Chapter Fourteen: The Annoyance of Being Awakened from a Dream

While they were talking, Lin’s mother took all the remaining beef into her own bowl and poured out the white rice, leaving only some tomato broth in the lunchbox. She broke two leftover corn buns into it and handed the lunchbox to Lin Xiang.

“Take this to your brother.”

Lin Xiang didn’t take the lunchbox but silently watched her mother without saying a word.

“What’s wrong?” Lin’s mother murmured, “He just got sick once, spent a lot of money, and didn’t even earn enough work points. It’s already good enough that I could give him something to eat. Even if there’s no meat, at least it’s flavored with some meat broth. I’m doing him a favor!”

Lin Xiang sighed deeply. “Mom, haven’t you always said Liu Zhiqing likes my brother? What if she finds out you treat him like this? What if she gets angry and stops bringing good things to our house?”

Lin’s mother frowned slightly. “Would she really do that?”

Lin Xiang nodded vigorously. “Think about it from another perspective. If you knew someone treated your precious child like this, wouldn’t you be upset?”

“Of course I would! If anyone dared to bully you, just watch me deal with them!” If she weren’t holding a bowl, Lin’s mother would have rolled up her sleeves to fight.

Though a bit greedy, her motherly love for her daughter remained strong. As a beneficiary of this affection, Lin Xiang couldn’t simply blame her mother’s behavior. She could only gently guide her to treat Lin Yun better so that when he became successful, he wouldn’t harbor such resentment toward their mother.

“Mom, I have some good news! The town leaders really appreciate me and even asked me to be a translator! If I can make this cooperation happen, our town’s fabric reputation will spread, and more foreign guests will come. I’ll be able to earn more money.”

Lin’s mother’s eyes lit up. “So you’re going to be both a chef and a translator? That means you could earn two incomes?”

Lin Xiang looked seriously at her mother. “Comrade Zhao Xiuli, I have to correct your way of thinking. I’m becoming a translator to contribute to foreign trade, not just for money.”

“Yes, yes, being recognized by the leaders is much more important than money.” Her mother’s smile was unstoppable. “My girl is amazing. Someone like you deserves only the leader’s son; no one else would be good enough!”

Lin Xiang helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead. From educated youth to worker to leader’s son? Comrade Zhao Xiuli’s greed truly grew day by day!

“So, Mom, you have to treat my brother better now. Otherwise, when someone wants to marry me and checks our family, if they hear you’ve been unfair to my brother, what if they don’t like it?”

“That’s true.” Lin’s mother murmured a few words, looked at the beef chunks in the bowl, hesitated for a long time, then finally decided and took two pieces from her own bowl to give to Lin Yun.

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“Go, go, go, give it to that debt collector! Don’t bother me while I’m eating!” Lin Xiang shook her head. She had wanted to give all the meat in her bowl to Lin Yun, but just as the thought crossed her mind, her stomach growled loudly.

She had only eaten one piece of beef while cooking and had been hungry for a long time.

After thinking it over, Lin Xiang took three pieces from her own bowl, making five pieces in total to give to Lin Yun.

Lin Yun had just returned home when Lin Xiang handed him the bowl. “Here’s dinner, Brother, you eat first.”

Lin Yun lowered his eyes and saw the few pieces of meat in the bowl. He frowned. “For me?”

“Yes. I worked at the state-run restaurant making Western dishes today, and Chef Shen gave me some leftover beef. I saved some for you, eat quickly.”

After saying this, Lin Xiang ignored Lin Yun and picked up her bowl to eat.

No wonder the beef from the old yellow cattle raised on pure forage in the 1970s was so fragrant. Because the cattle worked hard all their lives, the meat was firm but not dry, very chewy.

Seeing Lin Xiang eat so happily, Lin Yun’s empty stomach twitched slightly. He couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

Lin Xiang had much more beef in her bowl than Lin Yun, but he didn’t find anything wrong with it. On the contrary, the fact that Lin Xiang voluntarily brought him food, and that there was beef among the dishes, was the truly surprising part.

Silently, Lin Yun took a piece of beef and put it in his bowl. While chewing, he glanced at Lin Xiang, who was quickly finishing her rice and soon emptied her bowl.

After eating, she didn’t pay attention to Lin Yun but washed her bowl, freshened up, and went to bed early.

The next morning, before Lin Xiang had fully woken from sleep, someone was pounding wildly on her front door.

“Who’s there?”

Rubbing her messy hair, Lin Xiang sat up. Lin’s mother was nowhere to be found; only the wrinkled sheets reminded her that her mother had slept beside her last night.

Reluctantly, still yawning, Lin Xiang got up to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, the slap from the women’s director’s hand nearly hit Lin Xiang’s face.

---

“Director Zhao, what are you doing? I haven’t provoked you, have I?” Lin Xiang frowned, annoyed.

Anyone woken from sleep and almost slapped would be upset.

The women’s director stood with one hand on her hip, the other finger pointing at Lin Xiang’s nose. “Yesterday, you swore in front of the team leader and me that the electric bureau people would definitely come today to set up the wiring. Look at the time—where are they?”

“Lin Xiang, when are you going to stop bragging? What good does it do you to lie to the team leader?”

The women’s director’s criticism came down like a storm.

Since rural houses were close together, the noise quickly drew the attention of neighbors.

“Director Zhao, what big lies did this girl tell now? What do you mean by lying to the team leader?”

The women’s director gave Lin Xiang a disdainful glance. “Yesterday evening, Lin Xiang suddenly ran to the team office and swore in front of us leaders that she knew the town leaders. The leaders had specially given our Lihua team a quota to install a telephone. She said the commune and electric bureau would come today to set up the wires, but look at the time—they still haven’t shown up!”

Lin Xiang silently glanced at the clock hanging in the center of the main room.

She thought she had overslept until the sun was high, but it was barely past nine o’clock.

Watching Zhao Chunping passionately speaking into the microphone, Lin Xiang felt amused.

“Director Zhao, Aunt Zhao, I know your daughter also likes Wen Siyuan and sees me as a rival. But I have long since cut ties with Wen Siyuan. It’s not appropriate for you to target me so openly because of him, is it?”

“You... what nonsense are you talking about!” Zhao Chunping glared at Lin Xiang.

“It’s only nine in the morning. Their offices start at eight, and they have other work to handle first. Does our Lihua team have such important people that they would drop everything and come immediately?” Lin Xiang almost rolled her eyes at Zhao Chunping.