Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Broken
When Lin Mo got out of the car, she still had an indescribable feeling in her heart. This was the third time this week that Song Yazhi had specially sent her home, saying that it was on the way, but she always felt that it was too coincidental that they went on the same route.
When she got home and opened the door, Zhong Xiumen had already prepared the meal. She was only busy at noon, and in the evening she spent her time thinking hard about how to make delicious food for her baby daughter.
"Jasmine, Jasmine, I made your favorite cucumber shrimp tonight. Go wash your hands quickly."
Lin Mo's cold face showed a bit of tenderness. She glanced at the other dishes on the table with a smudge of red oil and understood: "Brother is coming back today too?"
Zhong Xiuwen looked disgusted, but her tone could not hide her happiness: "Yes, our emperor, who is always busy with affairs, finally found some time."
Lin Mo smiled faintly and said nothing. When she changed her clothes and came out, she saw Lin Jie in the living room.
To make room for the small table, Zhong Xiuwen cleared out the living room furniture, leaving only the hanging TV. Lin Jie, so tall, was cramped in a red children's chair, with nowhere to rest his slender limbs, looking rather cramped.
Lin Mo called him: "Brother, you haven't been home for dinner for a long time."
Seeing his sister, Lin Jie curled his lips. "I was really busy recently. How about you? Is your work going well? I heard from He Zhou that you were transferred to another position."
He Zhou is his college classmate. He works at Shanmei and is the head of a department. When Lin Mo was just hired, he contacted He Zhou and asked him to help take care of Lin Mo.
Lin Jie is a man who is cruel to himself but extremely protective of his own shortcomings.
There have always been many imitations of designer clothes and shoes on the market, but Zhong Xiuwen was unaware of this. When she was shopping for Lin Mo, she happened to buy a sweatshirt with a sports brand logo on it. Lin Mo didn't recognize the logo, so she wore it to school. As a result, she was ridiculed by several classmates for wearing fakes to save face. Lin Jie found out about this when he picked her up from school one day. Generally speaking, the way to deal with this is to tell children not to care about other people's opinions, and that clothes are for wearing, not for comparison. But Lin Jie did what he did. He used his own monthly living expenses to buy Lin Mo a real one. He didn't even tell Lin Mo the price of the clothes, but simply told her to change them.
He earned that money from working, and for the next month he ate all the steamed buns and pickles he could muster, but he never regretted it. Lin Mo was a girl, unlike him. From the moment his father passed away, he knew that an older brother is like a father, and from then on, he was more than just a brother.
The same goes for work. Although Lin Mo said she didn't want such care, he still contacted He Zhou in advance. Perhaps because he entered the workplace a few years earlier than her, he didn't want his sister to encounter evil people, so he gave Lin Mo almost doting care.
Speaking of the job transfer and Song Yazhi's concern that went beyond the boundaries of a supervisor, Lin Mo was a little confused: "I'm now in the president's office, following the chairman."
Lin Jie lowered his head to adjust the strap of his watch. "Did you apply for this position on your own initiative, or were you transferred?"
"Brother, there's actually something I haven't quite figured out lately. I was asked to leave by the chairman when I was transferred, and I've been working with her ever since. I don't understand why she specifically asked me to go to the president's office. And I feel like she's... a little too concerned about me. Not only does she support me at work, but she also takes good care of me privately."
Lin Jie raised his head, frowning as he recalled Shan Mei. If he remembered correctly, Shan Mei's boss was a woman in her fifties. But different professions are like different worlds, and Lin Jie couldn't figure out the reason for the moment.
"Maybe... your boss is kindhearted and treats you like his own child, although the probability of this happening is very small."
Lin Mo was lost in thought. Thinking of Song Zhihan, whom she had only met briefly, she felt that this was possible. "Maybe. Our chairman's daughter is the same age as me."
The food was all served, and Zhong Xiuwen invited them to eat. The family of three huddled together at the only high table in the corner to eat. Lin Jie looked around and frowned, "Mom, don't do this job after this semester. There's not much business. I told you and Jasmine to move in."
In the two years when the project yielded results, Lin Jie received a lot of bonuses and bought two houses in the same community at once, one for himself and one for his family. He asked Zhong Xiumen to move in a long time ago, but she refused and stayed here. If she didn't go, Lin Mo wouldn't go either, so the house given to them remained empty.
Zhong Xiuwen hit him on the head mercilessly: "You damn child, you may be making money, but Mom still has to save up for Jasmine's dowry. Besides, I'm not leaving. I want Chen Cuilan to see our family's life getting better and better. My two children are better than her cowardly son. I'm going to piss her off to death."
Lin Jie and Lin Mo looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
Chen Cuilan is their upstairs neighbor, and the conflict between the two families is a long story.
Zhong Xiuwen was very beautiful. It's easy to imagine how difficult life must have been for a beautiful widow raising a pair of children alone. She wasn't always this aggressive, but she'd been tempered by the world. Chen Cuilan's husband was restless, repeatedly finding excuses to get close to Zhong Xiuwen. Zhong Xiuwen, mindful of their neighborly relationship, didn't break up with him.
But the man's thoughts were eventually discovered by Chen Cuilan. Instead of teaching the cat that intended to steal the fish a lesson, she picked a fight with Zhong Xiuwen and insinuated that Zhong Xiuwen seduced her man. When her son found out, he picked a soft persimmon to bully Lin Mo and cursed her with all kinds of ugly words. Lin Mo was not a troublemaker, but also not afraid of trouble. She slapped him directly and the two of them started fighting. After returning home, Zhong Xiuwen saw the wound on her face and ran upstairs to make a big fuss without saying a word. Her desperate look scared Chen Cuilan, and she was scared, so she chose to call the police. After the police mediated, Chen Cuilan took the initiative again and spread rumors among the neighbors, putting the blame on Zhong Xiuwen. The feud between the two families was thus formed.
What a disgusting family, none of the three of them are normal.
Zhong Xiuwen knew that Chen Cuilan valued her precious son the most, but that child was a failure, lacking in talent and ability. In stark contrast, her two children were all exceptional. That was why she refused to leave. She wanted Chen Cuilan to remain like a rat in a gutter, jealous of their family's good life.
Putting aside this unlucky item, Zhong Xiuwen served Lin Mo a generous helping of shrimp, while Lin Jie silently ate the vibrant red boiled beef. Zhong Xiuwen, a classic example of a softhearted person, had a sharp tongue. Lin Mo couldn't handle spicy food, but Lin Jie was the one who loved it. She seemed partial to her daughter, but in reality, she was very fair.
Lin Mo looked at the red oil with a lingering envy, and reached out with her chopsticks to pick up a piece. Lin Jie pretended to be irritated by the spiciness, hissing and saying, "Mom, didn't you put too much chili in today?"
Lin Mo was about to put down her eager hand, but after thinking for a moment, she picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. It was indeed very spicy. Although not as exaggerated as Lin Jie's, it was still too spicy for her to handle. She felt a little depressed: "Mom, why am I the only one in our family who can't handle spicy food?"
That shouldn’t be the case. Normally, the tastes of a family should be very similar.
Zhong Xiuwen thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it's because we stayed in Sichuan for many years before I got pregnant with you."
Come to think of it, the food here is too bland. Lin Mo has never eaten spicy food since she was born, and she is not very curious about this kind of taste.
Lin Jie handed her some water and said, "If you can't eat it, don't eat it. Don't force yourself to do anything you don't want to do."
No matter what Lin Mo chooses to do, even if it means being an idler at home, Lin Jie will not have any objection, because he can provide Lin Mo with a life of food and clothing.
After dinner, Lin Jie washed the dishes while Lin Mo took the tableware out of the sterilizer and put it away. It was the tableware the children had used at lunch, each one decorated with colorful cartoon designs. Famous animation stars gathered here.
She placed the dishes one by one on the shelf, but when she was moving the last set, her hand slipped. With a crisp sound, the black kitty's face fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Lin Jie washed the foam off his hands and hurried out. Seeing the tragedy on the ground, he glanced at Lin Mo and saw that she was not injured. Then he pulled her away and said, "Stand away. I'll clean up."
Zhong Xiuwen also came out of the house, comforting her while bringing a broom: "It's okay, it's okay."
Lin Mo felt bad for accidentally breaking the child's things. She took a photo first, changed her clothes and prepared to go out: "Mom, I'll go to the supermarket to see if there is a similar one and buy another set."
Lin Jie came to clean up the mess. He swept the broken pieces into a pile, carefully packed them in a bag, and finally wrapped them with a few rounds of red tape as a warning.
After doing all this, he searched for the keyword "tableware" on the shopping app, "black leather kitty tableware". The most suggested options were from Japanese purchasing stores, marked as limited edition, and the prices were as high as four figures.
Lin Jie asked Zhong Xiuwen, "Mom, is this kid our neighbor?"
Zhong Xiuwen knew it belonged to Song Zhihan, so she simply told the truth: "No, it's a girl in her twenties. She works nearby and came here for lunch. She's only been here a few days. What's wrong? Why are you asking this?"
Lin Jie understood, saved the photos on the page, and exited the shopping app. "No big deal, I'll find a similar one online and give it to her as compensation."
He then sent the photo to a college classmate studying in Japan, asking him to find the same one.
Only after the other party replied with an OK did he turn off his phone.
Lin Mo ran around all the nearby supermarkets but couldn't find the same one, so she had to buy a brand new set.
Seeing the frustration on her face, Lin Jie comforted her lightly: "It's okay, I've already bought it online."
"Exactly the same?"
"right."
Zhong Xiuwen was puzzled: "What do you mean, is this tableware hard to buy?"
Lin Mo also had this question. In fact, she also searched on the Internet and saw the same page as Lin Jie, but she felt that it was unrealistic for children to use such expensive tableware.
"No, this is a model from a few years ago. They're out of stock in the store. I found the same one online. It should be delivered to your home in a few days. It's not expensive, just a few dozen dollars."
The mother and daughter nodded. Lin Mo felt strange and asked Lin Jie secretly after Zhong Xiuwen returned to the house: "Brother, are you sure they are the same? I found many stores online that are purchasing agents."
Lin Jie took out the photo and said, "Same here, this is probably a replica. Do you think kids who can afford tableware at this price will sign up for the small dining table?"
Lin Mo thought it made sense and dispelled her worries.
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