Chapter 367: The Eighties Gourmet System (5)

But the next second, he thought of the various speculations he had heard from the neighbors.

Shuisheng pursed his little lips, twisted his shirt hem with both hands, and asked Xie Yang uneasily, "……Mom, will you leave me and my younger brother?"

Xie Yang was currently weighing whether to go take over the Temporary Worker position left behind by Zhang Pozi tomorrow, or to ask for a few more days off and rest enough before going.

Zhang Pozi was a good mother, and also a good grandmother.

Ever since her son divorced, she had both hoped for her son to remarry and worried that after her son formed a new family, the new daughter-in-law would dislike Shuisheng and Musheng and thereby mistreat the two brothers.

Thus, at her age, she still dipped into her coffin money, using favors and gifts to secure a Temporary Worker job at the Gad Steel Factory Da Shitang.

The benefits of a Temporary Worker could not compare to a Formal Worker, but it was no problem to raise two grandsons.

Now that Zhang Pozi had passed away, this Temporary Worker job had to either be sold or Xie Yang had to continue doing it.

Actually, she would rather take over Zhang Li's position.

But no matter how much the Gad Steel Factory looked after the Zhang family, they would not agree to her taking over Zhang Li's technical worker position.

Aside from the reason of educational background, the most important thing was that the original owner could not provide clear household registration proof.

For a factory, a technical position was no different from the existence of a heart.

Even for technical secondary school graduates assigned by the state, they had to undergo political vetting several times.

Therefore, this position left by Zhang Li had to either be sold to someone else or lent to someone else for a fee to work in it first, and then taken back after the Shuisheng brothers grew up.

If Xie Yang were a native of this era, she would definitely choose the latter.

A Formal Worker at the Gad Steel Factory, what a good job that so many people would sharpen their heads just to get!

Whoever among the Shuisheng brothers took over this job would have no worries about finding a partner in the future.

But Xie Yang was not!

And she clearly knew the future trend—for state-owned enterprises like the Gad Steel Factory, by the time the Shuisheng brothers reached adulthood, it would be just about time for the layoffs and restructuring.

Rather than waiting until that time to face the surging wave of layoffs, it would be better to sell it early, exchange it for a spacious house with a small courtyard, and take the Shuisheng brothers to live a good life.

Xie Yang had an idea in her mind.

Hearing Shuisheng ask this out of the blue, she immediately gave him a reassurance:

"Of course not. You both call me Mom, how could a mother leave her own children?"

Is that so?

Shuisheng's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Mom!"

He suddenly called out again.

This call was much smoother than the one just now.

Xie Yang smiled and rubbed his head: "Hey, Mom's big boy!"

"Mom!"

Musheng, who was sitting in her arms, saw this and also tilted his face up, calling her crisply: "Mom!"

Xie Yang was amused: "Hey! You are also Mom's good boy!"

The brothers seemed to have opened their Ren and Du meridians, competing to call her:

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

Xie Yang: "……"

What is a sweet burden?

Isn't this it?

She held one in her left arm and hugged one with her right, gave the brothers each a loving kiss, and then shooed them off to wash up and sleep.

"Mom, there's no hot water!"

Shuisheng shook the iron-cased thermos.

"……"

Xie Yang's old face felt a bit hot.

Picking up the thermos: "I'll go boil some water."

Fortunately, Shuisheng did not notice her flushed ears and neck, and obediently took his younger brother's hand, following Xie Yang to the public kitchen on the first floor.

The public kitchen occupied half the floor's area; against the south wall was a row of cabinets, each of which was locked.

Against the north wall were built a dozen stove eyes; any that were empty could be used.

Shuisheng ran familiarly to their own locked cabinet, signaling for Xie Yang to open the lock.

Xie Yang felt her pants pocket and pulled out a bunch of keys; one of the small keys was exactly for opening the cabinet lock.

She opened the cabinet and saw a basket of Coal Ball and a stack of chopped firewood on the bottom layer.

The middle layer held two upside-down Iron Pot—one large and one small—along with a spatula, vegetable basin, rice-washing sieve, and other household items.

The top layer held rice, flour, grain, and oil.

However, the amount was not much, just enough to make one or two meals. The bulk was hidden at home.

After all, this was a public area; even if the cabinet was locked, she didn't feel at ease keeping everything here.

She would rather be a bit tired and bring things down after finishing them.

Xie Yang scanned the area and then placed the large Iron Pot onto one of the empty stove eyes.

At this time, Shuisheng had already gone to the water room next door to fetch a bucket of water and was panting as he carried it back.

Xie Yang hurriedly took the water and poured it into the pot.

Turning around, she discovered this little fellow had sat down in front of the stove again, familiarly stuffing old newspapers into the stove for kindling.

Striking a match and lighting the newspaper, he stuffed it in unhurriedly; one look at this posture, and it was clear he was used to doing this kind of work.

Xie Yang gave him a thumbs-up: "Shuisheng is so capable! What would Mom do without you!"

Shuisheng had never been praised like this before, and his face turned bright red from shyness.

【Hello there, Host.】

At this moment, a strange voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

Shuisheng looked around in confusion: Who is it?

【I am the Super Gourmet System from Universal Star. As long as the Host helps me collect various delicacies and Cooking methods from your plane, you can obtain corresponding rewards!】

Shuisheng did not quite understand.

But he could see—

Before his eyes, bags of white, high-quality Rice and flour suddenly appeared, along with sides of Pork and nests of eggs, making him widen his eyes in astonishment.

Was this strange voice talking about these things as rewards?

So many? How much money and ration coupons would that cost?

He subconsciously reached out his hand, wanting to touch these things to see if they were real.

"Shuisheng?"

Xie Yang grasped his little hand.

"Are you tired?"

Shuisheng stared at her blankly, taking a long while to wake from his trance.

"Mom..."

"Just boil a pot of water; there's enough firewood, don't stuff any more in. Right, I just found two eggs in the corner of the cupboard, just right to boil in the water. In a while, you and Musheng can have one each."

Speaking of this, Xie Yang smiled and picked up Musheng, who was at her feet: "Come, let's show our Musheng how to make boiled eggs. Boiled eggs are the easiest dish to make; wash them clean, put them in water, boil them for a few minutes and they're cooked, peel the shell and you can eat them. These peeled eggs are just like our Musheng's little face, white and tender."

"Giggle—" Musheng was amused and grinned.

Shuisheng stared blankly at the two eggs bobbing up and down in the bubbling water in the Iron Pot, and that strange voice sounded in his ears again:

【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the first Task within six hours of binding, collecting the Gourmet Illustrated Handbook—Boiled Egg! Rewarding the Host with double supplies! Please claim them!】

Shuisheng didn't quite understand.

But he couldn't resist the fact that the physical rewards were quite tempting.

But what did "claim" mean?

【Claiming means... the Host can designate any place.】

Shuisheng thought of their own locked cupboard.

Thus, after Xie Yang boiled the water and put the cooled Iron Pot back into the cupboard, she was shocked to discover two things on the top shelf that hadn't been there before:

Two jin of Rice and ten eggs.

"..."

She helplessly held her forehead and smiled.

This child!

He really is too honest!

If she were a wicked stepmother, wouldn't this child become a hen laying golden eggs in her hands from now on?

Main System: 【...】

Its Host really understands human nature.

Never mind a stepmother, even a biological mother would do the same.