Pretty and charming, dressed in the 90s, she's good at everything from making money to causing

"of course not!"

Lin said seriously, "I'm afraid that if he gets promoted, he'll make things difficult for you later."

Mr. Lin's heart settled back down, and he shook his head with a smile: "It's still my eldest daughter who cares about me... Don't worry, he won't get promoted. He can't even manage his own son, how could he possibly manage a department?"

Lin Ting breathed a long sigh of relief.

"That's good."

Just a week after Lin Ting breathed a sigh of relief, news of Chen's father being promoted to director reached the family compound.

Lin Ting: "...!"

What happened to the promise that it was impossible?

Can the protagonist's halo even shatter logic?

However, another message soon followed—

Chen's father was indeed promoted to director, but he was transferred to the Fourth Hospital to be the director there.

The Fourth Hospital is far inferior to the Municipal Hospital. Not only is its medical level lower, but the doctors' salaries are also several levels lower. People often say they would rather be a resident physician at the Municipal Hospital than a department head at the Fourth Hospital.

It's easy to be transferred away, but it's extremely difficult to come back.

This seemingly promotion but actually demotion left Mr. Chen speechless with frustration, and he could only vent his anger behind closed doors.

Chaos erupted at the Chen family's house.

Lin Ting silently took out the 10,000-shot Earth Red cigarettes that her father had bought a few days ago and went downstairs to put them away.

Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, Lin Ting vaguely heard the sound of Chen Jun being beaten.

"Today is a good day, all my wishes will come true..."

Lin Ting hummed a song and swung her little hands upstairs.

As she opened the door, the sound of clattering footsteps came from upstairs.

She was taken aback, then decisively opened the door and went home, leaving only a small crack in the door.

She pressed her face against the crack in the door, squinting one eye as she stared outside.

A few seconds later, Chen Jun flashed past and ran downstairs.

Upstairs, Chen's mother's voice called out to him.

Then, Chen's father roared, "Get him out of here! Go wherever he wants! I'll pretend I never had him!"

Lin Ting covered her mouth and chuckled, afraid that she would laugh out loud.

"Honey, what are you doing?"

Lin's father brought over a bowl of frozen pears.

"Shh-"

Lin Ting made a shushing gesture and whispered, "The Chen family is making a scene."

"Hey?"

Lin's father became interested and also leaned over the door, listening intently.

When Lin's mother brought the dishes out of the kitchen, she saw the father and daughter with their heads stacked together, eavesdropping!

That's simply... an insult to civility.

Lin's mother fairly slapped them both, dragged them inside, slammed the door shut, and warned, "Don't do such shady things!"

Lin Ting and her father exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing a lingering sense of satisfaction.

Although eavesdropping is not a good thing, it's really fun!

Lin Ting rubbed her hands together: "Mom, don't you want to know how the Chen family is doing now?"

Lin's mother frowned, her face full of disapproval, displaying the noble character of a teacher: "I don't want to. Don't pry into other people's business."

"Yes, yes, we won't ask, we'll just listen in secretly..."

"Lin Ting!"

"Mom, I was wrong."

"..."

Lin Ting apologized so quickly that she almost strained her mother's back.

Before Lin's mother could catch her breath, Lin Ting blurted out, "But Chen Jun ran away from home! Uncle Chen said he should get out and not come back!"

"..."

What's worse than not being able to eat melons is having melons but not being able to share them.

Lin Ting was happy to share the melon, but three seconds later, his mother sent him off to copy the Analects of Confucius.

Lin's mother said this was to remind her that a gentleman knows what to do and what not to do.

Lin Ting felt guilty—after all, given her mother's upbringing, she would never spread this gossip.

It's normal for Mom to say a few words to her now that she's lost her zest for life.

Lin Ting obediently went back to his room to copy the Analects, and the light stayed on until late at night.

"Honey, our daughter is all grown up now, so please don't make her do extra writing assignments anymore, okay?"

In the bedroom, Lin's father knelt on the washboard, still trying to get leniency for his daughter.

Lin's mother glared at him: "You still have the nerve to plead for her? Look at the mess you've made! Our daughter has been corrupted by you."

"Yes, yes, it's all my fault," Lin's father said with a smile. "Our daughter is exhausted from shopping for New Year's goods with you these past few days. Let her rest and go to bed early; it's good for her health."

"Humph……"

Lin's mother glared at him: "Do you know you were wrong?"

"I know! I absolutely must know!" Lin's father assured him firmly, "I will never do it again!"

"Get up, you have to go to work tomorrow," Lin's mother said, handing him the safflower oil. "Here, rub it in yourself."

"My wife still loves me the most."

Lin's father stood up, skillfully placed his special washboard in the corner, then took the safflower oil and expertly rubbed the medicine on himself.

Lin's mother looked at his knees and, seeing no marks, got out of bed and went to Lin Ting's bedroom.

She caught a glimpse of light coming through the crack in the door, and feeling sorry for her daughter, she went to heat up a glass of milk for her.

Lin's mother carried the hot milk to Lin Ting's door. Just as she was about to knock, she heard a muttering voice inside:

Confucius said, "When friends come from afar... should I just smash them with a brick?"

Lin's mother: "..."

……

Because Lin's mother forbade her to gossip, Lin Ting could only piece together information about the Chen family's situation from snippets of conversation from her neighbors.

According to reliable sources, Chen Jun went to his grandmother's house in a neighboring city, and his mother went with him.

Lin Ting felt it was necessary to share this gossip with Zheng Miaoying, so that afternoon she took a bag of apples to the hospital.

This time, Aunt Zheng was awake. When she saw Lin Ting, she paused for a moment and then smiled: "You must be Director Lin's daughter, right? Miao Ying's classmate, isn't that right?"

"Hello, Auntie, my name is Lin Ting."

Lin Ting chuckled and handed the apple to Zheng Miaoying, asking, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Much better, much better," Aunt Zheng said, tears welling in her eyes. "Girl, thank you so much. You've helped Miaoying and me so much, I...I...I don't know what to say..."

Seeing Aunt Zheng's tears streaming down her face, Lin Ting finally understood who Zheng Miaoying inherited her ability to cry so easily from.

She quickly stepped forward, took Aunt Zheng's hand, and said with a smile, "Auntie, don't cry. My dad always says that when you're sick, you should keep a good mood so you can recover faster."

Aunt Zheng nodded repeatedly, trying to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes and stop crying.

However, she has poor control over her tear ducts, and she can't wipe away her tears no matter what she does.

"Girl, thank you for taking care of Miaoying. She told me everything about you two setting up your stall... Without you, my family really would be..."

Lin Ting shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, it's Yingzi who's capable. I didn't actually do anything."

"Young lady..."

Aunt Zheng cried for almost half an hour before finally stopping her tears.

She took a couple of sips of water, smiled apologetically at Lin Ting, and said, "I'm sorry, Tingting, I'm sorry you had to see this. I just can't stop crying..." As she spoke, she glanced at Zheng Miaoying and added, "Miaoying is just like me."

Zheng Miaoying shook her head vigorously, proudly straightening her back: "Mom, I can stop crying now."

Aunt Zheng didn't believe it: "Really?"

"real!"

Aunt Zheng, who had probably been troubled by the problem of not being able to control her tears for a long time, immediately asked for advice upon hearing this: "How do you do it?"

Zheng Miaoying turned to look at Lin Ting.

Lin Ting: "..."

Don't look at her!

She couldn't possibly expect her elders to "hold back" too!