My Wife is the Vicious Supporting Character from an Era Novel - Chapter 43.2
Chapter 43.2
It was still early, so they had about half an hour to wait.
This was the only cannery in town. It produced canned peaches, and they could smell the sweet, strong scent of peaches just standing under the trees in front of the factory.
Ji Baiqing swallowed her saliva, thinking she had never had canned peaches from here before.
She looked at Wen Miao and asked softly, “Do you want to eat canned peaches?”
Wen Miao saw the hint of desire in her eyes and nodded obediently.
“Yeah, I’d love to.”
Ji Baiqing was instantly happy hearing her wife wanted to eat some.
Her wife said she wanted to eat, so they would buy some!
But not now. They were still waiting for Shang Min to come out.
They waited for a while, and when it was time, the workers at the cannery poured out of the factory.
Many people looked at the two strangers standing in front of the door with curiosity.
When most of the people had left, Ji Baiqing finally saw Shang Min.
When she reached the door, Ji Baiqing smiled and waved at her.
“Director Shang.”
Shang Min was a little surprised to see Ji Baiqing and Wen Miao. She hurried over to them and asked strangely, “Why are you here?”
Ji Baiqing held up the basket she was carrying. “I never had a chance to go see your grandmother before. These are some fruits we picked in our village for the elderly lady to have a sweet treat. There are also some nourishing herbs. See if you can use them.”
Shang Min took the basket. Seeing all the things inside, she felt grateful but also had another layer of doubt.
Why had this couple come to see her? She didn’t believe it was just to deliver a gift.
After all… Ji Baiqing’s attitude toward her now was unusually good, completely different from before.
“Thank you so much, Comrade Ji. But did you come all this way for something?”
It was easy to talk to a smart person. The smile in Ji Baiqing’s eyes deepened. She said with a smile, “It’s nothing. These are just things from the mountain. They don’t cost anything, just a little bit of time.”
“I do have something to talk to you about. Why don’t we invite you to dinner?”
She made the invitation.
Shang Min hesitated for a moment and then nodded slightly.
“How about I treat you? The state-run restaurant happens to have…”
Before she could finish, Wen Miao interrupted her.
She pointed to the small bag Ji Baiqing was carrying. “No need, Comrade Shang. A-Qing packed some food from the state-run restaurant. We have roasted duck and braised pork today.”
Ji Baiqing showed a harmless smile. “Yes, Director Shang. There’s no need to go to all that trouble.”
Shang Min: “…”
Trapped by the words of the couple, she now understood what it felt like to be led by the nose.
Finally, she said helplessly, “In that case, let’s go eat in my office.”
Ji Baiqing held Wen Miao’s hand and readily agreed.
Following Shang Min into the cannery, Ji Baiqing looked around curiously. The scale and equipment of the factory were not comparable to those in later years, but it was still well-organized, and everything seemed to be in good order.
Seeing Ji Baiqing’s interest, Shang Min went on to explain the process and the use of the machinery for each step. After touring most of the factory, Ji Baiqing rubbed her stomach, feeling a little hungry.
Seeing the beautiful woman’s lips were a little pale, she spoke up and interrupted Shang Min, “Director Shang, we’ll come back to visit another time. We’re a little hungry now. How about we go eat first?”
Shang Min had been busy all morning and was also holding back her hunger to give them the tour. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Ji Baiqing’s words.
She took them to her office.
The office wasn’t very big. Besides the desk for work, there was another table with a few things scattered on it. There was also a field cot by the window. Shang Min probably rested in the office on weekdays.
Ji Baiqing put the lunch boxes on the table and laid them out. Seeing that there weren’t enough bowls, Shang Min used her own.
Besides the roasted duck with its rich, savory glaze and the bright red braised pork, Ji Baiqing had also packed some tomato and egg scramble and some vegetables, which Wen Miao loved.
Shang Min, who was sitting across from them, watched Ji Baiqing serve Wen Miao food and divide the rice, bustling about as if she were taking care of a child. Her mouth twitched.
It was no wonder Wen Miao was so deeply in love with her. Ji Baiqing was too considerate and gentle.
She watched as Wen Miao served Ji Baiqing some food and suddenly felt that the meat in her mouth wasn’t so tasty anymore.
As if she suddenly remembered there was another person across from her, Ji Baiqing looked up. Her eyes, curved in a smile, looked particularly innocent.
Now that she had something in her stomach and Wen Miao was obediently eating, she had the energy to talk business.
“Director Shang, I want to talk to you about a business deal.”
Hearing this, Shang Min’s hand holding her chopsticks paused. She looked up at Ji Baiqing, a little suspicious that she had misheard.
“A business deal?”
Before Ji Baiqing could speak again, she got up, locked the office door, and returned to her seat.
Ji Baiqing lowered her eyes, a certain confidence growing in her heart.
Her hands, which she had been nervously clenching under the table, were suddenly held by Wen Miao. The slender fingers massaged her palm, signaling her to relax.
She stared down for a second, and her nervousness really did subside.
She looked up and said with a faint smile, “Shang Min, I have a way to get second-hand watches. Can you find buyers on your end? If you have the connections, maybe we can collaborate. We can split the profits of each sale 30/70.”
Watches were a hot commodity. They required a fan ticket and were not cheap, yet they were still in high demand.
If there were second-hand watches for sale, people would definitely buy them.
They might even be in high demand.
A watch could sell for dozens of yuan, and with the split, Shang Min would earn a lot.
After thinking for a moment, Shang Min nodded.
“I trust Comrade Wen Miao’s judgment of character, and I’m willing to do this business with you.”
When she said that, the stone in Ji Baiqing’s heart completely dropped.
“But… Comrade Ji, do you trust me that I’ll agree so easily?”
Ji Baiqing blinked at her. “I also trust Miao Miao’s judgment of character. Even if you didn’t agree, you wouldn’t say anything. If you did agree…”
Her eyes curved, showing a hint of cunning.
“Then I’ve just gotten a great deal.”
She carefully took the watch out of her pocket. “This is today’s. You can negotiate the price with the buyer. See how much it sells for first, and we can set prices based on the quality later.”
Shang Min was a small leader, and people she knew might want to buy a watch but didn’t have the tickets. She could probably sell it very quickly.
She was thinking about who among her friends might be interested. Meanwhile, Ji Baiqing, who was happy after the deal was settled, started to watch her wife eat.
Seeing Wen Miao mix the rice and eat only a little of the food in the lunch box, she stopped using her chopsticks. Ji Baiqing gave her a piece of meat and a piece of roasted duck. “Eat more.”
Wen Miao gave her a sweet look, but finally ate it under Ji Baiqing’s watchful eye.
When Ji Baiqing wanted to feed her again, she grabbed her wrist, remembering they were outside. She held back her temper.
“Alright, I’m really full.”
Ji Baiqing, who understood the unspoken meaning, could only regretfully withdraw her hand and continue to eat her own rice.
Shang Min, who was suddenly excluded from their world, thought: …
She felt like she was a bit of a third wheel.
Was it too late to regret it now?
After the meal, Shang Min watched Ji Baiqing and Wen Miao leave, thinking that it was probably too late to regret it.
She looked at the things in the basket, but a smile spread across her lips.
Taking advantage of the time before her afternoon shift started, she took the items to the hospital.
After drinking the medicine with ginseng for a few days, her grandmother’s complexion looked much better, but her immunity was still low, and she needed to rest in the hospital for a while before she could be discharged.
When she arrived at the hospital, her grandmother had just finished eating. She was a little surprised to see Shang Min.
“Why are you here at this time?”
Shang Min smiled at her. “Grandma, look what I brought you.”
Her grandmother looked at the fruits in the basket and was a little surprised. “Chocolate vines, raspberries, and jujubes!”
“Xiao Min, can I have some?”
Her grandmother had a poor appetite during her illness and just ate a few bites for each meal. She was getting thinner by the day. She didn’t have an appetite for anything that was bought for her. Since she finally wanted to eat something, Shang Min naturally wouldn’t refuse.
After washing the fruits, her grandmother picked a few raspberries and ate them. The sweet and sour taste burst in her mouth. She squinted slightly, remembering the days when she used to run around the mountains and village with her playmates.
She had rarely gone back since marrying Shang’s grandfather.
After a few sweet and sour fruits, her grandmother’s appetite was instantly piqued.
“Xiao Min, I’m hungry.”
Shang Min happily agreed and went home to get some food for her grandmother. After she finished eating and fell asleep, Shang Min returned to the cannery for work.
Remembering to find a buyer for the watch, Shang Min went to see her old classmate as soon as her afternoon shift started.
Her classmate, Xu Yun, worked at a newspaper office and had always wanted a watch, but she couldn’t save enough industrial tickets. Her family wasn’t particularly well-off, so it was impossible for her to exchange money with others for a ticket.
When she got the watch, Shang Min immediately thought of her.
Waiting for Xu Yun to come out of the newspaper office, Shang Min waved at her.
“Xiao Yun.”
Xu Yun’s name sounded soft, but she had a fiery personality. Her short hair was neat around her ears, and her eyes were bright.
“Why are you here?”
Xu Yun was a little surprised.
Shang Min smiled and said in a voice only they could hear, “Do you want a second-hand watch?”
Hearing this, Xu Yun’s eyes lit up. She pulled Shang Min onto her bicycle. She sat on the back and was a little excited. “Hurry to my house and tell me all about it.”
When they arrived at Xu Yun’s house and went into her room, Shang Min took out the watch to show her.
“It’s this one. The time is accurate, you don’t need a ticket, and I can give you a discount. Do you want it?”
Xu Yun held the watch and looked at it from all angles. The love in her eyes was genuine.
She put it on her wrist, and the delicate watch suited her thin wrist perfectly.
Even though the person in front of her was her old classmate, Xu Yun cleared her throat to be safe. “How much is this thing?”
Shang Min patted her shoulder without a hint of annoyance. “What’s our relationship? Your old classmate won’t rip you off.”
“Eighty yuan is fine.”
Hearing this, Xu Yun frowned, feeling a little pained.
But the watch looked very new and didn’t require a ticket.
A brand-new watch would cost more than a hundred yuan and also a ticket.
Thinking about this, she tried to bargain with Shang Min.
“Xiao Min, how about seventy-five?”
Shang Min nodded and agreed. That five yuan would just be deducted from her share.
Her relationship with Xu Yun was good, so she didn’t need to be so petty.
Xu Yun paid her the money. In the middle of their conversation, she asked, “Xiao Min, after all this time, do you still like women? Have you found a suitable partner?”
Thinking of the intimacy she saw between the couple today, Shang Min nodded.
“Not yet. These things are all about fate.”
For example, Wen Miao was found by Ji Baiqing first.
Her own fate had not yet arrived.