Chapter 51- "You wouldn't know because you don't have a girlfriend."

Who would have thought that a restaurant this size would have such internal politics?

This was fun.

Now was a good time for a quick introduction. In a government, the highest-ranking person was the manager. His main responsibility was purchasing and was the number one in charge.

The next one down was the chef. He was the next in charge in a government.

It was very obvious now that the first and second persons in charge did not get along and would not pee in the same pot. There would be lots of drama to come.

Liu Dongchang did not want to completely offend Chef Meng. The two stared each other down for a long while. Finally, after looking over at both Tong Xuelu and Tan Xiaoyan, Liu Dongchang went by himself looking very unhappy.

Tong Xuelu was too pretty. Bringing her with could potentially bring about unwanted rumors.

On top of what had just happened a little while ago, she was the last person he wanted to see right now.

As for Tan Xiaoyan, he didn't even want to go there. He only wished he could transfer her elsewhere immediately so as not to leave any loose ends.

As soon as Liu Dongchang was gone, Chef Meng stood up and said, "Come with me, Xiao Guo. Let me show you how to chop vegetables."

"Yes, Master."

Su Xiuying had told Tong Xuelu in the past. Guo Weiping had been there for two years and was still just a temporary worker.

And, in the past two years, the only so-called skills that he had learned was to cut meat.

Meaning, when the restaurant brought meat back from the market, it was his responsibility to slice or chop them up.

Now that Chef Meng was going to start teaching him how to dice vegetables, Guo Weiping couldn't be happier. He pitter pattered behind Chef Meng and into the kitchen.

Tong Xuelu felt for Guo Weiping when she saw that. If she had to be trained like that, she would have been gone long ago.

After Chef Meng and Guo Weiping had gone into the kitchen, Tong Xuelu and Tan Xiaoyan were the only ones left in the dining area.

Tan Xiaoyan stared at her. "What you standing there for? Hurry up and clean the place up."

Tong Xuelu gave her a cold look and said, "We are dividing it up. I'll take this side and you that side."

Tan Xiaoyan was so shocked that her eyeballs could fall out of her sockets. "You are the new girl and these are you responsibilities. I am only responsible for collecting money and meal tickets!"

Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "That reminds me. We will take turn collecting money and doing dishes as well. If you don't like it, you go and tell the Manager yourself."

A server at the government was also responsible for doing dishes in addition to collecting money.

When Su Xiuying was there, she was the one responsible for cleaning and serving the dishes. All Tan Xiaoyan did was to collect money and tickets. Su Xiuying didn't like that either but Tan Xiaoyan had background so Su Xiuying had no choice but to keep her head down and not make a peep.

Tong Xuelu never thought that she would have a good relationship with Tan Xiaoyan even before she started. She just didn't think that Tan Xiaoyan would be such a tramp on day one. As such, she didn't even need to feign courtesy.

Tan Xiaoyan's cheeks puffed up and now she looked like a frog.

She would definitely had talked to Liu Dongchang in the past but, after what happened in the morning, she wouldn't dare anymore.

Tong Xuelu couldn't be bothered with her and started wiping down the tables and chairs on the east end.

When she was done, she sat down and zoned out.

Seeing that Tong Xuelu really wasn't going to clean the other side of the restaurant, Tan Xiaoyan was so angry that she wanted to scream. Nevertheless, she didn't want to be yelled at by Liu Dongchang so she started cleaning disgruntledly.

When Chef Meng witnessed that from the kitchen, he smiled and said, "Finally, we got someone smart."

Guo Weiping sliced the daikon carefully as he asked, "Isn't she worried that Tan Xiaoyan will tell on her with the manager?"

Chef Meng rubbed his bald head and said, "That girl looks to be a smart one. I don't think we will need to worry about her."

Guo Weiping, however, did not agree completely with Chef Meng.

Tan Xiaoyan was selfish and lazy and all the others only turned a blind eye because the Manager was her brother-in-law. Back when Su Xiuying used to work there, she had cried many times from being bullied by Tan Xiaoyan.

Nevertheless, Tan Xiaoyan did not tell on Tan Xiaoyan when Liu Dongchang was back. In fact, she stayed away from him most of the day.

Guo Weiping was tunned and found the new server so amazing.

She was able to take care of Tan Xiaoyan on her very first day there.

The government-operated restaurant served only lunch and dinner but not breakfast.

When Liu Dongchang returned with the meat and vegetables, the kitchen started getting busy.

Now that Tong Xuelu had a poor relationship with Tan Xiaoyan, she must have good relationships with the others.

She went over to the kitchen voluntarily and asked, "Do you need any help, Chef Meng? I can help with rinsing the vegetables."

Cutting and cooking was Chef Meng's job. Nobody was allowed to touch that without his explicit permission.

Tong Xuelu had just gotten there nor did she want the others to know that she could cook. She didn't want Chef Meng to be hostile toward her.

Guo Weiping was just about to shake her head before he heard Chef Meng saying, "Alright, you can rinse the vegetables with Xiao Guo."

Guo Weiping's mouth dropped open when he heard that.

Chef Meng didn't normally allowed others into the kitchen. One time when Tan Xiaoyan wanted to come inside and watch Chef Meng cook, she was shouted at by the chef.

The new girl had not only had Tan Xiaoyan under her thumb on day one, she had also befriended the Chef Meng.

That was too amazing.

The look that Guo Weiping gave Tong Xuelu was filled with respect.

Tong Xuelu, "?"

What was with those sparkling eyes?

Seeing that Tong Xuelu had headed into the kitchen, Tan Xiaoyan waited for her to be shout at and kicked out of the kitchen. Lo and behold, she waited and waited and nothing happened. In fact, there was laughter coming from the kitchen.

? ?

She was so curious that it felt like her heart was being bitten by ants.

Even though she had been warned by Chef Meng that she was not allowed into the kitchen whe he was cooking, she was simply too curious right now.

She walked toward the kitchen but, soon as she had gotten one foot inside, Chef Meng turned and gave her a vicious look, "What do you think you are doing here?"

Tan Xiaoyan's hand shook but she stiffened up her neck and forced herself to say, "What about her? How come she is allowed to be in here?"

Chef Meng, with his cleaver in his hand, said with a vicious look on him, "I like her in here. You got a problem with that?"

Tan Xiaoyan, "…" She's so angry!

Tong Xuelu left the kitchen voluntarily after she was done washing the vegetables. She returned to the dining area and resumed staring at each other with Tan Xiaoyan.

Liu Dongchang took off after he was done with the purchasing. It was said that he would not be back until later in the evening.

Sound of vegetables being chopped came from the kitchen nonstop. The dumplings and the braised pork would be prepared first and other vegetables rinsed and ready to go. They would be cooked when orders were placed.

By 11:30, Tan Xiaoyan suddenly stood up, grabbed her own lunchbox and rush up to the window.

Tong Xuelu only knew that it was lunch time when she saw Tan Xiaoyan grabbing her lunchbox. She, too, quickly brought her own up there.

Chef Meng first gave Tan Xiaoyan a scoop of rice, vegetables, and 3 dumplings. He then scooped out a scoop full of braised pork and it was time for the real show.

His hand shook like he was having a seizure and he shook until there was only 2 pieces of meat left in the scoop before he place them inside Tan Xiaoyan's lunchbox.

Tan Xiaoyan, "…"

Tong Xuelu almost snorted out loud when she saw that.

Tan Xiaoyan was so angry that her nose was almost crooked.

Tan Xiaoyan, however, did not walk away immediately. She wanted to see how much Tong Xuelu would get.

Chef Meng did everything the same except when it came to the braised pork. Suddenly, his hand was not shaking any more and he gave Tong Xuelu a full scoop of braised pork.

"…"

Tan Xiaoyan gritted her teeth in anger. "That is so unfair, Chef Meng. Why did she get so much meat and I only get 2 pieces?!"

Chef Meng pushed his lips sideways and snorted. "It pleases me. What are you going to do about it?"

Tan Xiaoyan, "…"

Tan Xiaoyan had never felt so aggrieved for the three years that she had been at the government-operated restaurant.

She burst into tears with her lunchbox in hand.

Chef Meng, "If you are going to cry, go somewhere else to cry. Don't block my light."

Tan Xiaoyan walked over to one side with her lunchbox to keep on crying.

Seeing that, Tong Xuelu made a decision right away: She was with Team Chef Meng and would follow Chef Meng for good food and drinks from this point forward. (*^▽^*)

It was quickly 12 o'clock they finished eating.

A large crowd suddenly rushed what was once the empty and quiet dining area of government-operated restaurant.

The crowd fought over each other and was more excited than sheep out of their pens.

They took up all the seats in no time. Some who came later could only stand and wait to one side. A few almost got into fights over available spots.

Tan Xiaoyan had put up with so much all morning long and, seeing those who were causing a scene, shouted with a long face, "Be quiet. Anymore fighting you all can leave and none of you will be eating here!"

As soon as she said that, the two tall and bulky men fell silent immediately and neither said another word.

Such was the status of the government-operated restaurant back in this time.

From what she had read in the past, it was said that the police station even posted signs at the restaurants telling the employees to not hit the customers. She found that unbelievable and comical at the time.

Judging from what she was seeing right now, that could very well happen.

As it was Tan Xiaoyan's turn to collect money and tickets today, Tong Xuelu took up the registration and serving parts.

Everyone had noticed that a pretty new server had joined the government-operated restaurant. Especially when standing next to Tan Xiaoyan, she was pretty like a fairy.

They would look over at her uncontrollably from time to time, looked away, then back again.

When Tan Xiaoyan noticed that, her brows stood straight up and she said, "You keep looking at me, I am going to make a police report that you are being hooligans!"

The others, "…." They were not blind.

The government-operated restaurant had limited number of servings and some of them must be saved for dinner time. When the lunch portion was sold out, Chef Meng would pick up the signs for the dishes.

It didn't matter that those who came late would grovel.

He wasn't going to make them and he didn't care about the money.

Over on the base side, Wen Rugui and Zhou Yan were also dining at the government-operated restaurant.

Zhou Yan had not forgotten about the date cakes from the other night. "Rugui, why wouldn't you share your date cakes with me the other day? I had been thinking about it for one day and one night and still haven't figured that out yet."

Wen Rugui, "…"

He didn't Zhou Yan was still on that.

Luckily, their dishes came quickly, and Zhou Yan forgotten about everything else when he saw the braised pork.

Wen Rugui picked up a piece of braised pork and put it inside his mouth. That reminded him of the braised chestnut and chicken that Tong Xuelu had made.

He had thought that government-operated restaurant's food was good in the past. Now that he had something to compare to, they were not that good after all.

Zhou Yan buried his head in the food. He finally find the time to talk again after finishing an entire bowl of rice.

"We finally had the results from our experiments from a while back. The base is going to give us all rewards. I heard that one of the rewards is Dacron fabric. I've already told the principal that that is what I want."

Wen Rugui said nothing nor did he have any expression on him.

Zhou Yan could tell from Wen Rugui's look that he had no idea what he was talking about. "You wouldn't know because you don't have a girlfriend. If you can give your girlfriend a dress made out of Dacron fabric, they would be happier than if you had given them malted milk. I plan to give it to my girlfriend after I get my hands on it!"

Wen Rugui's black eyelashes fluttered and he still didn't make a sound.

The two returned to the base after they had finished eating.

The rewards came the next day.

Zhou Yan was very excited about it when he suddenly realized that his reward had been swapped to two ceramic pots!

He was stunned.

He had specifically told the principal that he wanted the Dacron fabric and the principal had agreed to it. How did it turn into ceramic pots?

Chapter 52 - "Researcher Wen, you have a call."

Baffled by what had happened, he went over the principal's office to ask.

"Principal, whatever happened to my reward? You had promised the Dacron fabric to me. How did it turn into ceramic pots?"

Zhuang Zhenghui looked up and rubbed his temples. "I did promise it to you but Rugui said he wanted them. You knew that he had never asked for anything so I felt bad turning him down. I will save you the Dacron fabric when we get it next time."

Zhou Yan, "?"

Wen Rugui took it?

But he never mentioned that he had his eyes on them!

Besides, he didn't even have a girlfriend, what did he want the Dacron fabric for?

He had almost told him girlfriend about it. What would she think of him when he couldn't keep his promise?

Wen Rugui had gone too far!

Leaving with a long face, Zhou Yan decided to go straight it out with Wen Rugui about it.

Walking out of the principals' office and feeling the cold breeze on him, Zhou Yan calmed down quickly.

The principal was not playing favoritism. Whenever there had been rewards in the past, Wen Rugui had never fought over them.

With his hard work and contributions, he could totally have first pick but he always let others go first.

One time when Zhou Yan's mother was ill, Wen Rugui even gave him two cans of malted milk.

Thinking of that, Zhou Yan was no longer upset.

He was, however, already outside of Wen Rugui's office. If he didn't get answer from him, he would not be able to sleep tonight.

Seeing Zhou Yan walking inside, Wen Rugui said nonchalantly, "You are here."

Zhou Yan harrumphed. "I see that you have a pretty good idea why I am here."

Wen Rugui acknowledged him. He stood up and pulled out a can of malted milk from the cabinet and handed it over to him. "This is to make up to you."

Looking at the malted milk, Zhou Yan was even more baffled. "If you wanted the Dacron fabric, why didn't you tell me the other day?"

Wen Rugui lifted his brows. "You would let me have it if I had told you?"

Of course not!

One would take two stabs for one's brother, but would stab their brothers twice for their girlfriends!

For the sake of getting himself a wife, there was no such thing as brothers!

Wen Rugui gave him a that's-what-I-thought look. "Take the malted milk. I need the Dacron fabric."

Zhou Yan looked at him dubiously. "Rugui, you know that with our line of work, it's not easy to find ourselves a girlfriend. If you want that for yourself, can you let me have it first this time?"

They definitely made a lot more than others salary-wise but they also work much longer hours. Most of the time they would stay on base. It was normal that they were out of touch for 10+ days when in the middle of an experiment.

That meant they would not be able to be with their girlfriends or wives all the time. He had been to several arranged dates and nothing came out of them and this was one of the main reasons. It was not because of his looks!

Now that he finally had himself a girlfriend, he had wanted to get her something nice for not being able to be with her a lot. And Wen Rugui had to come out out of nowhere and took it away from him.

Wen Rugui shook his head, "I can't."

Zhou Yan gritted his teeth. "You don't have a girlfriend. What do you want the Dacron fabric for?"

Wen Rugui's eyelashes fluttered. "I can't give it to anyone other than my girlfriend?"

Zhou Yan was taken aback a little. "Well, I wouldn't say that. Are you planning to give that to Old Mr. Wen?"

Wen Rugui did not say anything.

Zhou Yan thought he had guessed right from his reaction.

Old Mr. Wen was a poor old man. He had lost his wife in his middle age and his son in his old age. Now the only one that he had was Wen Rugui but Wen Rugui was not able to spend a lot of time with him.

It would make sense to give the Dacron fabric to Old Mr. Wen. It would let him know how much Wen Rugui cared.

Having thought of that, Zhou Yan looked at Wen Rugui with tender and compassion look. "Alright, you can have it this time. I don't want your malted milk. You save that for Old Mr. Wen."

Wen Rugui happened to see Zhou Yan's very "passionate" look and couldn't help but shuddered. "What are you…"

Zhou Yan waved and stopped him. "Say no more. It's decided."

Having said that, Zhou Yan walked out with his head held high. He felt that he was basked in kind lights.

Wen Rugui, "?"

Old Mr. Wen, inside the military compound, sneezed.

Looking at the two young chicken in the chicken coop, he sounded very gloomy, "That unfilial Rugui. The more I thought about it, the more I thought he did it on purpose. He was getting back at me for eating his pickled cabbage and fish the other day!"

Uncle Zong defended Wen Rugui palely, "Rugui is not that kind of a person. He had always been filial toward you."

Old Mr. Wen harrumphed and said, "You don't need to defend him. I knew he did it on purpose! Young Grass's cooking is so amazing. I'm sure braised Xiao Wu was very delicious."

Uncle Zong, "…"

Why did he have a feeling that Xiao Wu did not feel peaceful even after its death.

Old Mr. Wen tossed some vegetables pieces at the two young chicken as he mumbled, "Xiao Qi (seven), Xiao Ba (eight), eat lots and grow up quickly. I will take you to Green Grass later."

Uncle Zong, "…"

Poor Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba, they weren't even the size of a palm yet and the Commander already had his heart set on them.

The government-operated restaurant stopped supplying lunch after 2 o'clock.

Chef Meng made a small pot of green bean soup before he left for his break and would not be back until that evening.

After Chef Meng was gone, Tan Xiaoyan gave Tong Xuelu a stare and also took off.

Guo Weiping and Tong Xuelu were the only ones left at the restaurant.

Tong Xuelu was a little worried about Tong Mianmian and wanted to go home to check on her.

It was, however, her first day at work and she didn't want to skip out of work nor did she think it was appropriate to leave Guo Weiping there by himself.

In addition, one should have trust in those who they rely on. If she returned like that, it would seem that she did not trust the Wei's.

She would be needing their help to look after Tong Mianmian for a short while. It would not be in her best interests to annoy them.

After careful consideration, she decided against leaving.

It was very quiet at the government-operated restaurant with the exception of the sound of vegetables being chopped coming from the kitchen from time to time.

Resting her chin on her palm, Tong Xuelu spaced out, bored.

The position at the government-operated restaurant was a cozy one and the meal was much better than when she was at the factory. The only draw back was too much down time.

It was still three hours till the dinner shift. She couldn't just sit here like this the entire time.

So she started planning her future.

She would most likely stay and work at the government-operated restaurant until the revolution and she should find ways to occupy her free time.

She had made up her mind shortly. She had decided to pick up her schoolwork again before the resuming of the University Entrance Examination.

This body had only attended through junior high school. When the University Entrance Examination resumed in 1977, the requirements were not high and the junior high school was the minimum requirement.

If she wanted to attend college, she would need to take the opportunity of the first two years. If she was to miss that window, she would have to return to senior high school and do it one step at a time.

One's education is very important no matter what era one is in. If she would not be able to return to her own time, she would need to get herself a diploma.

Besides, a university student back in the 70s was a hot commodity.

She did not have any junior or senior high school textbooks, however, and would need to see how she could get her hands on some.

Wen Rugui's look suddenly flashed past her head and her eyes lit up.

Wen Rugui was a researcher and must had a lot of schooling. She should have textbooks from junior and senior high schools. The question was whether he had lent them out already.

Thinking of that, she stood up and called out to Guo Weiping. "Xiao Guo, I want to go make a call and will be back shortly. Please look after the shop in the meantime."

Guo Weiping came running out of the kitchen and smiled shyly. "You go ahead, Big Sister Xuelu. I got this."

Tong Xuelu felt that Guo Weiping was a nice child. She thanked him and turned and walked out of the government-operated restaurant.

The post office wasn't too far away from the government-operated restaurant and was only a 15-minute walk.

After Tong Xuelu had placed the call, it was still the cold, female voice from last time that picked up the phone. "The Research Center, who are you calling for?"

"Hi, I am looking for Comrade Wen."

The other side paused a little before she said to Tong Xuelu, "Hang on, I'll get him for you right now."

Tong Xuelu quickly shouted after her, "I'll call back in 5 minutes."

Her call last time cost her 70 cents. 70 cents was enough for 1 jin of eggs. That hurt.

An Yuemei was so excited that her cheeks were flushed after she had hung up the phone.

She recognized the voice. It was the same person who had called for Comrade Wen before!

What she didn't know was their relationship with each other.

She had just stood up and was just about to fetch Wen Rugui from the office when Wen Rugui walked past the other end of the hallway.

She ran up quickly. "Hang on, Comrade Wen!"

Wen Rugui stopped when he heard someone calling out to him.

An Yuemei ran over there and, panting, said, "Comrade Wen, you have a call."

Having said that, she looked at Wen Rugui and added, "It's the same girl as last time."

Wen Rugui's stirred and said expressionlessly, "I'll go right now."

Having said that, he walked over to the phone on his long legs.

An Yuemei hadn't expected him to just turn and walk away and ran after him quickly.

Wen Rugui was tall with long legs and she needed to jog to be able to catch up to him. She wasn't sure whether he was imaging it or not but she felt that Research Wen was walking faster and faster and, toward the end, she wasn't even to keep up with him even when she was jogging!

Wen Rugui walked over to the phone, saw that it was hung up, and frowned instantly. "What's going on?"

An Yuemei looked into his eyes, her heart shuddered and she said, "The female comrade said she would call back in 5 minutes."

Wen Rugui finally looked more relaxed after he heard that.

Seeing how important the call was to him, An Yuemei became even more curious. She felt that her heart was crawling with ants and was indescribably itchy.

The two, however, didn't know each other well and Wen Rugui had always looked solemn. She dared out ask her thoughts out loudly.

Wen Rugui would look at his watch every minute.

An Yuemei felt her heart shuddered with each look at his watch.

Luckily, the phone finally ran again after a few minutes. Both Wen Rugui and An Yuemei let out a sigh of relief.

Luckily, the phone finally ran again after a few minutes had passed.

Wen Rugui snatched the phone up right away as though he worried that someone would fight him for it.

"This is Wen Rugui." He said.

Tong Xuelu, "Hi, Comrade Wen, this is Tong Xuelu.

"Hi, how come you are calling me?"

"Comrade Wen, do you have any textbooks for junior and senior high school?"

"Would you like to borrow them?"

Tong Xuelu, "Yes, I would like to borrow them. You know the adage that one should never stop learning? There are no university entrance examinations right now but I felt that more knowledge would always be useful."

Wen Rugui, "My textbooks are still here. When would you like to have them? I can have… I will drop them off before then."

He was going to say that he would have Uncle Zong drop them off but, right before he said that out loud, an idea suddenly occurred to him and he said he would be dropping them off.

Having said that, he felt that An Yuemei was looking at him more fervently. The tips of his ears turned red and he turned away.

Tong Xuelu, "Anytime will work. You can just drop them off whenever you have time."

Wen Rugui thought about it some. "Then I will drop them off the next time I am over there. But we are probably looking at next month."

He had already taken 3 days off this month. He probably should not take more.

Tong Xuelu, "It's alright. There is no rush. Thank you Comrade Wen, I shall no keep you any longer."

Wen Rugui, "No."

But, before he could finish his sentence, he could already hear the dial tone from the receiver.

Chapter 53 She thought he wouldn't be back till next month. How was he here?

"…"

Wen Rugui was dazed for a little while before he put the phone back.

An Yuemei saw him turning around and quickly lowered her head pretending that she was working on something.

As soon as Wen Rugui had walked away, she quickly rushed over to the office next door with her ceramic mug.

"Big news, big news. That girl called Researcher Wen again!"

"For real? Don't tell me that Researcher Wen really has a girlfriend now!"

An Yuemei shook her head. "Didn't feel that way. He sounded very polite when he was talking to you. Would you refer to your lover as 'Comrade'?"

The others shook their heads. "No. Maybe when we had first met. Definitely not after our relationship is official."

So the person wasn't Researcher Wen's girlfriend then?

They talked about it some more but still weren't able to figure it out.

Tong Xuelu hung up and heard the worker at the post office said to her, "That would be 30 cents."

Tong Xuelu felt pained all over again. She had barely spoken a few words and that cost her 5 eggs. How *** expensive!

She dared not stay any longer after she had finished paying for her call. She hurried back to the government-operated restaurant.

Seeing that Tong Xuelu was already back, Guo Weiping was surprised. "How come you are back so early, Big Sister Xuelu? I thought you would return around 4 or 5 like Big Sister Xiao Yan."

Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "I live further away. It's difficult for me to go home and come back."

Truth was, she didn't want to lose her job.

Tan Xiaoyan had connections and Chef Meng was a seasoned veteran. Surely he had his connection as well. Nothing would happen to them if they were caught.

The same could not be said about her. This job was very important to her for the time being.

Guo Weiping acknowledged her and went back to chopping his carrots.

Tong Xuelu nodded off inside the dining hall.

Tan Xiaoyan, Chef Meng, and the others returned around 4 or 5 o'clock.

The government-operated restaurant was bustling again and they had dinner at 5 o'clock.

After they were done eating, the dinner crowd began to arrive and the tables at the government-operated restaurant were filled once again.

Everybody was poor in this day and age but the government-operated restaurant was not short customers.

Tong Xuelu watched carefully and many of those coming to the government-operated restaurant were dressed nicer carrying a briefcase with them. They were obviously office workers.

Those with wife and children would rarely dine at the government-operated restaurant. After all, a meal would cost a lot with too many people.

The government-operated restaurant closed promptly at 7 o'clock.

Chef Meng divided up the leftover vegetables to everyone and Tong Xuelu got a share as well.

Looking at the vegetables in Tong Xuelu's hand and then her own, Tan Xiaoyan was disgruntled all over again. "She is new here. Why did she get more vegetables than me?"

Chef Meng harrumphed through his nose and said, "It pleases me!"

"…"

She was so angry, so angry, so angry!

Tan Xiaoyan was so angry that her face was red and she stared at Tong Xuelu viciously.

Tong Xuelu couldn't be bothered to pay her any attention. She thanked Chef Meng and headed home with her share of the vegetables.

It was completely dark by the time she had arrived home.

When Tong Jiaxin spotted her, he rejoiced. "Oh yay! Finally we will have dinner!"

Tong Mianmian ran up on her two stubby feet, threw her arms around Tong Xuelu, lifted up her head, and said, "Big Sister, how were you gone for so long? Mianmian was so worried!"

The little bun looked at her with her limpid eyes and her voice was milky like milk candy. It could melt one's heart.

Tong Xuelu squatted down and looked her up and down. "Did Mianmian have fun over at Grandma Shen's when Big Sister was at work?"

Tong Mianmian nodded like a little chicken feeding. "Yes! Grandpa Wei made us so much yummy food and Big Sister Zhuzhu taught me how to count."

"Were you able to learn them?"

Tong Xuelu felt relieved when she saw that there were no wounds on Tong Mianmian and that her eyes were not reddened.

The little bun nodded her head firmly and said, "Yes, I did. Let me show you, Big Sister. 1, 2, 3, 6, 5…"

"Hahaha… stupid Mianmian. You are wrong!"

Tong Jiaxin busted out laughing from one side.

Tong Mianmian's little face turned beet red. "Mianmian is not stupid!"

Before Tong Xuelu started talking, Tong Jiaming shouted at Tong Jiaxin. "Apologize to Mianmian right now, or you are sleeping by yourself tonight!"

The second part of what he said was very effective, so Tong Jiaxin gave in right away.

"Xiao Mianmian, Third Brother was wrong. Third Brother will apologize to you." Having said that, he bowed down at Tong Mianmian. "I'm sorry. I bow to you. I'll fart and stunk you to death!"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

Tong Jiaming, "…"

Where exactly did this naughty child come from?

Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes almost to the sky, but as long as things didn't go too far, she never intervened too much when it came to matters among the siblings.

She was about to go stir fry the vegetables for the siblings when she noticed a little piece of meat was hidden under the vegetables that she had brought home.

It was the size of one's palm, but it was meat.

She knew it. Working at the government-operated restaurant meant they would be eating very well from this point forward.

She quickly made a dish of cabbage and meat stir fry and a tomato and eggs stir fry.

Tong Jiaxin howled when he saw meat and was so happy that he almost somersaulted on the ground.

Tong Xuelu had already had dinner, so she did not eat more. "If you are hungry, you don't need to wait for me from now on. You can make some vegetables yourself. I will be eating at the restaurant."

Tong Jiaxin looked at her with envy. "Do you have meat with every meal when you eat at the restaurant?"

Tong Xuelu thought about it a little and nodded. "There was meat at lunch and dinner earlier." She had no idea if they would have any the next day.

Tong Xuelu was even more envious after he heard that. He suddenly tightened his fist and said through gritted teeth, "I will definitely become a meat vendor when I grow up!"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

No. Wait. You will be a renowned designer after you grow up. Can you set your goal a little higher?

Tong Mianmian cocked her head and said in her milky voice, "And I want to be a server at a restaurant just like Big Sister!"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

Oh, Mianmian. You will be a big star in the future. You don't want to be a server, 'k?

Tong Jiaxin nibbled on the meat and asked Tong Jiaming, "What about you, Second Brother? What do you want to be?"

Tong Xuelu, too, looked over at Tong Jiaming when she heard that.

Tong Jiaming thought about it some and said, "A factory worker like our dad."

Tong Xuelu, "…"

Alright. She didn't even want to say anything anymore.

The sun was very bright on Sunday.

Mother Tong got up early in the morning. She brought the snacks with her and headed for the bus stop after breakfast.

First Sister-in-law Chen Yueling saw that Mother Tong was leaving and quickly said to her, "Mom, do you want me to come with? I haven't seen little sister in a while, and I kind of miss her."

Mother Tong frowned when she heard that and said, "I'll be fine going by myself. And we've already talked about this. Zhenzhen is your little sister. Don't make the same mistake again."

Chen Yueling hadn't expected Mother Tong to overreact so. She was taken aback a little before she finally nodded. "I get it, Mom. It was just a slip."

Mother Tong nodded, turned, and left.

After Mother Tong had walked out a distance, Cai Chunlan popped out of nowhere, snickered, and said, "Some people don't even know how to brown nose. That was entertaining to watch."

Chen Yueling's face turned beet red. She gave Cai Chunlan a stare, turned, and walked back inside the house.

After she had returned into her room, she told her husband what had happened. "What do you think this is all about? Why did it sound like Mom is still displeased with little sister, I mean Tong Xuelu?"

Big Brother Tong was still rolling in bed. He flipped to the other side and said, "You are overthinking this. Mom has always liked little sister."

Chen Yueling pouted a little and said, "You better watch yourself going forward. I said little sister earlier, and Mom snapped at me."

Yes, her mother-in-law used to dote on Tong Xuelu, but that was when she thought that Tong Xuelu was her real daughter. Now that she wasn't anymore, things were not the same any longer.

Then there was the Tong Zhenzhen incident. In fact, Tong Zhenzhen was still locked up in the farm.

As much as Tong Zhenzhen had brought it upon herself, people always played favoritism.

That she dared not to say out loud, not even to her own husband.

Mother Tong walked over to the bus stop and waited for over an hour before a bus arrived. Then it took her over an hour to get to Yanqing County.

Afterward, it took her another half an hour to arrive at the compound of the fabric factory.

She was peeking her head in by the door when Aunty Cai happened to return from grocery shopping. When she saw Mother Tong there, she said loudly, "Who are you looking for, big sister?"

Aunty Cai's loud voice came with amplifying ability. Startled, Mother Tong took a step back and tripped.

BAM!

She fell backward onto the ground.

Aunty Cai, too, was startled by her. She quickly helped Mother Tong up. "Aiyo, are you alright, big sister?"

Mother Tong had just stood back up and felt pain in her ankle.

She turned pale instantly. "I think I had sprained my ankle."

Aunty Cai felt bad because she was responsible for Mother Tong's fall. "Why don't you come over to my place. I'll put some medication on your foot, and it will heal in no time."

Mother Tong shook her head. "No, it's fine. My daughter lives here. Just help me over to her place."

Aunty Cai helped her pick her stuff up from the ground, and after hearing what Mother Tong had said, she asked, "Who is your daughter? How come I have never seen you before?"

"Tong Xuelu is my daughter. Well, technically, I am her adoptive mother."

Tong Xuelu's adoptive mother?

"Oh, so you are Xuelu's adoptive mother." Then she let out a cry. "No, wait. If you are Xuelu's adoptive mother, how come you don't know that she had moved?"

Mother Tong was taken aback a little. "Moved? When did that happen?"

Aunty Cai looked at her dubiously. "Are you really Xuelu's adoptive mother?"

Being looked at by her that way, Mother Tong wasn't too happy. "Of course I am. I've raised her for 15 years. What's there to lie about?"

Aunty Cai saw all the bags of stuff that Mother Tong had brought with her. She didn't dress like an ordinary person plus the information that she had provided matched the truth. She chose to believe in Mother Tong.

"Well, that's odd. Xuelu moved away a few days ago. She had switched to work at the government-operated restaurant. Did she not tell you? Even if she didn't mention it, your son would have said something to you. He was the one who drove a car over to help her move!"

Mother Tong's eyes widened, and she looked shocked. "What are you talking about? She switched jobs?"

Aunty Cai nodded. "Yeah. Everyone here thought she switched jobs with your help. I guess she switched it on her own. She's such a capable girl!"

Mother Tong couldn't have been more shocked. She didn't think that Tong Xuelu would have switched to a job that was as good as working at the government-operated restaurant.

Then again, remembering that she didn't even mention it to her, Mother Tong was bothered by that.

"Okay, so she switched to work at the government-operated restaurant. Do you know where she is staying now?"

Aunty Cai said, "I think it's a government-operated restaurant in the City Nan area. I don't know exactly where though."

Mother Tong looked more and more unhappy.

She couldn't even go looking for Tong Xuelu the way she was right now. She rested over at Aunty Cai's place for a little while until the pain in her foot subsided some before she brought her stuff all the way back to the city.

The minute that she returned home, she shouted at her two sons. "Which one of you went to help Xuelu move? And if you knew that she had moved, why didn't you tell me?"

It took her 6~7 hours to travel back and forth, injuring herself along the way. More importantly, however, she had made a fool out of herself!

The woman kept saying how odd it was that Mother Tong didn't know about Tong Xuelu's new job. She made her sound like a con artist.

Being blamed out of the blue for something that they had not done, both Big Brother Tong and Second Brother Tong were stunned.

"Mom, what are you talking about? We didn't help Xuelu move."

"Yeah. And we have no idea that she had moved."

Mother Tong frowned and looked at them. "You really have no idea? Those at the compound said Tong Xuelu referred to the man as Big Brother and that he is from her adoptive family. Who else could it be if not one of you?"

Big Brother Tong, "…"

Second Brother Tong, "…"

They didn't have the slightest clue what was going on, and that was the god honest truth!

Seeing that her two sons truly looked like they had no idea about what had happened, Mother Tong finally told them about how Tong Xuelu had switched to working at the government-operated restaurant.

The others were surprised too after they had found out.

Cai Chunlan asked again, "Mom, did Tong Xuelu really switch jobs?"

With a long face, Mother Tong kept silent and did not reply.

Seeing that, Cai Chunlan tsked and said, "She surely isn't the real daughter. Just look, she never came to visit us once after she was gone except for that one time when she had issues with little sister. And now she didn't even tell us that she had switched to a different job!"

Mother Tong looked even more unhappy.

Tong Xuelu had no idea that Mother Tong had gone looking for her.

She started settling into her new job after working there for a few days.

With the exception of the annoying Tan Xiaoyan, the others were easy to get along with.

Liu Dongchang didn't really bother Tong Xuelu, even though he was Tan Xiaoyan's brother-in-law, because he wanted to keep up a good front. Furthermore, he wasn't at the restaurant a lot.

After work that day, Tong Xuelu was about to return home with a bunch of lettuce.

She had just walked outside of the government-operated restaurant when someone stopped her. "Hey, crybaby!"

Tong Xuelu looked up and saw Xiao Chengping leaning against a pole. He had on a pair of white sneakers, a white Dacron shirt, and a pair of blue pants. He was frowning at her.

Before Tong Xuelu could say anything, Tan Xiaoyan was already excited.

She didn't even care about her issues with Tong Xuelu. Grabbing Tong Xuelu's hand, she asked, "Who's that? Do you know him? He's so fashionable!"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

That was all it takes?

Alright. So back in these days, Dacron and sneakers were all rarities. That would make him fashionable.

Unfortunately, she just didn't have an appreciation for them.

She pulled her hand back and said, "Whether I know him or not is none of your business. If you have so much time, you should go look in the mirror!"

Tong Yanliang was so angry that she almost coughed out blood. "…"

Tramp!

Tong Xuelu didn't care to engage with Tan Xiaoyan. Walking over to Xiao Chengping, she said, "Are you looking for me?"

Looking at the short and chubby woman looking at him, Xiao Chengping lifted his chin and said, "Let's walk and talk."

Tong Xuelu, too, didn't want Tan Xiaoyan to listen in on their conversation, so she walked in front of Xiao Chengping.

Hearing their conversation, Tan Xiaoyan was so angry that she gritted her teeth.

Walking for a little while, Tong Xuelu said, "Now can you tell me what this is about?"

Xiao Chengping lowered his head and looked at her. "Crybaby, why didn't you tell me last time that you aren't the daughter of the Tong's?"

He had been insanely busy since he had gotten back and only learned that Tong Xuelu wasn't the Tong's daughter yesterday. After asking around, he finally found out that she worked here and hurried over immediately.

Tong Xuelu gave him an odd look. "Why would I tell you? We don't know each other that well."

Xiao Chengping was bothered by what she had said. "We grew up in the same compound. How could you say that we don't know each other well?"

"Alright. If you say so. So, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Tong Xuelu still had no idea what he wanted to say. It's getting dark, and she just wanted to go home.

Xiao Chengping was even more bothered when he saw her you-are-annoying-and-I-don't-really-want-to-talk-to-you look. Pulling an envelope out of his pocket, he handed it over to her and said, "This is for you."

Tong Xuelu did not take the envelope from him. "What's inside of it?"

Xiao Chengping's neck thickened. "Just take it!"

But Tong Xuelu still didn't take it from him.

He scratched his head and shouted, "It's money! But don't misunderstand. I pity you is all, being kicked out by the Tong's and having a few siblings to take care of. That's the only reason I am lending you money!"

"…"

Looking at his I-am-lending-you-money-but-don't-dream-about-me look, Tong Xuelu felt very speechless.

"Thank you, but I don't need any."

She didn't want to just take his money; besides, she didn't need to borrow money from anyone either.

Having said that, she walked around him and kept on walking.

Xiao Chengping was anxious. He chased after her and wanted to shove the envelope into her hand.

Tong Xuelu struggled and refused to take the money. Suddenly, a warm voice came from one end of the alleyway––

"What are you guys doing?"

Tong Xuelu's heart moved when she heard the voice, and she turned her head toward it.

She saw Wen Rugui standing at the end of the alleyway. The orange-yellow colored street light casted down on him, making his shadow very elongated.

He was looking at hers and Xiao Chengping's hands. His long eyelashes covered his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Tong Xuelu lifted her brows.

Didn't he say he wouldn't have time to return till next month? Why was he here then?

Chapter 54 - "Can I borrow some flour?"

Wen Rugui walked up and grabbed Xiao Chengping by his wrist.

With his voice low and cold, he said, "Being a hooligan in public. Aren't you worried that you will be turned in to the police?"

Xiao Chengping frowned a little and wanted to free his hand. However, after trying a few times, he was not able to free himself, which surprised him quite a bit.

He was known to be one of the strongest in the troops and had never lost in a game of arm-wrestling. The man in front of him looked pale and skinny but was a lot stronger than he appeared!

He looked Wen Rugui up and down and explained himself. "You have misunderstood, Comrade. I know her, and I am a soldier. I am not being a hooligan."

Wen Rugui looked over at Tong Xuelu.

Tong Xuelu nodded. "You can let him go, Big Brother. His dad is an officer of the General Logistics Department."

Xiao Chengping nodded when he heard that. "That's right. Both of us grew up together in the compound of the General Logistics Department."

Wen Rugui frowned a little when he heard the "grew up together" part before he let go of Xiao Chengping.

He then took a step forward and conveniently stood in between the two of them.

Xiao Chengping did not notice what Wen Rugui had done.

He looked down at his wrist and saw that it had a ring of redness to it.

He didn't get upset, however. Instead, he smiled at Wen Rugui and said, "You are Tong Xuelu's Big Brother? Hi Big Brother. I am Xiao Chengping…"

Standing behind Wen Rugui, Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes.

Big Brother your ***!

Before she even said anything, she heard Wen Rugui saying nonchalantly, "Don't call me Big Brother. You look older than me."

Xiao Chengping, "…"

"Puuff…"

Tong Xuelu was taken aback a little, then busted out laughing.

She never knew that Wen Rugui had an evil side.

Xiao Chengping scratched his hand and gave an awkward smile. "I only look more mature than my peers, but I am only 22 years old. Comrade, how old are…"

He was interrupted by Tong Xuelu before he could finish his sentence.

Walking out from behind Wen Rugui, she thrusted the envelope back into Xiao Chengping's chest.

"Take your money back. I don't need it. My days are fine, and I don't need your pity. If you have extra compassion that needs an outlet, you could go care for the lonely elderlies. I trust they would be really appreciative of that."

She thought it was merely a coincidence running into Xiao Chengping last time and that it would be unlikely for them to cross paths again.

Who knew that he would let it get to his head to come and give her money? On top of that, the straight man spiel that he gave her before handing her the money just made her want to beat him up.

One needn't be too smart to figure out his intention. Xiao Chengping was fond of the original owner when they were young, but he always bullied her until she cried. When he was an adult, he figured it out and wanted to court her, which was why he was all sorts of nice to her.

What an interesting childhood friend.

Problem was that she wasn't the same girl and that he wasn't handsome enough!

For someone who valued physical appearance over everything else, not being handsome was the original sin. She had zero interest in him.

Xiao Chengping caught the envelope that Tong Xuelu had tossed back at him, and feeling the heavy look from Wen Rugui, he scratched his head and said, "Fine. You don't want it. I'm taking off now."

He had thought that Tong Xuelu needed to prop up a family all on her own. Now that he had seen the Tourbillon on her cousin's wrist, he figured he was from a fairly well-off family.

Perhaps he was the one who arranged for Tong Xuelu's job at the government-operated restaurant. It would make sense that she did not need his help.

He should have looked into it more before coming over.

Xiao Chengping rubbed his nose and left.

When he got to the end of the alleyway, someone dashed out from behind a post. "Cousin, did you lend the money to Crybaby?"

"Who are you to call her Crybaby?" said Xiao Chengping as he smacked him on his head.

His cousin rubbed his head and gritted his teeth. "How am I going to refer to her if not Crybaby?"

"Comrade Tong."

"Sure. Then did you loan money to Comrade Tong, Cousin?"

Xiao Chengping shook his head. "She didn't take it."

"Why not? Didn't you say she needs money?"

Xiao Chengping asked, "Didn't you see the other person next to her?"

His cousin nodded. "I saw. I was debating if I should go up and help you earlier. Who was that guy? Not Comrade Tong's boyfriend, is he?"

Xiao Chengping gave him a kick on his butt and said, "What are those eyes of yours for? That's her cousin!"

His cousin rubbed his butt, looking aggrieved. "It wasn't like it said 'cousin' on his face. How was I supposed to know that? Luckily, that was her cousin. Else you won't stand a chance, cousin."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You are fond of Comrade Tong, no, Cousin?"

Xiao Chengping's face turned the color of pork liver instantly. "What the heck are you talking about? Who said I like the Crybaby?"

His cousin had an experience look on him. "Cousin, you can fool others but not me. If you don't like her, why would you come looking for her the minute that you found out that she was kicked out by the Tong family and took out all of your savings? Aunty will have a fit if she found out!"

Xiao Chengping glanced over at him and threatened him, "Don't even think about telling my mom. I would give you a solid beating!"

His cousin rubbed his chin and said, "I can consider not telling Aunty if you can convince my mom to let me join the military."

Xiao Chengping was about to give him another kick. "You want to join the military with your feeble body? In your dreams! By the way, what did you mean earlier when you said lucky that was her cousin or else I won't stand a chance?"

"Kekek. He was much more handsome than you, Cousin. You look like a gorilla when standing next to him. You don't stand a chance if he isn't Comrade Tong's cousin!"

The cousin, not wanting to be kicked again, giggled and ran off after he had finished saying that.

Xiao Chengping was so angry that he was fuming. "You little brat. Don't you run. Just you wait. When I catch up to you, you're dead!"

He was handsome, tall, strong, and outstanding, possessing both looks and intelligence. How dare he compare him to a gorilla? He was asking for it!

Tong Xuelu had no idea that not only did Xiao Chengping take Wen Rugui as her cousin but insisted on it.

She looked up at Wen Rugui. "What are you doing here? Didn't you tell me over the phone that you won't be back till next month?"

Wen Rugui glanced over at her and said nonchalantly, "Our principal wanted me to go pick up someone and bring them back to the capital city. I am taking off tonight. I didn't want to make you wait on your studying, so I thought I would bring the textbooks over to you now."

Tong Xuelu said, "Oh, is that so? Thank you so much, Comrade Wen. I hope I didn't delay your plans."

Hearing that she had reverted back to calling him 'Comrade Wen,' disappointment flashed past Wen Rugui's eyes. "No, my train ticket is for 3 hours later."

"Have you had dinner yet then, Comrade Wen?"

Standing under the streetlight, the orange-yellow light shone on her, making her eyes appear even more limpid. The tear-drop-shaped mole under her eyes looked even more charming.

Wen Rugui looked away from her and shook his head. "No. I will get some food next to a train station in a bit."

Tong Xuelu said, "The government-operated restaurant is already closed. Where will you find food? Why don't we do this? As you are not in a hurry, why don't you come to my place, and I will make you dinner?"

Remembering her delicious cooking, Wen Rugui gulped and said, "Why, thank you so much."

Smiling, Tong Xuelu's lips curved, and she said, "No problem."

Her lips were red and her teeth white. Her smile was dazzling under the streetlight.

Wen Rugui felt a grip on his heart, and he reflexively asked out loud the question that was on his mind, "Are you close with that person?"

Tong Xuelu raised her brows. "You mean that guy by the name of Xiao Chengping just now?"

Wen Rugui nodded slightly. "Yeah, he said he grew up with you."

"We grew up in the same compound, not with each other. He had always bullied me when I was little, and he had left for the troop a few years back. I hadn't seen him in a very long time."

Having said that, Tong Xuelu cocked her head to look at him. Blinking at him, she said, "As such, no, I don't know him very well. At least not as well as we know each other."

"…"

Wen Rugui's long eyelashes fluttered a little, and the tips of his ears turned beet red all of a sudden.

Noticing the redness on the tips of his ears, Tong Xuelu lowered her head, and the corners of her mouth lifted.

After returning home.

Tong Jiaming and the siblings had already finished dinner.

There was nothing else left other than rice. Tong Xuelu would have to make the egg fried rice planned for the next morning for Wen Rugui now.

Tong Xuelu asked Wen Rugui whether he enjoyed sour food. Once she learned that he did, she made him a dish of vinegar cabbage and fried another egg for him.

Sour and spicy cabbage was particularly appetizing, and Tong Jiaxin, who was full from dinner, was suddenly hungry again. He wished he could have two more bowls of rice.

Nevertheless, before he was able to say anything, he was dragged away by Tong Jiaming to work on his homework.

Wen Rugui placed a chopstick full of cabbage into his mouth. It was crispy, sour, and spicy.

He wasn't too hungry before, but with the stimulation of the delicious taste, he quickly stuffed his face with two chopsticks full of rice.

Tong Xuelu asked, "Oh right. How long is your train ride?"

Wen Rugui swallowed the food in his mouth before he said, "Two days and two nights."

Tong Xuelu asked again, "What are you going to eat on the train?"

Wen Rugui said, "They sell some simple items on the train. I'll just buy those."

Even in modern days, the food might not be very good on trains and planes, let alone in this day and age when resources are difficult to come by. It was also hard to determine whether he could at least get some steam buns or the like.

She thought about it some and said, "You still got some time. Why don't I make you some food for your train ride?"

She owed him too much, and she wanted to do something for him.

Wen Rugui replied, "I don't want to be a bother. I'm sure you are tired from working all day."

"My job is not tiring. Alright, it's been decided."

Having said that, Tong Xuelu walked over to the kitchen to look for ingredients. She had a bundle of leek, three eggs, and two white radishes, but only about one jin of flour.

"I don't have enough flour. Let me go and borrow some from next door. I will be right back."

She turned and left after she gave Wen Rugui a heads up.

Looking at her slender back,deep inside, Wen Rugui's heart softened.

He finished the remaining rice quickly, brought the plates and bowl into the kitchen, and washed them.

After finishing the dishes, he returned to the living room again and pulled out the Dacron and textbooks that he had brought with him.

He had hesitated for a long while whether to give the Dacron to her. They were, after all, not boyfriend and girlfriend.

He worried that she would find that resentful, but looking at how she had rushed off earlier, he suddenly felt that it would be silly for him to hesitate.

Tong Xuelu knocked on the Wei's door.

Shen Wanrong was the one who came to the door, followed by Wei Zhiguo, holding a flashlight in his hand.

Shen Wanrong asked, "What brings you over?"

Chapter 55- "Comrade, whatever you are having smells so good."

Tong Xuelu nodded at Wei Zhiguo and said to Shen Wanrong, "Grandma Shen, do you have any flour at home? I ran out at home and would like to borrow some from you."

Shen Wanrong paused a little before she looked up at Wei Zhiguo. "That you will have to ask Zhuzhu's grandpa. I have no idea whether we have it or not."

Wei Zhiguo said, "We have some. How much do you need?"

"I need about 5 jin. If you don't have that much, 3 jin will be fine"

Wei Zhiguo nodded. "Yes, I do. Let me go get it for you."

After Wei Zhiguo had walked away, Shen Wanrong asked, "Why do you need so much flour at this hour?"

Tong Xuelu replied, "A friend of mine will be taking the red-eyed train. I want to make him some fried leek dumplings and carrot balls, so he can bring them with him in the train."

Shen Wanrong couldn't help but gulp. "Your cooking is so good at such a young age. Zhuzhu's grandfather had been cooking his entire life and his cooking still isn't as good as yours."

Tong Xuelu laughed. "If you like it, Grandma Shen, I can bring some over afterward."

Shen Wanrong shook her hands quickly, "No, no. We don't eat so late at night. Besides, it's very dark outside. Don't leave your house again."

Tong Xuelu, too, worried that it would be very late by the time she finished, so she didn't insist on it.

She thanked Wei Zhiguo after he had given the flour to her and returned home.

She then saw a tall and large silhouette walking toward her after she had just taken a couple of steps.

With the faint light, she could tell that it was Wen Rugui.

"How come you came out?"

Wen Rugui walked over to her quickly and took the bucket of flour from her. "It's dark outside. I came to pick you up."

Tong Xuelu felt something in her heart, and she cocked her head to look at Wen Rugui. "You are such a nice person, Comrade Wen."

Wen Rugui suddenly felt that his heart had skipped a beat before it started pounding rapidly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He worried that Tong Xuelu would be able to hear his heartbeat at this rate.

Tong Xuelu immediately headed into the kitchen as soon as they had gotten home.

Wen Rugui followed her. "What can I do to help?"

Tong Xuelu took a look and handed him the leek and radishes. "Help me rinse these. Then mince the leek and cut the radishes into thin strips."

Having said that, she asked, "You can cook, right?"

Wen Rugui nodded. "Yeah but not as tasty as your cooking."

Tong Xuelu chuckled and said, "Don't feel bad. Very few can cook better than me in this world."

Wen Rugui would have found that pompous if it had come from anyone else, but since it came from her, it sounded very reasonable.

She was right that there weren't many who could cook better than her in this world.

Tong Xuelu poured the flour into another bucket, added hot water into it, and covered it up to let it rise.

She then beat two eggs and scrambled them before she grabbed a handful of peanuts and fried them in the wok.

Wen Rugui was not fast when it came to chopping the vegetables. He was even a bit rusty at it, but at least he wasn't entirely helpless.

Tong Xuelu looked over at him while she waited for the peanuts to fry.

His fingers were long, slender, and fair, and his knuckles were defined. He was the kind with very pretty fingers. The black and bulky cleaver in his hand suddenly looked very fancy being held by him.

Noticing Tong Xuelu's look, the cleaver in Wen Rugui slipped, and its sharp edge ran over his finger.

Tong Xuelu was startled. She quickly ran over and grabbed his hand to check. "Where did you hurt yourself?"

When she got close to him, he detected a fresh scent that came with her.

Wen Rugui held his breath when he felt that his heartbeat was about to lose its rhythm again.

Her face was so small, not even the size of his palm. Her white cheeks lifted up, and her lips glistened a tempting color under the light.

Wen Rugui's Adam's apple moved up and down, and he felt an electrical shock run through his entire body when she grabbed his hand.

Tong Xuelu examined it and saw a very minor cut on Wen Rugui's index finger, but luckily, it was not bleeding.

She rinsed his hand with clean water. "Nevermind. I'll do the cutting. Your hands are meant for experiments."

Wen Rugui looked at his hand after she had let go of him and said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I didn't do a very good job."

Tong Xuelu scooped the peanuts out. "You did quite well. Many men never even step foot inside the kitchen in their entire life. That being said, Grand Wei next door is no ordinary man. He is the one responsible for cooking at his place."

A mann who can cook = no ordinary man.

Wen Rugui blinked.

He got it now.

Tong Xuelu sliced up the two white radishes with alacrity and drained the water after she had added some salt to them.

She minced the radish into strings and added flour and the right amount of glutinous rice flour to them. She then mixed all of the ingredients and rolled them into ball shape. Afterwards, she placed them into the wok and fried them.

Quickly, one after another radish balls were done.

Golden color radish balls were lined up looking like golden balls. They looked pretty and appetizing.

By the time the radish balls were done, the dough had risen.

She added the leeks that Wen Rugui had cut into the scrambled egg and mixed salt and oil into them.

She then cut the risen dough into small balls and rolled them out into circular discs before she added leek and egg filling into them. She folded dough into halves, pinched the edges tight, and added them into the wok to be fried. They only needed to be fried until both sides were golden.

She made a total of two plate-full of radish balls and 15 leek dumplings.

Tong Jiaxin could still control himself when Tong Xuelu was making vinegar cabbage, but now that he was smelling all the tempting aroma from the kitchen, he couldn't sit still anymore.

He worried that Tong Jiaming would scold him, so he got up, picked up Tong Mianmian, and ran toward the kitchen.

Tong Mianmian, who was sleeping, "?"

Tong Jiaxin coaxed her. "Mianmian, just say you are hungry when you get inside the kitchen, okay?"

Tong Mianmian could barely keep her eyes open. She said in her milky voice when she heard what her Third Brother was saying to her, "Mianmian sleepy. Mianmian doesn't want food."

Tong Jiaxin's teeth hurt right away. Nevertheless, he still wasn't ready to give up on Tong Mianmian, his human tool.

Tong Xuelu wasn't surprised at all when she spotted Tong Jiaxin.

She gave three of the leek dumplings to them and said, "Here. You can have more tomorrow. I don't want you to eat too much before bedtime."

Tong Jiaxin's eyes lit up. He picked up a leek dumpling and bit into it.

The dumpling was crispy on the outside and aromatic with egg and leek on the inside. It was so tasty that Tong Jiaxin almost swallowed his own tongue with it.

After he had quickly wolfed down one, he immediately turned his attention to Tong Mianmian's.

Tong Mianmian was no longer sleepy once she smelled the food. Seeing how her Third Brother was looking at her like a wolf, she quickly hid behind Tong Xuelu with her own leek dumpling.

Tong Xuelu couldn't help but chuckle when she saw that.

Wen Rugui tried a couple of the radish balls. They were crispy on the outside and soft and aromatic on the inside. They made one want to have more.

Tong Xuelu packed the radish balls and three leek dumplings up and handed them over to Wen Rugui. "Bring these with you for your train ride."

Wen Rugui looked at her. "Thank you."

There were no more buses, and he would need to walk over to the train station. As such, he needed to leave right away.

Tong Xuelu saw him at the door.

Wen Rugui turned to look at her. His lips tightened some. "I left the books with you."

Then, before she could say anything, he quickly turned and left.

Tong Xuelu felt that his look was odd, but she didn't give it too much thought.

When she went back inside the house, she saw a roll of Dacron next to the books.

She picked the Dacron up and ran her hand over its smooth surface. The corners of her lips rose up uncontrollably.

Wen Rugui held on tightly to the pouch with the leek dumplings and radish balls inside.

The early fall night was a bit chilly, but his heart was warm.

An hour later, he was sitting on the train heading to the Northwest.

He quickly found his own seat and settled down.

The train departed shortly.

Sitting next to him was a middle-aged man, while two women across from him.

A younger woman sat in the kitty-corner from him and smiled at him when he looked over at her.

Wen Rugui had no expression on him. He placed his travel bag under his feet, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

He had no idea how long he slept for. When he woke up, the first thing he did was to reach for his travel bag under his feet, but he discovered that it was gone!

He was shocked!

In addition to the referral letter and some items, most importantly, the leek dumplings and radish balls that Tong Xuelu had made for him were inside it!

He hadn't even had one of them yet!

Right when he was about to ask those around him whether they had seen his travel bag, he saw Xiao Chengping walking over to him.

He had a pouch in his hand. Smiling, he said, "Keke, your leek dumpling and radish balls are here with me."

Wen Rugui frowned. "Give them back to me!"

Xiao Chengping stuck his tongue out at him. "Nope. Tong Xuelu made them for me!"

He turned and ran after he said that.

He had gone too far!

Wen Rugui stood up and lunged at him.

He pinned Xiao Chengping under him and gave him a solid beating.

Black and blue, Xiao Chengping pleaded to him, "You can have them back! All of them! Don't hit me on my face!"

Wen Rugui warned him coldly, "Do not approach Comrade Tong again, and don't use her name in the future!"

Xiao Chengping nodded madly. "Okay, I won't. And I will not approach Comrade Tong again in the future. Please let me go…"

Wen Rugui finally let him and stood up, feeling content.

Right when he was about to pull out a leek dumpling and eat it, someone bumped into him, and he opened up his eyes, waking up all of a sudden.

After he was awakened, he stood motionless on his seat.

He still had no expression on him, but both of his ears turned beet red.

He had never dreamt about beating someone up.

How could he be so barbaric?

It was the end of summer, soon going to be fall, so the weather was starting to cool.

Nevertheless, the ventilation wasn't the greatest on the train, and the smell of feet, sweat, and food all mixed together to form a very indescribable smell.

When Wen Rugui recollected himself, he brought his military canteen with him to get some warm water for himself before he pulled out the leek dumplings and radish balls to eat.

Both the leek dumplings and radish balls were cold and were not as good as they were the night before, but Wen Rugui still enjoyed them thoroughly when he had them with the warm water.

These were all made by Comrade Tong, and they were tasty even when they were cold.

Except that he would blush whenever he recalled how she was holding his hand the night before.

The middle-aged man next to him was eating wowotou when suddenly, his nose wrinkled, and he smelled a very nice aroma.

He turned to look at the food in Wen Rugui's hand and gulped uncontrollably. "Comrade, whatever you are having smells so good."

Wen Rugui replied softly, "Mmm."

Normally, when one was traveling, they would politely offer what they were having when asked. The middle-aged man didn't think that Wen Rugui didn't have that common courtesy.

"Comrade, I can see that you have plenty of them. Why don't I trade you for some?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a bag of dried mushrooms from his bag. "These are freshly dried mushrooms. They are very fresh. What say I trade them to you for a leek dumpling?"

Wen Rugui immediately apologized. "I'm sorry. I can't exchange it with you."

He would not have cared if he had purchased them at the government-operated restaurant, but these were made for him by Comrade Tong.

He didn't want to share them with anyone.

The middle-aged sighed when he heard that and returned to his wowotou.

The two women across from him also sighed.

They, too, had wanted to exchange some of the food with him as the aroma was too tempting. It made them lose interest in the dried buns that they had in their hands.

Chapter 56 - "Don't worry, Big Sister. Mianmian will be a very good girl."

Wen Rugui acted as though he didn't hear a thing. He ate the leek dumpling in his hand elegantly and then had a few radish balls. Finally, he put what was remaining back into his travel bag.

He opened up his military canteen to have some water when, suddenly, the middle-aged man's elbow bumped into him. His canteen tilted and water came pouring out. A large area of his clothes became wet.

The middle-aged man got up and apologized repeatedly, "I'm sorry. So sorry. I'm such a careless person!"

Having said that, he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and was about to start wiping down Wen Rugui.

Wen Rugui stopped him and said, "It's fine. I'll do it myself."

The middle-aged man bowed and apologized again. "I'm so sorry. Your water was spilled. Would you like me to go get you some more?"

Wen Rugui waved his hand. "It's fine. I'll get it myself."

He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the water on him. His clothes, however, would not dry any time soon. The wet clothes clung onto him. Luckily, it was not winter. It would be very uncomfortable otherwise.

After he was done with the wiping, he picked up his military canteen and stood up to get himself some more water. The place to get water wasn't far, and it would take him less than a minute round trip. As such, he did not bring his bag with him.

When he arrived at the water station, there were three people in line in front of him.

When it was Wen Rugui's turn, a little boy suddenly came up and threw his arms around Wen Rugui.

Luckily, his canteen was still empty. He wouldn't want to imagine what could have happened had the hot water spilled over the child.

The little boy hugged his thigh and was wailing. "Uncle, Mom can't find… wuwu…"

Wen Rugui looked around and didn't see the little boy's family members. He figured that the little boy got separated from his family.

He squatted down. "Where did you come from?"

The little boy cocked his head and thought about it for a second before he pointed at the right side of the cart.

Wen Rugui put the lid back on his canteen, and then, holding the little boy's hand, he accompanied him and asked around the right side of the cart. They were not able to locate the little boy's parents. When he asked the little boy again, the little boy started crying and wasn't able to tell him anything more.

Wen Rugui had no more options but to bring the little boy with him to look for the ticketing person.

The second that Wen Rugui had stepped out, a few cops and the ticketing person came in through the other end to check on the ticket. "Show us your tickets and referral letters!"

Everyone found that odd.

"They never asked for referral letters before when they checked the tickets in the past. Since when did they start asking for the referral letter?"

"That's how I remember it as well. Could it be a new rule?"

"Well, it doesn't matter whether it's a new or old rule. Just do as they say."

Everybody found that odd, but nobody objected. They had their referral letter on them anyway.

The middle-aged man sitting in the seat next to Wen Rugui's did not look happy.

He called out suddenly and held onto his stomach. "Oh, why is my stomach hurting so badly all of a sudden? Was that wowotou I just had bad?"

Having said that, he grabbed his travel bag and started running toward the bathroom.

That was a common occurrence on the train, so nobody thought much of it.

Suddenly, Sun Manrou, who was sitting across from Wen Rugui, called out all of a sudden, "Hey, Comrade, you grabbed the wrong bag!"

The middle-aged man paused for a second before he continued walking forward, as though he did not hear her at all.

Sun Manrou frowned a little and chased after him. "Comrade, did you hear what I just said? You grabbed the wrong bag."

Not only did the middle-aged man not stop, but he was also walking even faster.

Sun Manrou caught up to him and grabbed the man by his collar. "You can't leave, Comrade. You took someone else's bag!"

The middle-aged man turned around, looking like he was in pain with his brows furrowed. "Aiya, how did that happen? But, Comrade, my stomach is hurting so badly right now. Let me just run to the restroom, and I will be back in just a little."

Having said that, he pulled his arm back and was about to take off.

Sun Manrou wasn't going to let him go. She took a step up and grabbed the bag. "You can go to the restroom, but the bag is staying. Where are we going to find you if you take off with it?"

The middle-aged man went on and on, but Sun Manrou refused to let go of the bag.

The two's struggles quickly caught the cops' attention. "What are you two doing over there?"

The more Sun Manrou looked at the middle-aged man, the more she felt that something was not right. She assumed that he was a thief. Turning toward the cops, she said, "Hurry over here, Comrade Cop, this man…"

Before she could finish her sentence, however, the man brandished a knife. A knife was pressed against her long and fair neck, right where her trachea was.

Sun Manrou gasped in fear. All of the blood seemed to have left her face, and she was pale like a piece of paper.

Screaming could be heard all over as the passengers nearby all got up and started to run. The cart was plunged into chaos.

Sun Manrou's body shook uncontrollably. "Com- Comrade, what are you trying to do?"

"Shut up, Tramp!" shouted the man viciously, his cheek shaking.

The cops came quickly, but they dared not get too close to him, worrying about the hostage. "Put your knife down. You have nowhere to go!"

The middle-aged man dragged Sun Manrou with him as he backed up. "Don't come any closer, or I am going to stab her!"

Had the tramp not opened her big mouth, he would have gotten the male comrade's referral letter already!"

Had he not needed her as a hostage, he would have stabbed her already!

The man's knife was very sharp, and a thin red line could already be seen on Sun Manrou's neck. The cops did not dare to make a move rashly.

Feeling the pain in her neck, Sun Manrou shook like a leaf left on a tree branch in autumn. She was, however, still calm enough not to try to struggle and scream.

The middle-aged man dragged her backward a step at a time. "All of you move two carts away. I am going to get off at the next station. I will kill her and then myself if you don't do as I say!"

Having said that, his knife went deeper into Sun Manrou's neck. The skin was broken, and blood could be seen.

The cops, too worried that he would harm the hostage, had no choice but to back up.

"We will be pulling into Xinxi Station shortly. Passengers who wish to get off here please make sure you have collected all of your items and wait by the door at the ends of the cart."

The announcement began to play on the train, and it would be pulling into the station shortly.

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up as he dragged Sun Manrou closer to the train door.

He was just about to reach the door when, suddenly, someone came up quickly behind him, grabbed his hand that was holding the knife, and gave it a forceful twist.

The middle-aged man cried out in pain, and the knife that he was holding fell onto the floor.

As soon as the knife was gone, Sun Manrou made a run for it.

Furious, the middle-aged man cursed, turned, and was about to attack the man behind him with all his might.

Nevertheless, he was yet to turn around when he was thrown to the ground by the man behind him with his face pressed forcefully onto the floor.

Looking out of the corners of his eyes, he saw that the person who had taken him down was none other than Wen Rugui, who was sitting next to him earlier.

Seeing that the middle-aged man was subdued, the cops came running up and cuffed the middle-aged man.

The train pulled into the station, and the cops got off the train with the middle-aged man, Wen Rugui, and Sun Manrou.

The cops finally announced the middle-aged man's identity after they had arrived at the cop station – a special agent lurking in their country.

They had received a tip to search on the train, and they would have been able to confirm the person's identity once they saw the referral letter.

It was lucky that they were able to apprehend him with Wen Rugui's help. Their loss otherwise would be unimaginable.

The captain of the team held Wen Rugui's hand and thanked him. "Thank you so much for all of your help, Comrade Wen."

Wen Rugui was nonchalant as usual. "That's my duty."

The team captain said, "You are well trained. Are you interested in joining our team?"

Wen Rugui shook his head. "No."

Seeing how Wen Rugui had no reaction to the offer, he felt even more regretful.

Nevertheless, as Wen Rugui had no intention of joining, he wasn't about to force him. Not to mention that with Wen Rugui's grandfather's status, he wouldn't be able to coerce him into joining anyway.

Wen Rugui then asked, "Can I have my travel bag back now?"

The team captain nodded and quickly had someone bring the bag over.

Wen Rugui, taking the bag, quickly unzipped it and saw that his food was still there. They weren't even crushed amidst the scuffle earlier. His face showed a relaxed smile.

The team captain had thought that there were important items inside the bag, but that was all over a bag of food?

He lifted his brows and smiled. "Is that from your girlfriend?"

Wen Rugui denied. "No."

Nevertheless, the curvature of his lips was very unconvincing.

Wen Rugui had matters to attend to, so he bid his farewell with the team captain.

However, the moment that he stepped out of the police station, a slender woman ran up to him. "Hold on a minute, Comrade Wen."

Wen Rugui stopped and turned to look at the woman in front of him.

Frowning slightly, he asked, "And you are?"

Sun Manrou's smile froze on her face. "You don't remember me, Comrade Wen?"

"No."

The smile on Sun Manrou's face cracked then. "I am Sun Manrou, the one taken hostage by the special agent earlier."

Wen Rugui muttered indifferently, "Oh."

Sun Manrou had never seen anyone that could end conversations the way that Wen Rugui could. Her smile became very awkward.

There were a few seconds of silence.

Sun Manrou, "Thank you for your help earlier. If it wasn't for you, Comrade Wen, I wouldn't want to think what could have happened. I just want to come and say thank you."

Wen Rugui said dismissively, "Hadn't we already thanked each other earlier?"

"…"

Sun Manrou chuckled stiffly. "I just feel that a verbal thank wasn't enough to show my gratitude toward Comrade Wen, so I would like to exchange contact information."

"There's no need for that. I need to catch the train. I should take off."

He turned around after he was done talking.

Sun Manrou hadn't expected him to be so abrupt. She chased after him, not willing to give up. "Com…"

Before she could finish what she was saying, she tripped, fell, and let out a cry.

She looked up at Wen Rugui in front of her with her eyes reddened, but the latter didn't seem to hear her cry at all. He just kept on walking without turning around and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

"…"

Tong Xuelu had no idea what had happened on Wen Rugui's end.

After she had gotten up, she reheated the leek dumplings on the pan, and the Tong family had a fancy meal with leek dumplings and porridge.

After breakfast, she brought Tong Mianmian over to the Wei family with half a plate full of radish balls.

When Shen Wanrong saw Tong Xuelu over with more food, she scolded her slightly, "Haven't I told you not to bring things over anymore?"

Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "I should have brought them over last night, but I worried that you had already gone to bed. Oh, right. I'll get some flour from the CSMC today and bring them over later today."

Shen Wanrong waved her hand. "Oh, no rush on that."

Tong Xuelu squatted down and patted Tong Mianmian on her head. "Big Sister has to go to work. You be a good girl at Grandma Shen's place, okay?"

The little bun was already very used to coming over the Wei's everyday.

She blinked her limpid eyes and said in her milky voice. "Don't worry, Big Sister. Mianmian will be a very good girl."

She even nodded forcefully as she said that and couldn't have looked more docile.

Tong Xuelu gave her a kiss before She parted with them and headed to work.

When she arrived at the government-operated restaurant, Liu Dongchang had yet to get there to unlock the door. Tan Xiaoyan, however, was exceptionally early today and had on a set of new clothes.

What was even more odd was that she didn't turn her nose toward the sky when she saw Tong Xuelu but walked over to her with a smile. "Oh hi, Xuelu. You are here."

Xuelu?

With that affectionate referral, Tong Xuelu didn't have to be super smart to know that she was up to something.

She nodded without giving anything away. "Mmm."

Tan Xiaoyan didn't care that Tong Xuelu was being distant. She walked over to Tong Xuelu and asked in a soft voice, "Xuelu, was that man here to pick you up yesterday your boyfriend?"

Oh mi. She was lovestruck.

Tong Xuelu shook her head. "No. He's just a friend."

Tan Xiaoyan's eyes lit up right away. "Does he have a girlfriend then?"

"No."

Tan Xiaoyan smiled like a flower. "Xuelu, I am quite fond of your friend. Do you think you can introduce us?"

Tong Xuelu turned to look at her. Her brows lifted a little. "You want to be his girlfriend?"

Tan Xiaoyan twisted a little and said shyly, "Oh, don't be so blunt!"

Tong Xuelu found Tan Xiaoyan's affectation difficult to look at and quickly looked away. "I don't think that will work."

Looking displeased, Tan Xiaoyan's eyes widened, and she asked, "And why not? Is it because you want to date him yourself?"

Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes and said, "No. I said that because you are older than him, and you two are not right for each other."

Tan Xiaoyan was startled. "No way. He looked to be 24 or 25. I'm 20 years old. Are you telling me that he's not even 20?"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

These two have one thing in common. Both of them looked much older than their age.

Tong Xuelu looked her up and down and said, "You are just 20? I thought you were already 30. When I heard that you don't have a boyfriend, I thought you intended to remain single for life. You are a lot younger than I had initially thought."

"…"

Tan Xiaoyan was so angry that her nose was crooked. She only wished to go up and tear Tong Xuelu's mouth apart.

Nevertheless, she wanted Tong Xuelu to set her up, so she decided to overlook that. "You have bad eyes. I'm not even 20 yet. I don't think I am older than him."

Tong Xuelu sighed and said, "Unfortunately, you are older than him. My friend is just 15. If we are to talk about generations, he should be referring to me as aunty."

"…"

Tan Xiaoyan's mouth dropped open as though she had been struck by thunder.

That man looked to be at least 24-25. How could he only be 15?

He didn't look that young at all!

Seeing the stunned look on Tan Xiaoyan, Tong Xuelu turned and grinned.

She was professional when it came to bluffing.

Tan Xiaoyan had good taste and picked Xiao Chengping right away. Point was, there was no way that Xiao Chengping would pick her.

Xiao Chengping wasn't the most handsome, but he was the son of the head of the General Logistics Department. His family status was even higher than the other Tong family's.

Someone like him couldn't even pick his own spouse.

Liu Dongchang came shortly after to unlock the restaurant, and Tong Xuelu did not engage with Tan Xiaoyan anymore. She went inside to clean up her own area.

In the compound of the General Logistics Department.

Sitting on the couch, Xiao Chengping said with a long face, "Mom, why do you need to go look for Aunty Tong? Xuelu is not her daughter anymore. What do you need to talk to her about?"

Mother Xiao didn't look any happier. "If you know that she is no longer the daughter of the Tong family, then you should know that she is no longer a good match for you. She is not good enough for our family. Why did you still offer to give her money? What were you thinking?"

Xiao Chengping's face turned beet red. "I wasn't thinking about anything! I just feel bad for her. Besides, I didn't just offer her the money. I am lending it to her. Also, she didn't even take it!"

Mother Xiao harrumphed. "She still has half a brain then. I don't care what you are trying to do, but you keep this in mind for me. I don't care who you like, anyone but Tong Xuelu!"

Xiao Chengping stood up abruptly and started walking out.

Mother Xiao chased after him, angered. "You brat, what is with that attitude of yours?!"

Xiao Chengping ignored her and went out the door.

Mother Xiao, sitting on the couch, patted herself on her chest from anger.

She didn't even like Tong Xuelu when she was the Tong's daughter. She was unruly and capricious. A girl who would chase after Fang Wenyuan day in and day out. Had she no shame?

Her daughter-in-law must be virtuous, dignified, and generous.

Not to mention that Tong Xuelu was no longer a daughter of the Tong's. She was now even a worse match for the Xiao family. She could not let her have anything to do with Xiao Chengping no matter what!

The more she thought about it, the more worried she got. She placed a call to her unit, took the day off, grabbed her purse, and hurried out the door.

Chapter 57- Tong Jiaxin got back up on his feet, and went back to the classroom with his teeth still gritted.

After finding out that Tong Xuelu would not be helping her with an introduction, Tan Xiaoyan returned to her normal haughty self where she would look down at others with her nose up in the air.

Tong Xuelu couldn't be bothered by her. She was fine with getting along amicably as long as Tan Xiaoyan didn't try things.

In addition to her own responsibilities, Tong Xuelu would also help Chef Meng rinse vegetables. In return, Chef Meng would always give Tong Xuelu a full scoop of meat during mealtimes.

When it came to Tan Xiaoyan, however, Chef Meng would have an epileptic seizure and shake so much that there were only 2 – 3 slices of meat left.

Tan Xiaoyan was infuriated every time, but this was Chef Meng they were talking about. Nevermind that Liu Dongchang was no longer backing her. Even in the past, there was nothing that Liu Dongchang could do when it came to Chef Meng.

All Tan Xiaoyan had wanted and expected that day was to teach Tong Xuelu a lesson. However, Tong Xuelu had turned the tables, and things had ended the way that they did.

Now Liu Dongchang ignored her, and all the others at the government-operated restaurant also ignored her. She felt like she was being ostracized.

The government-operated restaurant quieted down again after lunch.

Tong Xuelu pulled out the junior high school textbooks to read.

She had taken the University Entrance Examination prior to her transmigration, but the content between then and now was all different. Not to mention that it had been a few years already, and she had already returned all of her knowledge to her teachers.

Once the University Entrance Examination returns next year, it would, similarly, be divided into art and science categories. Mandatory subjects were literature, mathematics, and political science.

For the art category, there were additions of history and geography, while physics and chemistry were included in the science category.

Tong Xuelu was aiming for the science category.

She was better at the science category between the two divisions, and that was also what she had picked in her previous life.

She opened up the mathematics textbook for junior high school and glanced through the chapters quickly.

The questions were not difficult. In fact, they were extremely simple compared to what they were like in the future. Mathematics, in particular, had a lot of convoluted traps that were difficult to avoid.

Nevertheless, it had been a long time already since she studied, so Tong Xuelu had forgotten a lot about how to solve the problems. Luckily, she had the background, and the things that she learned before returned slowly as she looked through the questions.

As the saying goes, worn-out pens work better than good memories. She pulled out her notebook and pen and started writing down some important formulas.

Both the notebook and pen were from Wen Rugui. He had given them to her along with the textbooks.

She only noticed them when she was organizing the textbooks the other day.

She felt that she owed Wen Rugui more and more. She would need to think about what to give him to repay some of them.

Waving her head, she put her attention back on her studies.

It was very quiet in the dining hall, and occasional vegetable chopping sounds could be heard. That was from Guo Weiping practicing cutting carrots.

Tong Xuelu studied the formulas seriously. Beams of the sun coming in through the window shone on her warmly and turned her hair into a golden color.

That was what Fang Wenyuan saw when he walked in with a group of colleagues.

The light came in at an angle, and specks of dust could be seen dancing in the air. Sitting at the table with her head resting on her palm, half of Tong Xuelu's body was basking in the sun, while the other half was hidden in the shadow.

It was quiet and lovely.

Fang Wenyuan almost didn't recognize that it was her.

From his memory, Tong Xuelu had always been a loud person. She was even aggressive and sharp-tongued at the hospital cafeteria the other day and thoroughly embarrassed him.

He had never seen the calm side of her.

But what was she doing here?

Didn't she go and become a garment factory worker in Yuanqing Province?

Noticing that Fang Wenyuan was dazed, a coworker of his looked over and said, "Hey. Is that what's-her-name from the other day?"

Another coworker also looked over. "I know her. She is Fang Wenyuan's fiancée!"

Fang Wenyuan frowned. "Stop with that already. We had never dated and definitely never been engaged!"

The first coworker said, "No way. I recall her saying it herself that the two of you had been engaged since childhood."

Fang Wenyuan argued back. "Our parents were just joking about that. Besides, we are in the new society now, not the old one. Engagements between children are not serious."

The second coworker nodded. "You are right. Childhood engagement and marrying someone that one has never met are both customs from the old society. We must object to them vehemently!"

"Okay, stop with that already. Let's go and see what is there to eat."

Having said that, the first worker walked in first.

Tong Xuelu looked up when she heard the footsteps and happened to see Fang Wenyuan. She turned back immediately as though she hadn't seen him at all.

"…"

Fang Wenyuan felt unhappy about that.

"Comrade Childhood Bride, what are there to eat right now?" The coworker giggled.

Tong Xuelu stood up, rolled her eyes, and said, "First of all, my name is not Comrade Childhood Bride. And I was never engaged with Comrade Fang Wenyuan. If you keep this up, I am going to report you to the police that you are being a hooligan and insulting a female comrade!"

The coworker was merely joking. Hearing that she would report him, he was intimidated right away. "I'm sorry, Comrade. I was just messing around. I'll apologize to you. Please don't report me to the police."

In this day and age, it didn't take much to make a case against hooligans. Even if he wasn't arrested, his reputation would be ruined. How would he keep his job then?

Seeing that Fang Wenyuan didn't say anything, Tong Xuelu didn't bother pursuing this. "We have green bean soup and steamed red date cakes. Do you want any?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Three orders please."

"Green bean soup is 11 cents per bowl, and steamed red date cake is 9 cents each. That's 20 cents per person, 60 cents in total. And an additional 6 meal tickets and 3 sugar tickets."

The three of them quickly fished out their money and tickets and handed them over to Tong Xuelu.

Tong Xuelu took the money and brought their food out of the kitchen before returning to her study.

Fang Wenyuan looked casually over at her and was shocked greatly when he noticed that she was reading a textbook.

He had noticed that she was quick with her mathematics earlier. Her mathematics was awful in the past, and she had failed it every time back in school.

And she hated reading. She would always say that her head hurt whenever she read, but she had the patience to sit down and read now?

Why did it feel like she had changed so much?

Truth was, this was not the first time he had that feeling. She had always followed him around in the past, but ever since she had left the Tong's, she had never come looking for him again.

She was resentful the last time he went looking for her and even ended up at the police station in the end. This time seemed like that as well. She didn't even give him an extra look.

He recalled what his sister had said. "She couldn't even be bothered to look over at you. It was as though Big Brother was nothing more than a pile of shit." His lips twitched violently.

The first coworker elbowed him. "Haven't you said that you didn't care for her? Why are you staring at her now?"

Fang Wenyuan recollected himself and cleared his throat to cover up his embarrassment. "I wasn't looking at her. I was thinking about work."

His two coworkers exchanged a look. Obviously, neither one of them believed a word he said.

They dared not say anything else, however. They worried that Tong Xuelu would overhear them and threaten them with a police report again.

Tong Xuelu wasn't fond of Fang Wenyuan, but she didn't hate him either. He was more like a stranger to her.

She was perfectly fine ignoring him so long as he didn't come and bother her.

Fang Wenyuan and his coworkers left after they were done eating. Even to the last second before he left, Tong Xuelu never once looked up at him.

And for some inexplicable reason, Fang Wenyuan felt a hint of irritation.

Wen Rugui repurchased his ticket. This time it was for the sleeping car.

He should have bought that from the very beginning. He would, after all, be spending two days and nights on the train. But he had spent a lot of time bringing the textbooks to Comrade Tong and was only able to get a ticket for the hard seat the previous time.

He wondered if she had seen the Dacron yet.

Most likely, she did. He wondered what her reaction to that was.

He heard from his female colleagues in the base a couple of days ago that all female comrades nowadays loved to make dresses out of Dacron.

He had never paid attention to women's clothing before, but he paid more attention after that day. Sure enough, he noticed that many of his female colleagues were wearing dresses made out of Dacron.

The hem of their white dresses would float in the air when there was a breeze, and that sure was a nice sight.

Imagining how Tong Xuelu would look in a Dacron dress, the tips of Wen Rugui's ears turned red slowly.

It was still daytime. Wen Rugui wasn't able to fall asleep, nor did he have a lot to do during his train ride.

As such, he pulled out a notebook from his travel bag and started sketching on it with a pen.

Had Tong Xuelu been there, she would notice that he had the exact same pen that he had given to her.

Wen Rugui was always very focused when he did anything. All the noises from around him were tuned out by him.

Quickly, a slender person appeared in his notebook.

Long hair down past her shoulders, she had a dress on, and there was a little black dot under one of her misty eyes.

A head stuck out suddenly from the bed above, and, staring at his drawing, he asked, "Is that your girlfriend, Comrade?"

Wen Rugui frowned a little and closed up his notebook. "No."

"If she isn't your girlfriend, she must be your wife then?"

Wen Rugui's long lashes fluttered, and he did not reply.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but if he continued to deny it, he would seem like a hooligan. Not only was he drawing a woman, but that woman was also not his wife or girlfriend.

The man above him assumed that he was right when Wen Rugui did not respond to him. His mouth cracked open, and he smiled. "Your wife is so pretty, Comrade."

Wen Rugui's eyelashes fluttered again.

Wife.

He never knew that the term could be so melodious.

It was a term that would make one's heart race and his blood pump.

Tong Jiaxin's blood was also pumping at school at this moment, and his heart was racing, his face extremely red.

Unlike Wen Rugui, however, he wasn't happy. He was furious!

Looking straight at the few people in front of him, he roared angrily, "Give my textbooks back to me!"

A boy with a pointy mouth smiled at him in an annoying way with Tong Jiaxin's book in his hand. "You can come and get it."

When Tong Jiaxin rushed over to him, the boy tossed it over to another boy. That boy, too, tossed it to someone else when Tong Jiaxin got up to him.

They were teasing Tong Jiaxin as though they were teasing a monkey.

Tong Jiaxin's eyes were beet red. With his fists clenched, he said, "Give it back to me, or I am going to tell the teacher!"

The boy with the pointy mouth busted out laughing when he heard that.

"Hahaha! Sure. Go ahead. We will see whose side the teacher is on then. Do you not know how much the teacher dislikes you? Do you know why that is? It's because of your big sister!"

"Your Big Sister is a cold-hearted devil. My aunty said someone like your sister who ruins others' marriages should go to hell!"

Tong Jiaxin head-butted the boy. "That's not true! I am going to beat you up!"

Seeing that Tong Jiaxin was charging at him, the boy with the pointy mouth dodged to one side. Tong Jiaxin knocked his head onto the wall behind him and saw stars in front of his eyes.

The boys burst out laughing right away.

"Hahaha. What a useless piece of trash!"

"Hahaha. Trash! Trash!"

Tong Jiaxin stared at them through gritted teeth. He felt that his chest was about to explode.

The bell signifying the beginning of class rang. The boys tossed Tong Jiaxin's book onto the ground, made a face at him, laughed, and took off.

Tong Jiaxin got back up on his feet, picked up his book, dusted it off, and went back to the classroom with his teeth still gritted.

Chapter 58 - She learned that Tong Jiaxin was hurt when she got home.

After Fang Wenyuan and his group left, Tong Xuelu picked up the used bowls and plates and brought them to the kitchen to be cleaned.

Guo Weiping smiled shyly at her and asked, "Were you reading earlier, Big Sister Xuelu?"

Tong Xuelu nodded. "Yes, I was reading. It was a textbook from junior high school."

Guo Weiping frowned a little. "Haven't you graduated already? Why do you still need to study?"

Tong Xuelu replied, "One could never have too much knowledge. We don't need to only learn from a classroom. As long as we want to learn, we can do that from anywhere."

Guo Weiping thought about it some and seemed like he didn't quite follow what she was saying. "I can't do that. Just looking at a book is enough to give me a headache. I like cooking way better!"

Recalling the dreams of her three siblings, Tong Xuelu couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He was right that back in the 60s and 70s, being a chef at a government-operated restaurant was a profession with high status. Unfortunately, that would be going away in two years' time.

She didn't say anything, however. People have different dreams.

Guo Weiping suddenly threw his hands over his stomach and let out a cry. "Ow! Big Sister Xuelu, please keep an eye out on the restaurant for a second. I… I need to go…"

Tong Xuelu curved her lips some and said, "Okay, go."

Guo Weiping blushed even more after being laughed at by Tong Xuelu. He dashed out the back door from the kitchen still clutching his stomach.

There was no bathroom inside the government-operated restaurant. He needed to go to the public bathroom outside.

Tong Xuelu planned to study a little bit more after she had finished doing the dishes.

She had just walked back out when a tall and slender woman walked inside.

The woman was wearing Dacron all over herself. Her nose was big, and her eyes were small. She wore her hair clean and short.

Xiao Chengping's face popped into Tong Xuelu's head all of a sudden. He looked almost like a clone of his mother.

This woman was Xiao Chengping's mother. She was known to be stern at the compound of the Logistics Department. Many of the children there found her scary.

With her showing up by herself during work hours., all Tong Xuelu could think of was: She is bad news.

Tong Xuelu wasn't scared though, nor did she greet her voluntarily.

Seeing that Tong Xuelu didn't even greet her when she saw her, Mother Xiao frowned right away. "I had always thought of you as spoiled and barbaric. You were at least courteous back then. Now you don't even know how to greet people? You are certainly getting worse!"

Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes inside, but outwardly, she put on a shocked look. "Oh mi. You are Aunty Ning? I almost didn't recognize you. Aunty Ning, I heard that women who often get mad age faster. I guess you like getting angry too much, which was why I didn't recognize you right away!"

"…"

Mother Xiao almost coughed out blood when she heard that. "You are so rude. You…"

Tong Xuelu cut her off. "Aunty Ning, here you go again. Quickly touch your crows' feet. I'm sure you have just gained a few more!"

"…"

Mother Xiao knew that she was provoking her purposefully.

Regardless, all women cared about their appearances. She was infuriated, but for the sake of not gaining more wrinkles, she had to suppress her anger.

Mother Xiao sat down in a corner and looked at Tong Xuelu sharply. "You come and sit down over here!"

Tsk tsk. With that haughty air. Anyone who didn't know better just might mistake her for Empress Dowager Cixi.

Tong Xuelu walked over there leisurely and sat down in front of her.

That irritated Mother Xiao again. "Look at you. You can't even sit or stand properly. Who would want someone rude like you to be their daughter-in-law?"

Mother Xiao's ridiculous words made Tong Xuelu laugh. "You won't need to worry about that. I'm very pretty and can get married any time that I want."

Mother Xiao was so angry that her chest heaved up and down. "You are young and pretty now. But what happens when you get old? Do you think you can keep Chengping interested in you for life?"

?

What the heck?

That took Tong Xuelu a while to wrap her head around. She didn't think she and Xiao Chengping were dating, did she?

Mother Xiao thought that she had nailed it in the head. She harrumphed and said, "I've already found out that Chengping had given you money. You only want to be with Chengping because of our wealth. I've seen many shallow girls like you!

"Matching status is the most important thing in a marriage. You and Chengping are not of equal status. As such, neither I nor his father would support the two of you being together!"

Mother Xiao's haughty air disgusted Tong Xuelu.

But would she get upset over that?

No. She wouldn't.

That being said. A classic take-this-money-and-leave-my-son scene didn't happen every day. She must make good use of it.

She had been a green tea for years in her previous life, and her only regret was that nobody had ever thrown money at her. She never thought she would run into this golden opportunity like this!

That thought made her excited!

Come. I'm ready for you.

Please smash money at my face viciously!

Seeing that Tong Xuelu's face was red all over, Mother Xiao was more complacent. "As long as you are willing to leave Chengping, I can set you up in the future. They might not measure up to my Chengping, but it will still beat you trying to find a husband on your own!"

That's it? That's it?!

She was not even offering money for her to leave her son? No way!

Tong Xuelu took a deep breath and began her performance.

"Aunty Ning, have you heard of this poem before? I will only leave you when mountains are flat and heaven and earth touch each other. And that's exactly how I feel right now."

Having said Qiong Yao's classic line out loud, Tong Xuelu almost disgusted herself.

She was good.

Shameless!

Thought Mother Xiao in her mind. "You will never be able to marry into the family without Chengping's dad and my approval!"

Tong Xuelu clutched her heart and said through her watery eyes, "Everything comes secondary to love. Besides, Chengping had said to me that he will run off and sever his relationship with you if you don't agree to it."

Mother Xiao gritted her teeth and stared at Tong Xuelu viciously. "That's impossible. Chengping would never say such things!"

"Do I need to tell Aunty Xiao whether Chengping will or will not say such a thing?"

Mother Xiao knew exactly the answer to that, which was why she looked the way she did and was here to talk to Tong Xuelu.

Xiao Chengping had always been a stubborn one ever since he was a child. Once he had made up his mind, not even 10 cows could pull him back.

Mother Xiao took a few deep breaths before she was able to calm herself down. "Alright, go ahead and name your price. What would it take for you to leave CHengping?"

Here we go! Here we go!

Here comes the classic line!

Tong Xuelu suppressed the urge of her lips curving up. Frowning, she shook her head and said, "Aunty Ning, I can't!"

Mother Xiao stared at her. She could almost shoot out fire from her eyes.

After a long while, she lowered her head and pulled out an envelope from her purse. Tossing it in front of Tong Xuelu, she said, "There's 1,000 yuan in there. It's yours as long as you promise to leave Chengping."

A thousand yuan!

Tong Xuelu was very tempted.

Had someone offered her money before she had transmigrated, she would have immediately left the dawg in the blink of an eye.

But she couldn't do that right now. If she dared to take the money, Mother Xiao just might turn her to the police.

She couldn't leave open ends like that.

Pushing the envelope back, she said, hurt, "Aunty Ning, you are insulting me now. Am I the kind of money-grubbing person?" Yes, I really am.

Mother Xiao pinched her lips shut. "What is it that you want then? Let me tell you, there is no way you are going to become a part of the Xiao family!"

Tong Xuelu looked very hurt. "Aunty Ning, you will not accept me no matter what I do?"

Mother Xiao nodded. "That's right. Give it up already."

Tong Xuelu covered up her face and sobbed for a long while before she said with her eyes reddened, "Okay, I get it. If that's the case, I can leave, but I am going to need you to do something for me."

Mother Xiao snickered and had an I-knew-you-had-an-agenda-look on her. "Go ahead. What is it that you would like me to do for you? You want to buy a house or move to a new job?"

Tong Xuelu shook her head. "Neither. I want a complete set of senior high school mathematics, physics, and chemistry booklets, and I want 1,000 copies of it."

? ?

Mother Xiao looked at Tong Xuelu like she had seen a ghost. "What do you want that for? And that many copies of it."

Tong Xuelu explained, "Resources are difficult to come by right now, and many don't even have enough to eat, never mind going to school and having an education. My heart breaks every time I see someone who longed to be educated but is not able to."

"As such, I want to have some copies, so I can help them out without expecting anything in return. Aunty Ning, I am sure someone as kind as you would not turn me down, right?"

Mother Xiao, "…"

Getting a complete set of mathematics, physics, and chemistry textbooks wasn't difficult. After all, her Big Brother worked at the Department of Education. But to make 1,000 copies of them was a lot of work.

Tong Xuelu said, "If you don't want to do it, then just pretend that I never brought it up."

Mother Xiao stared at Tong Xuelu and, after a long while, finally said through gritted teeth, "Fine. I will get that for you. But you better keep your promise. If you dare to come close to…"

Tong Xuelu interrupted her. "As long as you give me what I've asked for, I will keep to my words. But the best solution is to send Chengping back to the troops as soon as possible."

Of course, Mother Xiao knew that sending Xiao Chengping back to the troops would not do any good if the two continued to see each other.

Tong Xuelu added, "Oh right. I lack a fruit tree where I am staying now. If Aunty Ning can get me one of those, that would be great."

Now was the perfect time to throw in all of her outrageous requests.

Mother Xiao gritted her teeth and said, "Fine!"

Mother Xiao finally left the government-operated restaurant with a long face.

Tong Xuelu's lips curved upward after Mother Xiao had left.

With the 'kindness' of Mother Xiao, she killed three birds with one stone.

She recalled that when the University Entrance Examinations were reinstated, many couldn't even borrow a copy of the textbooks, let alone information regarding the examinations.

She planned to sell these for cheap in a year's time.

She could make some money doing that, and she would also be able to help those who would be taking the examinations a year from now.

It was very difficult for just anyone to find a complete set of mathematics, physics, and chemistry textbooks. It was unlikely that she would be able to find them at a bookstore.

But Mother Xiao had the means.

And last but not the least, aside from earning money and helping others, she could finally get rid of Xiao Chengping, the rotten cherry blossom.

Xiao Chengping wasn't a bad guy himself, but with someone like that as his mother, she didn't even want to be friends with him.

As for whether she would feel bad about causing Mother Xiao to spend so much money? The answer, of course, was a resounding "no."

Had she not taken all of these, Mother Xiao would think that she still had a thing for Xiao Chengping and just might come and harass her from time to time.

That would bring about more troubles in the future.

Besides, Mother Xiao started scolding her before she even found out what had happened as soon as she had arrived. It would be wrong to not make her spend a bunch of money.

Tong Xuelu was very happy when she thought about the first bucket of gold that she had earned.

This happiness was short-lived, however, because she had discovered that Tong Jiaxin was hurt when she got home.

Tong Xuelu noticed that the atmosphere was different than usual as soon as she stepped inside their home.

Tong Jiaxin sat facing the wall with his arms crossed in front of him like he was mad at someone. Tong Jiaming sat in front of him, not looking too happy himself.

Tong Mianmian's big eyes were limpid. Normally, she would be smiling so much that her eyes would curve like crescent moons, but they were filled with worries right now.

She looked at her Second Brother, then turned to look at her Third Brother. Her large eyes blinked, and she said, "Don't fight, Second Brother, Third Brother. Mianmian has candies for you two."

Chapter 59 - He couldn't. He refused to let the others have the satisfaction!

She shoved the milk candies in her hands into the hands of her two brothers. However, this time the usually glutton Tong Jiaxin did not take them.

Tong Jiaming, on the other hand, stroked her on her head and said gently to her, "Your brothers are not fighting. Keep your candies, huh?"

"Yes, you two are fighting!"

Tong Mianmian stubbornly wanted to shove her candies into the hands of her brothers. In the mind of the little girl, as soon as the two had her candies, they would be happy and stop fighting.

"What happened?"

Tong Xuelu put her military bag down on the table and asked.

Tong Mianmian was the first to run over on her little feet. "Big Sister, Second Brother and Third Brother are fighting. Third Brother hurt his head."

Tong Xuelu picked her up and walked over to Tong Jiaxin. "What happened to your head? Did you bump it yourself, or something else had happened?"

Tong Jiaxin, who had been facing the wall quietly this entire time, whipped around suddenly and stared at her with his beet-red eyes. "That's none of your business!"

Tong Mianmian was startled. Pouting her little lips, she said while choking back her tears, "Bad Third Brother. You can't talk to Big Sister like that!"

Tong Jiaxin's eyes rounded, and he shouted, "She's your Big Sister, not mine. Who asked her to butt into my business!"

Having said that, he turned and ran out of the living room. They heard a loud slam of the door shortly after that.

The living room went silent for a few seconds after Tong Jiaxin was gone.

Tong Jiaxin and Tong Mianmian both looked at Tong Xuelu at the same time. Both of them looked worried and cautious.

"Sorry, Big Sister. Bad Third Brother. Don't be mad, Big Sister."

She was a little girl, but she knew that her Big Sister must be feeling aggrieved.

She was also somewhat worried that Big Sister would scold Third Brother. She didn't want Big Sister to fight with Third Brother, so she apologized for her Third Brother ahead of time.

Tong Jiaming pinched his lips shut for a little and said dryly, "I don't know what happened to Jiaxin."

The Tong Xuelu in the past would have a long look by now.

Well, if you think I am just barging into your business, then fine. I don't care if you live or die!

Nevertheless, with everything that had happened, she had learned that the first and foremost important thing to do was to remain calm when something happened.

Tong Jiaxin was a naughty child, but he would never cross the line.

On the first day that she returned to the Tong's, both of the brothers were not happy with her, yet neither one of them said or did anything.

Even though he had yet to call her Big Sister, he would always follow her orders obediently.

As such, something probably happened to him judging from his reactions today, and it wasnd very likely that it had something to do with her.

She did see the wound on Tong Jiaxin's forehead when he turned around earlier. It wasn't bleeding, but there was a big bruise there.

Was he bullied in school?

That thought made Tong Xuelu frown.

Bullying at school existed at all times. It wasn't nonexistent now just because people were more simple.

Quite the contrary, the simpler the people were, the worst they were when it came to bullying others.

Looking at the pouty Tong Mianmian who looked like she wanted to cry but was worried about crying, Tong Xuelu decided to comfort her first. "Big Sister is not upset. Big Sister is just thinking about something. Have you eaten yet?"

The little bun nodded and said in her milky voice. "Yes, Second Brother's cooking is not as good as Big Sister's."

Tong Xuelu couldn't help but chuckle when she heard that. The little girl had learned to be picky.

She pinched her nose and put her down. "You go and play. Big Sister needs to talk to your Second Brother."

Tong Mianmian cocked her head and thought about it some before she ran over to look for Tong Jiaxin on her short little legs.

"When did you find out that Jiaxin was injured?"

Tong Jiaming frowned a little. "After school today. I asked him about it, but he didn't tell me anything."

Tong Xuelu thought about it some and said, "Then don't pry anymore. Go and ask around when you go to school tomorrow. Pay some more attention after school and see if he's bullied by others."

Tong Jiaming nodded in agreement. "Okay."

That was his plan, even if she hadn't said anything.

Tong Xuelu nodded and got up to get ready to heat up water for bathing when she heard Tong Jiaming asking, "Aren't you upset?"

Tong Xuelu said in a very green tea way, "No, not at all. Both of you are my brothers, and I returned to protect you two."

Tong Jiaming felt like his heart was pinched, and it gave a swelling and tingling sensation.

He lowered his eyes and said no more.

Tong Xuelu curved her red lips. "Oh right. What is Jiaxin's favorite food?"

Tong Jiaming hadn't expected that question. He paused for a little and said, "Jiaxin likes meat and scallion noodles."

Truth was, Tong Jiaxin's favorite was the scallion noodles that their mother made. But they would never be able to have that again.

Tong Xuelu nodded, turned, and went to bathe.

All the way until bedtime, Tong Jiaxin never came out again.

Tong Xuelu got up an hour earlier than usual the next day to cook.

She planned to make Tong Jiaxin, the naughty child, scallion noodles.

Tong Xuelu had a girlfriend in her previous life who was pretty, born to a good family, and had a harmonious family. Nevertheless, she had always been insecure. She didn't understand that before, but she found out later on that she was the second child at home and had never gotten a lot of attention from her family since childhood.

Her Big Brother was the first child in the family. He received the most attention and was well loved. Her Little Sister was younger than her and was her parents' last child. She was delicate and cute, and their parents doted on her a lot. As the second child, she was right in the middle and was always the one least noticed.

She felt that Tong Jiaxin probably felt the same way, so she intended to give him some tender loving care today.

Tong Xuelu poured the flour into a tub, added some salt to it, rolled it into a dough with cold water, and put a cloth over it for it to rise.

The trick of scallion noodles was the scallion oil. She rinsed the scallions, chopped them up into strips, and diced the green onions.

She then julienned the cucumber that she had brought home from the government-operated restaurant yesterday.

She added oil to the cold pan and added the scallions inside when the oil was heated up. When the scallions turned golden brown, she added soy sauce, salt, and a tablespoon of table sugar, mixing them all up afterward. The aroma could be detected shortly after that.

After she had scooped out the scallions once they had changed colors, the scallion oil was ready.

The dough, too, was done rising by then. She pulled them into noodles, cooked them in a pot, and rinsed them with cold water after they were done.

Tong Jiaming and others woke up at the same time when the noodles were ready.

Tong Jiaxin was no longer upset by the time he had woken up. Quite the contrary, he regretted being upset last night.

That being said, he was able to bring himself to apologize.

He peeked over at Tong Jiaming but quickly turned and pretended that he was looking at the ceiling when Tong Jiaming looked over.

Tong Jiaming said, "Hurry up and get ready for breakfast."

Tong Jiaxin said nothing.

Tong Jiaming did not scold him. He turned and walked away.

After Tong Jiaming had walked out, Tong Jiaxin finally sat up, scratched his head in distress, and made his hair look like a chicken coop.

Tong Jiaming immediately smelled an invasive aroma coming from the kitchen when he walked out of the room.

It smelled a lot like scallion oil.

Remembering what Tong Xuelu had asked him the night before, he had an idea, and he hurried over to the kitchen.

The closer he was to the kitchen, the stronger the aroma, and his stomach started to growl.

Tong Xuelu looked up and saw him heading over. "Good, you are here. Scallion noodles are done. Bring it with you and eat it in the living room."

Looking at the scallion noodles giving out its aroma, Tong Jiaming felt that swelling feeling in his heart from the last night all over again.

He acknowledged her and went over to the living room carrying with him two bowls of noodles.

Tong Jiaxin happened to come out of his room when Tong Jiaming walked past it.

His eyes beamed when he saw the scallion noodles. He forgot about the awkwardness instantly and asked happily, "Did you make this, Second Brother? How did you know that I was craving scallion noodles?"

Tong Jiaming gave him a look and said, "I didn't make them. She did. She asked me what you liked last night, and I told her that scallion noodles is your favorite dish."

Tong Jiaxin's eyes widened as though he couldn't understand it or that he didn't believe it.

Tong Jiaming didn't say anything else. Instead, he walked over to the living room carrying the noodles with him.

Tong Jiaxin stood at the same spot for quite a while before he went over to wash up in the yard.

While he was brushing his teeth, he would look over from time to time in the direction of the kitchen. As soon as she spotted Tong Xuelu, he would immediately lower his head like some sort of small animal.

Tong Xuelu figured that he would feel awkward, so she didn't eat in the living room. Instead, she just finished her share in the kitchen before she headed over to wake Tong Mianmian up.

Tong Jiaxin was worried that it would be awkward when he ran into Tong Xuelu, but he never saw her before he left for school.

He couldn't say why, but he felt a hint of disappointment and sadness.

Tong Xuelu brought Tong Mianmian to the Wei's house and repaid the Wei family the flour that she had gotten from the CSMC the night before.

Recalling the Dacron that was given to her by Wen Rugui, she asked, "Oh right, Grandma Shen. Do you know anyone who knows how to make clothes?"

Shen Wanrong asked, "What's the matter? You want to have some clothes made?"

Tong Xuelu nodded. "Yes, I have a piece of Dacron fiber, and I would like to turn it into a skirt. I don't know how to sew though."

Small businesses were not allowed back then, and anyone who wanted clothes would have to buy them from a department store or make them themselves. Some tailors would accept jobs under the table, but one would need to be referred.

Shen Wanrong smiled and said, "Then you've asked the right person. I made all the clothes in my family."

Tong Xuelu's eyes lit up. "Is that true? Grandma Shen is so skillful. I thought you bought all of your clothes from department stores!"

Shen Wanrong's smile deepened. "I made them all myself. I have a sewing machine at home. Bring your fabric over, and I'll make it for you."

"Thank you, Grandma Shen, but I have to work. So I won't be able to come over until the evening."

The work at a government-operated restaurant was cozy, but the problem was that one would need to work 365 days a year with no time off except over the new year.

Shen Wanrong smiled and said, "That's fine. Just come by after work."

Tong Xuelu thanked her again before she said goodbye to Tong Mianmian and headed to work.

Tong Jiaming worried about Tong Jiaxin at school and was distracted quite a few times in class. He was even called out by their teacher.

He rushed over to the lower grades' area the first thing after his class was over.

He did not head straight to Tong Jiaxin's class but asked around there.

It was difficult to find out what had happened. Those who knew Tong Jiaxin had no idea what had happened, and those who didn't know him all the more had no idea what had happened.

Tong Jiaming asked a few people, but none of them knew anything.

The break between classes was not long, so he couldn't spend too much time there. He planned to head to the bathroom before heading back to class.

However, as he walked past the bathroom, he heard noises coming from behind the bathroom.

"Tong Jiaxin, you coward. Didn't you say you were going to tell the teachers? How come you didn't go yet, huh?"

"Because he was a coward, of course. If he dares to go, I'll eat the poops from the bathroom!"

"Hahaha… you are so disgusting! But that reminded me, go get some poop from the bathroom. I want to make him eat them!"

Tong Jiaming was infuriated when he heard that. His hands clenched into fists, and the veins on his forehead and the back of his hands all popped up.

He ran towards the back of the bathroom and saw Tong Jiaxin being pinned to the wall by a few boys. There was a shoe shoved into his mouth, and he wasn't able to make any sound.

Other than his forehead, there were more scratches on his cheeks.

Tong Jiaming heard a buzz in his head, and his rationality was gone.

He rushed up with his face reddened and kicked the pointy-lip boy on his butt.

The pointy-lip boy hadn't expected that he would be attacked from behind, so he stumbled forward and smashed against the wall.

He felt a tingling sensation in his mouth and nose, and he felt something warm coming out of it.

He touched it, and Oh Brother, he was bleeding!

The pointy-lip boy cursed, turned, and threw himself at Tong Jiaming.

The other two boys recollected themselves and quickly joined the fight.

Tong Jiaxin had both of his arms grabbed and couldn't move earlier. Now that he saw three boys fighting his Second Brother, he pulled the shoe out of his mouth, tossed it at the other boys, and quickly joined the fight.

The five of them were hot and heavy in the fight and quickly attracted the attention of others.

Someone quickly went to fetch the teacher.

When the teachers came, the group was brought to the office.

Ma Mei was Tong Jiaxin's class teacher and, at the same time, the pointy-lip boy's aunty.

Seeing how her nephew had bruises all over his face and was bleeding from the nose, she pointed her finger straight at Tong Jiaming's face. "You are a senior from a higher level, and you bullied someone younger than you? I guess you don't want to go to school anymore?!"

Tong Jiaming said coldly, "They were bullying my brother first! Why didn't the teacher criticize them?"

Ma Mei sneered. "You should first ask yourself why they only bully your brother and not somebody else."

Tong Jiaming stared at Ma Mei intensely with both of his eyes bright red in color.

He felt that something she said didn't make sense, but he didn't know how to argue against her.

Ma Mei was provoked some more when she saw that look on him. She reached out and slapped him across his cheek.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Did you want to beat your teacher up too?"

Ma Mei struck him very hard. Tong Jiaming's face was immediately pushed to one side, and his left cheek became swollen instantly.

Seeing that his Second Brother was struck, Tong Jiaxin wanted to lunge at Ma Mei.

Nevertheless, he hadn't even gotten close to Ma Mei before Tong Jiaming had grabbed him by his arm.

Even so, that still enraged Ma Mei. "What is it? Huh? You both want to team up and beat me up, huh? Well, c'mon then? What are you waiting for?"

"Look, everyone. Look at their attitude. They want to beat up their teacher. Will you want a student like them? I know I wouldn't!"

Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin had just transferred over to this school, and the teachers didn't know much about them.

They did, however, get into a fight with other students shortly after they had transferred in, and now they were talking back to their teacher. As such, in the eyes of the other teachers, they were not very good students.

"How are students so ruthless nowadays?"

"Exactly, and if they are like that at their age, what will they like after they've grown up?"

"How were these two able to transfer in the first place?"

All of a sudden, all the teachers in the teacher's lounge were pointing at and criticizing Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin.

Tong Jiaming pinched his lips shut and grabbed on tightly to Tong Jiaxin's hand.

Tong Jiaxin's face was beet red.

His face was swollen, and there was blood from the corner of his mouth. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall.

He couldn't. He refused to let the others have the satisfaction!

Chapter 60. Nobody talked on their way back.

Seeing that everyone was on her side, Ma Mei became more complacent. "What do you think of this, Director?

"It wasn't that I was on my nephew's side, but my nephew had always got along with all the other students. Everyone also likes him very much at home. If his grandfather found out that he was beaten up at school, he would surely be very upset!"

The grandfather of Jiang Ming, her nephew, was the Director of the Department of Education. She was willing to bet that the director would choose to punish the two brats and avoid the risk of being fired!

The Director knew that Ma Mei was exerting pressure on him.

Me Mei had always been arrogant around the school because of that relationship, and Jiang Ming had consistently bullied other children at school. Nevertheless, nobody dared to offend them.

He knew well that the new students were bullied, and he felt for them. Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do for them.

The Director thought about it and said, "Have their parents make a trip over then."

Ma Mei snorted loudly, sounding like a pig. "Oh, I don't think you are aware of this, Director. Both of their parents died. That is why they are so unruly!"

Both Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin's eyes were beet red, Tong Jiaxin's in particular. Had Tong Jiaming not been holding onto him tightly, he would for sure lunge at Ma Mei with all of his might.

That was the first time the Director learned that their parents were gone. "Surely, they must have other guardians."

Ma Mei sneered. "Well, yes, but they are probably better without guardians like them. Their Grandmother is crazy. It was said that she would beat up whoever that is in her path. And their Sister, she is even more shameless. Do you know what their Sister did?"

All of the others became curious. "What did she do?"

Ma Mei snorted. "I didn't know this before either, but my cousin got a girlfriend recently. He learned that his uncle got into a minor quarrel with his wife and was reported to the police. Not only are the two divorced now, his uncle and his mother were even sent to the farm!

"My cousin's girlfriend said that someone had convinced her ex-aunt-in-law into taking that course of action. You know who that someone was?"

"Who?"

"Surely, you are not talking about these two students' Sister, are you?"

Ma Mei was very emotional about it. "That's exactly right. We are talking about none other than these two brats' Sister! I mean, c'mon, couples bicker all the time. Is it really necessary to get the cops involved? Am I right?"

It was the first time the others had heard about this, and all of their eyes widened. They started talking about this feverishly after they had recollected themselves—

"They were turned in for minor bickering? If that's the case, who would dare to find themselves a wife going forward?"

"Exactly. As the saying goes, one should take apart 10 temples rather than ruin a marriage. There will be bad karma for those who ruin others' marriages!"

"Oh mi. For all these years that I have lived, I had never heard of a wife turning in her own husband and mother-in-law!"

Ma Mei became even more arrogant and complacent. She thrusted her chest out like a victorious rooster. "With a Sister like that, what kind of kids do you think her brothers are?"

The teachers in the office already had bad impressions of the two boys, and now that they've heard what Ma Mei had said, this negative opinion of them had gotten worse.

This was especially true for some of the older teachers. They were even more disturbed by the idea of ruining someone else's marriage.

Couples fight at the head of the bed and makeup by the end of the bed. Why would an outsider get involved in someone else's marital matters? And she even went as far as to convince the wife to report the family to the police and have them sent to a farm. That was despicable!

The Director still had some sympathy for the two brothers earlier, but even that was gone now. "Well, since they have a Sister. Let's have their Sister swing by."

Tong Xuelu had a bad feeling when she saw the people from the school come looking for her at the restaurant.

The attitude of the female teacher who came to notify her was awful. She looked Tong Xuelu up and down out of the corners of her eyes before she harrumphed through her nose and said, "With that look that would bring troubles to any country and their citizens, no wonder you could do such a thing!"

Then, she tossed out a "your two brothers were involved in a fight at school" and took off on her bicycle before Tong Xuelu could even respond.

Tong Xuelu's face dropped instantly. Luckily, it wasn't lunchtime, and there weren't a lot of people at the government-operated restaurant.

She didn't care about the mocking words coming from Tan Xiaoyan. She quickly talked to Chef Meng, and he promised to notify Liu Dongchang for her. She then hurried toward the school.

She walked for an hour before she got to school, and when she walked into the office and saw the state that Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin were in, she was so angry that she almost unleashed her fury on the people in the room.

The handprint was still visible on Tong Jiaming's left cheek. It was red and puffy. His hair was messy like a chicken coop, and his clothes were ripped.

Tong Jiaxin's face was even worse. There were bruises all over, and his lips were split. There was dried blood under his nose. His feet were bare, and nobody knew where his shoes were.

She ignored the teachers there and walked straight to her brothers. "What happened to your face? Who hit you?"

Tong Jiaxin had been holding back his tears, but when he heard her words, his tears came rushing out uncontrollably. "Jiang Ming and the others took my books and shoved my shoe into my mouth…"

He was crying so hard that after saying the first half of his sentence, he could no longer go on.

Tong Xuelu looked at Tong Jiaming. "What about you? Who hit you?'

Tong Jiaming didn't make a sound. He just looked at Ma Mei.

Ma Mei hadn't expected Tong Xuelu to be that pretty. When she came walking in, she was like a beam of light and immediately caught everyone's attention.

Now that Tong Jiaming was looking at her, she stared at him and said, "As your teacher, me teaching you a lesson was for your own good!"

Tong Xuelu almost busted out laughing from that incredibly disgusting statement.

Hitting someone was for their own good? That disgusting sentence came from a teacher?!

"What are you laughing at?" asked Ma Mei, frowning.

Tong Xuelu clapped back. "Who are you? And why did you hit my brother?"

Ma Mei lifted her chin and said, "I'm Tong Jiaxin's class teacher. Your two brothers were naughty and arrogant. The older one of them even bullied some kid that was in a lower grade than him. Can I not teach him a lesson as his teacher?"

Tong Jiaming said with a long face, "I didn't see you teaching your nephew and the two other students a lesson for bullying my brother. You even twisted the fact and said that they bullied nobody other than Tong Jiaxin. That's obvious favoritism!"

Here came the blaming of the victims again!

Tong Xuelu snickered to herself.

She used to get very aggravated when she read the news in her previous life. When she used to read news about girls being r*ped, there would always be garbage who would comment underneath the post that it was for sure the girls' fault. They probably dressed too scantily, or they were going to bars in the middle of the night. Thus, they got what they asked for.

And what the class teacher was saying right now paralleled those types of speeches.

Ma Mie's face turned red from anger. She lifted her hand to slap Tong Jiaming again. "You dare to talk back? I am going to teach you a good lesson today!"

Her hand, however, was grabbed by Tong Xuelu before it could come into contact with Tong Jiaming.

Grabbed her wrist, Tong Xuelu said coldly, "Only I can teach my brothers their lessons. You are going to need my permission before you hit him."

Ma Mei was half a head's length shorter than Tong Xuelu and needed to lift her head to look up at her. She saw that Tong Xuelu's eyes were cold like snow in the wintertime; clean but also instilled fear in others.

Taken aback a little, when Ma Mei recollected herself, she was enraged. Yanking her hand back, she said, "I knew it. Like sister, like brother. You don't want me teaching him lessons, right? That's fine. I am not teaching him anymore. You go and look for someone else to take that on!"

Still irritated even after she had said that, she turned to the dean and said, "Dean, you saw all that yourself! I don't think we should let students like them stay at our school. They would be a bad influence on the other students!"

The dean wiped away the invisible sweat from his forehead and said, "Yes, I agree. Comrade, just take your brothers back with you."

Tong Xuelu raised her brows. "Are you telling me that you are expelling my brothers?"

"I wouldn't say expel. We will need to have a meeting to talk this over first before we decide on that. However, since your brothers are bad influences, we can't have them attending school right now."

Being looked at by Tong Xuelu's limpid eyes, the dean felt no romance but a chill down his spine.

The meeting was just to stall. Now that the family had offended Ma Mei and the Jiang family, for certain the school would not allow them to stay.

Tong Xuelu looked from the dean to Ma Mei. She didn't know how the two of them were related, but she knew something was up there.

Judging from the way it looked right now, nothing she would say today would make a difference.

She took a deep breath and suppressed her anger.

When one was on the losing end, it was best to withdraw for the time being and strike back after she had learned all the facts.

"That's fine. I will take my brothers home with me right now. We will be back when you have a verdict." Having said that, she turned to look at Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin and said, "Let's go. Let's head home."

Tong Jiaxin felt very unreconciled, but he also knew that he couldn't throw a fit right now. Or they really would be expelled.

Walking out of the office, Ma Mei suddenly ran up to them from behind. When she walked past the three of them, she snickered and said, "You just wait to be expelled!"

Looking at the back of Ma Mei, who was proud like a peacock, Tong Xuelu frowned.

They went over to the bathroom to look for Tong Jiaxin's shoes, but they were already gone.

Tong Jiaxin returned to the classroom barefoot to pick up his textbooks, and when the boy with the pointy mouth saw him, he said through gritted teeth, "You dare to hit me. I am going to have my Grandpa have you expelled!"

"Jiang Ming, I was hiding by the window earlier and saw your aunt slap him across his face. He didn't even dare to cry!"

"HAHAHA, good job! I am going to tell my Grandpa and have them teach you a good lesson!"

"Yes! Teach them lessons!"

Tong Jiaxin was so angry that his eyes could crack. He stared straight at Jiang Ming and the others, but he finally suppressed his anger, picked up his book bag, and ran out.

Jiang Ming and the others chased behind him, "Coward. Tong Jiaxin was a coward with a dead father and a dead mother!"

Tong Xuelu's fists tightened up when she watched that from not so far away.

She used to think that Tong Jiaxin was an unruly child. Now that she saw these other children, she finally realized what real unruly children were all about!

If those were adults in front of her, she would very likely have rushed up and slapped them all. But in front of her was a group of kids who were barely 10 years old. She couldn't really do that to them.

After they had walked out of the school, Tong Jiaming took his shoes off for his little brother, but Tong Jiaxin refused adamantly.

The three did not say a word on their way back.

The atmosphere was very heavy.

After they got home, Tong Xuelu finally said, "Jiaming, tell me what had happened in detail."

Tong Xuelu finally realized that she was the cause of it all by the time Tong Jiaming was done talking. And the worst part was that Ma Mei was something with status.

It looked like that not only would Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin be expelled from their current school, but it was very likely also that no other schools in the city would accept them.