Chapter 134: Reporting False Charges
Shen Que immediately brought over the swill bucket and handed it to Jiang Cheng first thing.
Jiang Cheng calmly took it and said thank you.
In preparation to splash the swill, Lin’s father and Lin’s old lady waited forever for support that never came.
They thought having two elders speak up would gain some sympathy from the courtyard, to morally coerce Jiang Cheng.
Yet they waited in vain, as not a single person stood up to speak for them.
The Lin Family completely forgot about the orders of headwear and cloth dolls Jiang Cheng brought for the whole Fourth-Fifth Alley.
Though "show me the money" sounds crude, Jiang Cheng truly benefits everyone, so who would want to offend her?
Even if the Lin Family climbed up to the Yang Family, the Yang Family doesn’t pay them money.
"Fine, fine, fine! Ungrateful!"
"Mom, let’s go."
Lin’s father helped Lin’s old lady and retreated in a panic.
Jiang Cheng cut in, "Crazy."
"Give me back the bucket."
Shen Que took back the swill bucket, and Grandma Shen seized the moment to say, "Come over for dinner."
"Alright!"
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Cheng cast the Lin Family out of her mind.
The Lin Family’s motives weren’t hard to guess, especially after Director Lu analyzed the situation at the machinery factory for her today.
Director Lu was afraid she’d impulsively wade in and cause trouble for herself.
It seemed the candidate Lin Chengyuan supported wasn’t the same as the one who sought Director Lu.
Jiang Cheng had never thought about getting involved in the affairs of the machinery factory.
Dinner was handmade noodles.
Jiang Cheng liked it so much she had an extra bowl.
"Grandma Shen, your cooking skills have improved!"
Grandma Shen blandly accepted the compliment.
"I didn’t make it; Shen Que did."
Jiang Cheng looked at Shen Que, who was holding his bowl, a serious expression lightly tempered by a smile.
"If you like it, I can make it again next time. I learned from our mess hall leader."
"I like it, especially the chewiness!"
Jiang Cheng’s straightforward praise made Shen Que grunt in agreement, his head down, eating the noodles, not lifting his head for quite some time.
Shen Yue, unclear about what was happening, looked at her own bowl and then at Shen Que’s bowl.
Could it be that her brother’s bowl was bigger?
Shen Xing was also a bit puzzled, always feeling that her brother acted a bit abnormal in front of Sister Jiang Cheng.
As for how he was abnormal, Shen Xing didn’t know.
This was completely outside his realm of knowledge.
Under Grandma Shen’s watchful eye, everyone else seemed drunk, but she alone remained sober.
After dinner, Shen Xing went to wash the bowls, and Jiang Cheng returned next door to study with her study group.
Tonight’s midnight snack was small dumpling soup, fresh and tasty, warming her whole body once eaten.
Everything proceeded as usual: the usual routine, the usual plans.
The next day, Shen Que went to take Shen Xing and Shen Yue to school, while Jiang Cheng left the big courtyard and went straight to the food factory.
Halfway there, Jiang Cheng was stopped.
The person stopping her was Lin Chengyuan.
Today, Lin Chengyuan wore small leather shoes and slicked his hair with oil until it was shiny.
Thinking himself dashing, he leaned against the wall with one foot, spreading his arms when he saw Jiang Cheng approach.
Jiang Cheng didn’t even clearly see who it was. She stopped just in time and felt a bit regretful.
She should’ve just bumped into him.
"Lin Chengyuan, a good dog doesn’t block the way."
Lin Chengyuan was not angry, pretending to be poised as he looked at Jiang Cheng.
"Jiang Cheng, I’ve never asked you for anything, can you help me just this once?"
Lin Chengyuan spoke deeply, his eyes fixed on Jiang Cheng.
At this moment, Jiang Cheng finally understood.
Lin Chengyuan was trying to use what he thought was a handsome man trick!
Pfft! Disgusting!
"Get lost!"
One word, "get lost", summed up all of Jiang Cheng’s responses.
Lin Chengyuan looked hurt as he asked, "Can you really bear to see me..."
"Stop, stop, stop! I can more than bear it!"
"If I see someone beating you up, I’d be the one handing them a stick! Lin Chengyuan, stop performing this act in front of me, I’m too aware of your intentions."
"I won’t go to the machinery factory with you, and certainly won’t help at the machinery factory because of you, give up on that!"
"Block me again, and I’ll shout ’pervert’!"
Lin Chengyuan’s expression finally changed.
Jiang Cheng knew what he was after.
"How did you know—"
"Jiang Cheng, are you okay?"
Shen Que rode up on his bicycle.
Jiang Cheng blinked.
"Shen Que, Lin Chengyuan was cursing you here! It was so foul-mouthed, I can’t even repeat it!"
Jiang Cheng blatantly made a false report.
She knew it was false, Lin Chengyuan knew it was false, and Shen Que also knew it was false.
Shen Que immediately got the hint and got off his bike, walking toward Lin Chengyuan.
"You punk, I haven’t even settled the last time you spread rumors about my death... and now you’re cursing me out here?"
"No, I didn’t! She’s lying—- mm-mm-mm-mm-mm."
Lin Chengyuan got his neck grabbed by Shen Que and was dragged into an alley.
Ten minutes later, Shen Que came out and winked at Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng caught the hint and smiled, riding her bike and moving on.
Shen Que laughed brightly at the alley entrance.
"Shen Que... you’re too ruthless!"
Lin Chengyuan limped out of the alley without a scratch on his face.
Even a thorough check revealed no external injuries, a testament to Shen Que’s skills.
Shen Que’s smile vanished instantly as he looked at Lin Chengyuan.
"Ruthless? You should be grateful we’re not enemies on the battlefield, otherwise... hmm!"
A single hum from Shen Que was enough to scare Lin Chengyuan into silence.
He knew just how ruthless Shen Que could be. Anyone called King Shen was no simple person.
Shen Que couldn’t be bothered with Lin Chengyuan, took a few steps to push his bike, and soon rode away.
Not only had Lin Chengyuan failed to call Jiang Cheng over, but he’d also been openly beaten.
He could do nothing but limp towards the machinery factory.
*
At the same time, Jiang Cheng hummed a little tune as she arrived at the food factory, happily engrossed in her work for the day.
For five days straight, Jiang Cheng would arrive in the morning and return at night, working on time at the food factory.
She had no interest whatsoever in what happened at the machinery factory.
Today was her last day at the food factory, and just as she was about to finish her work, Director Sun from the machinery factory personally arrived.
Jiang Cheng had a good relationship with Director Sun.
She came out to meet Director Sun, only to unexpectedly see a familiar face.
"Shen Que?"
"Hello, Ms. Jiang Cheng."
For once, Shen Que didn’t get tongue-tied in front of Jiang Cheng.
Standing between them, Director Sun glanced back and forth from Jiang Cheng to Shen Que.
"You two know each other?"
Shen Que nodded and said, "Jiang Cheng is my neighbor."
Director Sun seemed momentarily dazed, then applauded, saying, "Good, good, that’s even better!"
"Jiang Cheng, the reason I came to find you today is to invite you to the machinery factory to translate the new equipment production line."
"We’ve hired other translators, but their translations just aren’t right, the practical operation is too far off."
Jiang Cheng understood what Director Sun meant.
A regular translator can handle general translation tasks.
But translating the machinery factory’s production line involves a lot of technical knowledge, which is hard to translate clearly without some foundation.
She’s been learning and translating at the same time.
Jiang Cheng agreed directly, "Sure, the translation at the food factory is just finished."
Director Sun was even more delighted to hear this and pointed at Shen Que, "Great!"
"The second reason I came is to introduce you to Shen Que, since I’m about to leave."
Jiang Cheng immediately caught the key point, looking at Shen Que and asked, "Are you the new director of the machinery factory?"