Chapter 6: Misjudging Character

The original owner's clothes could be discarded, but the money certainly could not.

"Host, as long as you prepare the dish 'Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce,' the system can tell you where the family's money is hidden."

Lu Mingyue’s eyes lit up; that was simple enough. Before transmigrating into this book, she had been a food blogger whose favorite pastime was researching various cuisines. As a famous Chinese dish, shredded pork in sweet bean sauce was easy to master.

Lu Mingyue opened the door and headed straight for the kitchen. Finding a piece of meat in the cabinet, she tied on an apron and began to work.

Meng Jun had been keeping a close eye on her movements. Seeing her cooking in the kitchen, he felt a surge of joy. It seemed his "foolish" second sister was still the same—not changed in the slightest! In return for her cooking, he would show mercy and tell her the news that Hu Sanbao intended to propose the day after tomorrow.

Lu Mingyue pushed those thoughts aside, focusing entirely on completing the system’s task. In this era, most households bought fatty pork; it was used to render lard, and the extra grease was considered nourishing for the body. Very few people bought lean pork. Meng Xiaoling had only bought it because she heard it helped with weight loss. Lu Mingyue highly suspected this was a rumor spread by the state-run butcher shop to get rid of unsold lean meat.

Complaints aside, this piece of meat was the perfect ingredient for her dish. She sliced the meat into thin strips and marinated them with various seasonings. While the meat sat, she prepared the sauce and garnishes, slicing green onions, cucumbers, and carrots into fine shreds. Once everything was ready, she fired up the stove.

After flash-frying the pork strips until cooked, she removed them, left a little oil in the pan to sauté the sauce until fragrant, then tossed the meat back in, stirring until every strip was evenly coated in the rich, dark sauce.

Smelling the aroma wafting through the air, Meng Jun’s stomach let out a series of audible growls. As soon as the meal was ready, he sat at the dining table, eager and expectant. "You've finally got some sense. Hurry up and bring the food over; I’m starving to death!"

Lu Mingyue ignored him completely and carried the food into her own room.

Meng Jun was stunned. What was she doing? Did she not see a person as big as him waiting to eat? The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He scrambled to intercept Lu Mingyue before she could close her door. "Hey! Give me the food!"

Lu Mingyue felt her hands itching. Meng Jun had been pampered his whole life, waited on hand and foot. In an era where everyone lived frugally, the seven-year-old weighed a staggering 150 pounds. To be honest, most people’s pigs weren't even that heavy.

Lu Mingyue squinted at him. "If you want to eat, pay up. This plate costs ten yuan."

Meng Jun’s eyes widened, his eyelids struggling to pull apart just enough to see. Was she crazy? How did his foolish second sister know he had ten yuan in his pocket?

Lu Mingyue pulled out a folding fan from nowhere and began fanning the scent of the food toward him. She could afford to wait; she just wasn't sure if the little fatty could.

Meng Jun swallowed hard, torn between his pocket money and the meal. Ten yuan could buy a table full of dishes at a state-run restaurant, but it might not taste as good as what his foolish sister had made. He could always ask his family for more pocket money later, but if this meal slipped away, it would be a true tragedy.

Having reasoned it out, he gritted his teeth. "I'll give you ten yuan, just give me the food!" He slapped the money on the table and reached for the plate. Lu Mingyue nimbly stepped aside, causing him to lunge onto the sofa, where he flailed like a turtle flipped onto its back.

"What’s the rush? You’ll get your share." Lu Mingyue left half of the portion for him and tucked the ten yuan into her pocket. If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't stay in this house, she’d admit that earning money from the little fatty was actually quite easy.

As Meng Jun devoured the food, he muttered with genuine regret, "It’s a shame you have to marry Hu Sanbao."

"Who said I was going to marry him?" Lu Mingyue threatened him, telling him he’d better spill everything, or she would tell the other children in the residential compound that he had wet his bed two days ago.

Meng Jun choked on his food, his face turning beet red. "I'll tell you, just don't tell anyone else!" He explained that he had run into Hu Sanbao before returning home, and the man had boasted about coming to propose the day after tomorrow.

Lu Mingyue paused. So, Hu Sanbao was actually coming? She frowned; she needed to make plans sooner rather than later. The other side was closing in, and a cornered dog might do anything.

Back in her room, Lu Mingyue asked the system, "Is it done? Does this count as a successful mission?"

The system replied, "It will be done once I finish uploading the scent." A few seconds later, she heard the notification chime. "Congratulations, host. Mission complete. Tian Xiaoju has hidden the family's money and ration coupons behind the headboard in the master bedroom."

Knowing the location, the rest was simple. Lu Mingyue sat down to eat. There were ready-made pancakes in the house, so she wrapped the shredded pork and vegetables inside. One bite, and her mouth was filled with the savory taste of meat. After being hungry for so long, she had almost lost the sensation of hunger, but now she finished the entire plate, leaving not even the sauce behind.

When she went to the kitchen to drop off the plate, Meng Jun was gone, and only the empty dish remained on the table. Taking the opportunity to check that no one was around, Lu Mingyue locked the front door and headed to the master bedroom.

Following the system's instructions, she found the spot. To hide her stash, Tian Xiaoju had chiseled a hole in the wall, covering it with a piece of newspaper that matched the wall’s color. Lu Mingyue carefully peeled back the edge, retrieved the contents, and restored everything to its original state.

After Meng Mancang and Tian Xiaoju married, he handed over his salary, but he often brought back extra "grease" from the side. As a workshop team leader, he oversaw a dozen people and held some authority. His subordinates would occasionally offer him favors or bribes. Meng Mancang was not an honest man; he had been good at disguising his true nature while Lu Mingyue’s mother was still alive, constantly suppressing his greed. Only after her death did he fully reveal his true colors.

Meng Mancang had married into the Lu family. Lu Wenzhen was an only child, brilliant from a young age, having studied all the way to university. In those days, a university degree carried significant weight. The Lu family was a prominent local household, and with only a daughter, they had sought a live-in son-in-law early on. In that era, few men were willing to marry into a wife's family unless they were truly destitute. Meng Mancang, the second of five brothers, was neglected by his parents and had only his trade to rely on before being recruited to the machinery factory.

Lu Wenzhen, who studied mechanics, was a senior engineer specially hired by the factory. The two were peers in both profession and age, eventually becoming a couple. Lu Wenzhen’s parents passed away early, leaving everything to her. Unfortunately, as the times changed, the Lu family became a target for public scorn. If not for the large amount of supplies they had provided to the country before the founding of the People's Republic, Lu Wenzhen likely wouldn't have survived.

After the upheaval, many distanced themselves from her, but Meng Mancang remained consistent. It is easy to add flowers to a brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow. Lu Wenzhen married him, and they lived in the housing allocated to her by the factory. For a few years, they had lived a happy life. But good times don't last forever. One day, while drunk, Meng Mancang let his true feelings slip, stating bluntly that he had only been with Lu Wenzhen to "climb the social ladder." He couldn't hold his head up high because his own daughter carried her mother's surname.

Even though Meng Mancang later claimed it was just drunken babble, Lu Wenzhen could no longer bring herself to trust the man sleeping beside her.