"Sister-in-law, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you."
Qin Boyan apologized.
"No need to apologize, you're just protecting your older brother."
Hearing Song Lan say this, Qin Boyan felt particularly uncomfortable. He glanced at Song Lan cautiously and said in a low voice, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have distrusted my sister-in-law."
"Alright, it's nothing serious, I won't take it to heart."
Song Lan smiled and shook her head.
...
Having promised to treat Director Zhang's family to a meal in return, Song Lan started preparing in the late afternoon.
Qin Boyan and Qin Yaxin were not idle either; they were directed by Song Lan to assist them.
Around 6:30 in the evening, everything was ready, and Qin Boyan went to Director Zhang's house to invite people.
Seeing the large table of delicious food, Director Zhang and his family repeatedly said that Song Lan was being too polite.
"Sister Song Lan, you've really gone to great lengths! This table is basically full of hearty dishes. Even our New Year's Eve reunion dinner isn't this lavish!"
As Zhang Meiyun spoke, she picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in her mouth, her eyes squinting with happiness.
"Sis, our family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve wasn't as extravagant as you make it out to be, was it?!"
It was Zhang Meiyun's younger brother, Zhang Haiyang, who spoke up. He put a piece of wood ear mushroom and scrambled eggs into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, and then continued with a smile: "Last year on New Year's Eve, Mom not only made braised pork, but also stewed a chicken and cooked a fish. I remember you exclaimed that Mom was generous and made such a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner!"
"You brat, can you stop undermining me?"
Zhang Meiyun glared at her younger brother, then snorted and said, "Our mother's New Year's Eve dinner was lavish, but compared to the meal Sister Song Lan treated us to today, it's still a bit lacking, don't you agree?"
Her gaze was defiant as she stared directly at Zhang Haiyang.
"Yes, yes, yes, the meal that Sister Song Lan prepared was indeed very lavish. If I deny it, I'm just lying through my teeth."
Zhang Haiyang, thirteen years old, is a handsome and cheerful young boy who is about to start junior high school. He noticed the threat in Zhang Meiyun's eyes and nodded repeatedly.
Okay, this is actually bloodline suppression!
From childhood to adulthood, whenever Zhang Haiyang dared to disagree with Zhang Meiyun, he would definitely receive a "love education" from his older sister, Zhang Meiyun.
In fact, Director Zhang and his wife have four sons and one daughter, a total of five children.
Zhang Meiyun and Zhang Haiyang are the two youngest, and they are the two currently staying with Director Zhang and his wife.
As for the eldest, second, and third sons, the eldest works in the provincial capital, the second is engaged in geological exploration and is often away from home with the exploration team, and the third is in the army. Due to the tight training and heavy tasks, he rarely contacts his family throughout the year.
In short, the three eldest children in Director Zhang's family have rarely returned home since they started working outside.
This is why Director Zhang gave up the courtyard.
After all, the family currently consists of only the couple and their two young children, so living in a large yard wouldn't be very useful.
Furthermore, the courtyard where Director Zhang's family now lives isn't actually that small; it's just that there are two fewer rooms used as bedrooms.
"You're smart to back down, kid!"
Zhang Meiyun threw a remark at Zhang Haiyang. At this moment, Wu Chunying pretended to be displeased and glared at Zhang Meiyun and her brother: "Eat your food properly. If you make any more trouble, I'll beat you up!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Meiyun and her siblings both shrank their necks, a gesture that made Song Lan, Qin Boyan, Qin Yaxin, and the two little ones burst into laughter.
Well, even the two grown men, Director Zhang and Wu Dong, were amused.
After a lively meal, Wu Chunying and her daughter helped Song Lan and Qin Yaxin, the two sisters-in-law, tidy up the kitchen. The two families sat in the courtyard, enjoying the cool air and chatting. Around eight o'clock in the evening, Director Zhang and his family got up to say goodbye.
"Sister-in-law, shall Qin Yaxin and I go to the town middle school to register tomorrow noon?"
After seeing off Director Zhang and his family, Qin Boyan followed Song Lan back to the living room and casually asked a question.
"Do you have any objections?"
Song Lan raised an eyebrow.
Qin Boyan shook his head.
"It's best if you don't have any, but if you do, you'd better keep it to yourself."
Song Lan said indifferently, "Director Zhang has given us a letter of introduction and also spoken to the principal of the town's middle school. You and your second sister aren't going to report for duty? Are you trying to fly to the moon?"
The town's middle school is divided into junior high and senior high sections, covering a considerable area. According to Director Zhang, the teaching is standardized and the teachers are responsible. All the children of Hongxing Machinery Factory who are admitted to middle school attend the town's middle school.
With Director Zhang's words, Song Lan naturally wouldn't hesitate.
"I'm going to report for duty."
Qin Yaxin made a statement.
If you don't go to school, you'll just wait for the local educated youth office to come knocking on your door and arrange for you to go to the countryside.
She didn't want to toil in the fields, sweating profusely and exhausted like a dog every day!
"You'll be in the second year of junior high when school starts. You need to study hard at school and not focus on other things. Otherwise, you won't pass the high school entrance exam and you'll be sent to the countryside by the comrades in the educated youth office."
Song Lan was giving Qin Yaxin a heads-up, to prevent her from getting too caught up in comparing herself to her classmates at school and developing a distorted personality, thus wasting her time.
"I'm sure I'll get into high school!"
Qin Yaxin snorted and said, "In my old school, my grades weren't exactly top-notch, but they were definitely in the top five."
"Keep bragging!"
Qin Boyan scoffed and looked at Qin Yaxin with disdain: "You only got eighth place in the class in the first semester final exam, you haven't forgotten that, have you?"
"I got eighth in the class, what about you? I think you did something like that in the first semester of eighth grade..."
Before Qin Yaxin could continue, Qin Boyan covered her mouth: "Shut up, nobody thinks you're mute!" His sister-in-law was still hoping he would tutor her on high school textbooks. If this brat Qin Yaxin revealed that he had once ranked last in his class, where would he put his face?
"Sister-in-law, it's getting late. I'll take my second sister back to her room."
With a combination of dragging and pulling, Qin Boyan managed to get Qin Yaxin out of the living room.
What are you doing?
As soon as he entered Qin Yaxin's room, Qin Boyan closed the door behind him. However, before he could even speak, Qin Yaxin glared at him fiercely.
"If you don't want to get beaten up, you'd better keep your mouth shut in front of your sister-in-law!"
Qin Boyan stood with his arms crossed against the door, his chin slightly raised, and said with a nonchalant expression, "I was last in the final exams of the first semester of my second year of junior high school. That was because I missed a few exams, not because I couldn't answer the questions on the test paper."
"How many exams did you miss? Second brother, don't you even know how many exams there are? You got three zeros! If Dad hadn't been so busy and couldn't keep track of our exam results, and if Mom hadn't been unwell, Dad would definitely have broken your legs. Let's see if you dare to miss an exam again!"
Qin Yaxin sneered.
"What do you mean I came with three duck eggs?"
Qin Boyan glared: "I missed the exam. I didn't even enter the classroom or see the test paper. How can you say I got a zero?"
"Your report card has three zeros. What else could that be but a zero?"
Qin Yaxin wasn't afraid at all; she also raised her chin, looking down on Qin Boyan with disdain.
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