"That's true, life is much better now. Everyone owns their own land, and everyone puts in a lot of effort to take care of it. If the harvest is good in the fall, they earn more money too."
Bao Ni's mother didn't pay attention to whether it was beautiful or not, but the aromas wafting from every kitchen were much richer and more delicious than they had been two years ago.
"Hey, why didn't you call me when you were working? If it weren't for Sanqi coming over, I wouldn't have known you were busy."
Aunt Bonnie wasn't very tall, but she was always neat and tidy, and spoke quickly and directly.
"Baoni, get some seafood, dry it and take it back. Just two baskets. There are a lot of people, so I didn't specifically invite you. Your third aunt came along when your eldest brother called her 'Third Brother'."
Bao Ni's mother gave Bao Ni's aunt a small stool so she could sit and work.
"Baoni, Sanqi is amazing! She has more tips for wiping your face than I do. She even confused me with her explanations. I've learned so much. It seems I still need to read more books."
Back then, our father wanted all the children to go to school, but we were a little reluctant. We thought that everyone in the city had gone to the islands to farm, so what was the point of studying so much?
"If it weren't for seeing that Lin Yu and the others were all going to school, we would have followed suit and sent our children to school too. Otherwise, how would they have gotten into university? They'd be lucky to even graduate from elementary school."
Aunt Bonnie feels incredibly fortunate whenever she thinks about these things. She herself never went to school, and there weren't many educated people in her family.
After marrying into the Lin family, she discovered that they were all educated. At first, she felt a little inferior. Later, when the Down to the Countryside Movement began, she felt that studying was useless, since she was still just like them, crawling along the furrows.
Looking back now, it was such a close call! My kids almost had to spend their whole lives crawling on furrows. But I also have to thank Bonnie; if she hadn't brought my husband off the island, we wouldn't have had the means to send our children to school. Especially Raymond Lam, who even had to repeat a year of school.
In the Lin family's courtyard, everyone was working, chatting about everyday things, and occasionally Sanqi would share his beauty knowledge. The laughter and cheerful atmosphere made everyone feel comfortable.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
