Chapter 29: Joining the Village Information Department

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“Is that so?” Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Lu Lin. No wonder his mood had seemed off when they first arrived.

“...Yes.” Lu Lin nodded faintly.

“Thank you for answering my questions. Have some candy.” Fu Xiaoxiao handed the sweets to one of the children. He was probably the leader of the group; the others neither fought nor scrambled, simply waiting for him to distribute them.

“Oh, candy!” The children who received theirs eagerly unwrapped them and began eating.

“Xiao Chen, stay here and play with your brother for a while. I’m going to the office.” Fu Xiaoxiao rubbed Lu Chen’s head, then scooped a handful of milk candies from her pocket and placed them in his hands.

“All right.” Lu Chen looked at the candies and nodded vigorously.

The moment Fu Xiaoxiao stepped out of the classroom, her expression turned cold. There were only two teachers here, and the children had mentioned Teacher Xu. That meant it could only be Xu Linlin.

She had been cold and unpleasant all morning, and now, before the day was even half over, she was bullying Lu Lin?

Someone clearly needed to teach her a lesson.

“Hey, who was that pretty lady just now?” The group’s leader was eating candy as he sidled up to Lu Lin and asked in a hushed, curious voice.

“She’s our stepmother.” Lu Chen grinned around his milk candy.

“Liar!” The moment they heard his answer, the children widened their eyes and refused to believe him.

“How could a stepmother be that nice and give us candy?”

“My grandma says stepmothers are all bad people. They’d only let you go hungry. How could she possibly make you fried rice with cured meat?”

“She’s even nicer than my real mother! If she’s your stepmother, trade with me. I want a stepmother like that.”

None of the children believed them.

Lu Lin and Lu Chen exchanged a glance.

They had not believed it either at first. But Fu Xiaoxiao had never treated them badly from the very beginning. She never said any of those hurtful things, and they had done the chores willingly...

“She really is your stepmother?” The group leader still looked doubtful, but when neither brother spoke, he began to believe them.

“Yes. Aunt Fu really is different from those wicked stepmothers. She makes delicious food for me, bought new towels for my brother and me, and even taught us how to climb trees...” Lu Chen counted off each example. The more he spoke, the less the children could believe it.

“So Grandma lied to me! Stepmothers aren’t as bad as she said!” one child pouted angrily, feeling deceived.

“For the sake of your stepmother, we’ll be your friends! My name is Niu Wa.” Niu Wa thumped his chest.

The children beside him hurriedly introduced themselves as well.

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“I’m Dog Egg.”

“I’m Tiger Cub.”

“I’m Iron Egg.”

“I’m Hammer.”

When they had finished, they looked toward Lu Lin and Lu Chen.

“My name is Lu Chen, and this is my brother, Lu Lin.” As Lu Lin’s spokesperson, Lu Chen never let a conversation fall silent.

“Is Niu Wa your real name?” Lu Lin paused when he heard the name.

“No, that’s just my nickname! My grandma says a humble name makes a child easier to raise.” Niu Wa scratched his head as he answered.

“Then we’re friends from now on! If Teacher Xu scolds you again, I’ll scold her right back!” Niu Wa slapped Lu Lin on the shoulder and pointed proudly at himself as he made the promise.

After seeing Lu Lin take the scolding without saying a word, they had thought he was a coward.

Now they knew the truth: he simply did not like talking. He was not mute.

“Then can you give us some of the good food your stepmother makes?” Niu Wa’s eyes sparkled as he finally revealed their real motive.

“...” Lu Lin.

He knew it. Niu Wa’s sudden eagerness to become friends had come with an ulterior motive.

The five children gazed at Lu Lin imploringly. They really wanted to taste it.

“Only one bite each.” Looking at them, Lu Lin pressed his lips together and pushed over his half-eaten lunchbox.

“You scoop it.”

“I’ll go first!” Niu Wa was so excited that he hurried forward, opening his mouth wide and waiting for Lu Lin’s spoon.

Lu Lin glanced at them, scooped up a heaping spoonful, and dropped it into Niu Wa’s mouth.

“Mmm! Mmm! Ohhh!” Niu Wa stamped his feet in excitement as he ate.

The other four children rushed forward. After Lu Lin fed them one by one, he immediately gained five loyal friends.

“If my dad marries another stepmother, I definitely won’t stop him!” Iron Egg looked full of regret. If only he had known stepmothers could be so wonderful, he would not have listened to his grandmother and thrown a fit to stop his father from remarrying.

“Give me a break! Their stepmother is beautiful and can cook. She must be the best one—there’s only one like her.” Niu Wa did not believe that everyone could have such a good stepmother.

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A good stepmother had to be beautiful like Aunt Fu and know how to cook.

Lu Lin quietly finished the fried rice. When Niu Wa saw the lunchbox was completely spotless, disappointment flashed through his eyes. Why had Lu Lin not left even a single bite? He had wanted another taste.

“Come on! We’ll take you two out to play!” Niu Wa thumped his chest. Once he made a promise, he kept it.

Now that they were friends, they were on the same side.

“All right.” Lu Lin took Lu Chen with him and joined Niu Wa’s group of five, officially making them a group of seven.

Meanwhile, Fu Xiaoxiao arrived at the office, only to find it completely empty. Frowning, she walked out of the school and came face-to-face with the aunties she had seen earlier.

“Aunties, may I ask where the two teachers went during the lunch break?” Fu Xiaoxiao asked.

“You’re looking for the two educated youths? See that row of houses over there? That’s the educated-youth compound. They’re eating there.” One of the aunties kindly pointed it out.

“What do you need them for?” another auntie asked, sensing the promise of gossip as she leaned closer.

Fu Xiaoxiao sighed and told them what had happened to Lu Lin.

“I never imagined Teacher Xu could be that kind of person. I only brought the child here this morning, and already she’s singled him out.”

“I’m telling you, neither of those two educated youths is any good. Back then, several of the young women fought among themselves to get this teaching position.” Fu Xiaoxiao’s words immediately drew agreement from the aunties. Seeing that she was not putting on any airs, they opened up to her.

“Really? That actually happened?” Fu Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up. She pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket and shared them among the older women.

Seeing how down-to-earth she was, the aunties stopped holding back and told her everything.

“Of course it did! It caused a huge commotion. The village chief scolded all the educated youths from beginning to end. In the end, Educated Youth Xu knelt down and begged him before she finally got one of the positions.”

“What about Comrade Zhao Qing?” Fu Xiaoxiao had not expected there to be another side to the story.

“I don’t think Educated Youth Zhao is any innocent either. While everyone else was targeting Educated Youth Xu, the other position somehow ended up going to her! When the village chief announced it, I saw the eyes of the other educated youths practically bulge out of their heads.” The old auntie leaned close to Fu Xiaoxiao and lowered her voice.

“Then who should I complain to about this? Can the village chief handle it?” Fu Xiaoxiao thought for a moment. She had no idea who in the village had the authority to intervene.

“I’m telling you, there’s no use going to the village chief. He can’t be bothered with those two.” The old auntie shook her head. Fu Xiaoxiao would be looking in the wrong place if she went to him.

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