Chapter 46: My Brother Sends Cotton
While Lin Xiangxi was eating the roasted chicken, he was talking to Lin Xiangnan about the Gu family gossip. At the end of the meal, he even left a chicken leg for Hu Meili and covered it with a lid.
After wiping his hands clean, Lin Xiangxi said eagerly: "Sister, are you still going out to look for a job? You can take me with you on your bike."
The bicycle was sent by Gu Zhenhua yesterday. He didn't bring much money or tickets with him this time. After all, it was inconvenient to live in Gu's house. He borrowed money from his comrades to buy things, and he would pay them back when he returned to the army.
"I'm not going. I can get married and stay in the city, so why should I look for a job? Do you think my life is too leisurely?" Lin Xiangnan said directly, "It's so hot, I just want to stay at home, enjoy the fan and eat watermelon."
After graduating from high school, Lin Xiangnan spent half of his daytime wandering outside. Hu Meili never cared about it and just hoped that Lin Xiangnan would continue to be lucky enough to find a job.
But good luck doesn't always come. Lin Xiangnan really asked around, but never came across any unit recruiting.
I want to spend a lot of money to buy a job, but I haven't met the right person willing to sell it. There is no place to advertise now, and most of the jobs are absorbed by relatives and friends, and rarely by outsiders.
Fortunately, her marriage was settled and the issue of going to the countryside was finally resolved. Lin Xiangnan himself was relieved and just wanted to indulge himself recently.
Lin Xiangxi asked tentatively: "Can I ride your bike out for fun?"
"Go ahead. Be careful and don't get heatstroke." After saying that, Lin Xiangnan went back to his room to turn on the fan.
Lin Xiangxi is a sensible child. He went out to play in the afternoon, and when he came back, he remembered to pick up Hu Meili from get off work.
When she lived in the old tenement house, Hu Meili only needed a few minutes to walk to work, but now it takes her half an hour.
When Hu Meili came back, she was holding a big package and her eyes were red. She put the package away and went to the kitchen to cook without saying a word.
Lin Xiangnan didn't dare to offend Hu Meili, and could only wink at Lin Xiangxi, "Mom, what's wrong? Who did you quarrel with and lose?"
"That package is the cotton that my eldest brother sent. It's the cotton that his brigade planted this year. He knew it was hard to buy in the city, so he sent it home specially."
Lin Xiangnan nodded in understanding. Every time Hu Meili received a letter from Lin Xiangdong, she would feel depressed for a while.
The family wrote to Lin Xiangdong about the divorce and the move to a new house. Lin Xiangdong was unsure of the time of their move, so he could only send the things to the factory.
Now that Lin Xiangnan's marriage was settled, Hu Meili felt half relieved, but the other half continued to worry about Lin Xiangdong.
She settled her daughter, but her son was still suffering in the countryside.
Although Hu Meili was sad, she did not hesitate when eating the chicken leg. After eating, she asked Lin Xiangnan to bring paper and pen to help her write a letter.
"Just tell him that you are going to get married and that he doesn't need to worry. Then let him take care of himself in the countryside. If he needs anything, tell his family and I will help him find a solution. He is still young, so if he insists, don't find a partner in the countryside. I won't recognize a wife from another place."
When they first went to the countryside, the educated youth were definitely unwilling to marry local people. But Lin Xiangdong and his group of educated youth had been in the countryside for six years, and there was no sign of them returning to the city. Life in the countryside was hard, so many people could not hold on and settled down there.
Hu Meili is now a worker in the city, but she grew up in the village when she was a child and did farm work. She knows what life is like in the countryside, so she took a tough attitude and refused to allow Lin Xiangnan to go to the countryside, for fear that she would not be able to endure the hardship and marry a man in the village.
Hu Meili is also worried about Lin Xiangdong.
After Lin Xiangnan finished writing the letter, she picked it up and checked it again.
"What do you mean by suggesting that he should not find a partner in the countryside? Just write it down clearly to me and tell me that if he dares to find a partner in the countryside, I will not even acknowledge this son of mine and I will beat him to death."
Hu Meili had only attended literacy classes and knew a few words, but her handwriting was ugly. She had always asked the children at home to write letters for her, so she could only dictate and then stare at Lin Xiangnan as she changed the content of the letter.
After writing the letter, Hu Meili went to her room to get the money and tickets that her family had saved.
Lin Xiangnan also wrote down the amount of money and bills clearly in the letter to prevent his things from being stolen without him noticing.
Nowadays, many parcels and letters sent by mail are subject to random inspections. In some areas, the parcels of educated youth are stolen by local inspectors.
The team where Lin Xiangdong was located was not so bad. The leaders of the team were all good people, otherwise he would not have been able to exchange so much cotton.
After finishing the letter, Hu Meili said, "It just so happens that the cotton wool at home is old. I'll use it to make you a new quilt as a dowry."
"good."
Hu Meili was not a generous person. As long as Hu Meili was willing to give, Lin Xiangnan would happily accept it.
"You have already bought your things. You don't need anything. Take all the betrothal gifts that Gu Zhenhua gave you. A thin blanket will be enough for you."
"Is that all?" Lin Xiangnan curled his lips.
Hu Meili had just finished speaking when she saw the speechless expression on Lin Xiangnan's face. She immediately said excitedly, "Is that all? When other families marry off their daughters, many of them will deduct half of the betrothal gift. Some of the more ruthless ones will deduct all of it. I won't touch your betrothal gift, and I will even prepare a dowry for you. I don't know how many people will envy you if you tell others about it."
At this point, Hu Meili felt it was a pity. She couldn't show off to her aunts and uncles how generous she was and how generous her son-in-law was.
The things that Gu Zhenhua brought out made Hu Meili very proud. But because they were afraid that Gu's family would get jealous and cause trouble, the two sides kept the engagement very low-key.
It’s not that Hu Meili was afraid of the Gu couple, she just thought they were troublesome and didn’t want to have much contact with them.
Hu Meili's words were high-sounding, but Lin Xiangnan didn't buy it and directly exposed her: "What are you talking about? I have already given you one thousand. If you still want my little gift, it's not good enough."
This thousand yuan was indeed the reason why Hu Meili stopped.
Although she felt guilty, she still looked very confident. "We agreed at the beginning that this thousand yuan would be used to buy the room you live in. Half of the money has been spent, and you don't even know how long you've lived in the house, and you're still asking for this."
Hu Meili has a desire to control her immature children, but not her married children.
Before Lin Xiangnan got engaged, Hu Meili took the 1,000 yuan with a clear conscience, and even coveted the remaining private money in Lin Xiangnan's hand. Lin Xiangnan was clearly spending his own money, but Hu Meili felt her wallet hurt when she saw it, as if Lin Xiangnan was spending her money.
But Lin Xiangnan must kiss her, so Hu Meili suddenly became free and easy. No matter how Lin Xiangnan spent the money, she would not say anything.
She even taught Lin Xiangnan, "After you get the certificate, you must ask Xiao Gu to hand over his salary. Do you understand?"