Chapter 210: The Connection
Chapter 210: Chapter 210: The Connection
When Jiang Moli finished getting dressed and went to the living room, Lu Deyao was the first to praise her:
"Not bad, not bad. In that outfit, Moli, you really look the part."
Lu Cheng: "That goes without saying. My wife looks good in anything!"
An Hui reached out to adjust Jiang Moli’s collar, advising her, "It’s your first day at work. Be steady in your words and actions, make a good impression on your superiors, and get along with your colleagues."
"Don’t worry, Mom. I know what I’m doing."
Lu Deyao checked the time. "It’s about time. Let’s go, Moli. You can ride in my car."
Lu Cheng huffed, "You go on your own. I’ll take Moli to work on my bike."
Hearing this, Lu Deyao didn’t argue with his son. He turned to leave, but Jiang Moli called out to him.
"Dad, wait for me. I’ll take your car."
With that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and moved to follow Lu Deyao out the door.
Lu Cheng followed her, unwilling to give up. "But I said I’d take you to work on my bike."
Jiang Moli gave him a strange look. "Why would anyone choose a bicycle when there’s a car?"
Lu Cheng: "..."
Seeing his son’s defeated expression, Lu Deyao let out a rather shameless laugh.
"Exactly, exactly! Moli, it’s so much more comfortable in the car. No wind, no sun. Who would want to ride his beat-up old bike?"
"You’re right, Dad."
Lu Cheng: ’This is so frustrating.’
Although his wife was blatantly materialistic, he could only blame himself for not being capable enough.
...
After they went out, Lu Deyao realized he had forgotten his keys. He told Jiang Moli to wait in the car while he went back to get them.
Watching Lu Deyao’s hurried figure, Lu Cheng’s lips curved into a slight smile. He turned and put an arm around Jiang Moli, saying:
"Come on, let’s get in the car."
Once outside the courtyard gate, Lu Cheng opened the passenger door. After Jiang Moli was seated, he walked around to the driver’s side and called Jiang Xiaoguang out of the car.
"Third Brother, what’s up?"
"Go inside and get the 28-inch roadster from the courtyard."
"Oh, okay."
After Jiang Xiaoguang went into the courtyard to get the bicycle, Lu Cheng slipped into the driver’s seat, closed the door, and started the car, all in one smooth motion.
Watching Lu Cheng expertly drive the car away from their house, Jiang Moli couldn’t help but say:
"You just drove off with the car. How is your dad going to get to work?"
"There’s a bicycle at home. If that doesn’t work, he can always take the bus."
Jiang Moli was amused. "You really are your father’s son."
Lu Cheng was noncommittal. He changed the subject to Jiang Moli’s new job, his words laced with worry that she might be bullied at work.
Jiang Moli’s expression said it all: ’You know nothing of my power.’
...
By the time Lu Deyao found his keys and came back out, he saw Jiang Xiaoguang standing at the gate, holding a rather old 28-inch roadster.
He looked left and right in confusion. "Where’s my car???"
"Third Brother drove it away. Chief, I can take you to work on the bike."
"That son of a bitch!"
Cursing was one thing, but he had no choice but to hop on the back of the bicycle and have Jiang Xiaoguang pedal him to work.
This scene was witnessed by Wu Miaoyun, who was on her way out to take out the trash.
A moment later, she ran into Wu Lan, who was taking her grandson to the Red Nursery School.
They only exchanged a few words before the conversation turned to Jiang Moli.
Wu Miaoyun was particularly resentful about Jiang Moli getting into the cultural troupe.
"With her personality? The people at the cultural troupe aren’t blind. I’d bet she got in by pulling strings and using backdoor connections."
Wu Lan deeply agreed.
After gossiping with Wu Lan, Wu Miaoyun returned home. Seeing Chen Xue fixing her hair in the mirror, she felt an inexplicable surge of anger.
She immediately started berating her, "Look at that Jiang Moli! She’s already gotten into the cultural troupe! What are you lacking compared to her? When you have time, you should learn from her how to please your in-laws. Maybe then they can get you transferred to an office job in the future!"
Getting yelled at first thing in the morning, Chen Xue couldn’t help but feel dejected.
She was also full of envy, jealousy, and hate over Jiang Moli joining the cultural troupe, but what could she do?
When she got to her counter at work, she couldn’t resist venting her frustrations to her colleague, bad-mouthing Jiang Moli in the process.
[Disdain Value +2. 20,000 Yuan credited to your account.]
...
Jiang Dahai was riding his bike, and just as he was approaching the machinery factory, he ran into Zhou Weiguang, who was also cycling to work.
"Mr. Jiang, good morning."
"Haha, morning."
Seeing Jiang Dahai’s beaming face, Zhou Weiguang couldn’t help but tease him, "You look so cheerful. Any good news?"
Jiang Dahai didn’t hide it. "Our Moli got into the cultural troupe. Today’s her first day reporting for duty."
"Wow, that’s great news!"
In this day and age, joining a cultural troupe as an art soldier was both a glorious and respectable thing.
In the locker room, Jiang Qing hung her bag in its usual spot and took out a cloth cap and a pair of sleeve protectors.
As she was putting them on, a female cafeteria worker suddenly leaned in close to her.
"Hey, Jiang Moli managed to get into the cultural troupe. How come she didn’t arrange a formal job for you, her older sister?"
Jiang Qing’s movements, as she was putting on her sleeve protectors, froze. "Jiang Moli got into the cultural troupe? Who told you that?"
"Everyone’s talking about it. What, you didn’t know?"
Jiang Qing’s expression turned ugly.
Although she and Jiang Moli were like fire and water, she never showed even a hint of her hostility toward Jiang Moli to the outside world.
On the contrary, by leveraging her connections as a battalion commander’s sister-in-law and Jiang Dahai’s stepdaughter, she had done quite well for herself in the cafeteria.
"I’ve been busy studying lately, so I’m not really up to date on family matters."
After getting rid of her coworker, Jiang Qing’s face darkened, and she gritted her teeth.
Jiang Moli actually got into the cultural troupe!
’No doubt about it, the Lu Family must have pulled strings to get her in!’
At this thought, a cold sneer appeared on her face.
’I was just wondering how to deal with Jiang Moli. Now that a perfect piece of leverage has fallen into my lap, there’s no way I’m letting it go.’
...
The military region’s cultural troupe was divided into three sections: the song and dance troupe, the drama troupe, and the folk music troupe.
Jiang Moli was joining the drama troupe’s playwriting and directing department.
The department head’s surname was Zhong, and her full name was Zhong Lin. She looked to be around thirty years old, a beautiful young woman who possessed both grace and beauty.
In fact, the entire cultural troupe was filled with handsome men and beautiful women. Someone like Jiang Moli was considered quite average.
After completing the onboarding paperwork, Zhong Lin assigned a troupe member named Qian Ling to show Jiang Moli around and help her get familiar with the place.
Qian Ling didn’t look very old. She had a round face with big, round eyes, and she spoke with perfect, clear enunciation.
Through their conversation, Jiang Moli learned that Qian Ling had graduated from a specialized secondary arts school, where she majored in broadcasting and hosting.
In the drama troupe, she was responsible for tasks like announcing programs and narrating.
After they had familiarized themselves with the drama troupe’s area, Qian Ling took her to visit the song and dance troupe and the folk music troupe.
The song and dance troupe held an exceptional status within the cultural troupe, even having its own separate building.
After entering the song and dance troupe’s building, Jiang Moli wasn’t watching where she was going for a moment and bumped into someone.
The two of them came face to face—they knew each other.
The person with Fan Qiuyun helped steady her while scolding Jiang Moli, "What’s wrong with you? Don’t you watch where you’re going? Deliberately bumping into people like that. If she gets hurt, can you even take responsibility?"
Fan Qiuyun said sarcastically to her companion, "Forget it. She’s one of those *people with connections*. We can’t afford to offend her."
That one phrase, "people with connections," caused all eyes in the vicinity to focus on Jiang Moli.