Chapter 93: The Eldest Sister Arrives

The Tang family moved swiftly.

In less than half a month, Tang Xinyi had landed, with perfect timing, in the post of director of the Revolutionary Committee.

At the same time, her beloved, Mo Ling, became deputy minister of the county militia office.

One held power in politics, the other in arms; taking control of the entire county was only a matter of time.

And yet, after their arrival, the first thing they did was both take leave and head to Moonlight Village with bundles in hand.

At that moment, Tang Banxia was mingling in the crowd, listening as the brigade leader read aloud from the handbook of common knowledge.

Yes, Secretary Yu had worked quickly, and the handbook was already printed.

To show support, Leader Hu had immediately bought a copy, and every morning he would read it aloud to everyone before assigning work tasks.

Today was the first day, and Tang Banxia, as the one who had proposed it, naturally had to come and see for herself.

As the brigade leader read item by item, the villagers below whispered among themselves, and some even raised objections.

But the brigade leader shut them down on the spot.

If you do not believe it, then eat as you please; do not blame me later if you get sick, and say I did not warn you.

With just that one sentence, no one dared to spout nonsense anymore.

There was no helping it. Falling ill was something every villager feared.

Once sick, you had to buy medicine and spend money, and it also meant missing work and losing the chance to earn.

In these times, when people could barely eat enough even if they worked every single day, there was no room for delays.

Moonlight Village was still better than most places, with the mountains at its back, so no one would starve to death. But to say everyone in the village ate their fill would be false.

After one full reading, Leader Hu said, "That is all. Everyone should pay attention when cooking from now on. The body is the capital of revolution. Without a strong body, everything else is empty talk."

"Meeting adjourned!"

The brigade leader came down from the platform and was just about to find the team leaders to assign tasks when he saw a car slowly stop at the village entrance.

Then a well-dressed man and woman got out.

The man wore a dark blue long gown, but his hair was cut short in a close-cropped style.

The woman wore a black Lenin suit, with neat short hair; when her gaze swept past someone, that person would inexplicably feel pressure.

Suddenly, her eyes fixed.

"Baby!"

Everyone followed her gaze and finally settled on Tang Banxia.

Tang Banxia covered her face with one hand and quickly pushed through the crowd.

What an embarrassment, socially speaking.

"Baby!"

"Sis!" Tang Banxia shouted, "Why did you come here?"

Tang Xinyi pulled Tang Banxia into a tight embrace.

"Baby, did you miss your sister?"

Buried against her sister's chest, feeling that soft warmth, Tang Banxia forgave her immediately.

What bad intentions could her sister possibly have? She simply missed her too much.

"Sis." Tang Banxia poked her head out of the embrace and looked at the man behind her. "Brother-in-law."

The man with the short hair had a pair of fox-like eyes, curved with a smile.

"Little sister."

As they were speaking, the brigade leader came over.

"Comrade Tang, these are..."

Tang Banxia straightened up, returning to her calm and composed expression.

"My sister and brother-in-law."

"Hello, Brigade Leader." Tang Xinyi extended her hand. "We often hear our baby, our little sister, mention you, saying you take good care of her. Thank you for your trouble."

Leader Hu was no fool either.

"You're too kind. Comrade Tang has helped us far more." Anyone arriving in a small car could hardly be ordinary.

When facing outsiders, Tang Xinyi changed her entire bearing. While speaking to the brigade leader, she looked like a superior official who had come down to inspect conditions in the countryside.

"Brigade Leader, no need to be nervous. I came this time just to visit my little sister, nothing more."

Leader Hu immediately understood.

"Then you two talk. I need to arrange the work shift."

After the brigade leader left, Tang Banxia said, "Sis, come on, let's go home and talk."

She looped her arm through her soft, fragrant sister's as they headed home. The brother-in-law, who had been ignored, merely smiled, bent down to pick up the bundles, and followed behind the sisters.

Once they arrived home, Tang Xinyi could not help but frown.

"You live here?"

Tang Banxia naturally knew what her sister meant.

"This is already pretty good. Where I used to stay was even worse."

Indeed it had been. The crowded communal bunkhouse at the educated youth station was not only packed with people, it was exhausting to the heart as well, the sort of place where six people could produce five different cliques.

"You've suffered," Tang Xinyi said softly, stroking her forehead with distress.

She and her little sister were the family’s only two girls. By the time her little sister was born, she was already in middle school, and had practically watched her grow up.

In her heart, her little sister ought to have been dressed beautifully and spoiled, not living in a mud-brick house and worrying over the family.

Once inside and seeing the surroundings, her maternal instinct only grew more pained.

"Baby, you..."

"Sis, I really don't think it’s hard," Tang Banxia said, pulling her to sit down and offering food and drink, then pouring hot tea. "Wild tea picked from the mountain. Sis, taste it."

"Brother-in-law."

She then placed a bowl in front of Mo Ling.

Mo Ling smiled politely.

After they were seated, Tang Banxia went straight to the point.

"Sis, you and brother-in-law came for the Muscle-Loosening Powder, didn't you?"

Speaking of business, Tang Xinyi gathered herself at once.

"Yes. Little sister, I need to take your medicine with me."

"No problem." Tang Banxia was wonderfully straightforward.

She took out the medicine and pushed it toward them.

"The bamboo tube holds the original version, and the porcelain bottle contains the improved one. I made some more too."

Tang Xinyi looked over the rows of medicine in the box one by one.

"Leave it to me."

As she spoke, she signaled for Mo Ling to bring out the other things.

Mo Ling cooperated and produced several sheets of paper.

"Little sister, these were sent by Grandfather for you."

Tang Banxia took them and saw that they were indeed experimental feedback.

However, when she saw the data for the second-generation Muscle-Loosening Powder, she was somewhat dissatisfied.

"What's wrong?" Tang Xinyi noticed her mood at once.

Tang Banxia read through to the end before answering.

"Nothing. I'm just a little dissatisfied with the data, but it's nothing major."

She had already prepared herself for this.

"Oh, right, Sis. You and brother-in-law came over because you plan to take these medicines to the capital?"

Tang Xinyi shook her head.

"No."

Mo Ling explained from the side.

"Little sister, your sister and I have been transferred."

"I am now deputy minister of the county militia office, and your sister is the director of the Revolutionary Committee."

What?

Tang Banxia looked at her sister in surprise.

"Sis?"

Tang Xinyi pinched her cheek.

"Your brother-in-law is right. Your sister has been transferred. Are you happy?"

"Of course I am!" Tang Banxia was overjoyed. "Speaking of which, Sis, if you managed to become director of the Revolutionary Committee, you have me to thank!"

She then told her sister about the disturbance she had caused at the state-run restaurant.

But after she finished speaking, Tang Xinyi's face turned cold.

"So you're saying someone had designs on you?"

"And in front of your beloved?"

"And your beloved just stood by and watched?"

"Is he even a man?"

Tang Xinyi looked truly angry.

"Little sister, divorce him. With your sister here, no one will dare do anything to you."

The man who had hurried back, Wen Mubai: ...

No, just how much does my wife's family look down on me?

Each and every one of them seems desperate to kick me out.

"A man who cannot protect his own wife is good for nothing," Tang Xinyi declared with authority.

The Tang brother-in-law smiled indulgently and echoed her words.

"Little sister, your sister is right. A man who can watch while the person he loves is eyed by others is not worth entrusting your life to."

Tang Banxia: ...

They had gone too far.

They were only praising her and had completely left Wen Mubai out of it.

At that moment, faced with her sister and brother-in-law's earnest expressions, she opened her mouth.

"Sis..."

"Wife, I heard your sister and brother-in-law are here?" Wen Mubai's face wore a bright, serene smile.

Alert status.

He stepped in with graceful composure. Seeing the Tang siblings, he said, "So this must be my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Hello, my name is Wen Mubai, and I am Banxia's beloved."

At the first sight of Wen Mubai, Tang Xinyi understood.

So that was what her little sister liked about him after all?

As expected, it was still her little sister—choosing men by looks alone.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Hello. Tang Xinyi."

"Mo Ling."

Wen Mubai smiled at the corners of his mouth.

"I've long heard Banxia mention that she has a sister, and this is the first time we've met. A pleasure, a pleasure."