Chapter 12 The Idea
“You haven’t come up with a reasonable plan, and crying and making a fuss won’t work. I do have an idea. You can talk to your mother about going to my hometown’s production team for half a month and living like a rural person. If you can stick to it, you’ll have already shown your attitude. Actions speak louder than words. If you can’t stick to it, then there’s nothing more to say. Sticking to it takes courage, and so does giving up,” Lin Yuanshu offered his idea.
Tang Rong's eyes lit up after hearing this. She thought Lin Yuanshu's idea was brilliant. Normally, if she was forced to go to the countryside, the street office would only make the arrangements two months after she graduated from high school, so there was no need for her to rush to sign up now.
She should go to Lin Yuanshu's production team to experience it first. If it really doesn't work out, she'll have a backup plan. Moreover, this method will also be acceptable to her mother. It's brilliant.
After discussing the specific details, the two chatted for more than an hour. It was almost noon when Lin Yuanshu finally left Tang Rong's house.
She originally planned to eat out and then continue looking for a job in the afternoon. She couldn't put all her eggs in one basket; she couldn't place all her hopes on Director Tang.
Unfortunately, she needed tickets to eat anything outside, so she couldn't even buy a flatbread. Pastries, candies, and other treats also required tickets. Without tickets, she couldn't move an inch and couldn't buy any food, except for the expensive pastries sold on the train station platform.
When she returned to the tenement building, Aunt Zhou had already prepared lunch: cornbread with pickled vegetables.
“We’ve been staying at home doing nothing, so we need to be frugal and not eat too well. Cornbread is just right,” Zhou’s mother said solemnly.
Lin Yuanshu nodded, took a bite of the cornbread. It had a rough texture and a "scratching" sensation when swallowed. It tasted a little better than she had imagined, with a natural sweetness from the grains. It wasn't unpalatable.
She lived in the countryside with her grandmother when she was a child. Her grandmother's cooking skills were somewhat casual, and she had eaten even more unpalatable food, so she accepted it well and ate it with relish.
Seeing this, Zhou Ma cried out in her heart, "What a blunder!" It was all because Lin Yuanshu's usual behavior made it impossible for her to tell that she was from the countryside, leading her to believe that her cornbread would be a problem for Lin Yuanshu, forgetting that people from the countryside couldn't even afford cornbread.
Lin Yuanshu ate with relish, while Zhou Ma found it difficult to eat.
She never gave up on manipulating Lin Yuanshu. In her eyes, the best daughter-in-law is one who is completely obedient to her mother-in-law, and that's how she treated her mother-in-law back then.
After finishing the meal, Lin Yuanshu took the initiative to wash the dishes. Zhou Ma snorted coldly but didn't say anything more.
While washing the dishes, Lin Yuanshu ran into Aunt Wen, who asked curiously, "I heard you're looking for a job. Did your dad agree?"
Lin Yuanshu nodded and said with a smile, "My dad still supports me going out to find a job. Sometimes you can't judge a person by what they say, but by what they do. My dad says that women shouldn't go out, but my sister-in-law is still working outside! He's just saying it to make himself feel important."
Aunt Wen said in disbelief, "No way!"
Lin Yuanshu smiled and asked, "My dad only talks about it, but he hasn't really forced my sister-in-law to return to the family. If he were to force the issue, given my sister-in-law's personality, would she dare to disagree?"
Although her father felt that it was pointless for her to return to the family because her sister-in-law couldn't have children, since she didn't even have a child, it didn't affect outsiders knowing what to say. It was up to her to decide what to say.
"That's true. However, I heard that your father didn't speak well of your sister-in-law in front of your mother because she didn't want to leave her job." Aunt Wen nodded thoughtfully. Could it be that she had misunderstood Zhou Dafu?
Lin Yuanshu retorted without hesitation, "That's not true. My dad has been keeping quiet because my sister-in-law hasn't been able to get pregnant. He's too lazy to stand up for her."
Aunt Wen was speechless for a moment. What Lin Yuanshu said made a lot of sense, and she couldn't find any words to refute it.
After Aunt Wen left, Sun Yiyi thought for a while and then walked up to Lin Yuanshu, lowering her voice and saying, "Comrade Lin, I advise you not to go against your mother-in-law like this. She is not a reasonable person and she will always target you. You can try to get pregnant first, gain a foothold in the Zhou family, and then resist your mother-in-law. Once you have a child, no matter how you behave, they will not kick you out of the house."
Based on her own experience, she knew that in her past life in the Zhou family, even breathing was wrong. So she knew very well that Zhou's mother had many disgusting methods. She didn't treat her daughter-in-law as family at all, but as an enemy. Just think how good her sister-in-law was to Zhou's mother, but after her sister-in-law couldn't get pregnant, she still kicked her out of the house without showing any mercy.
Lin Yuanshu shrugged indifferently, then said seriously, "What a coincidence! I'm not exactly a reasonable person either. You think I'll listen to her? Dream on! I'll always be myself, always true to my desires. Having her child? Maybe in my next life!"
She hopes she has children simply because she wants to, and not for any other purpose. If a child cannot be born into a loving family, she would rather not have one.
Sun Yiyi didn't expect Lin Yuanshu to be so stubborn. She continued to persuade him, "If you do this, your life will not be easy in the future."
After all, she married Lin Yuanshu because of her, and she still hoped that Lin Yuanshu would have a better life.
Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "It's okay. If I'm having a hard time, my mother won't have an easy time either."
She really didn't take Zhou Ma seriously. The person with the power in the family was Zhou Dafu. As long as Zhou Dafu spoke, Zhou Ma had no choice but to obey. Zhou Ma was like a paper tiger; she looked fierce, but once the rain came, she turned cold.
Zhou Dafu is just a bit chauvinistic, not stupid. As long as he is ambitious and wants to climb the social ladder, he will not ignore her words.
If you only focus on your family, life will be too boring. Besides your parents-in-law, older brother and sister-in-law, and spouse, you won't see anything else.
The present era is the most suitable era for working. Jobs are stable, and you can't be dismissed without reason. Housing, medical care, and children's education are all provided by the employer. As long as you have a job, you will be the envy of others when you go out. If you become a cadre, you will be a "respectable" person.
She's actually five years younger than the Young Pioneers in America! As long as she takes good care of her health, she'll have plenty of time to enjoy herself after retirement. She can't even imagine how much her pension will be or how happy she'll be.
After realizing she couldn't persuade Lin Yuanshu, Sun Yiyi stopped talking. She had done her best and was worthy of Lin Yuanshu's trust. Lin Yuanshu had chosen his own path, and she would bear the consequences herself.
"You really don't want to go out and find a job?" Lin Yuanshu asked Sun Yiyi in return.
Sun Yiyi waved her hand and refused without hesitation, saying, "No, I can't."
Lin Yuanshu smiled knowingly. She didn't say she didn't want to, but rather that she couldn't. It seemed she still had some desire. She knew there weren't that many virtuous wives and loving mothers in the world; it was just that she had no choice.
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