Give me the names of the women who hit you. Tomorrow, go to work like usual, pretend nothing happened. If they do fire you, just stay home. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Cao Hongmei gave her the names and asked anxiously:
“Xiao He, what are you planning? Even if you know Engineer He and Director Gao, they’re not in charge of production. I’m afraid they can’t help.
And Meng Yanjiao’s a long-timer—if you can’t take her down, you might just end up hurting yourself.”
