Li Kai helped her choose a Chinese supermarket.
With some existing rapport with the owner, he sat by the entrance chatting with him while she went to pick out her items: toothpaste, toothbrush, towels, a basin, a mat, a tatami, a blanket, a mosquito net, mosquito repellent, and other necessities.
It had been a long time since they had seen such a young and beautiful Chinese woman, and the owner was very interested.
When it was time to pay, he asked Tong An'an if she had a boyfriend.
Tong An'an said she did.
"You have a boyfriend but you come to a place like this? Is he willing to let you, or did he come with you?"
"He's in China. I wanted to come myself."
"Heh. Educated, young, and beautiful, why wouldn't you choose an economically developed place? Running off to this godforsaken corner of the world, don't you think it's a waste of your youth? Your boyfriend really doesn't know how to cherish a gem."
Tong An'an didn't want to explain her relationship with Jiang Jingyu, so she smiled and said, "They pay well in this godforsaken place."
That was the truth, and the owner laughed, amused. "Come back often if you need anything."
When they returned, Tong An'an thanked Li Kai and began to tidy up the room.
The company had developed portable Wi-Fi, so she made a voice call to Jiang Jingyu.
Jiang Jingyu asked why she wasn't using video.
"I'm afraid it will lag. Even with video, I won't have time to stand in front of the camera, so let's just chat like this."
"Alright. Have you settled in yet?"
"Yes. I bought a tatami and laid it out. With the sheets and blankets, I'm starting my life of living alone."
"How is it? Is the place for your solo life alright?"
"It's very good, plenty of sunshine, an excellent view, a luxurious large single room."
Jiang Jingyu laughed. "Hmm, I'm a fool, keep making it up."
Tong An'an said, "I'm not making it up. I'm telling the truth."
Jiang Jingyu laughed again. "Ms. Tong An'an, from before you departed until where you are now, every step was arranged by me."
"Even though I haven't been there, I know better than you what the conditions are like. And you call it a luxurious large single room. It would be good enough if they gave you a shabby room to stay in alone. Lying to me? Hmph."
Tong An'an was speechless. "If you know, why did you ask?"
Jiang Jingyu said, "To see if you would tell the truth, to see if you would complain to me, to see if you would regret it. You're quite optimistic."
Tong An'an wanted to hit him through the screen. "Of course I'm optimistic. I'm already here. Besides, I wouldn't dare disgrace you, my elder."
Jiang Jingyu said again, "Then work hard. After you've tidied up the room, video call me and let me see your taste."
As she was busy, Mrs. Li came up with her child to visit.
Worried she hadn't eaten enough for lunch, she brought her some steamed buns.
Tong An'an chatted with Mrs. Li while she was busy.
She learned that Mrs. Li was also an employee of the Zhan Corporation and had worked in another country's branch office for several years before becoming a full-time homemaker for her child.
Her son was already seven years old, robust and strong, much like his father. Tong An'an was very fond of him.
After some tidying, the concrete box began to resemble a home.
Looking at this simple yet cozy little home, Mrs. Li sighed.
"The conditions are so much better than when we first arrived. Speaking of those days, it was truly unbearable."
"When Li Kai and I first arrived, the branch office wasn't even built yet. The people here were lazy, and even with overtime pay, they were unwilling to work extra. We had no choice but to sleep on the streets at night."
"As you know, it's hot here all year round, with many insects. Sleeping outside at night, being bitten, made it impossible to sleep."
"That wasn't the most terrifying part. The terrifying part was that if your immunity was low, you could develop skin diseases after being bitten. Or if you weren't careful with what you ate, you could contract malaria. I almost didn't make it through malaria back then. It nearly scared Li Kai to death."
Tong An'an had only read the word malaria in books. Hearing it for the first time in reality, she couldn't help but be curious and asked Mrs. Li for more details.
Mrs. Li said, "When you get malaria, your whole body heats up, like a severe cold. But with vomiting and diarrhea, it's a bit like gastroenteritis. In short, if you don't get timely help or the medical conditions aren't good enough, it's very easy to become dehydrated and die."
"This place is very poor. Although many have died from it, people still don't take it seriously. You need to be more careful in the future, and tell me immediately if you feel unwell. You absolutely cannot endure it and delay."
Jiang Jingyu didn't want Tong An'an to be labeled as the boss's wife, as she had been in China, with everyone keeping their distance from her, preventing her from gaining real experience.
Therefore, no one knew about her relationship with Jiang Jingyu.
To be honest, Li Kai and his wife were quite worried when the company sent such a delicate and inexperienced person.
On one hand, they feared she couldn't endure the hardship, and on the other hand, they worried about her business capabilities.
Unexpectedly, after a month, Tong An'an's performance completely won them over.
In the beginning, she would stall the car several times just trying to drive out, but now she was as proficient as riding a bicycle, starting off with a single attempt.
Handling business, doing after-sales service, communicating with locals, and communicating with high-level clients.
Whether it was in English or by using a combination of speaking and gestures, and learning the broken local language, she managed to communicate.
Even sometimes, when personnel were unavailable, she could drive alone to distant locations to troubleshoot and perform after-sales service, and she could persevere, fully earning her salary.
Tong An'an didn't think what she was doing was anything extraordinary.
It was no different from her childhood life.
Except now she was working for others and getting paid, whereas in the past, she was running errands for her mother.
She never held back when working since she was young, with energy to spare, so what was there to hold back for?
She thoroughly enjoyed this busy and fulfilling life.
Working from sunrise to sunset, without messy interpersonal relationships or messy things to worry about, it was simply her ideal perfect state.
Outside of work, over the past month, she had added many things to her home.
Learning from online tutorials on upcycling old items, she found discarded dining tables, sofas, and cabinets, painted them in her favorite colors, drew her favorite patterns, and placed them in corners.
She also wallpapered the walls, carpeted the entire room, and assembled uniquely designed table lamps.
The entire room was tidied up by her to be very warm and beautiful.
Li太太's son wished he could stay there every day with her; he called it the fairy sister's little nest.
Every time Jiang Jingyu video called her, she was busy, and he couldn't help but call her a workaholic.
He also understood Tong An'an very well.
With no entertainment activities or facilities, what else could she do but keep herself busy?
The two of them had a time difference. Although Jiang Jingyu loved receiving her messages and was happy to chat with her, he was also busy with his work.
Often, it would take at least one or two hours for him to reply to a message or a picture she sent.
Although their relationship was fine, long-distance relationships where you could only see but not touch were quite difficult.