Chapter 69 Let’s Decide on a Job First
This is a tough one.
Lin Xiangnan looked at his elder brother with some sympathy.
His wife and mother are not easy to deal with. They both jumped into the water and asked him who to save.
One is threatening with a heart attack, and the other is holding the unborn baby hostage. It’s really depressing to think about it.
If Lin Xiangdong and Sun Xiaodie stayed in the city, they would not only face financial pressure, but also mental pressure from Hu Meili.
Now Lin Xiangnan couldn't decide whether it was better to stay in the city or return to the countryside.
Lin Xiangdong certainly understood Sun Xiaodie's personality, but he had just learned about her pregnancy.
Now Lin Xiangdong could no longer remain calm, and he pushed the door open with the thermos in his hand.
"You're pregnant and you suffer from severe motion sickness, why did you come all the way here?"
Sun Xiaodie lowered her eyes and said anxiously, "I'm afraid that after you come back, you will stay in the city and be with other women, and don't want me anymore."
Isn't this forcing Lin Xiangdong to make a promise?
Hu Meili interrupted directly: "I said I was sick and dying, why didn't Xiangdong come back? It turns out that you were dragging him in the countryside."
The two of them had indeed argued about returning to the city. Lin Xiangdong also gave enough assurances before he got the letter of introduction for visiting relatives issued by the team.
Many educated youth could not stay in the countryside and ran back to the city to make a living on their own, and the police would conduct surprise inspections from time to time.
Without a letter of introduction from the team, he couldn't stay in a guesthouse, and he couldn't even live openly at home.
Although Sun Xiaodie was afraid, she was still willing to let him return to the city. This sincerity was enough.
Lin Xiangdong explained to Hu Meili, "Xiaodie originally wanted to come with me to see you. But after she had been in the car for a whole day, she vomited so much that she looked like a human being, so I sent her back."
This batch of educated youth went to remote places. If he wanted to go home, he had to walk from the team to the county, then take a bus to the city railway station, and then take a train for two days and two nights. It was extremely difficult to come back to visit his relatives.
After Sun Xiaodie returned home alone, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep at all. In the end, she endured the discomfort and took a bus to find Lin Xiangdong.
"Xiaodie must be tired after coming all the way here. I'll take her first..." Lin Xiangdong glanced at Hu Meili, "I'll take her to the guesthouse to rest."
"Why go to a guesthouse? Doesn't it cost money? We have a room at home, why live outside?" Hu Meili threw back the quilt and cursed at Lin Xiangdong, "Hurry up and get me discharged from the hospital. Day by day, the doctors can't cure me, and I'm suffering from lying there."
Hu Meili glanced at Sun Xiaodie's belly and couldn't help but say, "You're still running around when you're pregnant. Aren't you afraid of getting sick? If you feel uncomfortable now, go to the hospital for a check-up, and don't blame me in the future."
Even though she pretended to be hospitalized for a heart attack, she still couldn't make Lin Xiangdong listen to her.
Now that Sun Xiaodie not only came in person, but also had an extra bargaining chip, Hu Meili knew that she couldn't win, so she simply discharged herself from the hospital.
Although she disliked Sun Xiaodie, she was really worried that something might happen to her health.
Hu Meili is a good citizen who abides by the law. If something happens to the child because of her, Hu Meili herself will not be able to get over it.
She was giving the suggestion sincerely, but Sun Xiaodie was a little defensive.
"No need. I'm young and in good health."
Hu Meili curled her lips and said no more. She packed up her things and prepared to go home.
When Sun Xiaodie saw the newly built two-story house, she was obviously stunned.
She and Lin Xiangdong lived in a tiled house in the countryside, and there was no electricity or running water. She only had a flashlight, and the water used at home was carried back by Lin Xiangdong every morning. Not counting other farm work, just carrying water was hard enough.
For dinner, we had the leftover chicken soup from the previous meal and Lin Xiangxi’s cold lotus root slices.
The atmosphere at home was very subtle, but Lin Xiangnan was unmoved. He picked up a piece of lotus root and commented: "There is not enough vinegar. There should be more sesame seeds. It's not fragrant enough."
Lin Xiangxi had a humble and teachable expression, "It's definitely not as delicious as Uncle Fatty's. My mom was in the kitchen today, so she affected my performance."
The main reason was that Hu Meili was in the kitchen, and Lin Xiangxi didn't dare to taste the food while mixing it in front of her.
Because Hu Meili would scold him for cheating.
In all honesty, isn't it normal for a cook to taste the food?
The dishes were good, and the rice was good, but Sun Xiaodie held the bowl and found it tasted like wax.
The Sun family was one of the wealthiest families on the team. When other children dropped out of school, Sun Xiaodie was able to go to junior high school. Other children's clothes were patched, but she had new clothes every year. When she was fifteen or sixteen years old, she was the most outstanding girl on their team.
She thought that Lin Xiangdong would not lose out by being with her.
But when I arrived in the city, I saw the room where Lin Xiangdong lived. I also saw the family's bicycle, radio, electric fan, thermos... these scarce things.
Sun Xiaodie felt a little unconfident.
City dwellers had a fixed quota of grain, but when the harvest was bad in the countryside, many families in the team would go hungry.
Lin Xiangdong was able to endure hardships, but he was not very good at farm work. Without the food coupons that Hu Meili occasionally sent him, he would sometimes go hungry.
If Lin Xiangdong lived like this in the city, then Sun Xiaodie could understand why Hu Meili insisted on taking her son back to the city.
In the city, even ordinary working-class families lived better than in the countryside. Not only did they have food and drink, but they also did not have to work in the sun or harvest in the rain.
After dinner, Hu Meili said, "Sun Xiaodie should sleep next to me tonight. After all, you two haven't obtained your marriage certificate yet, so it's not good for you to live together."
Lin Xiangnan couldn't help but say, "You already have a child. You're still talking about this."
After she finished speaking, Hu Meili glared at her.
Lin Xiangnan couldn't help but feel a headache. Lin Xiangdong didn't care whether he stayed in the city or not, so why did Hu Meili make such a fuss?
When no one was around at night, Lin Xiangnan was about to go to Hu Meili privately to persuade her to stop.
But just as she was about to knock on the door, she heard Sun Xiaodie's voice.
"I can let Xiangdong go back to the city without stopping him. But I don't want to be separated from Xiangdong."
"I know that my food supply is not going well, which is a big problem, but can't it be solved by spending money? You are willing to spend money to buy a job for your son, so why can't you spend a little more money for your grandson?"
"Money? Where does the money come from? Anyway, I have no money."
Hu Meili sneered, but didn't say anything harsh out of consideration for the baby in Sun Xiaodie's belly.
"Xiangdong will have 18 yuan a month to support himself, you, me, and a child. He won't even have enough money to buy regular-priced grain, let alone high-priced grain."
Sun Xiaodie knew this, but she still wanted to struggle, "Can't I buy another job? If I also have a salary, the money should be enough."
"Do you think I don't want to?" Hu Meili said faintly, "But there are only two jobs in the family now. What can I do?"
And one of these jobs is to allow Lin Xiangxi to stay in the city.
Lin Xiangnan stood at the door for a while and didn't plan to knock.
Let them make a fuss, it’s okay even if they fight.
Tomorrow she would let Lin Xiangxi take over her shift and settle this job first. As for the other job, they could do whatever they wanted.