Back To The 80s-Chapter 27: Work_1

Chen Qiumei, seeing the increasingly heated dispute between the two, scolded loudly, "Enough, it’s early morning why are you fussing about? If Xiaobei doesn’t want to go, we’ll find something else."

Gu Xiaobei thought this was a rare, fair statement. Gu Xiaodong fell silent, sullen-looking, contemplating on his own. Liu Mei, throughout the whole argument, didn’t even raise an eyelid, simply eating her breakfast.

Gu Xiaobei felt like she was living her life relying on acting skills alone. Given her hot temper, she would have confronted Gu Xiaodong and argued with him relentlessly by now.

So, after breakfast, Gu Xiaobei decided to go out to cool off her anger a little. She spoke to Chen Qiumei and then left.

After wandering around the city, she unexpectedly bumped into Chi Xiaoyue. Gu Xiaobei didn’t understand, didn’t Chi Xiaoyue have to work? Why did she always seem to have so much free time?

However, Chi Xiaoyue today seemed a bit haggard, with dark circles under her eyes and overall just looked very down and out. Gu Xiaobei felt she looked much like someone who’d overindulged in pleasures. Suddenly covering her mouth, she pieced together the fact that Chi Xiaoyue had been with a man the previous day and now looked like this. It seemed like she had figured out the truth.

Chi Xiaoyue, seeing Gu Xiaobei on the other side covering her mouth, looking at her in shock, felt somewhat annoyed. The last person she wanted to see in her current state was Gu Xiaobei, yet ironically she had run into her anyway.

"Are you pleased to see me like this?" Chi Xiaoyue asked reproachfully.

"What does your state have to do with me? I’m just surprised you dared to go out looking like this." Gu Xiaobei retorted, never one to mince her words.

"Hmph, don’t think that just because Brother Zhanguo married you, that you’re all he thinks about." Chi Xiaoyue couldn’t accept this fact.

"Even if he doesn’t have me, he wouldn’t have you." Gu Xiaobei despised such clichéd drama.

Chi Xiaoyue scoffed coldly, "You don’t have to pretend. We’ll see how long you can stay smug for." After saying this, she dramatically turned and left.

Could there be another love interest hidden somewhere? The thought of someone else vying for Lu Zhanguo’s affections made her uncomfortable.

Gu Xiaobei, preoccupied with these thoughts, walked straight into someone, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry."

Gu Xiaobei was quite angry originally, but seeing the other person apologizing immediately, she restrained herself. But once she took a closer look at the man who bumped into her, she saw that it was the same man who’d been with Chi Xiaoyue the day before.

She responded calmly, "No worries." She had no desire to get involved with anyone associated with Chi Xiaoyue. After saying this, she turned around and headed home with no interest in shopping anymore.

The man who’d bumped into her watched her leave, a calculating look flashed across his face.

By the time Gu Xiaobei returned home, it was already past lunchtime. Chen Qiumei was knitting on the sofa. She looked up at Gu Xiaobei as she walked in, "Have you eaten? There’s some leftover buns and vegetables in the pot." Gu Xiaobei acknowledged this, changed her shoes, washed her hands, and then took a bun and some vegetables to the coffee table next to the sofa and sat down to eat. The most common dish at the end of April was scrambled eggs with leek.

"Your brother said he’s bringing a friend for dinner tonight, told you to stay put." Chen Qiumei said.

"What does his friend coming for dinner have to do with me?" Gu Xiaobei asked somewhat unhappily.

"Enough, he probably thinks that it would be too much for me to do all the cooking by myself, and wants you to lend a hand." Chen Qiumei always sided with her son.

"I really don’t know how to cook." Gu Xiaobei grumbled. She firmly refused to cook for people she didn’t like.

For dinner, Chen Qiumei had gone all out. She’d cooked braised pork, braised fish, scrambled eggs with leek, stir-fried bean curd with celery, braised tofu with spring onions, stir-fried fungus with meat, and spinach egg soup. The only seasonal vegetables at this time were leek, celery, spinach, and baby bok choy.

Just as the dishes were served, Gu Xiaodong walked in with a man. It was apparent that Gu Xiaodong was in high spirits today, he even quipped, "We just arrived in time."

Gu Xiaobei just put the soup down on the table. She looked up to see the man Gu Xiaodong had brought in, and was genuinely surprised. It was the man who had bumped into her that morning.

The man smiled and winked at the surprised Gu Xiaobei, then followed Gu Xiaodong into the kitchen to wash his hands before sitting down at the dining table.

Gu Xiaodong introduced his friend to Chen Qiumei and Gu Xiaobei, "This is my friend Gao Dailin. He owns his own trading company."

He then introduced Chen Qiumei and Gu Xiaobei to Gao Dailin. Gao Dailin greeted them with a smile, "Aunt, I apologize for the inconvenience today." Chen Qiumei politely brushed it off.

He then nodded at Gu Xiaobei, "Hi Xiaobei, as your brother’s friend, consider me your brother as well. If you need anything, feel free to ask. I’ll be sure to help whenever I can."

Gu Xiaobei gave a little nod and kept quiet, thinking to herself that one annoying brother was more than enough, she didn’t want another one.

Gu Xiaodong chimed in, "Gao’s company is doing very well. If you want to get a job, you could work at Dailin’s company."

Gao Dailin spoke enthusiastically, "Xiaobei, you’re job hunting? What kind of job are you looking for? If there are no suitable positions in my company, I have a few friends in T City, I could help arrange something."

Gu Xiaobei felt that Gao Dailin spoke very tactfully, suggesting options without pressing. She also acknowledged that she didn’t really have any special skills. If she admitted that she knows English, she would have to take the trouble to explain to Gu Xiaodong and his friends how she, who didn’t even finish high school, could be so proficient in English. After thinking it over, she finally said, "I didn’t even finish high school. I just want to find a job where I can learn some new skills."

"I happen to need a secretary in my office. You could use your spare time to learn some accounting. Of course, it depends on you, see if you like it. Work is not just about the job." Gao Dailin suggested, without appearing overly eager.

His words made Gu Xiaobei feel comfortable. She chuckled, "Thank you, Gao. I’ll think about it."

"Alright, if you feel good about it, come to work on next Monday. Your brother knows the location of my company, he can take you there." Gao Dailin Oput very gently.

Seeing that his sister was somewhat receptive, Gu Xiaodong was naturally happy. This made the meal quite enjoyable. Liu Mei, though, hadn’t come back. She didn’t know what kept Liu Mei busy recently.

Once Gu Xiaodong had seen Gao Dailin out, Chen Qiumei talked to Gu Xiaobei, "I still think you should go to the street office. Their jobs are stable. Running a company isn’t that easy." The reform had just opened up, and there weren’t many people running their own businesses. Chen Qiumei felt that a "iron rice bowl" was much more reliable.

However, Gu Xiaobei felt that learning accounting and gaining some experience, even starting a company on her own, wasn’t a bad idea. Though she didn’t have the so-called "golden finger" when she had crossed worlds, competition among private enterprises was still not fierce, and there were countless business opportunities. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

When Gu Xiaodong came back, Gu Xiaobei told him her decision to work for Gao Dailin’s company. Having decided to start working next week, Gu Xiaobei planned to visit Lu Zhanguo at the military base the next day. Even though it had only been a day since they last saw each other, she missed him dearly.