Qin Liang had three children, the eldest Qin Jianjun, the second Qin Lihua, and the youngest son Qin Jianshe was also 15.
In the year Qin Jianjun was due to enter his final year of high school, Qin Lihua got admitted to high school, and Qin Jianshe to junior high.
Educational expenses for children were a significant outlay those days.
Even the nine years of compulsory education weren’t free, with three kids in school, especially in junior high and high school, tuition and textbook fees could consume an entire rural family’s income.
Smashing pots to sell iron for education wasn’t just an idle expression.
Feeling nostalgic, Qin Han sighed at the memory of days gone by and marveled at the good days they were living now, days he never even dreamt were possible.
While they were talking, Sun Bingnan came in from outside.
During this period, Sun Bingnan had been back in his hometown, overseeing his older and second brother with the construction of the chicken farm, and only occasionally came back to report the progress to Lin Chuxia.
He said last time that the chicken farm was built, and they planned to bring in the chicks soon.
Thinking of yesterday’s weather, Lin Chuxia felt a surge of worry, “Why has Third Brother come over at this time? Is there some issue with the chicken farm?”
Sun Bingnan poured himself a glass of water and took a couple of sips before replying, “Yeah, there’s a bit of an issue. I’ve had some bad luck; just the day before yesterday, I had arranged for 2000 chicken chicks, and then yesterday a heavy snow hit. Can you believe it? It’s like the heavens are deliberately opposing me.”
Chicks need a certain temperature to grow, too cold and they could actually freeze to death.
Not like future times where heating facilities were well-equipped, many people couldn’t even afford to burn coal briquettes in winter, relying on heated kang beds.
That’s also why Lin Chuxia wanted to build the chicken farm early but was waiting until spring.
“What’s the situation now? How much was lost?”
Natural disasters and accidents are normal, you can only hope that the losses are small.
Sun Bingnan finished his glass of water and waved his hand dismissively.
Qin Han’s face grew more troubled, “All gone?”
Lin Chuxia’s heart also skipped, 2000 chicken chicks wasn’t a small number.
Never mind the financial loss, for the Sun Family’s eldest and second brother to face such a setback right at the beginning of the chicken farm, any similar future endeavors would carry significant pressure.
Sun Bingnan finished his water, set down his cup, and then continued, “No losses. My sisters-in-law said the chicks are afraid of the cold, so they kept a coal stove burning in the coop, and laid thick straw mats down. The past couple of days they’ve been sleeping in the coop, even taking meals in turns, my mom even had blankets laid out for the chicks.”
Lin Chuxia: “…”
She could all but see the scene in her mind.
But with Brother Sun and Second Brother Sun showing such spirit, she really didn’t need to worry about her chicks.
As dinner time approached, Lin Chuxia invited Sun Bingnan to eat together at the Bun Shop, and informed Su Wensong as well.
Sun Bingnan had been busy with the chicken farm back home recently, and now that it was largely settled, Lin Chuxia was considering placing him at the Xiyang Food Factory, mainly to oversee the procurement channels and quality control of raw materials.
After dining together, they exchanged updates about the bun shop, food factory, and chicken farm.
After dinner, as the Bun Shop was about to close, Lin Chuxia planned to head home with Qin Han when she heard Su Wensong and Sun Bingnan bring up Liu Dahui.
Since Sun Bingnan had been in his hometown these past few days, he considered, “Yeah, I know of such a person. There was a matchmaker who suggested a suitor for my sister, his name seemed to be Liu Dahui. What of him? Why bring him up out of the blue? Liu Dahui isn’t a good match for my sister, I was against it from the start when the matchmaker mentioned him. It was fortunate Mr. Lin got us a job here, so I had my mom decline the proposal directly.”
He was unaware of the recent events.
Lin Chuxia knew that Liu Dahui had approached Sun Lanlan, and with Su Wensong mentioning it now, she became extra cautious.
She stopped and asked, “Has Liu Dahui been to the Bun Shop recently?”
Su Wensong nodded, “I heard he’s been coming to the bun shop to eat buns every day recently, but he hasn’t done anything inappropriate. It’s just… him coming all this way just to eat buns…”
“I can’t, I have to go check on Lanlan.”
Lin Chuxia and her husband Qin Han excused themselves and told them to head back first.
If it had been anyone else it might have been okay, but Liu Dahui was Sun Lanlan’s ex-husband from a previous life. Just the thought of Sun Lanlan’s eventual fate made Lin Chuxia lose her composure.
Sun Bingnan frowned slightly, not knowing the situation now, but knowing that Lin Chuxia and Sun Lanlan were close, he felt that Lin Chuxia was the more appropriate one to speak.
“Brother Qin, you guys go back first, I’ll take Mr. Lin home later.”
The five of them split up at the entrance of the bun shop, with Su Wensong silently following behind Sun Bingnan and Lin Chuxia.
At this time, the bun shop near the train station had also closed, and the three of them headed straight towards the staff dormitory courtyard.
Not far from the courtyard, next to a factory area, Lin Chuxia suddenly heard a sharp scream.
Although the scream was shrill, it was still familiar.
Lin Chuxia’s face suddenly changed, and she took off running, but someone else was faster than her.
Su Wensong and Sun Bingnan both ran towards the source of the sound.
As they reached the entrance of the alley, they heard sleazy voices inside.
“Pretty girl, don’t be scared, we just want to talk to you.”
“Yeah, why scream so loudly? Even if you scream louder, nobody around here will probably hear.”
“How lonely it must be for you to be alone at night, let us take you to the movies.”
Then came Sun Lanlan’s voice, containing a hint of a sob, “Please let me go, I can give you money, all the money on me…”
“I want the money, but I also want you, what should I do? Pretty girl, don’t cry, I’ll be gentle with you… Ah…”
“Fuck your grandpa!”
With Sun Bingnan’s angry curse, a man let out a scream of pain.
Su Wensong didn’t fall behind either, throwing punches at another man.
As soon as the two men saw others coming, they turned to run, but neither Sun Bingnan nor Su Wensong gave them the chance.
The four of them immediately got into a scuffle.
Lin Chuxia had run up to Sun Lanlan, who, upon seeing a familiar face, clung to Lin Chuxia and burst into tears.
“Xiaxia, how did you come? You scared me to death…”
She thought she couldn’t escape today.
“It’s okay now, it’s all okay,” Lin Chuxia comforted her, “Where’s Cai Jun? Why didn’t he leave work with you?”
Sun Lanlan was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, and it took her a while to calm down, “He had a shift off this afternoon…”
Lin Chuxia wanted to say more but suddenly turned to look behind a distant tree, “Wait for me for a moment…”
Without saying much more, she ran over there directly.
The person behind the big tree, realizing they’d been spotted, turned and ran.
Lin Chuxia took a run-up, leapt forward and kicked, “Aiyo”, the man fell forward flat on his face.
The man tried to run again, but Lin Chuxia directly blocked his path.