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

By the time Du Juanhua's bed was ready, Bai Junjun's side was almost done as well.

She pointed curiously to Lin Qin's bed, "Where is she?"

Azalea shook her head. "I've never seen one either."

That day, only the two of them slept in the dormitory.

The other three roommates arrived the next day.

One of them, Zhang Hong, was from the same hometown as Du Juanhua, and their family circumstances were similar. The two happened to sleep on the same upper bunk.

Another one is named Zhou Xue, a northerner. She said she lived in the south with her mother who was serving in the military. She was admitted to a teachers' college and was considered a second-generation military officer.

There was another girl named Ge Qiuyue, who was almost thirty years old. As soon as she arrived, she immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the dormitory.

Under the curious gazes of everyone, Ge Qiuyue revealed a simple smile and introduced herself, "My name is Ge Qiuyue, I am twenty-nine years old, older than all of you. You can just call me Sister Ge. This is my man."

The four of them shouted in unison, "Hello, Sister Ge!"

"Hahahaha." Ge Qiuyue laughed heartily and asked very naturally, "Why is one person still missing?"

Bai Junjun immediately shook her head, "I heard that this person arrived the earliest and is elusive; we haven't seen him yet!"

"Are you talking about me?" Lin Qin came in wearing a floral print long dress made of polyester and small leather shoes, with a delicate white bag slung over her shoulder and two large bags of fruit in her hands.

He instantly became the center of attention.

"Wow! What a beautiful girl! She looks just like a celebrity in a magazine!" Ge Qiuyue was the first to react and praised her without reservation.

Lin Qin was amused. "Hello, hello, I might not be a girl. I might even be older than you!"

"No way!" Ge Qiuyue followed Lin Qin to her seat and introduced herself loudly, "My name is Ge Qiuyue, I'm twenty-nine years old, so I'm definitely the oldest in our dormitory."

Lin Qin blinked in surprise, "It really is! But I'm only two years younger than Sister Ge, so we're about the same age! I'm Lin Qin, please give me your guidance."

Everyone in the room stared in disbelief.

Lin Qin greeted everyone, "I picked some fruit from home, including mangoes, lychees, guavas, and a big watermelon. It's hot today, so come and eat together to cool off."

Ge Qiuyue leaned closer for a look and clicked her tongue, saying, "It looks fresh, it must taste delicious!"

Lin Qin smiled and asked, "Do you have a knife or scissors? I'd like to cut a watermelon."

Zhou Xue immediately took a sharp knife from her desk shelf. "Is this okay?"

"Thank you!" Lin Qin took it, but was stunned after just one glance. "This... doesn't seem to be available on the market."

Zhou Xue gave her a thumbs up approvingly, "You have good taste! It was given to me by my family, so it's fine."

Lin Qin didn't ask any more questions. She placed a bag on the ground, divided the watermelon into eight pieces, and gave one piece to each person.

It's said that you can't hit someone who's smiling, let alone someone who's eaten your food. So all six of them from the dorm gathered around and introduced themselves to Lin Qin one by one.

Ge Qiuyue asked curiously, "Girl, you look much younger than me. Did you take the exam for several years before you finally passed?"

Lin Qin shook her head. "No, I got married a long time ago. Later, when my family's financial situation improved, I thought about studying more. My homeroom teacher thought I was quite hardworking and suggested I try taking the college entrance exam. I tried once last year but didn't pass. I put in all my effort for a year and passed this year."

"Awesome!" Ge Qiuyue exclaimed again. Lin Qin handed her the peeled mango, "Try this, I don't know if you've ever had it before."

Mangoes are tropical fruits, and their climate is subtropical, so they can grow them. In another ten years, they will be abundant. But right now, the land has only recently been distributed to individual households, so fruit trees are not widely planted. Fruit is still a rarity, and even locals may not have eaten it before.

As expected, Ge Qiuyue, Du Juanhua, Zhang Hong, and Zhou Xue all said they had never eaten it before.

Lin Qin quickly shaved a few more for them.

Zhou Xue asked curiously, "Sister Qin, are you a fruit farmer?"

Lin Qin laughed, "No, no, my family just has a lot of land. We grow a lot of fruit trees, and we raise a lot of chickens, ducks, geese and the like. We don't make money from this. We can pick as much as we want to eat."

"My dad knew I was coming today, so he had the kids help him pick a whole bunch early this morning."

"Children? How many kids do you have? I have two, an older girl and a younger son," Ge Qiuyue said.

Lin Qin held up three fingers.

Ge Qiuyue was immediately filled with envy. "I also want to have more children, but unfortunately the government won't allow it. You're so lucky! Three kids would be so lively!"

Everyone else was incredibly envious.

Lin Qin was both amused and exasperated. "What's the big deal? You guys are still young. University is the perfect time to study and find a partner. This is all part of campus youth. Those of us with families can't join in this fun. Also, just so you know, I don't live on campus. I only come back for a nap at noon. I have to go home at night."

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, but they could understand.

Bai Junjun hurriedly asked, "Sister Qin, how can I apply for on-campus housing? I want to go home too."

Lin Qin had already noticed Bai Junjun's difference; she looked like she had been pampered since childhood and must come from a well-off family. "Are you also from An City?"

Bai Junjun nodded repeatedly, "My home is quite close, near the Experimental Primary School, but my dad doesn't agree with me commuting to school. I was even thinking of working part-time at my cousin's place!"

Ge Qiuyue was confused. "Junjun, your family doesn't seem to be short of money. We are students, and studying is more important. If we weren't forced to, none of us would take on part-time jobs to earn money."

Bai Junjun sighed, "You don't understand. My cousin runs an art training institution and has recruited many students from our school. She's already financially independent. I'm thinking of going to work part-time there as soon as possible to learn more so that I can run an art training institution like her in the future."

Lin Qin paused in her fruit-peeling motion and asked in surprise, "Your cousin isn't Bai Linlin, is she?"

"You know him?" Bai Junjun jumped up excitedly.

Lin Qin laughed, "An City is really small! My child takes classes with Teacher Bai, so we've known each other for a long time."

Because of Bai Linlin, Bai Junjun became much more affectionate towards Lin Qin, and kept asking Lin Qin many questions about the training institution.

As they were talking, Ge Qiuyue's man had already made the bed for her, and arranged her personal belongings neatly, and the wardrobe was also arranged in an orderly manner.

Seeing that things were almost done, the man greeted everyone and looked at Ge Qiuyue, "I'll go to the guesthouse first, and then I'll bring you some things tomorrow morning before heading back."

Ge Qiuyue quickly escorted her man downstairs.

The dormitory gate was closed.

Zhang Hong said enviously, "Sister Ge's boyfriend is so considerate, and their relationship is so good."

Azalea nodded in agreement, "Absolutely! Someone like Sister Ge already has a boyfriend and kids; after graduation, she just needs to focus on her job. So worry-free!" (End of Chapter)