When the Su family's eldest son was sent down to the countryside years ago, the family had been completely unprepared. They could only give him some ration coupons and a few dozen yuan.
By the time it was the second brother's turn, Su Wenshan gritted his teeth and sold his prized 28-inch bicycle, giving all the money to his second son to take with him to the Northwest.
When it came to the eldest sister, Chen Xiue also swallowed her reluctance and sold her dowry sewing machine.
For all these years, because of their three children living in the countryside, Su Wenshan and Chen Xiue had lived frugally, unwilling to buy anything for themselves.
Originally, if Chen Xiue needed to alter clothes, she could have borrowed a sewing machine from Aunt Wang in the back courtyard. But since it was too late at night—and because Chen Xiue was the type who would never ask for help unless absolutely necessary—she could only mend the clothes slowly by hand.
Seeing the nostalgic look in Chen Xiue's eyes, Su Yun suddenly thought of the sewing machines in the system supermarket, and an idea stirred in her heart.
Meanwhile, in the alley outside, Su Baoguo did not go to school with his friends. Instead, he turned in the opposite direction, crossed two streets, and arrived outside a secluded courtyard. He knocked cautiously on the door.
After three knocks, the door opened a crack.
A lazy teenage voice came from behind it. "Kid, this isn't a place for you to play. Get lost."
Su Baoguo paid no attention to the attitude. He quickly handed the sugarcane from his satchel through the crack in the door and said, "I want to ask you to take care of something."
The boy behind the door lit up at the sight of the sugarcane and immediately became much more agreeable. "You've come to the right people. As long as it's in this city, there's nothing our Azure Dragon Gang can't handle!"
"Little brother, come inside and tell us more…"
Back at the recycling station, after opening up, Su Yun first swept the area in front of the door.
It was still early in the morning, and no one had come to sell scrap yet. Sitting behind the counter, she opened the system supermarket and scrolled to the section with sewing machines. There were two models listed: a used one priced at 123 yuan and a new one at 168 yuan.
Obviously, the new model was lighter and more advanced. Just from the picture, Su Yun could tell it would be easy to use.
The only problem was that she needed a very reasonable excuse to bring a sewing machine home.
While thinking about it, she opened her book and had just finished a few problems when she heard hurried footsteps outside.
Looking up, she saw Director Yuan from the neighborhood committee walking in with two men.
All three wore serious expressions.
Su Yun's heart skipped a beat. She quickly closed her book, stood up with a smile, and greeted them warmly. "Director Yuan, you're here so early to inspect the recycling station?"
Director Yuan led the way inside. When she was about a meter from the counter, she stopped. With her back to the others, she seized the opportunity to give Su Yun a meaningful look.
Then, in an official tone, she said, "Comrade Su, we're here today to verify something very important."
As she spoke, she introduced the two men behind her.
"This is Deputy Director Wang from our neighborhood committee."
The young Deputy Director Wang, who looked to be in his early twenties, nodded politely to Su Yun despite his serious expression.
"And this is Captain Liu, our inspector."
When introducing him, Director Yuan deliberately gave Su Yun another pointed look.
Su Yun immediately understood.
It seemed this Captain Liu would be difficult to deal with.
Sure enough, as soon as the introduction ended, Captain Liu stepped forward aggressively. Staring fiercely at Su Yun, he demanded in a rough voice:
"You're Su Yun? You took over Xu Fang's job? Tell the truth! What exactly is your relationship with Xu Fang?"
At the same time, Deputy Director Wang efficiently pulled out a notebook from his coat pocket and began recording.
The moment Director Yuan had signaled her earlier, Su Yun had already guessed why they had come.
With an innocent expression, she replied, "Xu Fang is my godmother."
Xu Fang was Aunt Xu from the recycling station.
Su Yun and Aunt Xu had already coordinated their stories. As long as Aunt Xu did not betray her, the job transfer was perfectly legitimate.
Captain Liu was clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
He strode past Director Yuan to the counter and slammed his hand on the desk. "That's not an honest answer! Someone reported that you bought this job from Xu Fang. You'd better confess clearly and truthfully to your criminal actions. If you do, we might show you some leniency!"
"Otherwise, once we uncover the truth ourselves, you'll end up in the Public Security Bureau facing a firing squad!"
Su Yun seemed frightened by his words. She shrank back, looking pitiful, her eyes filling with tears.
"I—I'm not lying. Xu Fang really is my godmother. She transferred the job to me…"
Her voice trembled as if she were about to cry.
Captain Liu showed no sympathy. He snorted coldly. "Xu Fang still has a year before retirement. Why would she give up a perfectly good job and transfer it to you? I think you made up this story to avoid being sent down to the countryside!"
Biting her lip, Su Yun answered softly, "My godmother's son and daughter-in-law both work out of town. They're a dual-income family, and their newborn grandson has no one to care for him. She was anxious to go help raise the child, so she transferred the job to me."
Captain Liu sneered. "What a coincidence! Just when you're about to be sent down to the countryside, she suddenly gives you her job? Do you think I'm that easy to fool?"
"It wasn't sudden," Su Yun continued. "My godmother had wanted to transfer the job to me long ago, but I was still in school then and declined her offer. Now that I've graduated from high school and haven't found work yet, I accepted it…"
Captain Liu's gaze was sharp, unconvinced. "You're not telling the truth!"
As if frightened, tears streamed down Su Yun's face, yet she remained stubborn. "I am telling the truth."
At this point, Deputy Director Wang, who had been recording, could not bear it any longer. He turned to Captain Liu and said, "Captain Liu, our purpose today is to uncover the truth without wronging a good comrade. Although someone reported that Comrade Su obtained her job improperly, we should also consider whether the report itself might be malicious…"
"You little punk, what do you know?" Captain Liu cut him off rudely, offering no respect.
Deputy Director Wang's face darkened.
Out of courtesy, he did not argue, but he clearly began to lean toward Su Yun. "I may not understand investigations as well as you do, Captain Liu, but I do know that anonymous reports are often driven by jealousy. Comrade Su's job transfer procedures were entirely legal and compliant. If a single report letter is enough to convict her, then anyone who envies someone else's job could just write a letter. What would be the point of our neighborhood committee?"
His reasoning made sense, and Director Yuan nodded in agreement.
But Captain Liu clearly looked down on the younger Deputy Director Wang. He scoffed and continued interrogating Su Yun in an even harsher tone.
"Su Yun, I'll give you one last chance. To be honest, I already have evidence that you bought this job. If you keep arguing, not only will you ruin yourself, but your parents will lose their jobs because of you. Your whole family will suffer. You'd better think carefully!"