Li Jian returned from eating to see Lin Chuxia circling around a pile of scrap metal.
When Lin Chuxia saw him, her eyes lit up. “I’ve finished paying the bill, thanks to big brother. If it hadn’t been for your help, I’d probably still be in line.”
Li Jian really admired her way with words. Clearly, it was he who had used his strength to push to the front, but this obvious flattery somehow didn’t annoy him.
Looking at Lin Chuxia again, though in a peasant woman’s attire, her skin was fair, her features were delicate, especially her almond-shaped eyes which seemed to shine. She just didn’t seem like an ordinary rural woman.
He thought, tradition had it right – when faced with a beautiful woman, one tends to be more accommodating.
“Okay, no need to be so polite. Next time you come to sell vegetables alone, just mention your Brother Li to the weighmaster, and you’ll be looked after.”
Lin Chuxia’s smile grew even wider. “Then I’ll thank Brother Li in advance. I knew it, just one look and anyone can tell Brother Li is a kind-hearted person.”
Li Jian touched his nose, feeling a bit awkward. He wasn’t really all that kind-hearted; it just happened that during lunch, he ran into the director, and for some reason, the director took this woman’s words to heart and praised him in front of his colleagues.
This was a first, and people were now looking at him differently. Some who usually didn’t talk much even came over to eat with him.
“It’s getting late; you should hurry home for lunch,” he said as he couldn’t take any more praise.
Lin Chuxia showed no intention of leaving and pointed to a pile of broken flatbed carts in the corner. “Brother Li, I’d like to ask you about these carts. Who manages them? Of course, if Brother Li has the connections, I’d have the cheek to ask for your help. Could you see if I could buy one? I don’t need a good one; those worn-out ones would be fine.”
Li Jian laughed when he heard this. “Do you really think I’m easy to talk to, or do you think I’m so capable?”
“Both,” Lin Chuxia answered with a sincere face. “Brother Li has a kind face, and not to hide anything from you Brother Li, I can read faces. You’ve got the look of an official, I dare not say more, but at least with your face, you could become a bureau chief in the future. Leaving these broken carts here is just a way to fill up space for your unit; it’d be better to put them to some residual use.”
Lin Chuxia wasn’t just making things up. When they were weighing vegetables earlier, she had noticed Li Jian.
In her past life, they knew each other. Back then, Li Jian was the head of the city’s market management bureau, and Lin Chuxia had a lot of dealings with him.
The corners of Li Jian’s mouth twitched manically. “With your face-reading skills, didn’t you see I’m just a guy doing the weighing work right now?”
Saying that, he turned and walked away, fearful that if he didn’t leave, the girl might set him up again.
Lin Chuxia wasn’t in a hurry. Things don’t happen overnight, and her situation was already looking up – at least the next time she came to weigh the vegetables, she wouldn’t need to scramble.
Qin Family Village is an urban village; it’s distinct from the surrounding factory compounds and even more so from those of government agency compounds, given that non-agricultural commercial foodstuffs still have a considerable advantage these days.
On the way back, Lin Chuxia also took a trip around the vicinity.
When she got home, Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin had already eaten. They asked if Lin Chuxia had eaten and still had food warmed up for her.
Lin Chuxia had already eaten on her way back – she bought two buns and a bowl of porridge from a street stand, complete with the free pickles provided by the bun shop.
She spent half an hour eating and watching who came and went from the bun shop and what they ordered.
Memories from her past life were too distant, and she only had a vague idea. If she was going to do it, she aimed to do it the best she could.
After thanking Mrs. Qin, she went back to her room, first took a bath in her space – it’s more convenient to take a bath in her space when Qin Yang isn’t home.
When she took out some clean clothes, ten yuan fell out of them.
There’s no need to ask, Lin Chuxia knew it was Qin Yang who had set off the firecrackers, recalling the man’s reluctant departure, she smiled silently.
The Qin Yang she knew and the Qin Yang in Lin Jiayi’s mouth were worlds apart.
She put together the 10 yuan with the money earned from selling tomatoes today, then took out the stack of money the Lin Family had obtained and counted it.
A total of 380 yuan.
Originally, she only wanted to take back the 300 yuan bridal money from the Qin Family, but unexpectedly there was a pleasant surprise.
Lin Chuxia didn’t feel any guilt about taking money from home, this little amount was far less than one ten-thousandth of what the Lin Family took from her in her past life, not to mention her contributions to the Lin Family over these twenty years.
……
Xiaoqingshan Village
Lin Jiayi, holding back her nausea, climbed out of the pigpen, the little leftover pig feed in the bucket was then used to feed the chickens, and suddenly her eyes brightened—there lay a brown egg in the nest.
Lin Jiayi glanced around to ensure no one was there and carefully stepped into the chicken coop to tuck the egg into her pocket.
Before she could leave the chicken coop, a deep voice sounded, “What are you doing? Picking up eggs?”
Lin Jiayi got such a shock that she accidentally stepped into chicken droppings.
Looking back at her mother-in-law’s weather-beaten, dark face, she felt a twinge of guilt, “I was just feeding the chickens.”
Old Mrs. Li reached out her hand, “Lin Guangyuan has been working in the fields all day; I’ll cook him an egg to replenish his energy. You don’t work in the fields, living comfortably at home, taking good care of yourself; you wouldn’t fight Guangyuan over this one egg, right? After all, he is your man.”
Lin Jiayi’s teeth nearly cracked in anger; living comfortably indeed, she could barely say it out loud.
Apart from the day she married in, where she ate communal pot stew and two kinds of bread, leftovers from the wedding feast, it was all pickles, pancakes, steamed buns from the second day. Even the slightly better dishes were reserved for Li Guangyuan.
Despite her unhappiness, Lin Jiayi still took out the egg from her pocket.
Mrs. Li took the egg and, with a cold huff, went into the kitchen.
Lin Jiayi’s eyes reddened with aggrievance. She didn’t bother with the bucket of pig feed anymore and dived straight into her room.
Li Guangyuan, who had just come back from the fields and had a shower, was rummaging through the cabinet for clothes and finally chose a pair of patched trousers.
Seeing Lin Jiayi enter, he asked without turning his head, “Have you fed the pigs and chickens? Is the food ready? Mom is getting older, you should help out more at home. Also, there’s so many dirty clothes, why haven’t you washed them? I hardly have anything left to wear…”
“Li Guangyuan, I didn’t marry you to wash your clothes, cook, and feed the pigs and chickens.”
Li Guangyuan turned around in surprise, only to see Lin Jiayi’s face full of anger, “What now?” Isn’t getting a wife exactly for the purpose of having someone to wash clothes and cook?
Seeing the man’s face, and thinking about his future achievements, Lin Jiayi suppressed her grievances.
“Guangyuan, about the thing I mentioned to you before, when do you plan to do it?”
Li Guangyuan knew she was talking about starting a business again, but starting a business isn’t something you just do is it? Their family has been farmers for generations, where’s the knack for doing business?
“Jiayi, I think our current situation isn’t bad. I work in the fields, you take care of the house. I’ve calculated, this year’s grain harvest is enough for us to eat, we’ll plant more wheat next year. Before long, we’ll be able to live the days of eating white flour every day…”