Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Update
Lin Wan thought of something and her heart moved, but she suppressed her thoughts when she was urged to go upstairs and fought with Fu Minghui for several rounds.
In the end, Lin Wan narrowly defeated Fu Minghui with two wins in three games, which excited Fu Minghui so much that she challenged him to another match during the National Day holiday.
Lin Wan shook her head regretfully: "I really don't have time for National Day. I have to go back to my hometown."
Fu Minghui was reluctant to leave and was waiting for the next time he came back from school to practice with her.
It was around nine o'clock in the evening when Fu Xiuhuai came back from the company. Most of the Fu family members had gone to bed. Lin Wan was lying on the bed reading a book. When she heard the noise, she couldn't help but think of what Fu Minghui said in the evening, and she stared at Fu Xiuhuai.
For some reason, this big boss actually lied to himself that he didn't know how to clear mines.
What is he trying to achieve? What is his purpose?
Fu Xiuhuai keenly noticed that Lin Wan was a little different tonight than usual. She rarely stared at him in the past, but tonight she looked at him several times.
"What's wrong?" Fu Xiu wondered if Xin was smelling of someone else's cigarette.
Lin Wan shook her head: "Nothing."
Just make a note of it silently in your heart.
***
At the end of September, Lin Wan had her prenatal checkup a few days in advance, planning to use the National Day holiday to go home.
The original prenatal checkup form said Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Jiangcheng People's Hospital. Lin Wan has always been independent and planned to go there alone.
But when she was packing her things at night, the man saw through her trick.
"You'll have your prenatal checkup at the beginning of next month. I'll go with you." Fu Xiuhuai suddenly spoke, forcing Lin Wan to tell him her plan.
"I plan to go a few days early."
"Which day?"
"tomorrow."
Fu Xiuhuai didn't say much, just said briefly: "I'll accompany you tomorrow morning."
Seeing that he insisted, Lin Wan did not refuse.
The next morning, when Lin Wan woke up from her sleep, there was no one beside her. After getting dressed and getting up, Lin Wan went downstairs and saw Fu Xiuhuai reading a newspaper in the living room.
Seeing Lin Wan coming downstairs, Fu Xiuhuai put down the newspaper, stood up, and sat down at the dining table with her.
"Madam, Mr. Fu is waiting for you to have breakfast together." Aunt Wang brought two cups of milk, fried eggs and bread to the table, winked at Lin Wan and whispered.
Lin Wan smiled at Aunt Wang and didn't respond.
After breakfast, Fu Xiuhuai drove the car himself, Lin Wan sat in the passenger seat, and the black Santana slowly drove out of the Cuihu Villa area.
Lin Wan had taken taxis in Jiangcheng before, but no one drove as steadily as Fu Xiuhuai. He drove at a steady and appropriate speed, without sudden turns, sudden stops or brakes. The car was surprisingly smooth and stable.
Lin Wan couldn't help but secretly turn her head to look at the man's fingers on the steering wheel, and was immediately caught.
Fu Xiuhuai tilted his head to take a look, then looked away in an instant: "Do you want to learn how to drive? That way it will be convenient for you to go wherever you want."
Lin Wan was shocked. She had indeed dreamed of getting a driver's license. However, she had heard that learning to drive was very expensive. Factory workers only earned three or four hundred yuan, while the registration fee for driving lessons was two or three thousand yuan.
Therefore, drivers are extremely valuable. Taxi drivers and freight drivers can all make money. As long as you can say that you can drive, you will be prestigious and enviable.
When Lin Wan was in college, she planned to work and earn money in the future, save some money and then go back to school.
But dreams are just dreams after all. Even if I learn to drive, it is useless. I have a driver's license but nowhere to use it. After all, even an ordinary car costs tens of thousands of yuan.
"I'm planning to change my car. Can I give you this Santana?"
Fu Xiuhuai's words were so relaxed that it seemed as if he was talking about replacing a water cup at home. He didn't realize at all that this was a luxury car worth 180,000 yuan.
Lin Wan's face wrinkled, her pretty slender eyebrows knitted slightly, and she blurted out a mutter: "You really spend money lavishly."
Fu Xiuhuai raised a smile at the corner of his lips: "Of course, I also need your approval. If Mrs. Fu doesn't agree, I won't change it."
Lin Wan: “…”
Lin Wan turned her head away, closed her mouth tightly, and said no more.
***
Lin Wan's prenatal checkup went smoothly. Dr. Gao from the obstetrics and gynecology department of Jiangcheng People's Hospital looked at the report and gave a few simple instructions: "The fetus is healthy, but you are a little thin and malnourished. You need to supplement your body more and be careful."
Lin Wan was indeed thin. She stayed in the countryside until she graduated from elementary school, and then went to the town to attend junior high school and high school. Her adoptive parents were financially tight and they could hardly afford to feed Lin Wan. At first, Lin Guofu and his wife would send some living expenses from time to time, but after the second child was born and the child grew up, they didn't take much money anymore, and only gave a symbolic amount during the Chinese New Year and other festivals.
People in the countryside eat less meat, so no matter how tall they are, they won't grow much. Lin Wan, like her older brother and second sister, is thin.
Fu Xiuhuai quickly agreed: "Doctor Gao, we will pay attention. Also, is it okay to eat popsicles occasionally?"
Doctor Gao didn't expect to hear such words from this mature and steady man in a suit and tie. He was stunned: "It's okay to eat it occasionally."
Lin Wan saw Dr. Gao glance at her quickly before she replied, and immediately understood what she meant.
Isn't Fu Xiuhuai destroying his own image?
When did she say she wanted to eat popsicles?
On the way back, Lin Wan couldn't help but say, "I didn't say I wanted to eat popsicles."
Lin Wanxiatian did like popsicles, but she clearly never mentioned it to Fu Xiuhuai.
In the summer back home, my adoptive parents would give each of their three children one cent to go to town and buy red bean popsicles. They had this opportunity two days a week.
Popsicles are cooler and sweeter than boiled water. They are refreshing and can dispel the heat of the hot summer from the inside out.
People always try to make up for their childhood selves. Lin Wan thought the opportunity to eat popsicles was extremely precious. So after college, when she came to the city and saved some money by working part-time during the winter and summer vacations, Lin Wan also loved to eat popsicles, even in winter.
In the cold wind and snowy weather, Lin Wan would wear a red scarf and a woolen hat, step on the crunching snow, and take a bite of a popsicle.
Fu Xiuhuai raised his thin lips slightly: "You don't want to eat? If you do, the doctor's words are your endorsement."
Lin Wan: QAQ
Well, she had some thoughts. She even passed a popsicle vendor on the street pushing a cart after work the other day and almost couldn't resist paying for it.
But she was worried about the little one in her belly and was not sure whether she could eat it, so she held back.
When they got home, Fu Xiuhuai parked the car and only reminded him: "Whenever you want to eat, it's best if I'm here."
Lin Wan didn't quite understand what the man meant, so she just nodded perfunctorily.
***
The next day, Lin Wan went to the garment factory and asked Director Feng for three days' leave.
National Day is just a few days away, and the 1st and 2nd are statutory holidays. Lin Wan will take three more days off, for a total of five days, to go back to her hometown to visit her family.
Feng Tianjiao did not make things difficult for Lin Wan. After all, this person was now a favorite among the factory leaders, so it was no problem for her to ask for leave.
"By the way, Comrade Lin Wan." Feng Tianjiao approved the leave note and reminded him, "Remember to hurry up and get back to work. The factory director and the secretary should pay attention to foreign investment."
"Don't worry." Lin Wan knew what was going on. "We can finalize all the contract terms in the next two days."
In the next two days, Lin Wan was busy in her spare time, sorting out the contract terms provided by the foreign company, but gradually she found something wrong.
"Deputy Director Wang, there are some issues with this contract. It seems quite risky." Lin Wan explained the translated contract terms clearly. "It's said to be a capital injection, but the foreign investors are demanding extensive rights. They might even demand production of the products they need, halting our own production."
Deputy Director Wang sat up straight, listened carefully to Lin Wan's words, and then checked them one by one. His brows furrowed higher and higher: "This foreign businessman is asking for so much."
“There is no such thing as a free lunch, except for fraud.”
"You have a point." Although Deputy Director Wang was eager to promote foreign investment, he also didn't want to leave hidden dangers that would harm the factory. "Let's have another meeting to discuss this. This matter is tentative."
Lin Wan didn't know what the outcome of the factory leaders' meeting was, but she felt that there were significant hidden dangers. Moreover, too many factories were vying for foreign investment, which resulted in her having too little say. She was afraid that there would really be problems.
Jiangcheng Garment Factory is busiest at the end of the working day. Lin Wan has been riding a bicycle to and from get off work these days, and she feels very comfortable.
Pushing the bicycle out of the gate, the wide street is bustling with people. Small restaurants, barber shops, audio-visual stores, video halls, clothing stores, convenience stores, billiard halls, newsstands... divide the street into small worlds, with signs scattered all over the place, each one sticking out and attracting customers.
Lin Wan walked into the music store and picked out a cassette with the words "Hong Kong's Hottest Hits" written on it. Inside the flat, rectangular plastic case, a neatly wrapped plastic tape spun in a radio case...
Back home, Lin Wan put the newly bought tape into the recorder, and a melodious song slowly emerged: [This time I will face the past and the future from the beginning. No matter how people abandon themselves, no matter whether this is right or wrong, no matter how reluctant people are to let go, I will let go of everything①]
Lin Wan hummed softly, and the gentle female voice echoed with the ethereal and pure singing coming out of the tape recorder.
Many years ago, Lin Wan started learning to sing Hong Kong songs from the songs played in barber shops and music stores on the street. Over time, she mastered more and could understand most of the songs and also pronounce them about 70% to 80%.
When I was in college, students all liked to hold a VCR and listen to tapes. Hong Kong songs were especially popular. Those songs that came into thousands of households from film and television dramas were deeply fascinating.
Lin Wan also copied some lyrics into the notebook she carried with her, with the Cantonese homophonic pronunciations marked on them...which accompanied Lin Wan through a long time.
After the song ended, there was a knock on the door at the right time, and in a moment, Fu Xiuhuai appeared at the door.
"Wanwan, help me."
Lin Wan was surprised: "What can I help you with?"
"The owner of the department store that our company recently won the bid for is a Hong Kong businessman. Soon, they'll be sending someone to inspect the mainland's department store chain, so we'll naturally have to receive them." Fu Xiuhuai looked at Lin Wan seriously and spoke earnestly, "Guests are welcome. We should learn a few words of Cantonese. I think you speak quite well."
Lin Wan didn't expect that the man would hear her humming a few Cantonese songs. She struggled for a moment: "Maybe my humming is not standard."
"It's enough to handle it." Fu Xiuhuai twitched the corner of his mouth and laughed at himself, "It's better than our entire company being completely clueless, with not a single person who can speak a few words of Cantonese."
It was indeed a small favor. Since Fu Xiuhuai dared to learn, there was nothing she wouldn't dare to teach him: "Okay."
......
On the last day of September, Lin Wan went shopping at the department store, buying clothes, pants, shoes for her family, as well as candies, cakes, and chocolates—all rare in the countryside...
In a short while, he spent eighty yuan and sixty-three cents.
After preparing the things, Lin Wan took them home and prepared to set off early the next morning.
Fu Xiuhuai worked overtime tonight and didn't get home until after nine o'clock at night. Lin Wan took the opportunity to inform him before he took a shower: "I have to go back to my hometown tomorrow morning and come back on the 5th."
After saying that, Lin Wan went to bed peacefully to recuperate.
There was no sound of water in the bathroom in the bedroom. Lin Wan half sat up curiously and looked over. She saw Fu Xiuhuai standing in front of the bathroom without moving. His tie was half taken off and loosely wrapped around his neck. Three buttons of his black shirt were undone, and his strong muscles could be vaguely seen.
"What's wrong?" Lin Wan said softly.
The man walked to the bedside, put his hands on the edge, and leaned over to look Lin Wan in the eye. "Wanwan, we are husband and wife, and you only informed me one night in advance that you wanted to go home? You didn't even consider whether I wanted to go back with you?"
Lin Wan was a little uncomfortable with being so close to Fu Xiuhuai. It was so close that it seemed as if his aura was all around her. So close that she could see his sharp jawline and his cold face full of seriousness just by tilting her head slightly.
Stepping back a little, Lin Wan knew in her heart that she had indeed not planned for Fu Xiuhuai to be involved. Facing the man's accountability at this moment, she could only find an excuse: "I'm worried that you are too busy with business and definitely don't have time..."
Fu Xiuhuai's eyes sparkled with a smile, and he raised his hand to gather the thin quilt for Lin Wan: "You are considerate."
Seeing that the problem was solved, Lin Wan turned around and went back to sleep: "I'm sleepy."
The next morning, Lin Wan got up excitedly and prepared to pack up and go home. She didn't see Fu Xiuhuai that morning, so she assumed he was working overtime at the company. Lin Wan was happy and at ease.
However, when Lin Wan was excitedly going out with her bags, she was stunned when she saw the Santana parked at the door of the villa in the morning sun.
The back seat of the Santana was filled with cigarettes, alcohol, and gifts. The driver, Uncle Liu, was talking to Fu Xiuhuai beside the car. When he saw Lin Wan coming, he hurriedly greeted her, "Xiao Lin is here. You guys can go now. I'll just rest for a few days."
Fu Xiuhuai nodded, opened the driver's seat and sat down, looking at Lin Wan: "Let's go to your house."
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