Rebirth and making money first

"I'm still the same, with no money and no house. I'll have to rely on you from now on. Only you women can save money!" A-Long said in a soft voice with a smile as usual. Zhang Jing also smiled when she heard it.

"My requirements are not low. You have to be loyal to me, listen to me, and give me your salary. You have to share the housework..." Zhang Jing counted her requirements and thought about what other conditions to add.

"Do you want to go make a wish in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva?" A Long asked. Zhang Jing said, "My conditions are equivalent to having no conditions. Look at other women who ask for a car, a house, savings, a formal job, commercial insurance, and a betrothal gift. I feel like I'm going to help the man's family out of poverty. No, I want to change my conditions. I think I have all the conditions. Just buy a car and give a betrothal gift and I can marry him."

"So confident? Have you forgotten you're 30?" A-Long asked. Zhang Jing laughed, "What's wrong with being 30? I'm having a baby now, and by the time I retire and turn 50, he'll be 20. I can still find someone older or younger. Marriage is ultimately just an exchange of interests. Whoever takes it seriously loses!"

"Do you still want to get married? Actually, it's nice to live freely alone!" Aaron said.

"So we're not the same kind of people. Humans are social animals. When we're young, we can wander around on our own. But when we get older, there's always a light waiting for us to come home," Zhang Jing said. "Shenzhen is a city with so many temptations that it confuses people. Everyone just wants to have enough to eat and be drunk. Only when that's satisfied can we pursue more."

"Okay, stop being sentimental. Let's go eat. It's been a while. Let's have boiled fish and roasted pigeon." A-Long interrupted Zhang Jing, letting her know he was avoiding her. He still refused to get married, but wanted to enjoy love and even sex.

After walking for a long time, A-Long was also in and out of various restaurants. Zhang Jing was impatient and just waited outside. Finally, they found a Hakka restaurant. Although Zhang Jing didn't want to eat, she endured it. Seeing that it was white-cut chicken and stuffed tofu, Zhang Jing deliberately asked, "Where are the roast pigeon and boiled fish?" A-Long smiled and said, "This one is not authentic. Let's go next time. Since you like vegetables, I'll give you an extra portion."

After a brief moment of reflection, Zhang Jing decided not to argue further. Then, A-Long suddenly asked Zhang Jing about her home demolition. Zhang Jing replied truthfully, "The demolition compensation has been used to purchase a property, but it hasn't been delivered yet. I estimate it will take about two years."

Aaron then pressed on, "So how much money did you get from the demolition?" Zhang Jing replied casually, "Not much, actually. After buying the house, I gave some to my mom. I can't spend the rest easily; I have to save it for future renovations."

Aaron pressed on, "Whose name is the newly purchased house registered under?" Zhang Jing replied without hesitation, "Of course it's in my name!" Aaron was quite confused and asked, "In that case, do you plan to move back in the future?" Zhang Jing calmly explained, "Whenever I have free time, I will definitely choose to move back in. On weekdays, I'll let Mom live there." Then, she changed the subject and questioned Aaron, "By the way, haven't you renovated the house back home?"

Faced with this question, Aaron shook his head and retorted, "These two situations are completely different! After all, as a man, if my house is too old and dilapidated, it will inevitably be ridiculed, and my parents will be accused of having an incompetent son. And you have a younger brother. If you do much better than him, I'm afraid others will look down on him."

Zhang Jing, however, objected, "Oh, you're really overthinking it! We don't care about that in the north. Men and women are treated equally. As long as we have the ability and conditions, everyone should do their best and fulfill their responsibilities. Whether it's supporting the elderly or honoring our parents, children should share the responsibility. Besides, my brother's career isn't going so well right now, so I think this will relieve some of Mom's worries."

"You are quite filial!" Aaron teased.

"That's a must. My mom always told me, 'When you get married, treat your mother the way you want her to treat you!'" Zhang Jing said. "My grandma is a longtime Communist Party member. She's always proud of it and won't allow any of her children to be unruly."

"Your mother is amazing!" A-Long exclaimed. Zhang Jing said, "I've never seen an old lady educate her son this way. That's why there are fewer and fewer responsible men these days."

"Don't generalize. Let's talk about something happy. I forgot to ask, do you still want money? If it's not enough, I can give you some." Aaron asked again.

"No, I forgot to tell you that I have been transferred to work in a nursing home. I also have to take the intermediate self-study exam in the next two months, so I don't have much time." Zhang Jing gave Aaron a shot of prevention.

"When did it happen? Did your salary get cut? Are you going to live in a nursing home? Can I come find you there?"

Zhang Jing said, "Handsome, you have so many questions, I don't know which one I should answer. I can only tell you that this job is temporary. I'll change employers after I pass the exam. The salary is less than before. The nursing home has dormitories, so sometimes it's inconvenient for me to go home."

After dinner, A-Long said, "I'll take you home. We'll stay at your place tonight." Zhang Jing refused, "No, we're not planning to get married anyway. Let's not dwell on this anymore. I'll go home by myself, and you should go home early too. Call me if you need anything."

Without looking back, he walked towards the bus stop, boarded the bus, and as it started moving, he saw Aaron on the phone. "Does this count as a breakup? It's a problem if you're still playing dumb after everything's been made clear. I won't date you again. Relationships that aren't for the purpose of marriage are all scams. It's a bitch for a man to try to trick a woman into sleeping with him!

I returned home and put away the shopping bags I'd been carrying. I also placed the precious bottle of soy sauce somewhere prominent, so I wouldn't forget it before going to work tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning after practice, I still have to go to the market to buy winter melon and bok choy for my old lady. Just thinking about it makes me tired.

Zhang Jing hadn't expected A-Long to call her. "Are you home yet? I'm glad you're here. I'm relieved. Don't stay up too late, and lock the door. Call me if you need help. Don't let anyone scam you. Be careful." Zhang Jing was confused. What was this guy trying to do? She couldn't figure it out. It was a waste of time and brain cells, so she simply hung up the phone.

After showering and washing her hair, Zhang Jing wrote a novel while waiting for the washing machine to finish washing clothes. She'd been feeling really lazy lately, and she needed to get back to work. Her procrastination had kicked in again, and she suspected it was because she didn't need the money.

Zhang Jing woke up at dawn. After washing up, she rushed off for her morning exercise. Everyone greeted her with smiles. To Zhang Jing's surprise, the leader actually had two large speakers, playing music far superior to Zhang Jing's small record player.

Zhang Jing was pushed forward to lead the practice, and she didn't refuse. Practicing Guanyin Quan at sunrise was truly remarkable. Zhang Jing felt her entire body flow freely, as if she were eighteen again. By the end of the exercise, her breath was steady, and her face was radiant. The others were also seeing great results, with only a few perhaps struggling to keep up. There was nothing she could do about it; she had to rely on others to teach her.

Zhang Jing rushed to buy groceries, leaving the others to continue practicing. She was holding the record player the group leader had returned when she was pulled over. Only then did she realize they had all made uniforms. They asked Zhang Jing if she wanted one, priced at 95 yuan. Zhang Jing said yes and asked the group leader to buy it for her. Unsure of her size, she arranged the transfer and gave it to the group leader.

As soon as she got out of the situation, Zhang Jing slipped away. She knew that buying the same clothes was also for the purpose of better fitting in. It could save a lot of trouble.

After buying groceries, Zhang Jing leisurely returned home. It was still early. She quickly changed into comfortable clothes, tidied her room, and then prepared to go to work.

The breakfast at the nursing home has always been highly praised. It is not only nutritious and healthy, but also perfect for the elderly. Even those with stomach problems can benefit greatly from it. The boiled eggs that appear every morning are especially praised.

Speaking of boiled eggs, Zhang Jing couldn't help but think of her aunt. Ever since her youth, she'd made a habit of eating two boiled eggs every morning. In her previous life, she was nearly ninety-seven years old, yet her hearing and eyesight remained sharp, her teeth strong, and her health excellent. Aside from occasional mild bouts of senile forgetfulness, she had few major ailments. Zhang Jing wouldn't believe it if eggs weren't a contributing factor.

Later, when Zhang Jing learned that another 90-year-old in the nursing home had fallen three times without suffering any fractures, she became even more convinced. Out of curiosity and concern, she went to consult the experienced Chinese medicine doctor at the nursing home's outpatient clinic.

The old Chinese doctor smiled and told her, "Eggs are indeed an excellent food, especially boiled eggs, which can be said to be one of the preferred sources of high-quality protein! Eating one a day can not only effectively replenish the nutrients needed by the human body and improve memory, but also has the effect of delaying aging... Of course, if you are worried about high cholesterol, you can choose to eat only the egg white and discard the egg yolk. However, for normal people, slightly higher cholesterol in the body is completely normal." Finally, the old Chinese doctor gave sincere advice: "Don't completely give up eating eggs, such a delicious and nutritious food, because you are afraid of high cholesterol. That would be a loss of the big picture and an overreaction!"

Zhang Jing decided to have a boiled egg for breakfast every day, so she had to go to the office to eat.