Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 11

When Xu Jing’an arrived at the street office, she saw half a steamed bun and an open lunchbox on the desk, with the drawer half open.

She could hear the director talking next door, pausing occasionally, likely while taking a phone call. It was evident that the call had come unexpectedly.

Xu Jing’an looked around and noticed that no one else was present. She quickly entered the office, opened the drawer, took out a few sheets of special paper for the introduction letter, stamped them one by one, and placed them in her bag.

She then swiftly put everything back in place and left.

After waiting outside for 5 minutes, the director finally came out and saw Xu Jing’an. “Is there something you need?”

“Director, I’m Xu Jing’an. I’m a sophomore at No. 2 High School. Tomorrow, our teacher will take us to the provincial capital for a math competition, and we’ll return the day after. I came to ask you to issue an introduction letter for us.”

“That’s a good thing,” the director said with a smile.

Two minutes later, after receiving the letter, Xu Jing’an thanked the director and quickly left. If she didn’t hurry, the food would be cold.

One night later…

In the morning, after finishing breakfast and tidying up, Xu Jing’an checked the money her mother had given her the night before. Everything was in order.

“Mom, I’ll finish my classes this morning and then head directly from school. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow.”

“Don’t run around outside. Keep an eye on your belongings!”

“Mom, I know.” After Xu Jing’an had finished getting ready, everyone in the house had already left.

She took out the introduction letter and then, from her bag, took out a blank sheet of paper with yesterday’s official seal stamped on it. Using it as a reference, she wrote a new introduction letter for registering for the job recruitment exam.

Xu Jing’an tore off the stub of the introduction letter, put on her backpack, placed the rest of her items in her bag, and locked the door.

At this time, there were few pedestrians on the street. After walking a short distance toward the school, she boarded a bus heading to the steel plant.

A year later, she had saved up an additional 3 cents in her private stash. Well, there was progress compared to before!

Upon arriving at the steel plant and walking in, Xu Jing’an found a large crowd lining up.

She quickly joined the line, showed her household registration book and the introduction letter for the recruitment to the staff, and received a registration form.

After filling out the form, she took her household registration and introduction letter and followed the crowd to a building with a notice posted on it.

Xu Jing’an squeezed to the front and found out that different positions had different exam locations. The accounting exam she wanted to take was on the third floor of the west building.

Over 500 people were being directed in various directions.

When Xu Jing’an reached the third floor, she mentioned the position she was testing for, received a slip, and felt relieved only after finishing the exam.

The proctor collected the exam papers and said, “Wait for the notification in three days. The list of successful candidates will be posted on the bulletin board.”

Many people were leaving the exam room one after another.

“How did you do on the exam?”

“Many questions were unfamiliar.”

“Why were the questions so difficult?”

“Isn’t that the truth!”

“I saw you wrote a lot, though.”

“Ah, I just guessed.”

…

Xu Jing’an squeezed into the crowd, completely inconspicuously.

At this moment, no one was admitting they had done well on the exam. Whenever asked how they did, everyone seemed to have had a worse experience than the next, with their brows furrowed deeper.

Some people who initially appeared in good spirits quickly turned gloomy, nearly crying and lamenting, trying to prove that they knew nothing!

These days, admitting you’re not as good as others is never considered embarrassing!

“Do we really have so many relatives at the steel plant?” someone asked, dissatisfied.

A nearby woman sighed, “Everyone has a few relatives, don’t they?”

“That’s true. My neighbor brought her niece over.”

“Those who know about it now probably have someone working here.”

“If they aren’t from our plant, even if they pass the exam, we can’t hire them!”

…

With so many people, the competition was intense, and no one was pleased!

Xu Jing’an didn’t linger and turned back to the school.

Behind the school’s teaching building, there was a small grove. She walked straight in, and as expected, the person she was looking for was there.

The girl had her hair in two braids, wearing a red top and black pants, sitting on the ground with her back against a large tree.

It was class time, so teachers and students were all busy. There were no idle people outside, except for herself and the girl across from her.

Zhao Xiaofang was feeling very distressed. She didn’t know how to break the current deadlock. Her grades were average, and finding a job after graduation was imminent.

Zhao Xiaofang’s mother was her only parent and had passed away two years ago due to illness.

Her father, through someone’s introduction, married a temporary worker from the same workplace—Deng Taohua. Her stepmother brought with her a son and a daughter, both older than Zhao Xiaofang.

Zhao Xiaofang’s biological mother, Feng Chunzao, was separated from her family at the age of 8 during a famine. As she and the crowd had just entered a village, a horse-drawn carriage came towards them.

A maid lifted the curtain and helped the lady out of the carriage. The lady, with her bound feet, had barely taken a few steps when many people rushed up, surrounding her and begging for food, hoping that the kind-hearted lady would spare some.

The landlady, who had just returned from her family home, was startled and lost her balance. Feng Chunzao seized the opportunity to throw herself forward, using her own body to cushion the fall.

The lady who fell on her was unharmed, but Feng Chunzao immediately lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she had unsurprisingly been taken in by the landlord’s family. She promptly decided to sell herself into servitude.

In the large estate, she saw everything from the daily lives of the young masters, miss, old lady, and the madams to their internal conflicts and struggles for power.

Over ten years, she went from a small maid who was frequently beaten, scolded, and punished to a senior maid by the lady’s side. Feng Chunzao never had a good night’s sleep.

When the landlord’s family fled, Feng Chunzao chose not to go with them. She had had enough of living as a servant.

At first, when she felt unwell, Feng Chunzao didn’t think much of it, believing it would pass in a few days, since she had been through such things since she was young.

“There is no suffering that can’t be endured, only happiness that can’t be enjoyed.” This is a saying that Feng Chunzao had engraved in her heart since she became aware.

By the time she realized something was wrong with her body and could no longer endure it, it was already too late. The hospital could no longer help!

At this moment, the only thing Feng Chunzao couldn’t let go of was her daughter, Zhao Xiaofang.

Figuring out how to provide for her daughter became Feng Chunzao’s top priority!