Chapter 25 Chapter 25 The beef is bad, but you don’t believe it! …

No. 43 Family Building.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the temperature in Changshenggou seemed to drop suddenly.

Amid the thick mist, the chill creeps in quietly, and when I get up in the morning I can already see condensation on the windows.

“It won’t snow this winter, will it?”

In my original memory, it had never snowed in Wenxi Township. In winter, at most I could see a little frost in the fields, but the mountains were covered in green all year round.

But this year is a bit strange. It frosted at the end of September, and it's still cold in November and we have to wear a thin cotton jacket.

While he was in a daze, his back suddenly pressed against a hot chest. Shi Xiangming leaned his head against Wang Nian's shoulder and rubbed it lazily.

"What is this person talking to himself about?"

"Look at the heavy fog outside. I wonder if it will snow in winter?"

The breath surrounded Wang Nian's ears, reminding him of the breathing in the darkness last night, which made Wang Nian shrink due to the itch.

"It probably won't snow, but there will probably be frost this year."

Shi Xiangming raised his face and rubbed Wang Nian's face with his short stubble, making her laugh softly.

Then, with the creaking sound of the door of the small room, the two separated at lightning speed, one pretending to continue looking out the window, while the other straightened his wrinkled collar.

"Dad...Auntie Wang Nian."

Shi Shuwen rubbed his eyes and walked past the two people. He called out to someone in a daze and shivered. Then he immediately woke up and rushed to the toilet.

Today is Saturday and both children didn't get up that early.

After going to the toilet, Shi Shuwen rushed back into the room.

"There's a colleague in our office who knows how to watch the weather. He said there will be particularly heavy snow in the north this year, and there will be frost in the south." Shi Xiangming cleared his throat and continued.

Wang Nian suddenly became serious and a little worried.

Wang Nian, from her mother's family, was not worried. The rice had already been harvested and distributed to each household. The custom left over from the famine years had continued to this day. Before winter, some long-lasting vegetables would be sent to the cellar to be eaten in the winter.

Even if it's frozen, the most that can happen is that there will be fewer green vegetables.

But the factory is different. The vegetables it supplies come from two nearby provinces. Once the farm is unable to produce vegetables, the vegetable station and supply and marketing cooperative will be out of stock.

It is a disaster for workers who can only rely on buying for their daily lives.

Wang Nian thought that he might be worrying too much, because what he could think of, others could definitely think of as well.

"You say...will it affect our lives?" Wang Nian asked with concern.

"Yes!" Shi Xiangming replied very confidently, and stretched out his long arm to hold Wang Nian's shoulders: "I'll take you somewhere later."

"Where are you going?"

"You'll know when you get there."

Wang Nian pursed her lips and chuckled. This secret has been kept for more than a month, and today is finally the day!

***

431 Factory State-Owned Hotel.

The last time they came to the hotel was for a wedding banquet, and this time, Shi Xiangming had just received his salary and wanted to treat the mother and her two children to a beef noodle restaurant.

I heard that because the hotel business has not been doing well, they recently invited a chef from the city to take charge of the food.

The chef is from Northwest China and is an expert at making pasta. He was originally supposed to retire but was invited back to Factory 431.

"We have quite a few employees from the north in our factory, and business has improved a lot since the arrival of this chef."

The hotel door was covered with transparent plastic. When Shi Xiangming opened the curtain to let the mother and her two children in, Wang Nian couldn't help but take a few more glances.

Business is indeed booming, and there are already quite a few people sitting in the hotel lobby.

The whole lobby was bustling with noise, as waiters were walking around, loudly asking every table of guests what dishes they would like to order.

"Hey! It turns out it's Mr. Shi and his wife. There are no empty tables now, so we can only share a table with others."

The hotel manager apparently remembered that they had held a banquet here before, and he rushed over to greet them as soon as they entered.

"There are so many people." Wang Nian also thought so.

It's 8:30 in the morning. Normally when I pass by the hotel at this time, I'll see the waiters basking in the sun at the door. But today, they are walking so fast that smoke is coming out.

"There's a seat over there. Go ahead and take a seat. The waiter will bring the menu in a moment."

After saying this, the hotel manager hurriedly went to greet the guests who had just come in, and had no time to say a few more words.

"Let's go sit over there first."

The location the hotel manager pointed to was a large round table for ten people. There were already several people sitting opposite it, ordering food from the waiter.

Several people had their faces blocked by the waiter's body, and it was not until they got closer that Wang Nian realized that the person they met was an acquaintance.

"Teacher Xu!"

Opposite them were Cui Shulin and Xu Fang. When Cui Jiao saw Shi Wan, she immediately waved happily: "Sister Shi Wan, come and sit here, come and sit here!"

Shi Wan shook her hand, and Wang Nian let go of it and immediately ran over happily.

The two little friends hugged each other, jumped and laughed. If you didn’t know them, you would think they hadn’t seen each other for many years. In fact, the day before, Wang Nian went to deliver shrimp oil, and the two of them played together until dinner time.

"Wang Nian, you guys come and eat noodles too, cough cough - cough cough -"

Xu Fen untied the blue scarf around her neck, covered her mouth and started coughing violently. It took her a while to recover.

"Why did you catch a cold?"

Wang Nian didn't sit down. Instead, he turned to the cabinet next to him and poured a glass of boiled water and placed it in front of Xu Fen.

"It's an old problem. I start coughing when the seasons change. It takes a few days to get better."

"Then you should be careful when you go out. If you breathe in cold air, you will get sick easily."

It was a typical allergic cough. Wang Nian had suffered from it for many years in his previous life, but he never figured out how he recovered and it never came back again.

"Girls are really considerate." Xu Fen took a sip of hot water, and the dryness in her throat finally eased a little: "Look at our Lao Cui, he has been sitting for such a long time and he didn't even think of pouring me a cup of hot water."

"Teacher Xu, you are dressed so beautifully today. Where are you going?" Wang Nian smiled and changed the subject.

"I'm confused too, to be honest." Xu Fen patted her face and quickly introduced the young female comrade next to her: "This is my sister, Xu Jie."

Wang Nian: “…”

Xu Fen did not introduce Wang Nian and just thought that this young lesbian was a stranger who shared the table with her.

After all, Xu Fen coughed so hard but Xu Jie didn't move at all. His eyes either wandered around the lobby or glanced at Wang Nian, as if he didn't know her at all.

"My sister was transferred to the factory health hospital two months ago and is a nurse in the internal medicine department..."

Xu Jie looks nothing like Xu Fen.

She has an oval face and her long hair is tied into a high ponytail that seems to have been curled. The curled hair in front of her forehead looks like a comma.

The facial features are compact, with small eyes, nose and mouth.

Apart from that, her indifferent and cold attitude is the most noticeable. She seems to be full of disdain for everyone she looks at.

"Hello, Comrade Xu."

"Hello."

After nodding coldly, there was no next sentence, and Wang Nian didn't say anything else either.

Xu Fen was obviously used to her sister's personality and continued to talk: "I just went to the photo studio to take a work photo. Where are you going?"

"Let's go to the Housekeeping Department." Wang Nianxiao

Shi Xiangming: “…”

Then Wang Nian continued, "Didn't my wife get a reward last month? We plan to go see where the reward vegetable garden is."

Shi Xiangming: “…”

"I heard it!" Cui Shulin's tone suddenly rose, and he excitedly shook Shi Xiangming's hand: "I have heard of Chief Engineer Shi's name for a long time."

Wang Nian was puzzled.

A month ago, Cui Shulin and Shi Xiangming could only chat for a few sentences at most. How come their attitudes suddenly became so positive, as if... they had seen their idol?

It was indeed the excitement and uncontrollable excitement of seeing the idol.

"Chief Engineer Shi is the pride of our factory. Old Cui has long heard of his name, but I didn't expect that he didn't recognize him when he actually saw him..." Xu Fen laughed and coughed repeatedly.

Cui Shulin has poor eyesight and a poor memory.

When I was having dinner at Huang Qiuhong's house that day, I only heard Zhang Liang and his wife calling Xiang Ming affectionately, and I thought that Shi Xiang Ming's full name was Xiang Ming.

I suddenly realized it when I overheard Xu Fen mention that Shi Xiangming was on the factory's honor roll again.

Xiang Ming’s surname is not Xiang…his surname is Shi.

"I once read an article you published in Electronic Technology News..."

Next, Cui Shulin raised many professional and academic issues, one after another, without giving anyone time to interrupt.

Wang Nian smiled helplessly.

"Never mind them, have you ordered food?"

"I bought three bowls of beef noodles. What are you going to eat?"

"We are here just for the beef noodles." Wang Nian turned his head left and right, looking for the waiter in the crowd.

After ordering three bowls of beef noodles, he turned his eyes away and suddenly noticed Xu Jie.

Her expression was strange, as if she was lost in some kind of self-thought, with the corners of her mouth drooping for a moment and then rising up to reveal a smile.

Look...somewhat infiltrative.

"My sister has always been unfriendly. She is always like this to me, her own sister. Don't mind it." Xu Fen suddenly leaned over to Wang Nian's ear and whispered.

Wang Nian moved his lips, wanting to say that Xu Jie's condition didn't seem like she was simply unfriendly... it seemed more like she was stuck in her own fantasy and couldn't extricate herself.

"The noodles are here——"

Just then, a waiter came through the crowd carrying a large tray and placed three bowls of noodles on the table.

"You guys eat first, ours will be here soon." Wang Nian smiled, suppressing the urge to blurt out something.

The noodles arrived, and Xu Fen had to call her family members who were busy with other things.

"Lao Cui, eat the noodles first, and then we'll talk."

After calling Cui Shulin, the next one to call was Cui Jiao, who was chatting with Shi Wantou, and finally Cui Jie was called several times.

"Let's discuss it after we finish eating." Cui Shulin said this to Shi Xiangming before picking up his chopsticks.

Shi Xiangming couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and reached out to Shi Shuwen who was sitting in the middle and squeezed Wang Nian's hand.

Shi Shuwen: “…”

"When did you know?"

Wang Nian blinked mischievously and smiled slyly: "About... a month ago, when the reward notices were posted all over the factory bulletin board?"

Shi Xiangming covered his forehead with one hand, and squeezed Wang Nian's hand with a little force, which ended with a dull laugh.

Shi Shuwen: “…”

What should I do if my parents show their affection in front of me...

Soon, the three bowls of beef noodles ordered by Wang Nian were delivered to the table.

The bowl is bigger than my face, and the noodles are so puffy that they stick out. The only thing that’s a bit stingy is the few slices of beef floating on the red oil soup.

You can tell the noodles are freshly pulled, and when you pick them up with chopsticks you can tell the thickness varies, the difference is quite big.

Shi Xiangming picked up a small half bowl of noodles and put it into the small bowl, then took the beef slices from his own bowl.

“Can you finish it?”

Shi Wan nodded quickly, grabbed the chopsticks in her little hands, and licked her lips like a little cat.

Wang Nian scooped the chili peppers from the noodle soup into his own bowl with a spoon, and then brought it to Shi Shuwen: "Try it first to see if it's spicy?"

The chef was generous and put a big spoonful of chili powder on every bowl, regardless of whether the people eating the noodles liked spicy food or not.

Wang Nian took a sip of the noodles.

“…”

The thin noodles are a bit too soft, while the thick ones are just right. One mouthful of noodles can give you a variety of tastes.

Wang Nian had a keen sense of taste. After just one sip of the soup, he immediately knew why the chef put chili peppers in every bowl.

If you don’t add chili peppers, you can immediately tell that the beef is not fresh, and you can smell the strange smell in the soup even under the various spices and chili peppers.

It must have been transported for too long and the beef has gone bad.

Wang Nian stretched out his chopsticks and put the beef from the two children's bowls into his own bowl. He picked up a piece and tasted it, and his thoughts were immediately confirmed.

"Just eat the noodles, don't drink the soup."

Xu Fen was feeding her child, and Wang Nian was really surprised to see her act of snatching meat from the child's bowl.

My good impression of Wang Nian instantly plummeted to the bottom, and I had already made up my mind to have less contact with her in the future.

Then Wang Nian raised his hand again after giving instructions to the children. After seeing Xu Fen's empty bowl, he sighed and said, "The beef seems to be bad. I'm afraid the children will have diarrhea."

"It's bad?" Xu Fen pursed her lips in surprise: "I didn't taste anything!"

"Children have weak stomachs, so it's better not to eat it just in case."

"Did you catch a cold? That's why it tastes a little strange." Xu Fen obviously didn't believe it. She forcefully pushed the shredded beef into Cui Jiao's mouth and said, "Look at so many people eating it, it's possible that none of them could taste it, right?"

The hotel waiter happened to pass by their table at this time and immediately said in a sarcastic tone: "We ordinary people care about practicality and eating as much as we can. Everyone thinks it tastes good. Only those rich people say it doesn't taste good."

As soon as the manager finished his sarcasm, someone among the people eating noodles immediately followed suit with sarcasm.

Shi Xiangming put down his chopsticks and said in a low but cold voice: "I remember that the beef was delivered last week. Can't the chef confirm whether there is any problem after checking? If you are worried, I will call Director Luo right now and let him supervise it. How about that?"

…

Wang Nian knew that all the meat in Shi Xiangming's bowl was given to Shi Wan, and he didn't taste any of it. But at this moment, he firmly chose to believe his wife.

"Chief Shi, calm down, calm down." The hotel manager saw that something was wrong and quickly came out from the counter with a smile: "It's because our hotel chef has a big hand. I told him several times to use less spices. It must be because the spices are too strong, so it tastes a bit strange."

Shi Xiangming looked at Wang Nian.

If Wang Nian wanted to know the truth, he had a way. If he didn't want to continue arguing, then he would obviously say something else.

Wang Nian smiled and said, "It's probably because I have a bland taste."

The hotel manager smiled apologetically, the tension in his eyes relaxed, and he turned around and waved to everyone with a big smile: "It's all a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding, everyone continue eating."

"Eat the noodles." Wang Nian said to the two children.

Of course, she still didn't eat the beef, but silently picked out the beef slices and placed them next to the bowl.

Xu Fen saw this and began to have doubts in her heart. She didn't feed the child the remaining beef in the bowl.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.” After saying that, he gave all the remaining beef to Cui Shulin, thinking that at most he would just have diarrhea.

"It's right to be careful." Wang Nian smiled and just said this to Xu Fen.

Xu Fen agreed with this and simply stopped feeding her child noodles.

Cui Shulin was completely unaware of his wife's emotions. After finishing his noodles, he immediately pulled Shi Xiangming to continue the discussion, and was even ready to follow Wang Nian and the others to the housekeeping department.

Fortunately, Xu Fen stopped him in the end and said she felt a little unwell and wanted to go to the hospital to get some medicine.

The two families walked in different directions from the hotel entrance.

"Auntie just took the beef from your bowl. Do you hate me?"

Wang Nian picked up Shi Wan, rubbed his face against the little guy's face, and asked with a smile.

She acted like a vicious stepmother just now, but surprisingly, the brother and sister did not show any dissatisfaction, and Shi Xiangming stood by her unconditionally.

"Auntie eats, daddy eats, I'll give it all to you." Shi Wan was tickled and giggled, and she replied crisply while holding Wang Nian's head.

It was now very natural for Shi Shuwen to hold his father's hand. When passing a big rock, he suddenly clenched his hands. Shi Xiangming immediately understood and lifted the child up with his arms.

Shi Shuwen yelled "one, two" and swayed as he passed the big rock.

“The noodles are not tasty.”

After landing safely, these words suddenly came again.

"Are you talking about the beef noodles in the hotel?" Shi Xiangming asked knowingly, and then asked with a smile: "Compared with the noodles cooked by Aunt Wang Nian, which one tastes better?"

"Ours is delicious." Shi Shuwen puffed out his chest with particular pride and announced loudly: "One hundred times better."

"You know a hundred times more?" Shi Xiangming laughed.

"The teacher said a hundred times is a lot."

"Tomorrow I'll go buy some beef and make beef noodles for you. We'll put plenty of meat in it so you can have enough."

Wang Nian felt particularly accomplished at this moment. He smiled and tickled Shi Wan's little sack again, making the little guy twist and turn like a fish and laugh non-stop.

The family of four laughed and talked all the way.

As for the little incident in the hotel just now, Wang Nian and Shi Xiangming didn't take it to heart.

Xu Fen, who was in a different direction from them, looked at her daughter in her arms again and again with a worried look on her face.

"Mom, can I go play with Sister Shi Wan this afternoon?"

The naive Cui Jiao did not see anything unusual and asked happily while leaning in her mother's arms.

Cui Shulin pulled Xu Fen with a strange look on his face: "Aren't you going to the health center to get medicine?"

It turned out that they had passed the health center without realizing it.

Xu Jie, who had been following the two of them, suddenly said coldly: "I've finished my meal, so I'll go back to the dormitory first."

Xu Fen tried her best to withdraw her attention, and was about to tell Xu Jie a few words, when she suddenly saw her daughter covering her stomach with her small hands and frowning.

"What's wrong!"

Xu Fen was shocked and quickly lifted her daughter up to check on her.

"My stomach...my stomach hurts, mom, my stomach hurts so much." Cui Jiao covered her stomach, and it was difficult to finish the words because she was sweating profusely from the pain.

"What's wrong with us? Why does your stomach suddenly hurt?" Cui Shulin became anxious and rubbed Cui Jiao's stomach with his hands in panic: "Tell daddy where it hurts."

As soon as she finished speaking, Cui Jiao suddenly opened her mouth, turned her head and started vomiting.

The vomit instantly flowed onto Xu Fen's hand.

She had no time to suppress her physiological nausea, and hurriedly turned the child over and patted her back gently.

There were several waves of vomiting in a spurting manner. As soon as it stopped, Cui Jiao started crying again, saying she had a headache and stomachache. The couple felt very distressed when they heard her crying.

"Xu Jie, can you help me take a look..."

After the panic, Xu Fen remembered her sister who was a nurse. She looked up and saw that the person had already walked a long way away, with no intention of looking back.

"Don't count on her."

Cui Shulin grabbed Cui Jiao and quickly walked into the health center just a few steps away.

Acute gastroenteritis.

After spending more than an hour in the hospital, the doctor pressed on Cui Jiao's abdomen. She vomited twice and finally felt better after being given an IV drip.

Xu Fen finally had the energy to wash her hands and clothes.

When he came back from the restroom, Cui Jiao had already fallen asleep, and Cui Shulin was so tired that he leaned back in his chair.

"You come hold the baby. I think I have an upset stomach too."

Cui Shulin's symptoms were much milder than Cui Jiao's. He only had diarrhea twice and then the symptoms subsided naturally.

"It seems that Comrade Wang is right. There is indeed something wrong with the beef." Xu Fen was also very tired: "If we go out to play today, I don't know how much more suffering the children will have to endure."

The couple originally planned to go to Changshengpo for half a day after breakfast and return in the afternoon.

If it had really left the factory, it would probably be on a mountain road with no village or shop nearby, and it would take half an hour to return.

"If we had believed Comrade Wang today, this would not have happened," said Cui Shulin.

Xu Fen nodded in agreement: "Next time we meet, we must apologize to Comrade Wang solemnly."

Then, Cui Shulin suddenly sighed again, his tone even more worried: "Jiaojiao is too weak, that's why it's so serious. What are we going to do about eating lunch in kindergarten in the future?"

There are so many children in kindergartens nowadays, and he knows better than anyone how to prepare the big pot of rice in the cafeteria.

Xu Fen also frowned: "So many people ate it, but we were the only ones who reacted so strongly. If it happens again... I really don't dare to think about what I would do."

Somehow, I thought of Wang Nian again.

"Comrade Wang came to deliver shrimp oil a few days ago. I saw that she seemed to be bringing Shi Wan with her. Is that child not in kindergarten?"

"I heard from Comrade Zhang Liang that Comrade Wang said his daughter was introverted and could not adapt to kindergarten life, so he had been taking care of her himself."

"I think it's because of the hygiene conditions in the kindergarten." Xu Fen pointed out directly: "How could someone who can tell the quality of beef with just one bite let their children live in such a dirty environment?"

The child's breathing in her arms gradually became steady, and her little face was so pale that it looked almost bloodless. The more she looked at it, the more heartbreaking it became.

"I've decided not to go to work." Xu Fen finally made up her mind: "I'll wait until Jiaojiao starts primary school."

In a family, there is always someone who has to sacrifice more.

It is obvious that Xu Fen is the one who has made more contributions in their family. Her husband has finally been promoted to the position of vice-principal, and it is impossible for him to stay at home to take care of the children.

Although Xu Fen felt a little reluctant, for the sake of her child... she did not regret it.

"I am sorry for you." Cui Shulin held Xu Fen's hand, which was regarded as tacit approval of his wife's decision.

"It's good to take care of Jiaojiao at home." Xu Fen pretended to smile and said, "In the future, I can learn more about cooking from Comrade Wang and keep our Jiaojiao healthy..."

"Comrade Wang, don't underestimate him because he's young. He's better than any of us at taking care of children."

Suddenly, someone rushed into the clinic holding a child, and the parents panicked and shouted for a doctor.

The child's condition was much more serious than Cui Jiao's, with vomiting, diarrhea and a high fever.

This is more than just simple gastroenteritis, it's food poisoning.

Not long after the child was brought into the office, Xu Fen saw the doctor carrying the child into the emergency room.

The child's parents cried and fell to the ground outside the emergency room, mumbling "he was fine just now"

The crying outside continued as long as the door of the emergency room was closed.

Cui Jiao's injection was finished, and the couple were frightened and prepared to take the child and leave the hospital quickly.

At this moment, the door of the emergency room was opened, and the doctor's white coat was covered with yellow bile.

"The person has been rescued. What on earth did you feed the child to cause food poisoning?"

"I just had a bowl of beef noodles in the morning. The child felt unwell at noon and didn't eat anything..." the child's mother said aggrievedly.

"Beef noodles?" The doctor suddenly thought of Cui Jiao and turned to look at Xu Fen and his wife: "Your child also had beef noodles this morning, right?"

Xu Fen nodded repeatedly.

Afterwards, it was as if a switch was turned on at the hospital entrance, and people kept coming in, carrying children and supporting the elderly.

Mild cases include diarrhea, while severe cases are like the child just now who suffered from diarrhea and became dehydrated.

In comparison, Cui Jiao's symptoms were considered mild.

Now, Xu Fen and her husband didn't need to guess, as they could completely determine that everyone's illness was related to the beef noodles in the hotel.

Xu Fen hugged her child tightly with lingering fear, feeling extremely frightened.

If the beef had not been given to Cui Jiao, the parent kneeling outside the emergency room crying now would be her.