Lin Wanwan ate her meal at an unhurried pace.
The braised pork was indeed delicious. The fat and lean portions were perfectly balanced, and the texture was soft and tender.
Wu Cuicui shoveled a couple of mouthfuls of rice into her mouth before asking Lin Guoqiang: “How did that matter turn out?”
“Ah, there’s really no way around it.” Lin Guoqiang let out a heavy sigh.
The two of them spoke vaguely, but Lin Wanwan knew exactly what they were talking about. She swallowed the food in her mouth and said: “Dad, Mom, I’m willing to go to the countryside. Please stop asking people for help because of this.”
If she had a choice, she certainly did not want to go to the countryside.
But the people from the Educated Youth Office had personally come to inform them. If she still refused to go, even a family with as good a class background as the Lin family would be affected.
Lin Wanwan did not want to cause trouble for her family. It was already 1975. At most, she only had to endure two years before the college entrance examination would be reinstated. When that happened, she could take the exam and leave.
Two years would pass if she gritted her teeth and persevered.
Besides, she had an entire shopping mall backing her up!
The moment those words left her mouth, silence fell over the room.
Neither Wu Cuicui nor Lin Guoqiang spoke.
“…”
What was going on?
Why had they suddenly stopped talking?
Had she said something wrong?
Had her identity been exposed??
Lin Wanwan panicked. The hand holding her chopsticks trembled slightly.
“It’s because I’m a useless mother that my precious daughter has to suffer like this!”
The next second, Wu Cuicui’s eyes turned red, and she suddenly cried out, startling Lin Wanwan.
“My poor Wanwan! Why are you so unlucky? Why did that Educated Youth Office have to target our family? In the end, it’s because your mother is useless! Wanwan, Mom is sorry!”
Hearing his wife’s words, Lin Guoqiang felt terrible.
He silently sighed and said: “Blame me. I’m the useless one…”
“Yes, you are useless!” Wu Cuicui immediately redirected her fire toward Lin Guoqiang, glaring at him fiercely. “Before this, you were always talking about knowing this person and that person, some big leader or high-ranking official. Then why does our daughter still have to go to the countryside? Tell me, what use are you?”
“I only gave birth to this one precious daughter. I can barely bear to make her sweep the floor at home, let alone send her to work in the fields!”
Lin Guoqiang’s face scrunched together.
A man standing at nearly one meter seventy-eight, yet he shrank into himself and did not dare utter a word. He even looked a little pitiful.
The more Lin Wanwan watched, the more she wanted to laugh.
Seeing Father Lin’s miserable expression, she spoke up on his behalf.
“Mom, Dad already did his best. This matter was impossible to solve in the first place. Please don’t blame him.”
“Look at that! Your daughter is even speaking up for you!”
Wu Cuicui knew perfectly well that the matter could not be resolved.
She was simply holding in frustration and needed an outlet.
She shot Lin Guoqiang another glare, but for the sake of her daughter speaking on his behalf, she finally calmed down.
After lunch, Wu Cuicui and Lin Guoqiang rested for an hour before heading to the factory.
With nothing to do, Lin Wanwan slipped into the shopping mall again for a stroll.
The mall was cool, and staying inside made her body feel a little more comfortable.
As she walked around the fourth floor and saw the completely empty milk tea shop beside her, she sighed leisurely.
“If only I could have an iced Watermelon Freeze right now…”
The moment her words fell, a cup of milk tea appeared out of thin air on the shop counter.
It was exactly a Watermelon Freeze!
Lin Wanwan: “!!!”
Did it make whatever she said?
“I’d also like a Mango Pomelo Sago…” she said tentatively.
To her surprise, another cup instantly appeared on the counter.
It was indeed Mango Pomelo Sago!
Eh? Eh? Eh?
Did that mean as long as the shop sold it, she only had to say its name and it would appear?
That was way too amazing!
Lin Wanwan had never expected the mall to possess such a function.
Her mood immediately became even better.
Picking up the Watermelon Freeze, she took a couple of sips.
The cool, sweet flavor slid down her throat and into her stomach.
Refreshing!!
Holding the milk tea in her hands, she sat on a sofa in the mall’s rest area and read a novel in complete comfort.
Still, Lin Wanwan did not dare stay in the mall for too long.
After finishing the fruit tea, she left. She tossed the empty cup into one of the mall’s trash bins.
Then she lay on her bed and fell asleep beneath the electric fan.
When she woke up, it was already close to five o’clock.
Stretching lazily, her pale yellow pajamas rode up with the movement, exposing a small section of her slender, fair waist.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and her eyes glistened with lingering moisture.
Outside the window, the sun had not completely set.
Hanging low in the western sky, it dyed the surrounding clouds crimson.
The red glow cast its light onto Lin Wanwan, draping her in a thin veil of radiance and making her look like an enchanting spirit.
She had slept too long and actually felt tired from sleeping.
Leaning against the headboard, she rested for a while.
Hearing movement from the living room, she got up, slipped on her slippers, and opened the door.
The moment the door opened, two identical little boys charged toward her like firecrackers.
“Auntie! Auntie! Guess who we are!”
The two boys were the children of her eldest brother, Lin Wenhua.
They were twins and six years old this year.
Having inherited the best features of their parents, they were extremely adorable.
Their round, bright eyes stared directly at people, enough to melt anyone’s heart.
The little pair loved playing the game of “Guess Who I Am.”
“Hmm… let me see…” Lin Wanwan studied them for a moment, pretending to hesitate.
“Auntie, Auntie, hurry up and say it!”
“Auntie, tell us already! Who am I?”
Only after listening to their impatient urging did Lin Wanwan smile and answer.
“You’re Zhizuo, and you’re Zhiyou. Right?”
Little Comrade Lin Zhizuo pouted.
“Why can Auntie get it right every single time?!”
Little Comrade Lin Zhiyou, however, looked excited.
“Auntie got it right again! Grandma couldn’t guess just now!”
Lin Wanwan’s eyes curved into crescents.
“Isn’t Auntie amazing?”
Although the two children were twins, their personalities and certain habits were different.
Anyone who spent enough time with them and observed carefully would notice the distinctions.
Lin Zhizuo and Lin Zhiyou were especially attached to her.
They surrounded her, chattering endlessly about what they considered interesting stories.
Lin Wanwan listened patiently and occasionally chimed in.
“Wow, Zhizuo is so impressive?”
“Zhiyou is such a good boy~”
Lin Zhizuo and Lin Zhiyou loved talking to their aunt the most.
Their aunt was so beautiful, spoke so gently, and even smelled nice!
“You two are not allowed to bother Auntie.”
Zhang Xiaohong, the wife of Lin Wanwan’s eldest brother, poked her head out of the kitchen with a rather stern tone.
Zhang Xiaohong was a primary school teacher.
Wearing glasses, she had a refined and delicate appearance.
Lin Wanwan smiled at her, dimples faintly appearing on both cheeks.
“It’s fine, Sister-in-law. Zhizuo and Zhiyou are very well-behaved. They’re not bothersome at all.”
Zhang Xiaohong replied helplessly: “Only you can tolerate these two little ancestors. Even your brother can’t stand them sometimes. They talk way too much.”
She liked this little sister-in-law very much.
Beautiful, good-tempered, and easy to get along with.
Zhang Xiaohong dreamed of having a daughter like her.
Unfortunately, her sister-in-law was unlucky enough to be sent to the countryside as an educated youth.
How could someone who had been pampered at home endure life in a rural village?
Returning to the kitchen to help wash vegetables, Zhang Xiaohong lowered her voice and asked,
“Mom, is Wanwan really going to the countryside? When?”
“Yes.” Wu Cuicui immediately looked troubled when the subject came up. “Her father doesn’t have any other options. She’ll probably have to leave in about half a month.”
Sympathy and concern filled Zhang Xiaohong’s eyes.
“Then we need to prepare more things for Wanwan. The countryside has nothing. Even food isn’t very good. I still have some national food coupons. I’ll give them all to Wanwan when the time comes. By the way, has the destination been chosen? Can’t she go somewhere closer?”
Wu Cuicui became even more worried.
“All the nearby places are already full! Her father said he’d keep looking this afternoon, though who knows what he can find.”
“Dad loves Wanwan so much. He definitely won’t let her go somewhere completely desolate.” Zhang Xiaohong said reassuringly.
Wu Cuicui continued sighing.
“I hope so. The day after tomorrow is my day off. I’ll take Wanwan to the department store for a look around.”
Zhang Xiaohong nodded.
“I still have quite a bit of money and coupons. I’ll bring them over tomorrow.”
“No need. Keep them for yourselves. Mom isn’t lacking coupons.” Wu Cuicui waved her hand dismissively, though warmth filled her heart.
While Wu Cuicui loved her daughter the most, she was not the kind of person who squeezed her other children dry for the sake of one child.
Between her and Lin Guoqiang, their monthly wages totaled nearly four hundred yuan.
Lin Guoqiang was also the director of a machinery factory, and the coupons he received every month were more than they could spend.
Supporting one daughter was more than easy enough.