MGASC -Chapter 13 Her Enthusiasm Is Overwhelming

Wang Yan’s mother never expected her daughter to be so irresponsible—running off again to cozy up to the local hoodlum.

Fuming, she grabbed a broom and went after her. Seeing this, Zhang Qiao gave a charming smile and turned to leave.

Before she even reached her door, she could hear Wang Yan’s mother chasing after her daughter with the broom, striking hard on her backside, while shouting curses that echoed across the yard: “You good-for-nothing! How many times have I told you? Stay away from that thug! Day after day, you bring shame to this family. A grown woman running after someone to be their stepmother—don’t you feel embarrassed? Do you want to be poor for the rest of your life? Go home now, and if you ever come here again, I’ll have your father break your legs!”

Wang Yan’s mother had a loud voice, drawing a few curious neighbors who stood by the roadside, pointing and whispering.

Of course, all the gossip was about Wang Yan.

Wang Yan’s face was flushed red with anger. She had just stepped out and happened to run right into Zhang Qiao.

Zhang Qiao smiled sweetly: “Heading home so soon? Not staying for dinner?”

Wang Yan knew she had been reported, and blood rushed to her head. She pointed at Zhang Qiao: “You little vixen, just wait!”

The nosy aunts watching from across the street muttered: “Tsk, wanting her to wait—what a shameless girl!”

“Even though Lin Tianyue’s wife isn’t great, we’ve never seen anyone rushing to become a stepmother like this.”

“Wang Yan was clever and sharp as a child. Her mother always boasted she’d grow up to be remarkable… haha, remarkable enough to become a tramp? If this were my child, I’d break her legs!”

Only after Zhang Qiao walked away did she enter her home. She even smiled at the aunts peeking across the yard: “Sorry for giving you all a laugh. Come visit anytime.”

In the past, Zhang Qiao never greeted neighbors, but now, with her sudden warmth, the aunts couldn’t ignore her and all smiled back politely.

Once the door was closed behind her, Lin Xun, Lin Ran, and Lin Jin were standing by the entrance, glaring at her with obvious anger.

No need to guess—they were convinced she had chased away their “perfect stepmother.”

Zhang Qiao approached with a bright smile and patted little Lin Jin’s head: “Eating watermelon? Tasty? Watermelon is cold in nature, eat just a bit and save some room. Tonight, I’ll make meat buns for you!”

Lin Jin, who had been sulking, lit up at the mention of meat buns. His eyes sparkled: “Really… tonight? Meat buns?”

“Yes! With string beans and pork ribs—so delicious. Go pick some string beans in the garden for me. Whoever picks the most will get a reward. Come on!”

Having given her instructions, Zhang Qiao went inside. Lin Jin, the youngest and the most food-driven, immediately forgot Wang Yan’s warnings and bolted into the garden, shouting: “Yay! Meat buns tonight! I want ten! No, a hundred!”

Lin Ran, wiping the leftover sweetness of watermelon from his mouth, looked at his eldest brother: “Bro, what should we do? Go pick? There are meat buns.”

Lin Xun scowled: “Eat, eat, eat—you only care about food! Aren’t you afraid of being poisoned?”

Lin Ran replied, “We ate the braised pork yesterday and didn’t die, did we? Besides, she bought it with Dad’s money. Why shouldn’t we eat it?”

Lin Xun shot him another glare. He too was suspicious—why was this woman suddenly so nice to them?

Yesterday, she made braised pork and didn’t forget to call them to eat. Today, she was beaming and promising meat buns.

She would eat the meat buns too—so she probably wouldn’t poison them.

But why was she suddenly so nice?

Lin Xun pondered long and hard, concluding that she must have some ulterior motive. Even if she was currying favor, there had to be a secret agenda—a possible grand scheme!

Meanwhile, Lin Jin bent over, plucking string beans one by one. Lin Ran, afraid of falling behind, nudged Lin Xun with his elbow: “Brother, let’s just play along for now. Don’t worry—I’ll be just like you behind her back, never acknowledging her as our stepmom. She’s no Aunt Yan… I only recognize Aunt Yan.”

Lin Xun stood there, unmoved.

Lin Ran stomped impatiently: “If you won’t go, I’ll go! Don’t worry, I won’t be a traitor!”

And with that, he charged into the garden.

Lin Xun felt like his chest was stuffed with cotton, unable to take a full breath.

He didn’t pick string beans, plopping down on the doorstep instead, muttering: “Two traitors!”

Soon, Lin Ran and Lin Jin rushed to the kitchen, eager to show off their haul. Both claimed to have picked the most, nearly coming to blows.

Finally, Lin Jin had an idea and called out to Zhang Qiao: “Aunt… um… you say, who picked more—me or Second Brother?”

Zhang Qiao, cutting meat, had taken half of the pork she’d grabbed from Chen Guilan yesterday for braised pork, and stored the other half with some bones in the cold cellar. She now blanched the meat, removed the hard bones, diced it, marinated it, and sautéed it with chopped string beans for half an hour—the perfect filling for buns.

Hearing Lin Jin, she paused and examined the two bowls of string beans.

“They look about the same. To be fair, let Lin Xun weigh them!”

She called out to Lin Xun in the yard.

Reluctantly, he came in, expecting some trick, only to be asked to weigh the beans.

Serious when it came to his brothers, he did so. Lin Jin was declared the winner.

The little boy jumped for joy: “Yay, I’m first! Aunt… uh, you said the first place gets a reward, right? What’s the reward?”

Zhang Qiao internally frowned—when did he start calling her Aunt?

But for dealing with kids, she wasn’t in a hurry.

“Congratulations, Lin Jin! First place gets ten candies, second gets eight, third…”

As she grabbed candies from the basket, she glanced at Lin Xun.

“Lin Xun didn’t pick any string beans, so he only gets seven. But I have another task for him. Lin Xun, as the eldest, you can’t eat too many candies. You’ll oversee Lin Ran and Lin Jin, making sure they don’t eat more than five a day. Once they finish, they can come back for more from me.”

Seeing her pull out a colorful bag of candies, all three boys’ eyes lit up.

In this era, treats were scarce, and even a single candy was a rare delight.

Just for picking string beans, they could get a whole handful—Lin Ran and Lin Jin were overjoyed like it was New Year’s. Even stoic Lin Xun felt conflicted holding his candies.

He didn’t want to obey Zhang Qiao, but he had to be responsible for his younger brothers. By controlling their candy intake, he was indirectly following her instructions—making him feel trapped.

After Lin Ran and Lin Jin left, he finally scowled and demanded of Zhang Qiao, who was still picking string beans: “What do you mean? Why are you suddenly being so nice to the three of us? Do you have some kind of scheme?”