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Lin Ting was also worried that something might go wrong midway, so she thought it was best to secure the meat first. She could decide the rest based on the situation.
So, the two young men could only watch as she stuffed all the meat into the large bamboo basket she brought. She declined their help, and while lifting it onto her back, she secretly transferred a portion of the meat into the warehouse space in her dimension.
“I’ll wait to hear from you then.”
Lin Ting took off like the wind.
What a haul today!!
She lingered briefly around the flour factory and soon spotted the young man from the meat factory walking out with two bags of Fuqiang flour. She hurried over. “Hey, young man!”
“Sis, what are you doing here?”
Lin Ting smiled, “My elder nephew lives nearby. I just stopped by his place to rest. Figured I’d come find you directly and skip a trip to the meat factory.”
“Should I carry it to your place for you?”
Lin Ting thought to herself: This guy’s quite clever—trying to meet Cao Zhenping through me!
Too bad—she wasn’t even related to Cao Zhenping!
“No need. You know my nephew’s identity. So many people try to get close to him that he’s overwhelmed—he’s not receiving any visitors these days.”
“But don’t worry, I’ll make sure to tell him your name. I’ll even mention that one of the flour bags is a gift from you.”
With a smiling face, she finished speaking. The young man quickly refunded the money for one bag of flour.
“I can’t take advantage of you, Sis.”
Lin Ting’s smile deepened. This guy really knew how to read the room!
She got her “Zhonghua” (favor) back!
“I can see you’re going to make something of yourself one day.”
“You’re flattering me, Sis!”
Lin Ting sweet-talked him generously before hurrying over to the grain station.
It was right next to the flour factory. As she arrived, she spotted the other young man from the meat factory walking out of the side entrance of the grain station, carrying a heavy bag.
She quickly walked over. “Hey, young man!”
“Let me help you!”
The young man recognized her and smiled, “Sis, I was just about to deliver this rice to you. Didn’t expect you here!”
Lin Ting glanced at the sack in his hand—at least 50 jin (about 25kg) by estimate.
Feeling pleased, her tone lightened. “My elder nephew lives nearby. I figured I’d just come here instead of having to go all the way to the meat factory again.”
She took the rice directly. “How much?”
“This rice is top quality. It usually goes for 2.3 yuan per jin in the market.”
“But for Director Cao’s sake, I’ll only charge 2.1 yuan per jin.”
“It’s 60 jin total.”
Lin Ting quickly paid and sincerely thanked him, “Thanks so much for this. Without your help, I wouldn’t know where to find such good rice!”
“I’ll cook some tonight and let my nephew try it!”
“If he likes it, I’ll have him buy rice from you too!”
The young man scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Then could you mention my name to Director Cao?”
“Absolutely,” Lin Ting replied cheerfully.
“Huh? Isn’t that Director Cao up ahead? Is he here to see you?”
Before the young man could finish his sentence, Lin Ting grabbed the rice and bolted!
She ran into the opposite alley and, seeing no one around, slipped into her space dimension.
By the time the young man turned around, Lin Ting was already gone.
He stood there confused. “Sis?”
With her gone, he didn’t dare go up and greet Director Cao directly. He didn’t want to be misunderstood as a social climber.
Holding a cigarette between his fingers, he shrugged and tried to suppress his disappointment.
In his family’s eyes, he was a useless burden. Even his current job was secured only after his family begged and pulled strings.
He wanted more than anyone to prove himself.
He so badly wanted to walk up to Director Cao and say:
‘I’m the one who helped your relative.
My name is Yu Bai.’
Elsewhere, Lin Ting stayed hidden in her space for nearly half an hour. The space had a surveillance function, so once she confirmed no one was around, she came out.
She also changed back into her previous outfit. Even if she ran into those two young men from the meat factory, they wouldn’t recognize her.
Then, using her real identity, she went to the grocery store and bought:
After that, she went to the supply store and purchased:
As she finished packing everything into her large basket, someone spoke to her:
“Lin Ting? You bought so much?”
Her brows furrowed. Without looking at him, she picked up her pace and walked away.
The man hurried to catch up. “What’s wrong?”
Lin Ting quickly covered her mouth and whispered,
“You know my family’s situation. They searched our house yesterday. It’s best if we keep our distance—I’d hate to get you involved.”
The man’s eyes dimmed slightly. “I just wanted to talk to you. Meet me in the alley up ahead.”
Lin Ting’s gaze turned somber. That man was Zhou Tao, her childhood friend. They had grown up together and were classmates all the way from elementary school.
Precisely because of that… she needed to avoid him.
But she also knew Zhou Tao’s personality well. If he didn’t see her today, he’d definitely try again. That would only create more trouble.
So she took a detour and arrived at the alley as promised.
She got straight to the point. “Say what you need to say.”
Zhou Tao’s face lit up when he saw her. He couldn’t hide his joy.
“Lin Ting, are you okay?”
“I heard those people wrecked a lot of stuff at your place yesterday.”
Even the TV was smashed, apparently!
Lin Ting’s voice remained flat. “I’m fine.”
“Everyone’s avoiding us now. I suggest you do the same.”
Zhou Tao’s smile faded. But then, as he remembered what he wanted to say, his lips curled into a smile again.
“I heard you got your engagement broken off.”
“You’ll probably be criticized along with your family now.”
He hesitated, then said earnestly:
“So I was thinking… why don’t I marry you?”
“If you’re married, you won’t be considered an outsider anymore.”
Lin Ting’s face froze. “I appreciate your kindness…”
“But I can’t drag your Zhou family down with me.”
“You should be careful too. A lot of people have their eyes on your family.”
If she remembered correctly, in her previous life, after the Lin family was sent to reform camps, the Zhou family was also relocated. But Old Man Zhou had a strong backbone—he endured everything until he was finally vindicated.