With this car, Lin Chuxia was in good spirits all day long.
Although this was the lifetime she had lived, after experiencing a more advanced world, no one would be used to this backward era.
Communication was undeveloped, transportation was undeveloped, and even journeys of a few kilometers required primitive walking or cycling.
It was precisely because of this that Lin Chuxia had an extraordinary respect for Qin Yang and those like him.
Speaking of Qin Yang, it had been over a month since he left. Although they corresponded frequently, the longing intensified more than before the festival.
I should write him another letter when I get back. Now that the weather is warm, their construction work must be in full swing.
During this period, their engineering personnel were also working hard. I should send some milk powder and similar stuff over.
Resources were scarce over there, and even if he had time, Qin Yang was not the type to stroll around the city to buy things; he wouldn’t spend even if he had the money.
Lin Chuxia was thinking this as she entered her home. Before she could steady her bike, Qian Chuncao came out from the house, “Sister-in-law, are you back from work?”
Mrs. Qin followed her out and explained to Lin Chuxia, “Your sister-in-law has been here for a good half of the day, waiting for you.”
Lin Chuxia guessed the reason, “Let’s go inside and talk, sister-in-law.”
She led Qian Chuncao directly to their room. Gratitude flashed in Qian Chuncao’s eyes.
Once inside, before Lin Chuxia could speak, Qian Chuncao began to apologize, “Sister-in-law, I only found out about Lihua’s situation today. I’m truly ashamed to face you. You arranged for Lihua and Jianjun to work at your place, and those two kids should be doing more and better than others. But Lihua ended up doing such a thing. When your elder brother heard about this, he disagreed with her marriage to Mr. Cai completely, feeling sorry for you.”
Lin Chuxia asked Qian Chuncao to sit down and offered her a glass of water.
“Sister-in-law, there’s nothing to apologize to me about; nowadays, the country advocates free love…”
“That’s different, I heard everything from Jianjun. Mr. Cai was originally introduced by Manager Sun’s brother, and the plan was for him to develop a relationship with Manager Sun, but look at what Lihua did.”
“It’s true that it was Sun Bingnan who introduced him, and the idea was for him to grow closer with Lanlan. However, after working together for half a year, they didn’t make any progress, whereas Lihua confirmed a romantic relationship with him in such a short time; perhaps it was fate.”
Even Sun Lanlan had come to terms with it, so Lin Chuxia felt that a loss may be a blessing in disguise.
“What fate? It was all Ma Suhua’s doing,” Qian Chuncao said indignantly.
She had blamed Ma Suhua from the start, but for her daughter’s sake, she couldn’t immediately confront her.
Then her husband got back, heard the story, dismissed the marriage prospect outright, and almost hit their daughter, further aggravating Qian Chuncao’s anger towards Ma Suyun.
The day was spent with her husband scolding and her daughter weeping without a bite to eat at lunch.
In the afternoon, a matchmaker paid a visit on behalf of the Cai family; had she not stopped them, the matchmaker wouldn’t have even made it through the door.
She didn’t know what to do anymore.
Deep down she knew it was her daughter’s fault, but now that the news had spread, if they called off the engagement, her daughter’s reputation would be destroyed.
Now, hearing Lin Chuxia speak this way, Qian Chuncao’s heart eased a lot.
“It’s my fault for not raising my child properly, but now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to ask for your help.”
Her husband didn’t agree, simply because he felt sorry for Lin Chuxia. If Lin Chuxia agreed, it would be easy to deal with her husband.
“So, sister-in-law, you agree to this marriage?” asked Lin Chuxia.
“What else can I do if not agree? That damned girl has been crying for half the day; indeed, as a woman grows up, she follows her own path.”
“Big brother can handle it, I’m fine here, and Manager Sun doesn’t have that much to deal with either. Just do whatever needs to be done. I’ll come over tomorrow,” Chuxia reassured.
In the rural area, close relatives from the same clan could help each other out with such matters.
Although Qin Yang was a cousin of Qin Liang’s, the situation had gotten complicated… inviting Lin Chuxia over was the best solution.
The moment Qian Chuncao heard that Lin Chuxia was willing to come, her gloom vanished, “That’s really… I don’t know what to say, sister-in-law. I’ll go back and tell your big brother right away. Fourth brother’s wife, I can’t thank you enough.”
Before you knew it, the next day arrived.
The Cai Family came in full attendance. Cai Jun was the second son of the family, with an older brother who was already married. Mr. Cai was a middle school teacher, and their mother stayed at home farming. The Cai Family’s conditions were considered above average in the countryside.
With Lin Chuxia making an appearance, Qin Liang was not so against the marriage proposal anymore.
Cai Jun was good-looking, gentle and refined, not quite like the other young men in the village.
Qian Chuncao understood why her daughter was smitten the moment she saw Cai Jun.
It wasn’t to the point where a mother-in-law grows more and more satisfied with her son-in-law over time, but her anger had mostly dissipated and she became very hospitable towards the Cai Family visitors.
The Qin Family members who came today included Lin Chuxia, Ma Suyun, and Qin Jiang.
Qin Jiang’s wife, Xu Yun, had classes to attend today.
Qin Wen was at work too. Otherwise, as her close uncle, he would have attended this gathering as well.
As for Lin Chuxia, she came just as a support and did not plan to interfere much.
Cai Jun, on the other hand, felt somewhat guilty whenever he saw Lin Chuxia, quickly averting his eyes after the occasional eye contact.
Lin Chuxia didn’t care what he was hiding; she always felt that if a man like that was not valued by Sun Lanlan, he was surely not worth entrusting with oneself.
Looking back, she realized that she hadn’t been seeing things at the movie theater that day; it was just that the person with Cai Jun was someone else.
The two of them had already been together for a while, which explained why Cai Jun remained undisturbed when Liu Dahui appeared.
When Qin Jiang saw Lin Chuxia, he greeted her and then also sat to the side like a backdrop.
Lin Chuxia didn’t have a particular impression of her cousin, although lately, she had heard Qin Han mention him a few times.
The village had built a chicken farm and the village chief asked Qin Jiang for help with management, and now he had the title of deputy director.
When the village chief first approached Qin Jiang, Qin Yang had just started working and Qin Jiang did not feel comfortable going straight to Lin Chuxia, so he mentioned it to Qin Han instead.
The village chief’s reason for choosing Qin Jiang to manage the chicken farm was clear to everyone; it was all because he was part of the Qin Family.
The village chief had made it clear that the chicken farm’s market relied on Xiyang Food Factory, and Qin Jiang saw through this. That’s why he went to ask Qin Han for their opinion.
He didn’t have the confidence to impress the village chief on his own. Since it depended on the support of the Qin Family’s second branch, it was necessary to get their consent first.
Qin Han did not decide on his own either and turned to Lin Chuxia. Lin Chuxia didn’t care much about the village chief’s little scheme.
Qin Jiang and his wife were decent people, and if they could take on a job at the village chicken farm, she’d be glad to see it happen.
So that was settled.
Compared to Lin Chuxia and Qin Jiang, Ma Suyun was much more enthusiastic.
She praised Cai Jun as if compliments cost her nothing, one after another, to the point that Qian Chuncao couldn’t even bear to listen.
“Younger sister-in-law, if you have something to say, we can talk about it later in private. Right now, let’s focus on the matter at hand.”