"Hmph, of course! Take a good look. Do we still need to return the apartment now?" the woman sneered, slapping a piece of paper onto the table. It was a letter of appointment.
When Minister Wu saw the job title, his smile vanished. Right there, in black and white, it clearly stated the word *Researcher*.
Scientific research personnel were strictly ranked. They started as students, then became technicians, followed by assistant technicians. These three titles were all entry-level. Only after those did one become a researcher. Researchers were further divided into four grades: ordinary staff, group leader, team leader, and director.
And on Comrade Song Yong’s appointment letter, the words "Group Leader" were clearly written. He genuinely qualified for a three-bedroom apartment.
This time, the new building was exclusively for researchers. However, the institute had a fixed number of researchers. If it weren’t for these transferred personnel coming from out of town, the new building wouldn’t have been built at all.
Chi, Gao Zhijun, and the others all noticed Minister Wu’s changing expression.
Bai Jiu tugged at Gao Zhijun’s clothes. Although she wasn’t someone to swallow her grievances silently, she always made sure to clarify the facts before acting out.
"Has your title been finalized?" she asked. She genuinely didn’t know. After listening to them argue for so long, she was curious.
Gao Zhijun nodded. He had learned about his position from his teacher last night. Pulling a certificate from his pocket, he showed her the bold words written on it: *Director of the Mobile Department*.
Bai Jiu glanced at it. "Is your rank higher than his?" She really didn’t understand the internal ranking system.
"A few grades higher," Gao Zhijun whispered in her ear.
However, these new apartments were allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to use his status to suppress others.
"Should we switch to a smaller one?" Gao Zhijun knew it was unfair to her, but there was nothing else they could do.
"Let’s wait and see," she replied. She had to take a look first; she hadn’t even decided where to choose yet.
"Okay." Seeing that she didn’t mind the housing situation too much, Gao Zhijun breathed a sigh of relief. "Chi, let’s go with a two-bedroom," he said. He didn’t want to keep arguing. There was no point in dwelling on something that wouldn’t yield a result.
Hearing Gao Zhijun speak up, Chi visibly relaxed. "I’m sorry, Mr. Gao," he apologized immediately.
"There’s no need to apologize. First come, first served—I understand. It has nothing to do with you." Gao Zhijun patted Chi’s shoulder.
Minister Wu also heard Gao Zhijun’s words. Although he didn’t know Gao Zhijun’s exact position, anyone who could have higher-ups vouch for him was definitely no inferior to Song Yong.
"You must be Mr. Gao. You really look impressive," Minister Wu said, walking over with a fake smile.
Gao Zhijun nodded at him in greeting. "Get the keys for a two-bedroom so I can go take a look." He really didn’t like dealing with people like this. "I trust the courtyard house hasn’t been given to someone else."
One mistake could be forgiven, but making the same mistake twice would be inexcusable. No matter how accommodating he usually was, for the sake of his wife and children, he had to be firm when necessary.
"It’s still there! That place has always been reserved for you, Mr. Gao," Minister Wu said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
He had no choice but to humble himself. After all, the mistake was on his end this time. Scientific research was rigorous. In this institute, the tolerance for errors was extremely low.
Just as they had settled the matter, no one expected Sister-in-law Song to throw a fit.
"Heh, getting assigned a three-bedroom apartment at such a young age? You didn’t use connections to get in, did you?" the woman scoffed, walking toward the couple with a mocking expression. "Tell us, who pulled strings for you? Introduce us so we can get to know them too."
Her words were incredibly harsh and offensive. She seemed absolutely certain that Gao Zhijun and his wife had relied on nepotism to get their position.
"Comrade, please do not slander others," Gao Zhijun said, looking highly displeased. She could insult him all she wanted, but she had no right to question his teacher’s integrity.
Bai Jiu, however, was not about to tolerate this. They were the ones at fault to begin with, so what was the meaning of spewing this nonsense now?
"Lady, I suggest you get your facts straight before opening your mouth. Slandering others is a crime, especially when you’re slandering a scientific researcher who has contributed to the country." Bai Jiu took a step forward, shielding Gao Zhijun and blocking the woman’s line of sight to her husband.
"Heh, is this your second marriage?" This Sister-in-law Song was truly unbelievable. "No wonder. This little vixen sure has some skills."
Sister-in-law Song, whose real name was Zhuo Hongling, could never stand seeing others do better than her. Especially since the apartment was originally reserved for them. And so, she started running her mouth without a filter.
Bai Jiu wasn’t going to humor her. She marched right up and slapped the woman across the face. "Keep your mouth clean! If there’s a next time, I’ll take this straight to the leadership. I’d love to see if a family member is allowed to just slander people like this."
Her strike escalated the situation instantly. Zhuo Hongling was already an unforgiving person. Now that she had been wronged, there was no way she would let it slide.
"You bitch! You dared to hit me!" she shrieked, charging straight at Bai Jiu.
Bai Jiu’s fighting skills had been honed in the village. She truly didn’t take this woman seriously at all.
"So what if I hit you? Keep yapping, and I’ll slap your mouth to pieces!"
As the woman rushed over, Bai Jiu met her head-on, grabbing both of Zhuo Hongling’s wrists and kicking her hard.
For a moment, the bystanders couldn’t even react. It wasn’t until—
"AARGH! You bitch, you kicked me!"
Just as Zhuo Hongling was about to kick back, the crowd surged forward and pulled the two women apart.
"I’m not done with you! You bitch, you hit me! I am not done with you!" Zhuo Hongling could never endure the slightest grievance. Now that she had actually been beaten, how could she let it go? However, it was obvious that she lacked experience in verbal sparring; otherwise, she wouldn’t be repeating the same line over and over.
"Hmph, come at me then! You think I’m scared of you?" Bai Jiu, on the other hand, was in a league of her own. "Before insulting others, take a good look at your own wretched self! You’re the damn second wife! You’re the damn vixen! Just because you’re ugly doesn’t mean you can’t stand seeing someone prettier than you.
"This is my first marriage, and I had twins in one go! My beauty is natural and undeniable. Unlike you, with your thick lips, flat nose, and square face. Other than being pale, you’re nothing but an ugly thing!"
Bai Jiu’s sharp tongue had battled the fiercest gossips in the village. If anyone thought they could get the better of her, they were dreaming.
"If you weren’t walking on two legs, I would have thought a wild boar wandered in!"
Gao Zhijun was tightly holding onto his wife to hold her back. Upon hearing her words, he let out a very uncharitable laugh. Scolding people was one thing, but this blatant self-praise... Still, what she said was true. She possessed natural beauty, and she was indeed irresistible.
"You, you, you..." Zhuo Hongling never expected the woman to have such a vicious tongue. "Bullshit!" she quickly retorted. "This is called being blessed! Being able to eat is a blessing! So what if I’m plump? Am I eating your family’s rice? If you’re so capable, have your man feed you until you’re plump too! Don’t just stand there being jealous because you can’t!"
"Heh, I really can’t be jealous of that. Why would I give up being a perfectly fine human to become a pig? My brain isn’t broken yet."
The bystanders trying to break up the fight were stunned by Bai Jiu’s sharp words. But looking at the two women, they had to admit she was right. No matter how much "blessing" one had, they shouldn’t be that fat.
She truly was... ugly.
"Enough, stop arguing!" Minister Wu finally spoke up, interrupting their shouting match. "To both of you ladies, this whole mess is my fault. I’ll reflect on it, and I’ll make it up to you." Minister Wu looked like he wanted to cry.
"Then what about her hitting me?" Zhuo Hongling had never suffered such a huge loss before. "Unless you let me hit her back, this isn’t over." Zhuo Hongling raised her head, showing off the red handprint on her face.