Chapter 136 On My Birthday 2
When Sister Yao and Sister Xia returned home, Sister Xia couldn't help but complain, "That Comrade Lin Yuanshu is so hard to please! She doesn't want the things we give her, and even if we manage to persuade her to accept them, she'll return the favor the next day. So it's like we gave her nothing at all, all for nothing. Plus, she has that fat auntie around, always trying to keep us away from Comrade Lin Yuanshu. She's such a busybody. If my husband hadn't insisted that I get on good terms with Comrade Lin Yuanshu, I wouldn't have bothered with them at all."
The thought of having to give a gift to Comrade Lin Yuanshu today gave her a headache. Not only did she have to carefully select the gift, but she also had to find a way to get Comrade Lin Yuanshu to accept it.
Ugh! It's all a bunch of troublesome things I don't want to face.
Sister Yao nodded in deep agreement and said softly, "I think we can stop here. There's no need to cultivate a good relationship with Comrade Lin Yuanshu. Just keep the relationship as it has been before, neither too close nor too distant. At least this way, we won't annoy Comrade Lin Yuanshu."
Although Sister Xia was very tempted, she still hesitated, "My husband would definitely not agree to me doing this."
Sister Yao said dismissively, "Why don't you just not talk to him? He's not going to go up to Comrade Lin Yuanshu and ask you if you have a good relationship with him."
Sister Xia wasn't particularly interested in pleasing others; she wasn't the talkative type. But seeing Sister Yao trying so hard to please Lin Yuanshu, she felt like she was missing something if she didn't do the same, and she felt uneasy. Plus, she was being pressured by her lover, so she reluctantly followed Sister Yao's lead.
She took a deep breath and said decisively, "Okay, let's do it your way. We'll stop here and not embarrass ourselves in front of Comrade Lin Yuanshu and the fat aunt anymore. As long as we don't ask for anything else, Comrade Lin Yuanshu is just like that, nothing special!"
The thought that she would no longer have to please Lin Yuanshu made Sister Xia feel much more relaxed.
Sister Yao smiled slightly and agreed, "You're right."
She wouldn't give up so easily like Sister Xia. Even if she really had to give up, she wouldn't choose to do so at such a crucial moment. Right now, Lin Yuanshu has just finished the previous project and is waiting for her superiors to assign her a new project.
Her husband wasn't able to join the project team last time, but he might have a chance to join the project team that Lin Yuanshu is preparing to form next.
She not only cannot give up, but must also intensify her efforts.
Sister Yao summarized her previous failures and realized that the two of them acting together attracted too much attention and gossip, which made Lin Yuanshu hesitant. If she had approached Lin Yuanshu alone, she might have succeeded.
Sister Xia was unaware of what Sister Yao was thinking; she was still happy that she didn't have to please Lin Yuanshu.
Even if her lover finds out, it doesn't matter. Anyway, Sister Yao didn't try to please Lin Yuanshu. In the end, all the blame can be placed on Sister Yao.
On the other hand, Sister-in-law Xue felt that the fat woman had seen through her, and she felt awkward being with the fat woman. After thinking about it for a while, she decisively left the fat woman's kitchen.
She walked into Lin Yuanshu's living room and said to him, "Just now, Auntie Pang and I ran into two of your neighbors outside. They wanted to come and help, but I think they were just pretending to help and really just wanted to freeload, so I refused them."
Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow and said seriously, "I know about this. I was washing vegetables in the kitchen just now and happened to overhear your conversation."
She didn't specifically explain to Sister-in-law Xue that the two neighbors wanted to help not to freeload a meal, but to ask her to give their partners special treatment.
Sister-in-law Xue was taken aback for a moment, then asked curiously, "Then why didn't you step in and refuse them?"
Lin Yuanshu replied casually, "The fat lady has already refused, so there's no need for me to step in anymore."
The main reason was that she felt that Sister Yao and Sister Xia were like leeches; once she went out, they wouldn't be able to get away for a while. She had already made it clear to them that she would not accept gifts or give anyone special treatment.
Unfortunately, the two of them didn't take her words to heart at all and continued to try to get closer to her.
Fortunately, the two of them knew how to keep their distance and wouldn't bother her for no reason. They would only come to deliver gifts on major holidays, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival, and occasionally they would ask her to have a meal or go out.
However, she refused them all, because she knew very well that if she agreed, it would be sending a clear signal to everyone that she could accept gifts from others, and that as long as people persisted in building a closer relationship with her, she would soften her attitude.
At that point, she won't just have to deal with Sister Yao and Sister Xia; everyone upstairs, downstairs, and in the neighboring building who wants to use the back door will flock to her, so it's better to maintain the status quo.
Sister-in-law Xue nodded thoughtfully, then instructed, "You should refuse when you need to. Don't be like your father-in-law, who is too concerned about saving face. Otherwise, you'll be the one who suffers."
If the father-in-law hadn't been so concerned about saving face, he wouldn't have been so easily manipulated by Lin Yuanshu, and the Zhou family would have been able to gain even more benefits from him.
An hour later, Lin's parents brought Lin Yuanfeng into Lin Yuanshu's home.
Lin Yuanshu saw the large and small bags in his parents' hands and quickly went over to take them.
Lin's father said with a smile, "I brought you some water spinach, loofah and cowpeas. We really can't finish them all at home, so this will save you some money."
"Dad, Mom, thank you for carrying so much stuff on your journey. Next time you can bring some dried vegetables. I love dried vegetables."
As Lin Yuanshu spoke, he took the water spinach out of the burlap sack and handed it to Zhou Xiangyang, asking him to cook the water spinach for lunch.
After all, water spinach is not as easy to preserve as the other two vegetables and easily becomes stale.
Of course, she didn't actually like dried vegetables; it's just that dried vegetables aren't as heavy to pick up.
She had just taken some melon seeds, fruit and pastries from the living room cabinet and placed them on the dining table to entertain her parents and sister when Zhou's mother and others came in from outside. Zhou Dafu handed the gifts he brought over to Zhou Xiangyang.
When Zhou's mother saw the food on the table, she didn't stand on ceremony at all. She walked over, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, and stuffed them into her pocket, aiming to eat and take some with her.
Zhou Dafu coughed twice and lowered his voice, saying, "Your mother-in-law is still here, so you'd better behave yourself."
Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother had no choice but to give up grabbing more sunflower seeds. She found a place to sit and chatted with Lin's mother while eating sunflower seeds. Since the living room wasn't big, there was no problem with them not being able to hear each other.
She doesn't want to say a word to Lin Yuanshu right now because six months ago, she said some things to Lin Yuanshu that urged him to have children, which made him unhappy.
Unexpectedly, Lin Yuanshu sent her directly back to the production team, where she lived with her mother-in-law for two months.
Zhou Dafu's promise to send her back to the production team was just talk, but Lin Yuanshu actually did it, and without giving anyone cause for gossip.
Because her mother-in-law cooperated perfectly with Lin Yuanshu, pretending to be sick, she couldn't stay in the production team even if she didn't want to.
Therefore, she now keeps her distance from Lin Yuanshu. Lin Yuanshu truly doesn't treat her like a human being. Most importantly, no one around her dares to stand up for her and speak up for her; they all side with Lin Yuanshu.
They were also worried that if they spoke the truth, Lin Yuanshu would send them to the production team.
Lin Yuanshu didn't care about Zhou Ma's cold face at all. She had a sudden idea. She originally planned to invite her grandmother to Sijiu Town to suppress Zhou Ma, but considering that her grandmother was old and it would be hard for her to travel back and forth, she decided to send Zhou Ma to her grandmother's side to fulfill her filial duty.
Unexpectedly, the effect was immediate, and now Zhou's mother no longer dares to say things that Zhou doesn't like to hear in front of her.
So, it's not that Zhou Ma doesn't know she doesn't like hearing these words, she just doesn't care. People like Zhou Ma only know how to write the word "obedience" after experiencing heart-wrenching pain!
Zhou Xiangling had the dog sit on a stool, then gave it some pastries and melon seeds before turning around and going into the kitchen to help Zhou Xiangyang prepare lunch.
Although Gouzi acted disdainful of Lin Yuanshu in front of Zhou Xiangling, when he was actually in front of Lin Yuanshu, he would just sit on the stool timidly, eating and listening to the adults chat. He didn't dare to run around and jump around like he was at home.
Not long after, the team leader and Zhou Moli arrived at Lin Yuanshu's home with gifts.
As soon as Zhou Moli entered the living room, she rushed up to Lin Yuanshu and said with a smile, "Associate Researcher Lin, it's been a long time. Congratulations on your promotion. By the way, I have some good news for you. I've become Team Leader Zhou now. Although I'm not as good as you, at least I'm not standing still."
Lin Yuanshu said with a smile, "Team Leader Zhou, I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to meet you today."
Zhou Moli was stunned for a moment, then realized what she meant and burst into laughter.
Lin Yuanshu was infected by Zhou Moli's laughter and started laughing along.
The two continued to interact as before, without becoming estranged due to the change in their status or the passage of time.
Lin Yuanshu was in charge of entertaining the guests, while Zhou Xiangyang was busy in the kitchen. He hoped that no one would notice him so that he could cook quietly without being bothered by others asking him all sorts of questions.
Zhou's mother leaned closer to Zhou Moli and asked curiously, "You're so pretty, are you married?"
Zhou Moli shook her head, looking helpless, and said, "Not yet, we haven't found a suitable candidate."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou's eyes lit up instantly, and she excitedly said, "What kind of person do you want? I'll introduce you to one."
Zhou Moli said earnestly, "My requirements aren't high. I just want to find a virtuous man like Comrade Zhou Xiangyang."
Zhou Ma: "..."
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