Li Sanya swallowed hard, no longer daring to hurl abuse at Lin Hongying. Instead, she reluctantly pulled five yuan from her pocket with a pained expression…  

Pinching her nose, she muttered in a nasal voice, “Lin Hongying, here’s the money. Don’t go back on your word! This old woman spoke without thinking—don’t bring up old grievances again…”  

She could bully ordinary folks, but in front of a state cadre, she immediately backed down!  

When Yang Xiu’e witnessed this scene, she was utterly stunned.  

She never expected her fearless, thick-skinned mother-in-law, who was usually as tough as nails… to actually lower her head one day! She stared at her mother-in-law in disbelief, then lowered her gaze.  

A sour, indescribable feeling welled up in her chest. So her mother-in-law wasn’t invincible—she had things she feared too. It was just that… she only picked on the weak!  

Lin Hongying calmly took the money, didn’t even bother to count it, and stuffed it into her pocket. Then she retrieved her work ID from the family members who had been passing it around.  

“Sorry for the spectacle today. Everyone, go back to your meals. Let’s disperse, disperse…”  

As Lin Hongying brushed past Yang Xiu’e, she didn’t say a word.  

The neighbors, who had gathered for the drama, were still in a daze.  

Lin Hongying’s approach had been methodical and decisive, thoroughly subduing the three treasures of the Zhou family. Not only had she placated every neighbor involved, but she’d also vented her own grievances.  

And yet, at the beginning, she had been the one wronged.  

The neighbors now saw a rational side of Lin Hongying. She wasn’t at all like the rumors painted her—she was terrifyingly clever!  

And she wasn’t even twenty yet!  

It wasn’t until Lin Hongying returned home that they snapped out of their stupor.  

They had severely underestimated her. Thinking about it, it made sense… she was Shao Qingfeng’s wife! Given Shao Qingfeng’s reputation as an outstanding young talent, Lin Hongying’s position suddenly seemed fitting.  

Someone like her was meant to be the daughter-in-law of the Shao family.  

But—  

“That’s a Level 21 position… and she’s not even twenty,” someone murmured quietly.  

They still couldn’t wrap their heads around it. How could someone just starting their career immediately be rated at Level 21? Even university graduates only started at Level 23!  

…  

Back at home, Lin Hongying took out two boxes of braised pork from her bag and set the table for dinner.  

When she turned around, she saw Shao Qingfeng and Han Weidong staring at her with intense, unblinking eyes.  

She paused. “Let’s eat. Why aren’t you two digging in?”  

Lin Hongying smiled. “Qingfeng, Weidong, thank you for earlier. Without your help, dealing with that would’ve been much harder. So eat up tonight.”  

Han Weidong’s mind was still reeling from the shock.  

No wonder Lin Hongying kept bringing meat home just days after starting work—on her very first day, she was treated to four high-cadre-level dishes!  

He could hardly recognize the reclamation farm, which had always prided itself on the principles of “hard work” and “frugality.”  

Given how stingy the farm was—serving nothing but cabbage soup every meal—when Han Weidong had visited once, they hadn’t even offered him a meal! So it turned out the Reclamation Bureau had simply stumbled upon a talent and was treating her with the utmost respect?  

He was more used to the farm’s defiant, hardworking, and struggle-loving attitude. This sudden generosity was almost unsettling.  

“Little sister-in-law…” Han Weidong gulped. “Why did you bring back so much meat today? Isn’t this a bit… against the rules? I actually don’t eat much.”  

Shao Qingfeng was also surprised.  

His grandfather was a high-ranking veteran cadre with a daily meat quota of half a catty—already a generous privilege. Very few high-ranking military cadres in the capital had such an allowance.  

But just the two boxes of braised pork Lin Hongying brought back today must have weighed at least two catties.  

Remembering the recent uproar about the swine fever outbreak at the breeding farm, he seemed to realize something… His hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly.

Lin Hongying, on the other hand, enthusiastically pushed the meat toward the two of them.  

“It’s fine, go ahead and eat. This is a special case.”  

“Recently, the pig farm culled a lot of pigs. Since the pork couldn’t safely enter the market due to safety concerns, the farm bought it back for the staff. Every employee got a share—I didn’t sneak this home.”  

The farm’s cadres had probably noticed how thin Lin Hongying was and specifically instructed the canteen chef to give her a full two catties of meat.  

This kind of “sweet burden” was something Lin Hongying couldn’t handle alone, so she left it to Shao Qingfeng and Han Weidong—two men with bottomless stomachs! She wasn’t that desperate for braised pork right now anyway.  

The braised pork, stewed for a full hour, melted in the mouth, even more tender and flavorful than before.  

Han Weidong ate with sheer delight, savoring every bite, thoroughly enjoying the feast.  

In these times, no matter how much money you had, it was nearly impossible to get your hands on something like this—to truly satisfy your cravings.  

The fact that he could eat pork so freely these days was entirely thanks to his “little sister-in-law.”  

Shao Qingfeng, however, was more cautious with his chopsticks, uncharacteristically restrained.  

Noticing this, Lin Hongying smiled and explained, “Even though I said that, you can eat without worry. These pigs were still safe when they were processed—I inspected them myself. The problematic ones were all taken away and burned. I personally watched every single one go up in flames.”  

“Our leadership takes food safety very seriously.”  

She picked up a piece of braised pork and popped it into her mouth.  

A flicker of surprise crossed Shao Qingfeng’s eyes, and his chopsticks moved noticeably faster. He… really did like braised pork.  

Han Weidong’s voice came through a mouthful of rice, regretful and muffled: “Burned all of them… Your leaders really don’t hold back, huh.”  

They had grown up listening to stories from their elders about the Long March, resisting the Japanese, and fighting the Americans in Korea.  

During wartime, people would eat even spoiled meat if they had to—let alone pork from diseased pigs. In these times of extreme food scarcity, burning the dead pigs showed real decisiveness from the leadership.  

Shao Qingfeng asked, “How’s the situation with the swine fever at your farm now? Do you need any help?”  

The outbreak had severely affected pork supply, and it was likely that military canteens would face shortages in the second half of the year.  

Lin Hongying set down her chopsticks and answered without hesitation: “I’d say the situation isn’t optimistic! But things are moving in a positive direction—the outbreak has been preliminarily contained.”  

“As for eating meat, don’t worry about it. Leave the professional matters to the professionals. You just focus on eating well and defending the country!”  

Even if meat was scarce, the military’s rations had to be guaranteed—even if it meant tightening their own belts.  

That was the simple mindset of the farmers. No matter how tough things got, the soldiers couldn’t go without. With the Soviets amassing troops at the border, food production in the Northeast was critical—Heilongjiang’s grain output couldn’t afford to fall behind.  

Han Weidong asked, “How did you manage to test into that position, sister-in-law? It’s really impressive—I heard it’s extremely difficult.”  

His tone carried a hint of respect. Normally, that position was nearly impossible to get through exams alone, yet Lin Hongying had somehow done it.  

Han Weidong didn’t suspect any backdoor dealings or Shao family influence.  

The leaders at the reclamation farm were a tough bunch—boots-on-the-ground types who didn’t care about connections.  

If you were assigned there, you had to deliver results. If you didn’t, some of the old-timers wouldn’t hesitate to slap you across the face—background be damned!  

These were people who had their own credentials, their own seniority, and the weight of feeding the nation on their shoulders. Just look at how they’d conquered the most barren lands of the Great Northern Wilderness, achieving miracles year after year—they were anything but ordinary.  

If you had even an ounce of skill, they’d squeeze three ounces out of you.  

It was the kind of place where even an old ox would flee back to the village overnight, and workhorses would drop dead from exhaustion!  

The conditions were so harsh that even discharged soldiers might not last. For Lin Hongying to hold such a critical position, she had to have real ability—otherwise, she wouldn’t have lasted.  

Lin Hongying replied indifferently, “I just took the test, that’s all.”  

Han Weidong choked on his rice.  

That familiar feeling was back.  

A faint smile flickered in Shao Qingfeng’s eyes—clearly, she still hadn’t warmed up to Han Weidong and was holding a grudge.  

But then again, when he thought about himself… Shao Qingfeng rubbed his nose. He wasn’t doing much better. Over the past few days, Lin Hongying’s attitude had remained cool and detached. Apart from sharing meals, Shao Qingfeng didn’t feel like he was married—more like he’d gained a dining partner.  

He couldn’t say whether it was good or bad, but for now, he was satisfied with this arrangement.