"There's a lunch party, will you be attending?" Lin Yao asked Lan Xiaoqing, still somewhat hesitant to speak to Xia Yuwen.
"We're not participating. We just came to take a look. How could we possibly get a chance to attend those leaders' banquets?" Lan Xiaoqing casually tossed her head. "Oh, by the way, you didn't know, did you? The vice mayor in charge of your family's pharmaceutical factory, Duan Qing, is Xiaowen's uncle, her own uncle."
Ah! Lin Yao feigned surprise and looked at Xia Yuwen. Even now, seeing that delicate face still made his heart flutter. He was secretly grateful to Lan Xiaoqing for giving him another excuse to look at people.
"It's nothing." Xia Yuwen was a little embarrassed, and she was also wondering why she always seemed a bit awkward in front of Lin Yao. "My uncle often praises your family's Minhong Pharmaceutical at home, saying that it is the most patriotic national enterprise."
"I'm not going to the banquet either. There are too many leaders, there's no place for me," Lin Yao said, mustering his courage. "Let's have lunch together, and Lili can treat us."
The two girls burst out laughing. This guy was too funny; he even had to use the excuse of children to invite people over.
"I don't eat KFC! It's junk food, and it'll make you fat." Lan Xiaoqing raised her hand to speak, looking very cute, but Lin Yao didn't react much. After speaking, she immediately added, "I don't eat hot pot either, I have pimples right now, unless you bring me a few more drinks."
Lin Yao chuckled, "We'll have Chinese food. There's a place called 'Qiaojiao Beef' in Guanghua Village not far away; it's quite good."
"It's not hot pot, it just doesn't have that name," Lan Xiaoqing immediately refused, touching a non-existent pimple on her face. "Oh, by the way, you're going to give Uncle Xiaowen and the others drinks, right? How many?"
Lin Yao recalled what happened after dinner the previous night. Wu Jianwei insisted on providing drinks, saying it was a rule that couldn't be broken, otherwise future work would be difficult. At the time, Lin Yao thought that after the disaster relief operation was completed, his family's pharmaceutical factory would have a lot of dealings with relevant departments, and legitimate business operations couldn't function without the support and cooperation of these departments, so he didn't raise any objections.
The final result was that each person at the vice mayor level or above received a case of beverages, while the rest received a bottle each—all unlabeled, unpackaged drinks. Since Lin Yao agreed, Luo Jimin, who had been annoyed by people at all levels, naturally had no objections, nor did Lin Hongmei. After all, it wouldn't cost much in terms of cost, and decades of experience had taught her that some things were unavoidable.
Thinking about this, Lin Yao suddenly had a thought. The number of leaders attending the ceremony today was so large and the level so high that almost all the relevant departments were led by their top leaders. Could it be that they also had the same idea: to come and taste the beverage?
Fortunately, Wu Jianwei was well-versed in the ways of officialdom and had even prepared portions for some high-ranking leaders who couldn't attend, which put Lin Yao at ease. The disaster victims needed help, and these leaders had also worked tirelessly for the country and its people; it was only right that they have a few drinks to relax. In this world, you have to follow the rules, otherwise nothing will get done.
Lin Yao suddenly felt relieved after having a sudden realization, and his smile immediately became bright. Xia Yuwen and Lan Xiaoqing, who were watching him, suddenly felt that this guy didn't actually look that bad. At least his smile was very attractive.
After having a good time, Guli and Nannan were caught by Alina and Ruan Lingling. The two little ones, still not satisfied, kept turning back to look at the inflatable archway, where many grandfathers had praised them, making them very happy. Unfortunately, Alina and Ruan Lingling were too naive and actually brought them back.
"Lili, stop being naughty. Let's go eat. Let's treat these two older sisters to a meal." Lin Yao had a lot of authority in front of the little guy, and his words immediately put an end to their thoughts of continuing to cause trouble.
"Great! I'll treat Wenwen and Qingqing to dinner, KFC, and Dad will pay." Xiao Guli immediately became generous, as he really enjoyed treating people to meals.
The two girls chuckled simultaneously and hugged each other. Lan Xiaoqing's voice came through intermittently, "I told you, Lili would definitely treat us, and it would definitely be KFC. Goodness, this little guy has no ambition!"
Alina, being an experienced woman, immediately understood what was going on when she saw Lin Yao's embarrassed expression and the behavior of the two pretty girls. She thought to herself that her young brother had good taste; both girls were pure and beautiful and seemed to have a great temperament. "I won't go. Your older brother told me to go home early. A few brothers will be coming tomorrow, and I need to prepare some things for them in advance. You guys go ahead and take care of Nannan for me."
"Um... I'd like to ask for leave. I need to go home and visit my younger brother. He's back from school, and my family wants me to come home for lunch," Ruan Lingling whispered to Lin Yao, her eyes lowered, avoiding his gaze.
"Oh, then go right away. Take a few drinks back for your parents. Is your mother feeling better now? She's been too busy lately. I'll visit them at your house in a while." Lin Yao immediately thought of Ruan Lingling's father being unable to work and her mother being bedridden, but it wasn't convenient to go and treat her right now. Xiao Cao's abilities had to be used sparingly, so he simply brought a few drinks for them to recover. After all, Ruan Lingling was family living with them.
"No, no, these drinks are too expensive, I can't take them." Ruan Lingling had been living with Lin Yao for a long time, so she was well aware of the value of these drinks. She had never seen anyone in the family drink such beverages before, and she had already been treated very well, so she couldn't take anything else.
"Don't be so formal, we're all family now." Lin Yao smiled and said to Alina, "Sister-in-law, could you please tell my mother to give Ruan Lingling five bottles to take back, and also see if there's a ride available?"
"Thank you." Tears welled up in Ruan Lingling's eyes. She had originally declined to go home for dinner, but when she saw Xia Yuwen and the others, she suddenly remembered that she should have avoided them. She didn't expect Lin Yao to give her such a precious drink. She was overwhelmed with gratitude.
"Sister Lingling, don't cry. Go back and eat quickly, or there won't be any food left." Xiao Guli comforted Ruan Lingling in a grown-up tone, which amused the people around them.
A moment later, Alina came over carrying a plastic bag and handed it to Ruan Lingling. Ruan Lingling awkwardly took the plastic bag, thanked her softly, and fled from the pharmaceutical factory.
"Let's go eat too." Lin Yao picked up Xiao Guli and called Xia Yuwen and Lan Xiaoqing to leave.
"You promised to give us drinks!" Lan Xiaoqing, who had been thinking about the drinks she hadn't received yet, immediately reminded him when she heard that they were leaving.
"Oh, I forgot, I'm sorry." Lin Yao smiled sheepishly, then turned to Alina, "Sister-in-law, I'd like to ask you for a favor, but it's inconvenient for me to go in."
Alina smiled nonchalantly, turned and left. She had heard from her husband that her little brother had many secrets and needed to be taken care of.
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Chapter 111 The Price of Making Things Difficult
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They ate casually for lunch. Xia Yuwen and Lan Xiaoqing refused Lin Yao's suggestion to go to a fancy restaurant, and ignored Xiao Guli and Nannan's longing gaze at the KFC next door. They directly chose a simple-looking but clean tofu pudding shop in Guanghua Village.
The little ones' resentment came and went quickly, especially with Lin Yao present; they became lively again in the blink of an eye.
Douhua rice is very famous in Sichuan. This kind of food, which is charged per person in small shops, is also a major feature of Sichuan. It is a delicious and inexpensive food for ordinary people, and together with cold pot fish, it has become one of the two super affordable delicacies in Sichuan.
Douhua rice is actually a hot pot. The restaurant first prepares the size of the iron pot and the amount of douhua and side dishes according to the number of customers. Then, it is cooked and served to the customers. After eating the douhua and the pre-cooked side dishes such as mushrooms, ham, quail eggs, and beef in the pot, the restaurant starts a fire to boil the broth. Then, the customers can take as many meat and vegetable dishes that have been prepared in advance, which completely turns it into a hot pot.
The two little ones had a special fondness for tofu pudding. Dipping it in the sauce made by the shop using traditional methods, the tender tofu pudding was extremely delicious. The shop was also generous, adding large pieces of tofu pudding twice for free to satisfy everyone's appetite.
The price was ten yuan per serving. Xia Yuwen, Lan Xiaoqing, Lin Yao, along with Ge Yong and Banan who were always by their side, plus the two little ones who combined for one serving, made a total of six servings, costing sixty yuan. It was really cheap. Everyone ate until their mouths were greasy. Even Xia Yuwen and Lan Xiaoqing were forced to stay in the shop to rest for a long time after finishing their food before they could catch their breath. When had they ever been able to enjoy food so freely in a small shop? Even the last time they ran into Xiao Guli in the park and were treated to KFC was a rare opportunity. They didn't want to waste such a good opportunity with greasy food.
"What activities are you planning to do next? Do you need us to give you a ride?" Lin Yao secretly let out a burp, looking at Xia Yuwen with some reluctance, trying to make his tone sound as casual as possible.
"I came out with my uncle today, so I have a holiday. I haven't figured out how to use the rest of the time yet. Do you have any suggestions?" Xia Yuwen pursed her lips and passed the buck back to Lin Yao. She didn't want to part ways so soon. She just felt happy being with this hoodlum. Of course, he's no longer a hoodlum now, but that's still how she sees him.
"Uh, this..." Lin Yao was a little dumbfounded. He couldn't very well say that everyone should go out and have fun together.
Just as he was in a bit of a dilemma, the phone rang. Upon checking the caller ID, he saw it was an unfamiliar number from Beijing.
"Hello, who is this?" Lin Yao didn't have the habit of introducing himself first, so as not to accidentally reveal his identity. This kind of dual-SIM dual-standby phone was troublesome, and the caller ID text was too small to read.
"Excuse me, are you Lin Yao? This is the Logistics Department of the Beijing Military Region. You can call me Lieutenant Colonel Liu." The other person's tone was harsh, and the military style of introducing himself made Lin Yao uncomfortable, as it gave off a condescending feeling.
"Hello, this is Lin Yao. What can I do for you?" Lin Yao's heart skipped a beat. He knew something was up, but he didn't expect the other party to react so quickly. Logically speaking, the microbial culture experiment that his uncle brought back should have taken two days, but the other party had already contacted him after only a little over a day. Could it be that they had a way to speed up the microbial culture process?
"Here's the thing, the information you provided to the country is incomplete. We've tested it, and without the catalytic enzyme you provided, the bacteria won't reproduce and will die quickly when exposed to air." Lieutenant Colonel Liu's attitude was very firm. "Please send over the complete information immediately, and stop playing these petty tricks."