“Mom, let’s hurry up and get going! Stop wasting time!”
Lin Baozong’s impatient voice bellowed from the outer room.
“Right, right, right! Let’s get going—this is the very lifeblood of our Lin family!”
Zhao Cuifeng’s voice was thick with barely suppressed ecstasy.
Lin Wanshuang had just reached the doorway of the west wing when her feet paused. She turned around and leaned casually against the doorframe.
Zhao Cuifeng was in the middle of tucking the transfer agreement—stamped with a red thumbprint—into her coat. Looking up and catching sight of Lin Wanshuang, her hands froze mid-motion.
“Eldest, hold on a moment.”
Zhao Cuifeng’s triangular eyes darted back and forth, the deep wrinkles on her face bunching together.
“It’s already noon, and those cadres at the commune office are probably having lunch anyway. Let’s eat our fill before heading out so we don’t end up making a trip for nothing.”
Lin Baozong looked thoroughly displeased as he patted his stomach.
“Mom, I’m hungry. I want to eat white flour steamed buns!”
“You’ll get them! Mom steamed refined white flour ones for you. They’ve been out of the steamer for a while, keeping warm in the kitchen.”
Zhao Cuifeng turned back to Lin Wanshuang, her tone dripping with natural entitlement.
“Eldest, go bring the food in so we can have a proper family meal.”
Lin Wanshuang lowered her eyelids and obediently headed toward the kitchen.
Watching her eldest daughter’s slender back recede, Zhao Cuifeng felt a huge weight lift off her chest.
This dead girl used to be as stubborn as a mule. Why is she being so obedient today?
Looks like she really was scared straight by the threat of being disowned by the Lin family.
A girl is just a girl after all. No matter how much she tries to stir up trouble, she’ll never squirm out of her mother’s palm.
As long as this job lands on Baozong, our Lin family can strut around this village like we own the place.
A short while later, Lin Wanshuang entered the main room carrying a wooden tray.
On the tray were three large, steamed buns buns and a bowl of golden scrambled eggs glistening with the rich aroma of lard. Alongside them was a pot of dried sweet potato soup—so thin you could practically see your reflection in it.
Lin Baozong’s eyes lit up. He reached out, snatched a steamed buns, and took a massive bite.
“Delicious! So damn good!”
With his mouth slick with oil, Lin Baozong shouted through a mouthful of bread.
Zhao Cuifeng pulled out a long bench at the head of the table and sat down, pushing the plate of scrambled eggs closer to Lin Baozong.
“Baozong, eat more. Working at the supply and marketing cooperative is hard physical labor.”
Lin Wanshuang scooped a bowl of the thin sweet potato soup and sat on the lowest wooden stool, holding half a black cornbread in her hand.
Zhao Cuifeng darted a sidelong glance at her and pulled the remaining two steamed buns closer to her own chest.
“Eldest, it’s not that Mom is biased. Baozong is a boy—he has to hold up the lintel of the Lin family in the future. You’re just a girl; eating a bit of coarse grain to nourish your body is plenty good enough.”
Lin Wanshuang lifted her bowl and took a sip of the thin soup, a gentle, compliant smile resting on her face.
“Mom, you’re right. Baozong is going to be on the state payroll soon—he needs to eat better.”
Lin Baozong swallowed the bread in his mouth and raised his chin triumphantly.
“Sister, it’s good that you know your place. Once I start at the cooperative, I’ll be an official cadre. When you get married later, if your in-laws ever dare to bully you, just drop my name. They’ll be scared out of their wits!”
Lin Wanshuang broke off a piece of the black cornbread, her voice soft and airy.
“Then Big Sister will be relying entirely on you from now on, Baozong. You’re so smart, you’ll definitely become the director of the cooperative one day.”
Flattered to the skies by these few words, the arrogance in Lin Baozong’s bones flared up completely out of control.
“Well, of course! What’s so hard about being a director? I’ll get there sooner or later!”
Zhao Cuifeng was thrilled beyond belief, grinning so wide her mouth couldn’t close.
“Oh, my Baozong is so promising! Eldest, you better remember your brother’s favor in the future!”
Lin Wanshuang picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with her chopsticks and chewed it slowly.
“Mom, now that Baozong is going to be a cadre, he’ll definitely need a bicycle and a sewing machine when he gets married, right? Our family’s financial situation right now seems a bit tight for that.”
Zhao Cuifeng’s smile instantly froze—this was indeed a thorny problem.
Lin Baozong, however, slammed his hand on the table and picked at his teeth as he glared at Lin Wanshuang.
“What’s there to be afraid of? Isn’t my sister about to get married soon? That kid Shen Qian’s family is doing pretty well for themselves. When the time comes, the bride price can’t be a cent less than two hundred yuan! Add in a bicycle, and that’s just enough for me to take a wife.”
Hearing this, Zhao Cuifeng’s eyes gleamed like a famished wolf.
“That’s right! That kid Shen Qian is a technician; his family has deep pockets. Eldest, not a single penny of that bride price is to stay with you—every last cent gets brought back to your maiden home!”
Looking at Lin Baozong’s face, twisted with greedy excitement, Lin Wanshuang found it utterly laughable.
Lin Baozong, this useless fool… He was just like this in my past life—insatiably greedy, until loan sharks finally snapped his legs.
In this life, I’ll personally send this idiot into an even deeper abyss.
“Mom, if the Shen family finds out I lost my job, I’m afraid they’ll cut back on the bride price,” Lin Wanshuang said with a troubled expression, her tone hesitant.
Zhao Cuifeng’s face darkened, and she slammed her chopsticks down on the table.
“They wouldn’t dare! You are born a member of the Lin family, and you’ll die a ghost of the Lin family! Giving the job to Baozong is an internal matter of our Lin family—what the hell does it have to do with the Shen family?!”
Lin Baozong chimed in with a yell.
“Sis, stop making excuses! I don’t care—the Shen family’s bride price MUST be mine. And that camphorwood chest in your room? Grandma left that for you, but you’re leaving that behind for my wedding too!”
Lin Wanshuang lowered her head, hiding the ice-cold glint in her eyes.
“Baozong, Big Sister will listen to you. As long as you become a big official in the future, Big Sister is willing to give you anything.”
Lin Baozong burst out laughing, grabbing the last piece of egg from the plate and stuffing it into his mouth.
“Now that’s more like it! Mom, look at how sensible my sister is.”
Seeing Lin Wanshuang’s cowardly state—the kind where she wouldn’t hit back when beaten or talk back when scolded—the last shred of guard in Zhao Cuifeng’s heart vanished completely.
Looks like this girl has truly accepted her fate.
“Eldest, once you’re done eating, hurry up and clear the table. You still have to go to the cooperative this afternoon for your final shift handover, don’t you?”
Zhao Cuifeng wiped her mouth while reaching into her coat to feel for the folded transfer agreement.
“Mom, I’ll head over in a bit. I need to clearly account for the ledger at the counter with the newcomer so I don’t leave behind a mess that could affect Baozong when he takes over.”
Lin Wanshuang stood up and nimbly gathered the bowls and chopsticks.
Lin Baozong picked his teeth, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
“Sis, you better make it crystal clear to them that the person going to work tomorrow is ME, Lin Baozong. If anyone dares to cause trouble, I’ll beat them to death.”
Holding the empty dishes, Lin Wanshuang gave a meek response.
“Rest assured, Baozong. Big Sister will definitely handle everything smoothly for you.”
Zhao Cuifeng stood up, straightened her blue twill coat, and carefully placed the transfer agreement into her inner pocket. She patted her chest with her hand to make sure the paper was securely tucked away.
“Baozong, let’s go. Come with Mom to the commune office. We MUST get this official seal stamped today!”
Lin Baozong sprang up in excitement, grabbed his cap, and headed straight for the door.
“Mom, hurry! I can’t wait any longer!”
Lin Wanshuang stood at the doorway of the main room, watching the mother and son hurry out into the swirling snow outside.
The wind and snow were heavy, instantly erasing their footprints.
Lin Wanshuang pulled the small penicillin glass vial out from her pocket and casually tossed it into the roaring fire of the hearth.
The tongues of flame instantly devoured the remaining traces of starch liquid.
The wall clock pointed to 2:45 PM.
There was only an hour and fifteen minutes left before the handwriting on that piece of paper vanished completely.
And walking from Lin Family Village to the Armed Forces Department at the commune office took at least forty minutes.
Zhao Cuifeng, Lin Baozong… you two better walk a little faster.
A cruel arc curled up at the corner of Lin Wanshuang’s lips. She turned back into her room, grabbed her crossbody bag and a gray scarf, and pushed open the courtyard gate. Facing the biting cold wind, she walked toward the entrance of the village.
The accumulated snow crunched loudly beneath her feet.
Through the blinding snowstorm, a figure wearing a four-pocket cadre suit stood under the crooked tree at the village entrance, blowing incessantly on his hands to stay warm.
Shen Qian was staring intently in the direction of the Lin household.
Lin Wanshuang wrapped her scarf tighter, her eyes fixed straight ahead as she walked past him without a second glance.
“Wanshuang, stop right there! I have something to tell you.”