Lin Jiadong pouted, “Mom told me to find a job, but our family doesn’t have any connections for that, she’s definitely hinting that I should come to you. But Sister, I don’t want to find a job yet, I want to go to college.”
Lin Chuxia raised her eyebrows; her brother was straightforward and not dumb, although he hadn’t gone to college in her previous life.
In her past life, she hadn’t become successful so quickly, and at this point she would have probably still been getting up early and staying up late to set up a street stall to sell vegetables with Li Guangyuan. Naturally, Mother Lin wouldn’t have thought about making Lin Jiadong drop out of school to join them.
She remembered that in her previous life, Lin Jiadong had dropped out in his second year of high school, and his grades weren’t bad at the time.
Since she had a bad relationship with her family and went to do business elsewhere, she wasn’t clear on the specific reasons for his dropping out. She only heard a passing mention from someone else, something about a premature love affair.
By the time she heard this news, Lin Jiadong had already been out of school for several months.
Thinking back now, she really didn’t believe the rumor about her naive brother having a premature love affair.
Putting her thoughts aside, Lin Chuxia asked with a smile, “My brother wants to go to college, that’s a good aspiration. Do you have a particular goal?”
Lin Jiadong felt somewhat embarrassed being praised, scratching the back of his head, “I never really thought about it much before, I just figured I’d go to school until I couldn’t anymore, taking each day as it comes. But after seeing my brother-in-law, I sort of want to go to college. Sister, I want to be a capable person like him.”
“When did you see your brother-in-law’s capabilities?” Lin Chuxia was amused by him.
Qin Yang was obviously working out of town, and the few times Lin Jiadong had seen him, it seemed to be somewhat unpleasant.
Lin Jiadong insisted, “Brother-in-law is truly capable. I’ve heard that when he was accepted into college, the entire village saw him off with great fanfare. How impressive! And I’ve seen the newspapers. Even though it didn’t say, I know that it was about brother-in-law.”
Lin Chuxia was genuinely surprised, not expecting Lin Jiadong’s words to be grounded in reality.
Sun Lanlan came over with meat buns and marinated meat, glad to see the siblings getting along well.
“It’s your second sister who really cares about you, worried you’d be hungry the moment she got back, telling me to fetch you some food quickly. Eat up. If it’s not enough, I’ll get you more.”
Lin Jiadong grinned like a simpleton, “Thank you, Sister Lanlan.”
Sun Lanlan then asked the server to bring two bowls of soup, and Lin Chuxia pushed one towards him.
“Eat slowly, don’t choke. About going to school, just tell Mom directly when you get back. If she doesn’t agree, don’t get upset with her. The middle school exams are coming up soon, just focus on your exams and try to get into a high school in the county. Then your sister will support both your tuition and living expenses, not just for high school, but if you really get into university, your sister will cover all costs. If Mom really gets desperate and doesn’t let you go to school, just tell her my shop doesn’t hire child labor, and even if you’re not allowed to go to school, there’s nowhere for you to work.”
Lin Jiadong was happy about the first part; his mom was opposed to his schooling just because she was worried about the expenses.
But upon hearing the latter part, he started to worry, “If I really said that, Mom would definitely cause trouble for you.”
“No worries, you just need to stick to your beliefs.”
“Yeah, Sister, don’t worry. I’ll definitely study hard,” Lin Jiadong nodded vigorously, his face full of determination.
“Good, your sister believes in you.”
Lin Chuxia handed him another meat bun, and Lin Jiadong chuckled, “I’ll definitely get into the high school in the county, so I can regularly come eat meat buns at your shop, Sister.”
Lin Chuxia: “…”
This simple brother of hers was indeed single-minded, innocently adorable.
…………
Before she knew it, Jia Yuanliang was about to return to the Northwest.
Through his time studying, he had already mastered the technique of making buns and the basic business model of the bun shop, and he was full of confidence in opening his own shop.
Lin Chuxia had already agreed with Jia Yuanliang that she would visit his bun shop when it opened, and it was also a good opportunity to go to the Northwest to see Qin Yang.
The beef sauce production line had already produced its first batch of products, and Xiyang Food’s cooked food had long been well-known. The beef sauce hardly needed any special marketing, as Xiyang’s regular customers were all eager to place orders for it.
Whether it was the factory or the bun shop, all affairs were proceeding steadily, and her absence for a while would not affect them.
Lin Chuxia packed her bags with peace of mind and booked a train ticket to the Northwest for the next day.
She didn’t tell Qin Yang in advance, planning to surprise him with her visit.
The next morning, before Lin Chuxia’s alarm clock even rang, the door of the courtyard was being knocked loudly.
It was just past 4 a.m., but as it was summer, the sky was already bright.
Lin Chuxia got dressed and went out, and Qin Han, Zhang Guilan, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Qin were also up.
“Who could this be? Knocking this early in the morning, it must be something important.”
Mr. and Mrs. Qin did not come forward, instead, they stood at the door, waiting for Qin Han to open the main gate.
As the gate opened, the voice of Houzi could be heard; he was looking for Lin Chuxia. Lin Chuxia and Zhang Guilan were already walking over.
Seeing Lin Chuxia, Houzi had an anxious look on his face, “Mr. Lin, it’s bad news, the chicken farm at Huang Family Camp has an outbreak of chicken epidemic.”
Upon hearing the words “chicken epidemic,” the expressions of everyone present changed.
Lin Chuxia frowned, “What happened?”
“This morning when I went to pick up goods, I noticed that the chickens from Huang Family were of varying sizes, unlike usual, so I became suspicious. I made up an excuse to go to the restroom and detoured to their chicken coop to check things out. I hadn’t even reached their coop when I saw dead chickens, and the ones inside were making gurgling noises, clearly sick.”
At that moment, he was terribly panicked; smoked chicken was a major product for Xiyang Food Factory.
The chicken epidemic spreads fast, and if it broke out, the chickens in an entire village or even a township could be destroyed.
Hou Xiaobao didn’t dare to delay; naturally, he couldn’t take those chickens, so he drove straight to Lin Chuxia for advice.
Lin Chuxia glanced at the empty minitruck behind him, “Did you go anywhere else after leaving Huang Family Camp?”
Hou Xiaobao shook his head, “No, I came straight here,” to report the situation.
“That’s good, don’t go anywhere now,” she turned to Qin Han, “Big brother, you and sister-in-law shouldn’t go anywhere else either, disinfect the vehicle first. I have some disinfectant in my room, and we should all be disinfected before going out too.”
Mrs. Qin and Mr. Qin, who were standing at the door, also heard about the chicken epidemic, and did not dare to come closer. They asked Lin Chuxia from afar, “Xiaxia, should your dad and I use the disinfectant too?”
Lin Chuxia looked at the nervous faces of Mr. Qin and his birth mother, and at Little Zhuangzhuang who was shrinking behind Mrs. Qin, and smiled, “You’re far enough away, no need for you, go back to your room and stay put for a while.”
Mr. and Mrs. Qin quickly took the child back to the house, and Lin Chuxia also returned to her own room.
Closing her door, she went straight into the space; there were many bottles of disinfectant in the basement of the villa. She directly took a bucket out.
Qin Han was waiting at the door. Seeing she had disinfectant, he exclaimed, “Sister-in-law, were you already prepared for this?”
Lin Chuxia calmly nodded, “We are in the food business; food hygiene must always be our top priority, so being prepared for emergencies is fundamental.”
Zhang Guilan looked on with worry; as someone from the countryside, she knew all too well the devastation caused by chicken epidemics.