Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 435 - 434: Playing the Victim

Chapter 435: Chapter 434: Playing the Victim

Minister Huang did not overstep his authority; instead, he made a call on the spot to Beijing to confirm the monthly order for eighty thousand Head Flowers and the delivery date, and then signed the agreement with Lan County Textile Factory on behalf of the Beijing Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

"Uncle Huang, let’s go to Uncle Team Leader’s house first. Factory Director Ji heard you were coming and specially prepared a big fat goose. Aunt Li should have it ready by now; you must try the iron pot stewed goose."

"Sure, let’s go together," said Minister Huang affably, slinging an arm over the shoulders of Wong Xiao and Factory Director Ji as they headed out.

Factory Director Ji’s hands were trembling!

He felt as if he were dreaming!

Back in the day, to sway Zhai Huayuan, the whole county was mobilized, it took days of effort to get what they wanted.

And today? Right after discussing the trade deal, he casually mentioned it, and they placed an order for eighty thousand Head Flowers! And for a whole year, at that!

Factory Director Ji looked at Lin Nianhe, his eyes shining red, his lips murmuring, seemingly wanting to call her over.

But Lin Nianhe glanced at her watch and said, "It’s noon; I need to go back to the village school to help serve lunch to the kids."

Minister Huang stopped in his tracks and turned to ask, "What are the kids eating?"

As for that...

The village school today was having stewed cabbage and boiled eggs.

Ever since Yu Xiangqin became the logistics teacher, Principal Wu no longer had to cook lunch.

Despite having over a hundred kids, there was not enough vegetables, so they had to plan carefully, each child only got a spoonful of vegetables, including the soup and water.

Minister Huang and Mr. Lin didn’t go to Li Dahe’s house, but followed Lin Nianhe to the village school instead.

The kids brought their staples, including cornbread, flatbreads, and some only had a steamed potato.

Minister Huang and Mr. Lin silently observed the children’s meals.

Lin Nianhe quickly reassured them: "Dad, Uncle Huang, it’s much better now. These eggs are from chicks hatched from eggs bought by the commune, and now they lay eggs daily, so we boil them to provide nutrition for the kids. Look, those books and the kids’ backpacks behind the classroom, they were donated by Uncle Sun and the comrades from the military region during my last trip to the provincial city."

"The coal balls used for the stove were squeezed out for us from the commune’s share by Uncle Wong recently. They burn longer, so the kids don’t have to add wood in the middle of class. Oh, and these desks and chairs were made when the village school was built. Our village carpenter, Second Uncle Li, led the villagers to cut down trees and make them. He also deliberately adjusted the height according to the approximate height of the kids in different grades!"

Lin Nianhe didn’t need to give reassurance, but after she rattled it off, Mr. Lin and Minister Huang simultaneously wiped the corners of their eyes.

Mr. Lin reached out to pat Factory Director Ji on the shoulder: "Old Ji, it’s hard on you, go fetch that pot of stewed goose, and let’s share it with the kids."

"Ah? But that was for the officials... "

"Just give them a taste of the soup," Mr. Lin said offhandedly, "Old Huang doesn’t care for meat."

Minister Huang nodded repeatedly: "Exactly, I don’t care for meat, let the kids have it."

Factory Director Ji looked towards Wong Xiao, who gave him a nod of agreement.

Soon enough, the big fat goose was distributed into the kids’ meal boxes.

Mr. Lin and Minister Huang did not leave, but instead sat in the first-grade classroom with a meal box each, a spoonful of cabbage, a spoonful of stewed goose, and added two flatbreads, enjoying their meal.

As the two of them ate, Lin Nianhe wandered into the kitchen.

She asked Yu Xiangqin, who was still busy: "Sister Xiangqin, are there any eggs left?"

"Yes," Yu Xiangqin took out a small bowl, inside were three boiled eggs left over from today, "I was dazed today and miscounted, so I boiled them."

"All right, give me one."

Lin Nianhe took an egg and cut it in half with a knife.

Yu Xiangqin was puzzled: "Doing what?"

" For the leaders!" Lin Nianhe said, her lips forming a smile.

"Give it to the leaders and you’re still cutting it in half? Just take them all!" Yu Xiangqin said, wanting to stuff the remaining two eggs into her hands.

"No no no, hide these, and give them to the Principal after they leave," Lin Nianhe hastily hid the eggs in the cupboard, "what they lack isn’t this bite of an egg."

Yu Xiangqin: "You’re kind of treating the leaders with no respect!"

Lin Nianhe tilted her chin at her: "I have my own considerations, just hide it well."

Speaking thus, she took the two halves of the eggs and was about to leave.

Yu Xiangqin suddenly remembered something, grabbed her and asked, "Is that why you didn’t let me put meat in the dishes today?"

Lin Nianhe nodded: "Yes, not only today but as long as they are here, our dishes won’t have any meat!"

"Why?"

"To appear miserable!"

Appearing miserable is effective, very effective.

Especially for Mr. Lin and Minister Huang, who also went through hard times, the scene in front of them involuntarily brought back memories of their most difficult years.

Minister Huang and Mr. Lin both wanted to take out some money to buy meat for the kids, but—

Comrade Old Lin had saved for over half a year, only accumulating a total of seventeen yuan and eighty cents, which he had intended to spend on a trip to the provincial city with Lin Nianhe; Minister Huang, always tight with money, had only brought five yuan with him when he left his home, spending one yuan and eighty cents on food along the way.

They looked at each other, each pondering what transformation this twenty-one yuan could bring to the children.

After a moment, they reached the same conclusion: it wouldn’t change anything.

Unbeknownst to them, Lin Nianhe had slipped next to them, clutching a stack of workbooks, meandering over.

As she quickly graded the homework, she muttered, "Ah... this notebook has been erased back and forth three or four times, the paper is torn... if only the printing factory could wholesale notebooks to the elementary and secondary schools."

Mr. Lin and Minister Huang leaned over to look, indeed, the paper of those workbooks had been thinned by erasers, several spots had been rubbed through.

Mr. Lin casually snatched the three yuan and twenty cents that Minister Huang was clutching tightly, adding his own seventeen yuan and eighty cents to give it to Lin Nianhe: "Hehe, take this money for now, go buy some notebooks for the kids."

"Eh?" Lin Nianhe quickly shook her head, returning the hard-earned money of the two, "No need, Dad. Our village school has a rule rewarding notebooks, but the kids think the notebooks are too expensive, they don’t dare to use them even as a reward."

Mr. Lin and Minister Huang looked at each other, speechless.

They knew all too well, to solve the dire circumstances of the village school, twenty-one yuan was not enough, not even two hundred and ten... Moreover, countless other elementary and secondary schools were facing the same plight.

Lin Nianhe, seeing the furrowed brows of the two men, proposed again: "Dad, Uncle Huang, is it really not possible to reach a supply agreement between the printing factory and the elementary and secondary schools? Without the Cooperatives Society acting as a middleman, it has to be cheaper, right?"

Mr. Lin looked at Minister Huang, seeking in his eyes if it was feasible.

Mr. Lin’s department was responsible for safety-related issues, he neither had a hand in, nor understood, matters between factories and the Cooperative Society.

Minister Huang touched his nose, originally wanted to say this really wasn’t under his jurisdiction, but thinking about the workbooks Lin Nianhe held, rewritten who knows how many times, considering the children’s food boxes with bland stewed cabbage;

Minister Huang frowned, stamped his foot, and declared, "We must! I’ll talk to Old Yan about this when I get back! If that bastard doesn’t agree, I’ll shave his head clean!"

Lin Nianhe, hearing this familiar threat, couldn’t help but curiously ask: "I hope you don’t mind my asking, Uncle Huang, but did you also by any chance attend the Army Officer School?"

"Correct! I was part of the nineteenth cohort, your old man was the twenty-second, he should call me senior."

Lin Nianhe: "..."

Indeed, from the same school.