Mother Chang didn’t have any issues with her son-in-law Bai Zhiyong.

She was quite satisfied with him.

Previously impulsive, he had missed several promotion opportunities, but after marrying Chang Ying, he became more stable. This year he was just promoted to squad leader. At this rate, by the time he turns 40, becoming a battalion commander shouldn’t be a problem.

For a man, 40 is still in his prime. He could either continue accumulating experience in the confidential unit and keep rising, or do well if he returned to civilian life. Once Bai Zhiyong became a battalion commander, he could serve as the head of the county’s Armed Forces Department, or take a half-step down to become the deputy chief of the county bureau. If he returned to Yangcheng, he’d at least be assigned to the district level… In short, becoming a battalion commander meant having options, and Mother Chang didn’t need to worry about her daughter’s future.

Mother Chang’s regret came from comparing with Gao Huabin.

The level that Bai Zhiyong would take over ten years to achieve through struggle, Gao Huabin might reach in just a few years.

It couldn’t be helped – Gao Huabin started from a higher point; university graduates were different.

Moreover, Gao Huabin had another advantage over Bai Zhiyong: marrying him wouldn’t involve the hardships of being a military family member, no long-distance marriage!

Of course, it was too late to discuss these things now. Voicing these thoughts would only create family conflicts.

She just felt sorry for her daughter.

Marrying into the Bai family meant rarely seeing her husband, and having an unruly sister-in-law. The Chang family kindly introduced a quality match to Bai Zhenzhu, but she treated their goodwill like dirt!

Was it because she could earn money that she looked down on her sister-in-law?

Mother Chang swallowed her displeasure, “Let it go, she’s Zhiyong’s sister. The Bai family has few members; you can’t avoid interacting with Zhiyong’s only sister, can you? For Zhiyong’s sake, don’t hold it against her. What you’re doing now is for Bai Zhenzhu’s good. You’ve started this, it wouldn’t be right to leave it half-done. Just focus on matching her with young Gao. Once you succeed in arranging this good marriage, you’ll have fulfilled your duty as a sister-in-law. After that, you can stay out of her affairs.”

Chang Ying could only nod.

“Mom, what should I do about the caregiver situation?”

“She insists on hiring two caregivers – she’s just burning money! But as a daughter-in-law, you should still show some gestures. Do this: when she hires the caregivers, you cover one caregiver’s salary. We won’t take advantage of the situation, and you won’t be called unfilial. If you’re short on money, I can give you some.”

Mother Chang advised her daughter, but Chang Ying shook her head, biting her lip, “I’ll cover this with Zhiyong. I never intended to take advantage of his sister, but I can’t let my maiden family subsidize this either, right?”

The Chang family weren’t bad people.

But as a family working in state-owned enterprises with good benefits, they had never experienced serious hardship and cared about face.

Their sense of superiority over private business owners wasn’t unique to the Chang family.

Almost everyone working in state-owned enterprises was similar to the Chang family.

Only a very small minority with ambition would actively choose to suspend their positions and venture out. Most people would stay in their comfort zones, refusing to change.

This sense of superiority would continue until the 1990s.

In the 1990s, seemingly overnight, poorly managed factories appeared nationwide. The iron rice bowls of state-owned enterprises turned out not to be so iron-clad after all, with workers being laid off in masses… By then, wanting to change with elderly parents and young children to support, what resources did they have to venture out?

On the contrary, many of those who dared to start private businesses in the 1980s and survived made money and became wealthy.

Urban household registration, job assignments, welfare housing – all these became unimportant.

By then, urban household registration could be bought with money, and housing could be bought with money – society changed so rapidly. Families like the Changs, if they didn’t seize opportunities during the reform, would go from today’s overwhelming sense of superiority to becoming increasingly ordinary.

Seven out of ten sentences in Chang Ying and her mother’s long conversation were about Gao Huabin.

Chang Ying’s father came home later, and the mother-daughter pair were still talking.

After overhearing some of it, Father Chang tapped the table: “You said your sister-in-law’s partnership building materials store, what’s it called?”

Chang Ying thought for a moment, “I think it’s called ‘Anjia Building Materials,’ but I’m not sure. I’ll ask Grandmother Zhiyong tomorrow.”

“Anjia Building Materials?”

Father Chang’s voice rose, “How long has it been since you went shopping? If it’s really ‘Anjia Building Materials,’ your husband’s sister’s business is quite substantial. ‘Anjia Building Materials has two stores in Yangcheng alone and more than one in Pengcheng. If it’s the same ‘Anjia Building Materials,’ she’s not just making a little money.”

Chang Ying was shocked, “Several stores?”

Father Chang nodded, “That building materials store makes money hand over fist. Even as a minor shareholder, she must be making at least 100,000 yuan a year.”

Chang Ying was completely stunned.

100,000 yuan a year?

Even emptying the Chang family’s entire savings wouldn’t amount to 100,000 yuan.

Could private business owners make that much money?

What the Chang family of three didn’t know was that Bai Zhenzhu was the major shareholder of ‘Anjia Building Materials,’ not a minor one. Father Chang, as an outsider, understood even less about ‘Anjia Building Materials” specific operations – his estimate had reduced Bai Zhenzhu’s dividends by a factor of ten.

Chang Ying was shocked by Bai Zhenzhu’s annual income of 100,000, unaware that her sister-in-law, who had no interest in marriage and preferred men’s clothing, wasn’t just a ten-thousand-yuan household or a millionaire, but “Bai Ten Million.”

Why would a 1980s multi-millionaire worry about getting married?!

“Since Zhenzhu is so good at making money, it’s not marrying up with young Gao.”

Chang Ying muttered to herself, finally changing her tune fairly.

Suddenly, she thought of a crucial question.

Did young Gao know that ‘Anjia Building Materials’ was Zhenzhu’s partnership business?

Chang Ying wanted to deceive herself by saying Gao Huabin didn’t know, but that would be insulting to her intelligence.

Of course, he knew!

Young Gao took care of Grandmother Zhiyong every day, and the old lady wasn’t particularly good at keeping things to herself. Moreover, she liked young Gao so much, that she definitely couldn’t resist adding weight to Zhenzhu’s credentials.

In matchmaking, it’s about laying both parties’ conditions on the table.

Chang Ying suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

So was young Gao’s enthusiasm for Zhenzhu because he truly liked her, or because he admired her money-making abilities?

Wait, even if young Gao knew, what’s wrong with that?

When a couple gets married, don’t they consider any conditions at all?

Even when she and Bai Zhiyong were matched, she agreed to meet him because he was an official, not an ordinary person!

Chang Ying didn’t need to search deep for justification; she immediately convinced herself.

…

Bai Zhenzhu rubbed her nose hard.

She had been sneezing since the afternoon.

Xia Xiaolan looked up from her desk, “You sent two professional caregivers over, your sister-in-law and grandmother must be talking about you behind your back.”

Well, they were already sent, could they be called back?

Having done this, Bai Zhenzhu felt inexplicably satisfied, only regretting not doing it sooner.

It wasn’t that she was being unfilial, but the elderly could be too stubborn. She needed to show her grandmother her determination – as long as Gao Huabin was there, she wouldn’t appear.

Even the most likable young man couldn’t be more important than a granddaughter, could he?

Hopefully, the old lady would understand soon.

“I’m talking about you – you’ve been reading that magazine all afternoon, what have you figured out?”