“Twins!”
After answering her brother, Jiang Xiuyun suddenly felt her head buzzing.
Why did it feel like such a coincidence?
She was also carrying twins.
Yet something didn’t feel quite right. The movements in her belly didn’t seem like those of two babies.
And her husband had never handed any money over to her.
Jiang Xiuyun shook her head, forcing herself to stop overthinking.
That was someone else’s story… she couldn’t just force it onto her own life.
Xiao Chenghe treated her very well—gentle, considerate, attentive.
Every day after work, he would come home, buy groceries, cook meals… in everyone else’s eyes, he was the perfect husband.
Their relationship had always been harmonious. They rarely even argued.
How could she think such things about her own husband?
Suppressing her thoughts, Jiang Xiuyun let out a small laugh.
She had simply been frightened by her brother’s words.
“Big Sister, I heard that leader will be coming to inspect the Supply and Marketing Cooperative next week.”
“You should prepare more. If I remember correctly, your cooperative has a vegetable procurement task this week.
If you exceed the target, it should greatly boost your performance evaluation.”
Jiang Lin deliberately changed the subject.
He was afraid that, with her pregnancy, too much shock might cause something to go wrong.
This matter had to be handled step by step. He couldn’t just expose everything now.
If she couldn’t take it and something happened… losing both her and the child… he would never forgive himself.
After buying the Erguotou, Jiang Xiuyun spoke to him in a low voice.
“How do you know about this? I haven’t even told the family.
You don’t know how hard it’s getting to complete the cooperative’s tasks these days.
I’m just a sales clerk, so I wasn’t supposed to handle this. But now, to meet quotas, every clerk has been assigned tasks.
Your sister was assigned 25,000 kilograms of green onions.
I came back this time to talk to Dad. Every household in our village grows green onions, so I thought we could tally everything up. If it works out, I can complete my task.”
Jiang Lin immediately shook his head.
He remembered this clearly from his previous life.
Back then, his sister had failed to complete this task.
Although some villagers grew green onions, the quantity wasn’t large. Green onions were mainly a winter storage vegetable, and most families planted cabbage instead.
After tallying everything, there were only about 4,000 kilograms.
Their father had tried everything and even contacted a neighboring village.
That village had agreed—they grew more green onions and could supply the full 25,000 kilograms. The price had even been negotiated.
But just before delivery, they suddenly backed out.
There was no written agreement, no proof. If they refused to sell, there was nothing anyone could do.
Later, it turned out that another sales clerk at the cooperative—who would eventually become the director—had privately offered benefits to the neighboring village’s head.
He intercepted the entire deal that had been arranged for Jiang Xiuyun.
Because of that, his performance stood out, and he was praised by higher authorities… eventually being promoted directly to director of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
Afterward, having both stolen her opportunity and risen to power, he made things extremely difficult for Jiang Xiuyun.
She suffered under him for nearly ten years before he finally retired.
She had once had a chance to become a cadre… but due to his suppression, she remained a sales clerk her entire life.
Even by retirement, she never got a raise, let alone a promotion.
But this time… Jiang Lin would not let that happen.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Hearing his words, Jiang Xiuyun’s face turned pale. She hadn’t expected the green onion task to be this difficult.
“It’s fine. Your brother-in-law said that if it doesn’t work out, we can ask Dad to contact the neighboring villages. There must be enough green onions between them. If we gather everything together, we can definitely reach 25,000 kilograms.”
“This task is for supplying winter vegetables to the city. Our county’s cooperative has a quota of 300,000 jin. If we perform well, it should earn extra points with the leaders.”
Hearing this, Jiang Lin immediately understood.
This was Xiao Chenghe’s idea again.
If things went wrong later… then it was very likely Xiao Chenghe had deliberately set it up to prevent his sister from advancing.
That man wanted to manipulate her.
“Brother-in-law is right. When we get back, let’s have Dad visit the neighboring villages. If we gather everything, 25,000 kilograms won’t be a problem.”
Jiang Xiuyun smiled.
“Your brother-in-law is very reliable when it comes to handling things.”
She trusted her husband wholeheartedly and admired his ability and gentle nature.
No one ever spoke badly of him.
The siblings continued chatting as they walked home together.
By the time they arrived, their mother had already prepared the meal. Seeing her eldest daughter return, she added another set of chopsticks. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
After hearing about the situation, Jiang Zhiyuan immediately recognized it as an opportunity.
Though he was upright and didn’t approve of bribery or favors, when it came to getting real work done, he was flexible enough not to be rigid.
After listening to his daughter, he nodded and assured her that he would contact the village heads of nearby villages, tally the quantities, and make sure the matter was handled.
Only then did Jiang Xiuyun feel at ease.
After dinner, Xiao Chenghe had already arrived at their house.
Although he had missed the meal, he treated Jiang Xiuyun with extreme care, like attending to an empress dowager, and personally took her home on his bicycle.
His ability to put on an act was flawless.
In everyone’s eyes, Xiao Chenghe was the perfect husband… the perfect son-in-law.
Beyond reproach.
Watching him leave with his sister, Jiang Lin knew that Xiao Chenghe wouldn’t make a move for now.
But he needed to prepare in advance.
This time, Xiao Chenghe wouldn’t be allowed to sabotage his sister again.
Early the next morning, Jiang Lin got out of bed.
His mother complained while wrapping steamed buns in a handkerchief and stuffing them into his hands.
“Look at you, oversleeping again. Hurry up and go. Be careful on the road. Get some hot water when you reach the classroom.”
“I packed two for you. Don’t go hungry. I know you’ve been bringing food for that Tang family girl.”
As she spoke, she stuffed another wrapped bundle into his arms.
Jiang Lin held the warm buns, feeling the heat seep into his palms.
His mother had even pan-fried them for him early in the morning.
Each bun had been sliced open, crisped lightly, and filled with two fried eggs, shredded pickled vegetables, and chili paste… the aroma alone was irresistible.
Only their family could afford to eat like this.
It was obvious she knew he often skipped breakfast for Tang Yue, so she had prepared extra on purpose.
Thinking about it, he felt a sting in his chest.
In his previous life, his poor health had started from constantly starving himself just to provide for Tang Yue.
He pushed the buns back into his mother’s hands.
“Mom, you eat. Don’t worry—I won’t give them to anyone else.”
Then he jumped onto his bicycle and rode off.
Jiang’s mother held the still-warm buns, suddenly feeling a wave of emotion.
Her son… had truly grown up.