Chapter 225: The Lu Family Doesn’t Keep Idlers
Chapter 225: Chapter 225: The Lu Family Doesn’t Keep Idlers
Onstage, Fan Qiuyun was distracted by the sight of Yang Lijiong and Jiang Moli talking animatedly below. She lost her focus and stumbled, tumbling into the person next to her.
"Ah!"
Seeing the rehearsal she had just ruined and then looking down at Jiang Moli, who was calmly sizing her up, Fan Qiuyun’s heart sank to rock bottom.
Yang Lijiong clapped her hands. "Everyone, take a fifteen-minute break. Xiao Fan, come here for a moment."
Fan Qiuyun, feeling as though she were walking to her own execution, went up to Yang Lijiong and Jiang Moli.
"Vice Yang."
Yang Lijiong got straight to the point. "Moli and I have discussed it. We’ve tentatively decided to make you the lead for ’Chasing Dreams.’ Find some time to thoroughly study the script and the character. Don’t let our trust and expectations down."
Fan Qiuyun could hardly believe her ears.
She had thought Jiang Moli would surely seize upon her mistake and use the opportunity to have her replaced.
She never imagined Jiang Moli would actually be willing to let her star in ’Chasing Dreams.’
...
"Manager Jiang!"
Jiang Moli turned to see Fan Qiuyun chasing her out of the rehearsal room. She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
Fan Qiuyun stopped in front of her, her expression a little unnatural. "Thank you for being the bigger person and not making things difficult for me at work because of our past issues."
"Manager Jiang, let’s reconcile. Please forgive me for any offense I’ve caused in the past!"
Jiang Moli’s lips curved into a slight smile. "You’ve misunderstood. I’m not as magnanimous as you think. Your Vice Yang is no fool. Your performance was commendable. Even if I insisted it was bad, she wouldn’t have listened to me. So, you should thank your own good leader for appreciating and cultivating your talent."
"Is that what she told you?"
In her office, a playful smile touched Yang Lijiong’s lips as she listened to Fan Qiuyun’s report.
Fan Qiuyun nodded earnestly. "Yes, those were Manager Jiang’s exact words. I think Manager Jiang is a bit too unconventional, completely clueless about social etiquette."
Yang Lijiong just smiled.
Fan Qiuyun couldn’t see it, but she understood.
’Jiang Moli isn’t clueless about social etiquette; she’s helping me forge Fan Qiuyun’s loyalty.’
’By rejecting Fan Qiuyun’s gesture of goodwill, Jiang Moli is making Fan Qiuyun appreciate me, her leader, even more.’
’What a truly interesting person.’
’At the same time, it’s baffling. How could someone with such a sharp mind and wisdom have such a terrible reputation?’
...
At lunch, Yang Lijiong made a point of sitting with Jiang Moli.
"Want some fish?"
Jiang Moli was rather flattered.
Usually, she was the one begging for a piece of meat. She wasn’t used to Yang Lijiong suddenly offering to feed her.
The pieces of fish, about two fingers wide, were coated in starch and fried to a golden brown, then braised with broad bean paste, pickled radish, and konjac. The fish was tender and flavorful, spicy and delicious.
"Vice Yang, is it because you don’t like fish?"
’No matter how I think about it, I can’t figure out why Yang Lijiong would give me this delicious fish instead of eating it herself.’
’It can’t be some kind of targeted poverty alleviation, can it?’
Yang Lijiong didn’t answer her question, instead bringing up the end-of-month performance. "At the end of the month, ’Chasing Dreams’ will have its premiere at a military base. Do you want to go?"
Jiang Moli couldn’t have been happier. "Yes!"
Her main reason for joining the art troupe was to go on tour with them, giving her a chance to earn disgust points.
Seeing Jiang Moli’s almond-shaped eyes sparkle, clearly in a fantastic mood, Yang Lijiong couldn’t help but smile.
’She really does love money.’
Performances like these, away from their home base, always came with an extra stipend.
That’s why the troupe members all loved going on tour.
...
On her way home from work, Jiang Moli saw someone selling small wild fish by the roadside. She bought two pounds, planning to have Ma Hongmei fry them when she got home.
When she arrived, she found out Ma Hongmei had gone back to her hometown on an urgent matter and wouldn’t be back until the day after tomorrow.
The fish wouldn’t keep that long, but throwing them away was out of the question. Since An Hui didn’t know how to fry them, Jiang Moli had no choice but to roll up her sleeves and do it herself.
In her original world, her grandmother had often fried small fish for her to eat, so she knew a thing or two about the process.
The fish were about as thick as chopsticks, so there was no need to scale or gut them. She just washed them clean and marinated them in white liquor and salt.
She cracked an egg, added two handfuls of starch, a little salt, and some Sichuan peppercorn powder, mixing it all into a batter.
After squeezing the excess water from the marinated fish, she tossed them in the egg batter and they were ready for the frying pan.
But she clearly lacked practical experience, and the fish didn’t look very appetizing.
Some were burnt, while others weren’t cooked long enough.
At least they were cooked through and barely edible.
Jiang Moli also stir-fried a plate of cured pork with pea shoots. With the fried fish, dinner consisted of two dishes.
Just as she was putting the food on the table, Lu Tingting walked in.
"Grandma, I’m here to eat."
"Don’t you have food at your own house?"
An Hui didn’t mean it as an unwelcome remark; she was just wondering why her eldest daughter-in-law hadn’t cooked dinner that evening.
"My mom took my brother and sister to a friend’s house."
Jiang Moli teased, "Then why didn’t she take you along?"
"None of your business!"
Lu Tingting shot her a glare, but her eyes lit up when she saw the small fried fish on the table.
She had just reached out to grab one when An Hui slapped her hand away. "Have you no manners? Go get a bowl and chopsticks from the kitchen."
"Oh."
Lu Tingting quickly returned with a bowl and chopsticks. Before her butt even touched the stool, she eagerly snatched a piece of the small fried fish.
Small fried fish was her absolute favorite; otherwise, she wouldn’t have fallen for the traffickers’ trap back in Menghai.
"Ew, it’s salty and bitter! This is disgusting!"
An Hui immediately began to lecture her. "If it’s so disgusting, then don’t eat it. You’re lucky to have food, and you still complain about this and that."
"So I’m not even allowed to say it’s bad..."
Before she could finish, Jiang Moli snatched her bowl and chopsticks away.
"What are you doing?"
Jiang Moli said nothing. She simply walked to the balcony, tossed the bowl and chopsticks out the window, and then returned to the table to calmly eat her own meal.
After a brief silence.
Lu Deyao quickly picked up a piece of the fried fish. "This fried fish is quite good! Moli, you’re a good cook, haha."
An Hui also took a piece, nodding as she ate. "Yes, it’s not bad."
’She didn’t dare say it was bad. What if Moli threw their bowls and chopsticks out the window too?’
Lu Tingting looked from one to the other, then puffed up her cheeks and stomped back to the kitchen to get a new set of bowl and chopsticks.
She didn’t dare to be picky anymore, even silently eating several more pieces of the fried fish she had just scorned.
After dinner, Jiang Moli ordered Lu Tingting to wash the dishes.
Lu Tingting was not happy. "Why should I do it?"
"The Lu Family doesn’t support idlers."
"..."
She stewed for a long time but couldn’t come up with a rebuttal. After all, Jiang Moli had cooked dinner. She could only resign herself to her fate and go wash the dishes.
’So irritating.’
That afternoon, a relative from the countryside had sent over a bag of pomelos.
Jiang Moli picked a round one, peeled it, and took a bite herself first.
"Mm, it’s really sweet. Dad, Mom, you should try some."
Looking at the piece of fruit offered to him, Lu Deyao instinctively refused. "You have it, Moli. I’m full."
Jiang Moli blinked. "It really is sweet."
"If he doesn’t want it, fine. I’ll have it."
An Hui took the pomelo, broke off a small piece, and popped it in her mouth.
Seeing that her expression remained normal as she ate, Lu Deyao finally sidled over with a cheerful grin. "Feed me a little."
An Hui stuffed the rest of the pomelo into his mouth.
Lu Deyao hadn’t even chewed twice before his whole face scrunched up.
’My god, this is incredibly sour!’