Chapter 66 A Pervasive Mold

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Clenching her small fists, Chen Xiaomin looked ahead indignantly.

She Ning followed her gaze and indeed, Lin Hongwei was not among the students from the No. 1 Middle School's group.

"Those who do many evil deeds will surely perish. There's no need to get angry with such a person." She looked away, patted the little girl's shoulder, and gently advised her.

"It's fine not to be angry at this kind of person, but this matter can't be let go so easily." Xia Qiuxia was protective of her own, especially of She Ning.

Moreover, if such egregious behavior goes unpunished, it will only further embolden him to bully students and indulge in his wicked ways.

"Ah Ning, you're just too kind. Leave this to the teacher, and the teacher will give you a satisfactory answer," Xia Qiuxia said indignantly.

The teachers from No. 4 Middle School nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing this, She Ning touched the tip of her nose guiltily. She wasn't kind; nowadays, she would directly seek revenge for any wrongs she had.

I had long seen that Lin Hongwei was not the kind of person who kept his promises.

The system's convenience store had a new item called "Moldy Sky," and she immediately redeemed one. When Lin Hongwei passed by her, she casually used it on him.

However, faced with the teacher's doting gaze, She Ning obediently replied, "Thank you, teacher. I'm sorry to trouble you."

"You and Xiaomin go back to the guesthouse first, we'll be right back." Director Xia patted her shoulder reassuringly, then led the teachers from No. 4 Middle School toward the No. 1 Middle School group.

She Ning watched their retreating figures until they were far away, then turned back to Chen Xiaomin and said, "Let's go, let's go back first."

"Mmm." Chen Xiaomin nodded vigorously, following closely behind her like a little tail, and the two walked out of the auditorium together.

Director Xia didn't keep them waiting long. Before She Ning had even done a few math Olympiad practice problems, there was a knock on the door.

"Come on, it's getting late. Let's have dinner before going back, and celebrate your award together." Director Xia said with a smile as soon as She Ning opened the door.

"Teacher Li went to Lin's Restaurant first to order food. After we packed our things and checked out, we set off there. Xiaomin, let's ask her to come along."

"Teacher Xia, I'm here!" Hearing the noise from inside the room, Chen Xiaomin popped out from behind She Ning and called out to Director Xia, "Thank you for treating us to dinner, Teacher Xia. You are such a wonderful teacher!"

Chen Xiaomin was a real ray of sunshine, with a sweet tongue and a knack for talking. She kept chattering around Xia Qiuxia, praising She Ning and Director Xia.

Director Xia was beaming with delight at her flattery, but in the end, worried that Teacher Li might be waiting too long at the hotel, she said, "You all go back to your rooms and pack your things first. We'll meet in the lobby later."

Director Xia lived next door to She Ning. After she finished speaking, she went back to her room.

She Ning closed the door and slowly walked back into the room.

Director Xia is in a good mood now, it seems that she communicated with the teachers of No. 1 Middle School very smoothly, and the outcome of the handling of Lin Hongwei stealing her manuscript should be very satisfactory.

"Ah Ning, where are you going to put these materials?" Having returned to her room earlier, Chen Xiaomin tidied up the materials on the table and waved the test papers in her hand as she asked.

"You sit down, I'll do it." She Ning quickly stepped forward, took the test paper from her hand, and put it into the handbag hanging on the chair.

Chen Xiaomin and the others had just arrived from town today. They hadn't stayed at a guesthouse and had nothing to pack.

With nothing to do, Chen Xiaomin sat on the table with her hands supporting her face, watching She Ning pack her things. She blinked her big eyes and said pitifully, "You help me with the speech, and you teach me the math problems I don't know how to solve."

"I'd like to do something to help you too."

She Ning paused in her tidying up and looked down at her.

Chen Xiaomin kept staring at She Ning. When she saw She Ning looking at her, she immediately blinked at her and smiled charmingly. Her cute and obedient appearance made it impossible for anyone to refuse her.

She Ning thought for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the slightly chipped paint on the military water bottle on the side, before settling on Chen Xiaomin's face. "Hmm, how about you go downstairs and fill the bottle with hot water for me?"

"No problem, I've got it covered!" Before She Ning could finish speaking, Chen Xiaomin, who had received the message, immediately stood up, saluted, and rushed out with her water bottle in hand.

It was as if she was afraid that if she was even a step too slow, She Ning would stop letting her help.

Still has the mind of a child, She Ning shook her head with a smile.

When we arrived at Lin's Restaurant, Teacher Li had already ordered the food.

"We ordered shredded pork with garlic sauce, braised pork belly, stir-fried bok choy with garlic, and pork and cabbage dumplings. Do you want anything else?" Teacher Li asked, handing everyone cups and chopsticks that had been washed with hot water.

"Do you two kids want anything extra?" After listening to Teacher Li's words, Director Xia turned to ask She Ning and the others, "You two are really great contributors, order whatever you like."

"I don't need it, I really like what Teacher Li ordered," She Ning said.

“I don’t need it either,” Chen Xiaomin replied.

"The fried rice here is absolutely delicious. Adding a few more should make it enough for our main course," Director Xia said, looking at the menu on the wall.

"That's not enough, we can just add some white rice." Teacher Li waved for someone to come over and order more.

At this time of day, there are quite a few people eating. The waiter took a while to come over and quickly added an egg fried rice dish to the original menu. She also sent a slip of paper with the added dish and table number to the kitchen.

This restaurant is privately owned. It is said that it used to be the owner's old family house. After the market was opened up, he transformed it into the well-known Lin's Restaurant. It is rumored that the owner's ancestors were imperial chefs.

The shop's decor is simple and elegant, with wooden tables and chairs that exude the luster of time, and several old landscape paintings hanging on the walls, giving off a strong sense of nostalgia.

She Ning carefully observed the surrounding environment, and also studied the division of labor in the store, as well as the precautions for taking orders and serving dishes. She could learn from the excellent aspects of others if she wanted to expand and strengthen her She family restaurant in the future.

The food was served quickly; soon, the waiters came over with plates of steaming hot dishes.

The fish-fragrant shredded pork is bright red in color, with tender and smooth shredded pork, crisp wood ear mushrooms, and slightly sweet carrot shreds. The rich fish-fragrant sauce coats every bite of the ingredients, making it mouthwatering.

The braised pork belly is even more anticipated; it's fatty but not greasy, melts in your mouth, and has a thick, glistening sauce.

Stir-fried bok choy with minced garlic is refreshing and delicious. The bright green bok choy looks even more tender and juicy against the backdrop of minced garlic.

The cabbage and pork dumplings exude a subtle meaty aroma. The thin dumpling skin wraps around a generous amount of filling. One bite releases a burst of juicy flavor, leaving a lingering fragrance in your mouth.

The fried rice is made with distinct grains of rice, each coated in golden egg liquid, making it look incredibly tempting.

"Let's eat!" Director Xia urged everyone to eat. After taking a dumpling, he smiled and said, "Thin skin and generous filling, not bad. Lin Ji's food is always plentiful and delicious. It never disappoints me."

Teacher Li scooped up a bowl of egg fried rice, and after eating it, he nodded in agreement: "Lin Ji's egg fried rice is indeed well-deserved of its reputation. The rice is soft and chewy, the egg flavor is rich, the shrimp is tender, and the carrot is refreshing. The taste is so good that you'll want to eat it again and again."

She Ning buried her head in her food, silently agreeing in her heart.

Fried rice may look simple, but it is actually the dish that tests a chef the most. If the heat is too high, the rice will burn easily; if the heat is too low, the eggs will not be able to solidify properly.

When stir-frying, mix the rice and eggs quickly and evenly so that every grain of rice is coated with the aroma of eggs, while also maintaining the integrity of the ingredients.

Lin Ji's fried rice is made so that each grain is distinct, with each grain of rice coated in egg liquid. The ingredients do not mask their own flavors, but are fully integrated with the rice and eggs, resulting in a plate of fried rice that is perfect in color, aroma and taste.

If given the chance, She Ning really wants to exchange culinary tips with Lin Ji's chef.

The food was delicious and the environment was beautiful. Everyone was so engrossed in eating that they didn't say a word. The only sounds in the huge restaurant were the clinking of chopsticks and glasses.

"Why is there hair in your food?" Suddenly, a question broke the restaurant's silence.

The waiters who were observing the customers' needs immediately stepped forward to find out what was going on. In the restaurant, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction from which the question had been raised.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

She Ning and the others were sitting in a slightly off-center spot, with a large potted green plant behind them blocking their view. She Ning looked up and peered through the gaps in the plant.

The middle-aged man sitting by the window looked displeased, holding chopsticks with a black hair clearly stuck in them. Several dishes were on the table, and a woman sat opposite him with a child beside her. Their expressions were also unpleasant.

Upon seeing the man's face clearly, She Ning gripped her chopsticks tightly, and with a "snap," the chopsticks broke in two.

"Ah Ning, are you alright?" Chen Xiaomin, who was standing next to her, noticed immediately that her chopsticks were broken. She took her hand, took out the chopsticks, and looked her up and down.

"What's wrong? Why do these chopsticks break so easily? The quality is terrible!" Director Xia and Teacher Li also looked over.

"It's okay, the chopsticks didn't prick me," She Ning said softly, pulling her hand back.

"I was so scared, thank goodness you weren't hurt," Chen Xiaomin said with relief.

Her delicate hands, as flawless as white jade, would be such a pity if they were injured. More importantly, if her right hand were injured, it would be inconvenient to do anything, and she wouldn't even be able to hold a pen.

Chen Xiaomin's voice was a bit loud. After hearing her call her name, the middle-aged man looked up to see where She Ning was, but he couldn't see her because of the green plants blocking his view.

How could those people possibly have a chance to get to the city? He's being far too paranoid. The middle-aged man thought to himself before turning his attention back to the waiter.

Outside the school.

"Brother Lin, are we just leaving like this? Aren't we going to stay and collect the award?" Lin Hongwei's underling asked, puzzled, as they walked out of the school.

Before they left, the teacher was very happy, saying that Lin Hongwei's stage presence and the quality of his speech were exceptionally good, and that their school was guaranteed to win an award this time. Even if they didn't win first prize, second prize was definitely in the bag.

"What award? Aren't you embarrassed enough?" Lin Hongwei turned around, glared at the person who spoke, and said fiercely.

Tearing up someone else's manuscript and losing to her was an utter disgrace for someone who had always been number one in everything.

Going on stage to apologize is something I'll never do in my life.

Those two from the countryside will eventually return to their hometown. As long as he doesn't show up or apologize, what can they do to him? As long as he hides until they leave, he will have won.

As for the saying "a bet is a bet," a gentleman's word is his bond, and a true man can bend and stretch.

After scolding the people behind him, Lin Hongwei continued walking forward.

"You have no sense of propriety! We told you not to mention it, but you still dared to ask." Following behind Lin Hongwei, the others reached out and poked the forehead of the underling who had just asked the question, saying with exasperation.

The younger brother shrugged, looking aggrieved. "Winning an award is a good thing, why can't I ask?"

"I told you not to ask, so don't ask. Don't ask why." Giving up on explaining the reason, everyone continued walking.

Among the crowd, the male student who helped steal the exam paper glanced at Lin Hongwei walking ahead, his eyes darkening slightly.

A flock of birds flew by, chirping and chattering in the vast sky.

With a "thud," something fell from the sky and hit him on the head. It felt wet and sticky, giving Lin Hongwei a bad feeling. He reached out and touched it with trembling hands.

It was wet, sticky, and slippery.

"Yay!!! Bird poop!!!"

Before Lin Hongwei could even feel nauseous, with a "thud," he tripped over his own feet, fell face down, and crashed to the ground.

"!!!!"

Before they could even process the fact that bird droppings had landed on Lin Hongwei's head, he fell to the ground again. After realizing what had happened, the people behind him quickly rushed forward to help him up. He was in a terrible state; his face was covered in blood, and he had even knocked out one of his front teeth.

"Brother Lin! Your teeth!"

Lin Hongwei struggled to open his swollen, red eyes and saw a blood-stained tooth lying gleaming on the ground. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

"Brother Lin, wake up!!!"