Chapter 25

Lin Yuanyuan certainly knew that in the current climate, being bold and starting a business was a reliable path. But that didn’t mean she was willing to speak up for Lin Qian.

In fact, she couldn’t just sit by and watch Lin Qian confidently walk down a successful, money-making path.

With ill intent, she said, “Cousin, don’t go doing anything risky or speculative just to avoid blind dates and marriage. You’ve still got Aunt, Uncle, and me behind you. Don’t go dragging our whole family down if things go wrong.”

Ma Guixin was startled when she heard that and immediately disagreed. “Qianqian, you’re not allowed to go! Either find a proper job in a factory with your own ability, or go on blind dates and get married. I think the best thing is for you to get married right away.”

Lin Qian nodded, “Alright then. Looks like I won’t be able to help ease the family’s burdens. If I go to work, by this time next year I could hand over 600 yuan to the family. But if I go on blind dates and get married, who knows how much bride price the other party would offer. And when I get married, aren’t you going to prepare a dowry for me? I’m your biological daughter—surely I should get what Yuanyuan gets too?”

Ma Guixin felt a guilty pang. Their previous plan had been to marry Lin Qian off before Lin Yuanyuan, and with no precedent, even if they gave her no dowry, it could be justified. More importantly, now that they’d lost the Zhang family’s proposal, she really couldn’t find another family that could offer a generous bride price.

After weighing her options, Ma Guixin merely gave Lin Yuanyuan a sharp glare for messing things up.

She finally decided, “Qianqian, fine, you can go to work for now. But remember—your salary each month still comes to me like before.”

Lin Qian sneered silently. Still dreaming of pocketing her wages for free? Keep dreaming.

“I’m full,” Lin Qian said flatly.

She set down her bowl and chopsticks and stood up to leave.

Ma Guixin saw that Lin Qian had left a bit of porridge and the piece of pickled vegetable she had put in her bowl. Heart aching, she called out, “Ay! You little brat, how dare you waste food! And my pickles, too!”

Lin Dawei couldn’t eat anymore either. Compared to the hardworking and skilled Wu Xiuhong, Ma Guixin’s pickling skills were terrible.

Back in her room, Lin Qian locked the door. She glanced at the rickety, broken bed inside, then immediately turned and entered her secret space.

Inside the space’s library, she climbed the ladder and pulled down several cookbooks.

She was amazed at how much delicious food existed in the world.

So many varieties. It was simply endless.

Lin Qian focused hard on studying. She flipped through several cookbooks one after another, absorbing the skills easily. At one point, she heard Ma Guixin knocking on her door, demanding she come out and wash dishes, but she ignored her. Eventually, it seemed Lin Dawei spinelessly took on the chore himself.

Lin Qian smirked. Lin Dawei was falling faster than she had expected.

Was there really no such thing as a faithful man in this world?

Her thoughts drifted. She closed her book and began to reflect carefully.

She realized that as long as she could make her own money and support herself, even if one day her marriage with Huo Xiujin ended in mutual indifference, she’d be able to let go with peace of mind.

With her thoughts clear, Lin Qian snapped back to focus and resumed reading. She accidentally discovered that the library had a hidden feature—once she finished reading all the current cookbooks, a new row of related books appeared on its own.

This really was a treasure trove of a space.

It meant she could never run out of books to read here. As long as she finished one set, more would automatically be generated.

But her stomach growled. She remembered the marinated beef from Hua Fang—it had been delicious.

She came down from the ladder, got herself a glass of drinking water from the dining area, took a big gulp, then sat down to eat the beef.

After just one bite, Lin Qian was shocked—the marinated beef tasted even better than when she ate it at Hua Fang’s house.

Could this space not only preserve food but also enhance its flavor?

But that didn’t seem right. Yesterday, she hadn’t noticed any improvement in the food she stored in the space.

She quickly took another bite.

Now it tasted like the regular marinated beef again.

Puzzled, she instinctively took another sip of the water before taking another bite—and the taste changed again!

Lin Qian finally understood: the drinking water in this space could actually enhance the flavor of food.

This was incredible.

If she added a few drops of this “spiritual spring water” while cooking, the dishes she made would undoubtedly taste even better.

This was amazing.

That night, Lin Qian even had a sweet dream. Her restaurant was wildly successful—customers were lining up out the door.

The next morning, Lin Qian woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy.

Today, she planned to apply for a self-employed business license.

But since industry wasn’t very developed at this time, it would still be hard to gather a large batch of kitchenware quickly. She’d have to try her luck again at the black market.

As she planned out her day while eating leftovers from Qingfeng Restaurant, the knocking on her door started again—loud and sharp.

“Lin Qian! Have you forgotten all the values I taught you since childhood? You’re supposed to be hardworking and filial, help the family out more. How can you sleep so late and not get up to make breakfast?”

Lin Qian put down her bowl, wiped her mouth with a napkin, rinsed with water, and then exited her space and opened the door.

Ma Guixin glared at her, clearly annoyed. “Why’d you lock your door so tightly when you’re just sleeping in your own home?”

Lin Qian stood in the doorway, blocking her view, and calmly replied, “Mom, I helped with housework before because you had a job and were busy. But now you don’t have a job anymore, you’re not busy. Also—do you still expect to take my salary from work for free?”

“You—You…”

Ma Guixin was furious. She had just lost her job. After decades of working, she was now unemployed.

Just as she was about to blow up, Lin Qian’s final sentence cut her off at the root—if she wanted to get her hands on the salary, she couldn’t afford to push Lin Qian away.

She was so angry she nearly choked on her rage.

Bang! Lin Qian shut the door right in her face. Then she tidied up her room to make it look like someone had stayed there.

Outside the door, Lin Yuanyuan suddenly realized something—how had Lin Qian become so bold?

In her memory, Lin Qian had never dared defy Ma Guixin from childhood to adulthood.

In their past life, when Lin Qian faced unreasonable demands from her parents, her biggest rebellion was to hide. But now, Lin Qian actually dared to threaten Ma Guixin?

Ma Guixin, after being humiliated by Lin Qian, turned around and saw Lin Yuanyuan—the one who had caused her to lose her job—standing right in front of her.