Chapter 328 - 26: The Doomed Sister-in-law in the Group-Pampered Novel

She stared at Xie Jian, crying so hard that she could barely catch her breath.

"You just don’t believe me! You listen to your wife in everything, you’ve long forgotten your sister! You’re not my brother, get lost!"

After saying that, Xie Yumian pushed Xie Jian away and ran down the mountain, crying.

Xie Jian stood silently in place for a long time, then turned to glance at the barely breathing Jiang Jinbao and walked away.

In the evening, Jiang Lai excitedly emptied her bulging bag to show Xie Jian.

"These were all given by the Party Secretary. We won’t have to worry about lacking ration tickets for the next year."

Xie Jian nodded, but his expression revealed some suppression.

Jiang Lai had noticed it from the start, waiting for Xie Jian to speak up, but the man never opened his mouth.

Since he didn’t speak, Jiang Lai pretended not to know. He’s not her son, why bother with it?

"The Party Secretary also arranged a job for me in the village."

"Hmm, what job?"

"Village Party Secretary’s Secretary. Also, I’m the director of the publicity department."

It’s considered the second-in-command management role in the village, directly appointed by the Party Secretary. I only need to occasionally visit the county’s high school department to impart some English learning techniques to the teachers. Usually, I don’t have to do anything, and the Party Secretary directly allocates funds to pay the salary.

"The salary is twenty-six a month."

"That’s a lot."

The monthly salary of the village Party Secretary is probably about the same.

It’s considered a subsidy for talents like Jiang Lai.

When they went to bed at night, Xie Jian wasn’t as enthusiastic as before. Instead, he lay down and went straight to sleep.

Jiang Lai didn’t bother to think too much. She had been busy all day today too, so she turned over and quickly fell asleep.

Only after she fell asleep did Xie Jian slowly open his eyes, turn over, and quietly look at Jiang Lai’s back, then stretch out his hand to gently stroke her hair.

The next day, as the autumn harvest concluded, Xie Jian went to record work points again. Still, it was the same result; Miao Yan directly canceled them.

"It’s really interesting, knowing that working also means working in vain, yet every day blindly working like a bull with blindfolds!"

Miao Yan figured it out; after all, he’s just a farmer. Everyone else is respectful to her, so why would she be nice to Xie Jian?

This time, Xie Jian reached out and grabbed her work point record book, then turned and headed for the village branch office.

This time, the village Party Secretary was there, the village head was there too. Xie Jian threw the book onto the table, and Miao Yan quickly followed, yelling loudly before Xie Jian could speak.

"Secretary! He snatched my scorebook! He’s disrupting my work!"

"Xie Jian? What’s the matter with you? Why can’t you talk things over calmly?"

Xie Jian pointed at the book.

"My work points for the past few days were canceled by her. I’m here to ask the Party Secretary and village head for an explanation."

"Canceled? Miao Yan, tell us, why were his work points canceled?"

In front of the Party Secretary, Miao Yan’s attitude was much better, but her tone was still dissatisfied.

"His wife hasn’t gone down to work for so many days, constantly staying at home idly during the busy autumn harvest! Why should such a lazy person get a share of the food at the end?

I initially tried to persuade them kindly, but they didn’t listen. Others were also dissatisfied, so I canceled his work points as a lesson for his wife, and as an explanation to everyone. Otherwise, if nobody works the fields, who will harvest the crops? Who will plow the fields?"

She had thought of the explanation early on, and given the Party Secretary’s character, he couldn’t stand seeing people being lazy and sly. She believed the Secretary would certainly stand by her.

Sure enough, upon hearing Miao Yan’s words, the Party Secretary directly waved at Xie Jian.

"What Miao Yan said makes sense. The fruits of our labor should only be shared by those who labor. Why isn’t your wife working when she has her hands and feet? What will others think when they see it?"

"I earn a lot, I can split mine with her."

He works enough for two people, why can’t he share with his wife?

Miao Yan chimed in again.

"You should first support your parents with what you earn, right? Even after splitting from the family, you have to take care of your parents. With what’s left, you might not even have enough for yourself, who else can you share with?

Wasting a labor force, promoting the negativity of laziness and passivity, if everyone is like you, how can our village achieve advancement awards?"

The village head nodded along.

"Miao Yan makes sense, you should head back, and bring your wife for the village meeting tonight to educate her thoughts. It’s too outrageous."

Miao Yan glanced at Xie Jian smugly.

She knew Xie Jian would come looking, but what good would it do? He’d still have to swallow this grievance silently.

"Go home and inform your wife. There’s only one end for idlers—starvation!"

"His wife is right here. Why don’t you personally inform me? How am I lazy?"

A voice came from outside the office.

Xie Jian looked up; it was Jiang Lai, wearing the same smile on her lips as always, appearing in good temper.

Seeing Jiang Lai ignited Miao Yan’s anger even more. She, a high school graduate, had to dutifully attend daily as a scorekeeper. What was Jiang Lai’s deal? Just an uneducated villager dreaming of freeloading on a man!

"Secretary, look, it’s her! Yet you still have the face to come. Perfect timing, neither of you should leave, the village head and secretary want to hold a meeting with you."

Miao Yan felt a rare sensation of comfort, the tangled feelings seeming entirely resolved.

The village Party Secretary, however, looked at Jiang Lai and then at Xie Jian, speaking up.

"Secretary Jiang, is this your husband?"

Secretary Jiang?

Miao Yan was stunned, looking around—a small room, no one else inside.

Who is Secretary Jiang?

Jiang Lai nodded.

"Xie Jian, my husband. As for her saying I haven’t been down to work, it’s simply unavoidable. The county always has matters needing my assistance, I can’t leave."

The village Party Secretary nodded repeatedly, his attitude shifting dramatically.

"True, I understand. Surely county matters are more important. This is entirely a misunderstanding, apologies are in order because this little girl doesn’t know anything, always making a fuss. Let her apologize."

He then shot Miao Yan a stern glance.

"Come over, apologize to Secretary Jiang. She’s been working in the county, earning a monthly salary, how could she need to work in the fields!"

Miao Yan was completely dumbfounded, staring wide-eyed at Jiang Lai, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Clearly just a village woman, how could she suddenly become someone going to the county for work, someone earning a salaried job as Secretary Jiang?

"Secretary, could something be wrong? Did you mistake her for someone else? She’s just an uneducated woman from the village; how could she be a secretary?"

There must be a mistake.

Or maybe Jiang Lai is audacious enough to deceive the secretary and village head.

No matter what, something is amiss here. How could Jiang Lai be qualified to be a secretary!

Secretaries hold significant authority here; she reports her work daily to them!

What happened to the previous secretary?

"What nonsense are you spouting!"