Chapter 70 New Year's Eve
The next day, Lin Yuanshu saw her commendation notice on the street bulletin board. He had to admit, giving something really made a difference in speed.
Because of Lin Yuanshu's public praise, Zhou Ma was dragged out and gossiped about by the neighborhood aunties for several days.
Zhou Ma has learned her lesson and doesn't dare to target Lin Yuanshu at times like this. She controlled her temper and acted as if nothing had happened.
Before we knew it, it was the end of January, and there was only one month left until the Chinese New Year.
Although it's not yet Chinese New Year, the festive atmosphere is already quite strong. The factory is tallying up its annual production targets and preparing to distribute "New Year's gifts," while Zhou Ma and Sister-in-law Xue are curing meat and sausages.
Last week, Lao Hu, the team leader's wife, asked Lin Yuanshu to get some scraps. Because the end of the year is approaching, most of the scraps will be kept by the leaders and employees, and outsiders will hardly have a chance to get them. If he doesn't go now, he won't be able to buy them until after the New Year.
So Lin Yuanshu bought two pig heads and twenty catties of minced pork in one go. She took one pig head and fifteen catties of minced pork home, which was paid for by Zhou Ma.
She plans to take the remaining pig's head and scraps of meat back to her parents' home during her vacation.
On his way home, Lin Yuanshu also bought some brown sugar and pastries.
Lin's parents were overjoyed to see that Lin Yuanshu had brought back so much pork. It wasn't that they didn't have the money to buy meat, but rather that they didn't have the means to do so. They knew that their daughter's life in the city wasn't easy either, so they gave Lin Yuanshu a ten-yuan note.
Lin Yuanshu naturally refused, but gave Lin's parents some cloth coupons and industrial vouchers instead.
She's not as short of money as before, so she can now openly hand over only half of her salary.
Although she hasn't handed over her salary yet, let's talk about it after the New Year. After all, she needs to use her current salary to take care of her health, and she doesn't have any extra money to hand over.
Lin's parents refused to accept the cloth coupons and industrial vouchers. Lin's mother said seriously, "Giving us these cloth coupons and industrial vouchers is a waste. If you give them to your mother-in-law, she will think more highly of you. Now that you have a stable job, you can also consider getting pregnant. I heard that Comrade Sun Yiyi is pregnant. Among new brides, the worst thing is to compare with each other. You don't want to fall behind."
Lin Yuanshu's expression was indescribable. She had finally managed to get her mother-in-law to stop pressuring her to get pregnant, but her mother came again. She explained with a smile, "I went to the hospital for a checkup a while ago, and the doctor said that I have insufficient qi and blood and need to take care of myself for a year or two before I can get pregnant. My mother-in-law knows about this, but I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry."
Hearing this, Lin's mother felt very bad. She looked sad and quickly changed her tune, "It's all our fault for being incompetent, which caused you to have insufficient qi and blood. You must not think about getting pregnant now. Taking care of your body is the most important thing."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanshu smiled with satisfaction. As expected of her, she had easily managed to win over both her husband's and her own family. Her ears could finally relax a little.
Immediately afterwards, she forcefully placed the cloth coupons and industrial vouchers into Lin Ma's hands and said with utmost seriousness, "I have never thought that you are incompetent. If it weren't for you supporting me to graduate from high school, I would definitely be like Comrade Sun Yiyi now, stuck at home, living off my in-laws. Now that I have a job, it is time for me to take care of you. Does that mean that after I get married, I am no longer your daughter? I can make my own decisions about my own things."
Lin's mother hugged Lin Yuanshu with emotion and said firmly, "No matter what happens, you will always be our daughter."
In the end, both Lin's mother and Lin's mother accepted Lin Yuanshu's cloth coupons and industrial vouchers, while the little sister received sweet pastries and ran around the yard happily.
Although the location has changed, the dishes on the table are still the same three: cabbage, radish, and potatoes. Even if there is meat in the dishes, it is still cabbage, radish, and potatoes.
She had never experienced such a harsh winter. Not only was the weather cold, but she also ate cabbage, radishes, and potatoes every day. She was practically turning into cabbage, radishes, and potatoes.
Lin Yuanshu returned to her parents' home with bags full of gifts, and naturally, she also returned to Beijing with bags full of gifts. The love that her parents gave her was always generous.
In the eyes of the villagers in the production team, they could only see Lin Yuanshu carrying large and small bags back to her parents' home; they could never see her leaving the production team with large and small bags.
One of the older women exclaimed, "The Lin family has indeed produced a good daughter. They've sent back such nice gifts. If she were my daughter, I'd be laughing in my sleep."
After saying that, the woman turned her gaze to Grandma Sun and said with a smile, "I remember your daughter hasn't come back for a long time?"
Another older woman chimed in, "How dare her daughter come back? She actually brought her husband's family back to her parents' home to steal chickens. If word gets out, it'll be incredibly shameful."
Grandma Sun looked very upset and denied it, saying, "She is not my daughter. I don't have such a daughter."
A plump middle-aged woman advised, "How can a mother and daughter hold a grudge overnight? Although your daughter did something wrong, she's a child, and it's inevitable that she'll make mistakes. I heard she's pregnant. As her maternal grandmother, you should at least go to the city to visit her and help her out."
Upon hearing about going to the city, Sun Ma thought of what had happened before. She felt that the women in the city were all cannibals, so she quickly shook her head and said firmly, "I don't want to go to the city. I'll just pretend I don't have this daughter."
The plump woman strongly disapproved, saying, "You have such a good daughter, why don't you cling to her? If you strain the relationship, you won't gain anything. Look at the Lin family; they won their daughter's heart with just a few cheap vegetables."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Sun thoughtfully stroked her chin. It wasn't impossible to go to Beijing with the Lin family during the New Year. Going with them would definitely not be a bad idea.
It's the Lunar New Year, so her daughter's in-laws probably wouldn't have the heart to kick them out.
After returning home, Lin Yuanshu first put forty eggs and dried sweet potatoes into his box, and then took out dried fish and sweet potato starch.
A while ago, when the production team was fishing in the pond, Lin's parents were allocated five small fish and one grass carp. They couldn't bear to eat the small fish, so they dried them and waited for Lin Yuanshu to come back to the production team to get them.
Lin Yuanshu took out the dried fish not out of generosity, but because she couldn't stand the fishy smell in the room and had to take it out.
When Zhou Ma saw the sweet potato starch in Lin Yuanshu's hand, she smiled and said, "This sweet potato starch came at just the right time. We were almost out of vermicelli at home, and I was just about to use my grain coupons to exchange for some sweet potato starch with the villagers to make vermicelli. Now we don't have to bother."
Without hesitation, Lin Yuanshu handed the sweet potato starch to Zhou Ma and said in a serious tone, "Mom, make more vermicelli. I love vermicelli."
She would rather eat rice noodles than radishes, cabbage, or potatoes.
Aunt Zhou rolled her eyes and said irritably, "I'd love to make more glass noodles, but we only have this much sweet potato starch!"
Lin Yuanshu argued, "You can ask your older brother to buy it. Anyway, he's usually quite free. If you don't ask him to do it, you'll be the one who suffers."
Aunt Zhou retorted, "What kind of man would do such a thing?"
Lin Yuanshu said eloquently, "Mom, this is a stereotype. You always think that men shouldn't do housework. That's not true. Men can also be good at housework. Your older brother will be taking care of you in your old age. If you can't even get him to do things now, he'll be even less likely to take good care of you when you're old."
After thinking for a moment, Aunt Zhou said softly, "Your older brother has always been good to me, how could I not be able to order him around?"
Lin Yuanshu patted Zhou Ma on the shoulder and encouraged her, "Then you should order him around a few more times so that he develops the good habit of listening to you now, so that he won't be outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant when he gets old."
If she were the eldest brother, she would be obedient too! After all, Aunt Zhou never let her eldest brother suffer any grievances, never let him be waited on hand and foot. The most tiring housework her eldest brother had ever done in his life was probably making him wash the dishes.
Zhou's mother was also a person who knew how to avoid trouble. Knowing that her eldest brother would take care of her in her old age, she treated him well on weekdays, but treated Zhou Xiangyang very differently. She would scold him at the drop of a hat, and as his biological mother, her words and expressions always revealed her disdain.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ma wavered and muttered to herself, "Xiang Juncai isn't that kind of person."
Lin Yuanshu smiled but didn't reply, leaving everything unsaid.
She had just left the living room and walked into the hallway when she ran into Zhu Huilan, who had come to find her.
Without saying a word, Zhu Huilan pulled Lin Yuanshu into his room. The reason she didn't go back to her own room was because her house had poor soundproofing, and if they talked about private matters, it would be easy for others to hear them.
Lin Yuanshu looked at Zhu Huilan with a puzzled expression.
Zhu Huilan sat in the chair and said excitedly, "I've found a stepfather-in-law. He's tall and strong, and looks almost exactly like the most popular man in my mother-in-law's village. So I need your help. During the New Year, I'll have him come to your house for a meal as a distant relative. That way, he can meet my mother-in-law. If they hit it off, I'll find a way to let him stay at your house for a few days so they can be together. As long as you're willing to help, I can continue to help you find the pharmaceutical information you need."
Lin Yuanshu was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Zhu Huilan to still have this plan. Zhu Huilan hadn't made any moves for a while, and she thought that Zhu Huilan had given up. However, Zhu Huilan was being a bit presumptuous. How could a plan go so smoothly? Feelings are hard to control.
She hesitated for a moment and said, "Even without the pharmaceutical information, I'm willing to help you, but do you really think this idea is reliable? Are you sure you can control your stepfather-in-law?"
Zhu Huilan said confidently, "This is someone my grandmother personally selected for me. He is honest and kind. His wife died early because she was bitten by a snake and poisoned. He was kicked out of his home by his own son, but my grandmother saved him. He is still in the hospital. I will provide him with a job. He will obediently follow my orders. If he is not good enough, there are several other candidates. Anyway, I will provide a job to whoever can help me win over my mother-in-law."
Lin Yuanshu's expression was complicated. She hadn't expected that Zhu Huilan's maternal grandmother could get involved. It seemed that Zhu Huilan's elders really cared about her.
She asked, puzzled, "Since you can arrange a job for your stepfather-in-law, why don't you try to arrange a job for your mother-in-law? This method is much easier to implement than your current plan, and it will also prevent your mother-in-law from focusing on you."
Zhu Huilan was stunned for a moment before realizing that this method could be used; she had overlooked this point.
However, after thinking about it again, she finally shook her head, her eyes filled with determination. "Your mother-in-law has a job, yet she still targets you at every turn. After spending this time with her, I've realized one thing: what I want is for my mother-in-law to leave temporarily, but for her to stop interfering with my life completely. I don't want to be with my mother-in-law day and night, so I need to find something to keep her from getting involved."
When Lin Yuanshu heard Zhu Huilan say this, he stopped trying to persuade her. Everyone has their own ideas, and besides, Zhu Huilan's elders had agreed to her plan, so she had even less reason to object.
"Alright, since you've already made up your mind, I can only cooperate with your plan. But I still want to say one thing: think twice before you act, there's no turning back once the arrow is released."
Zhu Huilan smiled slightly and said without hesitation, "I will definitely not regret it."
During this time, she lived by thinking about this plan. The current Quanmin is a good son, but not a good lover or a good father. She just wants everything to go back to the way it was before her mother-in-law.
To ensure the plan went perfectly, Lin Yuanshu and Zhu Huilan carefully discussed every detail. Getting Zhou's mother to agree to a distant relative coming over for a meal was quite easy; as long as the distant relative was willing to pay, Zhou's mother had no objections. The only difficult part was getting Zhu Huilan's mother-in-law to like this distant relative.
Zhu Huilan said confidently, "Forget it, let's not worry about it anymore. We'll just take it one step at a time. If the plan fails, I'll arrange a job for my mother-in-law so she can stay away from my daytime life."
At least she still had a way out.
Lin Yuanshu nodded, "Then let's do it this way for now!"
Although Zhou Ma seemed to disagree with Lin Yuanshu's words, she actually took them to heart.
After thinking for a while, she went to find her eldest son and said somewhat awkwardly, "Xiangjun, we don't have enough sweet potato starch at home to make vermicelli. Go to the production team and buy some sweet potato starch from the villagers."
The older brother paused for a moment, then asked, "Can't you go buy it?"
Zhou Ma's expression changed immediately. She said emphatically, "I have to go to work and do housework. How can I have time to buy sweet potato starch? Your wife is pregnant, so we can't ask her to go. Xiangyang can't even say a word to his fellow villagers. Asking him is even more hopeless. We can only rely on you."
The eldest brother said somewhat displeasedly, "Isn't there still the second brother's wife?"
Zhou Ma raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Then go and call the second son's wife!"
The older brother waved his hand impatiently, "I know, I'll go buy sweet potato starch tomorrow. Mom, can you give me some money for my trouble?"
Zhou's mother couldn't take it anymore. She cursed and said, "Just do whatever I ask you to do. Don't whine like a little girl. And you want a reward for your hard work. I've done so much housework, and I haven't asked you for a reward!"
Upon hearing this, the eldest brother immediately stopped complaining.
Zhou Ma was quite satisfied with her eldest son's performance. She knew that Lin Yuanshu was trying to sow discord, and how could her eldest son not listen to her?
Before she knew it, the day of the training course arrived. The training course was mainly divided into two parts: political study and professional training. She was in charge of the professional training part.
The participants in the training course included not only colleagues from various chemical plants, but also cadres from the Chemical Industry Bureau. After learning about the process of producing naphthalene intermediates by solvent sulfonation, they will promote it in other chemical plants.
The deputy director of the Chemical Industry Bureau had big ambitions. He didn't just want to promote it in Beijing, but to use Beijing as the center to promote it nationwide.
Lin Yuanshu originally thought that these comrades would think she was too young and distrust her abilities, and might make things difficult for her in class, so she was prepared to fight back.
Unexpectedly, she was overthinking it. These comrades were all eager to learn, frantically absorbing her knowledge, and listening to her lectures very attentively. Not one of them was daydreaming, and they even offered their opinions from time to time.
After finishing the class, Lin Yuanshu felt completely drained. He thought it would have been better to make things difficult for her! It's good that she's studious; without everyone's studiousness, how could future generations have a happy life?
Wen Yun walked up to Lin Yuanshu with her notebook in hand and said with a smile, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu, I have a few questions I don't understand. May I ask you for help?"
Lin Yuanshu nodded and agreed, "Of course, let's go to my office!"
She guessed that Wen Yun was probably using the excuse of asking for advice to tell her something.
Seeing this, the other comrades also took out their notebooks and looked at Lin Yuanshu expectantly.
Lin Yuanshu decisively refused, saying, "I don't have enough time today and can only answer one person's questions. What questions do you have? You can write them down, and I'll answer them for you during class tomorrow."
After she finishes answering their questions one by one, she will definitely stay to work overtime, and she has no liking for overtime.
Wen Yun followed Lin Yuanshu into his office. She looked around the office layout with curiosity and frowned, saying, "This office is too simple! If you come to our chemical plant, I guarantee I'll build you a nice office."
Lin Yuanshu smiled and declined, saying, "I quite like my current office. Although it's simple, I built it up bit by bit."
Wen Yun blinked, no longer discussing the matter, and said very seriously, "Thank you for your help. Without you, I wouldn't be the team leader now. After becoming the team leader, I realized why all the male colleagues want to be promoted and get a raise. It really feels good."
Lin Yuanshu replied, "Actually, I didn't help much. You became the team leader entirely on your own. As long as you like the position, that's fine. I was worried that if I forced you to become the team leader, you would be very uncomfortable. Fortunately, I didn't do anything wrong with my good intentions."
Wen Yun said confidently, "How could I not adapt? After all, I'm a leader, giving orders to others, not being ordered around. Comrade Lin Yuanshu, are you really not considering coming to my chemical plant? The two of us can work together and manipulate those men. Besides, Director Guan really wants you to join our chemical plant. No matter what you ask for, Director Guan will accept it. Getting a house won't be a problem either."
Lin Yuanshu pursed his lips and said with a smile, "I'm not considering going to other factories for the time being. I can still get a house if I stay at Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant. You have to be strong yourself to climb up the ladder. You can't rely on men alone. You still need to have the ability. During this time, you should follow me closely and learn about the knowledge of producing naphthalene intermediates by solvent sulfonation. After you return to the chemical plant, you can also make improvements to Guangyuan Chemical Plant."
Wen Yun said with surprise, "I thought you really disliked Guangyuan Chemical Plant."
"I don't like some of the leaders at Guangyuan Chemical Plant, but that doesn't mean I dislike Guangyuan Chemical Plant itself. I sincerely hope that Guangyuan Chemical Plant can get better and better," Lin Yuanshu said from the bottom of his heart.
Wen Yun looked at Lin Yuanshu and couldn't help but sigh. She muttered to herself, "It's so sad that you can't come to my chemical plant. I wish I could work with you. Do you think I can come to Hongguang Chemical Plant now?"
Lin Yuanshu said gently, "It's up to you, but I still suggest you stay at Guangyuan Chemical Plant. After all, your connections are all there. If you go to Hongguang Chemical Plant, you'll have to start climbing the ladder with nothing."
"Alright then!" Wen Yun said with a regretful expression.
Although Wen Yun was not interested in studying, she still mustered her energy to study under Lin Yuanshu's strong urging.
For the next two weeks, Lin Yuanshu devoted himself to his work, trying to enable the trainees to master the relevant knowledge of solvent sulfonation for the preparation of naphthalene intermediates, including distillation tower modification methods and analysis of various reasons for failure in the preparation of naphthalene intermediates.
They were also very motivated. Apart from a few who couldn't keep up, most of them were working hard to keep up with the course. If they encountered anything they didn't understand, they would discuss it privately. The learning atmosphere was very strong, which made Lin Yuanshu feel like he was back on the eve of the college entrance examination.
Wen Yun also found learning extremely difficult, as there were simply too many things she didn't understand. If it weren't for Lin Yuanshu giving her extra help, she would have had no chance of keeping up with the lessons. Even now, she was barely managing to keep up.
With the departure of the first batch of students, it was already the eve of the Chinese New Year. The next batch of students would not arrive until after the New Year.
The first batch consisted of comrades from the Sijiucheng Chemical Plant, while the next batch consisted of comrades from chemical plants surrounding Sijiucheng.
After visiting the naphthalene intermediate production workshop of the Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant after its renovation, the deputy director became even more determined to promote this technology.
Because it is a special period now, the whole country is "grasping revolution and promoting production", so factories will not be closed for the Spring Festival. Lin Yuanshu can't help but sigh whenever she thinks about this. Fortunately, she arranged her vacation to be around New Year's Eve, which can be considered as a Spring Festival holiday in a sense.
Although the factory doesn't give holidays, the chemical plant organizes quite a few activities. You can participate in the Spring Festival city-wide race, the military-civilian gala, and watch cultural performances. They also arrange for a projectionist to come and show movies every night for seven days in a row. It's very lively. The purchasing agent even managed to get a live pig to slaughter. The food in the canteen is also much more abundant than usual.
Lin Yuanshu wasn't interested in any of that. The main reason was that the weather was too cold, and she just wanted to stay at home and didn't want to brave the cold wind to go out.
The day before Lunar New Year's Eve, Zhou Dafu and his elder brother were in charge of cleaning and dusting the rooms, while Lin Yuanshu and Zhou Xiangyang went out to buy candy, peanuts, Spring Festival couplets, and so on. Zhou's mother and Sister-in-law Xue were in charge of frying meatballs, making rice cakes, and so on, preparing the main dishes for the next day.
Lin Yuanshu and Zhou Xiangyang walked down the street. Although some "feudal customs" of the Spring Festival were prohibited in this era, such as setting off firecrackers and burning incense to worship Buddha, Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures were still preserved. Pasting these things up instantly gave people the feeling of celebrating the New Year.
Red paper lanterns are hung at the entrance of the shops, which is very festive. Whether it is a supply and marketing cooperative or a grocery store, it is crowded with people, and everyone's face is full of smiles.
Lin Yuanshu squeezed into the supply and marketing cooperative with her food ration book and coupons. Half an hour later, she finally came out with white sugar, peanuts, and fruit candies.
Not long after she came out, Zhou Xiangyang also came out of the grocery store. He said apologetically, "I only managed to buy vermicelli. They were too clever; they squeezed me out in no time."
Lin Yuanshu shook his head indifferently and said with a smile, "It's okay, I've bought everything, we can go home now."
"Okay, I'll try my best to push them out next time..." Zhou Xiangyang muttered to himself.
Lin Yuanshu smiled and echoed his sentiments.
Meanwhile, Lin's parents were putting sweet potatoes and dried vegetables into a burlap sack, which they planned to take to Lin Yuanshu the next day.
Lin's mother weighed the burlap sack in her hand, frowning as she said, "Are we really going to Beijing to see Xiaoshu tomorrow? Won't that be too much of a disturbance to Xiaoshu's in-laws? What if they don't welcome us? Will it cause trouble for Xiaoshu?"
Lin's father said without hesitation, "It's not like we asked to go to Xiaoshu's in-laws' house. It was Xiaoshu's in-laws who invited us. The brigade leader has already written the letter of introduction. It's no use going back on our word now. Besides, how can we know if Xiaoshu is doing well in the city if we don't see it for ourselves? Although Xiangyang is an honest boy, we don't know if his mother is easy to get along with."
Lin's mother looked troubled and said, "I've spent some time with my future mother-in-law, and I feel that she's not an easy person to get along with. She always looks down on people from the countryside. Sigh! If there weren't so few suitable men around, I wouldn't want Xiaoshu to marry into the city."
Lin's father said in a low voice, "There's nothing we can do about it. What mother-in-law doesn't make things difficult for her daughter-in-law? Marrying into the city to enjoy a good life is better than earning work points in the production team."
Even someone as reasonable as his mother can't help but boss her daughter-in-law around, and she'll still get angry if her daughter-in-law doesn't do what she says.
After a moment of silence, Lin's mother said firmly, "It's fine for Xiao Shu to get married. She's smart and won't suffer. But Xiao Feng can't get married. She's not smart and will be bullied to death by her in-laws. I'd rather she stay at home for the rest of her life than marry out and become a burden to her in-laws."
Lin's father patted Lin's mother on the shoulder and comforted her, "No, we'll slowly look for suitable candidates for Xiao Feng now. It's not easy to find powerful and influential men, but there are plenty of men who have lost both parents."
Lin Yuanfeng, who was playing in the snow in the yard, vaguely heard her parents calling her name, so she ran in excitedly, "Dad, Mom, are you calling me?"
When Lin's mother saw Lin Yuanfeng grinning foolishly, she sighed. This was probably a case of fools having good fortune. She was worried sick about Lin Yuanfeng's future, but all Lin Yuanfeng could think about was what to eat tomorrow!
She pointed to the burlap sack and said, "These are the things I'm going to take to your sister tomorrow. See if you can lift it? If it's too heavy, I'll take some things out."
Lin Yuanfeng easily lifted the burlap sack, and said foolishly, "It's not heavy at all, and I can even put some things in it."
Lin's mother smiled and refused, saying, "Forget it, these things are enough. What's the use of taking more? They might not even end up in Xiao Shu's hands. The really good things can be given to Xiao Shu privately, not in public."
Lin's father agreed, "You really have foresight..."
Lin's mother was very happy after being coaxed by Lin's father, and stopped worrying about the troublesome issues with the two children.
Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Sun arrived at the Lin family's door and shouted, "Old Lin, are you home? I need to talk to you."
When Lin's father heard someone calling him from outside, he quickly went out, opened the door, and saw Sun's father and mother standing at the door. He quickly invited them to come in and sit down.
Mr. and Mrs. Sun sat on the benches in the main room. Mr. Sun began to explain his purpose, "I heard that you are going to Xiaoshu's in-laws' house for dinner tomorrow. I was thinking that my Yiyi and your Xiaoshu live in the same tenement building, so our two families can go together. With such heavy snow, it will be safer for both families to be together. In case anything happens, we can lend a hand."
Lin's father readily agreed, "Of course, and don't forget to get the brigade leader to issue a letter of introduction."
Seeing that Lin's father agreed so readily, Sun's father was very happy and said with a smile, "It's already been set up."
The people in the production team are much better; they're more humane than city people, who are so cold and calculating, always haggling over every little thing. They're really obsessed with money.
Lin's father replied, "That's good."
After Mr. and Mrs. Sun left, Mrs. Lin walked up to Mr. Lin, frowned, and said, "I heard that Sun Yiyi's in-laws don't have a good relationship with her parents. Why would they invite Sun Yiyi's parents to Beijing for a family reunion dinner!"
Lin Man waved his hand dismissively, "These things have nothing to do with us. We are just fellow travelers with the Sun family, not family."
After thinking about it for a while, Lin's mother stopped considering the issue. Instead, she took Lin Yuanfeng's hand and began to patiently instruct him on what he could and could not do after arriving in Beijing, and to not embarrass his sister.
Lin Yuanfeng didn't listen to a word her mother said. When her sister was mentioned, she thought of sweet candy. She planned to go up the mountain with the other educated youth to catch a rabbit for her sister.
On the other side, after Lin Yuanshu returned home, he handed the candy to Zhou Ma. Zhou Ma whispered, "I can let your parents come over for dinner, but your distant relative must be paid for with money and tickets. He can't just eat and drink for free."
Lin Yuanshu said without hesitation, "I know. He hasn't seen my parents in a long time and thought he could meet them while he was in Beijing for an interview. I felt awkward asking him to meet outside, as it would seem too formal, so I asked him to come over for a meal."
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