Chapter 78: Second Part

Chen Jialan had been frequently visiting Chen Baozhen's home to learn the accordion these days, but this time she looked gloomy and absent-minded. Miao Cuiye had sent back a message. This time, they had earned a collective second-class award, with everyone who went getting a share. Not to mention Miao Cuiye's personal achievement... except for her.

Thinking of this, Chen Jialan's heart ached with pain.

"Teacher Chen," Chen Jialan forced a smile when she saw Chen Baozhen. Both of them shared the same surname, and she had originally been happy to build a good relationship with Chen Baozhen. But now, she had missed out on the honor. If she had achieved something significant, her salary could have an extra 15% subsidy. Every little bit counts, as three more yuan a month would add up to thirty-six yuan a year, almost the monthly wage of an ordinary worker.

The proportion fluctuated based on the base salary, and there might not be such a good opportunity in the future. She had heard that they had caught a big case this time and even saved the rubber plantation from losses. Oh my God, they had become heroes.

"Why are you so distracted today?" Chen Baozhen was surprised. Chen Jialan often came to her house to seek guidance, and few who said they wanted to learn an instrument were as persistent as Chen Jialan.

However, when it came to learning an instrument, talent was the most important factor, followed by foundational skills from a young age, and then effort and sweat. Chen Jialan was not young anymore, lacked foundational skills, and had no talent. It was just a hobby for her, and she wouldn't achieve much.

Chen Jialan often used these opportunities to chat with her, clearly yearning for life in the city and asking many details about Chen Baozhen's past life.

Chen Baozhen didn't particularly like her visits. Even though Chen Jialan spoke of her love for music, Chen Baozhen couldn't feel her sincerity and found it false. But she had no evidence, and after all, one shouldn't hit a smiling face. Besides, she wasn't after anything.

But Chen Baozhen was reaching her breaking point. Although she was proud and had a haughty demeanor, it didn't mean she enjoyed being fawned over. Chen Jialan's constant flattery made conversations with her extremely tiring.

"Teacher Chen, I'm genuinely wronged for you, it's so not worth it!" Chen Jialan couldn't contain herself anymore, her face showing righteous indignation. Thinking of how Miao Cuiye had earned such merits, her heart ached with jealousy.

How could Qin Yao have such good luck? It made her furious!

"What are you talking about?" Chen Baozhen yawned lightly as she played the accordion. The harmonious melody made her drowsy.

Chen Jialan leaned closer and pressed on the accordion keys in her hand. "I think that Comrade Qin has been taking too much advantage of you."

"Teacher Chen, if it weren't for you, she wouldn't have married Captain Gu. You treat her as a good sister, but she only thinks of taking advantage of you."

"Captain Gu was initially your match, but now she's with Captain Gu, still joking around with you every day. Doesn't she feel guilty? How can she still claim to be your good sister!"

Chen Baozhen looked at her strangely. "Why would you say that? You're mistaken. Do you think it's a good thing to marry Captain Gu?"

"Isn't it a good thing? If not, how could she have married Captain Gu? There are plenty of other beautiful women."

Chen Baozhen's face turned cold. "Yaoyao is my good sister. If you say anything more, I won't let you in."

"Teacher Chen, I'm genuinely concerned for you. Listen to my advice and be cautious of your good sister. The women in our village have some wisdom. They say some people have an aura that drains others' luck. She has taken away your good fortune."

"Pah, stop talking nonsense."

Chen Jialan was about to say more when a broom came swinging at her head. Startled, she turned to see Gao Yingzi storming towards her, hands on her hips.

"My sister-in-law marrying my brother was the best luck ever. What are you barking about, you hussy?"

Gao Yingzi was furious. Chen Jialan's implications that Chen Baozhen's luck had been stolen by Qin Yao suggested that marrying into their Gao family was unlucky.

Enraged, Gao Yingzi drove Chen Jialan out. Chen Jialan dodged, but despite being trained, she couldn't resist Gao Yingzi in terms of physical strength.

Chen Jialan fled, leaving the family compound soaked and disheveled.

Meanwhile, Xiao Pan was visiting Jiang Dinghai's home next door, discussing his marriage with Jiang Xiaomiao. It was a topic he didn't want to talk about, but the conversation continued. Xiao Pan said to Bai Qiuling, "As a sister-in-law, you should really teach Xiaomiao properly. Being a daughter-in-law after marriage is different from being a girl before marriage. She can't be so lazy anymore."

Bai Qiuling smiled slightly. "When Xiaomiao marries into your Pan family, she will become your family. Teach her well, and she will learn to be a good daughter-in-law. She even said she wants to give you a son."

The original Bai Qiuling was eager to get the lazy younger sister-in-law married off and didn't care about anything else.

Xiao Pan gave a sheepish smile.

Jiang Xiaomiao promised to bear a son but didn’t guarantee anything else. She remained as lazy as ever.

Reflecting on it, he wished he had gone with Gao Yingzi.

Xiao Pan sighed deeply, remembering how well Gao Yingzi had treated him when she liked him. If he had married Gao Yingzi, she would have taken good care of him...

Just then, there was a commotion in the neighboring yard. Xiao Pan watched, stunned, as Gao Yingzi beat Chen Jialan, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

Chen Jialan... and Gao Yingzi actually won!

Breaking into a cold sweat, Xiao Pan suddenly felt that being with Jiang Xiaomiao wasn’t so bad.

Bai Qiuling whispered, “Our Xiaomiao is lazy, but she’s excellent in every other way. There’s nothing to criticize.”

Xiao Pan left, feeling too complex to express.

Gao Yingzi chased Chen Jialan away, returning with her broom, still fierce. “Sister-in-law, don’t listen to her rubbish.”

“I’m not listening to her.”

“I suspect that woman has a crush on Captain Gu. She’s jealous of Qin Yao. How shameless! He’s already married.”

Chen Baozhen nodded.

Gao Yingzi sighed, “Sister-in-law, you have real insight. A man should be with someone talented. Take my brother, for example, or that Captain Gu. What’s so great about him? He just has a pretty face.”

Chen Baozhen: “……”

“Sister-in-law, you’re the one who truly knows how to pick a gem.”

Chen Baozhen moved her mouth but decided to stay silent. As long as her sister-in-law was happy, that was enough. In her eyes, her brother was the best. At least she admitted that Gu Cheng looked better than Gao Jianguo.

“Your brother has a good personality and is a decent man.”

Gao Yingzi grinned widely, “Of course, my brother is perfect in every way.”

“Sister-in-law, I don’t think that Chen woman will return.”

Chen Baozhen nodded, then couldn’t help but laugh. After what happened with Chen Jialan, she wouldn’t easily agree to teach anyone again.

Later, Chen Baozhen recounted these events to Qin Yao as a funny story. When Qin Yao heard that Gao Jianguo had given a set of something to Jiang Dinghai, the original male lead, and said a particular line, Qin Yao was delighted.

Gao Jianguo, this man, was truly the foil to the male lead arranged by the original author. He was quite skilled at underhanded tricks.

After returning from the rubber plantation, Qin Yao organized her materials, wrote a detailed outline, and began writing every day. She didn’t overdo it, writing only 3,000 words a day.

*

At work, she prepared drafts in her mind and wrote down a thousand words whenever she had free time. When she got home, she wrote another one or two thousand words, which was almost enough for the day.

The frustrating part was the lack of a computer or typewriter. She found writing 800 words in high school exhausting, and now, writing 3,000 words by hand daily was definitely a physical task.

She hadn’t finished writing *Female Militia Member Ye* yet. Qin Yao’s salary increased after capturing enemy agents in the rubber plantation, earning her a major achievement and a personal medal, along with interviews from reporters and newspapers.

However, the most important thing wasn’t the recognition but the salary increase and the 200 yuan bonus. Her base salary was now 35 yuan per month, with an additional 10% personal merit reward, totaling 38.5 yuan.

Although it wasn’t much, Qin Yao was already quite satisfied. With the future monthly royalties, her annual income would definitely be considerable.

"Xiao Qin, congratulations! By the way, your article was praised by the higher-ups, and you'll get a five-yuan bonus this month."

Their publicity office had a bonus system. If a propaganda article was published or reprinted in a major newspaper, the author could receive a reward ranging from one to five yuan. The specific bonus depended on the nature of the publication; local newspapers offered the least, while provincial newspapers offered slightly more.

Getting published in local newspapers was the easiest, but not every article made it. However, everything Qin Yao wrote got published. Several reporters and correspondents had even taken her contact information.

Qin Yao's income was quite substantial this month. The one who suffered the most was Xiao Pan. Previously, as the new hire, Qin Yao had the lowest salary. Now, within just a few months, Qin Yao's income had surpassed his. Not to mention, she also received a 200-yuan bonus.

Xiao Pan, who considered himself an exceptional talent, felt extremely frustrated. He had been outdone by a woman who had only been there a short time. He couldn't believe it! He refused to believe it!

Qin Yao had outshone him in writing articles, and Xiao Pan felt that she had done so by cutting corners. He believed her articles lacked creativity and were merely crafted to please the leaders.

In martial arts, there's no second place; in literature, there's no first place.

Opinions on the quality of an article often vary from person to person.

Xiao Pan believed that Qin Yao's articles were valued because they flattered the leaders. It must be that she fawned over them in her writing.

Yes, he wasn't inferior to her; he just wasn't as good at flattering the leaders as she was! Xiao Pan consoled himself in this way.

Qin Yao even wanted to write novels and stories. Xiao Pan thought she had no talent and certainly wouldn't achieve anything significant.

Even after consoling himself like this, Xiao Pan still felt uncomfortable. Enemy spies, enemy spies, catching enemy spies—why couldn’t such good fortune fall on his head?

Xiao Pan also wanted such good luck, to earn merit and bonuses, to make a big splash, and to gain more respect in the Lao Pan family.

These days, Xiao Pan had been observing closely, studying which people might be suspected of being enemy agents.

*

Qin Yao tidied up the documents on her desk and left the office. Before she even left the hospital, she ran into Nurse Xu, who was once sentenced and dismissed for theft—the aunt of Yuan Li.

Yuan Li had been released due to good behavior, but the once unmarried girl was now thin and pitiful. Her family wanted to marry her off, but because of her criminal record, it was difficult to arrange a marriage. The family had asked Xu to think of a solution.

At first, Xu had hoped to marry her niece to a promising officer, but that plan had fallen through.

Meanwhile, Qin Yao had married Captain Gu and had even earned great merit, enjoying a life of success and prosperity. Seeing this, Xu felt particularly bitter, believing that Qin Yao had disrupted the feng shui of their family.

"Don't you feel guilty? Because of your rash actions, you ruined a good young woman, which is damaging to yin de."

"In the village, many elderly and children used to easily see unclean things. Those things tend to cling to people with heavy yin energy."

With a strange smile, Xu whispered these words to Qin Yao.

Qin Yao smiled slightly. "If we're talking about damaging yin de, it's the thief who does more harm. I've never done anything bad or harmed any good person."

If you have a clear conscience, you need not fear the knock of ghosts.

"What are you talking about, Xiao Qin? I don't quite understand. What yin de? You seem to be saying nonsense." At this point, Xu's expression became normal, as if she hadn't been the one to say those things. Her voice grew louder.

Qin Yao gave her a deep look. A chill ran down her back. This aunt of Yuan Li was truly a master of acting, with deep machinations.

Playing tricks like a ghost.

From that day on, Xu started to haunt Qin Yao, occasionally showing her an eerie smile. But when she interacted with others, she was once again the gentle, smiling, virtuous Nurse Xu.

Qin Yao watched her performance quietly. She thought, sorry, but ghost films were something she had watched many times. Since the founding of the country, no spirits can become magical beings. In the end, it’s either a mental disorder or a hallucination.

Bah! That won’t scare her.

After Xu once again showed her eerie smile in the corridor, and Qin Yao turned to leave, Xu felt immensely pleased. Scared, huh? She must be terrified. After all, anyone who has lived for so long must have a few guilty secrets.

Qin Yao will eventually show her true colors; it’s just a matter of when.

Xu Yun glanced around, unaware that someone was secretly watching her.

Xiao Pan – crouching in the corner – swallowed nervously. Over the past few days, he had been keeping an eye on Nurse Xu; he sensed something was off about her.

Patience, patience, he told himself, as he waited to catch her in the act.

His eagerness to prove himself was intense!