Chapter 400: Knowing the Meaning
"It's still early, let's have a good chat. We've been so busy these past few years that it seems like we've never had a good chat."
Lu Donglin is not stupid. He and his brother have been together for the past few years and have never been so close. If he suddenly became like this, there must be a reason.
She knew the reason very well, which was related to what he had said before about wanting to date someone.
"Brother, you're suddenly so sentimental. I'm a little unaccustomed to it."
Lu Dongping ignored him. The room was pitch black. He sighed, "Do you still remember the scene when your sister-in-law first joined our team?"
Mentioning this, Lu Donglin stopped joking: "I remember, how could I not remember! I have never seen anyone so beautiful in my life. She always smiles at everyone she meets, and her voice is soft. Her smile can melt people's hearts. I was thinking at that time that my brother just needed a wife, and it would be great if she could be my sister-in-law." He even wondered why he was so young. If he were seventeen or eighteen years old, he would have to try his best.
However, he couldn't say this now. If he did, his brother might beat him up. He didn't want to be beaten by his own brother when he was in his twenties.
Lu Dongping laughed. "Thinking back, I was really bold back then. My family was in such a difficult situation, I hadn't even graduated from elementary school. If it weren't for the policy of sending people to the countryside, your sister-in-law and I would have been two lines that would never have intersected in this life. Meeting her was probably the blessing I had accumulated over several lifetimes."
"If there really are fairies in the sky, I think they probably look like her. I dragged them down to earth."
The two talked for a long time, and Lu Dongping kept talking about himself and Wen Wan, without mentioning Lu Donglin and Chen Wenqin at all.
But Lu Donglin understood.
"Brother, I'm different from you. My sister-in-law is a rare good person for both you and me, but there is only one such person in the world. I probably won't meet someone who can make me fall in love at first sight and not care about being together. I know clearly what I want."
It wasn't easy for him to come to the big city. Every time he thought about it, he felt like he was dreaming.
So, Lu Dongping didn't say much. He was not a child anymore, and he was not stupid, so he could only say a few words.
The next morning after breakfast, Lu Dongping had left, but Lu Donglin hadn't left yet. He tidied himself up before going out.
As soon as I rode my bike to the gate, I saw Chen Wenqin standing there with a bag of books on her shoulder. She was so cold that she kept stamping her feet and breathing into her hands.
He sped up, rushed over, pulled the brakes, and stopped in front of the people: "Didn't you say you would go to school later? Why are you here so early? How long have you been waiting?"
"It wasn't long. I thought you would be busy today and wouldn't leave too late, so I left a little early."
In fact, she had been waiting here for quite a while. Her family had to go to work, and since she didn't have classes in the morning, she wouldn't be back to school so early, so they ignored her. She didn't want to make Lu Donglin wait too long, so she hurried out after breakfast. When she passed by Wen's house, she took a look and saw his bicycle parked in the yard, which made her feel relieved.
I originally wanted to wait directly at the door of the Wen family, but after thinking about it, I felt a little embarrassed, so I decided to wait at the gate.
Lu Donglin smiled and reached out to pull her scarf up, leaving her eyes exposed. "Let's go! I'll walk with you for a while so your feet can warm up before you get in the car. Otherwise, it will be even colder if you get in the car."
Chen Wenqin hummed, followed him and walked forward, asking him as they walked: "Are we still going to the clothing store today?"
"No, I'm going outside the city, to Huaizhuang. There's a workshop there that's being renovated, and I have to go and take a look."
"Have you been staying there recently?"
Lu Donglin nodded: "Yes, I have been here for almost half a year. Renovating the house is a big deal. How can I do it without someone watching over it?"
"Well, can I come to see you during my vacation?"
Lu Donglin turned and looked at her. Chen Wenqin lowered her head, with a small stone under her feet, which she kicked back and forth.
After a long while, Lu Donglin finally answered her, "Okay! If you're not afraid of the cold, come over. It's empty over there. There's no floor heating, no place to warm yourself by the fire, and no place to eat. We just ate dry food with hot water."
It wasn't as bad as he said. They had to eat dry food when the weather was hot, but it wasn't so dry anymore after it got cold. They simply set up a stove. One of the people he found could cook, and his cooking skills were better than his. Every day when he went there, he would bring some dishes and cook something simple there.
Chen Wenqin said, "It's not like I haven't eaten dry food before."
Lu Donglin smiled and said, "Okay, I'll pick you up whenever you come."
"The exam is coming up soon, and after that I'll have the holiday, and then I'll come find you. I can find Huaizhuang, I can go there by myself, no need to trouble you."
After he sent everyone to school and returned there, he remembered the biggest problem. Apart from the workers who came to work from time to time, there were only him and a few people who looked after the factory.
The guys looking after the place were hooligans he found nearby, so it was really inappropriate for a young girl to come here to see him.
Lu Dongping didn't intend to ask how the two of them got along in the future. He took the written letter to the post office and sent 500 yuan to his family while mailing the letter.
When the Xinhe remittance slip arrived in Xinxi County, it was already the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month.
This year, Zhang Hongying was extremely happy because Lu Dongping called early in the morning to say that he was planning to come back.
She kept rambling to Lu Mingjiang all day and night, and then she told Gao Xiulan, "I've been gone for a few years now. I don't know if I'll be coming back to Dongping or the whole city, and I don't know when I'll be back."
Gao Xiulan said, "It must be the end of December at the latest! Everyone's busy. Didn't Dongcheng say last time that their business over there is booming and they're busy all day long? Besides, Dandan has to go to school and Wanwan has to go to work, so it must be the end of the year at the latest."
Zhang Hongying said, "Wanwan's work life is similar to Dongfu Dongcheng's. She won't have many days off at the end of the year. This time, we'll be completely leaving the Shanwowo people behind. I don't know how long Dandan's winter break will last. It'll take forever to get there and back. That's the downside of going so far away. It's so inconvenient. We'll have to wait so long on the way back, and when we get back, we won't be able to stay for more than a few days before we have to rush off again."
"You can't say that. Living in a big city like the capital is something many people can only dream of. Who doesn't want to be a city dweller? Regardless of whether they come back or not, as long as our children are successful and have a good life, we can be proud of them. What can they do if they stay around us? Farm the land like us for the rest of their lives? If they run into someone they can't handle, they'll piss you off to death."
This was not the first time she said this. Zhang Hongying was tired of listening to it and asked her, "When will Dongfu come back?" She obviously wanted to change the subject.
Gao Xiulan didn't argue. After all, most of her life had passed and she was already a mother-in-law. Even if she was the eldest sister-in-law, she couldn't control her forever: "Who knows? Now you have started working, so you don't have that much freedom. But the good thing is that you are in the county, close to home, and I can come back to visit every two or three days." She had just said this casually, but it pierced Zhang Hongying's heart like a knife.
Lu Dongfu took the college entrance exam two years later than Wen Wan and the others, applying to a university in the provincial capital. He still hadn't given up on his ambition to become an official, so he applied to the provincial University of Political Science and Law. He graduated from his senior year in the first half of this year and has since returned to work in the county.
Gao Xiulan sighed after saying this. If it weren't for the unpleasantness of that incident, Wen Wan would have applied to a university in the provincial capital like Dongfu did, and after graduation, returned to the county to find a job. Lu Dongping would have been exiled from the commune to the county at best, but he wouldn't have fled to the capital like he did now. Now, with all three of his siblings gone, Lu Mingjiang and his wife were the only ones left at home, leaving the house empty.
During the holidays, everyone else would gather together, bustling with laughter and conversation. Their home was as quiet and lonely as it could be. In the past, when Lu Dongping was around, the two families would celebrate Chinese New Year together. Ever since Lu Dongping passed away, Zhang Hongying had become listless, too lazy to bother with anything like the New Year's. Gao Xiulan would always go over and call out, and Lu Mingjiang would always come over when he called, but Zhang Hongying would sometimes go and sometimes not.
Go over there, watching the family having fun, she felt so uncomfortable, like a knife stabbing her. It was New Year's Day, and everyone else was laughing, but she felt like crying when she saw them laughing.
Gao Xiulan asked her, "Have you asked Cui Qinghong? What does she mean? Zhou Meiying has introduced several men to her, but she doesn't agree to any of them. What does she want to do? Stay like a maid here all the time?"
"Those who have left their homes are just staying here temporarily. She's called a goddaughter, but there's an extra word 'god' in it. If she doesn't want to, who else can I force her to live with?"
Gao Xiulan: "That's not a big deal. You've been dragging it on for a long time. Even though we made it clear at that time, there's no guarantee that Donglin won't think too much about it."
"Whatever he wants, he's grown so powerful now. I can't control him no matter where he goes."
"Let's see when Dongcheng comes back. If he does, I'll have to trouble him to make a phone call and ask when he'll be back. Will everyone come back? Or what should we do?"
When the pig was being slaughtered, Lu Dongcheng and Lu Dongfu came back the day before. Lu Dongcheng brought his wife and children, and Lu Dongfu brought his girlfriend.
After returning, he ran to the next door before he could even sit down and called Lu Mingjiang, "Uncle San, Aunt San, Brother Dongping sent a letter with a remittance slip."
Lu Mingjiang was stunned for a moment. "It's almost the end of the year. Didn't you say you'd come back? Why are you sending money back?"
Lu Dongfu said, "Brother Dongping called and said he wouldn't be coming back this year. He said his sister-in-law is pregnant again, with twins, and he can't leave."
When Lu Mingjiang heard this, his eyes lit up: "Oh, this is good news, this is great news!"
After all, there will be a new addition to the family, which is a great thing.
Lu Dongfu smiled and said, "That's right, they are twins! Now my third uncle and aunt have two grandsons, plus Dandan, there will be three in total." What a prosperous family!
Lu Mingjiang smiled happily, "That's right, I'll wait until spring comes after we kill the pig and smoke the bacon. I'll also send the bamboo shoots and mushrooms that I've dried. Really, why should I send money when I'm pregnant? It's different out there than at home, everything costs money. We have enough food and drink at home, why do we need money?"
Lu Dongfu smiled and glanced at Zhang Hongying: "Should I read the letter to you?"
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