While talking, Mrs. Lin put the leftover beef into her own bowl, emptied out the white rice, leaving just some tomato juice in the lunchbox. She broke two leftover corn buns into it and handed the lunchbox to Lin Xiang.
"Take it to your brother."
Lin Xiang didn't take the lunchbox, just silently looked at Mrs. Lin without speaking.
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Lin mumbled, "Getting sick cost a lot of money, not to mention the lack of work points earned. It's good enough I can give him something to eat. Even if there's no meat, at least it's touched some broth, he's lucky!"
Lin Xiang sighed heavily, "Mom, haven't you always said Smartie Liu likes my brother? If she sees you treating him this way and gets upset, what if she stops bringing us good things?"
Mrs. Lin slightly furrowed her brow, "Would that really happen?"
Lin Xiang nodded furiously, "Think about it from another angle. If you knew someone treated your precious baby like this, wouldn't you be angry?"
"Of course I'd be angry! If anyone dares to bully you, I'll teach them a lesson!" Mrs. Lin said fiercely, ready to roll up her sleeves and fight if she wasn't holding a bowl.
While she was a bit greedier, Mrs. Lin's maternal love for her daughter was unwavering. Lin Xiang, being the beneficiary, couldn't unjustly criticize Mrs. Lin's actions, but could only guide her to treat Lin Yun better. That way, if he becomes successful in the future, he won't resent Mrs. Lin so much.
"Mom, I have good news for you! The town leaders appreciate me very much and have even asked me to be a translator! If I can facilitate this cooperation, the reputation of Mianyang Town's textiles will spread, more foreigners will visit, and I can earn more money."
Mrs. Lin's eyes lit up, "A chef and a translator? You could earn money two ways!"
Lin Xiang looked at Mrs. Lin with a serious expression, "Comrade Zhao Xiuli, I have to correct your mindset. I'm taking the translator job to contribute to foreign trade, not chasing money."
"Right, right, showing yourself in front of the leaders is definitely more important than making money." Mrs. Lin couldn't stop smiling, "My daughter is so impressive. With you like this, unless they're the leader's son, otherwise no one deserves you!"
Lin Xiang helplessly put her hand to her forehead, "Mom, really..."
From a smart youth to a worker, and then to the leader's son?
Comrade Zhao Xiuli's greed is increasing day by day!
"So, Mom, now you have to be nicer to my brother. Otherwise, if someone wants to marry me and comes to investigate our family, if they hear you mistreated my brother and they refuse, what then?"
"That's true," Mrs. Lin mumbled, staring at the beef in her bowl, hesitating for a long time before finally deciding to take out two pieces and give them to Lin Yun.
"Go, go, give it to that debt collector, don't bother my meal!"
Lin Xiang shook her head, originally wanting to give all the meat in her bowl to Lin Yun. But as soon as she thought of it, her stomach growled.
She had only eaten one piece of beef while cooking, and she had been hungry for quite some time.
Thinking for a moment, Lin Xiang took three pieces out of her bowl and made up five pieces for Lin Yun.
When Lin Yun came home, Lin Xiang handed him the bowl, "Today's dinner, bro, you eat first."
Lin Yun lowered his eyes and saw the few pieces of meat in the bowl. He furrowed his brow, "For me?"
"Yep. I was making Western food at the state-run restaurant today, and Chef Shen gave me the leftover beef. I saved some for you. Hurry up and eat."
Saying this, Lin Xiang didn't care about Lin Yun, eating her own bowl.
Indeed, the beef from grass-fed old yellow cows of the seventies was really fragrant. Because they worked all the time, the beef was firm but not tough, with a good chew.
Seeing Lin Xiang eat so delightedly, Lin Yun's long-empty stomach twitched slightly, making it impossible to refuse.
Lin Xiang's bowl had a lot more beef than Lin Yun's, but he didn't mind. Instead, he was shocked that Lin Xiang voluntarily gave him food with beef.
Lin Yun silently picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks, chewed while glancing at Lin Xiang, only to see her devouring her food rapidly, finishing the bowl quickly.
After eating, she didn't bother Lin Yun, washing her bowl clean by herself, and simply washed up before going to bed early.
The next day, before Lin Xiang woke from her sleep, there was a frantic pounding at her door.
"Where is everyone?"
Lin Xiang, with her messy hair, sat up. Mrs. Lin's presence had long vanished, only the wrinkled bed sheets reminding her that Mrs. Lin had slept with her.
Helplessly yawning, Lin Xiang got up to open the door herself.
As soon as she pulled the door, the woman's slap was almost on her face.
"Director Zhao, what's going on? I haven't provoked you, have I?" Lin Xiang frowned, asking in annoyance.
Anyone woken from their dreams and almost slapped would be in a bad mood.
The women's director put one hand on her hip, pointing the other at Lin Xiang's nose, "Yesterday you vowed in front of the team leader and me that today there would definitely be someone from the electricity bureau coming to hook up the wires. Look at the time now, where are they?"
"Lin Xiang, when will you change this habit of exaggerating? What good does deceiving the team leader do you?"
The criticism from the women's director came fiercely.
Homes in rural areas are densely packed, and the commotion here quickly caught the attention of nearby neighbors.
"Director Zhao, what's this girl bragging about again? What's deceiving the team leader mean?"
The women's director disdainfully glanced at Lin Xiang, "Last night, Lin Xiang suddenly rushed to the team headquarters and vowed in front of us leaders that she knows the town leaders. They specifically gave us the Li Hua Team a telephone installation quota and even said the commune and electric bureau people would come today to hook up the wires. It's late now, and they still haven't come!"
Lin Xiang turned silently to look at the clock hanging in the middle of the main room.
She thought she had slept until noon, but it was just past nine o'clock.
Watching Zhao Chunping passionately speaking, Lin Xiang just found it funny.
"Director Zhao, Aunt Zhao, I know your daughter also likes Wen Siyuan and sees me as a rival. But I've already drawn a clear line with Wen Siyuan. Isn't it inappropriate for you to target me so openly because of him?"
"You... What nonsense are you talking!" Zhao Chunping glared at Lin Xiang.
"It's just after nine in the morning, and offices only open at eight. After starting work, they have other things to handle. Do we at Li Hua Team have some important person that they'd abandon their proper job and come immediately?" Lin Xiang almost rolled her eyes at Zhao Chunping.