Although their family still lived together, in fact the first and second wives had separated long ago.

The reason was that before the family split up, Lin Changhai had paid the wages, but Lin Tao could never eat good food, so he got angry and started to make a fuss about splitting up the family.

The room on the east side belongs to the main house, and the room on the west side is naturally theirs. The main room in the middle and the main room next to it are where Old Mrs. Lin lives alone.

Since the separation of the family, the living standard of Lin Tao and his daughter has improved a lot, and Lin Tao has been taken care of better and better.

"Dad, you must be tired after your trip. Go lie down on the bed and rest for a while. I'll go cook." As soon as Lin Tao came in, she poured a glass of water for Lin Changhai. "Let's have fried pork today. I'll go to the yard to pick some peppers."

Lin Changhai felt very relieved when he saw his daughter tidying up the house neatly.

Plus, he had been driving for half a month and was really exhausted. As soon as he delivered the goods to the factory, he rushed home. He was really a little sleepy at this time.

He didn't say anything, just listened to the girl obediently and went back to his room to rest.

Lin Tao moved swiftly to the yard, picked a dozen green peppers from the small vegetable patch she had planted, and also picked two loofahs to make some loofah soup.

The bacon in our home is made during the Chinese New Year. After the New Year pig is slaughtered in the village, every household gets some.

Their family was allocated a strip of meat as thick as three fingers. Lin Changhai used the meat coupons issued by the factory and some he exchanged with his colleagues to get five kilograms of meat coupons. He bought five kilograms of meat, cut it into two strips, and took it all home to make bacon.

The bacon is first marinated with salt for a month, then hung in the oven and slowly smoked for at least a month.

The bacon made in this way is not only durable, but also particularly fragrant.

Luffa is very delicious when used to make soup. Lin Tao cooked two dishes and then went to wake up her father.

The father and daughter sat at the dining table and ate dinner happily.

After Lin Changhai drank three bowls of soup in a row, he touched his stomach and sighed with satisfaction: "A Tao's cooking skills are really good. Dad is away from home, and I don't want to think about anything else but the food A Tao cooks."

Being recognized for one's cooking skills was something to be happy about. Lin Tao smiled as she cleared the dishes and prepared to wash them.

At the other side of the big house.

The meal was ready, but Lin Hui still locked herself in the room and refused to come out.

Old Mrs. Lin glanced at Zhang Hongying and said, "Go and call Ah Hui again. Why doesn't she even want to eat?"

After the family split up, it was normal for Old Lady Lin to eat alternately at her eldest son's and youngest son's homes, but she really didn't like Lin Tao, so Lin Changhai just gave her three yuan every month and that was it.

Zhang Hongying walked to Lin Hui's door and knocked: "Ah Hui, come out quickly, your grandma wants you to eat."

In the room, Lin Hui sat on the bed and said to the outside, "I'm not going. You go and tell grandma that if she doesn't agree with me marrying Shen Guobin, I will not eat and I will go on a hunger strike."

Zhang Hongying was almost mad at her willful daughter: "Do you want to be beaten?"

Lin Hui: "Mom, don't you want to find a military officer son-in-law? Shen Guobin is the battalion commander. His monthly salary is not low, at least twice that of my brother and my sister-in-law! Aren't you jealous? Are you willing to let Lin Tao marry him and live such a good life?"

Zhang Hongying: "But he is married and has three children."

If not, why would Old Lady Lin let Lin Tao marry him?

It was not an easy task to take care of three children once she got married, not to mention that Lin Hui was spoiled by Old Lady Lin.

It is the best choice to let Lin Tao marry him since the good things are kept within the family.

Now that the betrothal money has been received, there is no need to worry about whether Lin Tao can live a good life after marrying him.

"Mom, I just want to marry someone who has children and become their next mother." Lin Hui lowered her voice before her mother completely lost her temper, "I've had a check-up, and the doctor said I can't have children."

Zhang Hongying was startled and knocked on the door: "What did you say? Ah Hui, open the door and let Mom in to talk."

Lin Hui opened the door and saw her mother Zhang Hongying walk in in a panic. She took her hands and looked at her belly with disbelief on her face: "Where did you get this checked? Which doctor said that? Why can't you have a baby?"

"Don't I always have severe stomach pain during my period? Last time when I went to the city to visit my sister-in-law, she took me to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor said that I have a cold uterus and might not be able to have children." Lin Hui said.

She didn't have children in her previous life, but was actually pregnant with one when she was with Zhao Yuejin.

She had uterine cold and started taking Chinese medicine as soon as she got married. It took her two or three years before her stomach started to feel better.

It was not easy to get pregnant, but Zhao Yuejin was drunk that day and slapped her during an argument, causing her to miscarry. She never got pregnant again after that.

When she first discovered that she was reborn, she didn't realize how to use this as an excuse. At that time, Lin Hui could only insist on marrying Shen Guobin.

After thinking about it for a while, I found a way to convince her grandmother.

If she said that, her grandmother would definitely agree to her marrying him.

Zhang Hongying looked unhappy, and finally sighed: "Okay, I'll go talk to your grandma and ask you to marry Shen Guobin."

Nowadays, if you can't have children, you will undoubtedly be the sinner in the family.

If Lin Hui cannot give birth to a child after getting married, she may get divorced even if she gets married.

But Shen Guobin is different. He already has three children. With both a son and a daughter, he is not worried about the family line being cut off. Even if Lin Hui doesn't have children by then, he won't say anything.

Zhang Hongying held Lin Hui's hand and went to the main room.

After telling Old Mrs. Lin that Lin Hui was infertile, the atmosphere became extremely heavy.

Lin Chengshan stared at the table without saying a word.

Old Mrs. Lin kept mumbling, "Why can't I have a baby? Why can't I have a baby?"

Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "It must have been Lin Tao who gave it to Fang. I told you she's a troublemaker!"

Lin Hui curled her lips: "Milk..."

Old Mrs. Lin: "Alright, alright, things have come to this, so I can only let you get married. I will go out early tomorrow morning to find a matchmaker and ask her to go to Shenjiazhuang."

Because of the news that Lin Hui was unable to have children, the eldest wife of the Lin family had no appetite. On the contrary, Lin Hui was heartless and ate with relish.

Zhang Hongying asked, "What about the social dance party at your sister-in-law's factory? Your sister-in-law fought hard to get you an opportunity to attend it, but you're not going. How are you going to explain this to your sister-in-law?"

Lin Hui: "Let Lin Tao go."

Mrs. Lin was the first to object: "Let her go? Wouldn't that be too easy for her?!"

Lin Hui knew that Old Lady Lin didn't like Lin Tao, but Lin Tao had to go to this dance.

If Lin Tao didn't go, how could she get to know Zhao Yuejin and then marry him?

"Grandma, look at what you said. Isn't Lin Tao your granddaughter? If she goes there and is favored by some leader's son, the wedding gift will have to be given to you, her grandmother," Lin Hui advised.

When Old Mrs. Lin thought about it, it made sense, so she just curled her lips and said nothing.

But in his heart, he still felt that Lin Tao got away with it.

After dinner, Zhang Hongying went to wash the dishes. Lin Hui came out from the main room and said that she was going to find Lin Tao to tell her about going to the social dance.

***************************

Lin Tao had just finished taking a shower. She smelled sweet and her hair was a little wet, draped over her chest.

Her long black hair, which was usually tied into two pigtails, was slightly curled when it was let down, making her fair face look even more petite.

Lin Hui walked to the door and Lin Tao happened to look over.

Their eyes met, and she smiled at Lin Tao: "Do you mind if I come in and sit for a while?"

"Please sit down." Lin Tao said, her voice was cold and no emotion could be heard.

Although they are cousins, they have never played together since they were young. When they were young, Lin Hui even took the lead in bullying Lin Tao. The relationship between the two is not even as good as that of some girls in the village who have a good relationship with Lin Tao.

Lin Tao's room is not big, but it is tidy and clean.

Lin Changhai loved his daughter so much that he built a new wardrobe for her.

Lin Hui walked in, sat on a chair, and got straight to the point about the social dance: "My sister-in-law had a hard time getting this spot, and it will be full of factory workers. Since I've decided to marry Shen Guobin, I won't go, so I thought I'd give the spot to you."

Lin Tao pursed her lips and looked at Lin Hui, her eyes full of confusion.

Why did she feel as if she didn't know Lin Hui anymore? The day before yesterday, Lin Hui had deliberately boasted in front of her that she was going to attend the social dance, but today she actually gave up this opportunity and voluntarily married Shen Guobin.

If the Lin Hui in front of her was not indeed Lin Hui, and even her voice did not change, Lin Tao would really think that this Lin Hui was fake.

Seeing that Lin Tao didn't answer, Lin Hui advised, "You will be 20 years old in the second half of this year, right? It's time for you to get married. It's better for you to find someone yourself than for grandma to introduce you to someone next time. If you become a stepmother next time, I won't be able to help you."

This sounds nice, but Lin Tao is not so foolish as to think that Lin Hui really wants to help her.

But why did Lin Hui do this? What did she want to do?

Lin Tao couldn't help but ask, "Why do you suddenly want to marry Shen Guobin?"

Lin Hui smiled and said, "I went to the hospital for a physical examination and the doctor said that I might not be able to have children. I thought this disease could be cured, but I went again yesterday and found out that it can't be cured at all. Think about it, who would want to marry a cousin who can't have children? What else can I do except marry someone with children and become a stepmother?"

In fact, she went to the county town yesterday to buy cosmetics that could make her face whiter, and she didn't go to the hospital at all.

"I've seen photos of Shen Guobin, he looks pretty energetic, and he's also a battalion commander. I think it would be nice to marry him, what do you think?"

Lin Tao was silent.

If that's the case, then it makes sense.

But she didn't feel very happy about it, even though she didn't like Lin Hui at all.

But when she heard Lin Hui say "Who would be willing to marry a cousin who can't have children?", she felt a little sad.

She couldn't explain why she felt this way, but she just felt that a woman's life should not be determined by whether she could have children or not.

Are women only worthy of being divided into those who can give birth to children and those who cannot?

Is the value of a woman just to bear children?

Obviously not. Even the Chairman has said that women hold up half the sky.

"I'm telling you these things, don't tell anyone else." Lin Hui reminded.

"Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who likes to be gossiped about." Lin Tao said, with a hint of ridicule towards Lin Hui in her words, because when it comes to saying bad things about people behind their backs, Lin Hui is much better than she is at it.

Lin Hui understood what she meant, blushed, and changed the subject: "What's going on? Do you want to go to the social dance?"

"I'll think about it." Lin Tao did not answer Lin Hui immediately.

Lin Hui stood up from her chair and said, "Okay, you should think about it carefully, but it's best to make a decision in the next two days, because the social dance will be the day after tomorrow."