Chapter 21: Let’s Not Mix Ourselves Into the Zhang Family’s Internal Conflicts!
“Oh, Qinqin is back!”
“And you brought your boyfriend!”
“Quick, have a seat!”
“Hey, Hongqiang, take the other little ones, grab some dishes, and go eat on the side!”
“Mom!” Lin Wan called out to interrupt her. Since they had already taken the money to let them get married, why bother dragging things out and making a scene?
Wouldn’t that just cause unnecessary complications?
If they did that, wouldn’t all the effort she put into making things happen be completely wasted? Besides, she had taken their money, so providing a bit of customer service was only proper. What did it matter if the customer showed a bit of attitude?
In this era, the purchasing power of one hundred yuan was equivalent to three or four thousand yuan at the time Lin Wan transmigrated. If calculated by the price of gold, it would be even more staggering. In the 1960s, the recycling price of gold was only a few yuan per gram, and it was a strict case of the state buying it back but never selling. Before Lin Wan transmigrated, the price per gram of gold had nearly broken the thousand-yuan mark.
“Just squeeze in a bit, it’s just one more person and one more pair of chopsticks anyway,” Lin Wan said with a beaming smile.
Guo Xuyang scoffed lightly, “No need.”
The mother and daughter were playing off each other seamlessly. What did they take him and Zhang Qin for? Beggars? Zhang Qin was the biological daughter of this house, yet these two who had usurped the nest were acting like the masters.
He set the Gongnong liquor on the cabinet beside them and said bluntly, “Zhang Qin and I have registered our marriage certificate.”
“I plan to take her with me to the military base.”
“Coming over today is just to give you all a heads-up.”
The members of the Zhang family were completely dumbfounded upon hearing this.
“What do you mean?”
“Registered the certificate?”
“Wait a minute, Little Guo. You didn’t arrange for the parents from both sides to meet, you didn’t send a matchmaker to propose, and you didn’t give a bride price. On what grounds do you get to marry my sister?” Bao Yan was the first to explode.
Zhong Hongmei followed suit, training her fire on Zhang Qin who was hiding behind Guo Xuyang. “Zhang Qin, speak up! Are you really that cheap? The man gives you absolutely nothing, and you just follow him?”
“How much must he look down on you to give you nothing at all?”
Tears instantly fell from Zhang Qin’s eyes, splashing helplessly onto the wooden floor.
Lin Wan: “…”
What a beautiful white lotus swaying in the wind!
Huang Guixiang was just about to fan the flames and add a few sharp words when Lin Wan tugged at her sleeve.
“Mom, come out with me for a moment.”
“Hongqiang, you come along too.”
With his big sister calling, Zhang Hongqiang immediately set down his bowl, though not before shoving two huge mouthfuls of rice into his mouth, stuffing his cheeks until they bulged out like a hamster’s.
The mother and son followed Lin Wan downstairs.
Huang Guixiang asked Lin Wan, “Wanwan, why did you call Mom and Hongqiang out?”
Lin Wan scanned their surroundings. Seeing that no one was around—as all the neighbors had run up to the second floor to crowd around and watch the Zhang family’s drama—she spoke up.
“That’s the Zhang family’s internal business. Let’s not mix ourselves into it!”
“No matter whose side we take, we won’t get any thanks for it!”
With that, she smiled and flaunted the money and coupons in her hand. “Huo Xiao gave these to me. He told me to take you two to the state-owned restaurant for a great meal!”
Just as Zhang Hongqiang was about to cheer, Lin Wan pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh…”
“Eating a private treat must be done secretly!”
“We can’t let the people at home know, got it?”
Zhang Hongqiang hurriedly covered his mouth and nodded repeatedly.
Huang Guixiang was still a bit reluctant. “Why eat at the state-owned restaurant? The dishes at home are just as good!”
“Save the money and coupons for yourself. A man isn’t poor from eating or wearing, but he’ll be poor for life if he doesn’t calculate properly!”
Lin Wan wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her out of the residential area. “Mom!”
“I tested into a job at the post office, so I originally wanted to celebrate properly. But there are too many people at home. It wasn’t easy to get a chance for the three of us to slip away without anyone noticing. Don’t ruin my mood!”
“Your son-in-law’s monthly allowance is over a hundred yuan!”
“If your daughter can’t even eat whatever she wants with that, what’s the point of finding him? I might as well find someone making twenty or thirty a month!”
Huang Guixiang was completely won over by her skewed logic. She raised a hand to poke her forehead, rolling her eyes as she said, “You really are…”
Lin Wan took the mother-son duo to the state-owned restaurant and treated them to a magnificent feast of dumplings—some stuffed with mixed seafood and pork, others with pure meat. It was incredibly satisfying. She even ordered a braised fish.
By the end of the meal, Zhang Hongqiang ate so much he practically wanted to support himself against the wall to walk. Terrified that he wouldn’t be able to digest it, Lin Wan secretly slipped him a Jianwei Xiaoshi tablet, telling him to chew and swallow it.
The tablet had a sweet and sour taste, making Zhang Hongqiang assume it was candy. In his heart, he thought his sister was truly the best! She gave him dumplings and fish to eat, and even gave him candy! She really spoiled him!
Mom was right! When Sister snatched his food in the past, it was only so she could grow up quickly. Now that she was grown up and earning money, she would buy meat and candy for him to eat!
Eldest Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law kept saying Sister was no good, that as an older sister, she ought to leave all the good food for her younger brother. They claimed no older sister in the world was as selfish and greedy as his sister, not only ignoring her brother but even stealing his food… They were just jealous! They were just malicious! They just wanted to see him and his sister at odds!
╭(╯^弦)╮ Good thing he didn’t fall for it!
“Sis, in the future, if we get to eat eggs, I’ll give all the yolks to you!”
“When we eat meat dishes, I’ll help you snatch the meat, and all my meat will be given to you to eat!” Zhang Hongqiang’s words came straight from the heart.
“If Brother-in-law ever treats you poorly, just tell me and I’ll teach him a lesson!” He puffed out his thin little chest, his expression as determined as if he were taking an oath to join the Party!
Lin Wan couldn’t help but laugh up a storm. She rubbed his head. “Well, thank you so much, my good brother!”
“Need to use the restroom?”
“I think I do.”
Zhang Hongqiang: “Let’s go!”
Lin Wan looked toward Huang Guixiang, who shook her head. “I won’t go. I’ll wait for you guys here.”
The siblings headed to the restroom.
Lin Wan finished using the women’s room and stepped out, only to hear Zhang Hongqiang shouting from the adjacent men’s room: “Sis, I’m taking a dump! Go on outside first!”
Uh…
As Lin Wan turned the corner, she overheard voices speaking.
“Master, please help me out of a tight spot! The bride’s family wants to host a few extra tables for the wedding, and they’re demanding that every single table must have chicken, duck, and fish… Where on earth am I supposed to secure so many chickens, ducks, and fish…”
“Beat it, beat it! I don’t own the state-owned restaurant. Without coupons, there’s nothing I can do either!”
“Why don’t you check out the black market?”
“Oh, Master! I went to the black market, but I ran right into the patrol team. Not only did someone snatch the one yuan I had just handed over and run off, but I almost got caught by the patrol team myself…”
Lin Wan: Well, isn’t this a buyer delivering himself right to my doorstep?
However, how to sell to him was a problem. She hid in the corner without moving, continuing to eavesdrop. It was only after the two of them had departed that she stepped out.
A plump cook and his young apprentice.
She would inquire later about their names and where they lived. Lin Wan felt she might have just discovered a safe method to conduct business—one that carried no risk and wouldn’t get her caught.
Hehehe.
“Sis, what are you laughing about?” Having finished his business, Zhang Hongqiang approached her. The way his sister smiled looked a bit like a major villain. In the dead of night, it felt a little eerie.
Lin Wan took a massive step backward, pinching her nose as she fanned the air with her hand. “Stay away from me!”
This kid had squatted in the restroom for so long that the smell had practically pickled into his skin.
Suddenly, a question struck Lin Wan. “Did you bring paper with you when you went in?”
Zhang Hongqiang scratched his head and said entirely casually, “No! When I went in, I snapped a twig. A twig scrape! A twig scrape!” He chirped exactly like a crow.
Lin Wan bolted.
This foul younger brother was absolutely unusable!
