Chapter 227 Slap in the Face
The atmosphere in the main room had just warmed up.
Grandma Guo held her youngest daughter's hand tightly, refusing to let go. The two children nestled beside their grandfather. Although Old Man Guo still had a stern face, his eyes had softened considerably. He even picked up a red egg and clumsily placed it in Erni's hand. Li Xiaoxian sat awkwardly in the corner, a relieved, simple smile on his face.
Just then, a deliberately raised female voice, accompanied by exaggerated laughter, came from outside the courtyard gate:
"Father, Mother! Quickly look what I brought back for you!"
Before the words were finished, a middle-aged woman with fashionable perm, wearing a brand-new polyester shirt and polished leather shoes, and carrying a synthetic leather handbag, swayed in with her slender waist. It was Lin Baozhu's aunt, Guo Cuifang. Behind her followed her husband, Li Youcai, and a flamboyantly dressed young woman with discerning eyes. [The aunt's daughter, Li Xiuxiu].
As soon as Guo Cuifang entered the room, her painted eyes swept over everyone like searchlights. When she saw Guo Cuicui, her smile instantly turned into a mixture of three parts meanness and seven parts contempt.
"Tsk, I'm talking about Cui Cui,"
She pursed her lips, drawing out her words with a city person's superiority, "You're back too? You look even more robust than you did a few years ago. You've definitely built up that physique from years of 'toiling in the fields'! Unlike my Youcai, who sits in an office, sheltered from the wind and rain." She deliberately dusted off her spotless trouser legs, as if they had been stained with something unclean.
Lin's mother, Guo Cuicui, smiled slightly, but with her parents present, she said calmly, "Eldest sister is joking. Farmers are used to physical labor. But eldest sister, although you are only three years older than me, you have many more wrinkles on your face. I suppose you haven't been sleeping well at night these past few years!"
Guo Cuifang's face darkened, and she glared at Lin's mother with an unfriendly look: "You're not as good as my second sister. It seems that your husband has spent all his money on you."
After saying that, her gaze fell critically on Lin Baozhu, and she clicked her tongue twice: "Oh, Baozhu has grown into a beautiful young lady? She's quite pretty, what a pity..."
She drew out her words and shook her head with feigned regret, "Born in this poor mountain village, with such a poor family background that we toil in the fields, what kind of good family can we find? Don't end up like your mother, marrying a hoe-wielder and spending your whole life smelling the earth!"
Upon hearing this, Old Man Guo's face darkened further, and Granny Guo frowned as well. Qin Haifeng stood beside Lin Baozhu, his eyes slightly cold.
Today is Mom's birthday, so I'll try to be patient.
Guo Cuifang continued her performance as if she had suddenly remembered something, and slapped her thigh: "Oh! Look at my memory! Baozhu, your aunt has been thinking about you all along!"
Perfect timing! It's Liu, the deputy director in charge of logistics at our factory! He's a proper city dweller, although he's a bit older, in his early thirties, with four kids. His first three wives... well, they were all unlucky and didn't last.
But their family is incredibly wealthy! They live in an apartment building and eat government-subsidized food! If you agree to marry them, they'll immediately bring you a luxurious lifestyle! Wow, that's incredible wealth; others would kill for it! Marrying them is like falling into a paradise; you'll never have to struggle like your parents again! It'll be so much better than your mother's life!”
She boasted animatedly, spittle flying, as if she were peddling a slow-moving product. Lin's mother, Guo Cuicui, was livid, trembling with rage!
"Guo Cuifang!!"
Lin's mother slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, her voice rising with anger and sharpness like never before, "What kind of filth are you spewing?! You actually introduced my daughter to an old widower with four children to support, everyone knows that! What are you up to by pushing this scumbag next to my daughter?! This 'lucky nest' is so easy to climb into, why don't you let your Xiuxiu go there?! I think you should divorce Li Youcai as soon as possible and go enjoy your happiness there yourself!"
These words were like igniting a powder keg! Guo Cuifang, exposed in public, blushed and paled in turns, and shrieked, "Guo Cuicui! What nonsense are you spouting! I kindly introduced Baozhu to a good match, and you bite the hand that feeds you! You're a good-for-nothing yourself, marrying a peasant, and you want your daughter to be just as good-for-nothing as you, deserving to toil in the fields your whole life! You're rotten to the core!"
The entire room fell silent instantly, the atmosphere tense and tense! Even the two children shrank behind their grandfather in fear.
In the awkward silence, a clear bicycle bell suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard, followed by Lin Erlang's excited, loud voice. Before he even entered the courtyard, his voice had already reached inside:
"Grandma! Grandpa! Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I'm late."
Then I heard the clicking sound of the self-propelled machine.
Then Lin Erlang led his second sister-in-law in quickly, holding a stack of newspapers in his hand.
"Hey! Erlang, you rarely come to visit your grandparents, so why are you here empty-handed for your grandma's birthday?"
Lin Erlang rolled his eyes at her and chuckled, "Auntie, you only come once every three or five years. You must have brought a lot of good things for my grandparents this time, right? Let me see what they have."
As Lin Erlang spoke, he walked to the table and looked at the several packages placed in the middle.
"Caozi cake? Big-mouth pastry? Glutinous rice strips? Ha~ Don't you know my grandparents have bad teeth? How are they supposed to eat these things you bring them? Unlike my mother..."
As he spoke, he dragged the basket to his side and pushed the things Guo Cuifang was carrying into a corner.
Cured pork, wheat flour, refined rice, brown sugar, and a thick stack of cloth; in addition, my maternal grandparents each had a set of clothes made...
When these things were brought out, even Lee Eun-relang, who had seen many good things, couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Guo Cuifang looked at Lin's mother with disapproval: "Cuicui, you probably emptied the house just to outdo me, didn't you? What are you trying to achieve by doing that?"
"Ha, you really think our family is still the same as before? Going hungry? See?"
Lin Erlang waved the newspaper in his hand.
“Our Baozhu was featured on the front page of the Guangming Daily, and other newspapers in the city are also giving positive coverage.”
"What? Baozhu reported it?" Grandma Guo and Grandpa Guo exclaimed in surprise at the same time, and even Guo Cuicui, who was trembling with anger, was stunned.
"It's printed so quickly?"
"The reason I'm late today is because I was waiting for these newspapers to bring for Grandpa and Grandma to read."
Lin Erlang slammed the newspaper on the table, pointing to a large black-and-white photograph in the center of the front page. In the photo, Lin Baozhu, dressed in neat and clean work clothes, was intently operating something in front of an extremely large and complex machine tool, while several people dressed in Zhongshan suits, who appeared to be leaders, watched nearby. Above the photograph, a striking headline in bold boldface was clearly visible:
"Look! Look at everyone!"
"This newspaper was sent to the machine factory by express from the provincial capital! Baozhu has made a great contribution by developing a new type of high-precision machine tool at the county machinery factory."
Even the director of the provincial industrial department came in person to praise her! When I came today, the factory director also said that Baozhu's salary would be paid at the deputy factory director's standard, which is 236 yuan a month.
Old Guo picked up the newspaper with trembling hands, put on his reading glasses, and carefully read the report word by word. His cloudy eyes first showed shock, then burst forth with immense joy and pride! He suddenly looked up at Lin Baozhu, his voice filled with excitement: "Good! Good! Good! Baozhu! Well done! You are worthy of being my daughter's daughter, just like someone from our Guo family." He excitedly said "good" three times in a row!
Lin Gengsheng sat to one side, scratching his head: What does his daughter have to do with the Guo family? If she's going to resemble anyone, she should resemble her father.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com