Chapter 7: Radiant with Health

"Who are you going to marry?"

With Lin Xuexia’s words, the entire female workers' dormitory was shaken, the tension that had just filled the air shattered in an instant.

The few workers who had been fired were their colleagues. Regardless of the reason for their dismissal, they were acquaintances after all, and it was inevitable that the other women felt a sense of "grieving for the rabbit when the fox dies," a shared sorrow for their own precarious fate.

Lin Xuexia, in particular, felt like such a tragedy. Everyone had seen how diligently and hard she had worked since joining the factory. She was the eldest of three sisters, shouldering heavy burdens. She was kind to others, lived frugally, was filial to her parents, adored her younger sisters, and sent almost all her earnings home. Many of the workers secretly admired her.

Most of them believed that good people would be rewarded, and that the hardworking Lin Xuexia would surely have a happy ending. But reality often proved that "the good die young, while the wicked live for a thousand years."

Lin Xuexia’s college-student fiancé had looked down on her, she had suffered that terrible incident yesterday, and now she was facing termination from the factory. Many of the women felt a bitterness in their hearts, unable to help but sigh that "misfortune always seeks out the wretched, and the rope always breaks at the thinnest point."

Lin Xuexia had it too hard.

"Sister Xuexia, who are you going to marry?" A slightly hoarse voice with a hint of tears emerged from the dormitory washbasin area. It was a young girl with short hair, her eyes red and swollen. Knowing Lin Xuexia was about to be fired, she had been hiding inside, crying.

Liao Zhenzhu was a young, introverted girl of short stature who wore small, framed glasses. Among all the rural female workers, she was the only one who wore glasses, making her quite conspicuous. She loved to read and was saving money from her wages to take self-study exams for a college degree, but she was often mocked by the other workers, who told her she was wasting her life on useless things instead of living well, and that she was ruining her eyes.

Before heading south to work, Liao Zhenzhu had already been nearsighted, but how many people in the countryside wore glasses? Even fewer girls did. Because her vision was blurry, she always had to squint to see people.

With her eyesight, she struggled to handle the screws when she first started, and the foreman scolded her severely. Lin Xuexia, unable to watch her suffer, taught her the ropes, realized she had vision problems, and accompanied her to get glasses fitted, which eventually helped her adapt to factory life.

Liao Zhenzhu usually kept to herself and had no friends. She loved books, couldn't find common ground with the other workers, and was too shy to greet people, preferring to stay silent and act like a ghost in the dormitory. Only when she saw Lin Xuexia did she take the initiative to smile and call her "Sister Xuexia."

"Zhenzhu." Seeing it was Liao Zhenzhu, Lin Xuexia couldn't help but smile. Back in the factory in her previous life, she had thought her relationship with Liao Zhenzhu was unremarkable, but she never expected that Liao Zhenzhu would always remember her kindness. Years later, Liao Zhenzhu would earn an adult undergraduate degree and work as an accountant by her side.

Hearing Lin Xuexia call her name, Liao Zhenzhu’s face flushed completely red. Realizing the other women were watching her, she felt like she wanted to crawl into a hole. She hadn't even wiped the tears from her face.

The others asked in surprise, "Why, why are you crying like this?" Even those who had been fired weren't crying, yet Liao Zhenzhu was a total mess, and she had been hiding it from them.

Lin Xuexia set down her things, walked over, and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. Seeing how beautiful and gentle Lin Xuexia was, only for her to meet such a fate, Liao Zhenzhu’s tears broke through like a dam, uncontrollable, leaving the other women confused.

Lin Xuexia sighed helplessly, "Stop crying."

Liao Zhenzhu choked out, "Sister Xuexia, who are you going to marry?"

"His name is Fu Wei. He saved me last night. He is very capable—he fought off several thugs by himself. He is a retired soldier and currently works in construction."

Liao Zhenzhu murmured a few "ohs." Hearing Lin Xuexia state the person's name so clearly, she knew this wasn't a lie.

"Xuexia, are you... are you really giving up on your college-student fiancé?" The other women were stunned, and Zhou Jiajia widened her eyes in disbelief.

Zhou Jiajia found it bizarre. Not long ago, Lin Xuexia had been the picture of a virtuous wife, wholeheartedly waiting to marry her university fiancé, often going out of her way to deliver meals to Zheng Yukang whenever she had the time.

Zheng Yukang looked down on Lin Xuexia for being a "country bumpkin," but Lin Xuexia was naturally beautiful; a little dressing up made her look vibrant and stunning. It was likely that Zheng Yukang had found another girlfriend at university, yet he would still marry a gentle, virtuous, and honest country girl like Lin Xuexia once he graduated.

"Construction work? Covered in dust and grime—how dirty that must be," remarked Zhao Shanshan, a young worker sitting on the upper bunk with a scarf draped over her shoulders. She had dark skin, a round face, and decent features, though her mouth was a bit large. Although she was also from the countryside, she had several older brothers and was the youngest, pampered by her family since childhood. She had a fiery temper and was simple-minded, saying whatever came to her mind.

Having seen the prosperity of the city, Zhao Shanshan was determined never to return to her hometown. She wanted to plant her roots in the city and be picky about her romantic partners. Compared to the young men from the countryside, she felt a sense of superiority. When women came south to work, they could enter factories, but men didn't have it so easy; factories hired many women but few men. Ordinary country men in the city had no other skills and could only turn to construction—carrying bricks and mixing mud, selling their physical labor. It was as dirty and exhausting as it could be, and she looked down on such people.

"Everyone else is going to dance halls; compared to Sister Yongfang, you guys are just miserable," Zhao Shanshan said, taking a handful of wedding candies from her bed to share with the others. The "Sister Yongfang" she mentioned was the one who had found a "good match" at a dance hall. Tomorrow, she, too, would be leaving the factory, though she was leaving to get married, whereas the others were being fired.

"Sister Yongfang’s man has a house on Cui'an Street—a three-story building. Jealous?" Zhao Shanshan had a decent relationship with Yongfang and had pried out plenty of news. Many of the women wanted to get on good terms with Xu Yongfang, thinking maybe they could find someone on that same street with a storefront and property to rent out.

"Of course we're jealous, but we don't have that kind of luck," the other women sighed.

After hearing the location, Lin Xuexia was momentarily stunned. In her previous life, she hadn't paid attention to where Xu Yongfang had married, but it was on the same street as the building Fu Wei owned.

"Xuexia, you’re so beautiful and virtuous; it’s a waste to marry someone who does construction."

Zhou Jiajia felt gleeful inside. Losing her factory job had put her in a foul mood, but seeing that Lin Xuexia had lost her fiancé and was now making a fool of herself by choosing a construction worker, she couldn't help but sneer. No wonder that man looked so muscular—doing physical labor, how could he not have strength? Tang Xiuchun, who was standing behind her, exchanged a glance with Zhou Jiajia, both of them feeling a secret sense of satisfaction.

Lin Xuexia shook her head, "I'm not exactly in a prime position myself. His situation is actually better than mine; he's more of a foreman, and he's very handsome."

"A little foreman? That's not too bad then. I hear they make good money, though they lack education." Once they heard the man was a foreman, the attitudes of the other women shifted again.

There were foremen and then there were *foremen*. Some made money, while others lost it. But a successful foreman was something else—they made big money. However, the image of a foreman wasn't always great—eating and drinking heavily, smoking, and acting vulgar. Being with such a man, whether the future would be good or bad was hard to say. It was certainly less stable than a college student who worked as a doctor with a steady income—something everyone could clearly see.

Liao Zhenzhu pursed her lips, "Sister Xuexia, didn't you want to marry an educated man?"

For Liao Zhenzhu, seeing Lin Xuexia trade a cultured college student for an unknown small-time foreman made her feel aggrieved on her behalf.

"It's not that I *have* to marry an educated man." Lin Xuexia said this with a faint smile. In the past, she had been obsessed with marrying a cultured man, a college student. It had almost become a fixation. She had never actually loved Zheng Yukang; all she wanted was the status of being with an educated man.

It was nothing more than a desire to prove a point, to gain face for her parents. The three sisters had lived in a cowardly way since they were young. As a daughter, Lin Xuexia had always wanted to bring honor to her parents. At first, having no other skills, she could only rely on marriage. Her second sister, who was good at studying, desperately tried to prove that she was no worse than a boy just because she was a girl. Her youngest sister wanted to escape the family, and she would believe any sweet-talk a man gave her, thinking she had found a pillar of support.

Thinking of Fu Wei, Lin Xuexia felt a warmth in her heart. In the past, she had been unwilling to admit it, but she had loved him. Having been apart for only a short while, she already missed him. No matter what kind of man Fu Wei was, she loved him. Forget it, she wouldn't struggle anymore.

She loved this man.

Heaven had given her a chance to be reborn. In this life, she would live a happy and fulfilling life with Fu Wei. She would also bring her mother and sisters to the city, help them move past their old shadows and hang-ups, and stop focusing only on that tiny plot of land back in the village, fighting for unnecessary pride.

At the thought of this, a gentle and sweet smile bloomed on Lin Xuexia’s face, leaving even Liao Zhenzhu stunned.

Lin Xuexia’s heart was now filled with hope and longing for the future. She would marry Fu Wei first, then find a way to save money—save up 200,000 to 300,000 yuan—and build a sixteen-story rental building.

Many people had yet to realize the massive profits in rental housing. She and Fu Wei had only discovered it later. Right now, a small 20-to-40-square-meter apartment rented for about 40 to 60 yuan. Compared to the "ten-thousand-yuan households" who had connections and made big money, this was just pocket change, mere peanuts. Most rentals currently were rural self-built houses that couldn't be built high and didn't offer many units.

In two or three years, as more people flocked south to work, some clever ones would start building high-rises specifically for rent. Fu Wei had taken on many such projects.

At first, she hadn't quite understood it, not until she did the math later. A sixteen-story building with eight small units per floor—by around 1995, one unit could rent for 200 to 300 yuan. Even without counting the storefronts on the ground floor, the residential rent alone would bring in 24,000 to 36,000 yuan a month. The storefronts brought in even more.

A building like that, without doing anything else, could bring in 300,000 to 400,000 yuan in rent a year. If there were prime storefronts, even more. At the latest, it would pay for itself in two years. Not to mention what rents would rise to by the turn of the millennium.

Lin Xuexia had run street stalls and restaurants, constantly worrying about slow business and competitive pressure. But over the years, only rent had steadily increased.

Under the uncomprehending gazes of the other workers, Lin Xuexia, currently facing the prospect of being fired, was glowing with vitality. She went to fetch water and took a bath, feeling full of energy.

Her heart was pounding with excitement. She would seize this opportunity to build more houses. Perhaps she could even try her hand at interior design and property management. Although she hadn't been involved in it before, being by Fu Wei’s side, she had been exposed to a lot of information about the construction industry. She knew all the interior design styles that would become popular in the coming years, and she understood the ins and outs of property management companies.

In her past life, her health hadn't been good, and she hadn't had the energy. Now, she would take care of her body. Not only would she live a good life, she would make a fortune!