As long as Shi Kai could live…

He didn’t need further education. No promotions, no raise, no job changes – even if they only met once or twice a year like this, as long as he was alive, Wei Juanhong would have hope and something to look forward to. With the family’s pillar still standing, they could get by!

Zhou Cheng’s heart was bitter.

He wasn’t that noble – if he could live, Zhou Cheng wouldn’t want to die either.

Looking at Wei Juanhong now, Zhou Cheng dared not imagine how Xiaolan would cope if he died, how his parents would manage, not to mention his grandparents.

So when Shi Kai died while he lived – didn’t that mean he owed Shi Kai?

“Sister-in-law, I know you’re grieving deeply now, and what I’m about to say may be inappropriate, but you need to consider plans. The state will provide compensation and coordinate with the local government to arrange work for you or Second Brother Shi. Given Second Brother Shi’s special circumstances, there’s a high chance both of you will be offered jobs. However, these jobs would be in Botong County… given the county’s overall conditions, there won’t be any particularly good positions.”

The Shi family was poor because they lacked sufficient labor – how could they not be poor when there were more mouths to feed than hands to work?

But Botong County itself was impoverished.

Take Xiaolan’s hometown of Anqing County for comparison – it had two pillar factories: an agricultural machinery plant and a meat processing plant. These two large factories provided many jobs and drove the county’s economy.

When workers had money to spend, the county’s economy thrived.

With a good economy, other developments naturally followed.

Botong County didn’t have a single decent large factory, only small-scale operations like match factories and soap factories… In Zhou Cheng’s opinion, such small factories were everywhere, and arranging work for Wei Juanhong there would barely keep her from starving.

It was also impossible to arrange for Wei Juanhong to work in a government office – she would end up doing logistics work in places like the cafeteria due to her low education level. Even entry-level civil servants’ wages were low, and support staff earned even less.

Shi Kai’s brother’s situation was more complicated. There weren’t many jobs suitable for someone with intellectual disabilities – positions that were safe for normal people might pose various risks for Shi Kai’s brother.

Would they dare let him work in a workshop?

He couldn’t operate machinery and might cause safety accidents instead.

The work Shi Kai’s brother could do was probably limited to tasks like gluing matchboxes in the match factory.

Zhou Cheng explained everything thoroughly to Wei Juanhong, sharing his understanding of various situations. He worried that without proper guidance, the Shi family wouldn’t understand these work arrangements and would just accept whatever they were told.

This issue had never crossed Wei Juanhong’s mind. As Zhou Cheng laid out all the matters the Shi family would have to face, Wei Juanhong’s mind was in chaos.

“I don’t know…”

Of course, she didn’t know.

Wei Juanhong wasn’t Xia Xiaolan – she was just a rural woman with limited experience. Besides farming at home, calculating how to stretch Shi Kai’s remittances, wondering whether to save money for her mother-in-law’s eye treatment or if they could afford a wife for her brother-in-law… Wei Juanhong’s life was filled with these trivial matters, leaving no room for other thoughts.

She and Shi Kai had married through matchmaking. Though the Shi family’s conditions were poor, Shi Kai himself was exceptional.

Shi Kai was a cadre, and everyone told Wei Juanhong that her life would improve eventually.

That’s what everyone told Wei Juanhong, and that’s what she believed. Talk of love didn’t matter – in three years of marriage, Shi Kai had barely come home a few times, so what love was there… But even without love, Shi Kai was still her man, her children’s father. Now that Shi Kai was gone, how would the whole family survive?

Zhou Cheng’s words forced Wei Juanhong to face these issues prematurely.

Zhou Cheng was right – grief seemed useless now. With Shi Kai gone, she had to consider how the family would manage.

“Sister-in-law, think carefully. If you have any requests, raise them now. Whatever the organization can resolve for you should be settled at once. For matters that are harder for the organization to handle, I’ll try to find solutions.”

Wei Juanhong nodded stiffly.

“Thank you, thank you all, thank you to the unit and the country—”

Wei Juanhong didn’t know why this young man was so considerate of the Shi family’s interests; she just knew Zhou Cheng was Shi Kai’s colleague who was kindly helping her family, and she should be grateful!

Wei Juanhong’s gratitude made Zhou Cheng uncomfortable. He wanted to say that Shi Kai had saved his life, but the leader nearby noticed something amiss and called Zhou Cheng away.

“Zhou Cheng, your emotions are a bit inappropriate right now.”

Zhou Cheng acknowledged this.

The leader told him to mind his influence and avoid saying things that might upset Shi Kai’s family.

With Shi’s mother bedridden and Shi Kai’s brother intellectually disabled, Wei Juanhong could only consult her natal family. When the Wei family heard about work arrangements for the martyr’s family, they couldn’t spare time to grieve for their deceased son-in-law, instead urging Wei Juanhong to arrange factory work for her younger brother, telling her:

“You’re still young, won’t you remarry? Only your own family is reliable!”

Wei Juanhong trembled with anger, “This job opportunity was bought with Shi Kai’s life – it must go to Shi Ping, not my brother! I won’t remarry, and I won’t rely on my natal family!”

How could she remarry? Wei Juanhong considered herself conscientious – while they lived apart, she had stayed in the countryside caring for her mother-in-law and brother-in-law, and Shi Kai had been completely supportive of her for this. She had the final say in all household matters, and he sent almost all his wages home, not even buying cigarettes for himself… How could she now abandon her half-blind mother-in-law and mentally challenged brother-in-law? How would they survive?

Moreover, she and Shi Kai had two children – who would want two burdens if she remarried with the children?

If she left the children with the Shi family – one two years old, the other just months old and still nursing – who would raise them?

With her natal family being unreliable and no one to advise her, Wei Juanhong could only figure things out herself.

Finally, she could only seek out Zhou Cheng. Zhou Cheng and Shi Kai must have been close friends, as he kept considering the Shi family’s interests. She had heard others call him Team Leader, so she followed suit:

“Team Leader Zhou, I’ve decided – priority is finding suitable work for Shi Ping… secondly, would it be possible to get treatment for my mother-in-law’s eyes?”

Zhou Cheng frowned, “Are these your only conditions?”

These could hardly be called conditions – they were basic entitlements.

Wei Juanhong grew anxious, “Then just arrange work for Shi Ping first, I’ll take my mother-in-law for treatment myself.”

“Sister-in-law, haven’t you thought about yourself?”

Zhou Cheng had explained everything so clearly, yet Wei Juanhong still didn’t understand.

Given the Shi family’s special circumstances and Shi Kai’s undisputed martyr status, if the unit made requests, local authorities could arrange work for both Wei Juanhong and Shi Ping. After all, Wei Juanhong had two children to raise – giving the Shi family an additional job opportunity would make their future life considerably easier.

Zhou Cheng meant for Wei Juanhong to consider specific conditions – he could help secure better positions for both her and Shi Ping.

There was also the matter of the children’s future education.

But Wei Juanhong timidly asked only for benefits that martyrs’ families were already entitled to. Far from feeling relieved, Zhou Cheng felt even worse.