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

Chapter 76 The Current Situation of the Liu Family
The next day, Lin Qin returned at noon and took the children to the barbershop in Friendship Square.

The proprietress clearly remembered them well, greeting them warmly as soon as she saw them. "It's been a few months, the child has grown quite a bit and is much stronger now. Who wants a haircut today?"

Lin Qin pushed Chen Ping'an forward, saying, "He should get a buzz cut so he can go to school."

The proprietress was a little surprised. "Oh! You're all going to school now! That's something else. We'll have to do a good job. Sit down and let me show you how to make you look even more handsome. Which school do you go to?"

Lin Qin started chatting with the proprietress.

After Chen Ping'an's hair was done, Lin Qin took them to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two schoolbags for eight yuan. Seeing that the two children's shoes didn't fit well, she also picked out two pairs of sandals for five yuan. Liu Yaya wanted a red rubber band, so Lin Qin picked out one for her.

There were also pencils and notebooks; all together, it cost seventeen yuan.

On the way back, Lin Qin thought about buying some candy and snacks for the children to celebrate, so she went to Aunt Jin Hua's house.

After not visiting for several months, Aunt Jinhua was delighted to see them and casually started gossiping about the Liu family with Lin Qin.

Did you know that Liu Yongming has been assigned a job after graduation?

Lin Qin shook her head honestly. After taking her revenge, she hadn't paid any more attention to the Liu family's situation. She was also busy building a house and didn't even go near this area much. She remembered that in her previous life, Liu Yongming was assigned to the Land and Resources Bureau after graduation and did quite well.

She knew Han Dongcai from the Land and Resources Bureau in her life. Han Dongcai was Zheng Guoxing's brother-in-law. Zheng Guoxing didn't mention it, which shows that Liu Yongming didn't go to that unit.

Seeing that she was unaware of the situation, Aunt Jinhua was about to give her a good scolding, and gave each of the two children a piece of malt candy, telling them to sit quietly and eat it.

Lin Qin couldn't stop it no matter what she tried.

"Let me tell you, the woman Liu Yongming married later was arrested and left a child with Ma Cuihua. Liu Yongming ran back to school and hid for two months. I heard that he originally wanted to go to the Land and Resources Bureau and even used his connections, but the Land and Resources Bureau knew about the shady things he had done, and they didn't want him at all."

She thought that even if she couldn't go to the Land and Resources Bureau, she could go to other units in the city. But somehow, she ended up becoming the secretary of a village committee in Nansheng County. When the news came back, Ma Cuihua was shocked.

She endured two months of mistreatment, all so that Liu Yongming could be assigned to a good unit. Now, however, he's being sent to be the Party Secretary of a village in a poverty-stricken county. What's the point? She even caused a scene at the street office, threatening to petition higher authorities, throwing a tantrum and infuriating the director.

Aunt Jinhua spoke with great emphasis, and Lin Qin listened with shining eyes, gloating, "Serves him right! If you ask me, Liu Yongming's character doesn't even deserve the position of village secretary. The Liu family should be content!"

Aunt Jinhua wholeheartedly agreed, "That's what I think too. Look, Liu Yongming's job has made the whole family unhappy, and no one wants to take care of that little girl either. I heard she almost starved to death."

Grandma Liu heard the child crying and felt something was wrong as she passed by their house. She insisted on going in to check and saved the child's life. Even the neighborhood director came to their door to warn them.

People from the Fang family also came. I don't know how they said it, but the child was taken away by the Fang family. Ma Cuihua acted like she'd won a battle. If you ask me, she's in for a world of trouble.

Lin Qin raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Aunt Jinhua glanced at the alley exit and lowered her voice, saying, "Liu Li has dropped out of school and is involved with a gangster. She even brought him home to meet Ma Cuihua, saying she wanted to marry him. Ma Cuihua disagreed and chased after Liu Li with a stick the first time. Liu Li is fierce; she ran away with that guy and never came back." "Never came back?" Lin Qin was shocked. This kind of thing had never happened in her past life. Liu Li had changed so much!

Aunt Jinhua nodded emphatically, "That's not all! Liu Yongming caused so much trouble before, and the Liu family spent a lot of money on it. Xu Manzhi was able to tolerate it and wait for Liu Yongming's job assignment. But Liu Yongming was assigned to a poor county, and Xu Manzhi was furious. She scolded Liu Yongming in front of Liu Yongguo and Ma Cuihua."

They also demanded that Liu Yongming repay the money, but Liu Yongming had no money to give. He couldn't come up with it, so Xu Manzhi wanted to divide the family property, meaning that everything in the house belonged to them and the second wife couldn't get anything. If they didn't comply, she would also want a divorce.

Ma Cuihua certainly couldn't let Liu Yongguo and his wife divorce, otherwise the Liu family would become a laughing stock. In the end, she actually got what Xu Manzhi wanted. Liu Yongming was also angry, and after going to Nansheng County, he cut off contact with his family.

"Look at Ma Cuihua, she has three children. The two younger ones aren't coming back, and her eldest son and his wife complain that she's biased, saying she gave all her money to Liu Yongming. They argue about money every day. How can things not turn out badly?"

Lin Qin nodded in agreement, "That's her own karma. Auntie, thank you for telling me so much. Please make me some more salty rice cakes; my dad likes them."

"Alright! By the way, it's not just you and your sister in your family. Your sister married so far away, have you considered bringing your husband back to your parents' house to live? We have a house and a piece of land, it's better than living on a boat all the time."

Aunt Jinhua may be a bit gossipy, but she's actually quite kind-hearted.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yaya immediately exclaimed, "Grandma, my family has a house! Uncle bought land and built a big house, a two-story house! And a very, very big yard. Uncle even said he would make us swings to play on."

"Really?" Aunt Jinhua was shocked and asked Lin Qin for confirmation.

Lin Qin smiled modestly, "The house was just built, less than 200 square meters, and has two floors."

"Hiss!" Aunt Jinhua gasped. "My goodness! You've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel! Weren't the Tanka people supposed to be very poor?"

Lin Qin didn't know how to explain, so she gave a vague answer to get by.

Aunt Jinhua didn't press the matter, but glanced at Liu Yaya and reminded Lin Qin, "Now that you have a house and are living a normal life, and Yaya is going to school, you can change her surname so that she won't be gossiped about behind her back at school."

Lin Qin was stunned for a moment. She had never been to school and didn't know what the rules were.

Aunt Jinhua could tell from her expression that she didn't understand, so she immediately gave her an example: "The butcher on the street married a widow with a daughter. I heard that the child was bullied at school. People said she was a burden or something. A perfectly good child was treated like a little wife. You have to pay attention to that."

Lin Qin thanked Aunt Jinhua and kept thinking about it on her way back.

He even discussed it with Chen Wenjun, saying, "What do you think about me changing Yaya's name so she has the same surname as you?"

Lin Yi turned his head in surprise, not understanding why Lin Qin would change Liu Yaya's name for no reason.

(End of this chapter)