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

Xu Dahai looked on with admiration, "They really are the people's soldiers, their mindset is so different from ours! By the way, sister-in-law, it's almost Chinese New Year, even if you weren't coming to our side, I would have gone to yours. Why did you make a special trip? Oh! And you brought so much stuff! Are you worried we won't have enough to eat?"

Lin Qin rolled her eyes at Xu Dahai, then quickly got on the tricycle. "This is a New Year's gift! I brought it especially for you. If you don't understand, don't talk! You're getting a good deal and then acting innocent!"

Xu Dahai, after being scolded, chuckled awkwardly and quickly set off, changing the subject, "We set up a stall around here. We bought land in town this year to build a house, which is almost finished. I'll take you there to see it this time."

Lin Qin remained noncommittal, and the tricycle made two turns before arriving at Lin Ying's stall.

It was almost noon, and there were still quite a few people buying things at her stall, but Xu Xinyi was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is the child?" Lin Qin asked.

Xu Dahai quickly pointed to the nursery not far away, "It's a nursery. There just happens to be one in our town. The child is just old enough, so we sent him there."

Unlike the city, there are only one or two daycare centers in the town, and they don't want children who can't take care of themselves.

Lin Qin nodded to herself, "Sending them to daycare will make things much easier for you."

"That's right! Otherwise, my husband and I would be busy setting up our stall and building our house, and we couldn't keep taking her with us all the time. Besides, building a house is so dangerous; if she gets hit by a small stone, it's no joke."

Because Lin Ying was still busy and there was a lot of stuff on the tricycle, Lin Qin asked Xu Dahai to take the things back first, while she carried some fruit to the stall.

Lin Ying saw her from afar and waved to her, "Why are you here at this hour? Aren't you in a hurry?"

"I came to see you; I've never been here before! I also wanted to discuss the children's studies with you."

As soon as Lin Qin said that, Lin Ying immediately took it to heart. "Wait a minute, Dahai will come over in a bit, and I'll take you to the new house to take a look. We can talk about it in detail then."

Lin Qin agreed and helped Lin Ying entertain the guests first.

The two sisters were so busy that they didn't notice the time until Xu Dahai came over and Lin Ying pulled Lin Qin away.

Along the way, Lin Qin kept looking around the town.

In a few years, highways will be built here, and gradually more buildings will appear, making it more and more prosperous.

The area is still a dirt road. Although it is wide, it becomes muddy when it rains and dusty when it is sunny. It looks terrible. The surrounding houses are also not well-maintained and are mostly old and dilapidated.

Seeing her curiosity, Lin Ying said, "This is the town's market. Before ten o'clock, there are stalls everywhere. It's very long and quite lively. After ten o'clock, the stalls close up, and there are only a few left. My new house was built in front of it, also on the main road. Following your suggestion, we built a storefront in the front and a courtyard in the back."

"Since our Xinyi is still so young, I separated the front and back, leaving a door. That way, when I close the door, I won't have to worry about her running off into the street."

Seeing how much Lin Ying cared about the child, Lin Qin couldn't help but smile and say, "It's a blessing for this child to be with you."

“Hey! Since we’ve decided to adopt her, she’s my own daughter. Let me tell you, nobody in town knows we adopted her. People in the village do know, but she’s still too young to remember. Dahai and I plan to move to town once our house here is finished. We won’t live in the village anymore, and she won’t be constantly teased and joked about. When she’s old enough, I’ll send her to school in the city.”

Lin Ying spoke earnestly about her plans.

Lin Qin smiled and said, "You've planned so carefully, there won't be any problems."

As they spoke, the two arrived at Lin Ying's new house. Lin Qin thought it was just one shop, but when they arrived, they found that it was actually two adjacent shops. From the front, it looked like a three-story building with a ceiling height of about three meters, but the floor area was not enough to estimate.

The house was just built and is still under renovation; only one main entrance is open.

Lin Ying explained, "One side of the renovation has already been completed. We'll take our time with the rest. There's no rush. Right now, there are only two workers on site. Come on! I'll show you the completed side."

Lin Ying opened the shop on the far right.

It's about 100 square meters inside. The floor is covered with cement paint, and the walls are all painted white. At the end is a door, and it's empty, with nothing there.

Lin Ying walked in, opened the small door, and behind the door was a living room, plus a kitchen and a toilet.

The total area is estimated to be around 100 square meters.

The staircase leading to the second floor is right next to the living room.

Lin Ying said, "The total area is 210 square meters. The layout of the second floor is similar to yours, with a living room for watching TV, a shared bathroom, and five rooms. The third floor has no living room, only four rooms, a shared bathroom, and a balcony of about 80 square meters."

The balcony is on this side, so you don't have to worry about dust blowing in from the main road when you hang things to dry. There's also a large courtyard here.

As she spoke, Lin Ying opened the back door. Although it was called a back door, it was more like a front door because it was a double door.

As soon as the gate opened, a 60-square-meter courtyard covered with cement was revealed to Lin Qin.

Lin Qin nodded repeatedly, "Not bad, not bad, this courtyard is almost 300 square meters, are you planning to let A-Jian and A-Kang live together in the future!"

Lin Ying smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly.

“I didn’t think too much about it. I was just thinking that if they weren’t doing well outside, I would let them come back and open a small shop to make a living. If they were doing well outside, I would help them rent out the shop in their hometown. Anyway, the shop is separate from the house behind it. We can lock both sides or just block the door. It won’t affect our own living, right?”

Lin Qin gave a thumbs up, "Sister, your idea is fantastic! If this house is finished, you won't have to worry about finding a wife in the future."

Lin Ying took a deep breath, her face full of emotion. "Life was so hard before, I never thought this day would come. Your brother-in-law and I have agreed that once these two houses are fully renovated, we'll start building on the land next to them. My husband and I will live there ourselves, and after we're gone, the house will go to Xinyi. The place is right next door, I'll take you to see it."

Lin Qin nodded and followed Lin Ying in that direction. Before they even arrived, they ran into an acquaintance.

"Teacher Su!" Lin Qin looked at her former homeroom teacher in shock.

Su Yonghuai was shocked to run into his student here. "Lin Qin! What are you doing here?"

Lin Qin quickly looked at Lin Ying beside her, "This is my sister, my older sister. She married and moved to Pingxi Town. What's the teacher doing here?"

Su Yonghuai looked like he knew what was going on and said warmly, "This is my hometown. It's a good coincidence that we've met here. Please come in and have a seat."

Unable to refuse their warm hospitality, Lin Qin and Lin Ying stepped into the ordinary farmhouse courtyard together. (End of Chapter)