Marrying My Bestie's Ferocious Brother - He Calls Me His Baby!-Chapter 154 - 153: Little Tomatoes Shock the Whole School!
"This... this is too fast."
Liu Jian Country, deputy section chief of the logistics department, was considered a prominent figure in the compound.
He just fell silently, without a trace.
Along with his arrogant and domineering daughter, they were both swept into the garbage heap of history.
Lin Wan Yi folded the newspaper neatly and set it aside.
Her face showed no trace of surprise.
"He just did what he had to do."
Gu Lan looked at her sister-in-law’s calm profile, with turmoil in her heart.
She used to feel that her brother was cold and unapproachable.
Now she understood.
That wasn’t coldness.
It was an absolute power that could crush any enemy into powder.
And this power protected her sister-in-law and the children without reservation.
"Let’s go."
Lin Wan Yi stood up.
"Let’s go eat."
Gu Lan was taken aback.
"Ah? Still... still going to the cafeteria?"
"Why not?"
Lin Wan Yi turned to look at her, her gaze was clear.
"Especially at a time like this, we need to be like everyone else."
Gu Lan looked at her and suddenly understood.
Her brother’s protection was like a thunderbolt, clearing external obstacles.
And her sister-in-law’s battlefield was within this restless compound.
She needed to use the most ordinary posture to tell everyone.
She, Lin Wan Yi, was not to be trifled with.
But she was also just like everyone else, just an ordinary student at Beijing University, an ordinary mother.
***
Beijing University’s cafeteria.
It was lunchtime, and the air was bustling with voices.
The air was filled with the particular smell of large pot meals, a mix of cabbage and potatoes.
The long line moved slowly.
Students held aluminum lunch boxes, their faces showing hunger.
Today’s menu included boiled cabbage, and the potato chunks barely had any trace of oil.
With luck, one might grab a spoonful of minced meat stir-fried noodles from the meat dish window.
Lin Wan Yi and Gu Lan pushed a delicate bamboo cradle stroller and sat in a corner with Wang Guihua.
This combination was already eye-catching.
Even more conspicuous was the fact that Lin Wan Yi took out a small enamel bowl from her cloth bag.
Inside the bowl was their own dish.
A dozen little tomatoes so red they seemed like rubies.
And a few leaves of lettuce, green and dripping, fresh and tender.
"Crash—"
A boy at the next table couldn’t hold his lunch box steady, spilling porridge all over the floor.
But he couldn’t bother with the heat; he just stared dead at the red on Lin Wan Yi’s table.
Not just him.
Within a few meters, everyone’s gaze seemed magnetically drawn to that small plate of brightness.
"Is... is that tomato?"
"Cherry tomatoes? Where can you find those now!"
"Wow, look at that color, it’s like from a painting."
"And those lettuce leaves, they’re so green..."
The murmurs were low yet buzzed like mosquitoes.
In this era, being able to eat stored cabbage and radishes during winter was considered good.
Fresh leafy vegetables?
Such out-of-season fruits?
It was simply a fantasy!
Gu Lan felt a bit uncomfortable from the stares, lowering her voice.
"Sister-in-law, maybe... should we put it away?"
Lin Wan Yi seemed to not hear.
She calmly picked up a cherry tomato and put it in her mouth.
She didn’t chew immediately.
Instead, she first felt the cool touch of the plump fruit with the tip of her tongue.
Then, gently bit down.
"Pop."
A soft sound.
Sweet juice exploded instantly in her mouth.
That pure sweetness, with the fresh aroma of vegetation, slid down her throat, dispelling the last chill of winter.
There was a sound of gulping swallowing around her.
Wang Guihua sat beside her, looking at the two soundly sleeping children, then at the almost green-glowing eyes around her, feeling uneasy.
Was Teacher Lin being too ostentatious by doing this?
By coincidence, at the next table, several students from the Agricultural College were complaining while holding their rice bowls.
"I eat cabbage and potatoes every day; my mouth’s almost flavorless."
"Yeah, if I keep eating this way, I suspect I’ll be vitamin deficient."
The speaker was a pretty girl with glasses, named Song Wen.
She was one of the students with the highest scores in the Agricultural College this year, coming from a rural area, with a natural closeness to the soil and crops.
Her gaze also fell on Lin Wan Yi’s plate of cherry tomatoes.
But unlike others who coveted it.
Her eyes held more of a professional puzzlement and inquiry.
Lin Wan Yi seemed to sense something.
She picked up another cherry tomato, not eating it herself, but handed it to Wang Guihua’s lips.
"Aunt Wang, you should try it too."
"This..."
Wang Guihua hesitated a bit.
"I’m just a servant, how could I..."
"Nothing about being a servant." Lin Wan Yi pushed the small tomato forward again, "Take the edge off."
Unable to resist, Wang Guihua had no choice but to open her mouth.
The tomato entered.
The next second.
Wang Guihua’s eyes widened instantly!
Having lived for over fifty years, what good things hasn’t she tasted?
But this taste...
She had never experienced it!
It’s not the sweetness of saccharin, nor the sweetness of fruit.
It’s a kind of... sweetness that seems to penetrate your limbs and bones!
"Oh my gosh!"
Wang Guihua couldn’t hold back and exclaimed.
"Teacher Lin! This... what kind of fruit is this? Why is it sweeter than any melon I’ve ever had!"
Her voice was soft.
But in the noisy cafeteria, it was like a small stone thrown into a calm lake.
The surrounding tables instantly quieted down.
Everyone’s ears perked up.
Song Wen couldn’t hold it in anymore.
She carried her lunch box, stood up, and walked to Lin Wan Yi’s table.
"Hello, Classmate Lin."
She adjusted her glasses, very polite in attitude, but her gaze was locked onto that plate of small tomatoes.
"Excuse me, is this... a new variety of tomato?"
Gu Lan’s heart jumped into her throat.
Lin Wan Yi looked up at the girl in front of her.
There was no jealousy in the girl’s eyes, only pure curiosity and a desire for knowledge.
Lin Wan Yi understood.
She smiled slightly, calm and unhurried.
"Sort of."
She picked up a lettuce leaf and slowly ate it.
"My family sent some seeds from overseas for me to try cultivating them in the northern climate."
"So far, the results are not ideal, very low yield."
This explanation made sense.
For a lady from a capitalist family, having overseas connections was too normal.
Conducting cultivation experiments at the Agricultural College also matched her student status.
Song Wen suddenly understood.
So it’s an excellent overseas variety!
No wonder!
She looked at Lin Wan Yi, her eyes filled with more admiration.
"So that’s how it is, I was being presumptuous."
"To cultivate such a great variety, Classmate Lin, you really are impressive."
Song Wen sincerely praised.
Lin Wan Yi just smiled faintly.
"Just good luck."
This small commotion was easily resolved by her with a breezy attitude.
After the meal.
Lin Wan Yi pushed the cradle cart and walked with Gu Lan and Wang Guihua towards the small building.
Just around the corner.
Two people in logistics department uniforms were smoking in a corner, whispering to each other.
"Have you heard? There’s a ’Immortal Vegetable’ showing up in the black market recently."
"What’s Immortal Vegetable?"
"It’s just tomato and greens, but it’s said to taste so good that a single tomato can sell for a fortune!"
"Really?"
"Absolutely! They say eating it strengthens the body, can’t buy it even if you have money! This issue has alarmed the authorities, they’re investigating the source! Suspected enterprise illicit business dealings!"
Gu Lan’s steps suddenly halted.
Her face turned pale.
She turned back, looking at Lin Wan Yi in terror.
Black market?
Heavenly price? 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Illicit business dealings?
These words were like daggers stabbing into her heart.
Her sister-in-law’s vegetable...
Back at the small building.
With a "bang," Gu Lan closed the door.
"Sister-in-law!"
She was so anxious she was spinning in circles.
"What should we do? What do we do now? If this gets discovered, you’ll be arrested as a bad element!"
Wang Guihua’s face also turned pale with fear.
Lin Wan Yi was unusually calm.
She walked to the cradle, leaning over to look at her two well-sleeping sons.
Their little faces were flushed, breathing evenly.
Indeed.
What should we do?
It’s better to address than to avoid.
Instead of hiding like mice, worried one day of being found out.
Rather...
