The Green Tea's Crushing Victories in the '70s

by Usui Takumii

not mine, Fringe Capybara. Total: 165 me chapters are MTL. The counting of the chapters are a little wonky on translations, i tried reunating again but cannot garantee there are correctly numbered. 237ed. Also at ao3.

8. 71 to 80

Chapter 71 She found out that an incident had taken place while she was gone

Tong Xuelu looked the woman up and down. She was around 27 – 28 years old. Her skin was dark but Tong Xuelu figured out who the woman was when she looked at the little girl.

The woman was the wife of Ma Mei's affair who had been sent to the village.

But why was she here?

"Hi, are you Comrade Tong?" Huo Xiangqiao smiled at Tong Xuelu apologetically.

Tong Xuelu nodded and pretended that she didn't recognize her. "And you are?"

Huo Xiangqiao, "Hi, Duan Wenfu is my ex-husband. I am here to thank you."

Tong Xuelu frowned a little. "I have nothing to do with the matters of your husband."

Huo Xiangqiao, "Right, right. Comrade Tong is so right. This had nothing to do with Comrade Tong. It was what that idiot deserved."

She had gone to junior high school with Ma Mei and Duan Wenfu. When the country was sending educated youth to the villages, the three of them were placed in the same production team.

She got along well with Ma Mei and had thought of Ma Mei as her best friend. She shared all of her secrets with Ma Mei and Ma Mei was also the one who talked her into being with Duan Wenfu.

Ma Mei had only been there for less than a year when her relatives got her back into the city. Huo Xiangqiao and Duan Wenfu, not looking like they could leave the village, got married and had a child together. When the child was 2 years old, Ma Mei suddenly said that she could get Duan Wenfu a job at a metal factory.

And, just like that, Duan Wenfu returned to the city, bringing their daughter with him. Huo Xiangqiao was left behind in the village by herself.

She was thankful to Ma Mei at the time. She thought that Ma Mei only referred the job to her husband for the sake of taking care of her.

She didn't know that the two disgusting people were having an affair behind her back!

No wonder Ma Mei had all sorts of excuses when she had begged to get her to the city. As it turned out, Ma Mei had never intended for her to return to the city!

Had it not been what happened this time, she would have been kept in the dark for the rest of her life!

Tong Xuelu found Ma Mei even more disgusting after founding out that she was good friends with Huo Xiangqiao.

Watch out for thieves, robbers, and [female] best friends. The saying was made for someone like Ma Mei.

The woman in front of her, however, was a rare one with a clear head. She did not cry like the sky was crumbling or asked for mercy for her husband after she had learned of the affair.

Tong Xuelu gave the little girl a look. Seeing that the girl still a little pale, she paused and asked, "Is your daughter allergic to peanuts?"

Huo Xiangqiao was taken aback a little. "How do you know that? Dai Ya can't have peanuts. Every time she had it she would break out into cold sweat, be listless and sleeps for a long time. The doctor told us that she is allergic to peanuts and told us that she will fine as long as she stays away from peanuts."

She knew it!

Duan Wenfu was a lowly scum!

Tong Xuelu told her about what she had seen the other day. "Your ex-husband had been feeding peanuts to your daughter every time he met up with Ma Mei."

Huo Xiangqiao's face dropped all of a sudden. She squatted down and asked her daughter, "Dai Ya, tell mommy. Had daddy been feeding you peanuts?"

Dai Ya blinked her listless eyes and nodded. "Mmhmm, Daddy would bring lots of peanuts for Dai Ya. And he would scold Dai Ya if Dai Ya didn't want any."

Huo Xiangqiao was so angry that her eyes could crack. Biting down hard on her lips, she had cussed out the scum Duan Wenfu a million times.

She had thought that it was disgusting enough that he was having an affair with Ma Mei. Little did she know that he didn't even have the basic morals of a human being!

Huo Xiangqiao looked awful and it took her a while to calm herself down. "Thank you, Comrade Tong. I might never have found this out had you not told me."

Huo Xiangqiao had made up her mind that she would be changing Dai Ya's surname as soon as she got home.

Scums like him did not deserve to have children!

Tong Xuelu was just about to tell her that was no necessary when Huo Xiangqiao shoved a bag into her arms and took off running with her daughter in her arms.

Tong Xuelu was startled by her action. She opened up the bag and saw inside of it 5 jin of pork and a jar of malt milk.

That was a bit excessive.

She thought about chasing down Huo Xiangqiao and returning them to her but then she remembered how Huo Xiangqiao ran away like she was being chased by a ghost.

She was completely gone in the blink of an eye.

Tong Xuelu wasn't sure what to make of that.

Ah well, guess she should not let her appreciation go to waste.

Tong Xuelu's lips curved upward when she thought about having meat again that night.

Wen Rugui returned to the military compound after he had left the police station.

Old Mr. Wen saw how disheveled his grandson looked and didn't even tease him for a change. "You don't need to come home when you are this tried. You should just rest up on base."

Wen Rugui put down his travel bag and said in a hoarse voice, "Grandpa, I remember one of your comrades in arm has a son who is the Party Secretary of the Dept of Education, right?"

Old Mr. Wen's heart ached even more when he heard that Wen Rugui had lost his voice from being so tried. "Why do you ask? And whatever had happened to your voice?"

Seeing that, Uncle Zong quickly ran into the kitchen to make him a cup of monk fruit tea before he returned to make some green bean soup.

Wen Rugui, "I suspect that Jiang Huarong, the Director of the Department of Education was accepting bribes and abusing his powers."

Old Mr. Wen was even more baffled, "I thought you have left town to pick someone up. Why are you suddenly involved in the matters of the Department of Education?"

Wen Rugui took a sip of the monk fruit tea and said, "My friend's little brother was expelled from school because he had offended the grandson of this director."

Friend's little brother?

Old Mr. Wen frowned a little and he could smell something in the air. "Which friend is this? Do I know them?"

Wen Rugui pinched his lips a little. "No, you don't."

Old Mr. Wen harrumphed. "You are lying! Your eyelids always flutter when you lie ever since you were a child. Is this friend Young Grass?"

Wen Rugui, "…"

"I knew it!" Old Mr. Wen was certain of it from Wen Rugui's reaction. He frowned all of a sudden. "So you didn't come home to visit me? You came home to make things right for Young Grass?"

Wen Rugui, "…"

Old Mr. Wen was so upset that his goatie fluttered. "You unfilial child!"

Wen Rugui suddenly felt that his returning home might have been a mistake.

That being said, he would need his grandpa's network in order to pull down Jiang Huarong.

As a researcher, there wasn't much that he could do.

Old Mr. Wen suddenly smiled. "That being said. I'll let this one slide seeing how you finally had things figured out. Here, tell me what happened."

Wen Rugui knew that Old Mr. Wen would find out about it one way or another so he recounted the story to him.

SLAM!

Old Mr. Wen was so angry that his face reddened after he heard of the event. He slammed on the table and said, "A government official who is not working for the citizen should just go home and grow sweet potatoes! This Jiang Huarong is something else. Are everyone at the Department of Education blind? Why did they allow him to behave this way?"

Wen Rugui said, "Both his little brother and his wife were war heroes and had contributed a lot to the country."

That was the reason nobody would want to take actions against him lightly.

Jiang Haurong had also used his status of being family of war heroes to obtain power and became the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of a county in the past.

Over the last few years, when the political tide seemed to be turning, he quickly used his power to get himself into the Department of Education.

He was good at it and it was not easy to collect evidence against someone like him.

Old Mr. Wen frowned even more when he heard "war heroes". "Someone like him is an insult to the term 'family of war heroes'!"

Wen Rugui went on to say, "There is something else odd about it. War Hero Jiang had a daughter and a son. Their son died from illness two years after the couple had sacrificed and their daughter was sent to the village. Lo and behold, both of Jiang Huarong's daughters hold important positions in government units and neither one of them are in villages."

That was bizarre.

A sharp light crossed Old Mr. Wen's eyes, "Hmm, that really is worth looking into."

It would be fine if there was nothing fishy going on. If there was, that would be very disappointing to war heroes!

Old Mr. Wen paused for a little bit and said, "I'll take care of this. I'll have someone look into it. You go and get some well-needed rest at the base so you don't fall ill."

Wen Rugui nodded and said, "Okay."

Wen Rugui did not head back to the base after he had left the military compound. He headed back over to the police station instead.

He asked for a referral letter from Pu Jianyi and headed over to Dongfeng Commune to look for Jiang Danhung, the orphan of the two war heroes.

Pu Jianyi did not want Wen Rugui to go alone so he took some time off and accompanied Wen Rugui on his trip.

Tong Xuelu had no idea what Wen Rugui was doing for her and returned to her work at the government-operated restaurant the next day.

She found out that an incident had taken place upon her return.

Chef Meng had hurt his hand.

72 All they know is to bully her!

When Tong Xuelu arrived at the government-operated restaurant, there was already a girl around 18 – 19 years old waiting there.

She had long face with her hair braided into two. She was not tall but she was much better than Tan Xiaoyan's 50:50 body ratio in comparison.

Tong Xuelu walked over to her and smiled, "You must be Comrade Meng Qingqing?"

The niece of Chef Meng who was temporarily sitting in for Tong Xuelu.

Meng Qingqing had noticed Tong Xuelu from afar.

On a crowded street, Tong Xuelu looked like a white steam bun mixed into a steamer of wowotou. Fair and soft, she was too eye-catching.

She just didn't think that she was Tong Xuelu.

Blushing slightly, she said emotionally, "You are Comrade Tong?"

Seeing that her cheeks were red, Tong Xuelu was baffled. She nodded anyway, "Yes, I am Tong Xuelu. You can just call me Xuelu."

Meng Qingqing let out sigh of wonder. Her large eyes blinked as she looked at Tong Xuelu. "You are so pretty, Comrade Tong! I have never seen anyone this pretty in my entire life!"

? ?

So she was emotional because of her look?

Tong Xuelu had yet to respond to that when she heard a snicker coming from behind her. "Brown noser!"

Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes and she didn't need to turn around to know who that was.

Meng Qingqing blushed even more. She said in embarrassment, "Big Sister Xiao Yan."

Tan Xiaoyan sneered again. "She's back to work already. There's no need to kiss up to her. Might as well save your breath!"

Meng Qingqing was obviously a very shy girl. All of a sudden, even her neck had turned red. Her back hunched. It was as though she wished she could curl into a ball.

Tong Xuelu turned around and looked at Tan Xiaoyan.

She suddenly covered up her nose and took a step backward with a look of disgust, "Did you not brush your teeth today?"

Tan Xiaoyan was taken aback a little and her square face turned beet red. "You are the one who didn't brush her teeth. I brush my teeth every day!"

Tong Xuelu took another step backward, "That's not possible. If you have brushed your teeth, how are the words coming form you stink so much?"

"…"

Tan Xiaoyan was so angry that her face turned red and white and she gave Tong Xuelu a deathly stare with her puffy eyes.

Meng Qingqing's eyes beamed when she saw that Tong Xuelu was able to rile Tan Xiaoyan up with just a few words.

No wonder both her uncle and Guo Weiping both raved about Tong Xuelu's ability. She sure was someone mighty.

She was pretty and quick witted.

Wu. She liked Tong Xuelu so much.

Tong Xuelu had no idea that she had just gained herself a fangirl with just a few words.

Manager Liu Dongchang came to open the door for them shortly.

Then Chef Meng and Guo Weiping arrived as well. Following behind them was a woman in her 40s or 50s.

It was only when she ran into them did she notice that Chef Meng's arm was injured and he had a cast on his right arm with a sling around his neck.

As it turned out, Chef Meng was ran over by a bicycle on his way home from work two days ago and had a fracture in his right arm. The doctor said that it would take him 3 months to recover and 6 months to be able to use his arm like normal again.

Problem was that Chef Meng was a chef and not a left-hander. He would not be able to do his job when he couldn't use his right arm.

It was easy to get a replacement for a server but a chef required a certificate.

He had his sister-in-law came over yesterday to substitute for him.

Chef Meng's own wife died from illness a few years ago and his only son was still single. Plus, his son was employed and wouldn't be able to come and help, let alone that he didn't know how to cook.

Out of options, Chef Meng had his sister-in-law took his place.

Chef Meng's sister-in-law was Meng Qingqing's mother.

She knew how to cook but, just like any other women from the village, she skimmed on the oil. Plus there were no techniques to speak of. All she did was make sure that the food was cooked.

That, for sure, would not work.

Sure enough, Liu Dongchang brought that up during their meeting right away.

"Chef Meng, you've seen your sister-in-law's cooking yesterday. I am not picking on you, but I can't have someone her level to be cooking at my restaurant."

Chef Meng did not look happy. His eyes bulged out like that of a frog and he didn't make a sound.

Meng Qingqing took a look at her mother. The latter was as timid as Meng Qingqing and did not start shouting after what Liu Dongchang had said about her.

Liu Dongchang was pleased with their reactions. He paused, then went onto say , "If Chef Meng cannot find someone to replace him, then I will have to arrange for someone from my end."

Chef Meng looked even more unhappy.

It was easy to find someone who could cook, but not someone whose cooking was delectable. Not to mention that Liu Dongchang would try to muddle things up.

Liu Dongchang's lips curved a little and he could barely contain his excitement. "My sister doesn't have a chef license but her cooking is delectable. Perhaps we should have her substitute for you during this period. What do you say, Chef Meng?"

Chef Meng finally spoke. He harrumphed and said, "Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Liu Dongchang was speechless for a second and also looked displeased, "What is your idea then? I need a solution."

He did not want things to be awkward between himself and Chef Meng but he was the person in charge of the restaurant. If Chef Meng continued to not budge, he would have to do what he needed to do!

Chef Meng was so upset that his chest heaved up and down.

Liu Dongchang had always wanted to get his sister into the government-operated restaurant. If he allowed her to take over the kitchen area due to his injury, he would have lost that battle.

And Liu Dongchang was a sneaky one. Once he had taken over that power, Chef Meng worried that he would not be able to get his job back after 6 months.

The atmosphere in the lobby was tense.

Meng Qingqing and her mother dared not make a sound and Tan Xiaoyan looked complacent.

Liu Dongchang did not want his relationship with Chef Meng to worsen right now either. "I will give you one more day, Chef Meng. If you still can't find someone to replace you, I will have to make arrangements from my end."

Having said that, he took Guo Weiping with him to go buy the ingredients for the day.

Guo Weiping took a look at Chef Meng. He was upset but he nodded anyway. Guo Weiping followed behind Liu Dongchang dispirited.

Oh boy. Little did Tong Xuelu know that she had only been gone a little over a week and the situation had changed so much at work.

Chef Meng had a slight upper hand before she went on leave.

Meng Qingqing's mother twisted her hands together and blamed herself. "Big Brother, it was all my fault. My cooking is too awful to help you out."

Chef Meng waved. "That is not your fault. Comrade Tong is back today. Why don't you take Qingqing home with you?"

Meng Qingqing asked him, concerned, "What you are going to do then, Big Uncle?"

Her mother was the one who had been cooking at home. She could cook too but her cooking was even worse than her mother's.

Chef Meng pinched his lips shut and didn't say anything.

He was out of options. He would have to let Liu Dongchang make arrangements from his end.

But he hated that idea. There was this unpleasant feeling in his chest that he couldn't make it go away!

Tan Xiaoyan stood to one side and watched the drama unfolded. She dared not chime in and make any comments but she did look happy about what was going on.

Seeing that Meng Qingqing was about to take off, Tong Xuelu finally said, "Chef Meng, my cooking is decent. Perhaps I can take your place if you don't mind."

Chef Meng did not sit by when she needed help. He even went as far as to bring his niece over from the village to take over her work for her.

She would not have otherwise been able to have someone to take her place had it not been for his help.

Everybody was stunned when they heard Tong Xuelu.

Tan Xiaoyan was the first to recollect herself. She snickered and said, "Some people are really clueless. Do you think cooking is as simple as sweeping? This aunty had cooked most of her life, and her cooking was still awful. You think you could do better than her?"

It was obvious that Chef Meng didn't think Tong Xuelu could cook either. "I appreciate the thought, little girl, but cooking delectable food is no small feat."

Tong Xuelu did not bother responding to Tan Xiaoyan. "Why don't we do this? I'll make a dish right now for Chef Meng to try. If you think it's acceptable, I will take your place. Otherwise, pretend that I hadn't said anything."

Chef Meng thought about it and agreed to her proposal.

First of all, he knew that Tong Xuelu was just trying to help him out, so he didn't want to flat out turn her down.

Furthermore, she was only going to make a dish. No harm, no foul, if she fails.

With Chef Meng's approval, the group went into the kitchen. Liu Dongchang was still gone on his shopping trip, and there were only spices like green onion, garlic, and peppercorn left in the kitchen with a small bundle of coal.

It would not be easy to make anything delectable with what limited items they have.

Upon seeing the scarce resources in the kitchen, Chef Meng suggested, "Perhaps we should wait a little bit for the others to come back with more supplies."

Tong Xuelu shook her head. "That's alright. I can make oil noodles for you to try."

Oil noodles?

Nobody present had ever heard of that.

Tan Xiaoyan, who had been eavesdropping by the door, couldn't help but chuckle when she heard that.

"Oil on noodles? How is that going to be tasty? You don't think that cooking is just all about how much oil you add, do you? Oh, you are so hilarious!"

Tong Xuelu turned and gave her a cold look. "Shut your mouth. Just wait and see. I won't give you anything when I am done!"

Tan Xiaoyan stared at her. "Oh, you think you are all that? I won't have any even if you grovel!"

Chef Meng turned and roared, "Get the heck out of my kitchen!"

Tan Xiaoyan was so angry that she almost puked blood. She stomped her feet and went outside to clean.

Meng Qingqing and her mother were of no help in the kitchen, so they also went outside to help Tong Xuelu do her cleaning work and give her more time to cook.

There were no other ingredients in the kitchen, but there was no shortage of flour. Moreover, there was strong flour, which was quite suitable for making noodles.

Tong Xuelu mixed lukewarm salt water into the flour, kneaded it into a sphere, and brushed oil on top of the dough once it was ready. She then placed it under a tub to let it rise for half an hour.

While waiting for the dough to rise, she minced ginger, green onions, and garlic and prepared the sauce.

After the dough was done rising, she cut it up into small parts and applied oil to their surfaces once again. They were ready to be pulled into noodles. Tong Xuelu began pulling the noodles by hand when the water started to boil.

Making hand-pulled noodles required a lot of skills. The noodles that were too thick or too thin would affect the taste. Nevertheless, Tong Xuelu's actions were highly skillful, and all of the noodles were of the perfect size.

The moment Chef Meng saw Tong Xuelu pulling noodles, he was stunned.

It was obvious that she was an expert.

He didn't think that Tong Xuelu could cook.

He did say she could try, but he didn't have any high hopes.

When the noodles were almost done cooking, Tong Xuelu tossed in the vegetables and scooped everything out when they were ready. On top of the noodles, she tossed the minced green onion, garlic, and ginger and sprinkled on some pepper powder. Then she added hot oil all over the food in the wok.

Along with the sizzling noises, an exquisite aroma spread throughout the kitchen.

"That smells so good. What is it?"

Meng Qingqing, smelling the mouth-watering smell from the outside, wiggled her nose like a baby animal.

Meng Qingqing's mother exclaimed, "It came from the kitchen. I am guessing that Comrade Tong had finished her noodles!"

As the aroma continued to spread around the restaurant Everyone suddenly felt hungry.

Meng Qingqing gulped and said, "Let's go check it out, Mom."

The mother and daughter headed toward the kitchen as they spoke and left Tan Xiaoyan gulping in the lobby.

When the two arrived in the kitchen, they saw Chef Meng struggling to pick up the noodles with the chopsticks in his left hand. As much as he was struggling with the task, he did not seem impatient at all.

Chef Meng was aware that the two had walked inside of the kitchen, but he didn't have time to pay any attention to them.

The noodles had the perfect texture. In one bite, he could feel the crunch and taste the spiciness of the dish. It was a very simple noodle dish, but one could not stop eating it.

He didn't want to brag, but he could have three more bowls of noodles like this!

Seeing them walking inside, Tong Xuelu asked, "Would you like to try a bowl too?"

Meng Qingqing nodded quickly. "Yes!"

Meng Qingqing's mother was going to decline, but the aroma was so strong and so appetizing that she was not able to get the word out.

Tong Xuelu gave each of them a bowl, and the two quickly wolfed the food down, looking exactly like Chef Meng.

Tan Xiaoyan was starving just from the delectable aroma. She stared intensely at the kitchen directly and gulped nonstop.

After gathering her senses, she sneered and consoled herself, saying that although it may smell good, it didn't necessarily mean that it tasted good.

Chef Meng was finally able to finish a bowl using his left hand, and just when he was about to have a second bowl, Liu Dongchang had returned.

He laughed heartily at Liu Dongchang when he saw Liu Dongchang walking in.

Liu Dongchang, "?"

Had he gone insane from the stress?

Chef Meng pointed at Tong Xuelu and said, "I've found the person who'd take over for me."

"Comrade Tong?"

Seeing that Chef Meng was pointing at Tong Xuelu, Liu Dongchang was taken aback. His face then changed and showed a 'you-must-be-joking' look on him.

Chef Meng harrumphed and said, "You are exactly right. My replacement will be Comrade Tong. She was the one who made this oil noodles. Give it a try, and you can see for yourself!"

Without further ado, Tong Xuelu quickly handed Liu Dongchang a bowl of oil noodles.

Truth was, Liu Dongchang had smelled the aroma the minute that he had stepped inside. He just didn't know that Tong Xuelu was the one responsible for making the food with the mouth-watering smell.

Looking at the red noodles, he tried a bite, and immediately, his heart dropped.

He had lost.

Never mind that Tong Xuelu's cooking was better than his sister's, this was even better than Chef Meng's work.

He looked at Tong Xuelu, feeling irritable.

This woman was his nemesis!

Last time she snatched the server position. This time she seized the chef position. Was she going to be after his manager position next?

Chef Meng was so happy that his brows were raised. "So, what do you think, Manager Liu? How does it taste?"

Liu Dongchang couldn't lie and said that it didn't taste good. With his face long, he said, "It's not bad, but if she needs to replace you for 6 months, she is still going to need to have a chef's license."

Tong Xuelu said, "That won't be a problem. I will sign up for the examination in the next couple of days."

There was not much more that Liu Dongchang could say. Looking unhappy, he said, "Fine. I guess you can replace Chef Meng for the time being, but what about your current position?"

Liu Dongchang had not yet given up getting his big sister in. As he was just about to recommend his sister again, Tong Xuelu cut him off and said, "Meng Qingqing can continue to take my spot."

"…"

Liu Dongchang was extremely unhappy now.

Knowing that she could stay, Meng Qingqing beamed with happiness.

Right then, Tan Xiaoyan walked inside and said, "Oh my. That dish smells amazing. It's even better than Chef Meng's cooking. If you ask me, what's the point of substituting? Why not just hand the position over to Comrade Tong? Chef Meng is up there in age and will be retiring in a few years anyway. Why not just hand the position over to Comrade Tong now?"

hit-stirrer!

That's exactly what Tan Xiaoyan was!

It was obvious that she wanted to drive a wedge between Chef Meng and Tong Xuelu!

Tong Xuelu was just about to retort when Chef Meng had beaten her to it. "You stay out of my business. With all your evil thoughts, who would want someone like you as their wife?"

"…"

That hit Tan Xiaoyan where it hurt the most. She looked over at Liu Dongchang, hoping that he would defend her.

Unfortunately, the latter merely looked at her and immediately turned away. It looked like he didn't want to have anything to do with her.

Feeling aggrieved, Tan Xiaoyan burst out in tears and ran off.

A bunch of jerks! All they knew how to do was bully her!

73 Uncle Zong: I regret saying what I did.

Even though Tan Xiaoyan had run away crying, nobody felt bad for her.

Liu Dongchang, too, left with a long face not long after.

Tong Xuelu went on to clarify. "Chef Meng, don't worry about what Tan Xiaoyan had said earlier. I will return the position back to you as soon as your hand recovers. I will eventually get married and have children. Being a chef is not a good fit for me."

Of course, she was just making that up on the fly to comfort Chef Meng. She didn't want work to be like a war zone day in and day out.

Chef Meng did find what Tan Xiaoyan had just said a little bothersome.

He, however, immediately felt bad after Tong Xuelu had said that. "Of course, I trust you. Tan Xiaoyan is someone with evil thoughts. I'd rather beat my son to death than have him marry someone like her!"

In his mind, there were only men who couldn't find themselves a wife. It was never a woman who couldn't get married.

Tong Xuelu felt that the only reason Tan Xiaoyan was still single at her age had more to do with her personality than her looks.

As this was Tong Xuelu's first day taking over as a chef, Chef Meng was in no hurry to take time off. Instead, he stayed inside the kitchen to give her tips and hints.

He, however, quickly learned that there was not much that he could tell her. The braised pork that she made him want to give up his chef position.

That way he could have the scrumptious food that Tong Xuelu makes every day.

When lunchtime came along, Chef Meng worried that Tong Xuelu wouldn't be able to outwit Tan Xiaoyan, so he was still the one distributing the food.

His hand shook worse this time than any other time. Not only was there very little meat left, but there were also barely even any vegetables in her plate.

Tan Xiaoyan almost cried out from anger again, but Chef Meng didn't care about her crying. All he said was, "It pleases me." And that almost killed Tan Xiaoyan right then and there.

And just like that, Tong Xuelu had temporarily taken over Chef Meng's position.

What she didn't get was why Meng Qingqing was following her around like a tail behind her back. Whenever she saw Tong Xuelu, her eyes would light up,and her cheeks would redden. She was as excited as a girl who had run into her idol.

Tong Xuelu almost thought that maybe Meng Qingqin liked women.

Or was she really that appealing that she could attract both men and women?

Wen Rugui and Pu Jianyi took the train for one day and one night and finally arrived at Beihe Province. It took them another half a day to finally arrive at Dongfeng Commune.

It took them a bit more work to meet up with Jiang Danhong. The Red Star Production Team that she was part of did not want to let them see her.

Had Pu Jianyi not revealed his credentials and threatened to report them, their trip would most likely have been fruitless.

Jiang Danhong was dazed when she saw Wen Rugui and Pu Jianyi. "Who are you?"

Wen Rugui and Pu Jianyi had looked into Jiang Danhong before their trip. She was 30 years old right now.

The woman in front of them, however, was dark, her eyes listless. She looked weary and seemed to have weathered a lot of storms in her life. Instead of her real age, she looked like someone who was ten years older.

Wen Rugui and Pu Jianyi exchanged a look, and they saw shock and pity in each other's eyes.

After getting over his initial shock, Pu Jianyi greeted Jian Danhong. "Hi, Comrade Jiang. We are here to ask you some questions about your uncle, Jiang Huarong. Is this a good time?"

Jiang Danhong, upon hearing the name Jiang Huarong, suddenly became aggravated. "Jiang Huarong is not my uncle. You have the wrong person!"

She was about to turn and leave after she had said that.

Pu Jianyi blocked her quickly.

There was thick hatred and disgruntlement on Jiang Danhong's face as she said, "What is it that you want from me? I've already said that I don't know him. Or was he the one who sent you?"

Wen Rugui and Pu Jianyi had not expected her to react so strongly.

Wen Rugui had been running around for the last couple of days and barely got any rest. His voice was even more hoarse than before.

Nevertheless, he felt that he must say something right then. "Comrade Jiang, please calm down. We are not sent here by Jiang Huarong. Quite the contrary, we might be able to help you."

Jiang Danhong's eyes reddened. She had a mocking look on her face. "Help me? What exactly can you possibly do for me?"

Jiang Danhong paused, glanced over at them again, and said, "What if I ask you to take me with you and help me leave this place? Can you do that?"

Wen Rugui went silent for a little bit and said, "We can't do it right at this moment, but we will do our best afterward."

Jiang Danhong looked at Wen Rugui with a frown. After a long while, she finally said, "Fine. I'll trust you this one time, but I don't trust this guy next to you!"

Pu Jianyi, "? ? ?"

What did he do?

Why didn't she trust him? Did he look like a wicked man?

Since Jiang Danhong distrusted Pu Jianyi so much, Wen Rugui had to ask him to step out temporarily, while he stayed behind to ask Jiang Danhong about what had happened back in the days.

As he listened seriously to Jiang Danhong's narrative, he learned that her parents had sacrificed their lives in Korea back in 1952, all for their country. Both of them became war heroes, and as the family had yet to split up back then, she and her little brother were naturally adopted by Jiang Huarong, their uncle.

Lo and behold, just a year after her parents' sacrifice, her little brother died from an illness. The dowry that her mother had saved for her disappeared too with her brother.

Her maternal grandfather was a gentry in the village back then, and her mother, as the single child at home, brought with her a lot of dowries when she got married.

Wen Rugui frowned and asked, "How old were you back then, Comrade Jiang? And do you think there is more to your little brother's death?"

Jiang Danhong recalled what had happened, and her eyes could crack from anger. "I was just 6 years old back then, but I could still remember some things. I remember that my little brother only had a slight fever, and he was in good spirits. However, he died just like that the next day. I had wanted to go see him then, but they wouldn't let me."

After her little brother was buried casually, she was not able to see him all the more.

Wen Rugui continued his questions. "What about your dowry? From what I have learned, Hero Hung, your mother, had given away most of her possessions to the army. Is that not true?"

Jiang Danhong explained, "Yes, most of her possessions were donated but not all of them. She saved a portion of her dowries for me and my little brother. There were quite a few pieces of jewelry and gold bars. She worried that something might happen to my father and herself, so she had kept those things to provide for us."

Those provisions had, however, turned into the reasons for their hardships.

She remembered that there was a lot of gold, but she had never seen them again after she had been adopted by her uncle. She had inquired about them when she was old enough, but her uncle merely told her that she remembered wrong and that there were never any gold bars.

He worried that she would mention the gold to others, so they locked her up and starved her. Starved and terrified, she dared not bring up the gold bars again.

Wen Rugui frowned when he heard that. "Comrade Jiang, are you willing to testify against Jiang Huarong, if necessary?"

Jiang Huarong was much worse than he had imagined. No amount of paper would be enough to list out all of his crimes!

Jiang Danhong was so emotional that her hands shook, and there was a crazed look of excitement in her eyes. "Are you really going to report Jiang Huarong?"

Wen Rugui nodded solemnly. "Yes."

Jiang Danhong looked up and laughed out loud. She laughed so hard that tears were coming down her cheeks. "That is awesome! I never thought I would live to see this day!"

Her parents died. Her little brother also died. On top of those, her dowries were gone. Everybody thought that her uncle was a great man and had treated her as if she was his own. She was the only one who knew that he was a monster.

But she wasn't able to say anything about it. Nobody would believe her. If she dared to 'spread the rumors', she just might have followed in her little brother's footsteps.

She had laid low all these years and pretended to be docile. But her uncle and his family still did not let her off the hook.

She was sent to the production team at the age of 16, and they told others that she had volunteered for it. Obviously, it was a lie, but she had nobody to turn to.

She was pushed into a river the next year, and the captain's son happened to see her struggling in the water and saved her. She was no longer 'clean' and was then forced to marry him. Later on, she was also coerced to have two children with him.

Her freedom had been restricted, and she was never allowed to step foot out of the production team. She was disgusted with her husband's family and had moved back to the educated youth's camp after she had given birth to two sons.

The veins popped on the back of Wen Rugui's hand when she heard what she said. "I will need to talk to my friend about everything that you've just said. You have nothing to worry about, Comrade Jiang. My friend is the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team. He is trustworthy."

Jiang Danhong looked over in Pu Jianyi's direction, and she did not say anything else against Pu Jianyi this time.

Upon seeing that, Wen Rugui went over and told Pu Jianyi about her story.

After Wen Rugui finished recounting what had happened to Jiang Danhong, Pu Jianyi was so angry that he punched the tree next to him and said angrily, "Dang. I can't believe there are monsters like him. No, even monsters will be insulted if I call him a monster. He is worse than a monster!"

Wen Rugui continued, "The captain of the Red Star Production Team was in it with Jiang Huarong. Our arrival had already tipped them off. I worry for Comrade Jiang's safety if we leave her here."

Pu Jianyi agreed. "You are right. We must bring her with us."

But there were just the two of them. People living in harsh environments can be vicious. If they try to force their way out, they might all end up being stuck there.

As such, Wen Rugui said, "We need to get some outside help."

His cousin-in-law was the magistrate of this county, although he did not inform him of his trip this time. Informing him would be like announcing his trip to his grandfather as well.

Nevertheless, given the situation, he had no other option but to ask for his help. There was no other way that he and Pu Jianyi would be able to take Jiang Danhong with them safely.

After Pu Jianyi had found out about his cousin-in-law, he thought about it some and sent him off. "Okay, you go. I will stay and protect Comrade Jiang."

"Okay."

Wen Rugui told Jiang Danhong of their decision.

Learning that she might be able to get out of that nightmare of a place on that very same day, tears immediately streamed down Jiang Danhong's cheeks.

Wen Rugui hurried straight over to the county government to look for his cousin-in-law after he left the production team. He was lucky that his cousin-in-law was in his office.

After learning Jiang Danhong's story, his cousin-in-law, albeit feeling that Wen Rugui had been too rash, still summoned a car to accompany Wen Rugui to the production team.

The captain of the Red Star Production Team felt uneasy since he had learned of Pu Jianyi's identity.

He worried that something would go wrong and quickly phoned Jiang Huarong. However, he had placed three calls but still wasn't able to get a hold of Jiang Huarong.

He hesitated about whether to take Jiang Danhong away secretly.

He regretted not acting on his thoughts shortly thereafter. Wen Rugui had returned with the county magistrate and was about to take Jiang Danhong with them.

The captain turned pale. He knew that her leaving the production team was bad news, but what could he do when faced with the county magistrate?

He suddenly had an idea and quickly had his son go and fetch his two grandsons. He was going to have them plead for their mother to stay behind.

Jiang Danhong was just about to get into the car when she saw her two sons running up to her.

Her older son Lin Jinbao held onto her left arm, his voice cracking as he said, "Mom, don't go! Are you going to leave me and little brother behind?"

Her little son Lin Yinbao held onto her right arm, and he was crying so hard that snot was about to come out of his nose. "Mom, Grandpa said you are going to the capital city. Are you abandoning Xiao Boa? Wuwu…"

Looking at her two sons, there was no motherly love in Jiang Danhong's eyes. There was only icy cold hatred and disgust.

She pried their hands off and said coldly, "Don't call me Mom. I am not your mother! And you are not my children!"

She was forced to marry that disgusting man, forced to bed him, and forced to have two children.

She had wanted none of those in the first place!

These children were a reminder of the humiliation that she had to go through. She had never wanted them!

Upon hearing her harsh words, Jiang Danhong's mother-in-law pointed and shouted at her, "You were pregnant with Da Bao and Xiao Bao for 10 months and gave birth to them. Now you are going to abandon them just to go back to the capital city? How could you be so heartless?"

Jiang Danhong snickered. Her smile could not be any sadder. "Heartless? You monsters are talking to me about being heartless? Are you kidding me?"

Jiang Danhong's mother-in-law became livid. "Look, everyone. Our Dai Yi saved her life and went above and beyond to marry her. And, in the end, she called us monsters. Oh, Lord. I have never seen anyone this heartless!"

The villagers all criticized Jiang Danhong when they heard that.

But Jiang Danhong didn't care about any of them or their opinions. She shoved her little son, who was still grabbing onto her. "Get away from me!"

Lin Yinbao stumbled backward and dropped onto his butt. He started to bawl.

Jiang Danhong didn't even look at him. Instead, she turned to Wen Rugui and said with a blank look, "Let's go."

She did not want to stay another minute at this disgusting place.

Jiang Danhong's mother-in-law was furious, and her heart ached when she saw her younger grandson pushed to the ground. She quickly picked him up and shouted all sorts of profanity at Jiang Danhong.

Lin Jinbao was already 11 years old. Seeing that his mother had pushed his little brother onto the ground and was adamant that she would not stay for them, his eyes filled with hatred. "You tramp. You will die a horrible death for leaving your husband and children!"

Jiang Danhong continued to look cold when she heard the curse from her son.

Pu Jianyi had very complicated feelings toward what was happening. He worried that Jiang Danhong would have second thoughts about leaving with them, but he also felt that she was somewhat heartless for not caring about her children at all.

Wen Rugui, to one side, did not say anything all throughout.

Wen Rugui's group returned to the county town and spent the night at the hostel.

His cousin-in-law invited him to stay over at his place, but Wen Rugui declined.

He asked his cousin-in-law to not tell his Grandpa that he had visited Beihe, and his cousin-in-law agreed. He did, however, turn around and tell his wife about it.

Wen Rugui's cousin immediately placed a call to the capital city, and Old Mr. Wen found out that very same night that he visited Beihe.

Old Mr. Wen was angry but also his heart ached for his grandson. He immediately complained to Uncle Zong. "He's not listening to me again. Does he not care about his own health at all?"

Uncle Zong quickly comforted Old Mr. Wen. "Rugui was doing it for Miss Young Grass. We never know. We might hear some good news before this year is over, so you shouldn't let this bother you too much, Commander."

Old Mr. Wen felt that what Uncle Zong had said made a lot of sense. It was the first time that Wen Rugui showed any interest in a girl. At this rate, he just might have a granddaughter-in-law by the end of the year.

The more he thought about it, the happier Old Mr. Wen became. Thus, he yakked with Uncle Zong for most of the night.

Nearing midnight, Uncle Zong could barely keep his eyes open.

Uncle Zong: I regret saying what I did.

When Tong Xuelu got off work and walked out of the government-operated restaurant, she saw Mother Xiao waiting for her outside.

When she saw Tong Xuelu walking over, Mother Xiao immediately said solemnly, "I got the booklets and the fruit trees ready for you. Give me your address, and I will have someone bring them over tomorrow."

It had almost been half a month since Tong Xuelu had last seen Mother Xiao, and she had heard nothing from Mother Xiao this entire time. Tong Xuelu had thought that Mother Xiao was not going to keep up on her end of the bargain.

There was not much that she could do if that was the case.

Pleasantly surprised, she gave Mother Xiao her address.

Mother Xiao noted down Tong Xuelu's address, and before she turned to leave, she suddenly paused and spoke to Tong Xuelu, saying, "Now that Teacher Ma was already punished for her crimes, you should avoid crossing paths with that Jiang guy."

Tong Xuelu frowned a little. Was Mother Xiao concerned for her?

The last time they met she was very haughty. Tong Xuelu didn't think that she would receive a thoughtful reminder from Mother Xiao this time.

Truthfully, she had nothing against Mother Xiao. Now that Mother Xiao had reached out an olive branch, Tong Xuelu would respectfully return her with goodwill. "Thank you, Aunty Ning. I will keep that in mind."

Like a peacock with its colorful feathers proudly displayed up in the air, Mother Xiao snickered and walked away.

74 He had no choice but to go and get Tong Xuelu

When Tong Xuelu got home, she heard Tong Mianmian's frightened voice.

"No, don't come over! Don't come over!"

Startled, Tong Xuelu dashed into the yard.

When she entered the yard, she saw a dog chasing after Tong Mianmian.

Tong Xuelu, turning pale earlier, was so anxious that something had happened to Tong Mianmian, but after looking closer at the dog, she wasn't sure what to feel.

The dog, or more accurately the puppy, chasing behind Tong Mianmian was just a month or two old. It was small and fluffy.

Its tail was wagging when it suddenly lunged at Tong Mianmian, and by 'lunge,' it meant that it leaped for about 2 millimeters before it plopping onto the ground.

The little puppy didn't seem to be hurting from falling. Instead, it immediately twisted its little butt and growled at Tong Mianmian in its milky viciousness. "Bark bark~~"

Tong Mianmian stumbled backward. Waving her short little hands in front of her, she said in her milky voice, "Don't come close to me. I'm a puppy too. We are both puppies, so you can't bite me!"

Wuu, how were the two of them so cute?

Spotting her Big Sister, Tong Mianmian came running over on her little feet. Blinking her big eyes, she ratted out her brother to Tong Xuelu, "Big Sister, Third Brother released the dog to bite Mianmian!"

Tong Xuelu tried not to laugh out loud and rubbed Tong Mianmian on her little head. "Why is Mianmian so afraid of the puppy? Isn't it cute?"

Tong Mianmian's grape-like eyes twinkled and said, "But it bit Mianmian and Mianmian's pants."

"Did it hurt?"

The little bun cocked her head and thought about it some before she shook her head and said, "No, it didn't."

"Then it was not scary. Here, Big Sister will go over there with you."

With her Big Sister there, Tong Mianmian was more confident. She placed her soft, little hand into her Big Sister's.

Tong Xuelu walked over and asked her brother, "Where did the puppy come from?"

Tong Jiaxin answered, showing his bright, puppy dog eyes, "We picked it up on our way home. Can we keep it, Big Sister? It's still so small. It will starve to death if we don't keep it!"

Tong Xuelu gave the puppy a look. It looked to be around 1 ~ 2 months old, probably tossed out by some family who couldn't no longer afford to keep it.

The puppy was a mutt, but it was exceptionally adorable. It was white all over, except for a small patch of black fur on its forehead.

What was more interesting was that the patch of black fur looked like a heart.

Noticing the newcomer, the puppy clumsily stumbled over to Tong Xuelu and affectionately nuzzled her feet after it got close

Tong Xuelu squatted down and patted it on its head. The little thing looked like it was enjoying that a lot and finally plopped down by her feet and exposed its soft tummy to her after awhile.

Tong Xuelu also had an imaginary nosebleed from its cuteness. "Okay, you can keep it if you want, but you must be responsible for feeding and cleaning it. You can only keep it, if you will take up the responsibilities."

There were no adults in their house, except for her, and their place was so spacious. They really needed a dog, not only for entertainment but also for added protection.

Tong Jiaxin's eyes lit up, and he vowed with his voice loud, saying, "I promise I will take care of it!"

Seeing that the puppy really wouldn't bite her, Tong Mianmian, too, squatted down and reached out her trembling little hand. She had successfully patted the puppy. "Big Sister, it's so docile-" It was docile like Mianmian.

She wasn't even able to finish what she was saying before the puppy opened its mouth and bit her on her pinky.

Tong Mianmian burst into tears.

Truth was, the puppy's teeth were not sharp, and the bite didn't hurt at all. However, Tong Mianmian still cried from fear and refused to get close to it again.

Lo and behold, the puppy loved to chase after her. At that very moment, the Tong family's home was bustling with noises.

For Chef Meng, everyday life was very inconvenient with the injury in his hand. His son was busy with work as well. As such, when he saw that Tong Xuelu had skillfully picked up the chef duties, he stopped coming to work the next day and headed back to the village to stay with his little brother and his family.

Liu Dongchang was never in the habit of eating at the restaurant. He used to go eat at his Big Sister's place.

However, ever since he ateTong Xuelu's cooking the day before, he never left to eat anywhere else again, eating both his lunch and dinner at the restaurant.

Since Liu Dongchang often remained in the restaurant and Tong Xuelu didn't want to have any conflicts in her workplace, Tong Xuelu's hand did not shake when she handed out food to Tan Xiaoyan. Tan Xiaoyan got the same amount as everyone else.

Because of her unusually full plate, Tan Xiaoyan thought that Tong Xuelu was worried about Liu Dongchang, and after 'discovering' that fact, she became haughty all over again.

This afternoon, several sedans stopped in front of the government restaurant, and about 7 to 8 men alighted not long after.

All of these men were in traditional long garbs, and a few of them had suitcases under their arms.

They all looked like important government officials.

The workers at the government restaurang were currently having lunch at that time, and all of them had their faces buried in their bowls.

Tan Xiaoyan was no exception. It was just yesterday when she said she wouldn't have Tong Xuelu's cooking even if someone begged her. It had only been one day, but she was acting like she had amnesia and was eating faster than a pig.

When the group of men walked inside, Liu Dongchang, who was just about to say that they weren't open yet, accidentally bit his tongue when he saw the important-looking men.

It hurt so much that his face was twisted. At least, he was able to stop himself from blurting the unwelcoming, improper words that he was about to say.

Tong Xuelu, too, noticed that the men who had walked inside were no ordinary people. She stood up and politely greeted them, saying, "Welcome. What would you like to have?"

Indeed, all of the guests were government officials. With their authority, they had always phoned and placed their orders ahead of time when they visited government-operated restaurants in the past. No servers anywhere would dare to be rude to them.

As such, they were not surprised that Tong Xuelu's attitude was very nice. They merely found the "welcome" part very refreshing.

The group had already smelled the aroma all the way from the entrance. Once they had walked inside, the smell became even more prominent and traveled straight to their noses and into their stomachs. It made them very hungry.

A man who was dressed like a secretary took a look at what they were eating and asked, "What are those that you are eating?"

Unhurriedly, Tong Xuelu answered, "Mapo tofu, house pig feet, and hot and sour potatoes."

As she listed them out, the men gulped at each of the dishes.

A bald man then said, "We want all of them. Give us an order for each dish!"

Tong Xuelu acknowledged him, turned, and walked into the kitchen.

Guo Weiping quickly put down his chopstick and followed behind her to help out.

Meng Qingqing could sense that her colleagues' attitudes were different, but she couldn't tell that these men were government officials. Nevertheless, she also put her chopsticks down and went to collect money and tickets.

Tan Xiaoyan was the only one who was still eating nonstop like a fool. In fact, she even called Tong Xuelu name. "Brown-noser."

When Liu Dongchang heard that, he gave her a vicious stare. He only wished he could dump the mapo tofu over her head!

All the necessary ingredients had already been prepared in advance, and the pig feet were all cooked at the same time earlier. All Tong Xuelu needed to prepare were the mapo tofu and the hot and sour potatoes.

Tong Xuelu had Guo Weiping peeled the potatoes, while she quickly sliced them up into strips.

As usual, she did her work skillfully and with alacrity. Her knife was fast and precise such that all of the potato strips were of the same size. Guo Weiping was stunned when he witnessed her skills.

"Sister Xuelu, how long have you been practicing to cut like this?"

"Less than a year."

Truthfully, it was way longer than that. She had spent 7 to 8 years honing this skill in her previous life.

But the original owner had never cooked before, so it would be too odd if she said she had been practicing for years.

Guo Weiping's jaw dropped open when he heard that. "That's incredible, Sister Xuelu. The chef said that it will take someone at least 7 to 8 years to master their knife skills, but it only took you less than a year to become so proficient. That's amazing!"

Without missing a beat, Tong Xuelu said, "Don't compare yourself to me. I have always been talented."

Guo Weiping did not feel that she was bragging at all. He nodded repeatedly and said, "I agree. You are such a genius. I am so envious. I wish I am half as good as you!"

The little fried meat was so gullible. Tong Xuelu felt a little bit guilty for lying. Thus, she encouraged him, "Practice makes perfect. You will get to my level if you work hard at it."

Guo Weiping's eyes were bright like that of a baby dear. His cheeks blushed from excitement.

What an innocent child.

Tong Xuelu soaked the potato strips in water to get rid of the starch. While waiting, she started on the mapo tofu.

There were two keys to good mapo tofu. One was the tofu, and the other was the sauce.

The tofu can't be too soft or too firm.

The tofu also needed to be soaked in salt water for a little while after they were sliced. That way the pungent smell of the tofu will disappear, and the tofu would come out silkier.

Although there was no chicken powder for flavoring in this day and age, there were black beans and bean paste that could fortunately be used as substitutes. She would definitely need those two ingredients to spice up the mapo tofu.

A strong aroma came from the kitchen shortly thereafter. The aroma of spicy food was pungent and appetizing. Those sitting in the lobby became hungrier.

The bald man from earlier said, "It smells incredible. I have never been to this government-operated restaurant before. Little did I know that they have such a great chef here!"

Another person also chimed in, "I have never been here either, and we would not have come today had it not so happened to be lunch time."

The others nodded in agreement.

The group had just come back from a business trip and passed by this government-operated restaurant from the train station. Since it happened to be lunch time then, they decided to walk inside.

They weren't expecting such a great surprise.

Tong Xuelu had Meng Qingqing bring the food out when she was done.

Meanwhile, Tan Xiaoyan got herself another bowl of rice and kept on eating. She never stood up the entire time, never mind bringing the dishes out.

Seeing that, Liu Dongchang got progressively angrier. If there weren't any outsiders present, he would have given her a lecture by now!

The group of men were already hungry from the smell of the food. Now that the dishes had been served, they finally understood what it meant by presentation, smell, and taste.

The mapo tofu was fiery red, and its heat immediately flowed through their nose. Just one bite, and their mouths were filled with the spiciness and softness of the tofu. It was incredibly tasty!

The skin on the pig feet was glistening from the grease, and its color was a translucent red. The meat melted instantly in their mouth, and the sauce from the dish complemented the rice perfectly. It couldn't have been more delicious!

The hot and sour potato was crispy, spicy, and sour all at the same time. It was yet another great dish to go with rice!

The group of men acted like they had been starved for a long time and started wolfing down the food. It was as though they stood to lose a lot if they didn't eat fast enough.

Truth was, all three of them felt that there was not enough food, but not wanting to waste any, they decided against ordering more.

Luckily, two out of the three dishes had sauces in them, and they could have yet another bowl of rice with just the sauce alone!

After lunch, all of their bellies were protruding out.

"This was the best meal that I have had in years, especially that mapo tofu dish. It was spicy, aromatic, and silky. It was just perfect!"

"I like the pig feet. It was so soft and melted right in my mouth. No wonder it was a house specialty!"

"For me, I liked the potato strips the best. It was hot and sour and so appetizing!"

The bald man smiled. "That's what they call a crouching tiger, hidden dragon. A small restaurant like this is serving better food than the restaurant serving foreigners!"

With that said, Liu Dongchang, who had been waiting to one side, dashed out instantly and said, "Hi everyone. I am Liu Dongchang, the manager of this restaurant."

The bald man looked him up and down and said affirmatively, "Very well. Your service and food were both impeccable. Oh right, who was the chef who made these dishes? We would like to meet him."

Liu Dongchang had wanted to suck up to the government officials. It was not his intention to bring up Tong Xuelu and the others at all.

But they had already asked. He had no choice but to force a smile and get Tong Xuelu.

75 It appeared that what they were looking for was, indeed, hidden in that secret room

Naturally, Tong Xuelu would never let an opportunity like that pass her by.

Truth was, she had been waiting for this opportunity. She had run over to clean herself up as soon as she was done cooking, and when Liu Dongchang showed up in the kitchen, she knew that the moment that she had been waiting for had come.

Following Liu Dongchang, the group of men did not react when they saw her. They kept on looking behind her.

They waited for a while for the chef to join them before the man, who looked like a secretary, asked again, "Where's your chef? Why isn't he out yet?"

Liu Dongchang then pointed at Tong Xuelu and said, "This is our chef, but she is only temporary. Our original chef injured his hand, so she is taking over for him for the time being."

Everyone looked over at Tong Xuelu, and their eyes widened right away.

A woman?

And a young one at that?

Ten out of ten chefs at government-operated restaurants were men. Nobody had ever seen a female chef before, let alone someone this young.

The group was stunned.

Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "Hi everyone. I am the chef of this restaurant, and my name is Tong Xuelu. Xue like 'snow', and lu like 'green'. Tong Xuelu."

When one meets a government official, the most important part is to make sure that they make a lasting impression.

The bald man looked Tong Xuelu up and down and asked, "Are you really the chef of this restaurant?"

Tong Xuelu nodded with a serious face. "Yes. I made the mapo tofu, the house specialty pig feet, and the hot and sour potatoes."

The bald man paused a little and laughed out loud. "Very well. Our president said that women hold up half the sky, and Comrade Tong is the living testimony of that saying!"

All the others agreed with him.

Tong Xuelu's smile deepened, while Liu Dongchang looked more unhappy.

Nobody noticed Liu Dongchang again even as they were leaving.

Liu Dongchang felt that Tong Xuelu was too overly lucky. Chef Meng had been working in a government-operated restaurant for over 10 years, and yet he still had not been praised by a government official before.

Meanwhile, Tong Xuelu, who had just started being a temporary replacement a few days ago, had encountered and had been praised by these people!

It had finally occurred to Tan Xiaoyan that something big had happened, and she asked, in shock, "Were those all government officials?"

Nobody paid her any attention. Finally, Meng Qingqing felt bad and responded to her. "Yes, I think so."

She hadn't discovered their identities initially either. Tong Xuelu was the one who clued her in when she went to fetch the dishes.

Tan Xiaoyan's mouth dropped open, and she couldn't look more regretful. To put it in a modern-day saying, she felt that she had missed out on 10 million yuan.

Had she known that they were all government officials, she would have never let Meng Qingqing go collect the money from them or bring the dishes out. She should have been the one to do all of those!

She stared at Meng Qingqing. "Why didn't you say something to me if you knew all along?"

Meng Qingqing, "…"

Tan Xiaoyan continued, "Did you do that on purpose?"

Meng Qingqing, "…"

Meng Qingqing finally realized why her uncle told her to stay away from Tan Xiaoyan. Aggrieved, her face reddened, and she turned and ran inside the kitchen.

Tan Xiaoyan felt that she had punched a bag of cotton. She hadn't even unleashed herself fully yet, and her target had already ran off.

She was so mad!

As the government officials were just there earlier, neither Liu Dongchang nor Tan Xiaoyan dared to leave even after lunch was over.

Tong Xuelu didn't think much of it. It was necessary to get facetime with the leaders, but who knew whether the day would come when she could cash that in?

She might never even see them again.

Liu Dongchang, however, was very bothered by it. After he noticed that she was studying textbooks from junior high school, he had been looking over at her from time to time.

Tong Xuelu found his inquisitive gaze very annoying.

Wen Rugui, Pu Jianyi, and Jiang Danhong did not stay at Beihe any longer than they needed to. The next day, they immediately boarded the sleep train, which Wen Rugui's cousin had helped them get the tickets to.

Jiang Danhong had been running a low fever ever since she had left the Red Star production team, but she forced herself not to say a word to anyone.

Wen Rugui and Pu Jianyi only noticed that something was off with her after they had boarded the train.

Concerned, Pu Jianyi asked, "Are you alright, Comrade Jiang?"

Jiang Danhong gave him an indifferent look but didn't say a word.

Pu Jianyi, "…"

He was so hurt. Even though he had worked with Wen Rugui in getting her out, she still found him untrustworthy.

He was so hurt that he even asked the worker at the motel for a mirror the night before. He looked at himself left and right and still couldn't see what was wrong with his very righteous face.

Seeing that Pu Jianyi was getting nowhere, Wen Rugui asked, "Comrade Jiang, you don't look well. Are you ill?"

Jiang Danhong responded this time. She shook her head and said, "I am fine. Don't worry about me."

Having said that, she proceeded to ignore Wen Rugui as well and turned toward the window, looking solemn and distant.

Wen Rugui decided to stop asking.

He didn't feel that Jiang Danhong was being rude. It was only normal that she wasn't able to socialize with others like a normal person given the horrible things that she had gone through.

Meanwhile, Jiang Huarong had also gotten the news that Jiang Danhong had been taken away. He was jumping up and down in anger. "Are you stupid or are you stupid? How could you let them take her away? You idiot! If you want to go down, don't drag me down with you. Now hurry up and get her back! If you fail, I am going to …"

BANG!

He wasn't even done talking yet when suddenly, his door was forced open from the outside. It was then that a group of men in police uniform filed in.

The phone receiver fell out of Jiang Huarong's hand, his eyes widening in shock and fear. His hand trembled uncontrollably while asking, "Who- who are you people? How can you just barge in like that?"

Jiang Huarong tried very hard to look calm, but his heart was beating so fast that it could jump out of his chest. It was impossible for him to remain calm.

He had a bad feeling when he saw these people.

A middle-aged man walked inside and said to him with a solemn look, "Jiang Huarong, the city government received some complaints about you. After looking into them, we found them to be truthful. We need you to come with us to assist in the investigation."

Jiang Huarong felt a chill down his spine, and his eyes widened further from fear. "No, there must be some kind of mistake. I had always served the people honestly and had never committed an act against the people or our country. You can't treat me like this!"

The middle-aged man's lips curved, and he had a very mocking look on his face. "What are you worried about then? The country will not wrong you, if you did not commit any crime."

Speechless, Jiang Huarong turned pale and gasped for air, feeling extremely lightheaded. He looked like a fish that had been tossed onto dry land.

"Someone come and bring him with us!"

Jiang Huarong made a last-ditch attempt to persuade them from arresting him. "I'm not leaving. What would others think of me if I leave with you like this? Even if I am proven to be innocent later on, it would still hurt my reputation a lot!"

The others at the Education Department had picked up on the ruckus.

Assistant Director Xiao Jinshan, Mother Xiao's older brother, walked inside and said, "Officer, what had Comrade Jiang done wrong? We can't let you take him with you unless you can tell us what this was all about."

The others at the Education Department agreed.

Jiang Huarong, however, was not appreciative of that at all. Instead, he said emotionally to the middle-aged man, "Don't say anything anymore. I'll go with you."

The middle-aged man was no longer in a hurry.

He looked around the room and said, "Alright, I will tell you if you really want to know. Jiang Huarong mistreated the children of war heroes, abused his power for personal gains, accepted bribes, and stole government properties. We have already collected part of the evidence. Do you think we have enough to take him with us now?"

After the middle-aged man finished speaking, it was dead silent inside the office.

Everyone looked over at Jiang Huarong at the same time. They could not have been more surprised.

Each one of these crimes was enough to have Jiang Huarong sentenced to death!

Jiang Huarong was also stunned. Hearing the man listing down all his crimes, he felt endless fear crashing down on him. He started trembling, and his teeth chattered, knocking against each other.

He. Was. Done. For!

Xiao Jinshan, too, looked stunned. He quickly stepped aside and kept his mouth shut.

It was never his intention to help Jiang Huarong. He just hadn't thought that Jiang Huarong would have committed so many awful crimes!

Jiang Huarong was done for!

And Xiao Jinshan didn't even need to push things along!

That being said, Xiao Jinshan didn't mind helping things move faster.

Mother Xiao heard the news of Jiang Huarong's arrest from her big brother that same afternoon.

She suddenly had an idea and had Xiao Guangyuan, her nephew, help her load the booklets into the car before she drove over to Tong Xuelu's place.

Tong Xuelu didn't think that Mother Xiao would come in person.

She had Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin bring the booklets inside their house.

Mother Xiao said, "There's a delay on the fruit trees. I will be bringing those over in a few days."

Tong Xuelu waved her hands. "It's fine. We can forget about those."

She only threw in some odd requests because of Mother Xiao's haughtiness in the past. Ever since Mother Xiao showed her concern towards her, she had already forgotten about those extra things.

Mother Xiao frowned when she heard that. "Why not? Have you had a change of heart?"

Tong Xuelu,"…"

What kind of logic was that? She couldn't even say she didn't want them anymore?

"Alright. Pretend that I hadn't said anything. Please bring them over when you have the chance."

Mother Xiao harrumphed. "I'll be sending the fruit trees over." After pausing for a little bit, she said, "Oh, by the way, Jiang Huarong was arrested today. You won't need to worry about retaliation anymore."

Tong Xuelu was taken aback a little. "He was arrested? How?"

Mother Xiao's lips tightened some, and she said, "Because he had committed many crimes against the people and our country, of course. You don't need to know the details, nor would you need to understand them. I'm taking off now!"

Mother Xiao turned and left briskly before Tong Xuelu could say anything else.

Tong Xuelu wasn't sure whether she should find that comical or not. She gave Tong Jiaming a hand and moved the remaining booklets inside her bedroom.

Tong Jiaming asked, "What are these for?"

Tong Xuelu replied unhurriedly, "They will come in handy in the future. Just don't mention them to anyone else."

Tong Jiaming acknowledged her instructions. Then, after a slight pause, he asked, "When you talked about Jiang Huarong earlier, was that Jiang Ming's grandfather?"

Tong Xuelu nodded and said, "Yes, that was him, but you and Jiaxin shouldn't say anything about this outside. We don't want any more trouble."

Tong Jiaming nodded. "I won't."

Mother Xiao returned to the car and saw Xiao Guangyuan stretching his neck and staring at the other end of the alley where the Tong family lives.

Her face dropped instantly. "What are you looking at? Do you know who lives there?"

Dazed after being caught, Xiao Guangyuan stammered, "No, no, I don't. I don't know who lives there."

Mother Xiao didn't believe a word he said. She said to him coldly, "If you dare say a word about this to your cousin, I am going to have your old man break your leg. Try me if you dare."

Xiao Guangyuan, "…"

His cousin Xiao Chengping had asked him to keep an eye out on Comrade Tong before he returned to the army and to let him know if anything happened to her.

He was going to place a call when they got home, but he had now changed his mind.

His leg is more important than his cousin.

76 Tong Xuelu noticed that she had forgotten a very important character all along

Wen Rugui and the others finally reached the capital city.

As soon as they arrived, they quickly learned that Jiang Huarong had been arrested.

When Jiang Danhong found out, she was so emotional that her body shook, and tears immediately streamed down her cheeks. "There is a god after all!"

After Jiang Huarong was taken to the police station, evidence of him accepting bribes and abusing his power for personal gain was placed in front of him, allowing him no chance of denying his wrongdoings.

He had, however, adamantly denied 'mistreating children of war heroes' and 'embezzling country properties'.

He knew very well that the worst that could happen to him was to be sent to reform at a farm for the first two crimes.

The other two, on the other hand, would definitely get him sentenced with the death penalty!

As such, he would never admit to those no matter what.

The arrival of Jiang Danhong, however, crushed any hope of getting out alive.

He was mortified when he saw Jiang Danhong entering the room where he was in. His blood-filled eyes stared at her intensely.

Come to think about it, it had already been 15 years since he had last seen this niece of his, but as soon as he saw the pure hatred in her eyes, he recognized her immediately.

Glaring at Jiang Huarong, Jiang Danhong's eyes could crack from the intensity of her look. "Long time no see, Big Uncle. Are you surprised to see me here?"

Jiang Huarong recollected himself almost immediately and started acting, saying emotionally, "Danhong, I'm so glad that you are back. Can you please tell them that I had never mistreated you and your brother? All these years, you would not still be alive had I not taken care of you."

How shameless was that?

Jiang Danhong spit on his face. "You are a monster. My little brother was just 3 years old then. I can't believe you were able to do that to him! And you have the audacity to ask for credit in front of me right now?"

Jiang Huarong continued to deny any wrongdoings. "Danhong, have you lost your mind? Your brother died from severe flu back then. How can you say that was my fault? I was very sad about his passing as well. He was, after all, your father's only child!"

Jiang Danhong could not contain her hatred toward him. "Monster, you are still lying even now. You murdered my little brother, so you can benefit from being the family of war heroes. Yet, you weren't satisfied with that. You even took away the dowry that my mother had left for me!"

"And many died by your hands during the land reform time, didn't they? Many had already agreed to hand over their properties and land to the authorities and permitted the country to redistribute them. Even so, you still murdered them and hid their properties. Yet, here you are denying that you had stolen the country's properties?"

It was a fact that many rich farmers were murdered during the land reform. The land that they had owned and toiled was watered with their own blood. Jiang Haurong had certainly contributed a lot to the murder of those lives.

Jiang Huarong's hands tightened into fists, his veins appearing on the back of his hands and on his forehead. "How dare you say such things! I have supported you all these years. I might not have done the best job, but I did the best that I could. I can't believe you would turn around and accuse me so. I never should have taken you in!"

Jiang Huarong pointed at Jiang Danhong and shouted loudly, looking enraged.

In truth, however, he was panicking inside.

He told himself that he must remain calm. The cops had already searched his place twice and had yet to find anything.

As long as he denied it, there was nothing that Jiang Danhong could do to him. It was all 'he said, she said'!

Jiang Danhong snickered. "Go ahead. Keep on shouting. This is going to be your last chance to shout."

Having said that, Jiang Danhong turned toward Police Lin and said, "I know where he keeps my mother's dowries."

Police Lin's eyes lit up. "Where?"

Jiang Danhong gave Jiang Huarong a look. The latter turned pale and shook like a withered leaf in autumn.

Jiang Danhong enjoyed seeing the fear in Jiang Huarong's face. Thus, she smiled and said, "Go inside my grandmother's bedroom in the old family house. There is a traditional-style old wooden bed there, and beneath it is a secret room. I trust that you will find what you are looking for there."

Jiang Huarong shuddered. He stared intensely at Jiang Danhong, and his teeth clattered nonstop.

How did she find out about that?

This- this is impossible!

Not even his wife knew about that hiding room. His mother had only told him about it back then.

Police Lin had a pretty good idea of what they would find in that room when he saw the terrified face of Jiang Huarong.

It appeared that what they were looking for was, indeed, hidden in that secret room.

They had sent people to inspect Jiang Huarong's old family house in the past, but since nobody was living there, there was not a lot of furniture. As such, they retreated after a quick search considering there wasn't much to look at.

They had focused most of their efforts on looking at his house in the capital city. Lo and behold, this old thief was so wicked and cunning that he had placed such an amount of wealth in the old house. To top it all off, he had nobody there guarding it!

Who would have thought that?

Police Lin ignored Jiang Huarong and immediately sent his men to search the old house.

The cops quickly located the hidden underground room at Jiang Huarong's old house. Everyone who stepped foot in there was shocked.

Along with countless other valuables, massive amounts of antiques, jewelry, and gold were found in the basement. They even found 20,000 yuan cash during their inspection!

At this time, an average worker's salary was around 20 to 30 yuan, while it was 40 to about 50 yuan for government officials. Even if they were to save every single penny that they had made, it would still take them some 30 years to amass that amount.

Now that they had discovered so much cash from Jiang Huarong's old family house, he would never be able to talk his way out of accepting bribery and embezzlement of the country's properties!

When the news that the cops had successfully obtained proof against him, Jiang Huarong became completely listless.

Like a deflated balloon, he looked lifeless and remained motionless for a very long time.

He knew that he was done for this time. There was no point in saying anything else.

After leaving the police station, Jiang Danhong was still in a very excitable mood.

Wen Rugui said to her, "Comrade Jiang, it will still be a while before the official sentencing, but don't you worry. Jiang Huarong won't stand a chance."

The last of Jiang Danhong's worries dissipated with that. "Thank you so much. If it weren't for the two of you, I worry that Jiang Huarong would never get what he deserves in this lifetime."

Wen Rugui replied solemnly, "This is our duty. Oh right, so what are your plans now?"

Jiang Danhong answered, "I want to file a report on the captain of the Red Star production team and his son. I want to file complaints about them abusing their powers for personal gain and hurting and insulting women and other educated female students!"

Wen Rugui did not look surprised at all when he heard that.

He figured she would make a move against them when he saw how much she hated the captain's family and her two sons the other day.

Except, her two sons would be motherless and fatherless once she reported her husband and her father-in-law.

Most people would probably never be able to relate to that, which would make her future very difficult.

Sure enough, as soon as that thought had crossed Wen Rugui's mind, he heard Pu Jianyi saying, "Comrade Jiang, I understand how much you hate them, but you would definitely hurt your two sons if you choose to go down that path. Are you certain that you don't want to give it some more thought?"

From Pu Jianyi's perspective, now that Jiang Danhong had reported Jiang Huarong, the Jiang family would never accept her back.

She had no parents, and her brother had passed away. If she also reported her husband's family, what was she going to do in the future?

He felt that he truly had her best interest in mind, but after Jiang Danhong heard his words, her face dropped.

She stared at Pu Jianyi and snickered. "What do you know? Why do I have to worry about hurting them? They certainly didn't care about how I felt when they hurt me, so why should I be considerate of them?!"

Screw her birth sons! And screw motherly love!

Pardon her, but she had always been a cold and selfish person.

She never wanted the two children, nor would she ever look at them as her own.

Pu Jianyi was going to persuade some more when he was immediately stopped by Wen Rugui. "That's enough."

Looking at Wen Rugui, she asked, "Comrade Wen, do you feel that I should not report them too? And that I am ruthless if I do?"

Wen Rugui shook his head. "No, I will respect your decision."

Jiang Danhong looked into Wen Rugui's eyes long and hard before a smile finally appeared on her face. "You are a nice person, much better than you stupid friend."

Pu Jianyi, "…"

The reason that the investigation on Jiang Huarong had gone so smoothly was not just because of Wen Rugui; there was also the effort of the Xiao family.

Naturally, Xiao Jingshan did not do it for Tong Xuelu. Rather, he did it for himself.

Jiang Huarong was the director, while he was the assistant director. The two of them were never on good terms, and as Xiao Jingshan's title was directly below that of Jiang Huarong's, he had always been under him.

Now that Jiang Huarong had run into a disaster, it was only natural that Xiao Jingshan wanted to push things along as much as he could.

The Wei family, too, had contributed as well.

Wei Zhigou was currently telling his wife about Jiang Huarong's crimes.

After Shen Wanrong had heard the story, the normally patient and understanding woman looked angry for a change. "That heartless bastard. He should have been punished a long time ago! He even targeted his own niece and nephew for money and power. He was worse than an animal!"

It would be one thing if he had at least treated the two children nicely after he had stolen his sister-in-law's dowries. But not only did he keep their dowries as his own, he further wanted to kill the two children! That was worse than what an animal would do!

After calming down, Shen Wanrong asked, "Didn't you say last time that we will only interfere when Xuelu asks? How come you decided to meddle this time?"

Wei Zhigou was rinsing the vegetables as he spoke. "I didn't know that he had been mistreating the children of war heroes previously, so it was best if I didn't get involved. I don't know the two war heroes of the Jiang family personally, but Lao Xiao and I fought alongside them. They have contributed greatly to our country. Of course, we cannot just stand by now that we have found out."

Lao Xiao?

Shen Wanrong's eyes widened suddenly. "I finally know why Xuelu looked so familiar when I first saw her!"

At her sudden outburst, Wei Guozhi turned his head to look at her and asked, "Why?"

Shen Wanrong replied, "I have seen a photo of Lao Xiao's mother some years ago, and Xuelu looked a lot like his mother!"

Wei Guozhi had not expected that answer. He shook his head and bursted out laughing. "I can't believe that you still remember what his mother looked like after all these years. I can't remember it at all."

Shen Wanrong shook her head. "No, I wouldn't have been able to either, had you not happened to bring up Lao Xiao. Too bad Lao Xiao had gone through life without ever getting married. I would really think that Xuelu was related to them otherwise."

Wei Guozhi smiled and said, "We can certainly have them meet up next time he comes to town."

That night, when Shen Wanrong brought over vegetables to the Tong's, she jokingly brought Lao Xiao up in their conversation.

Tong Xuelu was taken aback a little when she heard her suspicions. "Are you saying that I look like the mother of Grandpa Wei's comrade?"

Shen Wanrong smiled and nodded. "Yeah, the truth was I felt that you looked very familiar the first time we met. I just couldn't recall who you looked like. It wasn't until Zhuzhu's grandfather brought him up this afternoon. It reminded me of what you looked like."

Tong Xuelu asked, seemingly casually, "Oh, that is pretty odd. What is the surname of Grandpa Wei's comrade?"

Something crossed Tong Xuelu's mind.

She had wondered whether Tong Daijin was really the son of Xie Jinhua. Xie Jinhua was, after all, a very ugly woman. And her two other sons were not much in the looks department either.

She had asked Tong Jiaming in the past, and Tong Jiaming told her that Tong Daijin looked like their grandfather. Thus, she thought that it was a case of parents who didn't care about their children, which was a problem even in modern days.

She had read plenty of stories about parents who had abused their children to the point that they needed amputations or were being forced to eat cat poop.

She had already given up on the idea that they weren't related, but her suspicions returned to her full force now that Shen Wanrong had voiced it out.

She did not think Tong Daijun was the son of Comrade Xiao. The man had, after all, never been wedded and had no children. Tong Xuelu noticed that she had forgotten a very important character all along – Tong Daijun's aunt.

77 "What did that woman want?"

Tong Daijun's aunt, the grandaunt of the original owner, was only 22 years old when she passed away from an illness.

There was nothing suspicious about someone passing away from illness. What was odd was that she was still single when she passed away!

This was 30 years back in time, which was the tail end of the 30s. A woman who was still single at 22 was rare.

The original owner's grandfather was a good-looking man. As such, she could conclude that this grandaunt was probably decent looking as well. There was no reason why she would have a hard time marrying off.

So, now the question came. Why was it that she was still single at her advanced age? Was she unhealthy?

Not even Tong Jiaming would have the answer to that.

If time permits, she should make a trip back to their hometown in Beihe and see if she could find some answers from the villagers there.

Shen Wanrong continued to speak cheerfully. "Lao Xiao is over in the northwestern region right now. From what Zhuzhu's grandfather was saying, he might be transferred back to the capital city next year. We will have you meet up with him if the opportunity permits. He might be startled as well."

Tong Xuelu smiled and agreed to that idea.

Looking at the sky getting dark outside, Shen Wanrong stood up and said, "It's getting late. I should be heading out. Zhuzhu's brother will be returning home in the next couple of days. I will need to prepare some good food for him."

So the one Wei Zhuzhu referred to as ugly Big Brother is coming home?

Tong Xuelu was very interested.

She wanted to see exactly how ugly he was for his sister to feel that way toward him.

Tong Xuelu started cooking after Shen Wanrong had taken off.

Giggling from Tong Mianmian and the puppy came from the yard. Tong Xuelu looked out the window and smiled.

Wen Rugui had used up all his vacation time and must return to the base immediately.

The base had given him time off, so he could rest up. Lo and behold, he ended up running around the entire time and had been so exhausted that he had lost more weight.

Jiang Huarong's sentencing was still pending, and Jiang Danhong could not return to the Jiang family right now. After much consideration, she finally ended up staying in Pu Jianyi's place.

The Wen's household only had two adult males, and it would be awkward to have a woman stay there. It had crossed Wen Rugui's mind to have to stay at Tong Xuelu's place, but he worried that the Jiang family would target her and eventually put Tong Xuelu in harm's way.

As such, Pu Jianyi's place was the best choice. His mother and sister were home, and it wouldn't draw too much attention when Jiang Danhong moved in under the disguise of a distant relative.

Wen Rugui headed back to base after Jiang Danhong was settled down.

As soon as he returned, he ran into Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan was startled when he saw Wen Rugui in his current state. "What happened to you? I thought you went home to get some rest. How come you are looking worse than you did before?"

Wen Rugui's voice was hoarse. "I had to take care of something back home."

He didn't elaborate on what it was that he had to take care of.

Zhou Yan gave him a compassionate look. "You look so tired. Even your voice is hoarser than before. You need to pace yourself. Don't just disregard your health just because you are still young."

Wen Rugui felt that Zhou Yan was particularly naggy today, almost as much as Uncle Zong.

The two walked over to the dormitory building, and they saw a woman standing in front of Wen Rugui's room.

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up right away, and he nudged Wen Rugui with his elbow. "Did you see that? That's Director Jiao's daughter. She had been coming over everyday checking to see if you were back during your absence."

Wen Rugui didn't react much to that and didn't say anything.

Zhou Yan did not drop the subject, however. He said with a very suggestive look, "You are such a womanizer. I feel that Director Jiao's daughter is sweet on you!"

Wen Rugui frowned and stopped him. "Don't joke about that. That would tarnish Comrade Jiao's reputation!"

Zhou Yan cracked his mouth and chuckled. "Don't worry. I will only say that in front of you. I never said a word in front of anyone else.

"That being said, though. Even though the Jiao family's status does not measure up to that of your Wen family, but Director Jiao was still a very capable person and his achievement was there for all to see. Now that the political environment is changing, if you ask me, she is not a bad choice if you are interested."

Jiao Boshan's in-law family had already been righted and the restraints that had been placed on him had also been lifted slowly.

The contributions that Jiao Boshan had provided over the last few years, regardless of his status, could not be overlooked.

The missile in 1964; The first atomic bomb in 1964; the first hydrogen bomb in 1967, and the first satellite in 1970.

Director Jiao Boshan had a part in all of those accomplishments.

Each and every single one of those had impact globally. Now that the political atmosphere was clearing up, Director Jiao's status would only go up, not down.

From that perspective, even if the Jiao family did not measure up to the Wen family, they were not that far behind.

Wen Rugui frowned even more. "Don't even bring that up again in the future, ever!"

Seeing that Wen Rugui was truly upset, Zhou Yan scratched his head and said, "Alright, alright. I won't say that anymore. I am only worried that you will be single for life given your age is all."

Wen Rugui ignored him.

The two quickly reached the dormitory and, when Jiao Yunshi saw Wen Rugui, she lifted her head up and her eyes lit up.

"Comrade Wen, Comrade Wen, Comrade Zhou, you two are back!"

Both Wen Rugui and Zhou Yan nodded and greeted her.

Wen Rugui said, "Are you here looking for me, Comrade Jiao? What can I do for you?"

Jiao Yunshi frowned immediately when she heard Wen Rugui's voice. "How come you are sounding worse than before, Comrade Wen? Wait for me. I'll bring over some scaphium affine for you!"

When she finished talking, she turned and ran off before Wen Rugui could decline her.

Zhou Yan winked at him, "scaphium affine is good stuff!"

Wen Rugui gave him a cold look. "You can have it then."

Zhou Yan quickly shook his hand. "Hey, I didn't say that. Besides, they are not for me!"

Having said that, Zhou Yan wanted to walk inside the dormitory but he was stopped by Wen Rugui.

Wen Rugui felt that it would not be good if he and Jiao Yunshi were seen alone when she returned. With Zhou Yan there as well, there could prevent a lot of rumors.

Zhou Yan, too, was curious at the drama so he stayed behind happily.

It wasn't long before Jiao Yunshi came running back, her cheeks a slight pick from her running. "Comrade Wen, this is scaphium affine. Have some!"

Wen Rugui did not take that from her. "Thank you very much, Comrade Jiao, but I will have to decline this. Please bring it back with you."

Jiao Yunshi's long eyelashes fluttered a little and she smiled. "This is from my folks, as a token of appreciation for picking us up. Take it. They will scold me if I bring it back with me."

Hearing that it was from his teacher and his wife, Wen Rugui finally accepted the gift. "Thank you, please thank your folks for me as well."

Jiao Yunshi let out a sigh of relief after Wen Rugui had accepted the gift. "That will be alright. We still wouldn't be here now if you didn't help us take care of my grandfather.

"Oh right, you only need to place two pieces of the scaphium affine in hot water for 15 minutes every time. If you find it too plain, you can add some rock sugar. It will taste even better if you have chrysanthemum."

Wen Rugui thanked her again.

Seeing that Wen Rugui never really warmed up and that he looked exhausted, Jiao Yunshi felt bad to stay. She bid him farewell after telling him that she had other matters to attend to.

Zhou Yan looked like he wanted to say something after she was gone but Wen Rugui did not give him that opportunity before he turned and returned to his room.

Jiao Yunshi ran into her mother Zhong Shulan when she returned to the dormitory.

Seeing the happy look on Jiao Yunshi, Zhong Shulan couldn't help but asked, "What happened? How come you look so happy?"

Jiao Yunshi quickly wiped away her smile and said, "I'm not happy."

Zhong Shulan asked, "Where did you go earlier? I saw you coming back but then you left again immediately after."

"Comrade Wen was back. Did you have me bring over the scaphium affine to him earlier? I noticed that his voice was still hoarse, so I came and brought that over to him."

Zhong Shulan looked intensely at her daughter for a little while and nodded. "That's right. If he still hasn't recovered in a few days, you can bring over some more."

Jiao Yunshi felt a little awkward being looked at by her mother and she made up an excuse to get away, "I am going to go get some food from the canteen."

Jiao Yunshi ran into her father on her way out with her lunch box.

She dashed off before Jiao Boshan could even greet her.

When he walked back inside the house, he asked curiously, "Yunshi went to get food? Why was she running?"

Zhong Shulan poured him a glass of warm water and said, "Yes, she went to get food. I guess she was feeling shy."

Jiao Boshan was even more baffled after he heard that. "Shy? What was she shy about?"

Zhong Shulan smiled and her crowfeet showed. "Your student had returned and she dropped off the scalphium affine. She had been looking happy like that since she had returned."

Jiao Boshan went quiet after he heard that.

Zhong Shulan sighed when she saw that. "Don't worry. I'm not an unreasonable person. If Rugui is not interested in Yunshi, I won't force it. But we don't know that just yet, do we? Why not give it a try when there's an opportunity in front of us, am I right?"

Jiao Boshan went silent for quite a while before he said, "We'll see."

He would have meddled if it was any other student of his.

But not Wen Rugui.

Wen Rugui was still single at his age had to do with his dedication in science, but it also had a lot to do with his family.

He was very traumatized from his parents and lacked security when it came to marriage.

Jiao Boshan was extremely reluctant to try to nudge Wen Rugui along, not even just to mention the thought of it.

Hearing that from her husband, Zhong Shulan pinched her lips shut and did not say anything else.

The atmosphere dulled in the room all of a sudden.

Most people were very poor at this day and age and would not visit the government even on pay days.

Ever since Tong Xuelu had taken over the cooking part, however, the restaurant's business had been doing better and better.

Whenever it was mealtime, there were a lot more people fighting over seats. Tan Xiaoyan had lost her voice just shouting at these people in the last couple of days.

This afternoon, a female comrade stayed behind for a long while after lunch.

When Tong Xuelu finally walked out, she immediately ran up to her and said, "Hi, Chef!"

Tong Xuelu studied her, raised her brows a little, and asked, "And you are?"

Wang Nianzhen said, "Hi, Chef. I work in the garment factory nearby and had been here a few times. Your braised pork is amazing!"

Tong Xuelu didn't let on too much. "Thank you."

Wang Nianzhen suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Chef, there is something that I want to talk to you about. Do you think you can step outside with me for a little bit?"

It was broad daylight right now and Tong Xuelu wasn't worried that this woman would hurt her. As such, she followed her out of the restaurant.

78 You are the shameless one!"

Once they had stepped outside, Wang Nianzhen immediately shared her story with Tong Xuelu. "My grandmother's 70th birthday is coming up, and she had always wanted to have the braised pork in her memories. But she keeps saying that those made by my mom and my sister-in-law did not have the right taste."

"Recently, I brought a piece of your braised pork home the other day, and she said it tasted a lot like what she had when she was a child. So, I am thinking… Perhaps you can make me a pot of braised pork. If you can do that for me, I will do anything for you!"

As for why she didn't just buy it from the restaurant… That was because the restaurant would not be serving braised pork on that day.

Furthermore, there was a limit placed on how much each person could buy. If she was to buy all of the braised pork, someone might report her for committing capitalist practices.

She had no other option but to broach the topic with the chef of the restaurant directly.

Tong Xuelu thought about it some and asked, "You said you work at the garment factory?"

Wang Nianzhen was a smart one. As soon as she heard that, she knew there was hope and nodded immediately. "Yes, I work at the garment factory. From time to time, there will be defective fabric and clothing at our factory…"

She did not finish her sentence, but both of them knew what she was getting at.

Those items might be defective, but they were still very much useful. Not to mention that they would be much cheaper. In addition, no tickets were required to acquire them.

Tong Xuelu has money now but not enough tickets. All of Tong Jiaming's and his siblings' clothes were turning white from washing. She would need to get them each a new set.

And then there was herself. She did not take any winter clothes with her when she left the other Tong family's house. She definitely would not be able to return for them now.

So she just might freeze to death this winter if she didn't have some thicker clothes made for herself soon.

The exchange that Wang Nianzhen had brought up just now solved her problems perfectly.

That was what they called someone sending over a pillow when one was sleepy. That was an unexpected benefit of replacing Chef Meng.

Awesome!

Tong Xuelu said, "My surname is Tong. What's yours?"

Wang Nianzhen's eyes lit up. "My name is Wang Nianzhen. I am 20 years old, and I work at the Hongyang Garment Factory!"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

So much information. That was such an old school way of doing things.

"It just so happened that I am in need of some cotton and winter clothes. Do you have any at your place?"

Wang Nianzhen nodded repeatedly. "Oh yes. It's starting to get cold, and we started making winter clothing two months ago. How many do you need?"

Without any bashfulness, Tong Xuelu confidently listed down what she needed. "I need three sets for myself – a fall set and two winter sets. I also need two sets for boys around 10 years old, and two sets for girls around 5 years old. Do you have them?"

Wang Nianzhen was a little bit shocked by how much Tong Xuelu was asking. "We do, but that's a lot that you are asking for. Are you sure you need that much?"

Tong Xuelu nodded. "Someone stole my winter clothes. I won't be able to make it through winter without replacing them."

Wang Nianzhen bashed the thief for Tong Xuelu when she heard that and said, "That's not a problem. We will set a time to meet later."

Tong Xuelu thought about it some and said, "Bring the meat to the restaurant ahead of time on the day of. You can come and pick the food when I am done. As for the clothes, you can bring them at the end of the day."

If they take care of them separately, even if they were caught, they could just say that they were exchanging things between relatives and that it was not a trade.

Wang Nianzhen liked the idea as well. She returned to her work with a smile after complimenting Tong Xuelu.

After she returned to the restaurant, Meng Qingqing asked, "What did that woman want?"

Both Tan Xiaoyan and Liu Dongchang looked over when Meng Qingqing asked.

Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes inwardly and said, "I used to work with her sister at the garment factory. She recognized me earlier and told me something about her sister."

With that, Meng Qingqing did not pursue the subject any further.

Wang Nianzhen came looking for Tong Xuelu a couple of days later and said to meet after work that day.

Tong Xuelu was delighted after she learned that.

The government closed very on time the next day.

After walking out of the restaurant, Tong Xuelu waved and parted ways with Meng Qingqing before she headed toward an opposite direction of where her home was.

She turned into a hidden alleyway and made the sound of a cuckoo bird.

Shortly after, another cuckoo sound came from around the corner.

It was comical how the two acted like they were members of some underground organization.

Wang Nianzhen quickly appeared from around the corner with a sack in her hand. It looked to be quite solid. "Comrade Tong, I have what you want here."

Tong Xuelu pulled out a cotton jacket and looked at it. She rubbed the fabric with her fingers. It was nice and thick and looked to be very warm.

Tong Xuelu was very pleased. "How much?"

Wang Nianzhen said, "40.57 yuan. You can just round it down. The rest are a token of appreciation for your help on the braised pork."

Tong Xuelu did want to take advantage of her. She paid Wang Nianzhen 40.6 yuan.

She already got a bargain deal on these clothes. It would not be right to take more advantage.

Seeing that Tong Xuelu paid her over the amount, Wang Nianzhen quickly said, "Hold on. Let me give you change."

Tong Xuelu waved her hands and said, "That won't be necessary. Hurry up and take off. We don't want to be seen by others."

Wang Nianzhen thought about it some and stopped looking for change. She had already provided Tong Xuelu with a lower amount. "Alright. And, I will be bringing the pork over to the restaurant in three days' time."

Tong Xuelu nodded and urged her to take off again.

Wang Nianzhen didn't want to be seen either. She turned and ran off.

When Wang Nianzhen could no longer be seen, Tong Xuelu finally said, "C'mon out, you two."

Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin finally appeared from the other end of the alleyway.

Tong Jiaxin was so excited that his face was red. "Big Sister, are there really clothes inside?"

Tong Xuelu nodded, "That's right, but don't look at them here. Look when we get home. Jiaming, put two sets in your pocket and Jiaxin will take 2 sets as well."

Tong Xuelu carried her own three sets. That way they wouldn't draw too much attention.

The three of them put the clothes into their respective bag and also hurried out of the alleyway.

When they had gotten home, Tong Jiaming went to pick up Tong Mianmian from the Wei's before they started to unwarp the clothes.

Tong Xuelu had three sets. She had already told the two brothers about that ahead of time.

They did not have any opinion on that.

Tong Xuelu, after all, did not bring any clothes with her. Tong Zhenzhen was shorter than Tong Xuelu and Tong Xuelu would not be able to wear her clothes.

Besides, she was making money now. It was only fair that she got two extra sets for herself.

As for Tong Mianmian having two sets, the two had even less to say about that.

As much as Tong Jiaxin liked to tease her all the time, he still doted on his little sister a lot.

Tong Jiaxin plled out his own cotton jacket and was almost grinning from ear to ear. "Let me try it on right now!"

He put his jacket on and asked everyone unabashedly, "What do you think? Looks good on me, right?"

Nobody paid him any attention as everyone was busy with their own clothes.

Tong Mianmian twisted her little hands together, her cheeks red. "Big Sister, Mianmian wants to try on her clothes too."

The little bun looked at her with her black, grape-like eyes. There was desire in them. But she was also blushing from shyness.

She was so cute.

Tong Xuelu gave her a peck on her cheeks before she helped her put on her new cloth.

It was slightly big on her, but the child was still growing. They would need to buy something a size or two larger so they would still fit later on.

Tong Mianmian's eyes beamed when she had her new cloth on. "Big Sister, how does Mianmian look?"

Haha, what a vain little girl?

Tong Xuelu pinched her little cheek a little and said affirmatively, "Very good. Everything looks good on our Mianmian!"

The little bun's eyes turned into new moon shape when she heard that.

The puppy, hearing the liveliness over where they were, also came to join in the fun.

Tong Mianmian worried that the puppy would pee on her clothes and shouted for her new clothes to be taken away. The house could not have been livelier.

Tong Jiaming looked at his brother and sister bantering thenTong Xuelu, who was watching them with a grin on her face. Suddenly, an unfamiliar feeling rose from his heart. It was a warm feeling that made his nose feel a bit sour and his eyes water.

When his parents passed away, he felt that the sky was crashing down on him. Even though he kept telling his little brother and sister that things would be alright, in truth, he was as panicked as they were.

He couldn't have been more scared. He worried that he would not be able to support his younger siblings, and even worse, he was terrified that they would be brought back to the village by their grandmother and their uncles.

Tong Xuelu showed up at his most fearful and most helpless moment.

He had thought that the only reason for her return was to achieve their personal goals with the help of the other. He needed her to help fight off their grandmother's side, while she needed a place to stay and a job.

He thought that a cold partnership was all there was and all there will ever be between them.

Yet ever since her arrival, they have been able to eat meat frequently, and they no longer needed to send most of their earnings to their relatives back in the village.

They were able to live in a nice house, have their own bicycle, and now even receive new clothes for the winter.

All of these changes took place after her arrival.

Tong Jiaming's lips pinched shut a little. He had wanted to call Tong Xuelu "Big Sister" much like Tong Jiaxin, but after his lips parted and shut a few times, he still wasn't about to say it out loud.

Just like the day that they received the bicycle, Tong Jiaxin was so excited that he wasn't able to fall asleep the entire night and almost couldn't get up the next day.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cold yet. Otherwise, he would otherwise have gone to school in his new clothes and be the envy of everyone.

The two pushed the bicycle with them to school again.

That was right. They were pushing it, not riding it.

Tong Jiaming had already learned to ride the bicycle, but he still wasn't able to carry a passenger with him. He didn't want to bring the bicycle to school, but unfortunately, Tong Jiaxin liked to brag too much.

He felt that it was a waste to leave the bicycle at home. Even if they couldn't ride it, they would still push it to school, so the other kids at school would know that they own a bicycle.

As expected, their classmates were very envious of them. A few even became Tong Jiaxin's underlings just for the opportunity to touch the bicycle.

That very morning the two ran into Jiang Ming when they arrived at the entrance of the school, pushing their bicycle with them.

What a coincidence.

The timing could not have been better.

Tong Jiaxin gave Jiang Ming a haughty look and purposefully said in a loud voice, "Second Brother, let me ride the bicycle on our way home today. I am certain that I will have it figured out with today's practice!"

Tong Jiaming knew that his little brother was trying to show off in front of Jiang Ming and kindly cooperated with him. "Okay."

The smile on Tong Jiaxin's face deepened. Bobbing his head and shaking his bottom, he couldn't have been more complacent.

Jiang Ming's brows were furrowed as he stared at Tong Jiaxin.

It was all because of this tool's sister that his life was a mess right now. After his aunt was denounced, his whole family became the laughingstock of others, and his parents were scolded.

It was all the fault of this tool and his family!

The more Jiang Ming thought about it, the angrier he became. Suddenly, he lowered his head and charged toward Tong Jiaxin.

Tong Jiaming had been watching Jiang Ming this entire time just in case he tried something, so when he saw Jiang Ming charging toward Tong Jiaxin, he quickly grabbed his little brother out of the way.

Completely missing Tong Jiaxin, Jiang Ming wasn't able to stop himself on time and fell straight onto the ground.

When Tong Jiaxin finally realized what had happened, his face reddened from anger.

He ran up and kicked Jiang Ming. "You shameless Jiang Ming. How dare you try to hit me?"

Jiang Ming had scratched his palms on his way down, and he gasped from the pain.

Hearing Tong Jiaxin scolding him, he looked up and yelled, "You are the shameless one! Your Big Sister is even more shameless. Your whole family is shameless!"

Tong Jiaxin was so angry that smoke could come out of his head. "You are the shameless one! Your aunt was in an affair! Your whole family is full of bad seeds!"

All the students around them looked over at Jiang Ming when they heard that.

79 Seeing his cheeks turn red visibly, Tong Xuelu was dumbfounded.

"So he was the nephew of that teacher who was having an affair?"

"Yeah, that's him. My mom said to stay away from him. An affair is so embarrassing."

"That's what my mom said as well. She said she will break my legs if I dare play with him!"

Hearing what the others were saying, Jiang Ming's face turned the color of pig liver, and he started gritting his teeth.

He got back up and was about to lunge at Tong Jiaxin again when he was kicked aside by Tong Jiaming.

Staggering two steps back, he fell onto the ground once again.

Tong Jiaxin jumped up and down in anger. "Your aunt was in an affair. Your grandfather was corrupt. He accepted bribery and stole the country's properties. It's just right that he was arrested. Your whole family is full of bad people!"

Jiang Ming was taken aback.

His grandfather was arrested?

How could that be?

His mother had told him that his grandfather had gone out of town and wouldn't be back for a month.

He recollected himself and said through gritted teeth, "Tong Jiaxin, you coward. If you keep spewing lies, I am going to go tell the teachers!"

Tong Jiaxin twisted his butt. "Go right ahead. Don't let me stop you. Your grandfather was arrested. In fact, he just might get the death penalty!"

The death penalty?!

The students around them gasped when they heard that. All of them moved as far away from Jiang Ming as possible.

Tong Jiaming tucked at Tong Jiaxin's sleeve and disagreed with his behavior. "Stop talking already. Class is about to start."

Tong Jiaxin finally made a face at Jiang Ming before he turned and ran off.

The other students, too, ran off one by one. The playground fell into silence all of a sudden.

Jiang Ming was left sitting on the ground. The more he thought about it, the more scared he was. He ran back, crying to the adults at home.

Nevertheless, it was chaotic at home, so nobody had the time to pay him any attention.

Jiang Ming was unhappy that he was being ignored by the adults. As such, he rolled on the ground and threw a fit as usual.

Because of Jiang Huarong, all of the members of the Jiang family had been fired from their jobs.

Everybody was annoyed, scared, and worried. They wooed Jiang Ming for a little bit, but that did not stop his fit.

Jiang Ming's father finally got angry and slapped him across his face.

Jiang Ming's face was pushed to one side, and blood started dripping from his nose.

Jiang Ming had been coddled since he was a child, and nobody had ever laid a finger on him.

As such, he was utterly stunned by the slap, his cheek turning red. However, being the hard-headed boy that he was, he couldn't just stay still and be wronged. Thus, after he had recollected himself, he didn't even wipe away the blood from his nose before he headbutted his dad in the stomach.

Taking the hit on his stomach unprepared, Jiang Ming's father gasped from the pain.

He was feeling a little guilty from hitting his son, but now, he was angered all over again and lifted his foot, kicking Jiang Ming away.

Jiang Ming was sent flying, his head bumping into the wall behind him. Blood started seeping out of the back of his head.

Jiang Ming blinked twice before losing consciousness completely.

In an instant, the Jiang family plunged into chaos.

On top of concrete evidence, there was nothing that the Jiang family could do as multiple forces kept an eye out on Jiang Huarong.

They tried to plead with their friends and families for help, but all of them, who normally buttered up to their family, were avoiding them.

They also tried to look for Jiang Danhong, intending to have her retract her complaint against Jiang Huarong, but they weren't even able to see her in person!

Jiang Huarong's sentence had finally been finalized after a few days.

Jiang Huarong received the death penalty for his multiple crimes of abusing the children of war heroes, abusing his power for personal gain, accepting bribery, and encroaching on government properties.

Some of the members of the Jiang family were involved in these crimes as well. As such, some had been punished and sent to the farm for somewhere between 1-5 years.

Jiang Ming, who was still young and innocent, was not sent to the farm.

Nevertheless, all his family members were sent away, and he was not able to live on his own.

With no other option, he was sent to live with his relatives, but nobody wanted to touch him or be near him within a 10-foot pole.

They didn't have a choice but to take care of him, however. As such, the relatives came to an agreement that they would each take him for a period of time.

Jiang Ming was passed around among his relatives. He wasn't able to attend school anymore nor was he welcomed at his relatives' places.

His life had become very pitiful.

After Wen Rugui found out about the sentencing, he took time off and returned to the city.

He first went to visit Jiang Danhong.

Jiang Danhong had been following Jiang Huarong's case. She knew that he had received the death sentence while the other members of the Jiang family were being sent to the farm.

She was so emotional again that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Her retaliation against the Jiang family was over. All that was left was the captain of the Red Star production team and his son.

She would not let anyone who had wronged her get away!

After learning that she remained determined on reporting her husband's family, Wen Rugui nodded and said, "If you have your mind made up, we will help you!"

Jiang Danhong said with appreciation, "Thank you, Comrade Wen. If it wasn't for you, I would have never been able to avenge my little brother!"

Pu Jianyi, who standing next to them, "?"

What about me? What about me?

She only thanked Wen Rugui. But he had helped too!

Jiang Danhong acted like she didn't see his longing look at all and just ignored him.

It wasn't so much that Jiang Danhong was being unappreciative, but during her stay at the Pu's, Pu Jianyi didn't stop trying to talk her out of reporting her husband's family.

She had wanted very much to punch him in his face, but she couldn't as he had helped her a lot in the past.

He had never tried to walk in her shoes. Who was he to tell her to be forgiving?

She was already kind enough to not have punched him. And he wanted her to thank him?

That was hilarious!

As the child of war heroes, the Jiang's house was reassigned to her.

She could also get back a portion of her dowries, but Jiang Danhong had declined that offer. Instead, she handed them all over to the country.

In addition to those, she could also pick a position out of those held by the Jiang family members.

After some consideration, Jiang Danhong decided to be a teacher.

She had taught at the production team. As such, teaching was the only skill that she possessed.

After the Jiang family had been sent to the farm, Jiang Danhong moved from Pu Jianyi's place to the Jiang's.

She, however, did not plan on staying there for very long. Her plan was to sell the house as soon as possible.

Then she would move into the dormitory provided by the school.

The matters with Jiang Danhong had more or less been wrapped up. As for reporting her husband's family, it was a much easier process than filing a report on Jiang Huarong.

There would be others who would follow up. Wen Rugui would not need to be engaged in that personally.

After he had parted ways with Jiang Danhong, he took a trip home.

When Old Mr. Wen saw him again, he frowned immediately.

"You took more time off? You have taken more time off this year than the last 7 to 8 years combined!"

Old Mr. Wen was happy to see his grandson, but as someone from the older generation, he always took matters seriously and disapproved that his grandson had taken so much time off recently.

Wen Rugui pinched his lips shut a little and said, "I had been taking care of what I needed to. I won't be taking any more time off in the near future."

Old Mr. Wen harrumphed. "You have taken care of the matters with regards to the Jiang's, but what about your own matters?"

Wen Rugui was taken aback a little. "What matters?"

Old Mr. Wen didn't even know where to start. "You did not report Jiang Huarong because of some war heroes' children. You did it all for Young Grass. Now that you have put in so much effort in this, aren't you going to let her know about it?"

Wen Rugui, "…"

Old Mr. Wen could tell what was on his mind right away. He was angry that his beard shook. "You really don't plan on telling her about it?"

Wen Rugui agreed casually. "Mmhmm."

"What 'mmhmm'?" Old Mr. Wen was short of using profanity. "How are you ever going to land Young Grass at this rate?"

Wen Rugui lowered his eyes, which showed some heaviness, and said in a serious tone, "Grandpa, I only helped her because it was the right thing to do."

Smoke was about to come out of the top of Old Mr. Wen's head. "Right thing to do my *. You are obviously fond of Young Grass. Why else would you have taken so much time off work?"

Wen Rugui's eyelids fluttered as he looked at Old Mr. Wen blankly.

There were a few seconds of silence in the living room.

Looking at his dazed look, Old Mr. Wen could feel a headache coming on. "Don't tell me that you are not aware that you are fond of her."

Wen Rugui still looked calm on the outside, but it was like a storm was brewing inside his heart.

Was he really fond of Comrade Tong?

Was this what being fond of someone was like?

Wen Rugui still looked dumbfounded when he walked out of the military compound.

He had planned to go straight back to base after visiting his grandpa.

But after he had stepped out, his body uncontrollably made its way toward the south side of the town.

In order to help Wang Nianzhen make braised pork, Tong Xuelu had made large pots of food at the restaurant before she took some time off and returned home to work on the favor.

She worked with alacrity and handed over the finished braised pork to Wang Nianzhen in no time.

Seeing that she had time, Tong Xuelu boiled some hot water to bathe the puppy before it got too late.

The puppy had not been bathed since they had brought it home, so it was getting smelly.

Halfway through the bathing, she heard knocking on the door.

Her hands were covered in bubbles, and she wasn't able to step away without letting the puppy make a mess.

As such, Wei Zhuzhu and Tong Mianmian volunteered to go and get the door for her.

Tong Xuelu latthered some soap on the puppy and talked to the puppy at the same time. "How does it feel, Little One?"

The puppy narrowed its eyes and barked in his milky way.

Tong Xuelu's heart trembled from its cuteness. She suddenly remembered that they had yet to name the puppy. "Oh right, we haven't given you a name yet! What would you like to be your name? Wangcai (prosperity)? Laifu (blessings)?"

Tong Xuelu chuckled by herself at the cliché names.

Suddenly, she saw the patch of black hair on the puppy's forehead that was shaped like a heart. An idea occurred to her, and she said, "How about Xiao Gui?"

The puppy didn't seem very pleased with the name, growling at her a couple of times. "Bark. Bark."

Tong Xuelu tried to convince him. "Let me tell you. I know someone by the name of Wen Rugui. He's super good-looking. If you take his name, you might even grow into a big and handsome dog someday!"

Having said that, she suddenly noticed that something was off.

She lifted her head and met Wen Rugui's ink-black eyes.

Tong Xuelu, "…"

Tong Xuelu only wished to cry. QAQ

Why did she keep putting herself in such embarrassing situations?

Nevertheless, as long as she refused to feel embarrassed, then it would be the puppy who felt embarrassed.*

With that plan, Tong Xuelu smiled and asked, "Hi, Comrade Wen! What brought you here?"

Meeting her limpid eyes, Wen Rugui could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

She said he's good-looking!

He's good-looking!

Good looking!

Looking!

Did that mean that he had a special place in her heart, too?

Seeing how he was staring at her blankly, Tong Xuelu had a bad feeling. Was he mad at her?

"Comrade Wen, I was just kidding. I didn't mean 'gui' as in your name. I meant 'gui' as in turtle."

As soon as she had finished saying that, she wanted to smack herself.

What was she talking about? The more she rambled on, the more awkward the situation was getting.

She cleared her throat and said, "Look at me misspeaking again. I meant 'gui' as in osmanthus. I am thinking about naming this puppy Xiao Gui. What do you think?"

Wen Rugui, "! ! !"

Truth was, he didn't hear a word after a certain point. All he knew was that his heart started to pound loudly in his chest when he heard her saying that he was good-looking. He didn't hear anything else after that.

He finally caught on after her explanation. She was thinking about naming the puppy 'Xiao Gui'?

Could he interpret her wanting to name her puppy after him because she was interested in him?

That idea made him blush from his cheeks to his ears instantly.

THROB! THROB! THROB!

Wen Rugui was glad that the two were standing quite some distance apart. Otherwise, she would have been able to hear his heart pounding.

Seeing his cheeks turn red visibly, Tong Xuelu was dumbfounded.

Translator's note:

Chinese slang "As long as I refused to feel embarrassed, it would be others who feel embarrassed"

80 And the two boys fell onto the ground together.

Was he really mad at her?

He didn't seem like someone so petty. Then again, it was her fault. She was the one who compared him to a puppy.

Tong Xuelu thought about it some and decided to patch things up some more. "I guess Xiao Gui isn't that good of a name after all. Comrade Wen is well-educated. Perhaps you can come up with a name for it?"

Wen Rugui recollected himself and suddenly had an idea. "Perhaps we can name it Xiao Lu?"

She had suggested using his name. Suggesting to use her name would only be the right thing to do.

Tong Xuelu, "…."

That really wouldn't be necessary.

Tong Xuelu felt that she had a newfound understanding of Wen Rugui. Underneath his gentlemanly front was a meanie!

To one side, Wei Zhuzhu was mesmerized by Wen Rugui's beauty.

Suddenly recollecting herself, she chimed in. "Big Sister Xuelu said to name it Xiao Gui [turtle, and pretty Big Brother said to name it Xiao Lu. Perhaps we can combine them both and name it Lugui?"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

Green-haired turtle?

What the heck?

Oh, heck no. Take that back immediately, please!

Wen Rugui's eyes lit up. They were so bright that they could rival stars in the night sky. His look made Tong Xuelu panic.

Tong Xuelu quickly said, "Perhaps we should name it mooncake instead."

It was almost mid-autumn festival, and she would like to have some mooncakes.

Wen Rugui felt a little bit disappointed. He quite liked Lugui to be honest.

But if she didn't like it, they would go with what she liked.

Tong Mianmian gulped and clapped her hands when she heard the word 'mooncake'. "Mooncakes are delicious!"

Wei Zhuzhu, too, would like to have some mooncakes. She nodded and expressed her approval. "Okay, mooncake it is. After Mooncake has grown, we can slaughter it and turn it into a dog meat mooncake."

Wen Rugui, "…"

Tong Xuelu, "…"

Little buddy Wei Zhuzhu, if you keep talking like that, you are going to have a hard time keeping your little friends.

And just like that, the awkwardness had dissipated.

Tong Xuelu quickly rinsed off Mooncake and wiped it dry with a towel. She then had Wei Zhuzhu and Tong Mianmian bring it over to dry under the sun. They wouldn't want it to catch a cold.

Wei Zhuzhu felt that Mooncake was much more attractive after it had been bathed, so she instantly abandoned Wen Rugui and his good looks and carried Mooncake over to dry under the sun.

Tong Mianmian pitter-pattered behind her, and the two little girls chattered between themselves.

Tong Xuelu cleaned up her things and asked again, "How come you are back in the Capital City today? Do you have a day off at the base?"

Wen Rugui walked over to help her with the cleanup. "No, the sentencing of the Jiang family is today, so I took the day off to come and check it out."

Tong Xuelu was shocked. "The Jiang family? Are you talking about the same Jiang family that I am thinking about?"

Wen Rugui nodded. "Yes, same one. Jiang Huarong."

Tong Xuelu was even more baffled. "Had he crossed Comrade Wen as well?"

Wen Rugui looked at her with his ink-black eyes, and recalling what Old Mr. Wen had told him, he suddenly had an urge to tell everything that he did for her.

The atmosphere around them heated up as though there was something in the air that could make one's cheeks blush and one's heart pound.

Tong Xuelu was even more befuddled by his look. However, it all became clear the very next second as she heard him saying––

"No, he did not offend me, but he offended you."

THUD!

Tong Xuelu felt that something had drummed in her heart, "The Jiang family had all been turned in to the police. Did Comrade Wen have something to do with that?"

The setting sun looked like a spilled glass of orange juice that coated the entire sky a deep red and orange.

Rays of the sunset casted down on Wen Rugui, and his face seemed to have turned red again. "Mmm."

He further told her how he had taken the train to look for Jiang Danhong at Beihe and how he had worked with Old Mr. Wen and Pu Jianyi to report Jiang Huarong and bring him down.

His words were objective and nonchalant. He did not emphasize on how much work he had put in, but he didn't need to say anything about it. Tong Xuelu could tell how much effort he had put in and how dire the circumstances he had experienced because of her.

He left for Beihe straight from her place. That was right after he had just come back from his work trip. In fact, he was so tired then that he had lost his voice. Regardless of what he was feeling, he went all the way over to Beihe… for her.

Tong Xuelu felt that someone had shoved a handful of honeyed sour dates into her mouth. She felt sweetness that spread to her heart and a hint of sourness that made her nose tingle and her eyes water.

"Thank you, Comrade Wen!"

When she heard about the Jiang family from Mother Xiao, she thought that Jiang Huarong had offended someone important, and she was pleased that he got what he deserved, not just for his crimes against others but also toward her siblings.

She never would have thought that it wasn't so much that a god had heard their prayers for retribution after all. All the punishments that the Jiang family had received were caused by external forces.

In fact, it was none other than Wen Rugui, who had facilitated matters the entire time.

"No problem."

Her limpid eyes were sparkling, and they were filled with appreciation toward him. Being looked at by her like that, Wen Rugui's heart pounded again.

Tong Xuelu's eyes subconsciously glanced over the reddened tips of his ears, and she asked him seriously, "Comrade Wen, are you this nice to everyone?"

Wen Rugui was taken aback a little, and in the next moment, he stuttered, "No, not like this. I am only nice to you."

As soon as he had said that, he realized that he may have gone overboard. "That's, that's not what I meant…"

Tong Xuelu raised her brows a little. "What is your meaning then, Comrade Wen? Do you help other female comrades the same way all the time?"

Wen Rugui shook his head nonstop. "No, I did not help other female comrades." Never had.

Seeing how the nervous Wen Rugui was acting like a kindergarten kid in front of a strict teacher, Tong Xuelu finally couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Relax, Comrade Wen. I am just teasing you. I am very glad to hear that."

The setting sun casted a glow on her already reddened cheeks.

Looking at her face, Wen Rugui wasn't able to avert his eyes at all.

Suddenly, there was a knocking on the door and an unfamiliar male voice –

"Zhuzhu, are you in there?"

Before Tong Xuelu could react, Wei Zhuzhu shouted out from the other side, "That's my ugly Big Brother!"

Having said that, she ran off from Tong Mianmian and pitter-pattered over to open the door.

Tong Xuelu couldn't help but become curious. The romantic atmosphere between them was all gone.

After a little while, Wei Zhuzhu walked inside with a tall young man.

The young man was around 17 to 18 years old. He was tall and fair looking. He was not ugly at all. If there was one thing that they could nitpick about his appearance, it would be his tan.

He paused a little when he saw Tong Xuelu. Then with a shy look on his face, he said, "Hi, you must be Comrade Tong. I am Wei Ran, Wei Zhuzhu's Big Brother."

Tong Xuelu smiled and responded. "Hi, I am Tong Xuelu. I've heard a lot about you from Grandma Shen and Zhuzhu."

Wei Zhuzhu interjected. "Big Sister Xuelu, do you agree that my Big Brother is very ugly? I've always felt that he was adopted!"

Everyone, "…"

Tong Xuelu almost laughed out loud.

Wei Ran blushed even more. He looked down at his little sister and gave her a fake glare. "Stop with your craziness. We are siblings from the same parents. If I am ugly, then so are you!"

Wei Zhuzhu's eyes widened,as though the realization had shocked her. "You are lying! We don't look alike. I am like Big Sister Xuelu. We are both beautiful!"

Looking at the two siblings bantering with each other, Tong Xuelu found their interaction very amusing.

Next to them, Wen Rugui frowned almost unnoticeably. His heart almost stopped pounding.

The smile on Tong Xuelu made Wei Ran blush even more.

He handed over a bag and some vegetables that he had brought with him. "My grandmother told me to bring these over."

Tong Xuelu took them from him and looked inside the bag. Inside the bag was a white dress.

The dress was done a couple of days ago, but the waist didn't fit perfectly. Shen Wanrong had insisted on making it perfect, which was why Tong Xuelu was getting it just now.

Tong Xuelu said with appreciation, "Thank your Grandmother for me when you get home."

Wei Ran dared not look at her anymore. He acknowledged what she said and left with Wei Zhuzhu.

Wen Rugui secretly let out a sigh of relief after Wei Ran was gone.

Tong Xuelu looked at the sky and said, "Why don't you stay for dinner tonight, Comrade Wen?"

Wen Rugui paused for a little and nodded. "I shall. Thank you so much."

"No problem."

After days of practice, Tong Jiaxin could sort of ride the bicycle already.

Nevertheless, his legs weren't long enough and could only sit on the cross bar when he rode it. The two brothers would take turns on their way back home.

It was Tong Jiaming's turn again when they reached the alleyway.

Tong Jiaming suddenly wanted to see whether he would be able to carry a passenger with him. As such, he turned and said to Tong Jiaxin, "Hope on. I'll take you."

Tong Jiaxin's eyes widened. "Are you sure about that?"

Men don't like the abilities questioned, and neither do boys.

With Tong Jiaxin doubting his abilities, Tong Jiaming became competitive all of a sudden. "Just hop on!"

Seeing how confident his Second Brother was, Tong Jiaxin leaped onto the back seat and said, "Okay. I'm ready!"

With an additional person in the back, the bicycle became even heavier.

Tong Jiaming almost immediately lost control of the bicycle. Not wanting to lose face, he put in his best effort with his face turning red from embarrassment and effort. Finally, the bicycle started in a wobbly fashion.

Seeing that his Second Brother could really take a passenger with him, Tong Jiaxin couldn't help but say happily, "Second Brother, you can take a passenger now. That's awesome! When we go to school from now on, …"

The bicycle turned to one side all of a sudden before Tong Jiaxin could even finish his sentence.

With a loud BANG, both of the boys and the bicycle fell onto the ground.

The two of them gasped in pain.

Tong Jiaming got up on his feet, and ignoring the fact that his knees were bleeding, he was just about to turn and check on his brother.

But before he could say anything, he heard Tong Jiaxin's pained voice. "The bicycle is broken. This is all your fault, Second Brother! You shouldn't have forced it if you didn't know how to carry someone with you!"

Tong Jiaming, "…"

In Tong Jiaxin's mind, was the bicycle more important than his brother?

The truth was always hurtful.

From Tong Jiaxin's perspective, the bicycle was his biggest treasure.

Tong Jiaxin didn't even care about his own injuries. He picked the bicycle up, and when he noticed that the front of it was crooked, his heart ached really badly.

Tong Xuelu quickly learned that they had crashed the bicycle when the two boys got home.

She, however, didn't say much about it. They were boys, and boys had thick skins; taking a fall wasn't a big deal.

The Wei's had sent over some taros, and her plan was to make Hakka stuffed tofu, garlic greens, and sweet and crispy taros.

To make the Hakka stuffed tofu, she carved out a hole in the middle of the tofu and placed the prepared meat stuffing inside of it before placing and frying the tofu in the pan.

When both sides were a golden color, she added in some water and spices and braised until the sauce thickened.

Wen Rugui sat next to her while peeling the taros to help. He was quite distracted, looking over at her from time to time.

Tong Xuelu, on the other hand, was fast and very focused while preparing food, much like he was with his experiments.

The corners of his lips curved upward uncontrollably when he discovered the similarities between the two of them.

Noticing his look, Tong Xuelu turned and smiled. "Be careful, Comrade Wen. You wouldn't want to cut your hands again."

Wen Rugui recollected himself, the tips of his ears reddening a little. "It was just an accident last time. I… I cook quite well, really."

He always remembered what she had said. He did, however, have a little guilty conscience when he said that out loud.

His cooking was nothing when compared to hers.

Tong Xuelu had no idea that her words had a powerful effect in his life, prompting the usually indifferent man to change and go beyond what he was normally comfortable with. Nonetheless, her lips curved, and she said, "Right. Perhaps I will get to try Comrade Wen's cooking sometime."

Wen Rugui thought about something and nodded seriously. "For sure!"

After Tong Xuelu had finished her Hakka stuffed tofu, she started on the garlic greens.

Once she was done with the garlic greens, she washed the pot and got ready for the sweet and crispy taros.

Wen Rugui had already chopped the taros into small pieces, so Tong Xuelu just had to add oil into the pot before frying them to perfection.

Sweet and crispy taros required a lot of oil and sugar. She would not have normally made them, but she owed Wen Rugui too much.

She was not able to repay him just yet, so all she could do right now was to make him good food.