Chapter 176

Edited by Lulu

“I’m sorry. This was my fault.”

Tong Xuelu apologized to them with her lips pinched and told them briefly about what had happened with Su Xiuying.She did not regret helping out Su Xiuying. She didn’t feel that she had done anything wrong, but she hadn’t expected rippling effects like this afterward, especially to her siblings.The girlfriend of Ma Mei’s cousin could very well be related to the He’s. Tong Xuelu would need to find out the details from Su Xiuying.Neither Tong Jiaming nor Tong Jiaxin said anything after they heard what Tong Xuelu had said.Tong Xuelu said, “Don’t worry. I will get you back into school one way or another!”The two brothers still didn’t say anything.Tong Xuelu sighed to herself, turned, and walked out.As soon as Tong Xuelu had left, Tong Jiaxin immediately started talking, “Second Brother, this was all her fault. We would not have been expelled otherwise!”Tong Jiaming looked up and gave Tong Jiaxin a cold look. “You are right that we would not be expelled from school had it not been for her. That’s because we would already have been taken back to our hometown by Grandma and the others.”Once they were taken back to their hometown, never mind about going to school, the three of them would likely not even have enough food to eat.Tong Jiaxin had only blurted it out earlier in the heat of the moment. He regretted a little when he heard Tong Jiaming’s words. “What should we do now?”Tong Jiaming remained silent for a little while, shook his head, and said, “I don’t know either. Let’s see what the school says first.”Tong Jiaxin’s eyes reddened. “For sure they would expel us. Jiang Ming said that he was going to tell his grandfather and have his grandfather teach us a lesson!”Tong Jiaming’s lips tightened into a straight line, anger burning in his eyes.Tong Xuelu headed over to the post office to phone Su Xiuying at the garment factory.Su Xiuying felt odd when she received the call from Tong Xuelu. She turned pale when she heard about everything. “I’m so sorry, Xuelu. This is all my fault. This is only happening to you because you have helped me……”Tong Xuelu interrupted her. “Big Sister Xiuying, this is not your fault. I called in the hope that you can help me find out if something is going on with the He family.”Su Xiuying nodded repeatedly. “Not a problem. Let me go see what I can find out. I’ll phone you as soon as I find something out!”Su Xiuying did not return to work after she hung up the phone. She ran over to Manager Ma from the workshop to ask for a day off before she hurried home.Tong Xuelu returned to the government-operated restaurant after she stepped out of the post office.When Chef Meng saw her come back, he said caringly, “Comrade Xuelu, is everything okay at home? Just let me know if there’s anything that I can help you with.”Guo Weiping, to one side, also nodded as he looked at Tong Xuelu like a little deer.Tong Xuelu felt a warm sensation flowing through her. “Some issues came up at home, and I hope to take some time off to take care of that. Does Chef Meng know anyone who can stand in for me during this period of time?”She might be able to take a little time off here and there, but if they were talking about a longer period, Liu Dongchang absolutely would not allow that.Chef Meng thought about it some and said, “I have a niece in the village. I’ll have her come over today.”Tong Xuelu was very appreciative of that. “Thank you so much, Chef Meng. Your niece can keep the pay for the time that she substituted for me.”“It’s no problem. You don’t need to thank me.” Chef Meng waved his hand and pulled out a slab of meat from the cabinet behind him. “Bring this home with you. It’s all about eating and drinking in this world. Don’t worry. Whatever it is, I am sure it will be resolved soon.”He had heard some about the girl’s background. She had lost her parents at a young age and had a few younger siblings that she needed to support. Things were rough, so he would help her in any way as long as it was within his power.Tong Xuelu felt that her heart was warmed. She did not turn him down.She wrapped the meat up, placed it in her bag, and was about to go home and make some food for her brothers.