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

Chapter 31 Taking the Kids to the Street

Chen Ping'an looked helpless. He had disembarked with Chen Wenjun before, but everyone on the street would curse him, calling him a cripple. Some people would even make faces at him and look down on him. Gradually, he stopped disembarking.

Chen Wenjun felt bad seeing his son like this, but he encouraged him, saying, "Ping An, listen to your aunt and go out for a walk with her. Don't be afraid, you're all grown up now."

Chen Ping'an was still uneasy.

But Chen Wenjun was determined and deliberately ignored the tears in his son's eyes, continuing to work.

That night, Chen Ping'an fell asleep in unease, and even cried in his dream in the middle of the night.

Lin Qin had to coax him a bit to calm him down.

The next day, Lin Qin took out a rope from home and tied it around her waist. She tied one end to Liu Yaya and the other end to Chen Ping'an so that they wouldn't get separated.

Chen Ping'an rarely moved around on the ship, almost always crawling. Once on land, he found it difficult to walk more than a few steps.

His body sways up and down as soon as he takes a step; he's clearly not a normal child.

He kept his head down the whole time, not daring to approach passersby.

Lin Qin held his hand tightly and encouraged him, "Ping An, stand tall and look up. Don't be afraid. Auntie is here. No one will dare to bully you!"

Encouraged, Chen Ping'an prepared himself mentally, slowly raised his head, and when he saw someone looking at him, he quickly lowered his head again.

Lin Qin didn't force him, and just pulled him all the way to Friendship Square.

I haven't been here for a month, and Friendship Square is still not very lively, but a few new shops have opened, including a barbershop.

The three of them were dressed casually, but Lin Qin, with her chest out and head held high, led the child inside and asked, "Madam, how much is a haircut for this child?"

"Six cents for a kid!"

The barbershop was doing alright; there was an older woman in line ahead of them. When they saw Lin Qin and her two companions, they all eventually turned their attention to Chen Ping'an.

Lin Qin pretended not to see anything, and naturally led Chen Ping'an inside to sit down, putting her arms around each of them.

The older women of this generation have no sense of boundaries, and immediately started asking Lin Qin about Chen Ping'an's situation, "Is this child disabled?"

Chen Ping'an flinched and lowered his head even further.

Lin Qin glared at the other person angrily, "What are you saying! That's so awful! What business is it of yours how my child is?"

"Hey! I'm just telling you the truth and you're getting angry! You're disabled, so can't I even say it?" The old lady got worked up.

Lin Qin laughed angrily, "Did my child eat your food and drink your water? What does he have to do with your family? What right do you have to judge him? Does your breath smell so bad because you didn't brush your teeth before you left home?"

Everyone else in the shop secretly gave Lin Qin a thumbs up. You have to admit, she's pretty good at cursing without using a single swear word!
The older woman's face turned red and then pale after being scolded by Lin Qin. She was so aggrieved that she almost cried, and immediately went to the boss's wife to reason with her.

The proprietress, wanting to avoid trouble, didn't agree with the older woman at all.

The woman was left isolated and helpless, even complaining to the shop owner. She refused to get her hair cut and stormed off in a huff.

Lin Qin felt relieved and patted Chen Ping'an's head, earnestly instructing him: "See? In the future, if any rude or foul-mouthed people say anything to you, just curse them back. It's okay if you fight, as long as you don't get bullied, understand?"

The proprietress looked at Lin Qin in surprise through the mirror and couldn't help but say, "Girl, you're really something! But you're right about one thing: we can't let anyone bully us. Kid, you have to listen to your mother."

Chen Ping'an pursed his lips, nodded excitedly, and remained silent.

The proprietress smiled, "Alright! Next one!"

Lin Qin immediately led Chen Ping'an over and examined the child's hairstyle in the mirror. She was dissatisfied with it no matter how she looked at it. "Boss lady, why don't you just shave it into a buzz cut? The shorter the better, so it won't be too hot and stuffy."

"Okay! I'll do as you say!" The proprietress replied swiftly.

Chen Ping'an was a little nervous at first, as it was his first time properly managing a business. It took him a while to get used to it.

Looking at the child's hairstyle in the mirror, the proprietress smiled and said, "Sit still and be a good boy. With a nice hairstyle, you'll be a handsome little guy."

Lin Qin liked hearing this.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Liu Yaya and casually asked, "Yaya, how about we cut your hair too? It's hot in the summer, so let's cut it short. It'll grow long again in the winter, okay? Mom will cut it with you too."

They had struggled to survive in the Liu family, and it was unrealistic for them to take a bath every day. Liu Yaya was especially dirty every day and had lice in her hair.

If you cut your hair short, you won't get lice.

Liu Yaya didn't care much about her appearance yet; she only knew that short hair wouldn't be hot in the summer, so she agreed immediately.

The proprietress was overjoyed to see that what was supposed to be a business for one person had suddenly become a business for three.

The haircut for the three of them would normally cost more than two yuan, but because Lin Qin and Liu Yaya had long hair, the hairdresser accepted it and deducted most of the haircut fee. In total, the haircut for the three of them only cost one yuan and thirty cents.

Lin Qin, however, felt that the money was well spent, at least the three of them looked much more energetic.

After leaving the barbershop, Lin Qin took her child for a walk around Friendship Square and discovered that there was a fabric shop behind it that made clothes for people.

Her eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly pulled the child into the store.

The shop owner, a woman in her thirties wearing glasses, was at the clothing depot. Upon seeing Lin Qin and her two companions, she immediately put down her work and came over to greet them, asking, "Who wants clothes made?"

Without saying a word, Lin Qin pushed the two children out, "Make it for them!"

The shop owner immediately brought over a ruler to measure the two children's sizes and asked, "Can we take a look at the patterns? The polyester fabric is comfortable to wear in the summer, but it's quite expensive."

"how much is it?"

The shopkeeper did the math and said, "A shirt for a child is about fifteen yuan, and with the pants, it's about thirty yuan for a set."

"What about cotton cloth?"

"Cotton fabric is cheap! It costs 1.3 yuan per meter. A set of short-sleeved shirts and shorts for a child costs only a little over 3 yuan, including labor."

Lin Qin thought about it carefully, then squatted down to discuss it with the two children, "Which one do you want to choose?"

The Dacron fabric in the store does have beautiful patterns, while the cotton fabric is either a single color or has stripes or checks, which is not as good as Dacron. However, considering comfort, she still prefers cotton fabric, which is more cost-effective.

But since it was the first time she had brought her child out to have clothes made, she still needed to ask for the child's opinion.

Chen Pingan said without hesitation, "I want the cotton one, the blue one."

Lin Qin and the shop owner followed Chen Ping'an's hand and looked over. The shop owner immediately took the roll of fabric down.

Liu Yaya chose the yellow cotton cloth on the side.

Lin Qin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, patted the two children's heads, and said affectionately, "Since we're using cotton, we'll make another set. You can choose a color, how about plaid or striped? And that red peony one too."

Liu Yaya nodded, then took Lin Qin's hand and said earnestly, "Mom, and you too, Uncle said that Mom needs to make new clothes too."

Chen Ping'an echoed this sentiment.

Lin Qin hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

They also chose a striped cotton fabric and a checkered cotton fabric to make tops, and a piece of black cotton fabric to make two pairs of summer cropped pants. The three of them spent another twenty-four yuan on clothes.

Fortunately, it's summer now, so I can just wear slippers and won't have to spend money on cloth shoes anymore, otherwise I would have spent another ten or so yuan.

(End of this chapter)