Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1639 - 780: Domestic Affairs Meat Processing Factory_2

Chapter 1639: Chapter 780: Domestic Affairs Meat Processing Factory_2

"I’m not going, I’m not going." After Yan Wenhai got the refusal out the first time, it was easier to say it again. "Let your mom decide where she wants to go, just let her go..."

"You can think about it and say later if that’s fine." Lin Xiumei glanced up at Yan Wenhai but didn’t say more this time. For small matters, she could roll with whatever, and her family—husband and kids—usually followed her lead. But this was about her husband’s work, and she knew her opinion wouldn’t change much, nor was it her place to interfere in something like this.

"Alright, I’ll think about it some more." Yan Wenhai looked at his wife, then at the two kids, and smiled. "Anyway, even if I don’t work, I won’t starve. Taking a break is fine, too."

"That works too. Mom, where do you want to go?" Yan Fei was quick on the uptake. He knew that aside from Yan Wenhai’s sentimentality toward the fertilizer plant, there was also a psychological hurdle he hadn’t fully crossed, so he didn’t press further. After all, Yan Wenhai was right—his parents could travel the world if they wanted, and work wasn’t exactly a make-or-break issue for their family these days.

"Maybe... the Meat Processing Factory? It’s closer, and I’m worried that if I’m not home, the two of them won’t even have warm meals to eat." Lin Xiumei originally wanted to go to the fertilizer plant, which she was more familiar with, but after glancing at her husband, she changed her mind. The fertilizer plant was in Sancha River—not far, but far enough that she wouldn’t be able to come home every day and cook like she did now.

The Meat Processing Factory was even closer than the county’s fertilizer plant—less than a ten-minute bike ride away.

"In that case, if you two ever work together, Mom, I’ll buy you a car so you can drive," Yan Fei suggested.

"I don’t want to drive; let your dad take me. It’s on his way anyway." Lin Xiumei glanced at Yan Wenhai as she spoke.

"How about getting you a phone then?" Yan Fei adjusted his suggestion. He remembered how his mom still wasn’t willing to use a phone, so he figured he’d use this opportunity to buy her one. It’d save them from having to call his dad if they wanted to reach her. "Later on, you can also start driving from time to time. Once you’re comfortable, we can buy a car for you. Otherwise, when Dad’s busy, it’ll be inconvenient for you to do anything."

"Well, just get me a small one..." Lin Xiumei thought for a moment before replying.

"How about this one?" Yan Fei rummaged his pockets and pulled out a phone. "They’ve released a newer model of this. It’s even smaller and more lightweight—my wife’s using one now. See if it suits you."

"Perfect, perfect!" Lin Xiumei nodded enthusiastically. "Something like this is fine; as long as it can make calls, that’s enough. Is this the phone you’re currently using? How much did it cost? The newer ones must be pricier, right?"

"Not expensive, not expensive—the new ones are just a thousand or so yuan." Yan Fei said as he stuffed the phone back into his pocket. "This one isn’t mine; I bought my wife a new one, and this old one was just lying around unused. I was thinking of bringing it back to the plant and giving it to someone who doesn’t have a phone yet."

"You spend money like you don’t know how to live! A thousand-something-yuan phone... are there even phones for just a thousand yuan these days?" Lin Xiumei suddenly realized something. "You cheeky kid, are you trying to fool your mom? Do you think I’m as naive as Xiao Xing, that whatever you say goes?"

Yan Fei’s face turned dark; truthfully, he hadn’t even fooled Xu Xiaoyan. The girl had taken the phone to school, and someone immediately told her how much the new model cost. When she came back, she complained about him wasting money. If he hadn’t acted decisively first, she’d probably have been reluctant to replace her phone so quickly.

Yan Wenhai couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched from the side. Just as he started laughing, he stopped, because beside him, Yan Chao was getting excited. "Brother, brother, I want a phone too!"

"You want a phone, my foot," Lin Xiumei’s tone immediately shifted. "Finish your meal and head to school. Walk on your own two feet."

Yan Fei wisely kept quiet, watching Yan Chao hesitantly strap on his little backpack and walk out the door, turning back with every step. Yan Fei couldn’t help thinking he’d made the right decision to follow Grandpa back then. Though Grandpa had occasionally scared or berated him, at least he was decent most of the time. At the very least, Old Ding’s braised meat at the shop outside hadn’t been withheld from him, regardless of his grades.

Most kids these days were raised just like Yan Chao—through scolding and the occasional smack. "Discipline through the rod," as everyone believed, was an unchanging universal truth. Comparing them to the next generation of kids who’d be perpetually enrolled in tutoring classes, these "naughty children" had it relatively better. At least their holidays were still actual holidays, not "study breaks."

Just as Yan Fei was feeling sorry for Yan Chao’s predicament, he suddenly saw Lin Xiumei stretch her hand out. "Give me the phone; I’ll just use this one."

Yan Fei didn’t say much and quickly pulled out the phone. "I’ll grab you an extra battery and charger downstairs in a bit. Do you want a specific phone number? I know people who can get you a good one."

"Anything is fine; don’t go out of your way. You focus on your own stuff; I’ll go buy one myself later," Lin Xiumei replied decisively.

"Still, I think we should get you a memorable one," Yan Fei thought aloud. "Otherwise, calling you later will be a hassle if we have to remember a long number."

He pulled out his own phone and called Old Yi at the city’s communications company, asking him to arrange a phone number. Old Yi immediately suggested having someone from the county’s branch deliver it over. If Lin Xiumei hadn’t interjected to say she’d go pick it up herself, the number might really have been delivered to her directly.

After finishing his meal, Yan Fei stood up and said, "Mom, Dad, I’ll head over to the Meat Processing Factory now. Pang Fa and Chen Liqiang have been calling me nonstop for half a month, insisting I go check it out. Later, when Mom gets her number, Dad can drive her there. Decide together what Mom’s going to do at the factory, and I’ll help sort things out."

Honestly, if Lin Xiumei had wanted to be the factory director, Yan Fei would’ve made it happen without hesitation. But she was aware of her own limited education and the fact that she’d mostly done frontline work in the workshop all these years. If she were actually given the role of factory director, she herself wouldn’t dare take it.

Downstairs, Yan Fei pulled out a spare battery and charger seemingly out of thin air and placed them in his dad’s car. Then, he started his own car to head to the Meat Processing Factory. Not long after driving out, he saw Yan Chao with his backpack, dawdling along with a boy and girl, both elementary school students, as they murmured and stalled near the school gate.

Judging by their demeanor, the last 20 meters would probably take this trio another 10 minutes at best to cover. Yan Fei thought for a moment before pulling over and calling out to him, "Xiaochao, come here, come here."

"What is it, bro?" Yan Chao came running over eagerly, under the envious gazes of the other two kids. "Do you have any beef jerky? Give me some, okay? Mom won’t let me eat it..."

Yan Fei felt at a complete loss, staring at his younger brother, whose weight had inflated like someone blowing up a balloon over the past two years. He didn’t even know what to say. After thinking for a bit, he pulled out a few apples and a handful of large dried dates. "No beef jerky left—take some fruit for your backpack and nibble on it slowly. Also, here’s five yuan in change... Actually, I don’t have change; take ten yuan instead! Use it to buy a pen. Study hard, and make sure to improve your handwriting, okay?"

With food and cash on hand, no one in their right mind would respond "no." Watching Yan Chao happily agree and immediately open his backpack to let him stash the fruit, Yan Fei finally understood why his mom had such a short fuse.

Fortunately, elementary school bags these days carried only two or three books and a small pencil case; even so, the little backpack barely fit everything. With a few apples left, Yan Fei told Yan Chao to share them with the other two kids. The two were both children of fertilizer plant employees, and typically, these kids in the family members’ yard would eat wherever they were, knowing no sense of courtesy. Grabbing their apples, they happily marched toward school.

Driving from there took only a few minutes more before Yan Fei arrived at the Meat Processing Factory. From far away, he spotted a huge banner hanging at the entrance: "Welcome President Yan to our branch factory for guidance!"

Yan Fei’s face darkened again. After getting out of his car, he signaled for someone to park it elsewhere and went inside to grab hold of Pang Fa while voicing his displeasure. "Is it really necessary to put on this kind of show every time I come?"

"You’re the one who never shows up!" Pang Fa, full of grievances, replied. "No matter what, it’s your factory—you should swing by more often. Look at me and Little Qiang, the two of us running this place... we’ve both gained so much weight..."

He couldn’t help but laugh at himself after finishing his sentence. Aside from Chen Liqiang, who glanced down in frustration at his growing belly, everyone else burst out laughing. It turned out that when they had worked together in the past, things weren’t too different. But now that the two of them had taken full responsibility for running the factory, social eating and drinking had become unavoidable. In no time, both their stomachs had rounded out into proper "general’s bellies."

Yan Fei didn’t bother with them for now since his main goal was to check on the other employees. For Chen Liqiang and Pang Fa, who were practically family, he knew they could always talk later. Quickening his pace, he warmly greeted Master Xing, whose face gleamed with satisfaction, "Master Xing, great to see you! Everyone has been working so hard..."