Chapter 51: Wanting to Eat from One Pot
Human emotions do not always align perfectly, even between a father and daughter, or a mother and son. As parents, one cannot expect their children to truly understand them. Expecting too much only turns into a sharp blade that cuts oneself.
Comrade Zhang Aimin’s reaction was entirely unexpected for Lin Wan.
Everyone else in the house cared only about the fact that Huang Guixiang had landed such a job. Aside from Huang Guixiang, only Zhang Aimin harbored a bitter grievance over the fact that Guo Xuyang had physically harmed her.
“Uncle Zhang, what exactly happened?” Lin Wan knew in her heart that those few individuals had made their move, or perhaps her letter of report had taken effect. But she needed to know the specific details to plan her next step.
Zhang Aimin said, “Some production materials were stolen from our factory. Because it was scrap material, the factory management never paid much attention to it.”
“But who would have thought that Director Tao’s nephew colluded with two men from the Security Section and the old man You from the warehouse to pull it off as a team.”
“The evidence is ironclad. Liang Qianjin, the two from the Security Section, and old man You have all been formally arrested.”
“The quantities involved are massive. I heard they might even face the firing squad.”
“Although on the surface it has nothing to do with Director Tao, he has still been suspended pending investigation.”
“I reckon he won’t be coming back.”
“He probably won’t even be able to keep his job.”
Since the arrests were formal, the matter was cast in iron. Once she returned to her room in a bit, she would mail out the letters reporting those few rapists. Those guys had tormented more than a few female comrades!
Lin Wan said with a smile, “A blessing in disguise!”
“Uncle Zhang, don’t lose heart either. Your technical skills are rock-solid, and rising to a level-eight worker is only a matter of time. You just suffered from a lack of formal education; otherwise, you could easily work as an engineer.”
“Maybe the fact that you got stuck at level seven without advancing was precisely because that Director Tao deliberately suppressed you.”
“I feel that he might not be clean regarding Liang Qianjin’s affairs. Even if he is clean in this matter, he might be dirty in others.”
“Think about it, aren’t there many in the factory who get promoted when they shouldn’t, while many old comrades with rock-solid skills get stuck instead?”
She wasn’t just spouting nonsense. The materials the system provided her regarding Liang Qianjin explicitly detailed Deputy Director Tao’s affairs. This deputy director’s backside was far from clean. The ultimate result of the investigation against him would be rotting in a prison cell.
Zhang Aimin thought about it and realized she was right. His mood instantly brightened.
He chuckled and said, “It’s fine, whether I get promoted or not doesn’t change much.”
“Your mom has a job now too. Her monthly wages are much more than the ten-odd yuan I’d get from a promotion!”
“I’m quite content!”
Huang Guixiang chimed in with a smile, “That’s right, the money I earn will also be spent on this household.”
“You’ve worked so hard all these years earning money alone to support such a large family.”
“Now that I can help share the burden, you won’t have to push yourself so hard or be so tired! We’ll just strive to reach level-eight worker before retirement, so we can draw a bit more retirement pay.”
While speaking, Huang Guixiang nudged Lin Wan’s hand, as if to say: Learn from this!
Lin Wan: Impressed! Uncle Zhang looked ready to cry from the sheer emotion.
“Uncle Zhang, I’ve started working too, so I want to help ease the burden on the family. From now on, I will contribute five yuan a month for living expenses, plus twenty jin of grain coupons, one jin of meat coupons, one jin of sugar coupons, and two chi of cloth coupons.”
The Zhang Hongqi brothers: “…”
The sisters-in-law: “…”
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
You can’t do this! Before the household split, they handed over cash and coupons while Lin Wan ate the best. Now that the household was split, Lin Wan handed over cash and coupons, and it had absolutely nothing to do with them!
Looking at their biological father’s gaze, his eyes toward them were filled with disdain after the comparison, while his gaze toward Lin Wan was filled with boundless tenderness!
Zhang Hongjun pondered for a long while before speaking up, “Dad, Auntie Huang, the stoves in our home are limited anyway. I was thinking, how about this—let’s still eat out of one pot.”
“But we’ll contribute living expenses, how about that?”
Huang Guixiang waved her hand. “No way. I have to go to work now too, so I don’t have the time to cook for you or serve you.”
Zhang Hongjun nudged Zhong Hongmei, who hurriedly put on a placating smile and said, “Auntie Huang, we can all lend a hand after we clock off. If all else fails, Eldest Sister-in-law and I can take turns cooking, and you can just eat what’s ready.”
She understood! Only by eating out of one pot could they reap cheap advantages! Like tonight’s chicken soup! Tonight they were invited to eat, but what about the future? Would they have to watch the Lin Wan mother-and-daughter pair and Zhang Hongqiang eat just like this morning? The children were practically dying of cravings!
Zhang Hongqi didn’t know why Zhang Hongjun brought this up. He was a simpleton, but he possessed one merit—he followed the smart people, and that was bound to be right. “Yes, I agree.”
“A single family eating at several separate tables truly looks a bit improper.”
Huang Guixiang arched an eyebrow. Zhang Hongjun smiled obsequiously.
Lin Wan said, “I have no objection, since I’ve already contributed my living expenses anyway.” She nudged Huang Guixiang’s hand.
She set the bar so incredibly high that the first and second房 branches couldn’t match it at all. Sure enough, the moment her words fell, the two branches immediately opened their mouths to drop the subject!
What a joke. If they were going to end up eating out of one pot again, why the hell had they made such a massive scene to split the household in the first place?
With nothing left to do, Lin Wan hauled Zhang Hongqiang into her room as usual, questioning him on what he had learned at school.
He hadn’t learned a single thing.
Fine, then he would copy texts and do math problems. If he didn’t understand, she would explain it to him. The ultimate result was that she thrashed Zhang Hongqiang until he wailed like a ghost and howled like a wolf.
Waaah! My sister is too terrifying! The teachers didn’t even care about their studies, yet his sister insisted on managing it! Worse yet, neither his biological mother nor his biological father stood on his side! When his sister thrashed him, they were the ones handing over the feather duster. He ran, and they helped corner him, even helping to hold him down.
There’s no way to survive! The kid is going to be thrashed to death!
Lin Wan washed up at nine o’clock to go to bed. However, before sleeping, she tore open the letter Zhang Jun had written to her. It had to be said that the system’s efficiency was rock-solid, achieving same-day delivery for both sending and receiving.
In fact, as long as a letter was sent to PO Box 88 and stamped with the post office’s official seal, it would immediately land in the system’s hands.
She opened it to check the contents and chuckled. In the letter, Zhang Jun asked her if she could secure a ladies’ Shanghai-brand wristwatch and what the price would be.
Yes, yes, yes, I have them! She had specifically gone to Yiwu to buy them wholesale! The price was genuinely not expensive—forty-eight yuan a piece, retro replica models! If you wanted Shanghai, you got Shanghai! If you wanted Plum Blossom, you got Plum Blossom! If you wanted Victory, you got Victory! Omega, Rolex… there was nothing they didn’t have, only what you couldn’t think of! They were cheap, of excellent quality, and made of solid steel!
She immediately wrote back: “Slightly flawed watch, no coupons required, one hundred and forty-eight yuan a piece.” Net profit of a hundred yuan. On the black market, it would easily fetch two to three hundred yuan, making it far more expensive.
“System, why do you think Zhang Jun would believe me?”
“Reasonably speaking, if it were me, I’d think it’s a scammer and take the letter straight to report it to the police.”
The little system figure rolled its eyes. Lin Wan suddenly felt that its face and expression actually bore a slight resemblance to Huang Guixiang.
“It’s not that he believes you! Mail-order is an important component of the development of the postal and telecommunications enterprise. It also lays the foundation for future online shopping. To develop the mail-order enterprise of the 1960s, this system unconditionally protects and escorts the mail-order process. Any potential customer who receives the product catalog will subconsciously deem it normal and reasonable, and will be completely unable to describe the specific details of the mail-order to outsiders.”
Lin Wan: “!!!” How wonderful!
“Then what about the points!”
“Hurry up and let me see the points!” She had been so busy today that she hadn’t paid any attention to this matter!
The system sneered. It had explicitly reminded her of the points change in an exceptionally loud voice!
“Holy crap!”
“It went up by 80 points!”
She had sent two letters through the system today, so the points for sending letters only amounted to two points. This meant that she had made 78 yuan from selling goods, and the system had awarded her 78 points!
“This is way faster than sending letters!”
