Chapter 11 - 5: "King of Bragging

Chapter 11: Chapter 5: "King of Bragging

"Blankets require Industrial Vouchers. Do you have any?" the salesclerk asked.

"I do." Lin Zhao took a few Industrial Vouchers from her satchel.

After purchasing everything she needed, she left under the envious gazes of several salesclerks.

The older folks might have thought she was a spendthrift, but what young woman wouldn’t envy her for having so much money to spend?

After leaving the co-op, Lin Zhao went to the state-run restaurant to buy meat buns. Her luck was good—there were twelve left when she arrived, and she bought them all.

She had traveled light on the way there but was now heading back loaded with bags. Looking at the seemingly endless road ahead, Lin Zhao felt her heart sink. Fortunately, she was naturally strong, so carrying all this stuff wasn’t a big deal.

About halfway there, she heard someone calling her name from behind.

Lin Zhao turned around and saw a young woman in her early twenties approaching on a bicycle, calling out, "Lin Zhao."

This was the first time since her "awakening" that Lin Zhao had seen the stepmother of the heroine from that book.

Su Yuxian.

She was this person’s control group.

Although she knew she couldn’t blame Su Yuxian, Lin Zhao still felt a strange unease upon seeing her. The contents of the book flashed through her mind, and it was hard for her to pretend like nothing had happened.

’I’m the control group! The one who gets dragged out to have her corpse flogged even after death!’

’What a raw deal!’

Lin Zhao screamed internally, ’Don’t come over here!’

Unfortunately, there was no stopping Su Yuxian’s approach.

"Lin Zhao, you came to the county town too? Hop on, I’ll give you a ride." Su Yuxian hopped off her bicycle, the mesh bag hanging from her handlebars swaying back and forth.

Lin Zhao just wanted to get as far away from the book’s main characters as possible. "No, thanks. I have a lot of stuff, so I’ll just walk slowly."

Hearing this, Su Yuxian seemed to glance nonchalantly at the many bags in Lin Zhao’s hands, and the smile in her eyes faded slightly.

Everyone in the entire Fengshou Team envied Lin Zhao’s life, and she, of course, was no exception. Seeing Lin Zhao hauling all those bags home filled her with an indescribable jealousy.

’But this woman is an idiot. She doesn’t even care for her own sons. Things definitely won’t go well for her when she’s old—she might even end up homeless.’

"Oh, is that so? Alright then, I’ll get going. You take your time."

Lin Zhao replied, "Okay."

Su Yuxian smiled at her, placed her left foot on the pedal, pushed off a few times with her right, and mounted the bike. In a moment, she had disappeared from sight.

Lin Zhao felt that when Su Yuxian looked at her just now, there had been a flash of pity in her eyes.

’Pity?’

’Given our current situations, that doesn’t make any sense.’

’I must have seen it wrong.’

Lin Zhao didn’t dwell on it. She didn’t want to get involved with the original book’s plot. All she wanted was to raise her kids well and for her family to live in peace.

「Fengshou Team, Village Entrance.」

Er Zai craned his neck, looking expectantly in the direction of the path. "Big Brother," he said to Da Zai, "why isn’t Mom back yet? She’s so slow."

"Mom’s carrying things, so of course she’ll be slow." Da Zai’s eyes were also fixed on the road leading to the county town. He had never been there in his entire life. ’I wonder if Mom will take me with her next time she goes?’

Er Zai thought his brother had a point. Sighing, he squatted on the ground and started playing with a stick.

He hadn’t been playing for long when he heard his brother shout, "Mom!" By the time Er Zai looked up, his brother had already vanished, sprinting toward a figure in the distance.

"Big Brother, wait for me!" Er Zai shot to his feet and took off like a shot, running at top speed.

From a distance, Lin Zhao saw two little figures running toward her. Recognizing they were her boys, she shouted, "Slow down! Don’t fall!"

Da Zai listened to his mother and slowed his pace. Er Zai, however, was unstoppable in his charge toward the meat buns, overtaking his brother in the blink of an eye.

Seeing his younger brother pass him, Da Zai sped up again.

Lin Zhao, who had watched the whole race, was left speechless.

Er Zai rushed up to Lin Zhao, looked up at her with expectant eyes, and asked, "Mom, are there meat buns?" He was practically drooling at the mere mention of meat.

’This stinky brat only has eyes for meat.’

"Yes," Lin Zhao said, rolling her eyes at Er Zai in exasperation.

’I’m about to die from the heat and exhaustion, and this kid doesn’t even show a bit of concern for his own mother. All he can think about are his meat buns.’

Da Zai proactively took some of the bags from Lin Zhao’s hands. "Mom, I’ll help you carry these."

A smile bloomed in Lin Zhao’s eyes, her heart feeling as sweet as honey.

"No need, they’re heavy. Mom can carry them herself."

But Da Zai didn’t let go, his little face set stubbornly. "I can help Mom."

"I can help Mom, too!" Er Zai chimed in, never one to miss a chance to be noticed, wanting to help just like his brother.

Seeing the brothers’ insistence, Lin Zhao had no choice but to hand them a few of the lighter bags. "Well, it’s the thought that counts," she said. "I guess it wasn’t a waste buying you two new shoes."

Er Zai’s eyes lit up instantly. "New shoes? You bought them for us?"

Da Zai also looked at his mother expectantly.

Lin Zhao looked down at the cloth shoes on her sons’ feet. Their grubby big toes were poking out of holes. ’Mother Gu must have been too busy lately to find time to patch them up,’ she thought.