Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 10 Going to Liu Li's School

It was mentioned at the time that the Liu family was very poor, but Liu Yongming was hardworking and got into high school. Even if things didn't go well after graduation, he could still work in a factory. Lin Yi agreed to the marriage because of this.

Who would have thought that Liu Yongming married Lin Qin for her dowry!
Lin Yi is now so regretful that he wishes he could jump off a building.

Lin Qin was afraid he might do something rash, so she quickly wiped away her tears and said, "Dad, life goes on. Ya Ya is still young. We can't give up. You have to help me."

With his mind blank, Lin Yi murmured absentmindedly, "Help Dad, help you... It's Dad who's ruined you!"

Lin Yi cried even harder.

Seeing her father's despair, Lin Qin's hatred overwhelmed her reason. "Dad! I have a way. Trust me. I won't let any of those who bullied my daughter and me get away with it. I mean it!"

Lin Yi wiped away his tears and shook his head repeatedly, "Girl, you can't do anything foolish!"

"Dad, don't worry, I won't be so impulsive again. We'll talk about everything after the child is discharged from the hospital." Lin Qin patted Lin Yi on the shoulder and led him back to the ward.

Chen Wenjun was using a toy to amuse Liu Yaya.

That sight reminded Lin Qin of many things from her past life. Back then, when Chen Wenjun's son, Chen Ping'an, was sick, he would patiently coax him for a long time in the same way. Even when she was sick, he would coax her like a child. Now, he was the one coaxing Liu Yaya.

Lin Yi watched silently from behind Lin Qin, without saying a word.

The old lady in the next bed praised Lin Qin, saying, "Your husband is quite good. It's rare to see a man willing to coax his daughter like this. I misunderstood him during the day; I'm so sorry."

Lin Qin smiled awkwardly and gave up trying to explain.

Because Liu Yaya didn't cry or make a fuss, Lin Qin and Lin Yi didn't dare to make any noise either, and just silently watched Chen Wenjun coax her to sleep.

Seeing that the child was asleep, the adults all tacitly slowed their breathing.

Chen Wenjun silently gestured that he was about to leave.

Lin Yi immediately went out to see him off.

"Thanks to you today, my daughter would have been at a loss if you hadn't been so busy taking care of her!" Lin Yi was genuinely grateful to Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun laughed heartily, "Uncle, you don't need to be so polite with me. Sister Lin Qin has been living a very hard life. I didn't know that before, but I only started paying attention to that family after being tricked by them for no reason."

I heard that she and her mother worked hard and were treated like slaves in the Liu family, but the Liu family never treated them like human beings. In the past, when things were not serious, Lin Qin could tolerate it, but last time they went too far and pushed her to the limit.

I never expected things to escalate to this point, resorting to such a vicious method as pouring hot water on the child. In my opinion, that Liu family home is no place for humans. If the child goes back, who knows what will happen to him!

Lin Yi nodded blankly, his eyes devoid of any light. After seeing Lin Wenjun off, he hunched over, leaned against the wall, and walked heavily into the ward.

In the following days, he hoped day and night that Liu Yongming would come to see the child, or that someone from the Liu family would come to apologize.

But he got nothing in return.

Liu Ling came on the fifth day of the child's hospitalization.

Lin Qin thought she was there to ask for money, so she immediately took out a few one-yuan bills to give to her.

Liu Ling quickly waved her hand, "Sister Lin Qin, I saw that you haven't been back for so many days, so I thought I'd come and check on you. How is the child?"

The old lady in the next bed had already been discharged, and no new patients were admitted to this ward for the time being. Lin Qin had no reservations and lifted the gauze on Liu Yaya's back to let Liu Ling see the wound.

Liu Ling was so frightened that her legs went weak and her teeth chattered as she spoke, "It's that serious! That crazy woman Liu Li actually hurt a child so badly!"

Lin Yi couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Girl, Liu Li hurt Ya Ya so badly, and the Liu family didn't say anything?"

Liu Ling opened her mouth, her eyes filled with pity as she looked at Lin Qin and Liu Yaya. "Uncle, Xu Manzhi was also burned. I heard that her injuries, from her buttocks to her thighs and back, were quite severe. She went to the clinic for treatment and didn't come to the hospital."

The Liu family said that Ya Ya was being naughty and bumped into Xu Manzhi, causing Xu Manzhi to pour hot water, which also splashed them. They also said that Sister Lin Qin was talking nonsense and slandering Liu Li. "Outrageous! Outrageous!" Lin Yi clutched his chest and fell backward.

Lin Qin was terrified and screamed, "Doctor! Doctor!"

Liu Ling panicked and quickly offered her help.

Lin Yi recovered after a while, but Lin Qin was still worried and insisted that he get checked out.

Lin Yi knew his daughter was already going through so much hardship and didn't want her to worry, so he went along with her wishes and went for a medical check-up. But he felt a pang of heartache because it all cost money!

Liu Ling breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Lin Yi was alright.

Just as she was about to leave, Lin Qin quickly handed her a wad of cash. "I borrowed three yuan from your grandma, three yuan from Aunt Lanhua next door, two yuan from Uncle Fu, and two yuan from Uncle Yang. Could you pay me back for me?"

She has no intention of returning to the Liu family; at least, given her current weakness and lack of support, it's impossible for her to go back.

Liu Ling looked down at the money, a little uneasy. "Sister Lin Qin, aren't you afraid I'll embezzle your money?"

"I believe you!" Lin Qin answered without hesitation.

Liu Ling nodded repeatedly, assuring her, "Okay! I'll pay you back the money as soon as I get back."

Lin Qin saw her downstairs and watched her get on her bicycle. She casually asked, "Liu Li is in Class 3, Grade 9 at No. 2 Middle School, right?"

Liu Ling nodded. "That's right! It's in the class next to mine."

Lin Qin expressed her gratitude again and watched Liu Ling leave.

The next day, the doctor said that Liu Yaya could be discharged after one more day of observation.

Lin Qin rented a stretcher from the hospital for a day, told the attending physician, and together with Lin Yi, carried Liu Yaya out.

The nurse assumed the children were just restless and wanted to go out to play, so she let them go without thinking much of it.

The two carried the child all the way to the No. 2 Middle School.

At that time, although the school had a gate, the management was not as strict as it would be ten or twenty years later. When family members came to visit, they only needed to tell the gatekeeper and they would be allowed to enter.

Lin Qin used the excuse that her child was sick to say that she needed to go in and talk to her sister-in-law, who was in the third year of junior high school.

The third floor is for junior high students, so the security guard won't make a special trip to deliver the message; he'll let Lin Qin go in and say it herself.

The father and daughter carried Liu Yaya all the way to Class 3 of the third grade. When they passed Class 2, Liu Ling was so shocked when she saw them that her eyes almost popped out.

We are in class right now.

When Zhang Hua, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 9, saw Lin Qin's commotion, he immediately put down his books and came out. "Comrade, what's the matter?"

Lin Qin knelt down before Zhang Hua in front of everyone, crying and shouting, "Teacher, Liu Li from your class is trying to kill my daughter and me! My daughter has been harmed so badly by her, please, school, do justice for me!"

Zhang Hua stepped back in surprise, then turned sharply to look at Liu Li, whose face had turned pale. "Is there some kind of misunderstanding?"

With tears welling up in her eyes, Lin Qin lifted the back of Liu Yaya's wound in front of everyone.

A group of inexperienced teenagers were all quite frightened.

Even Zhang Hua was shocked and covered his mouth, "This...this was done by Liu Li?"

(End of this chapter)