Chapter 315 - 313: Shock and Anger

Chapter 315: Chapter 313: Shock and Anger

Lin Ding’s house.

"You actually want me to go to the cafeteria? I’m not a chef who knows how to cook. What am I supposed to do in a kitchen? Wash and prep vegetables? Wash dishes, wipe tables, and sweep the floor? Second Uncle, you’re a real piece of work, aren’t you? So this was your brilliant idea of ’helping me’—a way to fool Grandpa and Grandma? And after they were kind enough to take you in! How can you do this? Don’t you feel the least bit guilty, betraying them after they saved your life?"

When she learned that the Zhang family had only arranged for her to work in the transport fleet’s cafeteria, Lin Yan exploded. She had been fantasizing about a complete transformation, a rags-to-riches story where she’d at least land a cushy office job, spending her days drinking tea, gossiping, and leisurely lording it over others while pulling in a high salary.

In front of her grandparents and parents, she felt emboldened enough to confront Lin Fu. The memory of her earlier frustrations with Yao Hui Chun added fuel to the fire, and Lin Yan burst into angry tears. Wiping her eyes, she started questioning Lin Fu. But when she saw Lin Qiao standing off to the side, a smirk playing on her lips, her anger surged, and she pressed her attack: "And after my grandparents saved your life and raised you! My brother and I still call you Second Uncle, and this is how you treat us? Tell me, would you be so dismissive if it were your own daughter? Are you planning to send Lin Qiao to wash dishes in the Zhang family’s cafeteria someday?"

"It’s true your grandparents saved my dad’s life, but didn’t my dad later save your Fourth Uncle’s life? A life for a life. That debt was paid long ago. Besides, my dad is mostly self-made. Did you not know that from the time he was two or three, just barely steady on his feet, he had to go out every day to collect cow dung, cut grass for the pigs, and dig up wild vegetables just so he could eat? Before he married, he was earning enough money to support another person, not just himself. Yet when my parents got married, they got nothing. Your grandparents didn’t even give my mother a single new set of clothes. And after that, the number of people slaving away for your family went from one to two."

Lin Qiao’s eyes blazed with fury. On the surface, she was speaking to Lin Yan, but wasn’t every word a direct accusation against Lin Shouyi and Liu Xiaoya? She grew more and more agitated as she spoke. "My parents did the hardest, most exhausting work, only to come back and watch you all hide fatty meat at the bottom of your bowls while they ate nothing but coarse grain and wild vegetables. And I remember my childhood perfectly clearly. Every time you were eating snacks in secret, you’d deliberately send me out to do chores. There was one time I was obviously sick, but you still wouldn’t give me a break. My parents had specifically told Grandma before they left for the fields to let me rest for the day.

But the second they were gone, I was dragged out of bed. They wouldn’t even give me food before sending me out to fetch water... I was so dizzy and disoriented that I almost fell into the river and drowned. When I finally struggled back with half a bucket of water, I heard you all eating boiled eggs and talking behind my back. You were saying I had a worthless life, that I deserved it, and that it would be good if I died because it would save food. You haven’t forgotten that, have you? I used to wonder, ’How can relatives be so cruel?’ So, Lin Yan, what right do you have to lecture my father about being an uncle to you? Even indentured servants in the old days weren’t treated like that, were they?"

Lin Qiao unleashed her tirade in a rush—fast, clear, and barely pausing for breath. By the time she finished, the expression on everyone’s face had changed. Lin Fu himself began to tremble involuntarily, though he quickly composed himself before anyone noticed his momentary reaction.

Liu Xiaoya didn’t notice Lin Fu’s strange reaction. She gave Lin Qiao a long, hard look before turning on Lin Fu. "Lin Fu, it’s true you started working young, but those were difficult times, weren’t they? Every family had to struggle like that to survive. We already explained the business with the meat. Is your wife still filling your daughter’s head with this nonsense? And when did we ever force a little child to work like that? Any extra food we had back then went to the adults who were doing the hard labor. What child didn’t have to wait until their birthday to get a single egg? You think we were just eating eggs on any old day?"

After Liu Xiaoya finished speaking, Lin Shouyi also shot a meaningful glance at the father and daughter, Lin Fu and Lin Qiao. Then, his face grim, he picked up his tobacco pipe and began to smoke.

This was their usual tactic for controlling Lin Fu. In the past, a display like this would have been enough to make him cave, no matter how dissatisfied he was. But this time, Lin Fu’s face was a mask as he simply lowered his head and slowly stroked Lin Qiao’s hair, saying nothing.

"Dad, I’m not making things up. The whole village talks about the pork. When I was little, people would often ask me if I’d eaten meat that day. They weren’t blind. They said they always saw Grandma buying pork, and they were surprised that a family like ours was apparently so willing to spend money on meat."

Lin Qiao glanced up at Lin Fu, then lowered her head and curled her lip in a small, private grimace. "Too bad I never ate a single one of those meat-filled meals at home. Even during the holidays, any little scrap of meat ended up in someone else’s bowl. Don’t think I was too young to remember. I remember everything perfectly. That time I was sick? That was the year Mom was pregnant with my little sister. I was so scared the stress would be too much for her and something would happen, so I never dared to tell my parents about it."

She paused, took a breath, and twisted the knife in Lin Yan. "And tell me, why should I have to work in a cafeteria like you? You didn’t even finish middle school. I’m going to college. Have you ever seen a college student washing dishes in a cafeteria? Heh," she gave a small, sharp laugh. "You know, it’s a good thing Grandpa and Grandma refused to let me go to school back then. That whole fight was what made my parents finally decide to split from the family. If they hadn’t, we wouldn’t be where we are today, and I really might have ended up just like you, with no prospects other than washing dishes."

Lin Yan’s neck flushed crimson with rage. Before she had a chance to retort, however, she heard Lin Fu add, his tone deceptively casual, "Qiaoqiao’s right. You didn’t even graduate from middle school, and you don’t have any skills. What’s wrong with washing and prepping vegetables, wiping tables, and sweeping floors in the cafeteria? You tell me. Besides those things, what else can you do?"

For a moment, Lin Yan and everyone else stared at Lin Fu in utter disbelief. They never would have expected such words to come from him.

"Lin Fu, how can you say that to Yan Zi?" Liu Xiaoya was the first to lash out. Her anger wasn’t on Lin Yan’s behalf; she was shocked and furious because she sensed Lin Fu was slipping out of her control. That he could say something like that was alarming.

"What did I say that was wrong?" A faint, sarcastic look crossed Lin Fu’s face. He used to hold his tongue and avoid saying such harsh things because he cared about their feelings. ’But now...’

His expression grew even more aloof. "Do you all really not know how many people would fight tooth and nail for a menial job like that in the Zhang family’s company? Just look at the benefits and salary the brothers from the Ye Family get. Forget the holiday bonuses—there are set perks every single month. One day they’re handing out a case of fruit, the next it’s bundles of paper goods, the day after that it’s shopping vouchers you can spend like cash... And when they hand that stuff out, it doesn’t matter if you’re a grunt in the cafeteria or the head of the transport fleet. Everyone gets their share."