Mrs. Lin paid the fare and, after getting off the ox cart, clung tightly to Lin Xiang’s coat.
She was nearly forty years old and had only co to town a few tis.
Although Mianyang Town wasn’t prosperous, it certainly looked much better than the Li Hua Team; none of the clothes worn by the pedestrians on the street had patches.
The confidence Mrs. Lin showed in front of Lin Yun had now entirely turned into timidity.
Lin Xiang noticed the change in her mother’s mood and gently held her hand, "Mom, I’m here with you, don’t be afraid."
"Actually, city life isn’t as good as you think. Except for those dual-inco families, many people don’t eat as well as we do. Look closely, don’t many of them appear quite gaunt?"
They don’t even look as robust as Mrs. Lin!
With Lin Xiang’s words, Mrs. Lin straightened her back again.
She maintained her posture until they arrived at the gates of the cotton spinning factory, where her straight back bent down and refused to straighten.
Lin Xiang led Mrs. Lin to the security office, "Uncle, do you rember ? I’m Lin Xiang from the Li Hua Team."
"How could I not rember? The director specifically instructed to let you in imdiately when I see you. You should go in quickly; the director is waiting for you."
"Thank you, Uncle. This is my mother, she’s coming in with ."
"I know, I know, the director instructed that both of you can enter."
With ease, they entered the cotton spinning factory, and Lin Xiang headed straight to Director Chen’s office. On the way, she encountered Director Wu and took the initiative to greet him.
Director Wu’s stern face attempted a smile upon seeing Lin Xiang, but since he’s not used to smiling, the forced smile looked quite strange.
"Hello, Comrade Lin Xiang, Director Chen is waiting for you in his office, you should go quickly."
"Thank you, Director Wu, I’ll go see Director Chen right away."
Lin Xiang then confidently introduced Mrs. Lin to Director Wu, "Director Wu, this is my mother. She ca with because she was worried I might be scared alone in the evening."
Mrs. Lin, held by Lin Xiang with one hand, tightly covered the patches on her clothes with the other, afraid of being looked down upon because of poor clothing.
"D...Director, hello." Mrs. Lin greeted Director Wu, trying to mimic Lin Xiang, but her voice was halting, affected by insecurity and other emotions.
Director Wu adjusted his glasses, still wearing that mask-like fake smile, "Sister, you are truly a great mother for raising Comrade Lin Xiang so well."
Director Wu was generous with his praise for Mrs. Lin, making her feel lightheaded all the way to Director Chen’s office, where she still appeared dazed.
Not until Director Chen personally poured a glass of water and handed it to her with both hands did Mrs. Lin co to her senses. She hurriedly stood up, bowing and hesitant to accept the tea, "How... how can I let the leader pour tea for ?"
"Sister, there’s no need to say that; even leaders are just ordinary people! Moreover, I must thank you for raising such a good child. Without Lin, how could our Cotton Textile Factory dare to think about supplying foreign rchants?"
The first and soon-to-be second foreign exchange order in Mianyang Town was earned by their Cotton Textile Factory—this was an honor!
Although this honor wasn’t entirely due to Lin Xiang, without her, the cooperation with foreign rchants wouldn’t have been so smooth.
Mrs. Lin started to feel light-headed again.
"Lin, you hurried back and ca straight to town; you probably haven’t had lunch yet, right? It’s still early; let’s go eat first, and then I’ll arrange a dorm for you to rest. When it’s about ti, I’ll call you to answer the phone."
"Sure, sorry to trouble you, Director Chen."
The cotton spinning factory had its own cafeteria, and thanks to good business, the als weren’t bad.
Director Chen was a leader who loved to get things done rather than indulge, so the cotton spinning factory didn’t own a private restaurant, and he ate communal als with everyone else.
For entertaining guests, one just needed to inform the head chef in advance.
Today, Director Chen had instructed early on, so by the ti he brought Lin Xiang and Mrs. Lin to the cafeteria, the food was ready.
The al included four dishes and a soup, with three ats: braised pork, stewed pig’s feet, sliced pork with cucumber, as well as a stir-fried seasonal vegetable. The soup was a seaweed egg drop soup, served with white rice and big stead buns.
The servings were generous.
This setup was more than enough to entertain leadership.
For the first ti, Mrs. Lin dined with leaders at such a nice cafeteria and ate a standard hospitality al, making her feel quite uneasy.
Though Lin Xiang put the chopsticks in her hand, she only dared to scoop the rice in front of her and didn’t dare to reach out for the dishes.
It looked sowhat unsophisticated.
But Lin Xiang didn’t find her mother’s behavior embarrassing; that was how most rural people of this era were.
At least Mrs. Lin was managing to sit at the sa table with leaders; others might not even dare to sit down.
Lin Xiang placed a piece of braised pork in Mrs. Lin’s bowl, "Mom, give it a try, see if the cotton spinning factory chef’s cooking is better than mine?"
Mrs. Lin hadn’t tasted it yet, "Yours must be better, of course!"
Only after she said it did Mrs. Lin realize she had spoken out of turn.
Praising her own daughter’s cooking on soone else’s turf seed a bit inappropriate, didn’t it?
Mrs. Lin cautiously glanced at Director Chen, who laughed, "I heard Lin not only can cook Western food but also does pretty well with Chinese dishes. If it weren’t for your determination to attend high school, I’d have offered you a kitchen job with less work and more pay."
Most importantly, there are benefits.
Lin Xiang swallowed the braised pork in her mouth and said, "Thank you for your kind offer, Director Chen, but at this stage, I really want to focus on studying and strengthening my knowledge to contribute more to the organization and the country."
"Great!" Director Chen heartily praised Lin Xiang, "If all young people in Hua Country were like you, our Hua Country would certainly prosper!"
Hearing Director Chen’s words, Lin Xiang felt an indescribable touch in her heart.
She felt a lump in her throat and, holding back her emotion, said solemnly word by word, "There are many people who prioritize building the country like I do, but I’m just an inconspicuous one among them. Our Hua Country will get better and better until it becos the world’s leading power."
Before she traveled here, Hua Country was already the largest country in the world.
In United Nations etings, other major powers had to defer to Hua Country’s delegation!
And the strength of Hua Country was inseparable from the contributions of generations of people.
After the al, Director Chen personally led Lin Xiang and Mrs. Lin to the dormitory.
"This dorm was specially vacated today, and everything on the beds is brand new. If you find anything unsatisfactory, just let know, and I’ll have it changed for you at any ti."
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