Chapter 35 Hello! Grandma
Lin Yuanshu stroked his chin and made a definitive statement: "Then I will work with Comrade Zhao Hong to finalize the design drawings. You will be responsible for manufacturing the parts according to the design drawings. We will then go to the reactor together to install and debug them. If it doesn't work, we will revise the design drawings until the oblique blade reactor agitator can operate in the reactor. I'll have to work hard during this period."
The four men breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Lin Yuanshu say that. They were happy that he was willing to use them, and they didn't want to miss this good opportunity.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Lin Yuanshu continued, "Since none of you have any objections, you will have to follow Comrade Zhao Hong's orders when I'm not around."
Before the others could react, Grandpa Wei, relying on his personal relationship with Lin Yuanshu, immediately stood up and retorted, "Comrade Zhao Hong has less experience than us, so why should we listen to her? I don't accept it."
Lin Yuanshu glanced at Grandpa Wei and said coldly, "I'm not discussing this with you, I'm ordering you. If you can read the design drawings, I'll have the others follow your orders. If you can't, just obediently follow the orders of others."
Grandpa Wei was intimidated by Lin Yuanshu's gaze, and his face turned red. This was the first time he had ever seen Lin Yuanshu so cold and ruthless. Even after his wife offended Lin Yuanshu's mother-in-law, Lin Yuanshu would still greet him with a smile whenever they met.
Wang Hongjun and the others said shrewdly, "We have no objections at all. We'll do whatever you ask us to do."
Seeing that everyone else had said so, Grandpa Wei couldn't very well stand up and refute Lin Yuanshu alone, because doing so would only result in him being kicked out of the team.
Afterwards, Lin Yuanshu asked Wang Hongjun and others to go to the warehouse to get ductile iron. If they didn't have any, they should ask the warehouse staff to arrange for a purchasing agent to buy it. She and Zhao Hong stayed behind to discuss how to revise the design drawings.
Lin Yuanshu's choice of ductile iron as the material for the oblique blade was also a well-considered one.
Although steel blades are strong and tough, and can withstand even intense mixing, they have a significant drawback: they are too expensive.
In comparison, cast iron blades offer a high cost-performance ratio. They are low-cost, corrosion-resistant, and wear-resistant, but their main drawback is that they are prone to breakage upon impact.
However, chemical plant reactors do not require high stirring intensity, since they are not large-scale industrial mixers, and cast iron blades are more than sufficient.
After Zhao Hong and the others left, she said somewhat uneasily, "Why don't you tell them not to take my orders?"
"Why?" Lin Yuanshu asked curiously.
Zhao Hong said hesitantly, "They've been at the chemical plant longer than me and have more work experience. I'm afraid that if you force them to follow my orders, they'll become resentful and it will affect our work later."
Lin Yuanshu shrugged indifferently and said softly, "If you're not satisfied, just find someone else. The chemical plant has no shortage of maintenance personnel. I'll say it again: although they have more work experience, they don't have your ideas for improving the reactor agitator. So they can only follow your orders. Of course, I don't like to force people to do things their way. If you really don't like them following your orders, you can give up."
How could Zhao Hong not like it? She loved the feeling of being able to fully utilize her abilities. If she really succeeded in making the inclined blade reactor agitator, she would obviously reap more benefits as the person in charge of others and stand out among the maintenance personnel.
She had always longed for an opportunity. There were very few women in the maintenance department, fewer than ten in total. Fortunately, she had a good mentor who taught her step by step; otherwise, she would never have been able to become a maintenance worker.
Unfortunately, the team leader believed that maintenance work was a man's job and never believed in her abilities. He wanted to change her to another position, so she never got any good opportunities in the team. That's why she liked to read books related to industry when she had nothing to do. She knew every piece of equipment in the factory like the back of her hand, but even so, the team leader still ignored her.
“No, I can do it,” Zhao Hong said emotionally. She was genuinely afraid of losing this opportunity and being ignored in the maintenance team, forced to do menial tasks.
Lin Yuanshu patted Zhao Hong on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Then you don't need to worry about those miscellaneous things. As long as I'm here, I won't let anyone bully you. All you need to do is work with me to make the inclined blade reactor agitator."
Zhao Hong is a real talent. She knows so much about reactors and can rattle off all sorts of data about them. Even if you offered four technicians in exchange for Zhao Hong, she wouldn't agree to trade her.
Her next project is to make a simple activated carbon filter device, and she is counting on Zhao Hong to continue her efforts. It's really a bit difficult for someone who studied pharmacy to design these things.
Zhao Hong looked at Lin Yuanshu with trust. Although Lin Yuanshu was younger than her, she still felt a long-lost sense of security in him.
After Lin Yuanshu calmed Zhao Hong down, the two began to discuss how to revise the design drawings.
When the design drawings were almost finished, it was already time to leave work. Lin Yuanshu had no choice but to put down the design drawings and said to Zhao Hong with a smile, "Luckily, there is ductile iron in the warehouse. We can borrow the technical department's laboratory tomorrow and make the parts according to the design drawings. We'll have to put them to the test to see what they're made of."
“Okay.” Zhao Hong said excitedly. She didn’t want to leave work. She just wanted to go to the technical department to continue working and finish the inclined blade reactor agitator that she and Lin Yuanshu had improved as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, in the men's changing room of the anthraquinone intermediate production workshop, Qiao An, a newcomer in the same group as Wang Gang, was taking off her clothes while chatting with Wang Gang.
"What are your thoughts on this labor production competition? Have you prepared any technological innovation plans?" Qiao An looked at Wang Gang expectantly.
Wang Gang paused for a moment, a puzzled look on his face. He said, puzzled, "What does the labor production competition have to do with me? That's Director Zhou's business. I haven't even finished my apprenticeship yet, why should I worry about this?"
Qiao An hadn't expected Wang Gang to think this way. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized there was nothing wrong with it. He sighed and said somewhat dejectedly, "I heard that Comrade Lin Yuanshu and Comrade Zhou Moli are leading new employees in labor production competitions. I heard they have already prepared technical innovation plans. Comrade Lin Yuanshu asked the maintenance department for help, while Comrade Zhou Moli asked the technical department for help."
Wang Gang stopped dressing, turned around, looked at Qiao An, and said excitedly, "Are you sure?"
Qiao An nodded, puzzled. "You can find out about these things by asking around. It's normal for Comrade Lin Yuanshu to be highly valued by Director Xia. What surprises me is that Comrade Zhou Moli has been highly valued by Director Tang and has been given full responsibility for a workshop group. She's even more capable than Comrade Lin Yuanshu. After all, Comrade Lin Yuanshu still needs to work with the team leader. I wish I could be assigned to a group with them."
Compared to routine work, following Comrade Lin Yuanshu and Comrade Zhou Moli is more challenging, as I don't have to spend day after day in the workshop watching equipment and recording data.
Wang Gang quickly changed his clothes and said seriously, "You don't need to regret this. I will prepare a technological innovation plan as soon as possible. You can ask other people. If they have good technological innovation plans, they can tell me. I will also lead you to join the labor production competition."
Joan said excitedly, "Seeing how hard you're working makes me so happy. We also need to work hard and not lose to the women."
Wang Gang nodded, said a few more words to Qiao An, then left the changing room and ran to the benzene intermediate production workshop to meet Zhou Moli.
Zhou Moli led Wang Gang to a secluded corner, frowned, and asked, "What do you want from me?"
She really didn't have time to deal with Wang Gang right now, because she was planning to install a simple throttling device on the pipeline. By controlling the valve opening, she could precisely control the material flow, which would allow her to better control costs and make production more stable.
The key lies in the design of the throttling device. She could only come up with this idea; the specific design had to be completed by the technical staff in the technical department.
Wang Gang noticed Zhou Moli's busyness and cut to the chase, saying, "Why would Director Tang support your technological innovation plan? Don't give me that nonsense about being capable; I won't believe it."
Zhou Moli never intended to deceive Wang Gang. She spoke frankly, saying, "As long as Director Xia pays a high enough price, my uncle will be happy to support you."
If Director Xia is willing to offer some benefits, then her uncle can also recoup some of his losses. Even if she doesn't win first place in the end, her uncle won't suffer a huge financial blow.
Upon hearing this, Wang Gang expressed his gratitude and said, "Okay, I understand. Thank you for telling me about this. I won't bother you any longer."
Zhou Moli waved her hand dismissively, then returned to the technicians to continue discussing how to design the throttling device.
After leaving the benzene intermediate production workshop, Wang Gang went to Director Xia's office.
At this moment, Director Xia was discussing technical innovation plans with Wu Jianhua. He did not expect that his workshop team could come up with two excellent technical innovation plans at once.
Lin Yuanshu improved the reactor agitator to enhance product quality, while Wu Jianhua replaced the easily corroded rubber hose connection with a metal clamp connection, reducing raw material waste and incidentally solving the safety hazard of pipeline leakage—a win-win situation.
He found it difficult to determine which of the two excellent technological innovations would win first place. Either one would have won in a previous labor production competition, but unfortunately, they both happened to be competing in this one. Regardless of which one didn't win, he would feel some regret.
Wu Jianhua knew about the special relationship between Wang Gang and Director Xia, so he said with a smile, "I'll take the plan back and revise it, then bring it back for you to see."
Director Xia nodded and waved for Wu Jianhua to leave.
After Wu Jianhua left, Wang Gang got straight to the point and said, "Director Xia, I heard that Zhou Moli is leading a group to participate in the labor production competition. Can I also participate in this labor production competition? I promise I will do my best to win first place."
"Do you have any plans for a labor production competition?" Director Xia did not immediately reject Wang Gang's suggestion, but instead asked about his preparations.
Wang Gang hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "I... haven't written down the plan yet... but I'm sure I'll be able to write it down tonight."
Director Xia tapped the table with his finger and said seriously, "This labor production competition doesn't need your involvement. Just stay and work under Director Zhou. I don't have time to deal with your affairs right now, so don't come looking for me unless it's absolutely necessary."
He already has two capable assistants, Lin Yuanshu and Wu Jianhua. Either of them is a hundred times more capable than Wang Gang. So why should he bother with Wang Gang?
When Wang Gang heard this, his heart sank. Had he been abandoned? Was Director Xia no longer going to care about him?
He never imagined he would face such a situation. He said in disbelief, "Director Xia, I was wholeheartedly trying to help you, much more loyal than Comrade Lin Yuanshu. Are you just going to abandon me like this?"
Director Xia said helplessly, "I never thought of giving up on you. I just felt that you didn't need to participate in this labor production competition. To put it bluntly, participating would only humiliate you. You'd better just work as usual. I don't need your help in the struggle between me and the other workshop directors."
He genuinely believed that Lin Yuanshu and Wu Jianhua's technological innovations were so advanced that there was no point in comparing them!
Wang Gang took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said expressionlessly, "Okay, I know what to do."
Since Director Xia wouldn't let him take the lead, he could only help Director Zhou. He had already gotten involved with Director Xia, but Director Xia was unwilling to help him. The only outcome he could imagine was to be a worker for life, like his parents, watching Zhou Moli and Lin Yuanshu rise to high positions.
No, he wouldn't accept this outcome. Just like Lin Yuanshu had said before, if Director Xia didn't want him, he would go find other workshop directors. Helping Director Zhou would bring more benefits than helping Director Xia. At least he wouldn't have to worry about being ignored by the team leader and being assigned to do some tiring and unimportant work.
On the other side, after putting the design drawings into his bag, Lin Yuanshu went to find the team leader and left the chemical plant with him.
The team leader patted his bicycle and said with a smile, "Get on! I'll take you there."
Lin Yuanshu feigned surprise and praised, "Your bicycle looks really sturdy and stable; I can tell you bought a good one."
The team leader proudly said, "This is a Phoenix brand 28-inch bicycle. Even if you have a bicycle ticket, you still have to wait in line for it."
Lin Yuanshu gave a thumbs up, "You're really amazing."
The team leader got on her bicycle, patted the back seat, and gestured for Lin Yuanshu to sit down. After Lin Yuanshu sat down, she turned her head and gave a confident smile. "I'm not bragging, but I am indeed a little better than the average male colleague. Back then, a group of male colleagues competed with me for the team leader position, but unfortunately, they couldn't beat me."
Lin Yuanshu said with great admiration, "We should strive to be better. People like you and Director Tang are the role models I should learn from."
The team leader said while pedaling his bicycle, "If you can become the workshop director, that would be a great achievement, and I would give you a thumbs up."
Lin Yuanshu sat on the back of the bicycle, feeling the breeze on her face, which brought a sense of coolness. Once she got the bicycle ticket, she would ask her father-in-law to sponsor some money so she could buy a bicycle too, otherwise it would be too inconvenient to get around.
It wasn't that the Zhou family didn't have the money to buy bicycles; it was simply that they couldn't get bicycle tickets and didn't dare to buy them on the black market, so they had no choice but to travel on foot.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Yuanshu smelled a faint, unpleasant odor in the air, like a mixture of blood and entrails. She knew then that they had arrived at the slaughterhouse.
The team leader stopped his bicycle, pushed it aside, locked it, and swaggered inside with Lin Yuanshu.
The workers at the slaughterhouse all knew about Old Hu's wife, the team leader, so no one went out to stop them from going in.
Lin Yuanshu was secretly relieved that this was a small slaughterhouse with less strict management; otherwise, they might not have been able to get in.
However, on the other hand, if it weren't for the team leader leading her, she wouldn't even be able to get into this small slaughterhouse.
The team leader brought Lin Yuanshu to his wife, who explained with a smile, "Quickly bring out the 'good stuff,' this is my good helper. Whether I can make a name for myself in this labor production competition depends entirely on her."
The "good stuff" she was talking about wasn't pork belly, ribs, or tenderloin, but rather the scraps that were troublesome to process. They were cheap, plentiful, and didn't require meat coupons. If it weren't for their good relationship, she wouldn't have been willing to give out these good things!
Old Hu smiled憨厚ly, "Wait for me a moment."
Then he turned and went to the partition room.
Not long after, Old Hu came over carrying a burlap sack. He dumped everything from the burlap sack onto the worktable: a pig's head, two pig's trotters, four pig's lungs, two pig's hearts, a large pile of scraps of meat, a large pile of unshaved tailbone and cervical vertebrae, and some small miscellaneous bones.
He said with great pride, "Tell me what you want, no tickets are needed."
Lin Yuanshu took a deep breath. If she had money, she would have liked to buy all the meat, but unfortunately she hadn't received her salary today.
Although she really wanted to buy the pig's head, she estimated the price. This pig's head was so big, it must weigh ten pounds. She had heard from Aunt Zhou that pig's heads cost 20 cents per pound, so this pig's head would probably cost 2 yuan.
Buying the two pig trotters next to it would cost about 80 cents. The big pig head is too big to eat and hard to preserve, especially since it's summer now and we don't have a refrigerator at home. If it were winter, we might consider buying one.
She had to admit that Zhou Ma's nagging did have some benefits. Although she had never bought groceries in the 1970s, thanks to Zhou Ma's daily nagging, she knew the price of meat: good quality pork belly was 60 cents a pound.
Lin Yuanshu ended up buying two pig trotters, ten pounds of minced meat at 3 mao per pound, and twenty pounds of bones like tailbone and cervical vertebrae. Since they were only 1 mao per pound, she figured she was getting a good deal. In total, she spent 5.8 yuan.
It wasn't that she didn't want to buy more, but that she had already bought all the scraps of meat and bones.
She asked her team leader's husband somewhat shyly, "Could I borrow the slaughterhouse's cold storage? I'd like to store 5 pounds of minced meat and 5 pounds of bones there first, and then pick them up when I have the holiday. If it's inconvenient, just pretend I didn't say anything; it's not a big deal anyway."
Since we're going back to the production team anyway, we might as well send some meat to Lin's parents. We can't let her husband's family eat meat while her own family eats dirt!
Old Hu thought for a moment and replied, "No need for that. When you come over during your vacation, I'll prepare fresh scraps of meat and bones for you. Slaughterhouses are short of everything, but they're not short of scraps."
Lin Yuanshu was overjoyed that her team leader's wife would say that, and she said, "Thank you so much."
It seems that next time I come to pick up meat, I can't come empty-handed. It's best to bring some fruit. It's about giving and receiving, so that the relationship can last. As long as I get along well with the slaughterhouse workers, I won't have to worry about not being able to buy meat.
Old Hu handed Lin Yuanshu a pig lung and said with a smile, "The factory gives me pig lungs every now and then. I'm tired of them. Take this home and try it. It will help me get stronger so I can help my wife do her job at the factory better."
Lin Yuanshu readily agreed, "Okay, no problem."
She put the scraps of meat and pig's trotters at the bottom of the burlap sack, and the pig's lungs and bones on top. When she opened the burlap sack, all she could see were some worthless pig bones.
Luckily, she was smart enough to take a burlap sack with her when she left home in the morning; otherwise, she really wouldn't have been able to carry so much meat with her today.
The team leader originally intended to help Lin Yuanshu move the pork, but Lin Yuanshu easily carried more than ten kilograms of meat on his back, and exclaimed, "I didn't expect you to be so strong."
Lin Yuanshu explained with a smile, "I used to earn work points in the production team, and that job was much more tiring than my current job."
The team leader said with admiration, "You really don't look like a country bumpkin."
Lin Yuanshu smiled slightly, "I guess this is what they mean by 'a person with a wealth of knowledge naturally exudes elegance'."
"You really know how to brag," the team leader joked.
Although the team leader said that Lin Yuanshu didn't need help, she still escorted Lin Yuanshu to the apartment building. She wasn't a cold-blooded animal; how could she just stand by and watch Lin Yuanshu carry a huge pile of pork home? Besides, it wasn't safe for a woman to carry so much meat.
The Zhou family living room was bustling with activity. Zhou Dafu was chatting with his two older brothers, Zhou's mother was busy cooking, and Zhou Xiangyang, his eldest brother, and Sister-in-law Xue were chatting with Grandma Zhou.
Grandma Zhou watched as everyone went home from get off work, but she didn't see the person she most wanted to see. Curious, she asked Zhou Xiangyang, "Where's your wife? Why hasn't she come home yet?"
Remembering Lin Yuanshu's earlier instructions not to reveal her whereabouts, Zhou Xiangyang mumbled, "Maybe she's working overtime!"
Grandma Zhou turned her gaze to Sister-in-law Xue and asked, "Why aren't you pregnant yet? The sows in the production team have already given birth several times. Whether it's a boy or a girl, you have to get pregnant first!"
Sister-in-law Xue smiled awkwardly. She desperately hoped that Lin Yuanshu would appear and save her. She wanted to invite Grandma Zhou over, not to torment her mother-in-law, but to torment her.
"Soon, I've found a suitable prescription," Sister-in-law Xue replied softly.
Grandma Zhou changed the subject, "What do you think of the second son's wife? Is she qualified to be your brother's wife?"
Sister-in-law Xue lowered her head in a panic, stammering, "It's...it's fine...everyone has their own personality...maybe I don't get along with Mom a little..."
She was already trying her best to speak up for Lin Yuanshu.
Zhou Xiangyang took a deep breath and said with a smile, "Grandma, I think my wife is great. No one is better than her. After all, she's the one I'll spend my life with. I think my opinion is more important."
Grandma Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "For you to say something like that, it seems she really treats you well, otherwise you wouldn't be so protective of her."
Zhou Xiangyang's face flushed uncontrollably. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, but rather that he was prone to blushing when he was emotional.
At the same time, after Lin Yuanshu parted ways with the team leader, he carried a burlap sack and walked towards the stairwell, where he happened to run into Aunt Hua.
Aunt Hua said with a smile, "What good stuff are you carrying home?"
Lin Yuanshu gave a shy smile and explained, "Grandma came to the city for a while, and as her grandchildren, we must be filial to her. So I went to the slaughterhouse to buy some bones to make soup."
Aunt Hua looked at Lin Yuanshu with envy, "I also want to go to the slaughterhouse to buy meat, but unfortunately I don't know anyone there to take me. They don't know how to sell meat at all."
Lin Yuanshu was not surprised by the slaughterhouse's actions. After all, meat in this era was not ordinary meat, but a valuable commodity that could be used to develop connections. They were not short of money. It was a seller's market, not a buyer's market.
"It's a pity I don't work at a slaughterhouse, otherwise I would sell you meat every day, so your family would have more meat than they could eat," Lin Yuanshu joked.
Aunt Hua smiled and said, "That would be wonderful."
Lin Yuanshu put down the burlap sack, took out three pieces of broken bone with a large chunk of meat still attached, and placed them in Aunt Hua's hand, smiling as she said, "Take this meat back to make soup. I'm so grateful to you for speaking up for me, otherwise my reputation would have been ruined long ago. Please don't refuse my kindness. My mother doesn't think before she speaks, which has caused you a lot of trouble. I hope you won't hold it against her."
Aunt Hua was somewhat at a loss and said, "This, this is too valuable, I can't accept it."
This is meat! Not just ordinary vegetables. The last time her family ate meat was at Lin Yuanshu's wedding banquet.
Lin Yuanshu said nonchalantly, "These are just a few bones, what's so valuable about them? They can't compare to the value of our relationship."
Aunt Hua accepted the bones with a smile on her face and said confidently, "Don't worry, we have a great relationship! If anyone speaks ill of you, they are speaking ill of me. If I don't stand up for you, I'll be embarrassed to show my face in front of you."
After Lin Yuanshu parted ways with Aunt Hua, she ran into Aunt Wen. After thinking for a moment, she also gave Aunt Wen three bones. Aunt Wen was just as grateful to her as Aunt Hua.
She didn't just give away her bones randomly. Aunt Hua and Aunt Wen were arguably the two most popular aunties in the tenement building. Almost everyone in the building knew them, and they were well-liked wherever they went.
She was originally planning to go straight home, but then she thought, since she had already given flowers and bones to Aunt Wen, she might as well give them to two more people.
This is given to the building manager so that if any arguments arise in the future, the building manager will handle the matter impartially and not favor one person over the other.
The gift was given to Ah Chun as a way of thanking her for being her little ears, as Ah Chun was the one who told her all the important things that happened in the tenement building.
Ah Chun was overjoyed and said, "Thank you for the bones, Sister Yuanshu. I can have a feast tonight and drink bone broth. By the way, Sister Yuanshu, good luck with the labor production competition. If you need any help, just let me know. My classmate is helping her dad with the labor production competition."
Lin Yuanshu casually asked, "Does your classmate's dad also work at a chemical plant?"
Ah Chun shook her head and explained, "No, her father works at a paint factory in the west of the city."
Lin Yuanshu nodded thoughtfully and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that the labor production competitions in the factories of Beijing were all held at roughly the same time."
“It wasn’t like this last year or the year before, only this year. I heard from my classmate that the paint factory held a labor production competition last year, I didn’t expect it to be held again this year,” Ah Chun explained in a low voice.
Lin Yuanshu couldn't help but frown. She felt that something was strange about this matter. How could a labor production competition be held at the same time? But she couldn't find any key connection. She could only put this matter out of her mind for the time being. Her priority was to go home and find a way to win over her grandmother.
Aunt Qian shouted loudly from inside the house, "Ah Chun, I asked you to help me get something, where did you take it?"
"He's here." Ah Chun closed the door after watching Lin Yuanshu leave.
Aunt Qian kept nagging, "What were you doing just now? Why is it so difficult for you to do anything..."
Ah Chun held up the bone in her hand and said, "This was given to me by Sister Yuanshu. We can have bone broth tonight."
Aunt Qian's eyes lit up as she said, "I didn't expect Old Zhou to be so stingy, yet he married such a generous wife who's willing to give away even meat. It seems that it's actually been good to let you get close to Comrade Lin Yuanshu."
Ah Chun pouted and whispered, "Sister Yuanshu is such a good person. She's so kind to Aunt Zhou, yet Aunt Zhou often speaks ill of Sister Yuanshu. Sister Yuanshu is so pitiful."
Aunt Qian didn't refute Ah Chun's words, but subconsciously shook her head. She was still a child and her view of things was too one-sided. Lin Yuanshu didn't seem to be at a disadvantage. The only one who really suffered in the Zhou family was probably Zhou's eldest sister-in-law.
However, none of this concerns her. Whoever brings her benefits is a good person!
After leaving Ah Chun's house, Lin Yuanshu carried a burlap sack downstairs and went home.
As soon as Lin Yuanshu entered the living room, everyone's eyes turned to her. Even Zhou Ma, who was cooking outside in the hallway, followed her into the living room when she saw Lin Yuanshu.
Faced with so many eyes, Lin Yuanshu calmly put down the burlap sack in his hand, walked up to Grandma Zhou with a smile, and said softly, "You must be Grandma Xiangyang. I've always been curious about who Xiangyang looks like. The moment I saw you, I understood. It turns out he looks like Grandma!"
Grandma Zhou was surprised that Lin Yuanshu's first compliment to her was a compliment. She deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Xiangyang doesn't look like me at all. He looks more like his grandfather, and his grandfather is much more handsome."
That's right, she deliberately didn't smile. A smile would only make Lin Yuanshu feel close to her and prevent him from feeling fear. Only indifference would make Lin Yuanshu feel that she was unapproachable and thus treat her with utmost care.
Lin Yuanshu didn't care about Grandma Zhou's indifference at all. She exclaimed, "Wow, you're really amazing to be able to win over Grandpa."
After she finished speaking, she gave a thumbs up.
Grandma Zhou couldn't help but smile, but she suppressed it with all her might, and said in a very cold tone, "What do you mean by 'powerful'? I, an old woman from the countryside, don't understand. All I know is that the first thing a qualified daughter-in-law should do after get off work is to go home and do housework. A lazy daughter-in-law will not be liked by anyone. Second daughter-in-law, do you think I'm right?"
Lin Yuanshu looked at her with admiration and clapped her hands. "You're absolutely right. I always thought my mom was a bit lazy and not a good daughter-in-law at all. Seeing Grandma here, I'm finally relieved. You'll definitely be able to make my mom a good daughter-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother became displeased. "How am I lazy? I clean the house inside and out, cook the meals, and personally invite you out to eat. If I'm lazy, then there's no one in this world who's diligent!"
Lin Yuanshu ignored Zhou Ma's words and said to Grandma Zhou with a smile, "I originally planned to go home to see you as soon as I got off work, but I thought that you have come all this way to Beijing, and I can't leave empty-handed with all those bags. So I specially went to the slaughterhouse to buy some meat for you. This is not only my way of showing my appreciation, but also my sister-in-law's and our way of showing our appreciation as granddaughters-in-law."
She was confident she wouldn't be wrong because she had already seen three extra burlap sacks in the living room. Anyone who wasn't blind could tell that these were things her grandmother had brought.
Sister-in-law Xue nodded quickly, afraid that if she spoke even a second too late, the credit wouldn't be hers. "That's right, I still paid for it."
Grandma Zhou paused for a moment, then pointed with trembling fingers to the burlap sack not far away and asked, "Is this all meat?"
Lin Yuanshu smiled and opened the burlap sack, explaining, "Of course not. There's some scraps of meat inside, more than ten pounds of meat bones, two pig trotters, and a pig lung. I heard from Xiangyang that your legs hurt from time to time, so drinking bone broth is the best thing for you. You are what you eat."
Grandma Zhou stared in shock at the contents of the burlap sack. Aside from slaughtering pigs for the New Year, this was the first time she had ever seen so much meat. She swallowed hard, somewhat at a loss, and said, "Are you giving it all to me? This must cost a lot of money, right? It's too extravagant."
She couldn't think of anything about disciplining her granddaughter-in-law at all anymore; all she could think about was lots and lots of meat...
"This is a 'good deal' that my team leader took me to buy. The bones are only one cent per pound, and no coupons are needed. My sister-in-law and I can afford it." Lin Yuanshu always had a smile on his face.
Everyone was shocked by these words. The price of meat was so cheap, it was almost frightening. Pork belly was only 40 cents a pound and required a ration coupon. Compared to that, one could imagine how cheap the meat bones Lin Yuanshu bought were.
Sister-in-law Xue and the others gained a new understanding of Lin Yuanshu's connections. They had lived in the city for so many years and had never gone to the slaughterhouse to buy cheap meat. It wasn't that they didn't want to go, but that they couldn't get in without connections.
Lin Yuanshu had been in the city for less than half a year, yet he had already visited a slaughterhouse, making him seem more like a city dweller than the city people themselves.
Sister-in-law Xue secretly regretted it. If she had known that Lin Yuanshu could buy meat so cheaply, she should have given him more money so that he could buy some meat for her to take back to her parents' home to eat.
Zhou Dafu was surprised that Lin Yuanshu had such a good relationship with her team leader, and even took her to the slaughterhouse to buy cheap meat. It seemed that Lin Yuanshu's job was as easy as drinking water, and he could easily win the favor of his superiors, while his superiors didn't care about him.
Meanwhile, Zhou's mother was heartbroken. So much meat! It was going to be given to Zhou's grandmother. The second daughter-in-law really didn't know how to manage a household and didn't understand the value of money. This amount of meat could have been cured and eaten for more than half a year, and she just gave it away so casually.
“What nonsense are you talking about, child! Your father and I know how to be filial to your grandmother. It’s not your place to help. We’ve already bought braised pork from the canteen. You should keep your meat for yourself.” As Zhou’s mother said this, she went to pick up the burlap sack.
Grandma Zhou couldn't possibly stand by and watch her pork be taken away. There was enough meat for her sons to survive the harvest season without losing any.
Her youngest son's family lives in the city and has plenty of opportunities to eat meat. Her eldest son and his family, on the other hand, have always struggled. It's not easy for her granddaughter-in-law to be willing to be filial to her, so how could she possibly refuse?
“How can you talk nonsense? It’s perfectly normal for a granddaughter-in-law to be filial to her grandmother. You can’t stop your granddaughter-in-law from being filial just because you’re not filial yourself.” Grandma Zhou forcibly snatched the burlap sack from Zhou Ma’s hands.
Lin Yuanshu watched the two women's reactions with a meaningful look. Zhou Ma's reaction was exactly what she expected. She had given away so much meat in one go just to make Zhou Ma feel sorry for her, easily putting Zhou Ma on the opposite side of her grandmother and preventing the two of them from joining forces against her.
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