Transmigrated as Cannon Fodder — I Rise to Female Lead Through Hard Work-Chapter 129: Colleagues’ Concern

The six people dining together were mostly the same age as Yi Roujing, the oldest being twenty-four, the youngest eighteen. They were all quite lively, but Han Xiangxi was definitely the most talkative. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Yi Roujing noticed that the person who got the food had finished all the rice and vegetables, but the meat dishes were barely touched, except for Yi Roujing, who cleaned her plate.

"Roujing, don’t you need to save some for your family?" Han Xiangxi couldn’t resist asking, "I remember you got married, right?"

Yi Roujing nodded.

"You must not have kids, otherwise how could you not save any for them?" Han Xiangxi asserted.

Yi Roujing smiled.

"Doesn’t Roujing live in the staff dorm?" Pan Meixin, who’s twenty-four, younger than Han Xiangxi, asked curiously.

When Pan Meixin said this, several of the younger ones perked up their ears.

"I live in my husband’s staff housing," Yi Roujing explained with a smile.

Yi Roujing could clearly feel that several people were more enthusiastic towards her, curious about where her husband worked.

"He’s a teacher at County First Middle School."

"Being a teacher is great, you get summer and winter breaks."

"Roujing, our Ye doesn’t have a partner yet. Can you ask your husband if any of his colleagues are still single?"

The one asking was Pan Meixin, and Ye was the youngest, eighteen-year-old Ye Xiangli. When Pan Meixin asked, Ye Xiangli blushed and lowered her head.

"Hey, hey, Lishu doesn’t have a partner yet either." Twenty-two-year-old Jin Fengying quickly chimed in, "And Lishu is the same age as you, Roujing. Shouldn’t it be more urgent than for Ye? Introduce her first."

Feng Lishu was someone Yi Roujing thought was the best-looking besides herself at the table, her pair of expressive Danfeng eyes added to her allure, and gave her a striking beauty.

When Jin Fengying spoke up, Feng Lishu looked directly at Yi Roujing without any shyness, "Roujing, if there’s anyone, could you introduce them to me too? The people my family introduces... they’re either short or unimpressive, I’ve lost my appetite just looking at them."

Feng Lishu’s words made everyone laugh, but Yi Roujing didn’t miss Ye Xiangli quietly turning her head to look at Jin Fengying and Feng Lishu with a hint of resentment.

Ah, the most complicated thing in the workplace is the relationships.

"Alright, I’ll ask when I get home." Yi Roujing said with a smile, not making any promises, as she actually didn’t like playing matchmaker.

In the afternoon, Yi Roujing followed Han Xiangxi, administering drips to three patients and giving injections to the behinds of five others, then there was nothing else to do.

There were far fewer people coming to the hospital in this era compared to modern times. Firstly, because seeing a doctor was expensive, people only came if they absolutely had to; secondly, Huaixi County also had a county hospital, and the staff hospital mainly served the workers of the food factory and their families, so there were fewer people compared to the county hospital.

However, the factories of this era were all state-owned, and the staff hospitals were also public, with benefits not inferior to the county hospital, so healthcare workers actually preferred working in staff hospitals.

When it was time to get off work, Yi Roujing waited at the factory gate, and soon Ding Anmin and Yi Weiliang came out smiling.

"Sister-in-law!" Ding Anmin was very happy to see Yi Roujing and ran over, bouncing.

"Little sister." Yi Weiliang was also excited, "How was your first day at work today? Were you mistreated? Was it tiring?"

"I wasn’t mistreated, not tired, it was pretty good." Yi Roujing answered simply.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, I wasn’t tired today either." Ding Anmin happily shared her experience, "Sister Peng, who was guiding me, is really nice and taught me very carefully. She even praised me for being smart and quick to learn, saying that in a few months I should be able to handle things on my own."

"I wonder how Second Brother is doing? He works hard but isn’t very flexible; I hope he isn’t getting bullied?" Ding Anmin expressed some concern.

Yi Roujing lightly tapped Ding Anmin’s head, "You’ve got the hang of it, why wouldn’t Anguo do well? His temperament is actually quite suited for government work."

Ding Anguo is honest and hardworking, but he’s not inflexible. When they were selling lingzhi and ginseng, he suggested the black market, showing he has courage and ideas and is also cautious. That’s why she had insisted on a government unit; people like Ding Anguo are liked by leaders.

"I hope so." Ding Anmin sighed, "Ah, I wonder how Xingchen is doing?"

"Gu Shizhao arranged it, so what’s there to worry about?" Yi Roujing replied, and Ding Anmin nodded, "That’s true."

When everyone got home, Ding Ancheng was already there, and Li Hongying had prepared the meal and set the table. Dinner was exceptionally abundant this evening: braised pig trotters, chicken stewed with pig stomach, bitter melon omelet, cold mixed century egg tofu, braised eggplant, stir-fried dandelion greens, with white rice as the main dish.

"Wow, Mom, today’s food is so good." Ding Anmin hugged Li Hongying from behind as she set out the chopsticks, her delight evident.

"Go wash your hands." Li Hongying patted Ding Anmin’s hand, rolling her eyes, "You’re so grown-up."

Eight people sat at the table, and Li Hongying kept urging Yi Weiliang to eat. "Weiliang, eat. Roujing likes pig trotters; what do you like? Next time, auntie will make what you love."

Yi Weiliang looked up, smiling, "Auntie, I like everything. Your cooking is so delicious, much better than my mom’s. No wonder my sister’s complexion is getting better and better, it’s because she’s eating well."

Li Hongying burst into laughter at this, filling Yi Weiliang’s bowl with food while not neglecting Xia Xingchen, "If you like it, eat more, eat more."

After dinner, Yi Weiliang was very diligent and proactively took on the task of washing dishes and tidying up, despite Li Hongying’s protests, eventually just letting him be.

"Sis, how much do you think is appropriate for me to give Auntie for food expenses each month?" While Yi Roujing was in the kitchen, Yi Weiliang pulled her aside to ask quietly.

"For this kind of meals, I’d feel guilty if I gave too little." Yi Weiliang counted on his fingers, "I earn fourteen yuan a month, plus some ration tickets, though I haven’t collected them yet. I should be able to in a few days, but Master Niu mentioned that mine won’t be many."

"In the future, I can bring grain from home, but I should at least provide a meat ticket. Though I wonder if I’ll have any meat tickets." Yi Weiliang sounded a bit vexed, "Sis, do you usually eat like this at home?"

"Today’s menu is special because we’re happy," Yi Roujing explained.

Yi Weiliang breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, that’s a relief. Do you think eight yuan a month for Auntie is enough?"

"You should discuss it yourself." Yi Roujing laughed, "My parents-in-law will be going back in a few days; they can’t be cooking for us all the time, so it won’t cost you as much."

On June 4th, Yi Weiliang received his first paycheck, and he took eight yuan to discuss it with Li Hongying, who gave him an earful.

"Why would you want to pay for meals when you’re working in the county and eating at your sister’s place? Are you trying to scare people? You say you earn ten-plus yuan a month, but what could you possibly eat that costs eight yuan? Do home-cooked meals cost more than state-run restaurants?..."

Li Hongying lectured Yi Weiliang for a whole fifteen minutes, ultimately allowing him to bring his own grain but refusing to take any money for food. After all, it’s just adding another pair of chopsticks; everyone else still has to eat. She advised him earnestly to save money, set some aside for himself, and think about getting married...

Anyway, when Yi Weiliang came to the kitchen to wash dishes, Yi Roujing was laughing so hard she was bent over.

"Sis, did you do that on purpose?" Yi Weiliang muttered.

"How could I have known?" Yi Roujing replied with a chuckle, then went out to call Ding Ancheng to come back in.