Chapter 24: Those Who Only Eat Without Working Are Pigs

Seeing her serious expression and thinking of her skill at blocking vehicles, Sun Weiguo's anger finally subsided a little.

"You promise you won't cause any more trouble?"

"I can swear to heaven, if there is any..."

Before she could raise her hand, Sun Weiguo interrupted her irritably, "Shut up. This is a new society; those old customs of cursing and swearing were long ago discarded. Feudal superstition is unacceptable. Watch your mouth, or you'll invite misfortune."

Everyone had come through the difficult years; now that policies had loosened a bit, they had become quite indiscreet.

Li Xiangqin quickly covered her mouth and shook her head. "I swear to the Great Leader, I will be loyal to the people and the Party, and I guarantee I won't hold anyone back again."

"In that case, starting tomorrow, you will follow the shift schedule and officially start your post."

It just so happened that she could fill the vacancy left by the problematic worker.

"I'll emphasize this one last time: if you dare to drop the ball at a critical moment, I will fire you on the spot."

"Rest assured, Foreman. This time, I will give my all until my dying breath." Li Xiangqin stood up straight and saluted the foreman to express her determination.

Fortunately, she had been known as an "Iron Lady" in her youth, competing to be a model worker, a skilled hand, and a labor exemplar, which had left the foreman with a good impression of her.

To be fair, the foreman had been more than patient with her. Given her death-defying attempts to pose as a patient and her shameless requests for sick leave, the foreman had always assumed she had unavoidable hardships. Although it annoyed him to death, he had still approved them.

Watching the foreman stride away, Li Xiangqin let out a long sigh. As she turned her head, she saw the accountant, Song Ying, standing behind her with a smile.

"Sister Li, you could call it a blessing in disguise. If it weren't for the quality accident in the workshop, there wouldn't have been any vacant positions."

"Accountant Song, was the accident very serious?" Although she had overheard a bit, she didn't know the specifics.

Li Xiangqin was quite curious. Currently, supply exceeded demand, and it was a critical period for strictly enforcing production standards; how could such a major loophole occur?

"Sigh, an entire batch was sent back by quality inspection. A machine malfunction wasn't repaired in time, resulting in oil spots and massive broken wefts. The foreman has been called into meetings constantly these past few days, with the workshop director and the quality inspection director pointing fingers at him for dereliction of duty and negligence... Speaking of which, we still don't know how to handle this batch of defective cloth."

Accountant Song spoke gloomily, looking at Li Xiangqin.

"Zhou Sufen left her post multiple times during working hours and committed major errors. She has been suspended, and the position you are taking over is hers."

"Thank you for the reminder, Accountant Song. I will strictly oversee the work and resolutely avoid causing any trouble for the foreman." Hearing the implied warning from Accountant Song, Li Xiangqin blinked and immediately gave her word.

"As long as you understand. Our foreman has been in a bad mood lately, but he's still been quite good to you." Accountant Song gave her a glance and walked away with her folder.

Li Xiangqin sighed and left the factory carrying her cloth bag. She was on the B-shift; following the shift schedule meant she would transition to the middle shift tomorrow.

On her way home, Li Xiangqin bought some groceries and carried them back.

The house was quiet. She wondered where the fifth and sixth children had run off to.

Looking at the crookedly placed bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen, it was clearly the handiwork of the third child.

Li Xiangqin turned to look at the third child's bedroom door, unable to suppress her anger.

The third child had truly found himself a "great-grandmother." Not only was she the only idle person in the whole family, but she also didn't do a lick of housework, always looking like she couldn't survive the day. It was infuriating to watch.

If she guessed correctly, Zhao Meijuan was likely lying on the bed like a corpse right now.

Li Xiangqin washed her hands, returned to her room, and began rummaging through her things to reorganize them.

She repacked things she no longer needed and stored them separately.

She worked until dusk, until the fifth child excitedly pushed the door open and shouted,

"Mom, I'm back! Is there anything to eat? I'm starving!"

Li Xiangqin walked out of her room and glanced at the new clothes on the fifth child. "You deserve to starve. How old are you? All you do is run around like a madwoman; don't you know how to help with the housework?"

"Mom, I just started my break. You have to let me enjoy a few light days, right?"

The fifth child pouted, turned toward the kitchen, broke a piece of steamed bun, scooped a spoonful of white sugar, and slumped into a chair.

"Are you a pig? You come home and all you know is how to eat, and as soon as you touch a chair, you just sprawl out. Your bones must be made of jelly. You might as well just die of laziness."

Seeing her boneless posture, Li Xiangqin felt a surge of irritation.

"Aren't you going to school tomorrow to pick up your admission notice? If you don't do well on your exams, watch out for your legs."

"Don't worry, Mom. I guarantee I'll do better than the sixth one."

When Zhang Jianli spoke of studying, her eyes gleamed with conceit. With the sixth child at the bottom, she was never worried about getting a beating.

"Tattling again while I'm not around. Traitor!" The little sixth child happened to push the door in and gave her a direct eye-roll upon hearing this.

Unfortunately, the fifth child just tilted her neck and didn't care at all.

Li Xiangqin couldn't be bothered with them. She turned to the kitchen to make a sweet egg soup, stir-fry the eggplant and potatoes sent by Er Ying, and heat up some steamed buns to settle dinner.

Halfway through cooking, the fourth child returned from work.

"Mom, I'm back."

"Good. Wash your hands and get ready to eat." Li Xiangqin glanced at her and called the fifth child over to serve the soup.

Just as the food was brought to the table, the third child also returned. "I'm back early—actually, I'm back just in time for dinner."

"You're useless at everything except eating. You thick-skinned thing, you clearly finished work at three-thirty, yet you dragged it out until six-thirty just to come home. You're so lazy, coming home just to eat. Do I owe you something?"

Hearing the commotion of the third child's return, Zhao Meijuan had just opened her bedroom door when her mother-in-law's scolding reached her ears, causing her to freeze in her tracks.

Seeing his wife, the third child gave a cheeky grin.

"The factory needed some loaders for a shipment today, so I volunteered. It counts as half a day's work."

Seeing his desperate look for praise, Li Xiangqin couldn't bear to look at him. She snorted, "With that much fat on you, you should have started exercising long ago. Someone who only eats and doesn't work is just a pig."

Zhao Meijuan: "..."

*That old woman. She's the only outsider in this house now, and she's picking on me relentlessly, isn't she?*

"Wife, what are you standing there for? Come and eat."

The third child called out and turned to wash his hands. Zhao Meijuan walked over lightly. Looking at the soup bowl on the table, her face tightened—there wasn't even a bowl for her.

As expected, this whole family looked down on her.

Li Xiangqin sat down, took a bite of a steamed bun, and saw Zhao Meijuan's resentful gaze, which only made her angrier.

"What are you standing there for? If you want to eat, can't you serve yourself? What, you don't cook, you don't help with housework, and now you want me to feed you too? Are you the Emperor or my great-grandmother?"

"Mom, I wasn't feeling well today, I accidentally fell asleep," Zhao Meijuan explained softly, her face stiffening.

*Is it my fault?*

*Everyone looks at me with such disdain; why should I come out and work myself to death?*

"I've been busy all afternoon and didn't even wake you, but as soon as the food hit the table and the third child pushed the door, you were wide awake. What, are your ears special? Can you choose when to be deaf?"

(End of Chapter)