After being reborn, I raised my childhood sweetheart.

Chapter 34 What Lin Jing Wants (Please read on, please vote!)

When Xia Ke arrived at Xu Yuan's house today, the first thing she did wasn't to turn on the TV to watch cartoons, but to seriously start practicing her math problems stroke by stroke.

Seeing Xia Ke's meticulous demeanor, Lin Jing, who was originally busy with housework, was immediately amazed: "Xia Ke is studying so diligently today?"

"Aunt Lin, I've made up my mind. I want to be with Yueyao and the young master forever!"

Young, naive children grow up slowly in carefree days, so graduating from elementary school and parting ways with their friends is not a difficult thing for them.

Although there was some sadness, there was more curiosity and longing for high school life. Some friendships that were originally very beautiful could not be maintained because of the simple life and no longer intersecting. When they met again, everything had changed.

As someone who has been through it all, Xu Yuan, though he hadn't experienced such a heart-wrenching farewell in his previous life, had at least seen how things go, so he could help Xia Ke imagine the possible farewells that might come in the future.

Sure enough, once the tension was there, Xia Ke's study momentum improved significantly. She wrote her homework quickly and efficiently, and regardless of whether it was right or wrong, at least she stopped daydreaming.

And so, everyone finished their homework quickly today. Xia Ke couldn't wait to turn on the TV with the remote control:

"Finally, the moment has come! Today is the grand finale of 'Let's & Go!!' Cyclone Charge must defeat the Devil Commander! I'm cheering for him!"

……

Seeing Xia Ke's clenched fists and eager expression, Xu Yuan was speechless.

"So you're working so hard today just to watch cartoons?"

The finale of the National Tournament in the first season of "Let's & Go!!", a non-series series, featured a very exciting plot twist.

The villainous racers, who were supposed to sweep the top three spots, started fighting amongst themselves. Spider King and the Giant killed each other, while the Devil Commander's racer was persuaded by the protagonist to repent and pulled out the Devil Commander's weapon needle to start running again. However, he soon lost his balance and went off the track, resulting in his elimination.

The dramatic final victory was decided among the four main drivers: Cyclone Charge, Hurricane Sonic, Rapid Cobra, and New Triangle Arrow. With the latter three cars heavily damaged in the battle, the relatively intact Cyclone Charge made a rapid comeback and won the race.

"Yay! I knew Cyclone Charge would win the final championship!" Xia Ke jumped up with joy.

If the male lead doesn't win the championship, the TV station will complain.

"If the new Triangle Arrows hadn't been crushed by the behemoth, they definitely would have had a chance to win the championship," Lin Yueyao said with a regretful expression.

"Your devilish commander suffered a crushing defeat!"

"They just let Cyclone Charge win at the last minute; if they wanted to win, it would have been a piece of cake."

Xia Ke, leaning on Xu Yuan's arm, boasted smugly, "You're satisfied with just driving around in the great doctor's car? Hmm?"

No... I wasn't playing pretend with you guys on TV.
While Xia Ke and Lin Yueyao were engrossed in the finale of "Let's & Go!!", Xu Jingguang drove home.

After greeting the children, Xu Jingguang went to Lin Jing, who had just prepared the meal. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xu Jingguang brought up the matter of wages:
"Xiao Lin, today marks exactly one month since you started working here. Please check your salary for this month."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Xu."

Lin Jing wiped the water off her apron and took the money Xu Jingguang counted out of his wallet with both hands.

"Isn't this amount of money wrong?"

Lin Jing was a little confused, "Our agreed salary was 500 a month, why did you give me 1000 directly?"

"That's right. 500 is your salary from last month, and the remaining 500 is for grocery shopping next month."

Xu Jingguang said, "Now we eat together every night, so it's a bit more work for you to cook."

"We don't need that much!"

Lin Jing looked a little embarrassed. "I don't think Yueyao and I usually eat that much..."

“It’s not that you eat a lot, it’s that I noticed you bought some of the household items yourself.”

"I've kept all the accounts!" Lin Jing hurriedly took out the notebook containing the bills and showed it to Xu Jingguang. Xu Jingguang only glanced at it briefly before pointing out the problem.

"Actually, I just looked at this bill yesterday. This hook, gloves, and the new cutting board, I don't see you included them?"

Lin Jing touched her nose. "Some of them I brought from home, and some were just cheaper, so I didn't bother to keep track..."

The homeowner originally allowed the nanny to buy groceries herself, which was essentially giving her an opportunity to profit. Some nannies would occasionally secretly shortchange customers or take some groceries home, but Lin Jing did not do that.

She kept a clear record of every expense. Xu Jingguang himself was someone who would go to the market to buy groceries and cook, so he knew the prices of vegetables and meat. He knew that Lin Jing was being too honest, almost to the point of losing money.

He was well aware that Lin Jing felt she had already gained a lot from Xu Jingguang, so she was willing to make concessions in some areas, but Xu Jingguang did not want her to do so.

"Here's what we're going to do: don't just treat this as money for groceries. Sometimes when we have guests, we might need to prepare some tea, snacks, and fruit. Could you buy some for me too?"

Xu Jingguang said, "Because I will be quite busy until the end of the year, it will be difficult for me to take good care of my son sometimes, so I need your help to put in a good word for me."

"Also, I'd like to adjust your salary to 800 next month. I recently consulted some friends, and they said that based on your job duties, your salary should be at that level."

Lin Jing was stunned by these words. "I've only been working here for a month, and this...this raise is too much, Brother Xu..."

"Hey, don't be so polite with me. Your workload is getting heavier and heavier these days, isn't it?"

Xu Jingguang said with a smile, "You didn't need to help take care of the flowers before, but now you have to do it again. Besides, winter is coming, and housework is becoming much harder. Besides, don't you think about yourself? Just leave it for the children!"

Xu Jingguang then brought up Lin Yueyao, saying, "You should save the money to buy Yueyao some new clothes. Winter is coming soon, and it's not good for Yueyao to always wear her school uniform." "..."

Lin Jing's weakness is Lin Yueyao; if the child is not well-fed and clothed, the adults bear 1000% of the responsibility.

Since things had come to this point, further refusal would be disrespectful to Xu Jingguang, so Lin Jing stopped insisting and smiled as she said to Xu Jingguang:
"Well then, thank you, Brother Xu. I'll definitely work harder in the future..."

"Don't do that. You've been doing very well all along. Don't push yourself too hard. Take care of yourself too."

Xu Jingguang said, "In winter, housework becomes more difficult, and you'll need to help take care of Yuanyuan at home..."

"No, that's not true. Yuanyuan is a very reliable and easy-going child. He is decisive and dependable. My daughter and Xia Ke both listen to him."

The sounds of Xu Jingguang and Lin Jing arguing quickly caught the attention of the three children. Worried that they would start fighting, they hid to the side and eavesdropped on the adults' conversation.

Seeing that the two were gradually warming up to each other again, the children were relieved.

"Uncle Xu is so good to Aunt Lin, giving her so much salary."

Xia Ke's big eyes darted around, her gaze fixed on Xu Yuan, "Is it you, Boss—"

Xu Yuan shook his head. "Don't look at me. I didn't ask my dad to give it to me. It's not my money."

"But there are too many."

Lin Yueyao pursed her lips. "Uncle Xu is giving my mother so much money. Won't he be able to afford it?"

"He's a hotel owner, so this money should be easy to earn. He can make it in two or three days."

"But that's money he earned through hard work..."

Xu Yuan found Lin Yueyao's worried expression quite amusing.

Hey... Yueyao, why are you worried that my dad is giving you too much money? Do you really think of yourself as my little sister?

Children clearly lack sufficient understanding of adults' earning power and ability.

For Xu Yuan's family's financial situation, such an expense is just a drop in the ocean.

But for Lin Yueyao's family, it was a source of great warmth.

Even a deeply unforgettable warmth.

After leaving Xu Yuan's house for dinner, Lin Jing held Lin Yueyao's hand and shared the week's itinerary with her daughter: "This Saturday, Mom will take you to Yinhai Mall to buy two new outfits for winter! We'll buy some pretty floral jackets."

"But...Mom doesn't have any nice clothes either."

Lin Yueyao muttered, "Mom only has a few clothes, and she keeps changing them. Mom can dress very beautifully too. Mom, change first."

"Okay, then let's each change one!"

"Okay, Mom!"

……

Lin Yueyao had only taken a few steps holding her mother's hand when she suddenly heard her mother sobbing beside her.

"Mom, why are you crying..."

Lin Jing picked Lin Yueyao up in one go, and Lin Yueyao gently wiped away her tears. "Did someone bully you? I'll protect you."

"It's okay, Mom is just very happy. These are tears of joy, yes, tears of happiness..."

The preferential treatment that Xu Jingguang and his son Xu Yuan gave to Lin Jing and her daughter was quite obvious.

This was a treatment she had never received in the state-owned cotton mill.

For Lin Jing, what she wanted wasn't even preferential treatment.

It is enough to treat her contributions fairly and evaluate them objectively.

However, in a state-owned enterprise filled with nepotism and interpersonal relationships, it was difficult for her, with her straightforward and strong personality, to stand out based on her work performance.

The lack of a man to support her and her child made her an easier target for bullying. Therefore, she had to be tougher and more aggressive to make people afraid to mess with her and unable to find fault with her, and to do her best in everything.

At this moment, all the grievances and hardships that had been endured finally erupted like a torrent in the face of warm and fair treatment.

Lin Jing hugged Lin Yueyao and cried for a long time.

Lin Yueyao had no idea about, nor could she understand, her mother's emotional journey.

It will be many, many years before we can understand this.

But now she will also use all her strength to hug her mother tightly.

　Please support me! I love you all!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)