Mrs. Xu, upon hearing this, wanted to send people away immediately; her second son also needed to study for exams recently. Lending out books to these folks to let them surpass her son in passing the exams?
Forget about it.
However, Xu Ying stopped her before Mrs. Xu could speak, "Sun, I do have books, but only one copy. I know everyone is eager to pass the teacher's examination and contribute to our Yushan Commune.
But I can't just keep these books to myself, so I'll take charge and bring them to the Youth Corps now to share with everyone."
Mrs. Xu was in a panic, watching her daughter head off to the Youth Corps with a stack of books along with the crafty Yanran and felt anxious.
"This girl is too kind; oh, I don't even know what to say," Mrs. Xu sighed.
Mr. Xu, on the other hand, didn't see it that way and instead felt his daughter had grown up.
"You narrow-minded woman, our daughter doesn't want us to be criticized.
If she didn't lend the books to Sun, do you believe they wouldn't talk about it in the Youth Corps? Saying the team leader's family had books but wouldn't lend them.
Then, if our second son passes the teacher's exam, they will exaggerate even more, claiming that I, as team leader, must have done something to help our son pass.
If they all study and fail to pass a strict exam, then it's simply because they're not as skillful."
Yanran and Xu Ying arrived at the Youth Corps still a bit dazed; Yanran hadn't expected Xu Ying to agree so easily. She had thought of several schemes to tarnish Xu Ying's reputation, but now she couldn't use any of them.
And even gave Xu Ying a chance to circle around and gain a good reputation.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the Youth Corps, this is some elementary and junior high school books I've gathered for everyone. My family only had one spare set. The teacher positions in the Yushan Commune are incredibly precious, and this is all I can do.
I hope everyone studies hard and strives to pass the examination to become teachers and educate our children well.
Students are the flowers of the nation, the future of the country, and the heavy responsibility of nurturing talents for the nation now falls on all of us
..."
Xu Ying delivered a heartfelt speech that stirred everyone at the Youth Corps with fervor.
"Thank you, Xu Ying; we will definitely do our utmost."
"Yes, thank you, Xu Ying."
The crowd expressed their gratitude, and Xu Ying walked out of the Youth Corps feeling satisfied. She'd thrown out the big talk, and whether they could achieve it was up to them.
If they couldn't, it wasn't her fault; it would be because they didn't study hard enough.
Yanran watched as Xu Ying left the Youth Corps without even a glance in her direction, anger making her nails dig deep into her flesh.
By the time Xu Ying returned, Eldest Sister-in-law Xu had already prepared the meal, just waiting for her to come and eat.
"Little sister, let's eat," Eldest Sister-in-law Xu had become very warm to Xu Ying ever since her son and little aunt's relationship had improved; she had been kind before, but that was forced by her mother-in-law, and now it was genuinely heartfelt.
"Eldest sister-in-law, I'll return the bicycle to Grandma first, please tell mom," said Xu Ying, standing at the door and riding off on the bicycle.
When she was approaching Grandma Xu's house, seeing that no one was around, she stealthily took out several pounds of pork from her space: "Grandma, I've come back to return the bicycle."
Xu Ying shouted in a loud voice and pushed the bicycle into the yard.
"Grandma, this is the pork I bought for you, and also a small bag of fine flour. I'll have my big brother's wife make some for you and Grandpa every day. You're both getting on in years now; you should eat something easy to digest."
Grandma Xu, usually such a strong person, suddenly teared up at these words.
"What are you fussing about? Your grandpa and I are old, what do we need to eat so well for? We'll be gone after one bathroom trip.
Take it back; you and your nephew should eat it, and grow taller."
Xu Ying knew very well that Grandma Xu was reluctant to eat the fine flour; she said with a smile, "Grandma, I'll have a job soon, and once I earn money, I'll buy you fine flour every day."
Mrs. Xu somewhat disbelieved, with her granddaughter's lazy manner, what kind of job could she find? Surely she wasn't just boasting.
However, Mrs. Xu felt immensely pleased hearing such filial words.
She put on a long face and said, "You younger ones can eat it, your grandfather and I are of such an age now, we won't grow taller or smarter, why eat so well?"
Mr. Xu left the house with a stern face, his heart sweet as honey, "Why reject the filial offerings given by the children?"
"Grandma, take the things, I'm heading back!" Xu Ying dumped the items and ran off.
Mrs. Xu watched her granddaughter leave and glared at her husband, "At your age, you still have a greedy palate, it would be so much better to give these fine things to the younger ones."
Mr. Xu disapproved, "I raised these kids to this age; isn't it right for them to show some filial piety?"
"Besides, I'm not asking for filial gestures every day, an occasional one is not excessive!"
"If you don't accept, the child will definitely feel hurt in her heart. Didn't you see that our granddaughter was determined to give these things to us?"
With a cold huff, Mrs. Xu said, "I've also made up my mind not to accept any of it."
"Unreasonable," Mr. Xu declared and stormed out of the yard with his sleeves flapping.
Soon it was the day Xu Ying was in charge of cooking, and early that morning, she went to the Old Mansion to borrow a bicycle.
Mounting the bicycle, she sped off to the county.
Since it was her first day at work, Xu Ying had strict requirements for her clothes, and instead of her usual dresses, she switched to a long-sleeved, long-pants outfit.
"Good morning, Director Chen."
"Xiao Xu, you've arrived. It's late, it's late. Go to the kitchen quickly and see if there are any ingredients still needed," Director Chen said urgently.
It was almost midday; was there still enough time to cook?
Preparing and chopping the vegetables would take an hour, plus the cooking time; how long would that all take?
Xu Ying forced a smile and checked the time: half-past nine, just right.
She strode into the kitchen, surveyed the ingredients, nodded to herself—they were just as she had reported.
Rolling up her sleeves, Xu Ying began directing the others to wash and chop the vegetables.
These women were already won over by Xu Ying's culinary skills, gleefully getting to work, "Xiao Xu, save some of the food for us after you cook."
"I'm telling you, with your cooking skills, you could be a head chef at the State-owned Restaurant, no problem."
"Exactly! I had the fortune to have a meal in the State-owned Restaurant once, the head chef's cooking was good, but it's still not quite up to Xiao Xu's level."
Xu Ying felt she could not go on being praised like that, or else she would float away to the heavens.
There was no denying that the system was useful; after unlocking these new cooking skills, she felt her dishes tasted even better than before.
"Auntie, Big Sister, I'm not as good as you say," Xu Ying said modestly, though inside she thought that working at a State-owned Restaurant really would be a great opportunity.
If she worked at the State-owned Restaurant, her goodwill value would increase rapidly.
After the women finished washing and chopping the vegetables, Xu Ying began to cook at the stove.
She rolled up her sleeves, and the white, tender skin of her wrists waved the spatula around in the pot like a jade lotus root.
Xu Ying, now without a smile, looked serious, and an aura of reverence emanated from her, demanding respect.