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

Lin Yi then stopped nagging.

The next day, before Lin Ying's family had left, Hong Weimin's family arrived.

Lin E returned to the city after many years and felt that everything had changed rapidly. Everything looked unfamiliar and new. She kept muttering, "This road used to be the dirt road to Xiatian, right? This way goes to Nanxi? No, that's not right! We used to walk here..."

Lin E kept muttering to herself until she arrived at Nanyu.

When Lin Yi saw his elder sister whom he hadn't seen for many years, tears streamed down his face. The two stood at the gate and exchanged pleasantries for a long time.

Chen Wenjun then advised, "Dad, Aunt, let's go inside and talk."

Lin E nodded and, supported by Lin Yi, walked inside.

Upon seeing the fields, houses, and trees on the island, Lin E was so astonished that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Was all of this acquired by Wenjun and Aqin?"

Hong Weimin nodded repeatedly.

Huang Yuezhen smiled and said, "Mom, these fields were cultivated by my eldest uncle and me. We also raise pigs, chickens, ducks and geese in the back, and there's a gymnasium where we can exercise. Isn't that great?"

Lin E nodded hesitantly, her eyes darting around, unable to take it all in.

This was Hong Shaoyang's second time here, and he was still deeply moved, not to mention his younger siblings.

As soon as the group arrived in the courtyard, Lin Ying and her family came out to greet them, and they exchanged pleasantries once again.

Huang Yuezhen was overjoyed to learn that Lin Qin had given birth to a son on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Before she could calm down, she heard that Lin Ying and his wife wanted to adopt the child.

Feeling a little reluctant, I quickly went inside and took the little girl out to play.

Lin Ying chuckled and said, "This child slept with us last night. He was really well-behaved and not shy at all."

"He's still too young!" Huang Yuezhen held and comforted the child for a while, then handed him to the envious Lin E and asked, "If you're going to adopt him, have you thought of a name yet?"

"Not yet! I'm planning to ask Qin to help me think of one. Isn't she a student? I'll ask her to come up with a catchy and auspicious name."

Lin Ying's plan was particularly shrewd.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Lin Qin, who was in postpartum confinement on the second floor, heard everything and couldn't help but smile.

When Lin Ying came to ask for her name, she decisively wrote down three big characters on the paper: "Hong Xinyi".

Lin Ying looked at it carefully and asked Lin Qin to write down Ya Ya's full name, Chen Xinyue. After comparing them carefully, she laughed, "You know what, if they have the same surname, everyone will know they are sisters! This is the name!"

Because the baby girl had a nice name, everyone egged Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun on to give their newborn son a proper name as well.

Lin Qin passed the buck directly to Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun was quite pleased and thought to himself, "Ping An's full name is Chen Ruiyu, and the second son's full name is Chen Ruiming, with the nickname Aqin Ding."

Lin Qin nodded. "This name is not bad. As for the nickname, we can follow the principle of peace and happiness."

Thus, the baby boy, who was only a few days old, had his own formal name and nickname.

The Xu and Hong families stayed in Nanyu until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year before leaving.

Hong Weimin had to go to work in Nangang and didn't go back with them. Huang Yuezhen took the whole family back by car. After they left, Lin Qin continued to obediently observe postpartum confinement.

Due to a shortage of manpower, Chen Wenjun did not dare to let Lin Yi go to Nangang with him again.

Lin Qin didn't know how he did it, and seeing that he was busy all by himself, she didn't ask him. It wasn't until after her postpartum period that she learned that Chen Wenjun no longer set up a stall in the morning, but instead cooperated with fishmongers in several vegetable markets in the city, wholesaling seafood to them. Not only did he have a bigger business and earn more money, but most importantly, he also saved a lot of effort.

She praised Chen Wenjun highly.

Chen Wenjun was embarrassed. "Actually, it's not that I have a good business sense. My cousin told me that starting this year, fishing boats will not only enter the port at five in the morning, but also return in waves at four. I thought it would be easier to make an extra trip to wholesale."

After learning about this situation, Lin Qin immediately suggested, "We've bought so many shops. Let's find the biggest one, renovate it, and buy a few large freezers. We can store all the seafood in the shop, and wholesalers can pick up their orders from there. We can also sell individual items, so we can do both without any problems."

Chen Wenjun's eyes lit up with joy. "My wife is so smart. It's okay if I have to make a few more trips."

Lin Qin nodded, "Anyway, I'm out of confinement now, so I can help you look after the shop. You can make three or four trips to Nangang a day without any problem. Let Zheng Guoxing come to our shop to choose seafood. That will be more convenient, and we can give him a discount. He'll definitely be happy to do so."

After the deal was settled, Chen Wenjun immediately toured all of his shops, and after looking around, he found that the shop closest to the Liu family's house was the most suitable.

Firstly, this is a legitimate storefront and doesn't require excessive renovations; secondly, the space is large enough for him to conduct business.

After telling Lin Qin the results, Chen Wenjun went back and found a few people to renovate the store. He then went to Gao Lei's warehouse and selected four large freezers.

It only took four or five days to get it done.

On the opening day of "Wenjun Seafood Wholesale Store", Lin Qin had several flower baskets placed outside the store and set off a string of firecrackers. Then she immediately went inside to get busy.

Chen Wenjun sets off for Nangang at 3 a.m., and delivers a batch of seafood to the store before 5 a.m., which is when Lin Qin starts to get busy.

Around 6:30, the second batch of seafood arrived.

Before eight o'clock, vendors kept coming to the shop, and Lin Qin didn't have a moment to spare.

Around this time, the two boatloads of goods that Chen Wenjun brought back would be sold out.

Next up was the evening shipment, which was specifically wholesaled to restaurants. Lin Qin would come over to help after finishing her class, so it wouldn't delay her at all.

This kind of life is a bit tiring, but it's very fulfilling, and the whole family enjoys it immensely.

June arrived in the blink of an eye, which was also the time for the college entrance examination.

Lin Qin has worked hard for a year; it's time to test her learning results.

This was a momentous event for the whole family. Chen Wenjun even considered closing the shop for two days to go and cheer on Lin Qin.

Lin Qin was terrified. "Don't make things difficult for me. I know my own limitations. Just consider this a chance to gain some experience. Don't expect me to pass on the first try. You should go do whatever you need to do. It's true that I'll ask my cousin-in-law to come and help for a couple of days."

Chen Wenjun had no choice but to do as Lin Qin said.

On the day of the exam, Lin Yi cooked two big red duck eggs and a bowl of noodles for her early in the morning, looking at her with eager eyes, "Good girl, just do your best on the exam, so we won't have any regrets."

Lin Qin nodded vigorously, ate a bowl of noodles and two duck eggs, and then carried her bicycle onto her grandfather's fishing boat.

When she arrived at the examination hall, she found that most of the candidates were nervous and serious, which made her nervous too, and she dared not relax for a moment when answering the questions.

The two days of the college entrance exam felt like two years to Lin Qin. She couldn't help but smile bitterly to herself; she really wasn't cut out for studying. If she hadn't been so determined, she probably wouldn't have been able to get to this point. (End of Chapter)