The Daily Life of a 90s Nanny Building Fortune Through Food

In late June 1992, Lin Xiangxiu arrives in the bustling city of Shencheng with her young daughter, Lin Xiao, seeking her husband, Lin Shuping. Having been abandoned by her parents and raised by her grandmother as a child bride, Lin Xiangxiu married Lin Shuping at nineteen under family pressure. After the birth of their daughter, Lin Shuping left for university in Shencheng and eventually secured a teaching job, sending money home but rarely returning. When a violent conflict with his mother forces Lin Xiangxiu and her daughter out of their rural home, she travels south with dwindling savings, hoping to reunite her family. However, shortly before finding Lin Shuping, she experiences a vivid premonition or dream in which she agrees to his suggestion of working as a nanny in his new household. In that vision, she is deceived, her daughter drops out of school, associates with delinquents, and dies tragically in a motorcycle accident. The vision leaves her with profound regret and fear, fundamentally altering her resolve.

Upon meeting Lin Shuping at the Chunfeng Inn, the reality of the situation mirrors her nightmare. Lin Shuping reveals he has already married another woman in Shencheng and is pregnant wife. He dismisses his marriage to Lin Xiangxiu as an invalid arranged union since they never registered it officially. He attempts to coerce Lin Xiangxiu into staying as a low-paid nanny to care for his new family, offering only seventy yuan a month and claiming it is for the sake of their daughter’s education. Enraged by his audacity and the threat to her daughter’s future, Lin Xiangxiu rejects his proposal violently. She throws a bowl of hot noodles over him and, when he threatens physical violence, her daughter bites him in defense. Lin Xiangxiu kicks Lin Shuping, forcing him to retreat, and immediately calls the police to report him for abandonment and bigamy.

At the police station, Lin Xiangxiu presents a letter of introduction from her village as proof of their de facto marriage. Despite Lin Shuping’s attempts to downplay their relationship, the officers recognize the legal implications of his actions. Lin Xiangxiu demands a divorce, full custody of their daughter, and financial compensation. She threatens to expose his behavior to his employer and the public if he does not comply. Fearing the loss of his prestigious position and social standing, Lin Shuping capitulates. He pays her one thousand yuan on the spot, a significant sum at the time, and signs a divorce agreement. Lin Xiangxiu ensures the agreement includes a clause preventing him from claiming support from their daughter in the future, effectively severing all ties with him.

With the divorce finalized, Lin Xiangxiu faces the challenge of supporting herself and her daughter in an expensive city. She has no local connections, limited funds, and no formal education or urban work experience. While eating at a local noodle shop, she overhears a group of police officers discussing a job opening for a nanny. The position pays an exceptionally high wage of three dollars per hour, but the employer, Deputy Director Liu’s brother-in-law, is notoriously difficult. He is a returnee from the United States, works as a criminal psychology consultant, and has fired multiple nannies due to his obsessive cleanliness and picky eating habits.

Lin Xiangxiu decides to apply for the position, seeing it as a viable path to financial stability. She meets with Deputy Director Liu’s wife, Lu Xiaoxia, who is skeptical due to Lin Xiangxiu’s youth and the fact that she is traveling with a child. Lin Xiangxiu negotiates to bring her daughter, promising to enroll her in a daycare center, which Lu Xiaoxia agrees to facilitate. Lin Xiangxiu is introduced to Lu Xingzhi, the employer. The meeting is tense; Lu Xingzhi is cold, dismissive, and clearly reluctant to hire anyone after his recent bad experiences. He initially refuses to hire her, offering compensation for her travel expenses instead.

Refusing to give up, Lin Xiangxiu asks for a trial, offering to cook a meal and clean the apartment to prove her competence. Lu Xingzhi agrees, albeit with low expectations. In the kitchen, Lin Xiangxiu demonstrates remarkable culinary skill. She prepares a whole chicken that the previous nanny had left raw and unprepared, transforming it into a delicious chicken noodle soup and shredded chicken with ginger-scallion sauce. She also bakes savory meat pies and hand-pulled noodles. Her efficiency, cleanliness, and the aroma of the food impress both Lu Xingzhi and Lu Xiaoxia. Lu Xingzhi, though still reserved, admits that the food is satisfactory and that she is the cleanest candidate he has seen. The story concludes with Lin Xiangxiu securing the job, marking the beginning of her new life in Shencheng, far removed from the tragic fate foretold in her vision.