"Hua Zifeng!" Hua Jun glared at him coldly, "Don’t get carried away. Just because you pulled off so instant noodle business and earned Dad’s favor doesn’t make you special."
"I’m really curious, how did you and Tian Sangsang end up tangled together?"
"The fact that she got mixed up with you proves she’s not much of a decent person either."
"Oh, oh, oh, you’re just perfect, aren’t you?" Hua Zifeng crossed his arms leisurely, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. "At least she knows how to make instant noodles. All I ever see you do is make tea."
"True, better than ." Hua Jun nodded, "Which is why you’re always running to her place, fawning over her."
"I feel like it. What’s it to you?"
"I really don’t care." Hua Jun sneered, "I heard you recently got involved with soone—a married woman, pushing thirty. Just watch yourself this ti. Don’t ss things up so badly that I have to clean up your disaster again."
"As if you’ve cleaned up so many of my sses." Hua Zifeng snorted. "All you ever do is boss people around with your authority. How much actual effort have you put in?"
"You’re not worth my effort." Hua Jun said coldly. "That Ji Qin, what even is she? A low-brow country woman. I don’t see what you see in her."
"What she sees in , not what I see in her." Ji Qin had approached him hoping to secure a factory. Coincidentally, he’d grown tired of playing around with young girls and wanted sothing a little less pristine to keep him entertained. It was nothing more than a mutual exchange—hardly a relationship.
Of course, those without capability use their bodies for transactions; those with capability leverage benefits. In the end, it’s all transactions. Personally, he preferred body-based transactions.
"You never turn anyone away, do you?" Hua Jun mused, "Since when did you start fancying married won? Looks like Tian Sangsang, that vixen, cast quite the spell on you."
"Not only , but even my brother-in-law." Hua Zifeng grinned.
Hua Jun was furious, "She’s nothing but a widow bringing bad luck."
Hua Zifeng smirked, "Yeah, but at least she can give birth."
"Giving birth doesn’t make them hers. People only care whose kids they are, not who gave birth to them. Do you think the Jiang Family cares about the mother? No matter how many she bears, if she’s not acknowledged, it’s all just for soone else’s benefit."
Hua Zifeng chuckled, "Sis, so that’s your angle. Even with soone else’s kids, you’re still bold enough to dream."
Life never stops, struggle never ends. Hua Jun pulled a cold smile, "And aren’t you the sa? Soone else’s kids can really kill your ambition?"
"Sis." Hua Zifeng dropped his playful grin and gave her a long, shadowed look. "This ti we really had the sa thought. No wonder we share the sa father."
"What are you two talking about? All smiles and laughter?" Their mother descended the stairs, beaming at the pair. Hua Jun returned to the sofa and resud reading her book, scoffing inwardly. Sa father, but not the sa mother.
Hua Zifeng joked around, wrapping his arm around their mother as they headed upstairs.
"Mom, that loquat you gave yesterday—where’d you buy it? Tasted amazing."
"Where else? From..." Hua Mother’s voice abruptly stopped, her gaze becoming tense. "Delicious? You ate it?"
Hua Zifeng nodded nonchalantly, watching her sharply.
"I told you not to eat it!"
"Mom, why are you so mysterious about this? It’s just loquat."
Hua Mother cald down slightly but still chided, "That was ant for Tian Sangsang! How could you eat it? You’re really driving mad. Eating sothing ant for a guest—what kind of behavior is that? I told you over and over not to touch it, or let anyone else touch it."
"I just ate one; so what?" Hua Zifeng shrugged indifferently. "I was thirsty; couldn’t help myself. She didn’t even notice. Even said the loquat was delicious and asked where you bought it so she could go get so."
Hua Mother’s face turned pale. She grabbed him and started inspecting him, "How are you feeling now?"
"I’m fine!"
After a few monts, Hua Mother sighed in relief, "You only ate one?"
"Yep."
"Later, you’re coming with to get a health check."
"Why? I’m perfectly fine—why check?"
"You’re constantly in relationships. I worry your health might break down." Hua Mother thought quietly for a mont before raising her head again, "You said she asked about the loquat earlier?"
"Yeah, not just asked—she even ca over to find . Seems like she really likes the loquat." Hua Zifeng flashed a wicked grin, "Mom, hurry up and give the address so I can buy more and send it to her."
"Zifeng." Hua Mother scolded lightly, "Behave yourself; she’s a married woman."
Hua Zifeng smiled, looking upstairs and masking the shadow in his eyes. "Where’s Dad? Having another episode?"
"Yes, his heart palpitations—it flares up now and then."
"The other day Dad had so loquat and said he felt much better. Seems like loquats are good stuff; we should let him eat more." Hua Zifeng said earnestly, "Mom, I’ll go check on Dad."
Hua Mother pulled him back, "No need. Your Dad’s resting right now. If you go up, you’ll just disturb him. If you could just cause less trouble, he’d be a lot more at ease."
Speaking of this, Hua Zifeng said, "Mom, I thought of sothing. Our military is fighting over in YN now, right? I want to donate so instant noodles under our family’s na. Whether they eat it or not isn’t the point; it’s about making a statent. That’s always good—can earn us a reputation."
Hua Mother considered for a mont, "Alright, go handle it. This kind of thing only benefits us. Maybe the higher-ups will even award you an honorary badge as a patriotic individual." Reputation-chasing was exactly what they wanted.
Tian Sangsang and Hua Zifeng donated so instant noodles together, tracking down a supplier—a food factory in the southern part of the city. This factory was different from Hua Zifeng’s family’s; it didn’t produce canned goods but mostly cookies, cakes, and snacks. She ordered so compressed biscuits, spending over twenty thousand yuan. Back then, compressed biscuits were mostly too hard to eat—having one was fine, but eating two or more always left you feeling uncomfortable. Tian Sangsang offered so suggestions for improvent. At first, they thought she was just making trouble, but when the biscuits tasted better post-improvent, they didn’t refuse her and even gave her a discount.
However, donating compressed biscuits was tricky. They had to find the right people.
Tian Sangsang didn’t have much military connections, and avoided reaching out to the Hua Family or Ye Binyi. Instead, she turned to her uncle’s family.
After hearing her intention, her aunt was both impressed and awed: "Sangsang, there’s no shortage of democratic-minded folks doing donations nowadays, but not many like you. Rest assured, we’ll submit your items properly."
"It’s what I should do." Tian Sangsang smiled lightly.
Her aunt, however, didn’t see it the sa way—she believed Tian Sangsang was doing this because her husband had gone to the front lines, wanting to send supplies out of love for him. Whether for the country or the family, they had done their duty.
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