Chapter 11 - Welp, that was awkward.

Tong Xuelu scanned around the court. "This is my home. Where else will I go? My adoptive parents missed me so much and gave me so many things. Look, I could barely carry them all with two hands!"

She stayed in the city for two reasons yesterday. The first of them being pretending to be ill so she could have Tong Zhenzhen sent to the farm and the second to let others in the compound knew that the four of them were not poor orphans. Anyone who wanted to fully them better think it through first.

Aunty Cai interacted with her without missing a bit. "Oh, your adoptive parents are so nice to you. That makes sense. They had raised you for over 10 years; you are practically their own daughter."

Tong Xuelu smiled and nodded and brought her stuff inside the house.

Tong Xuelu gave Tong Mianmian some dried apple pieces and dried hawthorn chips and had her go play with Zhudan next door. She rested for a little bit and washed her hands to start preparing for dinner.

The Tong family had given her one jin of pork belly and some potatoes. She planned to make a dish of braised pork with potatoes and sour and spicy potato stir fry.

She cleaned the pork belly with alacrity and added them into a pot of cold water to be cooked for a minute in boiling water before placing them in cold water until they were thoroughly chilled.

She then sliced up the pork belly into squares with their skin on and, considering that Tong Mianmian was small, made the pieces smaller than normal.

She had bought some spices such as peppercorn and anise from the CSMC on their way back.

After the wok had been heated up, she added in oil, spices, green onion, ginger, garlic and stir fried them over low heat.

She added the pork belly pieces when it was aromatic and stir fried them until the pork belly pieces had changed color. Pushing them aside, she added in rock sugar.

Rock sugar was easy to burn so they must be stirred constantly. When the sugar became colorful, she added in soy sauce and brought the pork belly that she had shoved aside earlier back and started to coat them with the sugar.

When all of the pork belly had been coated evenly, she poured them into a clay pot, added in three bowls of water, bring it to a boil over high heat before she covered them up and let them shimmered in medium heat.

Pork belly was best shimmered in low heat but that would take an hour. She didn't have enough time for that.

After a little while, the aroma of meat started coming from the pot.

The thick aroma spread in the entire courtyard and everybody started to gulp.

The adults were able to contain themselves but the children had already ran over and squatted outside of the Tong's door, sniffling at the aroma.

Some even young ones were rolling on the ground wailing. "I want meat! I want meat!"

Alright, so children might not know better but, problem was, as were some of the parents of these unruly kids.

The wife of Old Lin walked over, bared her mouthful of yellow teeth, and said, "Girl, you make so much yummy food every day. Your adoptive parents must be very rich?"

Tong Xuelu smiled but said nothing: Even if they are, that has nothing to do with you.

Looking at the smiling Tong Xuelu, Old Lin's wife went a step further and said to her, "Girl, your meat smells so good. Look, the child is crying from the smell. Why don't you give me a small bowlful of them when you are done?"

Aunty Cai, next door to Tong Xuelu, was worried as soon as she heard that. She, however, hadn't had a chance to say anything before Tong Xuelu nodded with a smile and said, "Sure."

Old Lin's wife smacked her thigh and chuckled. "That's right, girl. Us neighbors should always help each other out."

Tong Xuelu smiled and nodded. "You are right, Aunty."

Old Lin's wife was smiling from ear to ear. "Aiya, this meat smells. I am sure it's almost done. Let me go and bring my bowl over."

"Wait, Aunty." Tong Xuelu stopped her. "If Aunty is heading back, you should bring with you 10 jin of rich on your way back."

Old Lin's wife snapped right then and there when she heard that. "Why do I have to give you 10 jin of rice?"

10 jinof rice costed 1.43 yuan. What audacity of hers to straight up ask for 10 jin?

Tong Xuelu, looking aggrieved, said, "Didn't Aunty just said that us neighbor should help each other out? My family is running out of rice, so I thought I'd ask you for some."

Aunty Cai finally found her opportunity to chime in. "Aiyo, you said we should help each other out when you asked her for meat and now you don't want to chip in anything? What audacity."

"…"

Old Lin's wife's face, resembling that of a chicken with its neck pinched, turned beet red.

Many in the courtyard were also tempted when Old Lin's wife said she was going to fetch her bowl. Now they all looked embarrassed.

Tong Xuelu continued to prepare dinner with her lips curved upward after Old Lin's wife was gone.

She wanted to take advantage of her?

Not gonna happen. Not in this lifetime.

Tong Xuelu went to peel the potatoes and cut them up into strands while waiting for the pork belly to shimmer.

She was good with the knife and each strand of potatoes were evenly sized. Aunty Cai was, once again, amazed.

After Old Mr. Lin's wife had gone home, she became progressively more annoyed as she replayed what had transpired in her head. Her eyes rolled and she left her house again and went over to the Xu's.

Xu Baigen and his wife Zhou Fang were still at work but Old Mrs. Xu was home.

After a little while, Old Mr. Lin's wife walked out from the Xu's place and spit violently toward Tong Xuelu's direction.

Pei!

That brat girl. She wanted to see Tong Xuelu cry when the Xu family refused to give their position back to them!

Tong Xuelu had no idea that Old Mr. Lin's wife had plotted against her behind her back. She quickly tossed the diced potatoes into the clay pot and pulled the pre-soaked potato strands out of the water.

Once the wok was hot, Tong Xuelu tossed in peppercorns, ginger, garlic, green onion and stir fried them until aromatic before she added potato strands in for sauteing. She added in some vinegar a minute or two later.

As the sun began to set, the workers began to come home.

As soon as they walked inside of their compound, they were instantly attacked by the wanton aroma. They stirred immediately.

"Where did this aroma come from?"

"It smells so good. What is it?"

"It smells like meat. Then there's something that's sour and spicy!"

Everybody looked over at the Tong family's direction reflexively. They all shrieked in their mind when they saw Tong Xuelu.

Everyone's tears started coming out of the corners of their mouths––

How are they going to live like this?

Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin were the last to return. Each of them carrying a bundle of firewood in their hands.

When he saw the smoke from the cooking from his house, Tong Jiaxin's eyes widened. "Oh yay! Finally, we will have dinner tonight!"

Tong Jiaming looked up and glanced over at him. "Finally? What had you been eating this whole time then?"

Tong Jiaxin was salivating wildly. Chuckling a couple of times awkwardly, he said, "Second Brother, I am not complaining that your food tasted like pig feed at all!"

Tong Jiaming, "…"

Really? What did he call equating his cooking to pig feed then?

Tong Mianmian pitter pattered out of the house when she heard noises.

Tong Jiaxin quickly tossed down the firewood and stretched out his arms. "Little Sister, how your third brother had missed you!"

Tong Mianmian ran straight passed him as though she didn't even see him, "Second Brother!"

Tong Jiaxin, "…"

The situation was a bit on the embarrassing side.

Tong Xuelu's lips curved upward some when she witnessed that.

The braised pork was almost ready and, when the lid to the clay pot was removed, the aroma filled the courtyard.

Tong Jiaxin sniffled and instantly forgot about the awkwardness. He appeared next to the stove the very next minute and refused to look away from the braised pork.

The pork belly and potato had been softened from the stewing. The fatty part of the meat was translucent and the pig skin glistened with grease. The meat, coated with browned sugar, were a delectable color and very juicy.

It smelled amazing!

Tong Jiaxin looked over at Tong Xuelu and said awkwardly, "Em, let me help you take this out?"

Tong Xuelu said nonchalantly, "Okay."

Tong Jiaxin smiled from ear to ear when he heard that. He shouted out in a silly voice as he picked up the bowl of braised pork, "Dinner's ready!"

Tong Xuelu walked behind him with the bowl of stir fried hot and sour potato stir fry behind him.

After she had walked inside, she scooped out some potatoes and braised pork into a separate bowl and was about to bring them over to Aunty Cai next door when she heard the conversation between the two Tong brothers.

"Don't worry, Second Brother, I promise you I wasn't switching sides when I helped her carry the food out earlier!

"I was just pretending to be nice to her so she will stay and cook for us. Don't you think I am being super smart, Second Brother?"

"No."

"Why not? Your cooking is so awful, Second Brother. What if she runs off like Tong Zhenzhen if I am not nicer to her?"

"Shut up!"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

If Tong Jiaming was one who's nice on the outside but evil on the inside, then Tong Jiaxin was a foolish white bear.

And the foolish white bear thought he could out manipulate her?

He sure thought highly of himself.

When it came time for dinner, Tong Jiaxin ate like someone who hadn't eaten in three days. He pressed his rice down a few times with a spoon, added a lot of the juice from the braised pork, before he started eating big mouthfuls of them.

The rice combined with the thick juice and the softened braised pork was so delicious that one could cry.

Wuwuwuwu, this was too delicious!

He had never had pork this good his entire life!

Tong Jiaxin decided to continue to pretend to be nice to Tong Xuelu just so he could have meals like this in his future.

He had his mind made up!

Tong Jiaming, too, ate faster than he normally would. Even Tong Mianmian's cheeks were puffed up from the food, making her looks like a cute little squirrel.

Tong Jiaxin was made to go do dishes after dinner.

Tong Xuelu sat at the table with Tong Mianmian on her lap. She said concisely, "I've gotten the approval for my household register already and I will be heading to the police station tomorrow to move my household register over."

Tong Jiaming, "Mmm."

Tong Xuelu asked, "What's with the position that was loaned to the Xu family? Are they trustworthy people?"

Tong Jiaming's voice was low and deep. "Big Brother Xu helped us a lot after our parents' accident."

Tong Xuelu, "What about you? What's your plan for the future? Do you want to go back to school or stay home to take care of your siblings and household chores?"

"…"

Tong Jiaming's lips twitched violently. "I want to go back to school, naturally, but…"

But he worried that they wouldn't have enough and, worst, he worried more being brought back to the village by the other relatives!

"Okay, if you want to go back to school then there is no 'buts'. Stop going to work starting tomorrow and don't forget to send a letter to those back in Beihe. Let's go. Take me over to the Xu family right now."

Tong Xuelu ignored Tong Jiaming's struggle and started walking out while holding Tong Mianmian's hand.

Tong Jiaming paused a little and quickly stood up and followed.

It was dark outside and some unknown insects were chirping from somewhere.

The one walking in front had her back straight and gave a very reliable feeling.

Tong Mianmian turned around from up front and waved at her softly, "Hurry up, Second Brother!"

"Okay!"

Wen Rugui returned to his dorm room from the laboratory and Zhou Yan, next door to him, happened to walk out.

He smiled at Wen Rugui when he saw him and said, "Man, I had been so busy the last couple of days. I heard that your grandfather pretended to be ill to trick you to go back home for an arranged date. Well, how did it go? Was the girl pretty?"

Wen Rugui, standing with the light to his back, stretched his lips a bit and said, "I have no idea."

"I guess that's a no then."

Wen Rugui gave him a "mmm".

Zhou Yan tsked. "Your face blindness is so odd. Had I not know you better, I'd think you were doing that on purpose to give others a hard time."

The moonlight shined down from the eaves and Wen Rugui's tall and slender figured blended into the light.

Suddenly, a delicate and charming face popped into his mind. The tear-shaped mole on her fair skin was unspeakably seductive.

Under the tall, red wall and the sun, he could see that face clearly.

Chapter 12 - For the first time, he felt that letting this woman back into their lives was the right decision

The Xu family were having dinner when Tong Xuelu and her siblings arrived.

The Xu family were a bit surprised when they saw Tong Xuelu and her siblings.

Zhou Fang was the first to recollected herself. "Aiya, big little sister, you are over. C'mon in."

The Xu family's living quarter was even smaller than that of the Tong family. It was a dinky place that piled in three adults and one kid. It was very crowded.

Mother Xu had a boy around 2 years old on her lap. He looked dark and unhappy, like he was upset at everyone and everything.

Tong Xuelu pretended that she didn't see that. She smiled and said, "Sister Zhou Fang, why don't you finish your dinner first? We will wait outside. We can talk after you are done eating."

Xu Baigen quickly shoved the rest of the content in this bowl into his mouth, stood up, and said, "Mother of the child, go ahead and clean up. Big little sister, c'mon in and have a seat."

Zhou Fang acknowledged him and said to Tong Xuelu, "There are a lot of mosquitos outside. You don't want to stand out there."

Tong Xuelu acknowledged her and walked inside with Tong Mianmian.

She observed Xu Baigen and his wife at the same time and nodded to herself when she noticed that they did not look visibly unhappy.

Tong Jiaming might be young but he knew how to read a person.

Xu Baigen husband and wife did not look like the kind who were greedy or would bully those who were weaker than them.

Mother Xu looked unhappy but, in the end, did not say anything nasty. She gave the child to her daughter-in-law and carried the dishes into the kitchen to be cleaned.

After they were seated, Tong Xuelu cut to the chase. "We are here today to talk about the position at the textile factory."

Xu Baigen nodded. Looking embarrassed, he said, "Right, right. We had wanted to talk to you about it the day you returned but my child didn't feel well that day and we had to take him to the hospital. Then you went to the city the next day."

Zhou Fang nodded in agreement to her husband's words. "We found out that you returned today and were planning to head over to yours and talk to you after dinner. But you came before we had a chance to head over."

Tong Xuelu, "I would like to start working at the textile factory tomorrow. As for the money that Sister Zhou Fang had made so far, I will have Jiaming bring it over when I am paid."

"Thank you, big little sister."

Zhou Fang thanked Tong Xuelu with a smile on her face but she sighed to herself.

Without a job, her mother-in-law would nag her about how she was a burden to her son again.

She met Xu Baigen in school but the difference was that Xu Baigen was a city-dweller and she was a villager.

Her mother-in-law had always wanted a daughter-in-law from the city, which was why her mother-in-law had been picking on her left and right ever since she and Xu Baigen had gotten married.

She had finished junior high school but all positions in the city had been allocated and it was very difficult to break in without connections.

They had wanted to buy the position from the Tong family but with Tong Xuelu's sudden return, that probably would not happen.

They were sad about it but it was the Tong's position and it was the right thing to do to give it back to them.

Tong Xuelu noticed that the two of them really didn't look like they were disgruntled at her before she threw out the second part of her plan. "Jiaming is planning on returning to school so we plan to sell the position of stevedore. I wonder if Brother Xu and Sister Zhou Fang might know someone who will be interested."

Xu Baigen and Zhou Fang were taken aback a little when they hear that. "Sell it? Doesn't your family need this position?"

Tong Dajun had two brothers back home. They would complain about not having work every time they came to visit. Once, they pressured Tong Dajun into helping them get jobs and stayed in the city for half a month before they left with his money.

Would his two brothers like that be willing to sell the position?

Tong Xuelu feigned a sigh. "Of course we do but my grandmother had lost her mind a while back and needed constant care. My two uncles are very filial and wanted to stay in the village to take care of her. That is why we are going to sell the position."

"Oh, lost her mind?"

Xu Baigen and his wife were shocked.

When Old Mrs. Tong came to visit 6 months ago, she demanded meat at each meal and sounds very lively when she was yelling at others. How did she suddenly lose her mind?

Tong Jiaming, too, was taken aback when he heard that. He turned and gave Tong Xuelu a look.

But he quickly lowered his head and didn't call her out on it.

Tong Xuelu continued to lie through her teeth with the most serious look. "The doctor said it's Alzheimer's or something like that. She isn't entire out of her mind. Sometimes she can recognize people and looks normal but other times she will have an episode and yell and hit people. I heard that many in the village had been hit by her!

"That is the reason that my two uncles dare not move with her to the city. They had planned to come after they had wrapped up with their work in the farm but were delayed by my grandmother's illness." Tong Xuelu sighed.

Zhou Fang was worried after she heard that. "That serious? Will she be able to recover from that?"

Tong Xuelu sighed again and waved her hand. "I don't think so. I hadn't seen my grandmother yet but I am still sad to hear that this has happened to her in her old age…"

Toward the end, her eyes were red and her voice broke. She looked like she was in great sadness.

Tong Jiaming, "…"

He almost fell for it.

Xu Baigen and Zhou Fang, on the other hand, felt that Tong Xuelu was a filial child.

There were all sorts of rumors about Tong Xuelu before her return, especially during the period of time immediately after the death of Tong Dajun and his wife. That was when the worst rumors came out.

Now it looked like everyone had misunderstood her. She even felt this way toward her grandmother whom she had never seen before, so how would she be someone who was chase behind wealth and hate the poor.

"Are you and your siblings going to move to the village then?"

Tong Xuelu shook her head. "No, we won't. There aren't a lot of work back home already and now grandma needed caring for. Us going back there will only add on to our uncles and aunties' burden."

"Besides, I'm an adult already. I can make money and support by brothers and sister. Once I can save up some money, I will send some nutritious food back home to my grandmother."

Zhou Fang's look became even more tender after she heard that. "You are such a filial girl. I am sure your grandmother will be very happy when she heard that."

"Being filial to the elders is the right thing to do." Tong Xuelu gave a shy look when she heard that. "Oh right, Brother Xu, Sister Zhou Fang, have you considered purchasing the stevedore position?"

Zhou Fang was taken aback a little, "Purchase it? But we have no use of it."

Stevedore was a job that required physical labor and had only been held by men. Xu Baigen was the only son in the family; they would have no use of the position.

Tong Xuelu, "You can purchase it for now then look to trade it with someone else. You will have a much better chance of getting a suitable job than continue to wait around like you are doing right now."

Xu Baigen and Zhou Fang exchanged a look.

She was right. How come that had never occurred to them before?

It would be much easier to have a position to swap with others than just waiting for an open spot, except that…

"How much do you want for that, big little sister?"

"You just need to pay me 350 yuan, Brother Xu and Sister Zhou Fang."

"350?" Xu Baigen was taken aback a little. "Big little sister, don't you think that's a bit low?"

A position on the market went for around 500 yuan. Some better ones could go as high as 800 to over 1,000. Stevedore was hard work with little pay but could still at least go for 400 yuan.

Zhou Fang nodded as well. "I don't think you are familiar with how much they can fetch, big little sister. Last time someone sold it for 415 yuan."

Tong Xuelu was even happier when she saw how honest this couple was. "I know but I have also heard from Jiaming that Brother Xu and Sister Zhou Fang had helped a lot after my parents' accident. If it weren't for the two of you, for sure the two children would not be able to handle it all. That is why I am only asking for 350."

So that was the reason. Not very many people show their gratitude any more.

But that was exactly why they couldn't take advantage of them.

Xu Baigen said, "Big little sister, we will buy the position from you but not for 350 yuan. We will pay you the market rate of 415 yuan!"

Naturally, Tong Xuelu would not just accept that like that. All of her work would go to waste then.

"Brother Xu, Sister Zhou Fang, that wouldn't be right…"

After some back and forth, they finally agreed on 380 yuan.

Xu Baigen was a straightforward person and he gave Tong Xuelu 250 yuan right away. They would need to go and borrow the remaining amount before they could pay them.

Naturally, Tong Xuelu expressed that that would be alright right. They signed a payment note and they were about to take off.

When they got there, Mother Xu's face was dark like the bottom of a work; now she was smiling like a blossoming flower. "It's so late now. Mother of the child, why don't you walk them home?"

Tong Xuelu exchanged some pleasantries with them and gave up on insisting.

The Xu family saw them to the door and Zhou Fang even helped carried Tong Mianmian on their way back.

They were sending Tong Xuelu off like she was some government official. Old Lin's wife, who was hiding behind a window and looking out, was stunned.

How was it that not only did they not get into a fight but they looked so chummy with each other?

What had happened?

Old Lin's wife was itching to find out.

Unfortunately, it was not the best time for her to go over to the Xu family to find out right at this moment. This was killing her!

Back at the Tong family.

Tong Jiaxin was working on his homework. Gnawing on his pencil, he looked very disturbed.

Seeing that they were home, he tossed his pencil away and bounced up. "Second Brother, you guys are finally home!"

Tong Jiaming grunted an acknowledgement with a solemn look.

Tong Jiaxin, on the other hand, babbled on like a silly little chick, "Second Brother, what did you go over to the Xu's for? Why was it that even little sister can go with but not me?"

This time, Tong Jiaming looked at him. "Are you done with your homework?"

Tong Jiaxin looked like an eggplant pelted by hails, "… not yet."

Tong Jiaming's face dropped. "Then why aren't you working on them right now?"

Tong Jiaxin stuck his tongue out at Tong Jiaming and went back to chewing on his pencil.

Tong Xuelu was boiling water outside getting ready for a bath. She did not handle coldness well and would prefer to bathe with warm water even in the summer time.

Tong Jiaming walked out to where the stove was and asked her in a low voice. "Why did you lie earlier?"

Tong Xuelu placed the cover over the pot, stood u, and looked at him. "You mean when I said that grandma had gone crazy?"

Tong Jiaming nodded.

"For you, of course!" said Tong Xuelu. "If I didn't say that, your lie wouldn't hold water when they come!"

The child who cries will get milk.

She would never hide favors that she had done for others.

Tong Jiaming frowned. "But your lie will hold water?"

Wouldn't others be able to tell whether a person is crazy or not?

Besides, more than one person would come from Beihe, she couldn't just make up whatever she wanted.

Tong Xuelu shrugged. "That's exactly why we needed to make our moves first."

She wasn't just doing it for fun with all of her acting and feigning filial tonight.

Tong Jiaming's excuse was flimsy and, when the others came from Beihe, he would immediately become everyone's target.

She had to make her moves first.

Jie Jinhua, their grandmother, would need to be "crazy" for their plans to work.

As for her selling the position to the Xu family for cheap, that was so that the Xu would owe her a favor. She hoped that when conflicts arose in the future, they would be on her side.

If one was to ask if she felt bad trying to set up an elderly person whom she had never met before, then the answer was a definitive no.

In the original novel, Jie Jinhua, the evil woman, had everything to do with the three bosses' terrible childhood.

Tong Mianmian had always been a pretty girl but she was deflowered by her cousin who was 10 years her senior when she was just 6. Not only did Jie Jinhua did not scold her grandson when she found out, she called Tong Mianmian shameless for seducing someone at such a young age.

That had left Tong Mianmian with a lot of traumas. She felt both scared and aggrieved at the same time and dared not told this to her two brothers. She finally succumbed to this incident and committed suicide at the height of her career.

Tong Jiaming had wanted to say more when he saw Tong Mianmian pitter pattered out on her chubby little feet from the inside of the house.

She ran straight toward Tong Xuelu. "Big sister, Mianmian is sleepy and wants to go to bed."

Tong Xuelu bent down and picked her up. "Just a little while longer. We will go to bed after we have bathed. Little kids who don't bathe will turn into stingy little pigs."

Tong Mianmian's eyes widened and looked like a silly little puppy. Shaking her meaty little paw, she said, "Mianmian doesn't want to turn into stingy little pig."

"Then we go to bed after we have bathed and smell good, okay?" Tong Xuelu gave her a kiss on her little cheek.

Tong Mianmian giggled with her arms around Tong Xuelu's neck. "Okay, we bathe and smell good."

Tong Jiaming's brows unfurrowed when he saw how his little sister smiled in Tong Xuelu's arms.

He recalled how Tong Mianmian had cried so much that her voice was hoarse when their parents had just passed away.

Eventually she had stopped crying but she never returned to her usually liveliness.

She was happy again these last few days and would smile from time to time.

This was the first time he felt that letting this woman return was the right decision.

It was very sunny the next day.

As there were a lot to get done, Tong Xuelu only made a plate of garlic vegetables that morning.

There were some potatoes and braised pork left from the night before and they could be reheated. That and the light sweet potato porridge that Tong Jiaming had made that morning made perfect breakfast.

After lunch, she had Tong Jiaxin taken care of the dishes before bringing Tong Mianmian over to Aunty Cai's to help watch over her.

Aunty Cai received a portion of the potatoes and braised pork yesterday and it was so delicious that her family almost swallowed their tongues along with it.

She was just worrying about how they could repay Tong Xuelu when Tong Xuelu came to ask her to babysit. Of course she was very happy to do that.

Tong Mianmian tugged at her sister's pants, cocked her head, and asked, "Big Sister, can't Mianmian go with you?"

The little bun's little face was pink and soft and her long and thick eyelashes waved like two fans. She was incredibly cute.

Tong Xuelu's heart melted. She squatted down and looked at Tong Mianmian at eye level and said, "Big Sister had a lot to get done today and she needs to go to work. That is why Big Sister cannot bring Mianmian with. Mianmian will be a good girl, stay with Aunty Cai, and not run around, right?"

Tong Mianmian's grape-like eyes were limpid. Pouting her little lips a little, she finally nodded her little head docilely and said, "Okay, Mianmian will be good. Mianmian won't run around."

The little bun was so cute that Tong Xuelu hugged and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Mianmian is such a good girl. Big Sister will make you yummy food when she returns."

Chapter 13 - Tong Zhenzhen is going away.

Parted with the little bun with her longing look, Tong Xuelu left for the closest police station with her note and her proof of identification.

This proof of identification was prepared by the police station during the investigations when she and Tong Zhenzhen had been kidnapped.

With this proof of identification and note, it would be very easy for her to take care of her household register. All she had to do was to provide them with her name.

As for Tong Zhenzhen, her household register had been moved out way before Tong Dajun husband and wife's accident.

Tong Xuelu hurried over to the textile factory after she had her household register taken care of.

She saw Zhou Fang waiting for her at the front of the textile factory when she arrived. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Sister Zhou Fang."

Zhou Fang smiled and said, "I didn't wait that long. I just got here myself."

Tong Xuelu's cheeks were red from the heat. "Let's head inside then."

Zhou Fang nodded.

This position had always belonged to the Tong family so all they needed to do with to notify the factory and the paperwork was very simple.

Once their transfer was completed, Tong Xuelu stopped Zhou Yan on her way out.

"Sister Zhou Fang, since you are here already, why don't we take care of the transferring of the stevedore position as well?"

Zhou Fang was a little surprised, "Now? But we don't have the money ready yet."

Zhou Fang's plan was to return to the village after this and borrow a little bit of money from her parents and other relatives.

Tong Xuelu said, "It's fine. Just pay me when you have the money. I don't think I will need to worry about that."

To get someone on one's side, one couldn't do that just from talks; one must offer them actual benefits.

Sure enough, Zhou Fang was very touched when she heard that. "Big little sister, I… I don't even know what to say!"

Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "Then said nothing. Sister Zhou Fang, why don't you have Brother Xu come over right now so we can have that taken care of?"

Zhou Fang nodded and hurried over to the loading dock to fetch her husband.

Xu Baigen ran over, sweating all over, and thanked Tong Xuelu profusely.

Tong Xuelu let them know that that would not be necessary and the three of them headed, once again, to the administrative office.

Officer Qiu, responsible for the process, was baffled when she saw Tong Xuelu returning with the others. When she heard that Tong Xuelu wanted to transfer the position over to Xu Baigen, her mouth dropped open.

"Are you sure you want to transfer the position out? I thought your relatives from your hometown hasn't arrived yet?"

Tong Xuelu put on a sad look and said, "My grandmother had gone crazy because of my parents' accident. She now shouts and beats people up a lot and needed constant care. I have spoke with my family and decided on transferring the position out."

"She had gone crazy? Oh, that's very unfortunate!"

No wonder it had taken the Tong family so long to come over. Something had happened within the family.

That being said, the Tong family had been very unlucky as of late. How did this string of unfortunate events happen?

Tong Xuelu sighed and said, "Yeah, me and my siblings have been very worried after finding out what had happened to Grandma but my brothers and sister are still young so I worry about taking the train with them by myself."

Officer Qiu nodded with understanding before looking over at Xu Baigen. "Comrade Xu Baigen had surely acted quickly. How much did you pay for the position?"

Xu Baigen was an honest one. "Three…"

Tong Xuelu quickly interrupted him. "Last time someone sold their stevedore position for 410 yuan. Brother Xu and Sister Zhou Fang are being very nice to us and offered us 20 more yuan over that."

That made it 430 yuan. That was a fair amount for this position.

Officer Qin acknowledged them and pressed the stamp on the form.

After they had departed the factory's administrative office and before Xu Baigen and his wife could say anything, Tong Xuelu apologized to them. "Brother Xu and Sister Zhou Fang, I apologize for telling them the wrong amount. I just worry that they would think you are taking advantages of us kids if we tell them the truth. That was why I…"

That had never even occurred to Xu Baigen and his wife.

Zhou Fang, in particular, was worried that Tong Xuelu, having to give the price 50 yuan above what they had agreed upon, would turn around and ask them for more money. Turned out that she had their best interest in mind!

She felt both appreciative and guilty at the same time. Picking up Tong Xuelu's hand, she said to her, "Big little sister, there's no need to apologize. We should be thanking you."

Xu Baigen nodded next to them.

He didn't really do that much when Tong Dajun and his wife passed. He didn't think that the Tong's children would do so much to repay him.

Appreciative, filial, and taking care of her siblings, this daughter of Tong Dajun was too outstanding!

It was very unfortunate that the couple would not be able to enjoy having her around. Sighed.

After parting ways with Xu Baigen and his wife, Tong Xuelu went to start her shift at the production area.

Perhaps it was the idea that she would be having a job soon, Zhou Fang had not stopped smiling ever since she walked out of the factory.

She thought about it some when she walked past the CSMC and turned and walked inside of it.

Less than 10 minutes later, she had in her hand one jin of milk candies and two boxes of pastries as she headed home.

Mother Xu's brows furrowed when she saw all the items that Zhou Fang was carrying. "Why did you buy so many things? Don't you know that we can use the money right now?"

She was short of calling her prodigal.

Zhou Fang did not get upset this time. Instead, she brought Mother Xu inside the house with her and told her what had happened.

"Little Sister Xuelu had our best interest in mind and gave us such a big discount. I figured that we must show our appreciation as well."

Mother Xu hadn't expected that Tong Xuelu had completed the transfer so quickly and her mannerism changed entirely instantly. "You are exactly right. We should show our appreciation. That is a very good idea."

As the two talked, a voice came from the outside, "Sister-in-law, I ran out of salt and thought I'd come and borrow a spoonful from you."*

It was the voice of Old Lin's wife. Zhou Fang quickly shoved the milk candies and pastries into the cabinet.

Mother Xu walked out and handed a spoonful of salt to Old Lin's wife but Old Lin's wife had no intention of taking off right away after she got the salt.

"Sister-in-law, how is your position coming along? The Tong girl did say anything nasty to you, did she?"

Upon hearing that, Mother Xu raised her short and thick brows and said, "Xuelu is a very good girl. What kind of nasty things would she say? What is your problem anyway? You have been coming over and badmouthing her repeatedly."

That made Old Lin's wife speechless for a little while. "What are you talking about, sister-in-law. When did I badmouth her?"

"What was I talking about? Just yesterday you told us to not return the textile factory job back to her! She had lost her parents and, not only did it not occur to you to help out the kids, all you ever think about is to take advantage of her. How can you be such an awful person?"

Mother Xu's voice was every bit as loud and clear as that of Aunty Cai's. With her shouting like that, the entire compound could hear her.

Aunty Cai, who was doing laundry in the courtyard, overheard it and said though pursed lips, "She went around badmouthing her because Xuelu refused to share her meat with her yesterday. What an awful person she is!"

Everyone witnessed what had happened the day before and many felt that Old Lin's wife was very shameful.

But they didn't know that Old Lin's wife went around badmouthing Tong Xuelu afterward.

Could she have stooped any lower?

Old Lin's wife turned red and white and she almost cough out three liters of blood.

Unfortunately, she couldn't take them on one against two so she finally ran home like a defeated rooster.

Old Lin's wife wasn't the only one enraged by Tong Xuelu; there was also Tong Zhenzhen.

Looking like a mad woman, her face was green and black. "You want to send me to the farm? Are you really my birth parents?!"

Mother Tong's eyes reddened and there was guilt in her eyes. "I am so sorry, Zhenzhen. Mom didn't want this to happen either but it really is your fault this time…"

"You shut up! I've done nothing wrong! It was Tong Zhenzhen that ***** who hit me but you refused to believe me. I knew it. In your mind, she is your real daughter!"

Tong Zhenzhen was screaming hysterically as she stared at Mother and Father Tong through gritted teeth.

Mother Tong found her chest heaving up and down being shouted at by her own daughter. She almost couldn't breathe.

Father Tong shouted at her with a strict face, "You calm down right now! Who talks like that to their own parents?"

Tong Zhenzhen was somewhat intimidated by Father Tong but that didn't mean she could calm down right away.

Father Tong said, "I understand that you are not happy but what happened back then was not Xuelu's fault and she had already taken off from the Tong family. Why do you need to continue to pick on her?"

"…" Tong Zhenzhen gritted her teeth so much that she could crush them. "She was the one who picked on me first!"

Father Tong interrupted her shouting. "That's enough. There's no point in talking about this anymore! The scope of your actions was too big for us to protect you! But, don't worry, I've already talked to the people over at the farm. They wouldn't give you a hard time over there. Just reform there and you will be able to return after one year!"

The political atmosphere had been very volatile over the last few years, especially in the 60s. Many people were denounced over minor issues and every one lived like they were treading on thin ice.

It'd seem that the political atmosphere had been stabilizing but who could say that for certain?

If someone was to use that as a reason and accused the family of abusing their power, the whole family would go down.

It was necessary to sacrifice Tong Zhenzhen for the family.

He knew that it wasn't fair for her but whose fault was it after all? It was her own fault.

Father Tong took Mother Tong with him and left after he was done talking.

Tong Zhenzhen was so angry that she wanted to scream. But being angry would not do her any good.

She was sent to the farm after two days. Even though the Tong family had bought her a lot of good food and other items, that did not quell her anger.

She was upset at the entire Tong's family this time.

Tong Xuelu quickly heard the news after Tong Zhenzhen had left.

Even though she could only keep Tong Zhenzhen at the farm for a year, but one year's time was enough for her to establish herself at Capital City.

As for whether Tong Zhenzhen would seek revenge against her on her return, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Inside the base, Wen Rugui, too, heard the good news.

"… The Tong's daughter had been sent to the farm and would not be returning within a year."

Wen Rugui's voice was nonchalant. "Mmm, thank you."

"C'mon, we are not the kind of relationship where you need to thank me. Oh right, how come you are interested at the Tong's matters all of a sudden? I didn't think the Wen's and the Tong's cross paths?"

"I know one of them."

The person who heard that became interested. Their voice was gossipy. "Who is it? Is it a man or a woman?"

"Not someone you'd know. I owe you one for this."

Wen Rugui hung up on the phone after this.

Sunlight cascading in from outside the window and was reflected off his white shirt.

His gaze seemed to be focused on a certain spot outside the window but not really.

Within the white light was a boy around 4 ~ 5 yeas old, kneeling in the middle of shattered bowls and plates, begging for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, Mom. I won't do that again. Please don't hit me anymore. It hurts so much."

Bright red blood came out of the little boy's knees and reddened the floor.

A voice came from behind him, "Rugui, the manager asked for you."

Wen Rugui recollected himself and responded slower than usual. "Okay. I'll be heading over."

He turned to leave and, after taking a few steps, turned back to look in the direction of the window.

The little boy outside was already gone.

Translator's notes:

For clarification, Zhou Fang is not really Old Lin's wife's sister-in-law. Old Lin's wife merely referred to her that way to be respectful. No different than Tong Xuelu addressing Zhou Fang as "Sister Zhou Fang".

Chapter 14 - She could go on and on for three days about her misfortunes.

Tong Xuelu massaged her sore shoulders. She did not want to carry on with this job anymore.

Within a textile factory, the weaver and the stevedore were the two toughest positions. Stevedores would still have breaks in between but not so much weavers. They had to work from the start of their shift all the way to the end of their shift and sometimes even working overtime afterward.

She couldn't do this.

She needed to switch herself to a different position!

When Tong Xuelu was so tired that she was about to collapse, the bell signifying the end of the workday went off.

Her eyes beamed and, like sheep that were let out of their gates, hurried over to the cafeteria with the other workers.

"Give me a wowotou."

Tong Xuelu walked over to the familiar window and handed over the meal ticket and her bowl.

Chef Huang, while putting the wowotou into her bowl, asked, "Comrade Xiao Tong, all you have is a wowotou every day. Is that enough? How about some meat or vegetables?"

Tong Xuelu put on a smile with just the right amount of embarrassment and said, "No, it's fine. Maybe when I get paid."

Chef Huang and the others all gave her sympathetic looks when they heard her.

With Mother Xu and Officer Qiu advocating for her, almost everyone at the compound and the textile factory knew that not only had her parents passed away, her grandmother had also gone insane.

Poor girl. She was just 18 years old and had to be responsible for her entire family.

Manager Ma from the sewing department came over and said, "Chef Huang, gave her an order of green onion pancake and a stir fry cabbage and meat. Put that on my meal and meat tickets!"

Tong Xuelu waved her hands quickly. "No, no, I will be fine with the wowotou, Manager."

Manager Ma wasn't going to listen to her. She grabbed Tong Xuelu's lunch box from her and said, "What are you worried about? You don't think I can afford that or something?"

Her youngest daughter would be getting married next month and her future husband was the son of the Director of Education. They were well off and he was a lively one. He valued her daughter a lot. Not only had he given them 180 yuan for bribe money, he had also, later on, sent over a sewing machine, a watch, and a radio.

They had discussed among themselves and would have their daughter brought all of them with her. In addition, they would also be buying her a bicycle to make her look good.

The ticket for a bicycle was very difficult to come by. Sometimes they wouldn't even see one for a year. They could use regular tickets for a bicycle, but that would take 50 of them.

That quantity was so huge that the entire family had been saving up for 2~3 months and was still short 7. Tong Xuelu had somehow found out about that and brought with her 7 tickets on her second day of work. She handed them to the manager but asked for nothing in return!

How could a kind and nice girl like that not be loved?

Never mind about one meal. Manager Ma would be more than happy to treat her to 10 meals.

Tong Xuelu, failed to stop Manager Ma, thanked her. When she saw that Chef Huang had given her a bigger portion than the others, she thanked him too before she was pulled to a table to one side by Manager Ma.

Manager Ma took a bit of the green onion pancake, looked to their left and right, and said in a low voice, "The Plant Manager will be back today. I'll go ask about your parent's death benefits for you."

Tong Xuelu's eyes was moist. She said appreciatively. "Thank you, Manager. I have always been told since I was a child that I am a very lucky person and will always run into people who will help me. I didn't really believe in that before but now I do. Look, I came to the factory and run into you."

Her words made Manager Ma smiled such a big smile that her eyes were gone and only her teeth could be seen. "Oh, listen to you, child. Regardless, you can always come to me if you need anything in the future!"

"Thank you, Manager Ma. I am so lucky to have run into Manager Ma!"

Tong Xuelu looked at Manager Ma with appreciative and respect with her reddened eyes.

Manager Ma felt very fulfilled and was also filled by a sense of responsibility.

What a pitiful child. She would need to look after her more in the future. Treating her to lunch was one thing. She would also decrease Tong Xuelu's night shifts in the future…

Plant Manager Yu returned in the afternoon, as expected.

His mother had gotten sick back in the village and gave him a call that she was on her death bed. He had quickly arranged matters over on his end and rushed back.

In the past few days, he had taken redeye train back home to take care of his mother, then taken another redeye back to Capital City after his mother was stabilized and was exhausted from his trip.

As soon as he had sat down and before he hadn't even had the chance to take a sip of water before Manager Ma walked in with a solemn look.

"Plant Manager Yu, I want to talk to you about the death benefits for the Tong family."

Plant Manager Yu put down his ceramic mug and said, "Go ahead."

Manager Ma talked about how the Tong couple were good workers before they passed away and how pitiful the kids were after they had passed away. She mentioned how Tong Dajun's mother had gone mad. All in all, the Tong family had suffered such tragic and Plant Manager Yu would be a horrible person if he didn't release the death benefit to Tong Xuelu as soon as possible!

Plant Manager Yu, as someone who was able to make it to his role, was not simple person. "You meant to tell me that Tong Dajun's daughter had returned and is not working in our factory?"

Manager Ma nodded. "The kid is a hard worker and cares a lot about her siblings. She is very responsible child."

Plant Manager Yu waved his hand and said, "Alright, I get it. Send her to my office."

He didn't buy Manager Ma's words.

What kind of reliable person would not want to recognize their own parents?

Manager Ma, not know what was going through Plant Manager Yu's mind, quickly went to fetch Tong Xuelu.

Tong Xuelu headed over to Plant Manager Yu's office at a moderate pace after she had thanked Manager Ma.

Anyone that could be labeled a green tea is very good at reading people.

Tong Xuelu could tell that Plant Manager Yu was disgruntled with her the moment that she walked inside his office.

No explanation would do her any good at this point, so she decided on a different approach.

She pulled out a piece of paper as she walked up to Plant Manager Yu. "I heard that Plant Manager's mother had been feeling well. I have a prescription that was passed down from an imperial doctor. It will strengthen one's body. Plant Manager can take a look and see if it is suitable for your mom."

"…"

Plant Manager Yu's words were stuck in his throat, as was his words to reject her office.

Prescriptions from imperial doctors were very valuable.

His mother's poor health stemmed from her past. In particularly over the few years of the great starvation, she was emancipated while trying to save as much food as possible for her siblings. Her days had become better afterward but not so much her health.

He paused and picked up the slip. "Where… did you get this from?"

Tong Xuelu lied with a serious look. "I got it from my adoptive parents."

It was actually a prescription from an herbal medicinal doctor from her previous life. It was overall nourishing and could be used by anyone.

"Thank you, Comrade Xiao Tong."

Tong Xuelu put on a docile look. "You are very welcome, Plant Manager. You should put that away so others won't see it."

Plant Manager Yu folded the piece of paper and put it inside of his pocket before he said to her, "How come you didn't show up after your parents' accident?"

His tone was much milder after what had just transpired.

Tong Xuelu's eyes reddened and began her show in a second or less.

"I know Plant Manager thinks that I am an immature child but, when I suddenly learned out of the blue that my parents whom I had been with my entire life was not my real parents, I felt very scared and lost. By the time I was no longer scared and lost, my parents had already wuwuwuwu…

"Once, the sincerest form of love had been placed in front of me but I didn't know to appreciate it. I regretted so much after it was lost. That was the most tragic thing in one's life. If only heaven would allow me a second chance, I will definitely say to my parents that I am sorry!"

Tears streamed down her cheers toward the end of her speech.

Plant Manager Yu was very afraid of a woman's tears. His head swelled up to twice its original size when he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Okay, okay. You can stop crying now! What is important is that you realized that you had made a mistake. Everyone make mistakes, not to mention that you are still young and don't know any better. I am sure your parents will forgive you if they know!"

Tong Xuelu looked at Plant Manager Yu through teary eyes. "Really? You think my parents will forgive me?"

Plant Manager Yu nodded immediately, "Yes, I am sure of that!"

Tong Xuelu put on a relieved look. "I feel much better now."

Plant Manager Yu, too, felt relieved when Tong Xuelu finally stopped crying.

He had felt that she was an ungrateful one but, now that tears were streaming down her face and she had said so much from the bottom of her heart, he felt that he might have misunderstood her.

That and he had accepted a prescription from her, so how could he continue to chastise her?

Tong Xuelu dried her tears and said with a serious look. "

Tong Xuelu wiped away her tears and said with a serious look. "There is no point in talking about the past now. Right now, I only want to work hard and support my three younger siblings and raise them to be a constructive part of the society. Plant Manager, I ask of you and the organization to supervise me going forward!"

"Good! I am glad that you already had that figured out at your young age. Keep it up!"

Tong Xuelu was very high spirited. "Yes, Plant Manager. I will dedicate all my heart and soul to the factory, the Tong family, and strive to be an activist in the workforce!"

Upon hearing that, Plant Manager Yu finally nodded with satisfaction, pulled open the drawer and took out the death benefits.

His plan was to give them to the family members over in the village when they came but, now that Tong Xuelu did not look as unreliable as he had initially thought, he might as well just give it to her. Either way, they belonged to the Tong family.

Walking out of Plant Manager Yu's office with the death benefits in hand. Tong Xuelu, after making sure that there was nobody around her, sniffed at the envelope.

The smell of money was so amazing.

Acting, however, was hard work and tiring, she decided to give herself a day off.

She quickly obtained the permission from Manager Ma.

The reason of her time off: She needed to buy some nutritious food to send back to her grandmother back home who had lost her mind.

And why wouldn't Manager Ma give her the day off for such a filial act?

Tong Xuelu headed straight toward the government-operated restaurant after walking out of the factory.

As it was already past lunch time when she arrived at the restaurant, there weren't any other customers.

There were two female workers sat to one side chitchatting with each other.

"Hi Comrade, do you have any meat dish?"

For the sake of appearing poor, all she cooked the last few days were cabbage or collard greens. She was dying from the plain food.

"No No No. You want meat after lunch hours? In your dreams!" replied the short-haired server impatiently.

A server with her attitude could easily be drowned by spittle in the modern world but servers at this era could afford to be this arrogant!

Tong Xuelu wasn't about to get upset at other people's rudeness. "What do you have then?"

The long-haired server said, "We have green bean soup and steamed date cake. You want?"

"Yes, yes. One of each, please."

The long-haired server said to her, "Green bean soup is 0.11 yuan each and steamed date cake 0.09 yuan. Your total comes out to be 0.20 yuan and 2 meal tickets and 1 sugar ticket."

That was so cheap.

Tong Xuelu quickly pulled out her money and tickets.

The long-haired server accepted her money and tickets and brought the food over to her before she went right back at her chatting career.

The green bean soup wasn't sweet enough but the steamed date cake wasn't half bad.

Tong Xuelu thought everything through while she ate.

Chapter 15 - "Your grandmother called the factory this afternoon!"

Chen Dani had a total change from her stern look and hands on her waist posture. "Comrade, you can't be righter. Being a woman is such a hard life!"

This female server looked like someone who had a story behind her.

Tong Xuelu walked over to her and nodded emotionally. "Exactly, right? Us women have to get up earlier than chicken, go to bed later than dogs, eat worse than pigs, and work harder than cows. Then, during holidays, we don't even have the rights to sit at the table!"

Huang Xianglan couldn't relate just a little while ago but, after Tong Xuelu's last speech, she suddenly recalled how her mother would get up before day break every year on New Year eve and, after slaving away the entire day, couldn't even sit and eat at the table. She suddenly felt for her mother.

Then there was her cousin. Ever since she had married into the He family, she had never had a good days. Being beaten was the norm for her.

She couldn't help but nodded along with the other two: Yup, surely it was awful to be a woman!

Tong Xuelu went on, "Our Chairman had already said that women can hold up half the sky. As such, why was it that men can treat us women the way that they do? I've decided. I am going to help out that working-class sister who was undergoing hardship."

Huang Xianglan was taken aback a little, "You want to help out my cousin?"

Chen Dani, too, was baffled.

Surely, she was upset. But that was, afterward, someone else's family business. What could they do about that?

Tong Xuelu nodded, "My father is the director of the PLA Logistics and Oil Department and my mother is the director of the Women's Federation. Both of my brothers and their wives are government workers. I only have to ask them and they will be able to teach your cousin's mother-in-law and her husband a lesson."

Chen Dani and Huang Xianglan had no idea that Tong Xuelu had such background behind her. Both of them were startled.

As much as Huang Xianglan wanted to teach her cousin's mother-in-law and husband a lesson, it wasn't her place to make that decision.

Tong Xuelu could see her hesitation right away and said, to her, "Why don't we do this? You can give me your cousin's work address and I will go talk to her myself. I will help her out if she wants; and if she doesn't, I will respect her wish as well. What do you think?"

Huang Xianglan's eyes lit up. "That's a fantastic idea. Thank you, Comrade."

Tong Xuelu took a car ride to the address that Huang Xianglan had given to her after she left the restaurant.

Lo and behold, she was told that that Su Xiuying did not come into work that day.

The female server at the government-operated restaurant in the city stared at Tong Xuelu with her swollen eyes and there was visible jealousy in them. "How are you related to Sister Xiuying? She never mentioned you before."

Tong Xuelu pulled out a couple piece of milk candies from her military purse and shoved them into the woman's hand. Smiling, she said to her, "I am a friend of her cousin and she asked me to deliver a message to Sister Xiuying. What a bummer that she is off today. What should I do now?"

The female server was envious of Tong Xuelu's look earlier but, now that she had gotten a couple pieces of candies, she felt that Tong Xuelu was much less annoying to look at. "I can give you her home address if this is urgent."

Tong Xuelu looked pleasantly surprised. "Thank you, Comrade. I will very much appreciate that."

Su Xiuying lived a bit of a distance from the government-operated restaurant and Tong Xuelu asked for direction all the way there.

When she walked into an alley paved with bluestone slabs, she could hear a woman crying for help, a man's angry shouts, and children crying.

Startled, she picked up her pace.

Rounding the courner, Tong Xuelu saw a tall and stocky man punching and kicking a woman.

The woman, curled up in a corner, her hair was a mess and, her head was hit by something and blood was coming down from it. There was blood on the front of her clothes.

She did not try to fend off the man but she threw her body over the child in her arm to make sure that they are safe.

Tong Xuelu's fist turned hard!

When she decided to come over, her ulterior motive was to trade jobs with Su Xiuying. Now, however, she didn't care whether she can trade her position with her but this man must die.

She took a few steps back before running forward again as she shouted out, "Over here, Comrade Cops. Just a little bit further. I heard a woman crying and a man shouting. Please hurry up."

He Baogen's foot stopped in midair when he heard that. He stretched his neck to look down the alleyway.

He saw nothing but the footsteps going from far to near and the "Comrade Cop" startled him.

"Consider yourself lucky this time. I am going to kill you the next time you dare to talk back!"

He gave Su Xiuying another vicious kick before he turned and disappeared.

Tong Xuelu came out from the corner after he could no longer be seen.

"You must be Sister Xiuying, right. Are you alright?"

Su Xiuying was hurting and dizzy from the beating.

She looked up slowly after she heard Tong Xuelu speaking her name and, looking at the unfamiliar face, asked, "You… know me?"

Tong Xuelu nodded. "I am a friend of your cousin Huang Xianglan. We can talk about this later. Let me take you to the hospital."

Su Xiuying shook her head, "It's fine. I am alright."

Tong Xuelu figured that she didn't have money on her. "Sister Xiuying, even if you are not worried about yourself, you should at least have the child check out."

The child in her arms had their eyes closed and their face pale like a piece of paper. They had passed out at some point.

Su Xiuying, just realizing that the child had passed out, became anxious instantly and struggle to get up with the child in her arms. She, however, was too weak to get up on her feet.

Tong Xuelu quickly lend her support and took the child over before bringing her to the hospital.

Su Xiuying had bruises all over her body but she only let the doctor treat the wound on her forehead.

There weren't any visible injuries on He Xiaoqiu, her daughter. She was very startled and was dazed after she had regained consciousness.

They had arrived at the hospital's little garden.

Tong Xuelu helped her sit down and asked, "Sister Xiuying, what are your plans now?"

Su Xiuying looked at her blankly with her swollen face.

What choices did she have?

As bad as it was, she only option was to grit her teeth and bear it.

She could only accept that she was an unlucky one.

Tong Xuelu could read her thoughts when she saw the look on her. "Sister Xiuying, have you not considered getting a divorce? You have work and can totally support yourself and your child. Why do you want to live like this?"

Su Xiuying pursed her dried lips and said nothing.

Divorce?

She had wanted to but as soon as she said it, her husband beat her so badly that she was bedridden for three days.

And nobody at her own family agreed to her getting a divorce. They said her getting a divorce would shame them and, if she did get a divorce, to never go back!

And, what about the child if she got divorced?

The He family would never let her keep the child and she couldn't bring herself to leave her daughter behind.

Could she get a divorce? No, she couldn't!

Tong Xuelu sighed and said, "Sister Xiuying, I know this is not my place but I felt unjust for you! It's one thing if we are still in the old society, but this is the new society and our Chairman had already said that women can prop up half the sky. You are pretty and capable, so how could they treat you this way?"

Su Xiuying had been holding back her tears earlier but Tong Xuelu's words brought up all of her feeling of aggrievement.

Before marrying into the He family, she was the beauty queen in the factory. She would never have chosen He Baogen had he not swore that he would be nice to her.

Things changed after they had gotten married. The first time he beat her was because she didn't want to let her sister-in-law wear her brand-new clothes. The second time was because she talked back to her mother-in-law when she was being yelled at. As the beating happened more and more often, she could no longer remember the reasons.

She did not get pregnant for three years after the wedding and her mother-in-law called her a bad chicken who was barren. She had been to the hospital and the doctor said there was nothing wrong with her. She suspected that the problem laid with her husband. She asked him to get checked out at the hospital but she was beaten again as soon as she brought that up.

That was a very severe beating that time. She lost two teeth and fractured one finger.

She got pregnant the next year but gave birth to a daughter. Her mother-in-law immediately turned and left when she saw that it was a daughter and, even when the child was now three years old, neither her mother-in-law nor had husband had ever hugged her once.

Seeing how Su Xiuying was gritting her teeth, Tong Xuelu knew that she was already giving it some thought. She went on to say, "Sister Xiuying, you can not think about yourself but what about your child?

"Look, she was already dazed from the shock today. Do you know what it would do to her to live in fear all the time? And, with your husband's temper, how do you know he won't beat the child up one day?"

"No, he, he won't…"

Su Xiuying denied it with a pale look.

Her words were so fragile that even she didn't believe in herself.

"Okay, even if he doesn't beat the child but he beat you. How much longer can you put up with this? Let me tell you a story, Sister Xiuying. There was this woman who was always beaten up by her husband. She never thought about getting a divorce no matter how severe the beatings were. What do you think happened in the end?"

Su Xiuying looked at her and shook her head blankly.

Tong Xuelu lowered her voice all of a sudden and said, "She died. Killed by her husband."

Su Xiuying let out an "Oh" and blood seemed to have left her face all of a sudden. She looked at Tong Xuelu with her eyes widened from fear.

Tong Xuelu, "After her husband had killed her, her husband made it seemed like she died from illness. Less than a month after her death, her husband got remarried. The new woman took over her job, bedded her husband, and bossed around her daughter. Isn't that just awful?"

Su Xiuying started shaking uncontrollably when she heard the end.

Her daughter, in her arms, seemed to have sensed her mother's fear and cried like a kitten, "Mom…"

Her "Mom" made tears streamed down Su Xiuying's cheeks. "Wuwuwu, my lord. What should I do?"

She didn't think that Tong Xuelu was exaggerating at all.

If she didn't get pregnant again soon, her husband just might kill her. He would not get a divorce as that would shame their family. Meaning, his best option was to get rid of her and get remarried.

Tong Xuelu said solemnly, "You go and report them!"

Su Xiuying stopped crying, "Report them?"

Tong Xuelu nodded, "Yes, report them. The injuries on you are the best evidences and I am the best witness. As long as you go and report them, they will be sentenced."

There was almost no punishment for domestic violence in modern days but the punishment was very severe in this era.

Su Xiuying was extremely hesitant.

She looked at Tong Xuelu palely, "No. I can't do that…"

How would others look at her if she went and report them?

Others would feel that she was too overly malicious, to be able to do that to the father of her child.

And her family wouldn't understand either.

There was usually a reason behind a pitiful person.

Tong Xuelu was mad that she couldn't stand up for herself.

It was, however, getting late and there would be no more buses if she didn't leave soon. Tong Xuelu had to give up for the time being.

She parted ways with Su Xiuying and took a ride back to Yanqing County.

As soon as she walked into their compound, Old Lin's wife walked straight up to her and said, "Aiyo, girl, you don't know this yet, do you? Your grandmother called the factory this afternoon!"

Chapter 16 - "I don't care what you think of me, but I am going to need your full cooperation."

ith a casual look.

Old Lin's wife felt inexplicably bothered.

But, thinking that she could embarrass Tong Xuelu in no time, she raised her brows that were so light that they were almost invisible, and said loudly ––

"Your grandma said you are all a bunch of ungrateful brats and you didn't even inform them after what had happened to your parents. And that they will teach you all a lesson when they arrive at Capital City!"

Old Lin's wife's voice resembled that of a broken gong and twirled around the courtyard.

Everybody looked over at Tong Xuelu when they heard Old Lin's wife.

What is the matter?

Did the Tong's children really not inform those back home?

Noise of things falling came from behind them.

Everybody looked over and they saw that Tong Jiaxin was standing there, stunned, all the firewood in his hand had fallen onto the ground.

Tong Jiaming, standing next to him, didn't look much better.

Old Lin's wife got even more excited when she saw the two brothers. "Aiyo, perfect timing, you two! Jiaming, it was you who phoned and informed of your family back home back then, right? Now your grandma called and said that they were never notified. As the saying goes, dragons will give birth to dragons and phoenixes to phoenixes; those born to mice would know to dig holes from birth. Some people are just natural-born liars!"

Holding onto the firewood, Tong Jiaming's lips tightened.

Tong Xuelu frowned a little and had a concerned look on her. "Aunty Lin, is your head alright? Do you need me to a doctor to you?"

Tong Xuelu said the most annoying words in the most tender tone.

That was our Tong Xuelu!

Old Lin's wife was so angry that her face turned green. "You little brat. Are you cursing me now? You are such a mean one at such a young age. Aren't you worry that you won't be able to find yourself a husband?"

Tong Xuelu had an innocent look. "But I didn't curse you, Aunty Lin! My grandmother hadn't retain much since her had lost her mind and everybody in the compound know that. I thought perhaps Aunty Lin couldn't retain things either, which was why I suggested for you to go see a doctor."

"…"

Old Lin's wife was so angry that even her nose was crooked!

Tong Xuelu acted like she hadn't noticed that at all and went on innocently, "Or, Aunty Lin can wait around for a little. You can my grandmother can go see a doctor together after she comes. You might even be able to get a discount since there will be two of you."

"Puuf––"

Those in the compound almost choked on their own saliva from what Tong Xuelu had said.

People get quantity discount when buying things; nobody had ever heard of discount when visiting doctors!

Old Lin's wife had this discomfort feeling lodged in her chest that she couldn't let out or make it go down. She was so mad that the muscles on her cheeks trembled. "Pei, pei, pei. My brain is just fine. Your family are the ones with brain issues!"

Tong Xuelu nodded, "You are exactly right. My grandma, indeed, has issues with her brain. Jiaming called them as soon as my parents' accident happened and it was my grandmother who answered the call. Back then nobody knew that she had issues with her head and she turned around and forgotten about this. Now that she was calling to question us, we are really quite innocent!"

The doubts within all the others were gone.

They had all heard about Old Mrs. Tong losing her mind. They just didn't know that it was so severe that she could forget something so important.

They even heard that she would hit people during her episodes. They must have their children keep a distance from her after she had arrived!

Old Lin's wife, however, rolled her eyes and said, "Innocent my $$! My Lao Lin had said it already. Your grandmother sounded very spry and her mind clear. She didn't sound at all like someone who had lost their mind…"

BANG!

Tong Xuelu had ripped the old porcelain bowl out of Old Lin's wife's hand and smashed it on the ground!

Old Lin's wife: …Her bowl!

Before she could even shout out loud, Tong Xuelu's eyes had reddened and she started crying. "Last time you went over to the Xu family and told them to not give our position back to us. Now you are accusing me and my siblings for lying. I just want to know what have we ever done to you to make you want to pick on us like so?"

Old Lin's wife, "I…"

Tong Xuelu did not allow her the chance to talk. She leaned into Old Lin's wife all of a sudden and said in a low voice, "You old pockmarked female demon. I've seen ugly people but not someone as ugly as you are. You pick on me day and night because I am prettier than you are, right?"

Old Lin's wife's eyes widened and she looked at Tong Xuelu in disbelief, "You! You! You!"

"You what? Here you said you are worried that I won't be able to find myself a husband. How would it be possible that I won't be able to find myself a husband with my looks? And, even if I can't find myself a husband, that still beats marrying that weird-looking Lao Lin like you did!"

Tong Xuelu was a very articulate one and didn't even need to catch her breath in between.

Old Lin's wife was so angry that her whole body was shaking now. She jumped up and reached for Tong Xuelu's hair. "You brat! I am going to tear your mouth into pieces!"

Tong Xuelu took a step back, avoiding her, and shrieked fearfully, "What are you doing, Aunty Lin?"

And that was what Aunty Cai and Mother Xu saw when the two returned from grocery shopping. They ran up quickly and each of them grabbed one of Old Lin's wife's arms.

Nobody at the compound expected Old Lin's wife to suddenly get violent and all of them hurried on over.

"What are you doing, Old Lin's wife? Can't you just talk things through? You can't just get physical."

"Exactly. It was just a bowl. Is it worth it?"

"…"

Old Lin's wife was so angry that she wanted to kill someone!

Was this about a bowl? No! It was about her esteem!

Aunty Cai held her down firmly. "Old Lin's wife, you are so much older than her. Why are you picking on a girl day in and day out? Have you no shame?"

Mother Xu spit straight on her face and said, "Pei! Of course she had no shame! If she does, would she hold grudges until now over some food?"

"…"

Old Lin's wife almost passed out from being so angry. The spit had hit her in her eyes!

Tong Xuelu's eyes reddened. "Horse with good temperament will be ridden and people with good temperament will be walked all over. Let me go ask our superiors at the factory and see if they will just sit around and watch us orphans be bullied by other workers from the factory!"

Tong Jiaming came running over with the firewood still in his arms and said, "Big Sister, I'll go with you. Jiaxin, you go make a police report!"

This was the very first time Tong Jiaming referred to Tong Xuelu as Big Sister.

Perhaps he didn't exactly say that because he truly thought of her as his Big Sister but Tong Xuelu didn't care so much about that. She was, however, very happy at his response and tacit understanding.

Tong Jiaxin had no idea how things had gotten to this point but he had always listened to everything that his Second Brother said. He nodded and said, "Alright. On my way!"

Hearing that the Tong family would be filing a police report and looking for supervisors at the factory, Old Mrs. Lin could not remain silent anymore.

She rushed out of the house like the Tasmanian devil and bounced in front of Old Lin's wife.

SMACK!

She slapped her across her cheek. "You prodigal woman. You don't do any work all day long and just go around causing trouble. Hurry up and apologize to the girl!"

Old Lin's wife was dumbfounded being slapped by her mother-in-law. Her cheek reddening quickly, she said, "Mom, I…"

"You what, you? Hurry up and apologize. Or I am sending you back to your own family!"

Old Lin's wife's almost crushed her silver teeth from gritting her jaw so hard. She looked at Tong Xuelu, feeling aggrieved, and said to her, "I am sorry, girl. Your sister-in-law didn't know any better. I will apologize to you."

Tong Xuelu had always been the easy-going one in the compound but not so much this time. "Oh, if apologizing can solve everything then why do we still need cops around? Jiaxing, hurry up and make a police report. Then bring the comrade cops directly to the factory and meet us there!"

Old Mrs. Lin was so angry that she leaped up and slapped Old Lin's wife two more times. "Look at what you have done, you prodigal woman! If you can't make the girl forgive you today, I am going to have Da Lin divorce you tomorrow!"

If they truly take matters to the manager at the factory, her son just might lose his job!

Old Lin's wife finally became aware of the severity of the matters. "Girl, sister-in-law is really sorry. Please forgive me this one time!"

The others in the compound chimed in as well.

"Aiyo, girl, we are all neighbors. We can talk our differences through. There's no need to take matters to the cops!"

"Exactly. There's no need to take things that far!"

"Old Lin's wife had gone too far this time but she was already aware of her mistake. Just forgive her this time. We will all shout at her next time if she ever does this again!"

Typical people who'd say things like that when they were not the victims.

Tong Xuelu cussed to herself but she said docilely, "Alright, as all of the aunties said so, I will listen to you. But… for the sake of Aunty Lin to really think about what she had done wrong, I suggest for her to return to her own family for 2 weeks."

Old Mrs. Lin was worried that Tong Xuelu would bring up any unreasonable requests. When she heard that all Tong Xuelu was requesting was for her daughter-in-law to return to her own family to reflect upon her actions, she nodded immediately. "Don't worry, girl. I will have to leave right away!"

Old Lin's wife was anxious as soon as she heard that. "Mom, I…"

"You what, you! Hurry up, pack you stuff and go!"

Old Lin's wife was so angry that her nose was crooked. She went on and on but Tong Xuelu still insisted for her to return to her family.

The others had no idea why Tong Xuelu was so insistent about that but they also felt that it was no big deal as long as cops were not involved.

As nobody had spoken up for Old Lin's wife, she finally took off from the compound with her cheeks swollen and enraged.

Tong Mianmian came running out of the house after the crowd had dispersed. "Big Sister!"

"Don't run too fast. I don't want you to fall!"

Tong Xuelu quickly ran up and picked up the little bun when she saw her running toward her.

Tong Mianmian dashed into her sister's arms and said in her milky voice. "Big Sister, Mianmian listened to you and didn't come out earlier!"

The little bun looked at Tong Xuelu with her limpid almond eyes as though she was saying: Praise me quickly, Big Sister. I have been a good girl.

Tong Xuelu's heart softened, and she kissed her soft and fair little cheek. "Our Mianmian is such a good little girl!"

After the Tong Zhenzhen incident, other than reflecting upon herself, Tong Xuelu had also told Tong Mianmian to hide and protect herself next time when she saw Tong Xuelu got into a fight with someone else.

The little bun was unhappy when she heard that. She said she wanted to help her Big Sister fight the bad people. Tong Xuelu finally had to agree to let her help when she got older before the little bun agreed begrudgingly.

Tong Mianmian's little cheeks were beet red, and she pulled out two pieces of hard fruit candies from her pocket and handed them over to Tong Xuelu. "Here, Big Sister!"

Tong Xuelu, "Did Mianmian save these specifically for Big Sister?"

Tong Mianmian's big eyes curved into two new moons, and she nodded her little head. "Aunty gave Mianmian three pieces. Mianmian gets ones, Big Sister gets one, and Second Brother gets one."

As soon as she had finished talking, Tong Jiaxin came running out like a little firecracker. "That's not fair, Little Sister. What about your Third Brother?"

Little Sister was truly an unattentively white-eyed wolf. He had been so nice to her but she would rather give the fruit candy to Tong Xuelu and not him.

Tong Jiaxin: So angry.

Tong Mianmian twisted her meaty paws, stuck out two fingers and said, "Mianmian only had three pieces. That's all."

Tong Jiaxin said angrily, "You little fool. You can't even tell two from three!"

The little bun cocked her hand and looked at her own stubby fingers, confused.

Do-you-have-a-lot-of-?

Tong Mianmian was so cute that Tong Xuelu was speechless. She lifted one more finger of hers and said, "This is three. What you have earlier was two."

"Big Sister is so smart!"

Tong Jiaxin, "? ?"

He was the first who pointed that out. Why didn't she say he was smart? His little sister was hopeless when it came to favoritism.

Tong Jiaming couldn't stand looking at his brother's foolish face anymore. He gave him his piece of fruit candy and had him go play somewhere with Tong Mianmian.

The sun made the sky red and the smoke from cooking rose from the compound.

Tong Xuelu took a look at the time of the day and got ready to go wash her hands and to prepare dinner.

Tong Jiaming followed behind her and said in a low voice. "Why did you insist on having Aunty Lin sent back to her family?"

Tong Xuelu's red lips curved and she chuckled. "To prevent the situation of two Shameless* in one, of course."

It would be a pain if Jie Jinhua and Old Lin's wife were to team up. She might as well have Old Lin's wife sent home while she could.

Tong Xuelu would have those from Beihe taken care of by the time Old Lin's wife was back from her home town.

The two Swords (Shameless) in one?

Tong Jiaming frowned a little. He was unable to associate Old Lin's wife and the others as "swords" no matter how hard he tried.

They were more like feather dusters, if he must say.

Looking at Tong Jiaming's baffled look, Tong Xuelu nicely explained it for him. "I said shameless, not sword. Not the same character."

Tong Jiaming, "…"

After dinner that day, Tong Xuelu called for the first ever family meeting.

Presented at the meeting was: Tong Xuelu, Tong Jiaming, and Tong Jiaxin.

Absentee: Tong Mianmian.

Tong Xuelu gave the two brothers a look and said, "You two heard what Old Lin's wife said earlier. Those from our hometown will be here in two days at the very latest. We will have to go against them head on. You get that, right?"

Tong Jiaxin, the future unruliest boss reached out is paw and be the first to speak up, "Yes! We understood that clearly!"

Tong Jiaming, the future rotten-on-the-inside-but-gentle-on-the-outside boss nodded, quiet as usual.

Tong Xuelu was somewhat happy with how cooperative the two of them were. "I don't care what you think of me, but I am going to need you to place your full trust in me and work with me in all ways. Can you do that?"

Tong Jiaxin turned and looked over at his brother when he heard that.

Tong Jiaming nodded once again, with no hesitation.

Seeing that his brother had nodded, Tong Jiaxin's eyes rolled and he, too, nodded.

Translator's notes:

Tong Xuelu used a play on words here. The original saying was "two swords in one", but she replaced the word "sword" with "shameless" as they sound alike. Tong Jiaming still thought she was using the original term of "sword".

Chapter 17 - "Someone come. Take me to the hospital!"

They hadn't quite completely forgiven Tong Xuelu yet; however, comparing to the locusts from their hometown, they would much rather stay with Tong Xuelu!

Tong Xuelu would not hit them or shout at them and she was nice to their little sister. Most importantly, her cooking was delectable!

Just from that last point, they could overlook many of her past mistakes.

Those from their hometown were not the same. They'd bully the three of them every time they came in the past. Their little sister, in particular, would end up crying every time.

And, they would ask their parents for money every time and demanded meats with every meal. As such, their family would be in debt after each visit!

Tong Xuelu carried on to say, "Very well. I am going to assign you tasks then. Tong Jiaxin."

"Right here!"

"Your job is to protect Mianmian. When those from the home town came, you will take a few days sick leave and stay with Mianmian every single moment of every day and not let her get hurt at all. Can you do that?"

It sounds like she was overreacting but, recalling what had happened to Tong Mianmian in the novel, she only wished she could kill Tong Yanliang.

That's right. Tong Yanliang was the creepy cousin who violated Tong Mianmian in the novel. VIP scum!

Tong Jiaming felt that it was a waste of his talent to have him protect their little sister but the thought of not needing to go to school made his eyes beamed.

"Yes! I will protect little sister and not let her be hurt at all!"

Immediately after he had said that Tong Mianmian, who was sleeping in bed, rolled to one side and talked in her milky voice in her sleep, "Bad Third Brother. No candies for you!"

Tong Jiaming looked like he had a toothache. "…"

His little sister was certainly a white-eyed wolf that wouldn't grow close to him!

Tong Xuelu's lips curved upward. She turned to look at Tong Jiaming. "You, too, will take sick days off of school starting day after tomorrow. You will go pick them up from the train station but, after you've met up with them, don't bring them straight here…"

"Where are we taking them? Put them up in a hotel?" Tong Jiaxin interjected with a curious look.

"Take them to the government-operated restaurant."

Tong Jiaxin's thick brows twisted into two caterpillars when he heard that. "Why are we taking them to the government-operated restaurant?"

They were such annoying people. He didn't even want to spend a penny on them.

Tong Xuelu said, "You let me worry about that."

"Look at her, Second Brother!"

Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes. He even tried to tell on her.

Was he a grade school student?

Tong Jiaming, on the other hand, was not as excitable as Tong Jiaxin. He thought about it some and nodded, "Okay."

Tong Xuelu nodded with satisfaction when she saw that. She turned toward Tong Jiaxin and said to him, "See that? You need to learn a thing or two from your Second Brother."

Tong Jiaming was a calm and stable person and would help her out a lot.

He would not object to her in front of others even though he had yet to find out what her plan was.

He kept to his words: Even if he couldn't trust her 100%, the least that he could do was to not pull her legs.

Tong Jiaxin, "…"

He felt that he was looked down on.

Welp, that was annoying.

Tong Xuelu didn't pay Tong Jiaxin any attention. She adjourned their family meeting before she bathed and went to bed.

She needed to be well rested for the upcoming battle!

The Tong family was still having sweet potato porridge with pickled vegetables the next day.

As the saying goes, it is easy to go from rags to riches than the other way around.

After the few good meals, the Tong siblings found it difficult to go back to pickled or boiled vegetables.

"When can we have meats again?"

Tong Jiaxin's belief: Life is incomplete without meats!

Tong Xuelu took a sip of the sweet potato porridge assistant director said, "Somewhere between 7 to 10 days."

She gave herself 10 days' time. She would take at most 10 days to take care of the group of locusts and scums from Beihe.

Tong Jiaxin smacked his lips. Still 10 more days before he could have something yummy again. That was just awful! This was all the fault of those from Beihe. They were certainly a bunch of jerks!

"Ah choo!"

Jie Jinhua, who was riding on the train sneezed right at this moment and spat all over Tong Yanliang, sitting across from her.

Tong Yanliang wiped his face with his sleeves and said, with disgust, "Ew ew ew, Grandma. Your saliva stinks. When was the last time you brushed your teeth?"

Many from around them looked over after he had said that and some even chuckled.

Jie Jinhua's face turned beet red from the laughter.

She didn't have the heart to yell at her grandson so she shouted at those around them. "What's so funny huh? Don't you worry that you will laugh yourself to death?"

Someone didn't appreciate that comment. "Wow, is that really necessary, old woman? You just proved that your breath really does stink!"

Jie Jinhua slammed her palm down on the table and said, "Do you know who I am? You keep this up, I am going to have someone lock you up!"

The person looked Jie Jinhua and the others up and down upon hearing that.

They looked and looked but the entire family were in grey. Either way he looked at them, they didn't look like any one important.

"Oh lady, why don't you tell us who you are?" asked a curious individual.

Jie Jinhua sneered and said loudly, "My granddaughter's adoptive parents are government officials in the Capital City. My granddaughter is very nice to me. I will have them arrest you all if any of you dare to cross me!"

Someone questioned her. "Lady, are you making this up? If your granddaughter's adoptive parents really are government officials, how come she didn't even buy you any nice clothes?"

Jie Jinhua chuckled. "What do you know? We had just found this granddaughter. I am going to have found her two uncles jobs at the government agencies. She wouldn't dare to say no to me!"

She sounded so convincing that the others started fawning over her.

"Aiyo, Old Lady, you are so lucky. Working for the government offers a lot of stability. You will never to worry about money again!"

Jie Jinhua lifted her chin and was proud like an old peacock that was shedding. "That's right. We have no plans of returning to our old commune. We are here to become city-dwellers!"

"You have such a big family. It must be tight even with both of your sons working for the government, no?"

"What would be so tight? I have another son who just died in a car accident along with his wife. I am going to have my two daughters-in-law take over their jobs as soon as we reached capital city. In addition, as they died on the job, the government and the factory will pay us a handsome amount of death benefits!"

Some of the bystanders wondered why Jie Jinhua looked so happy gloating about how her son and daughter-in-law had died.

Others were very envious. "Old Lady, how much is the death benefits? At least 800, if not 1,000 for two people, right?"

Jie Jinhua rolled her eyes. "What do you mean 800 or 1,000? My oldest son and his wife had once saved the Plant Manager's son's life. He better pay us at least 2,000 yuan!" What did these ignorant villagers know?

Two thousand yuan!

They could buy a house in capital city with that amount!

The other fawned over them even more.

The fawning gave Jie Jinhua a big head and she bragged so much and made herself sound like a hotshot!

Three men sitting in a corner heard every word of Jie Jinhua's lie. They exchanged a look among themselves but said not a word.

After Tong Xuelu returned to work, sure enough, she was summoned by the plant manager and asked about the phone call.

Luckily, she was already prepared for it and, as usual, placed all the blame on Jie Jinhua.

Plant Manager Yu felt that something was off but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He might not know Tong Xuelu very well but he knew Tong Jiaming and the other kids since they were young and he knew that they were all very good kids.

Had Plant Manager Yu knew that Tong Jiaming was the one who started the lie, he might be plenty shocked.

Tong Xuelu walked out of the plant manager's office and was pulled to one side by Manager Ma, asking about the call.

She had no choice but to repeat herself again.

Shortly thereafter, the story about Jie Jinhua losing her mind spread around the factory one more time.

It left everyone with a lasting impression.

Tong Xuelu had wanted to head to the government-operated restaurant to talk to Huang Xianglan about her cousin but she had just taken a day off yesterday and would need to take another day off tomorrow. It seemed wrong to take today off as well.

She had no choice but to put that on a back burner.

The next morning, those at the compound saw the Tong siblings standing in the in the courtyard in a row like some sort of military training.

Tong Xuelu said to Tong Jiaming, "You head over to the train station right now. If you can meet up with Grandma and the others, take them over to the government-operated restaurant. Don't worry about money. Grandma is old and not in her best health. We should put her interest before ours."

Tong Jiaming nodded expressionlessly, "Okay. I will head over there right now."

Tong Xuelu then looked over at Tong Jiaxin. "You wait at home. In case your brother missed them, Grandma and the others will at least not be locked out."

Tong Jiaxin responded loudly, "Okay! I won't go anywhere. I will wait right here for Grandma!"

Tong Xuelu nodded in satisfaction. Lastly, she looked down at the groggy-looking Tong Mianmian.

Tong Mianmian rubbed her misty eyes and said in her milky voice, "That must have been a long trip, Grandma. Mianmian wants to give Grandma a back massage."

"Our Mianmian is so awesome!" Tong Xuelu praised. "Alright, let's go and take care of what we need to then."

As soon as she had finished saying that, Tong Jiaming turned and left. Tong Jiaxin sat down by the door with Tong Mianmian and Tong Xuelu was about to take off with her military purse across her shoulder.

Those within the compound quickly stopped her. "Girl, do you not plan on going to work and school then?"

Tong Xuelu let out a slight sigh. "My grandmother only became the way she did because of what happened to my parents. As such, me and siblings want to do something that could perhaps cheer her up a little. We have taken a few days off our school and work to spend time with her. Aunties, I need to go stand in line at the CSMC to get some meats. I worry that they will be all gone if I get there too late. I'll talk with you later."

"Okay, you be on your way then."

Everybody looked at her with a tender look and they all looked touched. What a filial child she was!

Tong Xuelu acknowledged them docilely, turned, and her lips curved up right away.

She was professional when it came to making things up.

Over at the train station.

Jie Jinhua and her company picked up their luggage and got off the train along with the crowd.

Lo and behold, she had just gotten one foot on the ground when a man bumped into her forcefully from behind. She stumbled forward and almost fell on the group.

"Hey, watch where you are going! I…"

Jie Jinhua was so angry that she started shouting right way but, before she could even stop talking, someone gave her a switch kick on her butt.

"Oh gosh. Oh my gosh…"

She was kicked onto the ground, face down. She felt burning pain on her cheeks and lips. Moving her lips, she could taste blood in her mouth.

"Pei pei pei!"

She sat up and spit out a few mouthfuls of spittle and, along with it, one of her incisors.

Oh lord. Her tooth! Her tooth!

"I am going to kill you!"

Jie Jinhua scrambled back up onto her feet angrily and saw a man picking up her luggage and dashed. That was when she realized something had gone horribly wrong––

"Help! Someone just robbed me!"

There were a lot of people at the train station and it was very chaotic. Someone from somewhere shouted out, "Knife! Someone's wielding a knife!"

A lot of shrieking could be heard and passengers started running in all directions.

Jie Jinhua had no idea where her two sons were pushed around to by the other people at the train station. She had shoved around by others until she finally slammed right onto Tong Yanliang, her grandson.

As though a drowning person who had grabbed onto the last straw, she quickly said to him, "Yanliang, hurry up and get our luggage back!"

She hadn't planned on returning to the village after this trip so she had brought with her all of her possessions, including money and tickets.

Tong Yanliang knew that as well so he immediately ran after the man. "Don't you run, you XXXX! Give me back our luggage!"

He was young with long legs and he quickly caught up to the man who robbed them of their luggage. He grabbed the man's arm and was about to get violent with him. "I am going to….."

BAM!

He wasn't even done talking when he was punched on his face.

"You XXXX. Just what are you going to do about that huh?"

That was followed by another punch. BAM!

Tong Yanliang felt that his nose was aching. Tears rolled down his cheeks and blood came out of his nose.

He ran his hand over it and saw bright red blood on his palm.

He, he, he was bleeding!

Tong Yanliang's brain short-circuited for a second there and he gritted his teeth after he had recollected himself. "I am going to kill you!"

He had been in fights back in the village before and, when he was enraged, would attack where it hurt the most.

The man never wanted to waste more time on him and was also infuriated ow. He kicked him right where it hurt the most––

Tong Yanliang let out an "aoru" and his face turned black instantly, then red, before he crumbled onto the ground.

His hands covering where it hurt the most and he curled up like a dried shrimp.

"Someone come. Take me to the hospital…" It hurt, hurt, hurt!

Tong Jiaming, witnessing the scene behind a post, casually took his step back, turned, and walked out of the train station.

He, saw nothing.

Chapter 18 - Tong Xuelu put on just the right amount of shock and worries.

Tong Xuelu had no idea what happened at the train station.

She did not head to the CSMC after she departed from the compound but, instead, headed over to the government-operated restaurant.

Huang Xianglan and Chen Dani both smiled when they saw Tong Xuelu walking over to them. "Ah, you come, Comrade Tong. Have you had breakfast yet?"

Tong Xuelu shook her head. "No, not yet. What do you have right now?"

She only had half a bowl of porridge at home and her stomach was practically empty right now.

Chen Dani said affectionately, "We have soymilk, meat buns, and noodles. What would you like?"

As soon as she finished saying that, some customer from another table shouted out disgruntledly "Hey, you just told me that you don't have meat buns anymore! What's up with that?!"

Chen Dani's face dropped. She turned and shouted back at him with her hands on her waist, "If I said we didn't have them we didn't have them. You got something to say?"

Looking at Chen Dani's arrogant what-you-want-to-battle look, the person pursed their lips, lowered their head and returned to their plain bun, not daring to even make another peep.

Tong Xuelu felt no guilt about her special treatment and, basked in everyone's envious and jealous look, said generously, "Give me two meat buns and a bowl of soymilk!"

Chen Dani took her money and brought the food out to her before she asked nosily, "How did it go with my cousin the other day, Comrade Tong?"

Huang Xianglan also came over and looked at Tong Xuelu with her eyes sparkling after she had finished delivering food to another table.

Tong Xuelu took a bite of a meat bun and, instantly, the delectable taste of the meat filling filled her mouth. It wasn't half bad.

This bun was made with bread flour. Its exterior looked particularly white and was spongy when chewed. Its filling was generous as well. She would bring a few with her on her way out for the Tong Mianmian and the others.

She took a sip of the soymilk after she had finished the bun.

She need food in her stomach so she would have energy for her performance.

Tong Xuelu frowned a little and looked over at Huang Xianglan. "Did you cousin get in touch with you in the last couple of days?"

Huang Xianglan got nervous right away and asked immediately, "What happened? Did something happen to my cousin?"

Tong Xuelu nodded with a heavy look. "Your cousin was beaten again! When I went over, she had a lesion on her forehead and she was bleeding. Your niece was so scared that she passed out. I could feel my fists hardened when I witnessed that!"

Huang Xianglan let out an "Oh!" and her eyes reddened immediately. "That man deserves to go to he||! What was it this time?"

Tong Xuelu shook her head. "I don't know what was the reason behind it. No matter what his reason was, he should not have hit a woman!"

Chen Dani, too, was upset. "You are so right. What kind of a man takes it out on a woman? So what did Xianglan's cousin say? Did she want you to help her out?"

"No." Tong Xuelu shook her head again. "Sister Xiuying couldn't made up her mind."

Chen Dani lost it like a cat being stepped on when she heard that. "Are you kidding me? How was she not able to make up her mind after she was beaten like that? She just wants to be walked all over?"

Chen Dani was one with bad temper and she didn't care about others' feelings when she talked.

Huang Xianglan's face reddened and she tried to defend her cousin. "Perhaps she worried about bad influences."

"The one getting violent didn't even care about that. What did she have to worry about?"

Huang Xianglan was the more passive one and, as such, when Chen Dani was more forceful in her tone, dared not say anything else.

Chen Dani turned and looked at Tong Xuelu. "Comrade Tong, how do you plan on teaching that man a lesson? Tell me so I can better help you convince her."

Tong Xuelu swallowed the last bite of the meat bun and dropped a bomb slowly, "I told her to report her husband and her mother-in-law and send them both to jail."

Chen Dani, "…"

Huang Xianglan, "…"

Her words stunned the both of them.

Even the two of them wouldn't be able to bring themselves to turn their own families in!

Tong Xuelu wasn't surprised by their reactions at all. "Let me tell you two a little story…"

She then repeated the story that she made up the other day to the two of them. The two were stunned silent and the story gave them goosebumps.

"….. You see now? I told Sister Xiuying to report her husband and her mother-in-law for a reason. Do you now think that Sister Xiuying should report them with incidents like that?"

Chen Dani didn't say anything this time; it was Huang Xianglan who first broke the silence. "There is no way that my cousin would do that. My aunty and uncle will disown her if she did that."

Chen Dani, too, recollected herself and sighed. "What Xianglan said is true. Not only would her family not be understanding and supportive of her, those around her would also label her vicious!"

Even her daughter might blame her after she had grown up.

Tong Xuelu's lips curved upward slightly. "Would they still object to having your cousin report them if her husband's position goes to your uncle or their son?"

Huang Xianglan let out another "Oh!" and her mouth dropped open for a long, long time.

He Baogen was a worker at an electronic factory and made 50 yuan a month. That was considered high for a factory worker.

If Su Xiuying was to turn He Baogen and his mother in, his position would go to her and she could choose to sell it or give it to her family.

People are tempted by money and so might Su Xiuying's famiy.

Su Xiuying could totally use this as a leverage when talking to her family. In addition to asking for their support, she could also request for them to help her take care of her child. That way she could better go out to work.

As for the others around here, that was even simpler. All she needed to do was to move to a new place and start a new job.

Tong Xuelu had already thought about that but, she didn't know Su Xiuying very well so she couldn't be the one bringing that up to her.

Tong Xuelu, "Repeat what I said to your cousin. She needs to help others help her. She will need to stand on her own two feet for her own happiness. Had her really give it some thought but keep in mind to not share this with anyone else, especially those from your aunty's family!"

And if Su Xiuying still couldn't make up her mind, there wasn't much more that Tong Xuelu could do for her.

Perhaps realizing the severity of the issue, Huang Xianglan couldn't help but nodded. "Okay. I won't share it with anyone else."

Chen Dani looked at Tong Xuelu. She was surprised how thorough her thought process was at her young age.

Too bad her husband and her mother-in-law didn't beat her. She could otherwise adopt the same strategy to take care of them. Pei, pei, pei. Not "too bad", it was just some crazy thoughts on her part.

Tong Xuelu had no idea what was going through Chen Dani's mind.

She told the other two that she would be bringing her family over to dine there and had them help save her some good food.

Naturally, Huang Xianglan and Chen Dani would not turn down such a small favor.

Seeing that it was still early in time, Tong Xuelu bought a few large meat buns back to the compound for Tong Mianmian and the others.

Back at the compound.

Seeing that she had returned empty handed, they asked her, curiously, "Were you not able to get any meat?"

Tong Xuelu looked distressed. "Yeah. I stood in line for an hour and they were sold out by the time I got to the front!"

That happened so often that nobody felt that it was odd.

After Tong Xuelu had left this morning, Tong Jiaxin sat in the courtyard with Tong Mianmian for a long while and, as the two were dozing off, they were urged by the others in the compound to go nap inside their house.

The two were still sleeping when Tong Xuelu walked inside their house.

Tong Xuelu walked over and woke them up. "Wake up, Mianmian. Big Sister brought huge meat buns for you."

Tong Jiaxin heard "huge meat bun" and popped right up with his eyes opened wide. "Where's big meat bun? Where is it?"

Tong Xuelu pulled the meat buns out of her military purse and Tong Jiaxin threw himself in her direction with his eyes beaming.

He looked like a wolf who hadn't eaten in days.

When Tong Mianmian saw the meat buns, her two limpid eyes curved into new moons. She ate it one small bite at a time while holding the bun in both hands.

She reminded one of a hamster eating and was super cute.

When the two finished eating, Zhudan came running in in his bare butt and handed a note over to Tong Xuelu. "This is for you, Big Sister."

Tong Xuelu was taken aback a little, "What is it?"

Zhudan shook his big head and said, "I don't know. A little big brother gave it to me outside to give to you. He gave me candies."

He showed the piece of candy that was now dirty-looking from him holding it to Tong Xuelu.

Tong Xuelu took the note over, patted him on his head, and sent him on his way.

Zhudan rubbed his freshly-shaved head, cracked into a smile, and ran off.

Tong Xuelu opened up the notes and written on there was the message: Come into the alleyway.

?

Tong Xuelu was very baffled. She could tell from the writing that the note was from Tong Jiaming. But that only confused her more.

Didn't he go to pick the others up from the train station? Why was he sending him a note then?

And, why didn't he just come home instead of having her meet him in the alleyway in such a stealth manner?

Luckily it was broad daylight so she wasn't too worried.

She gave Tong Jiaxin and heads up and walked out of the house.

She saw Tong Jiaming right away right after she round the corner of the alleyway.

Glistening sun poured into the alleyway and the young man stood inside the golden light, his back unwavering.

He looked up when he heard the footsteps and a hint of discomfort flashed past the normally calm black eyes.

Tong Xuelu said to him calmly. "Go ahead and say it. What happened?"

Tong Jiaming pursed his lips and summarized what had happened in the train station to her.

Tong Xuelu remained silent for quite a while after she heard it. It took her away to recollect herself. "So when you saw that Tong Yanliang was beat up, not only did you not help out, you pretended that you saw nothing and took off?"

"Yes."

Looking at Tong Xuelu with his black eyes, Tong Jiaming did not look as nonchalant as he was earlier.

He wasn't sure if his not being able to catch them at the train station had foiled her plan, which was why he had someone brought her a note.

The very next minute, Tong Xuelu busted out laughing and patted him on his shoulder through her laugh. "AHAHAHAHA…. Great job!"

She hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise!

It had crossed her mind to turn Tong Yanliang into an eunuch but that would be quite challenging to make it happen. Besides, he hadn't committed any of his heinous crimes yet so she only stopped at thinking about it.

Lo and behold, there was a god after all. Even Heaven wouldn't tolerate him!

Tong Jiaming was baffled from her laughter. "Did I not foil your plans?"

Tong Xuelu laughed so hard that her cheeks were sore. "Not at all. Great job! I asked you to take them to the government-operated restaurant to show others how filial we are."

That way others would not become suspicious when she carried out her following plans.

Tong Jiaming had no idea what her complete plan was but he wasn't going to ask if she wasn't going to share.

Tong Xuelu debated what to do with Tong Jiaming. It would not be a good idea to have him return to the compound right now.

Suddenly, someone ran past the alleyway and Tong Xuelu called out quickly, "Manager Ma, where are you heading?"

Hearing Tong Xuelu's voice, Manager Ma stopped abruptly. "Why are you here, Xuelu? Something had happened to your grandmother and cousin!"

"Oh? What happened?"

Tong Xuelu put on just the right amount of shock and worries.

Chapter 19 - Welp, that was a bit awkward.

"I'm not sure yet. They called the factory saying that they had been robbed. They are at the hospital right now but they didn't have money to pay for the bills. They asked you to bring money over!"

Tong Xuelu frowned. "Was that what happened? No wonder Jiaming didn't see them at the train station!"

Manager Ma was heaving and he finally noticed Tong Jiaming standing next to Tong Xuelu. "Hurry up and head to the hospital. You don't want to waste any more time!"

Tong Xuelu nodded repeatedly. "I'll head home and grab the money. Thanks, Manager Ma!"

Manager Ma waved and sent her on her way.

Tong Xuelu returned to the company and immediately made sure that everyone had heard about the incident. "Aunty Cai! Aunty Cai!"

Aunty Cai was startled by her call and quickly ran out from their neighbor's house. "What is it? What is it? What's the matter, Xuelu?"

Tong Xuelu frowned and gave her a worried look. "Aunty Cai, Manager Ma had just informed me that my grandmother and cousin had been beaten and were now in the hospital. I need to bring money over to them. Can you please help me look after Jiaxin and Mianmian in the meantime?"

Aunty Cai was shocked. "Oh my gosh. They were beaten up? By whom?"

Tong Xuelu repeated the story again. "I have no idea why they were beaten up. I am heading over to the hospital now. I'll fill you in later."

Aunty Cai comforted her. "Okay. You two hurry up and go. I'll look after Jiaxin and Mianmian. Don't worry too much. They should be fine."

"Thank you, Aunty Cai."

Tong Xuelu's voice cracked a little. She took the money and walked out of their house frowning.

Her brows unfurrowed as soon as she walked out of the compound.

She didn't want to get wrinkles from frowning too much.

Tong Jiaming had already gotten used to seeing her instant expression change.

The two took a car ride over to the city but didn't head over to the hospital right away.

"Let's go grab a bite at the government-operated restaurant first before we head over."

Tong Jiaming was taken aback a little but finally followed her quietly without asking anything.

The meal took another two hours.

The group from the hometown was tired and hungry at the hospital.

Jie Jinhua and Tong Yanliang, in particular, were hurting all over and had been very impatient a long time ago.

Tong Yanliang was enraged. "Grandma, when are they going to come over?"

Even though they had already had medicines, a certain part of his anatomy was still smarting and he couldn't quite cover it up in front of everyone.

What a hazzle!

Sun Guilan felt bad for her son for one but was also so hungry that she could cuss her own mother out. "Mom, it's been a few hours already. Would Jiaming and the others not come at all?"

Jie Jinhua had a split lip and lost a tooth. Her cheek was swollen and was not in any better shape than Tong Yanliang.

Her face was long like an old cucumber. "If he dares not to come, I will skin him later!"

Tong Erzhu held his stomach that was flat from hungry, spit, and said angrily, "That child is just like his parents and is a scheming one at his young age. Perhaps he was stalling on purpose!"

All of the Tong family members looked unhappy when they heard that.

Other than Jie Jinhua, even the luggage of Tong Erzhu and Tong Sanzhuang had been robbed from them. The entire family had not a penny between them.

They had finished all of the wowotau the night before. They figured they would have Tong Jiaming treat them to the government-operated restaurant when they arrived in the morning. What happened after that was not expected.

They had no money and they were beaten up. They had not even had a sip of water for over 10 hours since that morning. They were so hungry that the front of their stomach was stuck to their back. How could they possibly be in a good mood?

A little boy around 4 or 5 was playing in the lobby and suddenly bumped into Tong Yanliang. The little kid didn't even feel any pain but looked up and gave Tong Yanliang a big smile.

Tong Yanliang, being bumped into by the boy, his certain anatomy tugged, and it hurt so much that he shoved the boy and said, "Stay away from me!"

The little boy, pushed onto the ground, started to bawl.

The little boy's grandmother felt bad for her grandson. She picked him up and started shouting. "You #& ($& with no offspring, I will kill you if anything happen to my grandson!"

The old woman was certainly no nice person. The "no offspring" part hit Tong Yanliang where it hurt the most.

Looking vicious, he said, "You think that can scare me? He is lucky that I didn't kill him first!"

The old woman was so angry that her nose was crooked. But, before she could say anything, Jie Jinhua and her two daughters-in-law joined in the fight.

Cuss words like b**** or ******* came rolling out of their mouths and the lobby was bustling with noises.

A chubby nurse came over and shouted at them. "Shut up, all of you. You keep this up I am going to have cops come and arrest all of you!"

Her words made everybody shut up right away.

And that was the scene that Tong Xuelu walked into.

She didn't need Tong Jiaming's introduction to figure out that the bunch of tools were the crowd from Beihe.

They reeked so much of tools that not even 10 bottles of perfumes could hide that stench.

Tong Erzhu's eyes rolled and he suddenly spotted Tong Jiaming standing next to the post. His triangular eyes stared at him and he said, "Mom, isn't that the brat Tong Jiaming?"

Everybody lost it when the looked over.

Jie Jinhua jumped up and started shouting. "You brat, what took you so long to get here? Where had you been? You want me to starve to death, don't you?"

Sun Guilan pursed her lips and said, "We called some 4~5 hours ago and he is just now getting here. He obviously did that on purpose!"

The others, too, stared at Tong Jiaming viciously, as though he had just killed their fathers.

Tong Xuelu turned and looked over at Tong Jiaming. The ladder had no expression whatsoever on him. There was not a hint of warmth in the way that he was looking at the Tong's.

She tightened her lips and said, "Let's go and meet them."

She started walking toward them after she had said that.

She did not have heels on but she walked like she was 1.8 meter in height and very sassy and heroic.

Tong Erzhu's eyes lit up. He looked at Tong Xuelu's fair and smooth face, then over at her chest and, from there, her slender waist. There was an evil glow in his eyes.

Sun Guilan smacked him on the back of his hand and said with a long face: "What do you think you are looking at?"

Tong Erzhu rubbed his chin and chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, nothing."

Tong Xuelu walked over to them and said to Jie Jinhua, "Grandma, we are here to pick you up."

Grandma?

The others were taken aback a little from that referral.

Could this be Tong Dajun's switched daughter?

Wow, she was so exceptionally pretty.

Red lips, white teeth, her skin looks so soft that they could pinch water out of it. Then there was the way that she dressed. Yup, she was raised by the high officials. Her temperament certainly suggested that.

Unlike what was going through their mind, Tong Xuelu looked at the big family in front of her and wondered where did this group of odd-looking individuals come from.

She looked over at Jie Jinhua.

She was in her 50s or 60s, short. Her skin was dark and coarse. Her eyes triangular shaped and her cheek bones were tall. Her mean and nasty personality were short of written on her face.

Tong Dajun's couple were both good looking and Tong Jiaming, his siblings, and even the original owner's body got the good genes from them.

She thought that those from Beihe, even if they weren't as attractive as them, would still be on the same level. Nevertheless, each of them was worse than the one before them, like a bunch of crude imitation products.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. Perhaps Tong Dajun wasn't a Tong's child at all?

Tong Dajun, from her memory, did not resemble Jie Jinhua at all. Nor did he look like his two brothers with their pointy mouth and monkey-shaped faces.

It couldn't be this cliché, could it?

Tong Xuelu felt that there was a need to look into Tong Dajun's situation but now was not the time.

Jie Jinhua was the first to recollect herself. She stared at Tong Xuelu and shouted at her, "So you are Tong Dajun's daughter? What is the matter with you? What took you so long to get here?"

Tong Xuelu lowered her eyes and said softly, "I'm so sorry, Grandma. I had Jiaming go pick you up from the train station earlier but you somehow missed each other. We headed over here as soon as we learned of the call but you know how it is with the public transportation. We waited for over two hours before we got on a bus."

Jie Jinhua had thought that, growing up in the kind of family that she did, she must be an arrogant one that would look down on others. She had no expected her personality to be so passive. Suddenly, Jie Jinhua became even more arrogant.

"Aren't your adoptive parents high government officials? Couldn't you have given them a call and had them send a car over to pick us up?"

Tong Xuelu blinked and gave her an enlightened look. "You are right. How come that didn't occur to me? Next time. I will for sure remember to do that next time."

Jie Jinhua was speechless from her reaction.

But, Jie Jinhua could shout at her again, Tong Xuelu quickly turned toward Tong Yanliang.

"You are Tong Yanliang, my cousin? I heard that you have been kicked in your important anatomy. How is it now? Is it broken? Can it still function in the future? Will you not be able to have kids?"

Tong Yanliang, "…"

The rest of the Tong family, "…"

The others around them almost choked to death on their own spittle when they heard her words.

The girl was fair, clean, and decorous-looking, how was she able to just spew out things like that?!

And, at the same time, all of the others looked over to Tong Yanliang's crotch area.

The intense looks made Tong Yanliang felt that his pants could combust spontaneously.

His face was beet red and he started viciously at Tong Xuelu. "You shut up!"

Tong Xuelu took a step back. She put her hand over her chest as though she was startled. "Tong Yanliang, my cousin. What's the matter with you? Is something else hurting? Or that you had lost your ability?"

"…"

Tong Yanliang felt his breath stuck in his chest and he was short of spitting out blood.

That dang *****. She called out his name every single time as though she worried that others would have missed that. Was she doing that on purpose?

Of course Tong Xuelu was doing that on purpose.

Such good news should be announced to the entire world so that everyone would hear about it.

Jie Jinhua, too, was infuriated. She shouted at her with a long face. "You stupid brat. Do you know the art of talking? If you don't have anything better to say, don't say anything. We all know that you are not a mute!"

Tong Xuelu scratched her skin below her eyes, put on a shy looked and said, "Yes, I am very good with words. Thank you for your complement, Grandma."

Jie Jinhua almost spit out blood. "…" That was not a complement!

The others around them would look over at them from time to time, particularly in Tong Yanliang's crotch's direction. That made them very unhappy.

Jie Jinhua wanted to shout at Tong Xuelu but she worried that she would spew out more irritating words. With a long face, she said, "Hurry up and paid the hospital bills. We will talk after we got home!"

Tong Xuelu nodded docilely and turned to say to Tong Jiaming, "Jiaming, you take Grandma and the others out first. I'll go meet up with you after I finished paying."

Tong Jiaming nodded before he said to Jie Jinhua, "Let's go, Grandma."

Jie Jinhua and the others were very happy but there wasn't much they could do right now.

They felt horrible!

Tong Xuelu watched them walked out the front door before she turned to pay the hospital bills.

Lo and behold, as soon as she turned around, she saw Wen Rugui standing there next to the cashier, giving her a strange look.

Welp… that was a bit awkward.

Chapter 20 - My cousin Tong Yanliang took advantage of a woman

Anyone who could earn the title as a green tea had long had bronze and iron face and was impenetrable.

Tong Xuelu only felt a brief moment of embarrassment when she saw Wen Rugui before she quickly calmed down.

She lifted her feet and started walking over to him.

Li Bihua had said it once.* One was only stunned because one wasn't worldly enough.

With all of her suitors in her previous life and all sorts of stars and idols that she had followed, she would consider herself quite worldly. Nevertheless, she was still stunned when she saw Wen Rugui.

He was still in a white shirt and was standing there with his back straight. His brows were like mountains and his eyes like stars and moon. He had a nonchalant look on him but he still made one's heart skip a beat.

Tong Xuelu smiled calmly. "What a coincidence to run into you here, Comrade Wen."

As long as I refused to feel embarrassed; it will be someone else who feels embarrassed!**

Wen Rugui scanned over her face and said nonchalantly, "Hi, Comrade Tong."

"Are you not feeling well, Comrade Wen?"

"I am fine," said Wen Rugui and felt that he was being too nonchalant after he was done talking.

So he added, "My grandfather had upset stomach so I accompanied him here to have him checked out by the doctors."

His health had deteriorated when he was in the military during his early years and, now that he was getting older, the doctor asked him to be mindful of what he was eating. His grandfather, however, had personality like a child and, the more the doctor told him what not to eat, the more he would want to eat them. From time to time, he would eat them behind Uncle Zong's back.

He and his former comrade in arms had finished up a bottle of white wine just the two of them and now both of them were taken to the hospital.

As his grandfather had lied about being sick last time to trick him into going back home for an arranged date, Wen Rugui thought his grandfather was trying to trick him again when he received the call this time.

"Yes, the elderlies tend to have weaker GI. They should be careful about that."

Tong Xuelu's red lips curved a little and the two dimples next to the corners of her lips. They made one felt that they were basked in a spring breeze.

As though she wasn't the one who was shouting about whether someone's tool was still useful in the lobby earlier.

"Mmm," said Wen Rugui nonchalantly. He, too, did not bring up what had happened earlier.

As though he wasn't that one with the odd look on him earlier.

What a kind and handsome man with high emotional quotient who would not point out the obvious.

Tong Xuelu's opinion on him shot up like a purchase order on Double-11.

Nevertheless, all of her attention on were those tools from the hometown so she said goodbye to Wen Rugui after she finished paying the hospital bill.

Wen Rugui watched Tong Xuelu taking off from behind and, right when he was about to return to the patient room, he turned and saw a head full of white head poked up from around the corner, peeking over in his direction in a sneaky way.

Wen Rugui sighed to himself, walked over, and said to the man. "What are you doing out here, Grandpa?"

Old Mr. Wen ignored his question and looked in the direction where Tong Xuelu had disappeared in. He nudged Wen Rugui with his elbow and said, "Who's that girl, Rugui? How come Grandpa had never met her before?"

Wen Rugui said without blinking or his heart pounding, "A new worker at the base."

Old Mr. Wen stared at him dubiously for a little while, then said firmly, "That's impossible! YOu are lying! There is no such young and pretty girl at your base!"

Did he think his grandfather was old and foolish? He knew each and every single girl that's single and unmarried at his base!

Wen Rugui showed no embarrassment of being called out on. He said, "That's why I said she's new. You've never met her before."

Translator's notes:

* A well-known Chinese writer. This TL is a fan of hers. ^_^

** Common Chinese internet saying

Old Mr. Wen felt unreconciled. "Then tell me her name, her family, her age, and whether she is single!"

"Let's head back inside, Grandpa. It's time to take your medicines."

He knew very well what was going through his old grandpa's mind.

Seeing how he couldn't say anything to change Wen Rugui's mind, Old Mr. Wen was so angry that even beard was shaking.

He turned and said to Uncle Zong. "Xiao Zong. Did you take a good look at that girl? How old would you say she is?"

Uncle Zong took a look at Wen Rugui, scratched his nose, and played dumb. "I am old and have bad eyesight. I didn't get a very good look earlier."

Old Mr. Wen rolled his eyes. "Hu Zong, out with it right now. This is an order!"

Uncle Zong gave him a military salute and said, "Reporting to the Commander, the girl has very fine and fair skin and is very pretty. I will put her at around 16 ~ 17 years old!"

16 ~ 17 years old huh…

Old Mr. Wen gave his grandson an ox-eye stare. "Old cow grazing for young grass.* You are so shameless!"

Wen Rugui, "…"

Immediately after that, Old Mr. Wen's look changed again. He patted Wen Rugui on his shoulder and said, "But you don't need to feel bad about it. Being able to graze for the young grass as an old cow means you've got good teeth. Come to think about it, you've inherited the excellent genes from your grandfather."

Wen Rugui, "…"

Old Mr. Wen never got tired of teasing his grandson.

Uncle Zong gave Wen Rugui a sympathetic look.

Wen Rugui rubbed his forehead and said, "Grandpa, it seems you are in good spirit now so I am going to head back to base."

Having said that, he handed the receipt over to Uncle Zong, turned, and walked out of the hospital briskly.

Old Mr. Wen tapped his cane on the group repeatedly. "You get back here, brat. You haven't told me the name of the girl yet!"

The more Old Mr. Wen shouted, the faster was Wen Rugui's pace as he quickly disappeared outside the hospital's door.

Seeing that he wasn't able to get Wen Rugui to come back from his shouting, Old Mr. Wen smacked his lips and said to Uncle Zong, "Xiao Zong, do you think that girl looks like my future granddaughter-in-law?"

Uncle Zong, "… Commander, I am old and have poor eyesight. I couldn't see that."

Old Mr. Wen gave him another stare and said, "Do you think I will be able to have a cup of tea made by my granddaughter-in-law this year then?"

Uncle Zong, "Commander, I am old…"

"Oh, shut up!"

Old Mr. Wen was very annoyed that Uncle Zong kept repeating the same line.

He hrumphed and walked back into this patient room with his cane in hand.

After Tong Xuelu had finished paying the hospital bills, she saw Sun Guilan standing in front of Tong Jiaming with her hands on her waist and her willow brows standing straight up. Her thin lips moved up and down nonstop.

Tong Xuelu couldn't quite hear what she was saying but she only needed half a brain to figure out that she was saying all sorts of awful things to Tong Jiaming.

Tong Jiaming's lips were shut tightly and veins could be seen on his fist from how hard he was clenching them.

"… Second Aunty, please don't say that. My parents are not that kind of people."

Sun Guilan's finger was short of touching Tong Jiaming's nose. "Oh yeah? So I am saying that. What are you going to do about that, huh? And what's that look on your face? Are you going to hit me? Alright, hit me then. C'mon, hit me. I dare you to hit me––"

SMACK!

Sun Guilan was smacked across her cheek and a handprint quickly appeared on her left cheek.

The air was silence for a few seconds.

Sun Guilan recollected herself and shouted at Tong Xuelu angrily, "Did you just hit me? I, I, I am going to kill you!"

Tong Xuelu dodged her hand and blinked innocently. "Second Aunty, weren't you asking to be hit? I saw that Jiaming dared not comply, so I, as his sister, needed to step in."

Sun Guilan, "…"

The Tong family, "…"

Translator's notes:

* A common saying

Sun Guilan was so angry that her nose was crooked. "I was being facetious. Who would take those literally? What had your parents been teaching you?!"

Tong Xuelu replied sincerely, "My parents always teach me that I should help out others whenever I can."

Everyone, "…"

"Mom, look at her. I am so mad!"

Sun Guilan was so livid that her entire body was shaking. She could just drop dead right now.

Jie Jinhua was already upset from Tong Xuelu's behavior from back inside the hospital. Now that she saw Tong Xuelu getting physical at Sun Guilan, she wanted to take this opportunity to teach her a lesson.

Nevertheless, before she could start saying anything, she heard Tong Xuelu saying, "Are you not hungry at all? I had told my friends at the government-operated restaurant to save us some food. If you don't hurry up and head over, she will be selling the meats to someone else."

The word "meats" made the Tong family members salivate. Their stomachs started to growl and they felt even more hungry than before.

Jie Jinhua quickly stopped herself from shouting. She turned toward Sun Guilan and said, "You are the older one here. Why are you fighting with someone of a younger generation? Hurry, hurry. Let's go eat!"

"…"

Sun Guilan hadn't expected that her mother-in-law would not be on her side.

She turned to look at her husband and the latter turned his head away slowly, pretended that he didn't see anything.

Sun Guilan, "…"

Ooooooh, she's so mad!

Tong Xuelu's lips curved upward slightly when she saw that Sun Guilan was so angry that she could puke out blood. She then noticed Tong Jiaming looking at her when she turned her head.

"What is it?"

Tong Jiaming blinked his long eyelashes and said in a low voice, "No, nothing."

"Then let's go. Let's have a great meal over at the government-operated restaurant!"

The Tong's were hoping to dine at the government-operated restaurant in the city but they were told that they had already ran out of meats when they arrived.

For the sake of having meats, they decided to hold off and wait until they get to the government-operated restaurant in Yanqing County so they could feast.

Lo and behold, they had to wait for an hour for the car ride, the trip took another hour, then it was another half an hour walk. By the time they've reached the restaurant, the group was short of collapsing at the door.

The Tongs: This was such a disaster.

"What took you so long? Here I thought you won't be coming today!"

Chen Dani and Huang Xianglan had thought that Tong Xuelu wouldn't be coming anymore. They hadn't expected her to show up with a group of people at this hour.

"Aye, that was a long story. Long story short, my cousin had sustained damages when he was kicked by someone." As she talked, she purposefully stopped and pointed at him out to them. "That's the one I am talking about. Tong Yanliang, my cousin."

Tong Yanliang, "…"

SMACK!

He was so angry that he slammed his hand down on the table and shouted, "Can you shut up already?"

SMACK!

He slammed his hand down once again.

Chen Dani slammed her hand down even harder than him. "What do you think you are doing here? What kind of attitude was that? Smack it one more time, I dare you. I am going to have you arrested right away!"

Tong Yanliang's face turned blue. Staring at Tong Xuelu in a unreconciled way, he said reluctantly, "I'm sorry."

Tong Xuelu said in a very green tea manner, "Please pardon him, Sister Dani. It is only normal to feel upset after such a horrible ordeal."

Tong Yanliang, "…"

*(# (&*(* How many times did he have to say it? His tool was fine! It was not broken!

Chen Dani grunted, "Whatever. I'll forgive him this one time for your sake. Let me go bring the meat out."

Tong Xuelu thanked her with a smile and quickly pulled out the money and the tickets from her military purse.

There was a total of 10 people from the Tong family. 12 total counting Tong Xuelu and Tong Jiaming.

Dinner was a large plate of braised pork legs, a plate of cabbage and meat stir fry, stewed radish, a plate of dumplings made out of fortified flour, and a bowl of rice for each person.

The total came out to be 15.94 yuan along with a lot of meat and food tickets.

Tong Xuelu had splurged on this meal.

Two of them, however, weren't all that happy. They were Jie Jinhua and Tong Yanliang.

With her split lip and missing tooth, Jie Jinhua wasn't able to chew on the pork leg.

Tong Yanliang's mouth was fine but, for some in explicable reasons, his tool was hurting again and it was hurting so much that he had no appetite at all.

A standup comic had once said that: Kindness is not smacking my lips when I eat meat in front of those who are starving.

Tong Xuelu, on the other hand, was not only smacking her lips, she couldn't have enjoyed herself more in front of them.

"Grandma, cousin Tong Yanliang, it was such a bummer that you can't enjoy this. This braised pork leg is sooooo good!

"Just look. This pork leg had been braised for hours and its skin had turned a bright fried sugar color. The meat is flaky but not overcooked. Just one bite and your mouth will be filled with the marination taste. The meat is soft and has a good texture. It is so delectable!"

With Tong Xuelu's description, Jie Jinhua and Tong Yanliang both gulped.

Jie Jinhua: Shoot, she seems to be getting hungrier.

Tong Yanliang: Shoot, his tool seems to be hurting even more.

As she chewed on the pork leg, she said, "Cousin Tong Yanliang, since your anatomy hurts so much, would you like me to…"

Now Tong Yanliang got a headache every time he heard her talking. He interrupted her impatiently, "Can you stop calling me by my full name?" And can you just shut up?

Tong Xuelu cocked her head and thought about it some. "Okay. I won't call you by your full name going forward. I'll call you Liangliang."

Liangliang?

Tong Yanliang's lips twitched, "…"

Hot dang. Why would any man use such a nickname?

Regardless, his anatomy was hurting again and he didn't want to look at Tong Xuelu's face anymore.

Looking at Tong Yanliang's pitiful look, Tong Jiaming's lips pursed and there was finally a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Everyone else other than Jie Jinhua and Tong Yanliang thoroughly enjoyed their food and had a great time.

After dinner, Tong Xuelu borrowed Huang Xianglan and Chen Dani's lunch boxes and had them filled them up with meat dumplings.

And the group headed back to the compound.

After the Tong family had entered their house, they didn't even check with Tong Xuelu before the crashed onto the bed without so much as removing their shoes. They even bossed around Tong Jiaming to get them tea.

Ugh. They were totally acting like Master Landlord and his wife.

Tong Xuelu had Tong Jiaming do as he was told and went over to Aunty Cai's place with the two boxes of dumplings.

When Tong Mianmian saw her sister, she was so happy that her eyes curved. "Big Sister, you are back!"

Tong Xuelu picked up the little bun who had thrown herself at her and asked, "Have you two had dinner yet?"

The little bun patted her own stomach and said, "Not yet."

Aunty Cai stuck her head out and said, "I'm cooking as we speak."

Tong Xuelu produced the two boxes of dumplings and had the kids start on them.

The kids cheered when they saw the meat dumplings.

Aunty Cai chastised her in a friendly way, "How come you are spending money again? You will be needing money on many things! You need to stop buying things like that in the future!"

Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "I won't do that again. Let's just let the kids enjoy them now."

The kids buried their heads into the food.

Tong Jiaxin, in particular, was having a whole dumpling per bite. He enjoyed it so much that his eyes narrowed.

The others came over when they saw that Tong Xuelu was back.

"Girl, what happened to your grandmother and the others? Why are they beaten up for no reasons?"

Upon hearing that, Tong Xuelu put on an embarrassed look and said, "Em… my grandmother won't let me share the story."

The others became nosier when they heard that.

"What is it that you can't share?"

"Yeah, Girl, hurry up and tell us. We promise the story will stay here!"

Tong Xuelu blushed a little. "They were beaten up because… my cousin Tong Yanliang took advantage of some woman. He groped her butt!"