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

As soon as I got home, I complained to Lin Ying, "My eldest brother and sister-in-law suggested that we go to the old house to celebrate the New Year with the third brother's family this year, but all the dishes they brought were vegetarian. They got a scolding from the third brother's family, and my mother was also unhappy."

The older brother probably came here to buy a chicken, or maybe he wanted me to catch one for him for free. But we weren't here, so he went to Uncle Ma's place and bought a rooster for three yuan.

I heard that my mom scolded Uncle Ma for this, saying he was obsessed with money. Uncle Ma then mocked her, implying that if she couldn't afford chicken, she didn't have to eat it. Nobody was forcing her. It was a voluntary transaction, so why make such a fuss? She should have known better than to sell it to him.

You know my mom is very sensitive about her image. Being mocked like that during the New Year made her so angry she felt dizzy. This morning she's been insisting on going to the clinic and demanding compensation from Uncle Ma. Even the village head couldn't stand it anymore and told my older brother and third brother to keep an eye on her.

Lin Ying was dumbfounded. "What a mess! The old lady is really something! But aren't the eldest son and his wife the most concerned about their image? How could they make such a big mistake at the New Year's Eve dinner! This is not like my sister-in-law!"

Xu Dahai twitched the corner of his mouth and said indifferently, "I heard he's saving up money to buy a house in the city so that A-Jie can study there. What does face matter when it comes to his son's future?"

Lin Ying was speechless and said with a sneer, "The eldest son and his wife are indeed shrewd. Fortunately, we have severed ties with the old house. As long as they give us some retirement money, we won't get involved in anything else."

Xu Dahai nodded.

To avoid being contacted by the old family home, and also for the sake of their youngest daughter, the couple stayed in the village for more than three hours before leaving.

In the evening, Xu Dashan and his brother came looking for someone, but found no one there. They learned that Xu Dahai and his family had left again.

Xu Dashan was now completely enraged. "Is the second son practically begging to become someone's live-in son-in-law? He's even abandoned his family! He's determined not to care about Mom's life or death!"

Xu Dachuan said indignantly, "It's probably all his wife's fault. My second brother was never like this before! Look at his wife! Just because her family has a little money, she thinks she's all that. What have you done to her!"

Xu Dashan let out a long sigh of relief, put his hands on his hips, and said, "No way! When Mom goes to the doctor and takes medicine, Qian Lao Er has to share the cost too! He can't avoid it!"

The two brothers, seething with anger, went to the brigade leader for help.

During the Spring Festival, the brigade leader really didn't want to deal with these trivial matters. In addition, Xu Dahai was good at interpersonal relationships and would occasionally give him small favors, so he was more inclined to favor Xu Dahai.

"I have to say, you two brothers are quite something! You never think of Dahai when there are good things to do, but you immediately think of him when it comes to spending money! It was agreed that he would share the cost of supporting the elderly with you, and he didn't want the house or land, so there's no reason for him to pay for the elderly's medical treatment and medicine, right?"

If he pays this money, it's equivalent to him contributing to your retirement savings just like you do. Do you want to split the inheritance you received from the old man with Hai Da?

Upon hearing this, Xu Dachuan instantly flew into a rage, "Why should they! Those things belong to my parents, they can give them to whomever they want."

The captain shrugged. "When the family was severed, there was an IOU. Dahai doesn't need to pay for those medical expenses unless the old man gets sick and is hospitalized and spends a lot of money. He only needs to pay a small portion, and the rest will have to be shared by you brothers. It's no use asking me about this."

Xu Dachuan was unwilling to accept this. "Captain, my second brother has his father-in-law's help, and his life is much better than ours. Why shouldn't he have to pay this money?"

The captain laughed angrily, "You said it yourself, Dahai got help from his father-in-law. What does his father-in-law have to do with your family? To put it bluntly, the Lin family only helped Dahai because of Lin Ying. How did your family treat Lin Ying? Do I need to help you remember?"

The two brothers were scolded and went back with gloomy faces.

Wang Fengying was furious when she learned that Wang Ximei's medical treatment cost eight yuan, and that her family and the third son's family had to split the cost, while the second son's family didn't have to pay a single penny.

She would tell everyone she met in the village her grievances, saying that Xu Dahai and Lin Ying were too serious and didn't care about the kindness of the old man who raised her, that they were cold-blooded, and that she had said everything she could think of.

Some people actually believed it, while others were clear-headed and helped Lin Ying argue that Wang Ximei was biased and that Wang Fengying should share half of what she got with Lin Ying.

Wang Fengying was already angry, and as she spoke, she started arguing with the other person.

The argument escalated, and if the villagers hadn't intervened, they probably would have started fighting.

Lin Ying and her husband were completely unaware of these messy affairs. On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, they packed their luggage and took a bus to the city.

By the time they arrived at Nanyu, it was almost noon. Lin Yi and Lin Qin had prepared a sumptuous lunch to welcome them.

At the dinner table, Lin Qin brought up the matter of Xu Jian and Xu Kang attending special talent classes again.

This time, Lin Yi didn't mention the cost, but looked at his two grandsons seriously and asked, "What do you want to learn?"

Xu Jian replied loudly, "Saxophone, Teacher Bai mentioned it to me before. I tried it, and it's quite fun."

Xu Kang lowered his head timidly, "Grandpa, can I not learn it?"

"no!"

Lin Yi and Lin Ying said in unison.

The little guy immediately wilted.

Lin Yi laughed, "Then that's settled. Jian will learn that 'death' thing, and Kang will learn calligraphy. Hopefully, his handwriting will improve in the future. I've had a headache looking at his scrawled handwriting all year."

The adults burst into laughter.

Lin Yi added, "Since all the children have gone to learn, starting this year, I will cover their extracurricular class fees, so you don't need to worry about it."

Lin Ying looked at Lin Qin in shock, "Little sister, you really are a prophet!"

Lin Qin raised her eyebrows triumphantly, "Dad! We're so grateful to you! How about you even give me my living expenses for school?"

Lin Yi immediately clutched his pocket, "Go away, you're the richest person in the whole family, stop thinking about my meager savings!"

"Dad! You're being so biased! Aren't I your most beloved youngest daughter?" Lin Qin continued to plead, shamelessly.

Lin Yi took his two young grandsons and ran away.

Her antics only made the atmosphere better.

Although Lin Ying and her husband didn't say anything, they were truly grateful to Lin Yi and Lin Qin.

The couple stayed in Nanyu for three days, helping out with a lot of work, and only returned to Pingxi Town when it was almost time to open their shop.

The two sons were left in Nanyu, so they wouldn't have to be sent over every few days.

Chen Wenjun started getting busy on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

After Lin Ying's family left, Lin Qin's days became leisurely again. She spent a few days exercising with the children at the gymnasium, but she was really bored, so she took some things to find Bai Junjun and settled accounts with her before the new year.

She didn't know where Bai Junjun lived, but she knew where Bai Linlin lived.

When Bai Linlin saw her come to her door, she thought she had come to wish her a Happy New Year, but it turned out that she was just asking about Bai Junjun.

Bai Linlin instantly became jealous, "You wouldn't even think of me if it weren't for finding Junjun!"

Lin Qin quickly put down the New Year's gifts, "How could I! I still need to ask you to enroll my child in classes!" (End of Chapter)