Chapter 6 Misjudging People

The original owner could do without clothes, but not without money.

[Host, if you can cook shredded pork with sweet bean sauce, the system can tell you where your money is hidden at home.]

Lu Mingyue's eyes lit up; this was easy enough.

Before transmigrating into the book, she was a food blogger whose favorite thing to do was to research all kinds of food. Shredded pork with sweet bean sauce is a famous dish in China and it couldn't be simpler to make.

Lu Mingyue opened the door, went straight to the kitchen, found a piece of meat in the cupboard, tied on an apron, and started working.

Meng Jun kept a close eye on Lu Mingyue's movements. When he saw her cooking in the kitchen, he was delighted. It seemed that his second sister was still the same old second sister.

Nothing has changed!

Out of pity for the fact that Silly Second Sister cooked, he took pity on her and told her that Hu Sanbao was going to propose marriage the day after tomorrow.

Lu Mingyue refocused her attention and concentrated on completing the task given by the system.

In those days, most families bought fatty meat, firstly because it could be rendered into oil, and secondly because it was rich in oil and could nourish the body.

Not many people buy lean pork. Meng Xiaoling bought it because she heard that eating lean pork could help with weight loss.

Lu Mingyue strongly suspected that this was a rumor deliberately released by a state-owned meat store because they couldn't sell their lean meat.

Despite the complaints, this piece of meat is the best raw material for making shredded pork with sweet bean sauce.

Cut the meat into thin strips and marinate it with various seasonings.

While waiting, prepare the sauce and side dishes; shred the scallions, cucumber, and carrots.

With everything prepared, start stir-frying the shredded meat.

Remove the cooked shredded pork from the pan. Leave some oil in the pan and sauté the sauce until fragrant. Then add the shredded pork back in and stir-fry evenly so that each shred is evenly coated with the sauce.

Meng Jun smelled the aroma in the air, and his stomach kept rumbling.

As soon as the food was ready, he sat down at the table.

"You're good at recognizing things. Hurry up and bring the food over, I'm starving."

Meng Jun kept slurping his saliva, keeping an eye on Lu Mingyue's movements out of the corner of his eye, his heart filled with anticipation.

Lu Mingyue ignored him and carried the food into her room.

Meng Jun was shocked. What was she doing?

Can't you see he's such a big guy waiting here for his meal?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she stopped Lu Mingyue from going back into the house.

"Hey, hurry up and give me the food!"

Lu Mingyue felt a little itchy to do something, since Meng Jun had always been waited on hand and foot since childhood.

In an era when everyone was frugal, he weighed 150 pounds at the age of seven.

To be honest, even the pigs that other people raise might not weigh as much as him.

Lu Mingyue glanced at him and said, "If you want to eat, pay up. This serving is ten yuan."

Meng Jun opened his eyes wide, his two caterpillar-like eyes barely managing to open a slit.

Is she crazy?

How did Silly Sister know he had ten yuan of pocket money?

Meng Jun's chubby hand gripped his trouser pocket.

Lu Mingyue pulled out a fan from somewhere and started fanning the food.

She can afford to wait, but she doesn't know if the chubby guy can.

Meng Jun made a 'gulp' sound as he struggled between his pocket money and his meal.

Ten yuan can buy a table full of meat and vegetables at a state-run restaurant, but it might not be as delicious as what Silly Sister Er has in her hands.

When you run out of pocket money, you can ask your family for more. But it's a real shame when the food you're about to eat disappears.

After thinking it through, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give you ten yuan, just give me the food quickly."

He took out ten yuan and slammed it on the table, then reached out to snatch the food from Lu Mingyue's hands.

Lu Mingyue dodged and he fell onto the sofa, his whole body like a turtle unable to turn over, his limbs flailing wildly in the air.

"What's the rush? You'll have plenty to eat."

Lu Mingyue left him half of the food and put ten yuan in his pocket.

If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't stay in this house anymore, the little fat boy's money would be quite easy to earn.

After eating the food he had been longing for, Meng Jun said with some regret, "If only you hadn't married Hu Sanbao."

"Who said I was going to marry him?"

Lu Mingyue threatened him that he had better confess sooner or she would tell the other children in the family compound about his bedwetting the day before yesterday.

Meng Jun coughed incessantly with his food card stuck in his throat, and his face turned red instantly.

"I'm telling you, but don't tell anyone else."

Meng Jun met Hu Sanbao before he returned, and Hu Sanbao said he would come to propose marriage the day after tomorrow.

Lu Mingyue paused. Had Hu Sanbao really come to propose marriage?

She frowned; it seemed she needed to make plans sooner rather than later.

With the other side pressing relentlessly, there's no guarantee they won't resort to desperate measures.

Back in her room, Lu Mingyue asked the system, "Is everything ready? Does that mean the mission is a success?"

The system replied, "Just wait until I finish uploading the scent."

A few seconds later, Lu Mingyue heard a notification sound indicating that the upload was successful.

System: "Congratulations, host, on completing the task. Tian Xiaoju hid the family's money and banknotes behind the bedside table in the master bedroom."

Knowing the location makes things easier; Lu Mingyue should fill her stomach first.

There were ready-made wraps at home, so Lu Mingyue rolled the shredded meat and side dishes inside. One bite, and she was filled with the aroma of meat.

I've been hungry for so long, my stomach is almost numb.

They ate every last drop of the sauce from the plate of shredded pork with sweet bean sauce.

When I went to the kitchen to put the plates away, Meng Jun was nowhere to be seen; only empty plates remained on the table.

Taking this opportunity, Lu Mingyue checked the house to make sure no one was home before locking the door.

Upon arriving at the master bedroom, I followed the system's instructions to find the location.

To prevent her secret stash from being discovered, Tian Xiaoju drilled a hole in the wall and covered it with a layer of newspaper that matched the color of the wall.

Lu Mingyue tore along the edge, took out the items, and then put everything back in its original state.

After Meng Mancang and Tian Xiaoju got married, he handed over his salary, but he could still occasionally skim some extra money back.

Meng Mancang, as the workshop team leader, had about ten people under him, so he was considered a leader in a certain sense.

His subordinates sometimes give him a little something extra or do him a favor.

Meng Mancang was not an honest man. When his mother was alive, she couldn't stand such petty tricks. He was good at pretending and always endured it.

It wasn't until his death that his true colors were fully revealed.

Meng Mancang married into the Lu family. Lu Wenzhen was an only child who was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and went on to university.

You can imagine how valuable a university degree was decades ago.

The Lu family was a prominent family in the area. They only had one daughter, so they had announced early on that they were looking for a son-in-law to live with them.

These days, no man is willing to marry into a family unless they are truly starving.

The Meng family had five brothers. Meng Mancang was the second oldest. His father and mother didn't love him. But he had a skill to make a living and was recruited to a machinery factory.

Lu Wenzhen studied mechanical engineering and was a senior engineer specially hired by the factory.

The two were in similar professions and were of similar age, and over time they established a relationship.

Lu's parents passed away early, leaving everything in the house to Lu Wenzhen.

Unfortunately, times have changed, and the Lu family has become a target of public scorn.

If it weren't for the large amount of supplies she provided to the country before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Lu Wenzhen probably wouldn't have been able to save her life.

After this incident, many people distanced themselves from Lu Wenzhen, but Meng Mancang remained steadfast in his support.

It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow.

Lu Wenzhen married Meng Mancang, and the two lived in the house that the factory had allocated to Lu Wenzhen.

For several years after their marriage, the couple enjoyed a period of happiness.

The good times didn't last long. One day, Meng Mancang got drunk and told the truth, saying that he was only with Lu Wenzhen to curry favor with her.

His biological daughter took his surname, which made him feel ashamed in public.

Even though Meng Mancang later claimed that he was just talking nonsense while drunk, Lu Wenzhen no longer trusted the man she shared her bed with.