The Game of Life

Chapter 668: Chapter 666: Because of Love (Part Four)

Manager Zhang felt he had done all he could and was as benevolent and righteous as possible. Patting Zhang Chu’s shoulder, he left the storeroom, pausing as he walked away. Zhang Chu stood rooted to the spot, dazed for several seconds before walking over to the cabinet to search for the tools he needed, acting as if nothing had happened.

The shelf was cluttered with tools, and Jiang Feng took a quick glance—there was a bit of everything: hammers of various sizes, screwdrivers, small nails, and even matchboxes and paper fans. The items were thrown together haphazardly, leading Jiang Feng to guess that the employees of Yonghe House probably just grabbed what they needed here and carelessly put them back, hence the chaotic state of the tools.

Despite the mess, Zhang Chu still managed to find what he was looking for. Starting from the very bottom, he searched through each layer until he reached the top, and that was when Jiang Feng noticed there were two small boxes on top of the cabinet.

Zhang Chu, like Jiang Feng, grabbed a chair to stand on and leaned against the cabinet to open the boxes, searching for tools within the two small boxes.

Suddenly, Jiang Feng heard the sound of hurried footsteps.

“Second Senior Brother, I’ve just returned and haven’t even dealt with the tasks Master assigned me. Why have you dragged me here?” Cao Guixiang’s voice came from outside the door.

“I have something important to discuss with you, let’s talk inside,” Qin Guisheng’s voice sounded very serious. Zhang Chu’s figure stiffened, holding his breath, obviously not wanting to encounter Cao Guixiang at this moment.

He was not yet prepared.

“I heard from your Senior Brother that you want to resign. Are you out of your mind because of love, thinking about going rural as an educated youth? Is your brain filled with paste?” Qin Guisheng was clearly very angry, even using the term “damn girl.”

Jiang Feng looked over at Zhang Chu, who still held the position from moments before, his face filled with shock.

Jiang Feng couldn’t be bothered with Zhang Chu and went straight through the wall to the outside.

The tension was palpable between Cao Guixiang and Qin Guisheng, with Qin Guisheng glaring and Cao Guixiang also showing a face full of anger.

“Yes, I’m going rural as an educated youth. Master didn’t say anything, so why are you, Qin Guisheng, poking your nose where it doesn’t belong?” retorted Cao Guixiang angrily.

“Let’s talk inside!” Qin Guisheng said, reaching out to grab Cao Guixiang’s hand.

“Not inside. Everyone in the store will know in a few days anyway. Let’s talk about it here,” Cao Guixiang snapped, shaking off Qin Guisheng’s hand.

“You damn girl, it seems you’ve been unbridled because you’ve never been beaten by your Second Senior Brother since you were a child. You didn’t go rural in the past few years, and now you want to? Have you seen anyone who left in the past few years come back? Others are avoiding it like the plague, and here you are, rushing headlong into it when you could have stayed at your job. I think you’ve been fooled by love, deceived by that scoundrel, Zhang Chu. Where is he? I’m going to beat him up right now!” Qin Guisheng was beside himself with rage.

“It has nothing to do with him!” Cao Guixiang and Peng Changping, who had come from behind, said in unison.

“Elder Senior Brother, you’re here. Please take care of her for me. I think she’s gone daft, got dough in her brain while kneading it,” pleaded Qin Guisheng as if he had found someone to reason with.

“Keep your voices down. I could hear your argument from a mile away. Guisheng, don’t get mad. Our Junior Sister’s decision to resign and go rural was approved by Master,” said Peng Changping.

Qin Guisheng looked incredulous.

“Remember what Manager Zhang said last month about our shop needing to reduce staff,” Peng Changping continued.

“What does reducing staff have to do with our Junior Sister? If anyone is to be cut, it should be Master Wang’s son, who isn’t even a formal worker and was kept on last time only due to connections. How could the cuts reach us?” countered Qin Guisheng.

“But if I resign, Master Wang’s son won’t need to leave,” said Cao Guixiang, “and since I was planning to resign anyway, isn’t it better to solve both problems at once?”

“Bah!” Qin Guisheng said with disdain, not leaving any face for Cao Guixiang, “And you talk about solving both problems at once. How come I never noticed you had such a kind heart in the past years? Out of all the people who went rural in recent years, other than the first batch, how many really wanted to go? Haven’t there been enough conflicts over the fight for the remaining spots among families with several children? I think you’ve been deceived by that scoundrel, Zhang Chu. He’s in trouble now and probably has to go rural, so he must be begrudging the thought of you staying in Beiping and having a good life, and now he’s tricked you into going with him.”

“I told you, it’s not that!” Cao Guixiang raised her voice, taking several deep breaths to calm herself, “I have to go rural. If I don’t go this time, my brother will have to!”

Qin Guisheng was stunned.

“My brother is already 16, and with three children in our family, it’s our turn to go. It’s only because my brother was young in the previous years, my eldest sister got married, and I turned permanent, that none of us had to go. My parents thought they could delay for a few years until all the educated youths returned and the issue would be over. But instead of waiting for the returnees, it’s now my brother’s turn to go. Every household is trying to pull strings, and where can our family find such connections? My parents have agreed to my resignation and going rural, so Second Senior Brother, please don’t interfere,” Cao Guixiang explained.

“Of course, your parents would agree if your resignation meant your brother didn’t have to go!” blurted out Qin Guisheng. Seeing Peng Changping’s disapproving look, he realized he had misspoken and quickly corrected himself.

“I mean, that is… Forget it, at a time like this, why should I meddle so much. What I’m saying is that as long as your brother doesn’t have to go rural, your parents couldn’t care less about your own wellbeing!”

At those words, Jiang Feng was shocked. He hadn’t expected Qin Guisheng to be so brazen as to say such a thing to Cao Guixiang’s face.

“Qin Guisheng!” Peng Changping also raised his voice.

“Have I said something wrong, big brother? Sister’s parents are just biased. How much of the food she brought home over these years actually ended up in her stomach? Every month she hands over her salary, and I’ve never seen her wear new clothes. Now she’s being selfless, dedicated. Just wait and see if her parents will actually care whether she lives or dies!”

“It’s their family matter; you shouldn’t meddle too much,” Peng Changping said helplessly.

Qin Guisheng stood his ground, “Others have their family matters, but this is about my sister! Cao Guixiang, can you please think clearly for once? I never saw before how you could like your brother so much that you’d be willing to make such a selfless sacrifice for him. Over these years haven’t we seen enough educated youths like our sister who sacrificed themselves for their younger siblings and went to the countryside? Before they left, didn’t their families promise to make it up to them, to send things, to write often, and to bring them back at the earliest opportunity? It’s been four years, more than four years! In the first two years, quite a few families sent stuff, but how many of them have kept their promises until now?”

“Just look at the family next door to me. Their daughter couldn’t wait any longer and got married in the countryside. Do you know what they did? They cut off all contact. Do you want to end up like her?”

“Cao Guixiang, let me tell you, I don’t care whether your parents agree or not, I don’t care whether Master agrees or not, I do not agree! As long as my mind is clear, I will never agree with you resigning to go to the countryside. If you want to make sacrifices, go do it somewhere else. If you’re really that idle, go smash your head against a wall, get all the water, paste, and dough out of your head before talking about this.”

“Second senior brother.” Cao Guixiang looked at Qin Guisheng with no more spark in her eyes.

Peng Changping shook his head helplessly.

“It’s no use, I’ve already talked to Manager Zhang, and the report has been submitted.”

“Then take it back!”

“Guisheng, let it be,” Peng Changping patted Qin Guisheng’s shoulder signaling him to calm down, “Our sister is in her twenties; she can judge for herself and make her own decisions.”

“The hell she can make her decisions!” Qin Guisheng was so angry he wished he could slap Cao Guixiang twice and then go beat up Zhang Chu, “Don’t I know her? Brother, just listen to her nonsense. Master Wang, her little brother, all that is fake. Eight out of ten times, it’s because Zhang Chu is going to the countryside and she wants to go with him. I’m sure it’s that bastard Zhang Chu stirring things up behind the scenes, otherwise why would she go for her brother? Even if her parents made a scene in the shop, she wouldn’t go.”

Peng Changping looked at Cao Guixiang.

Cao Guixiang remained silent.

“Tell me, if it weren’t for Zhang Chu, you would have already jumped up and cursed me out!”

Cao Guixiang finally spoke, “The wedding with Zhang Chu was set for next April.”

That shut Qin Guisheng up, and Jiang Feng wondered if he was stunned silly by this news.

“Originally, both families were already discussing it, and my parents were preparing my dowry,” Cao Guixiang continued, “Then the Golden Carpenter had his accident, he stubbornly refused to break the bed, and ended up with broken legs. Manager Yin’s daughter divorced right after her father had an accident. She was afraid to come out of the house before, but now because of that bed, she’s lost her life. I arrived early today and saw the incident next door; Manager Zhang told me this morning that Manager Yin went insane after hearing the news.”

“Then you should stay away from him,” Qin Guisheng said, frustrated.

“Wouldn’t that make me the same as Manager Yin’s daughter’s initial husband?” Cao Guixiang’s eyes widened, “If he hadn’t divorced her, Manager Yin’s daughter wouldn’t have died, Manager Yin wouldn’t have gone mad, and maybe none of this would have happened to the Golden Carpenter and the others.”

“But you two aren’t even married yet,” Qin Guisheng wished he could take Cao Guixiang’s brain out to see if it was structured differently from others.

“Does that make any difference? If I break up with Zhang Chu now, it’s not because I don’t like him, but because I’m afraid, afraid that he will drag me down. And if one day he died, even if I’m not the executioner, I would still be the one pushing him to his death,” Cao Guixiang glanced at the storeroom door, “Besides, second senior brother, don’t you think it’s quite good this way? If I go to the countryside, Master Wang, my little brother, my parents will all be fine.”

“But you won’t be fine,” Qin Guisheng realized he simply couldn’t convince Cao Guixiang.

“No,” Cao Guixiang smiled, “I will be fine too.”

“Second senior brother, what you said earlier is correct. My brother, Master Wang, they are all excuses. Zhang Chu wants to go to the countryside, so I want to accompany him there.”

“I am fine.”

Jiang Feng returned to the storage room and found Zhang Chu still in the same position, clutching the cupboard as if he were a drowning man grasping for a life-saving straw.

Zhang Chu had clearly heard every word of the conversation outside.

Because his eyes were red.

But there were no tears.