My Beloved Super Fierce Wife

Niuniu looked at the big fruit in Mao Dou’s hand and felt a desire for it.

She hesitated for a moment.

Thinking about how Mao Dou had said he would only take a small bite, the little cutie had already agreed in her heart.

If they swapped, she could eat both.

So, with big watery eyes, Niuniu looked at Mao Dou, adorably opening a negotiation.

"...just one bite?"

Mao Dou, seeing that she had agreed, excitedly nodded his head.

"Mhm, here’s the fruit for you."

Having said that, he stuffed the bright red fruit into Niuniu’s hand.

Niuniu’s eyes curved into crescents with happiness.

She joyously accepted it and placed it into her little pocket.

Seeing her take the fruit, Mao Dou eagerly eyed the Peach Crisp, his face full of longing.

Niuniu was also true to her word, a well-behaved little darling.

After accepting her friend’s fruit, she reluctantly extended the Peach Crisp towards Mao Dou’s mouth.

"Here, you eat, just a small bite, okay?" she said softly.

Mao Dou’s eyes sparkled.

He leaned his little head over and took a bite.

He was only five years old, had never tasted such treats, and was at an age when cravings are strong.

With one bite, he had taken a large chunk.

By the time Niuniu realized what had happened,

and looked down,

only a tiny bit of the Peach Crisp, the size of a fingertip, was left in her hand.

The little cutie was instantly confused.

After a moment of stunned silence, she burst into tears.

Seeing his sister crying, Goudan quickly ran over to comfort her.

He tried to soothe her for a long while to no avail.

Hearing Lin Tang’s question, he relayed the incident to her.

"Mao Dou gave Niuniu a wild fruit, then told Niuniu he wanted to take a small bite of her Peach Crisp, and Niuniu agreed."

"But, that kid didn’t just take a small bite, he took a big half."

"When Niuniu saw only a fingernail-sized piece of Peach Crisp remained, she...she’s been crying ever since."

"Sorry, little auntie, I didn’t take good care of my sister," Goudan said guiltily.

It was all because he had been playing too seriously.

Lin Tang ruffled his hair, and smiled, "It wasn’t on purpose."

With that, she picked up the hiccuping and wronged Niuniu and headed to the courtyard.

After washing her niece’s face and applying some skin cream,

the little girl finally smiled gently, revealing her tiny milk teeth.

"Auntie, it smells nice."

Lin Tang pinched her little cheek.

"Look how adorable our Niuniu is now. Don’t cry like that anymore; it hurts your face, it hurts your eyes, and it’s not worth it, okay?"

She directed these words to all her little nephews and nieces.

The little ones nodded vigorously, obedient as can be.

Seeing the few children so well-behaved and cute, Lin Tang happily pulled out four toffees.

"You’ve been so good; I’m rewarding each of you with a White Rabbit Creamy Candy."

Goudan and the others’ eyes lit up, and they jubilantly said:

"Thank you, little auntie!"

"Little auntie is the best!"

Lin Tang pressed her index finger to her lips, lowering her voice.

"Keep it down, everyone at home is resting, let’s not wake them up."

The four little ones hurriedly covered their mouths to stifle their voices.

Their clear eyes rolled around delightfully.

Shuangshan Brigade had fallen into a quiet lull, as most of the brigade members had gone for an afternoon nap.

At the same time.

In the Provincial City.

At Xiangyang Newspaper.

Wan Xinxue looked at the submission in his hands, his body involuntarily shaking.

He felt invigorated all over.

This was actually an article on human trafficking.

Using knock-out drugs, exploiting the old, weak, sick, and disabled, luring, intimidation, abduction, beating and dragging in the streets, pretending to be acquaintances...

The traffickers’ methods were endless, just reading the text sent chills down his spine.

Wan Xinxue continued to read the submission intensely. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

A list of countermeasures was detailed.

Do not talk to strangers.

Do not accept anything from strangers.

Maintain a vigilant mind.

...

There were even instructions on how to quickly find someone if they were taken.

Moreover, the contributor had drawn some simple and easy-to-understand illustrations.

The logic was clear, the organization was straightforward.

Feeling a strong need for publicity, Wan Xinxue immediately took the manuscript and headed to the editor-in-chief’s office.

"Editor-in-Chief Wei, I have a pretty good article here.

"If you have time, why don’t you have a look at it now?"

Wei Tao looked up from his work with a hint of surprise when he heard the excitement in his capable assistant’s voice.

Looking up from his work, "Is that so, let me have a look."

Wan Xinxue quickly passed the manuscript over.

The first thing Wei Tao saw was the graceful and attractive handwriting on the paper, which looked like print.

"This handwriting is really good."

After praising it, he started to carefully read the manuscript.

Wei Tao read very slowly, virtually word by word.

Wan Xinxue watched the chief editor nervously, noticing his brow furrowed together.

He was somewhat uncertain about what the leader was thinking.

With his heart hanging, he waited quietly.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

Wei Tao lifted his eyes and rubbed his brow.

"Good!" he said.

A hint of joy appeared on Wan Xinxue’s face, "You also think it’s good, so does that mean we can arrange to publish it in the newspaper?"

The article was substantial.

If published, it was highly likely to cause a sensation in society.

It had to be published as soon as possible.

The sooner it was published, the more people would see it.

Perhaps it could even save a few families!

Wei Tao nodded, his expression gentle.

"You can arrange it, the sooner it goes out, the sooner it will benefit the public. Isn’t that our newspaper’s responsibility? Go ahead and make the arrangements."

"Yes, sir," responded Wan Xinxue. He then asked, "I’ll go arrange it right now, what about the manuscript fee? How much will it be?"

The newspaper paid a manuscript fee ranging from two to eight yuan per thousand characters.

Under normal circumstances, offering five yuan was considered pretty good.

Wei Tao thought the article was easy to understand and was even accompanied by illustrations.

It seemed like the author had truly put effort into it.

"Give eight yuan," Wei Tao said.

Six yuan for the article and the extra two yuan for the illustrations.

Wan Xinxue hadn’t expected the chief editor to offer the maximum, surprise flickering in his eyes.

But he also felt that the compensation was worth it.

He nodded, "Alright."

Having said that, Wan Xinxue left the chief editor’s office to arrange the next steps.

-

At four-thirty in the afternoon.

Meng Shichang rode his bicycle to the Shuangshan Brigade.

Upon receiving news of his arrival, Li Xiuli had asked for temporary leave from the brigade and hurried home with Lin Tang.

It didn’t take long before they arrived home.

Meng Shichang was sitting in the courtyard.

Upon seeing him, Li Xiuli greeted him quickly, "Shichang has come."

After speaking, she tapped Lin Tang, "Tangtang, quickly go get your uncle a glass of water."

Lin Tang acknowledged and went to the kitchen to get water.

Li Xiuli asked Meng Shichang, "Uncle, do you have news for Tangtang?"

"Indeed, there’s news. I was lucky today; I asked a few people and got information."

Lin Tang came out carrying the water at that moment.

Meng Shichang took the water and took a sip.

"There are two houses available, one is in the Staff Building. It’s only one room and not exactly cheap, one yuan a month.

The other belongs to a retired couple who built their own house with a courtyard, two rooms, and their own bathroom and kitchen.

The old couple are planning to move to the Provincial City to live with their son, so they’re thinking of renting their house out.

Both of the elderly are well-known and decent folks from the meat processing factory; they’re asking two yuan per month."