Lin Xiaoxue opened her mouth, then suddenly remembered what Comrade Ding said, and closed it again.

Wang Wenqiang was anxious: "Why don't you tell me?"

Lin Xiaoxue hesitated: "Comrade Ding told me not to tell anyone else."

"Hey, you are such an ignorant kid. These are your mother and your sister. They are all family. How can there be anyone else?"

Lin Aiqing and Wang Jingjing also became excited at this time. Lin Aiqing helped to urge them, "That's right, that Ding is someone else, how can he compare to us sisters? What did he say to you? Sister, please tell us quickly so that we can make decisions for you!"

Ge Hongjiao turned around and glared at Lin Xiaoxue.

Lin Xiaoxue shrank her neck and whispered, "Comrade Ding said that before I board the train to leave Beijing, he would give me one more chance. As long as I change my mind, I can still stay in Beijing. When I heard that, I decided to stay and you guys had to go. I couldn't bear to leave my mother and you guys, so I chose to go with you."

Lin Aiqing and Wang Jingjing looked at Lin Xiaoxue with wide eyes, one with a complicated expression and the other with eyes full of envy, jealousy and hatred.

Ge Hongjiao was so disappointed with Wang Wenqiang that she couldn't help but raise her hand to hit him again. Wang Wenqiang blocked her and Ge Hongjiao pinched Lin Xiaoxue hard: "What sin did I commit in my previous life to give birth to a stupid thing like you? You grew up in vain and have no brains! Why don't you stay in Beijing? Ask Shen Heping and his son for money and a job, the kind of job with power and management, and then ask for a big yard like theirs, isn't that enough? You have power and a yard, why do we need Shen Yu to do that? You can arrange everything for us yourself, idiot!"

Lin Xiaoxue cried, "But this is what you taught me. You told me not to agree to them no matter what. I will go with you no matter what... I am afraid to stay alone. I really can't bear to leave my mother!"

"What's the matter with me being reluctant? You're such a grown-up, are you still nursing? If you were as smart as your sister and knew to stay first and do what I said, wouldn't I be able to come to the capital to accompany you soon? Now look what I did, it's all in vain! You're going to piss me off to death!"

While cursing, he pinched her hard a few times. Lin Xiaoxue's face was distorted with pain, but she didn't dare to scream.

Wang Wenqiang tried to comfort the mother and daughter, and then asked Lin Xiaoxue: "That Xiao Ding should have made some arrangements for you, right? Before we were about to get in the car, where did that woman take you? It took you a long time to come back."

Lin Xiaoxue covered her face and cried. Ge Hongjiao scolded her: "Why are you crying? Hurry up and tell me!"

Lin Xiaoxue sobbed and said, "That woman took me to a restaurant for dinner."

"What did you eat?"

"Chicken legs, braised meat, fish fillets and rice, as well as baked bread, cakes and biscuits."

Wang Jingjing exclaimed: "Oh my god, you ate so many delicious foods! No wonder you didn't eat a single bite when we were having black flour porridge and corn steamed bread! My dad was worried that you would be hungry, so he tried to persuade you to stop."

Lin Aiqing was very angry: "Sister, you are too much! You ate alone without telling us. Even mom couldn't eat, and you could eat it!"

Wang Xiaobao was so greedy that his mouth was watering: "Sister, you are so mean, why don't you take me with you? You can even bring some back for me to eat!"

Lin Xiaoxue: "I couldn't finish it either. I asked her if I could have a lunch box to bring some back to eat on the train, but she wouldn't let me. She said not to worry, someone would take me to eat on the train."

Wang Wenqiang asked: "Why didn't I come to take you there for breakfast today?"

"They said there's no breakfast, but there's lunch and dinner."

"She said she would only take you?"

"Um."

Ge Hongjiao slapped her thigh and said, "No! I am your biological mother, and I have your brothers and sisters, so we must also..."

Wang Wenqiang put his hand over her mouth and said, "Keep your voice down! This is all arranged by us. The arm cannot twist the thigh. What else can you do?"

"Xiaoxue is my daughter, why can't I..."

"Xiaoxue is of course your daughter, and she listens to you the most. That's good. No matter how they arrange it, we have a way to deal with it!"

"Deal with what?"

"Hey, you, just watch."

"What are you looking at? What I care about is that Xiaoxue has food to eat, not us! Xiaobao and I no longer want to eat those black, sticky, deadly steamed buns!"

Lin Aiqing and Wang Jingjing said in unison: "We don't want it either!"

Wang Wenqiang was tired: "You have to eat even if you don't want to, otherwise you will be hungry! I haven't finished talking yet, why are you so anxious?"

Ge Hongjiao: "You tell me what you want to say."

"It's like this now, just bear with it for a few days. Xiaoxue is taken away to eat delicious food every day, and it's useless for you to make a fuss. Look at the people around, they will also make a fuss, and then Xiaoxue will have nothing to eat. It's better to let her go in peace and teach her to be smart so that she can bring some back to share with you, isn't it good?"

A few people thought about it seriously and realized that it was indeed the case, so they kept quiet.

Ge Hongjiao taught Lin Xiaoxue: "Eat less. When no one is paying attention, put it all in your pockets and bring it back for your brothers and sisters to eat!"

Lin Xiaoxue was reluctant: "Won't that dirty my clothes?"

Lin Xiaoxue: “…” Thinking of the greasy braised pork poured into her pocket, her face wrinkled into a bitter gourd.

Wang Wenqiang continued to ask her, "Xiaoxue, didn't you ask your brother Shen Yu for his phone number or something? He can't ignore you in the future, right? You see, you've been on vacation for too long this time. It's not a big deal if the paper box factory deducts your salary, but what if they fire you?"

Lin Xiaoxue lowered her head: "Brother Shen Yu is very busy and can't take care of me. Comrade Xiao Ding will take care of me. Comrade Xiao Ding said that I don't have to go to the paper box factory in the future. Someone will transfer my job to see which government agency in the county is short of clerks and let me go. At work, I just answer the phone in the office and deliver newspapers and documents to the leaders. The work is not tiring, and the salary is higher than that of the paper box factory."

Lin Aiqing and Wang Jingjing were stunned: Oh my god, isn't this just sitting in an office? She is directly a cadre? Lin Xiaoxue is just a junior high school student, how can she be qualified? And they are the two hot and energetic high school students who just graduated!

Lin Aiqing said to Lin Xiaoxue: "You have no diploma, your education level is too low, you don't know how to do things, and you don't meet the requirements to be a cadre. If they find out, you're doomed!"

Lin Xiaoxue: "Comrade Xiao Ding said that someone would teach me how to do my job, and after half a year or a year, I would be recommended to go to the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University, where I would get a diploma."

Lin Aiqing: “!!!” Is it that awesome?

With red eyes, she threw herself at Ge Hongjiao: "Mom! I don't want to go to the countryside. I am the most suitable for this job!"

Wang Jingjing hugged Ge Hongjiao's arm and said, "I'm suitable too! I don't want to go to the countryside either!"

Ge Hongjiao was so entangled that she couldn't move. She turned around and glared at Lin Xiaoxue: "Your sister and Jingjing are still young. They can't bear the hardship of going to the countryside. Give this office job to your sister, and then tell that man to arrange two other positions, one for Jingjing!"

Lin Xiaoxue was very reluctant, but Comrade Xiao Ding made it clear: This job opportunity was hard-won, the benefits were good, she could get a house, and it would be easy to find a partner in the future; if she didn't seize it, she would become a homeless young person in society, without a job and no income, and even her biological mother Ge Hongjiao would definitely not tolerate her. Who would she rely on for food? Her biological father was dead, and no one could help her!

"Lin Xiaoxue, I'm talking to you, do you hear me?"

“I, I…”

Lin Xiaoxue was anxious, and her brain suddenly became bright. She answered, "I would like to give it to my sister, but she doesn't agree. Comrade Xiao Ding called and told me my name."

"You and your sister, change your names!"

"No, Comrade Xiao Ding took me to take a photo and sent the photo to apply for a work permit."

Ge Hongjiao: "..."

Lin Aiqing screamed: "Impossible! You are lying!"

Lin Xiaoxue twisted her fingers, her heart pounding. This was the first time she lied in front of her mother. At this moment, she could only deny it: "I didn't, I'm telling the truth!"

Lin Aiqing burst into tears. While Ge Hongjiao was comforting her little daughter, she attacked Lin Xiaoxue, slapping her head and face with her rough and thick hands. Lin Xiaoxue dodged left and right, but suddenly a heavy slap hit her left ear. With a ding sound, Lin Xiaoxue felt dizzy and she fell down holding her head.

"Hey, Xiaoxue, are you okay?"

Wang Wenqiang quickly supported Lin Xiaoxue and complained to Ge Hongjiao again: "How many times have I told you not to hit her all the time? If she gets hurt, do you have the money to pay for her treatment?"

Ge Hongjiao: "What's the use of treating them? Just kill them and throw them on the mountain. This will save food."

Lin Xiaoxue's tears flowed down her cheeks, half out of pain, half out of relief: her ears were not deaf, she could still hear.

The slap was so hard that Lin Xiaoxue just shed tears silently for a while without crying out loud. Instead, she felt calm inside: the pain brought by the slap completely offset the guilt in her heart for lying to her mother.

Now she can have that job with peace of mind, no one can take it away! If my sister can't endure hardship, she doesn't need to go to the countryside? When Lin Xiaoxue went to work in the countryside, she was the same age as my sister. She stayed in the countryside for two years and suffered enough.

Working in the paper box factory was not easy either. As a girl, she did the most tiring physical work every day and endured the hardship for two years.

She liked the job that Comrade Ding mentioned very much. It was decent, easy, and well paid. Especially, she could get a room after she started working. It was just what she wanted! There were only two bungalows at home. Wang Xiaobao and Wang Jingjing were both crowded in. Lin Xiaoxue didn't have her own bed, wardrobe, or table. She dreamed of having a room that belonged to her completely.

So she must seize the opportunity!

At noon, the train stopped at a station for half an hour. The attendant called the people in the "blind flow" carriage to get off the train and go to the toilet. Then a staff member came with a dining cart to deliver lunch to them. This time, there was no black flour paste, only two corn steamed buns per person. Want to drink water? There was tap water on the platform, so you could drink as much as you wanted.

Wang Wenqiang and Ge Hongjiao got off the bus with their four children. They quickly queued up for the toilet. When they came back to get lunch, a female flight attendant came over and called Lin Xiaoxue away.

Ge Hongjiao listened to Wang Wenqiang and did not make a fuss to follow him.

But I didn't expect that Lin Xiaoxue would never look back after she left. Even until the train started moving, there was no sight of Lin Xiaoxue.

Wang Xiaobao stretched his neck and cried loudly, but nothing delicious came. Lin Aiqing also sobbed. She saw Lin Xiaoxue get into the clean and bright high-end carriage with her own eyes. Why couldn't she go?

Ge Hongjiao was so angry that she cursed and yelled at Lin Xiaoxue, hoping that she would be sold into the deep mountains and forests.

(End of this chapter)