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

Chapter 32: Treat others with their own medicine.

Lin Qin paid the deposit, told the owner she would come to pick it up in five days, and then left with the children.

Although the trip cost 25.3 yuan, both children were quite happy. Chen Ping'an, who usually didn't dare to look people in the eye, became much more cheerful.

Lin Qin felt that the money was well spent.

Walking down the street, Liu Yaya saw a child eating malt candy and was very tempted. She carefully tugged at Lin Qin's hand and asked, "Mommy, can I have that candy?"

"Maltose? Where can I buy it around here?" Lin Qin looked around but couldn't find anything.

Liu Yaya excitedly stood on tiptoe, "Grandma Jinhua can make it."

Lin Qin was momentarily dazed. The old woman named Jin Hua that Liu Yaya mentioned was an elderly woman who sold malt candy near the street where the Liu family lived.

Besides being skilled at making maltose, the old man is also an expert at making rice cakes.

Lin Qin hesitated for a moment, but still agreed, and led the child toward that street.

Grandma Jinhua doesn't have a storefront; all her customers are regulars.

Lin Qin led the child inside and called out at the top of her lungs, "Is Aunt Jinhua here?"

"You're here!" Jin Hua came from the backyard and was taken aback when she saw Lin Qin. "This is Lin Qin? Ya Ya? Oh! I almost didn't recognize you after not seeing you for so long! What brings you here today?"

Lin Qin patted the two children's heads and smiled, "Auntie, the children want some candy, I've come to buy some. Do you have any rice cakes here?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I made a batch early this morning, and it's not all sold yet. Besides rice cakes, there are also savory rice cakes. There's one left. If you want it, I'll give it to you at a discount!" Jin Hua smiled from ear to ear and quickly took Lin Qin to see it.

Lin Qin saw that the salty rice cakes were indeed not very big, so she bought them all. She also bought the same amount of pink rice cakes and asked Jin Hua to pack a jar of maltose.

Seeing her generosity, Jin Hua immediately praised her, "I was worried that you would have a hard time after hearing that you and Liu Yongming had divorced, but now that I see you are in such good spirits, I am relieved."

Lin Qin lowered her eyes. "Thank you for your concern, Auntie. The Liu family is a living hell. No matter what, I can't live worse than before."

Jin Hua wholeheartedly agreed, "Let me tell you a secret, as soon as you got divorced, Liu Yongming took a pregnant woman back with him, claiming she was a relative. What kind of relative would stay here for so long with a big belly? I bet that woman is Liu Yongming's lover, having an affair behind your back. Now, everyone goes around saying something behind their backs when they go out. They're such scum!"

Lin Qin met Jin Hua's probing gaze and deliberately stammered, "I'm used to it. Liu Yongming married me for my dowry. Once I'm married and take care of his whole family, he'll just leave me aside."

That woman is different. She's from the same school, a top student, an educated person, and she'll even be assigned to a different workplace later. It's a perfect match in terms of social standing; we can't compare.

"What? They're from the same school? Shouldn't students be studying properly? How come she's pregnant?" Jin Hua's eyes burned with a fierce gossip flame.

Lin Qin shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know about that. I just ran into Liu Yongming accompanying that woman to prenatal checkups at the hospital several times."

Jin Hua quickly wrote these words down. After seeing Lin Qin and the other two off, she immediately ran to the street corner to gossip with the neighbors who were enjoying the cool air.

"Did you know? The woman Liu Yongming brought back isn't a relative of the Liu family at all. She's Liu Yongming's lover, and they even go to the same school. I heard she's still a student!"

Jin Hua's words surprised all the neighbors.

Old Lady Li stretched her neck and pulled hard on Jinhua, saying, "Who told you that? You can't just talk nonsense like that!"

"Oh my! Do you think I'm the kind of person who talks nonsense? Just now, Lin Qin brought Ya Ya and a little boy to my place to buy something, and I managed to get the information out of them!" Jin Hua shook her head smugly, as if she were particularly capable.

Old Lady Li jumped up, gritting her teeth, extremely excited. "What did Lin Qin say? Tell us quickly!"

So Jin Hua vividly recounted the whole messy affair between Liu Yongming and "Fang Ying," though it was mostly based on her imagination, it was pretty close to the truth.

Ma Cuihua originally wanted to go out and chat with people, but as soon as she stepped onto the street, she heard people gossiping about her family behind her back.

Upon closer listening, she realized there were several groups, and she immediately jumped up and started arguing with them.

They even summoned the neighborhood director.

The neighborhood director, seeing it was Ma Cuihua again, was utterly dejected. "Can't you old women just shut up for once? What are you arguing about?"

Ma Cuihua angrily pointed at Li San's mother, "This shameless woman is making up stories about my son!"

"What did you arrange?" the neighborhood director asked, looking at Li San's mother.

Li San's mother shouted in a loud voice, "Liu Yongming cheated on Lin Qin with another woman, and even got her pregnant! He just divorced Lin Qin, and then brought his pregnant lover back, claiming they were relatives! Bah! They're clearly from the same school. Intellectuals, huh? What a scoundrel! Shameless!"

The neighborhood director's face immediately darkened. "Hehehe, you can't just say things like that! Be careful someone sues you for defamation!"

"Go ahead and sue! Go ahead and sue if you dare! I've heard that woman call Ma Cuihua 'Mom' several times when I pass by their house. So what? Did Ma Cuihua have an affair and give birth to a daughter behind her dead husband's back?"

Li San's mother's words were really harsh.

Ma Cuihua was so angry that she was about to rush over and tear her apart.

The neighborhood director's nerves pounded, and he quickly stopped them, "Enough! It's all baseless, stop spreading rumors!"

Old Lady Li was unconvinced. "Fine! The director said it's nothing, right? Everyone heard it! The woman Liu Yongming brought back has nothing to do with the Liu family. Don't assume that she has something going on with Liu Yongming just because you hear her call Ma Cuihua 'Mom.' The child she's carrying isn't Liu Yongming's. Do you understand?"

"You bitch, I'll fight you to the death!" Ma Cuihua was like a shrew, and the neighborhood director couldn't stop her. Her glasses were even knocked off.

They had no choice but to send someone to the Liu family to call Liu Yongguo and Xu Manzhi over for help.

Ma Cuihua was dragged back all the way, still cursing and swearing along the way.

The neighborhood director followed them into the Liu family home with a dark expression. When he saw "Fang Ying" sitting in the main room eating fruit, his eyes were unfriendly. He glared angrily at Ma Cuihua and said, "Can't you talk things out properly? Why do you have to resort to violence!"

"Speak properly?" Ma Cuihua was furious. "She's already making up stories about my son like this, and you expect me to just offer my face for her to slap?"

The neighborhood director took a deep breath and asked, "So, are those rumors outside true? Ma Cuihua, let me tell you! Liu Yongming is a college student with a bright future ahead of him. We can't allow any misconduct to affect his future! Think it through and answer me!"

"I," Ma Cuihua gasped for breath, her eyes darting around as she avoided the neighborhood director's question.

The neighborhood director's heart sank, and his face darkened. "So what Old Lady Li said is true? That woman really is Liu Yongming's lover?"

(End of this chapter)