"Wow, this is Captain Shen, right? He looks quite handsome. He brought so many things and was very generous. Is he going to the Lin family to meet Lin Tao?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? The two sisters of the Lin family have swapped marriages. Lin Hui has been the one who swapped marriages a long time ago, and the man is now with Lin Hui's partner. You are talking about it without knowing the truth. If old lady Lin hears it, be careful that she will come to your doorstep and scold you."
Old Mrs. Lin was very good at swearing and cursing. The man pouted and seemed a little unconvinced.
"How could she return the person she promised to introduce to her younger sister to her elder sister? Only her family would do such a thing, and they wouldn't be ashamed to tell others about it."
"What's there to be ashamed of? It's called keeping the wealth within the family. You're from the Gangzi family. Are you jealous of him because he's so generous and he's a military officer?"
"Tsk, why should I be jealous? No matter how generous you are, you still have to marry and become a stepmother. Three children, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating, all of which will be exhausting, I don't care."
"Look, is the kid next to him his daughter?"
"I think so. I heard that he has two sons and a daughter."
“…………”
The Shen family arrived at the Lin family's door amid everyone's very low discussions.
The Lin family was already waiting, and Lin Hui specially changed into the new dress that was originally prepared for Zhao Yuejin. The color of the new dress matched her skin tone very well, making her look a shade whiter than usual.
Hearing the noise of the Shen family coming, she quickly stood up from the bed and looked outside through the window.
She immediately noticed the tall man holding a lot of things in his hands. At this moment, Shen Guobin looked much younger than when she saw him in her previous life before her rebirth.
He wasn't particularly good-looking, with shiny dark skin, but he looked decent enough, at least much more respectable than Zhao Yuejin.
Although he looked a little serious, she knew that Shen Guobin was a man who loved his guests very much. At least in her previous life, Lin Tao was very happy to marry Shen Guobin...
And this man now came to see her as her partner.
When Lin Hui thought of this, she couldn't suppress her excitement.
Outside the house, Old Lady Lin, Zhang Hongying and Lin Changshan received the four people from the Shen family.
Old Mrs. Lin: "Hey, come here, my dear relatives. Why are you being so polite and bringing so many things? You must be thirsty after such a long journey. Go to the main hall and have a drink of water."
Although he said this, his hands were very clear in receiving the things.
"Hongying, go call Ah Hui out and tell her that Guo Bin is here. You are getting married soon, and you are still so shy. It's time for two young people to come out and meet each other. Oh, is this Jia Yi? She's so tall now?"
Shen Jiayi is only three years old this year. After being called by Old Lady Lin, she hid behind her father Shen Guobin.
Old Lady Shen said shyly, "Auntie, this child is visiting us for the first time and is still a little shy. Jiayi, call me grandma."
Shen Jiayi pursed her lips and said nothing timidly.
"Forget it, forget it, it's okay, all children are like this." Old Mrs. Lin smiled with a fake smile, "Come in, sit down, Ah Hui will be here soon."
To be honest, she still felt upset when she thought about her most beloved granddaughter getting married and becoming a stepmother. If Lin Hui hadn't been infertile, she would never have agreed to it.
Zhang Hongying quickly called Lin Hui over.
Lin Hui smiled shyly and called out without being reminded, "Auntie, Uncle."
Before this, the Shen family had only seen photos of Lin Hui. Now that they saw her in person, they were quite satisfied and nodded repeatedly.
Shen Guobin also looked at Lin Hui. Lin Hui seemed to feel a little embarrassed by his gaze. She lowered her head and smiled, then waved to Shen Jiayi behind Shen Guobin: "Jiayi, I'll take you to get something delicious, okay?"
Shen Jiayi looked at her father.
Shen Guobin nodded at her.
Shen Jiayi followed Lin Hui away.
The Shen family came today to discuss matters such as marriage and betrothal gifts. As the bride, it was inconvenient for Lin Hui to be present, so she just came out for formalities and let the two young people meet.
Lin Hui stuffed a handful of peanuts and melon seeds into Shen Jiayi's pocket, and also gave her some peach cakes.
While Shen Jiayi was eating, he sat and watched her, his love for her was beyond words.
This is the stepdaughter of Lin Tao from the previous life. She has acted in many movies and became a big star when she grew up. Although she is young now, her eyes are big like grapes and she looks quite cute. No wonder she will become famous in the future.
If I raise her well, won't I be able to enjoy a happy life in the future?
Shen Jiayi ate while looking at Lin Hui. When she came, her brother Shen Jiahao told her that if the other party treated her badly, she would cry and make a fuss and would not allow his father to marry her. But unexpectedly, he treated her quite well.
Shen Jiayi didn't know what to do.
Zhang Hongying came to Lin Hui's room to get some tea and said to Shen Jiayi, "Jiayi, did you call anyone? This is your mother, you have to call her mom."
Shen Jiayi looked at Lin Hui without saying a word, and refused to call her mother.
Zhang Hongying: "Why doesn't this child call anyone? This is not okay."
Seeing that her mother was meddling in other people's business, Lin Hui was afraid that it would leave a bad impression on Shen Jiayi, so she quickly found the tea leaves and pushed her out.
"Okay, Mom. The child is still young, and it's her first time visiting. It's normal for her to be shy. Besides, her father and I haven't really gotten married yet. It won't be too late to call her later."
As soon as Zhang Hongying left, Lin Hui took out a grasshopper made of bamboo and gave it to Shen Jiayi: "Jiayi, this is for you. You don't have to take what the grandmother said just now to heart. If you don't want to call me mom, you can call me auntie."
***************************
On the other side, in the main room, the Lin and Shen families were discussing the marriage.
Shen Guobin meant that his family visit leave would end in a few days, and it would be impossible to organize a banquet in these few days. So if it was possible to hold a small banquet, it would be best if the two families had a meal together, and he and Lin Hui would go to get the marriage certificate.
As for the three turns and one response and other things that the Lin family asked for, after Lin Hui married him, she had to take her children with her to the army, and she couldn't take these things with her, so they were not arranged.
But their family can add a little more gift.
Old Mrs. Lin did not agree immediately, and said that she would discuss it with Lin Hui again, after all, it was a matter of her lifetime.
After the Shen family left, Zhang Hongying was still muttering, "This Shen family is too shameless to say that. The wedding was not a big deal, and there was no three turns and a big show. Is my daughter so worthless? I only have this one daughter. It's not like Shen Guobin is getting married for the second time, so he can be casual. Ah Hui is getting married for the first time, so how can the two families have a meal together so casually? There's not even a buffet. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if it gets out to others?"
Old Mrs. Lin let her talk without saying anything, just looked at Lin Hui.
This is true, but isn't Lin Hui infertile? If she were, she would not have agreed to the marriage swap in the first place.
But if she can't give birth, Lin Hui will have no choice but to marry someone else and become a stepmother.
If she didn't marry Shen Guobin, she would marry Li Guobin. In any case, she could not escape the fate of being a stepmother.
What Shen Guobin said was unpleasant to hear, but it was also true. After all, he was a military officer and had to follow discipline. He had to leave when he was supposed to, and it was not someone who was deliberately preventing him from doing so.
Furthermore, they also agreed to increase the betrothal gift, which, together with the previous 200 yuan, totaled 280 yuan, and that did not include the money for Lin Hui to buy a watch.
Lin Hui would not care about these things anymore. After being reborn, she just wanted to marry Shen Guobin as soon as possible. The heavy stone in her heart finally fell to the ground and she felt at ease.
"Mom, I don't care about these things, why do you care so much? Isn't it nice for the two families to have a meal together? I agree with this."
Zhang Hongying was so angry that she was speechless: "She is really being raised by others for nothing, and she is already turning her back on others before she even gets married."
……………………
On the way back, Shen Guobin asked Shen Jiayi how Lin Hui treated her and whether she liked this stepmother.
Shen Jiayi told the truth, including Lin Hui giving her food, Zhang Hongying asking her to call her mom, what Lin Hui said, and the bamboo grasshopper she gave her.
Old Man and Old Lady Shen were delighted when they heard this. Old Lady Shen said, "Look, Sanwa, Mom said it would be right this time, but you still didn't believe me and insisted on bringing Jiayi along. But Jiayi, I'm telling you, when your dad gets married, you can't stop calling him mom. You have to call him mom."
After listening to Shen Jiayi's words, Shen Guobin felt relieved. As long as it was good for the child, that was all that mattered.
But when he thought of the skirt Lin Hui was wearing today, he couldn't help but frown.
She just loves to dress up too much, and wears too fancy clothes, which makes her look unstable. When they get married, he will have to talk to her about this.
************************
After Lin Tao came back, she went to Aunt Fang's house first to deliver a book to Lin Manman.
Her former high school teacher had some connections in the county government. Seeing that she liked reading, he helped her get a card that allowed her to borrow books from the county government library, which she can still use now.
It’s a pity that the teacher was sent to a farm in the first year of the movement because of his class background.
Lin Tao was sad about this for a long time, and she will never forget the classmates who used to respect the teacher, wearing red armbands and rushing into the teacher's home to criticize him.
This is ridiculous, she thought.
Later, she sent things to the farm several times. She didn’t know whether the teacher actually received them, but at least she did something within her ability and she felt more at ease.
Lin Manman was so happy that she had a new book to read that she immediately started reading it.
Aunt Fang was more concerned about today's social dance, so she asked, "How was it?"
Lin Tao thought of today's farce, pursed her lips and shook her head.
Aunt Fang understood what he meant immediately: "That's fine, we're just going to give it a try anyway. It would be great if we can find someone suitable, but if not, we won't suffer a loss."
"That's right." Lin Tao nodded in agreement, "Aunt Fang, I'll go back and cook dinner first."
"Okay, go back quickly."
Lin Tao started preparing dinner as soon as she got home. Lin Changhai was chopping wood in the yard, and the rice was already cooking on the stove.
Lin Tao went to the chicken coop first and found that the hen had laid an egg today, which was just right for making scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
This hen has been raised for several years. Last year, it could lay an egg every one or two days, but this year it takes three days to lay an egg. Since the beginning of spring, it has not laid a single egg. Every time the hen lays an egg, Lin Tao uses it to cook.
The eggs were still warm. Lin Tao washed off the dried chicken droppings on the surface and put them into a bowl.
Then I picked two tomatoes and took out two bunches of Chinese toon that I picked on the mountain yesterday and washed them together.
When Lin Tao was washing vegetables, Lin Hui came.
She came here specifically to inquire about the situation, but she couldn't show it too obviously, so she moved closer to Lin Tao and pretended to chat with her, "Is this all we're eating today?"
Lin Tao raised her eyes, looked at her, and nodded.
On her way back, she heard people in the village talking about the Shen family's visit today. They even said in front of her that the Shen family was very generous and that Captain Shen was also good-looking.
There were also some curious people who asked Lin Tao why she chose to marry Lin Hui and whether she regretted it.
The eldest wife was stewing pig's trotters today. When she came back, she heard her grandmother say that they should be stewed a little longer so that the pig's trotters would be delicious only when they were cooked till they were rotten.
Her aunt-in-law deliberately told them that pig's trotters smelled good and tasted even better.
Lin Tao only needed to think about it to understand that the pig's trotter was sent by the Shen family, and the eldest wife was deliberately showing off to her.
But Lin Tao found it a little funny. Did the eldest wife think that she would eat their pig's trotters, or did she think that she would regret not agreeing to marry Shen Guobin because of a pig's trotter?
Lin Hui stared at Lin Tao for a while, trying to read something from her expression.
But Lin Tao was always indifferent, and couldn't tell what was going on, so she asked, "How was it today? Is there anyone suitable?"
It turns out I came here to ask her this, and I thought she was also here to show off her pig's trotters.
Instead, she misunderstood. Lin Tao shook her head: "No."
"No?!" Lin Hui's voice rose a degree, "The machinery factory is the largest factory in our Xiangcheng. It is full of talents from our Xiangcheng. How could you not meet the right one? Isn't Zhao Yuejin a good one?"