Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Crowded Double Bed
Qingshan Town in Hongxing District, where Linjia Village is located, is about 100 kilometers away from Jiangcheng. Half of the road is expressway and the other half is a rugged country road. The Santana drove smoothly over the potholes and rocks.
Occasionally, a wobbly bus would rise and fall on the road, swaying like a drunk. Glancing out the window, one could clearly see the crowded crowd inside, and even chickens and ducks flying around.
Lin Wan originally planned to take a taxi to Jiangcheng Bus Station and then take a bus back to Qingshan Town. There were many acquaintances in the town, and she could basically get a tractor back to her hometown in the village.
The journey is bound to be difficult. The bus is usually crowded with people, poultry is lying at the feet, the smell of chickens and ducks is mixed with various sounds, and it is swaying back and forth on the uneven road. It is really...
Lin Wan, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, withdrew her gaze indifferently. She was in the spacious car, leaning comfortably on the leather chair, and suddenly felt that the man next to her was really considerate.
Lin Wan thought of the uncle that Fu Mingjun mentioned. People who do business always take everything into consideration. No matter what they like or dislike, no one will be dissatisfied when they get things done.
Just like now.
The Santana sped along yet remained stable until it passed the highway. Fu Xiuhuai deliberately slowed down a little so that Lin Wan still didn't feel the bumps.
"It's on the left..." Lin Wan stared at the way home and was about to remind him how to turn around, but she saw that Fu Xiuhuai had already made his choice.
The man held the steering wheel with both hands, looked straight ahead, and turned the car neatly, as if he was driving home with ease.
Not only in this place, but also at the subsequent forks in the road, Fu Xiuhuai drove skillfully, and Lin Wan, a local, was completely useless.
Even after passing Qingshan Town, Fu Xiuhuai knew exactly how to get to Linjia Village.
Lin Wan couldn't sit still any longer and was full of curiosity: "How do you know how to get here?"
Fu Xiuhuai took control of the steering wheel, slowing down on the last bumpy mountain road. Hearing this, he said, "I've been here before."
"Have you been to Linjia Village?" Lin Wan was very surprised.
"Yeah." Fu Xiuhuai turned his head and looked at Lin Wan deeply.
Lin Wan was surprised, but then she thought about it and realized that Fu Mingjun had been to Linjia Village before, so it didn't seem so strange that his uncle had been there.
The car's tires rolled slowly, raising clouds of dust in the mountains, attracting a group of children to follow behind and watch the fun.
Lin Wan leaned out of the window and saw several familiar faces, so she hurriedly asked Fu Xiuhuai to stop the car.
"Sister Wanwan!"
"It's really Sister Wanwan, Sister Wanwan, you're back!"
"Have you finished college? Was college fun?"
"Wow, this car is so beautiful, it's a sedan with four wheels!"
Lin Wan leaned over and grabbed two handfuls of candy from the plastic bag in the back seat and handed them to them: "Tiedan, Tiehua, Niuniu...you've all grown taller. Tiehua, share the candy with everyone."
"Wow, that's a lot of sugar."
"Thank you, Sister Wanwan!"
Two handfuls of colorful candies were handed to Tiehua, including Oh Oh milk candy, White Rabbit milk candy, Xu Fuji crispy candy... The eyes of a group of children lit up at the sight.
After a while, the car started again and this time stopped steadily in front of the house of Lin Wan's uncle and elder brother Lin Guofu.
Lin Wan remembered that the last time she went home was more than half a year ago, during the Chinese New Year in January. Missing her family, she immediately opened the car door as soon as it stopped and ran towards her aunt who was drying corn in the yard.
"Auntie!"
Lin Wan trotted to Zhou Guihua and hugged her aunt's arm affectionately, with a rare little girl's expression on her face.
Fu Xiuhuai fell a few steps behind, watching from afar the lively side of Lin Wan, who rarely appeared. He didn't have the heart to go forward to disturb her, so he just silently took out the bags of gifts from the back seat.
"Wanwan! Brother Huai!" Lin Chengwei came out of the inner room with a sled and was about to go out to work. When he saw the two people appear in the yard, he was surprised.
The family reunion was a surprise.
Lin Chengwei hurried to the field to call back his father Lin Guoyou who was harvesting corn, and then found a villager who was about to go to the town to deliver a message to his second sister Lin Hong who was still working in the sugar factory.
Lin Wan held her uncle with one hand and supported her aunt with the other. Her eyes and eyebrows were smiling like a crescent moon, and she kept saying, "Brother, please help carry the things."
Zhou Guihua is petite, but very energetic because she works all year round. However, due to excessive exposure to wind and sun, she looks five or six years older than Chen Qiuhong, who is the same age as her.
Just the face was different. Zhou Guihua patted Lin Wan's hand kindly and lovingly: "Girl, it's enough for you to come back. What a waste of money to buy something. Work is not easy, making money is not easy, don't spend money indiscriminately, save it well..."
"I understand, aunt." Lin Wan supported Zhou Guihua's shoulders and went back to the house. She immediately admitted her mistake and refused to change.
A smile appeared on Lin Guoyou's dark face. He called Fu Xiuhuai behind him into the house, and then hurried out to buy meat and wine.
"Wanwan has grown taller, right? How about my nephew? How many months old is he?" Lin Chengwei made a few cups of tea and did not forget to tease his third sister who he had watched grow up since she was a child.
Lin Wan smiled and gave Big Brother a look: "Big Brother, I'm 21... ahem, 22 years old, what else do I look like? Don't treat me like a child."
"It's not a child, I didn't expect you already have one." Lin Chengwei sighed, "But Huai Ge is thirty, he has to hurry up and become a father. I'm twenty-seven, and my child is four years old, so I'm ahead."
Zhou Guihua felt a headache when she heard her son's irresponsible words: "Dawei, what nonsense are you talking about! You are always doing nothing. Fu...Xiuhuai, please don't mind it."
Fu Xiuhuai smiled and naturally didn't mind: "Dawei is right, it is indeed me who is anxious."
Lin Wan felt a little hot when she heard this, but she felt something was wrong.
After a few seconds, she finally reacted and quietly approached Lin Chengwei, who was rummaging through the chest of drawers to find some candies and pastries to entertain the guests, and whispered, "Brother, what do you call him? Brother Huai?"
According to seniority, isn't Fu Xiuhuai his brother-in-law?
Lin Chengwei smiled cheerfully, revealing his large white teeth. "Your man is older than me. If he were any other man, I would have taken advantage of him and called him brother-in-law. But with that kind of aura, how could I possibly call him that? Just stay out of our business. He treats me as his brother-in-law, and I treat him as my brother. Let's just mind our own business."
Lin Wan: “…”
Seeing her brother's attitude, Lin Wan couldn't help but be curious: "Brother, are you very satisfied with Fu Xiuhuai?"
Lin Wan remembered that when she was in a relationship with Fu Mingjun in her junior year of college, she only briefly mentioned it to her family during the Chinese New Year. Except for her aunt, no one else knew Fu Mingjun's name and identity.
Lin Chengwei shook his head and sighed, "I wasn't very satisfied at first. I was really ready to beat up this old man who is eight years older than you... But Brother Huai is different. He is really capable. Look at his appearance and momentum. He can handle all aspects of the work. You have good vision, girl."
Even the most difficult big brother was dealt with? Lin Wan was amazed.
At dinner time, a round wooden table was set up in the Lin family's yard, and the whole family sat around it. Even Lin Hong, who was in town, hurried back, touching Lin Wan's belly from time to time and whispering to each other.
The lid of the Maotai that Fu Xiuhuai brought was opened, and several glasses of white wine were poured. There was a sumptuous meal on the table, and smoke was curling around.
Zhou Guihua and Lin Guoyou cooked the dishes that were all Lin Wan's favorites, except for the fish.
"You used to love fish, but you haven't been able to eat it in the past few months." Lin Hong teased the girl, "Just hold on."
Lin Wan smiled and ate the twice-cooked pork that her aunt had cooked, her mouth full of fragrance: "I don't crave fish anymore because I have other food."
After returning from this trip, Lin Wan distributed the clothes she had bought for her family one by one, and each piece touched their hearts. However, her uncle and aunt repeatedly warned her not to spend money on things, but Lin Wan ignored them and said, "I know. I definitely won't buy anything next time."
Lin Guoyou and Zhou Guihua felt slightly relieved.
In less than two seconds, Lin Wan muttered softly, "Wait until I save up a few more months' salary before buying it."
Lin Guoyou & Zhou Guihua: "..."
Lin Wan smiled slyly, took her elder's arm and acted coquettishly, dimples appeared on her lips, and there were twinkles in her eyes. She was unusually lively, which startled Fu Xiuhuai.
Around nine o'clock in the evening, the sky in the village was dark, and there was silence all around, with a drizzle falling.
The mixed sounds of wind and rain hit the glass windows, leaving traces.
"Hurry up and clean up your room. This is a new quilt embroidered with peonies for the New Year." Zhou Guihua was busy and asked Cheng Wei and Lin Hong to clean up the small house where Lin Wan used to live.
The house is about six or seven square meters, neither too big nor too small. The walls have been repainted and are quite neat. A small bed of one and a half meters is leaning against the corner, and next to it is a desk with peeling corners. On the desk are still placed Lin Wan's books from elementary school to junior high school, stacked in a thick pile.
The family reminisced about the past and spoke intimately for a while. Late at night, Lin Wan chatted with her elder brother and second sister. Fu Xiuhuai listened to his mother-in-law Zhou Guihua muttering, "Wanwan is stubborn and cunning. You should be more tolerant of her."
Fu Xiuhuai smiled when he heard this: "I have never seen her so stubborn and perverse. It would be great if I could see her someday."
Zhou Guihua knew the whole story: "She just keeps everything to herself, so no one else can see it. When my second brother and his wife left her in the countryside, she didn't cry or make a fuss. Later, when they said they wanted to adopt her out to us, she didn't make a fuss either. If I hadn't been out cutting grass for the pigs, I wouldn't have noticed her hiding and wiping away her tears."
Fu Xiuhuai was silent for a moment: "Auntie, don't worry, I won't let her hide and cry secretly."
"You're a steady person, I'm assured." Zhou Guihua was satisfied and immediately stretched out the quilt. "I'll go get Wanwan over. This girl is talking endlessly with her elder brother and second sister."
After Lin Wan was born, she lived in her uncle's house and was raised by Lin Chengwei and Lin Hong. They treated her as their own sister. When Lin Wan was nine years old, she was adopted. The two were not very old and were quite happy, thinking that Lin Wan had really become their own sister.
Lin Chengwei and Lin Hong graduated from elementary school and junior high school respectively, and neither of them was very good at studying. They were so happy to see Lin Wan pass the college entrance examination and go to university. They liked to send Lin Wan living expenses every now and then, and told everyone that they had a college-educated girlfriend.
This time, in addition to bringing back a lot of good things for her family, Lin Wan also planned to discuss with her elder brother and second sister whether they should consider finding a job in the city.
Nowadays, a year of farming can only provide for her brother's basic needs, while a month of working outside can only equal a farmer's annual income. The gap is too big. If she has the chance, she still hopes that her family can live a good life.
However, Lin Wan had just started working in a garment factory, so she had to pay more attention to whether there were any recruitment opportunities. If she found someone who met the requirements, she would immediately contact her eldest brother and second sister.
"My eldest brother is farming in the countryside, and my second sister works in a sugar factory. Their salaries are not as good as in the city. It's better to find a job in the city where there are more opportunities." Lin Wan expressed her thoughts and prepared to lobby.
Lin Chengwei and Lin Hong smiled at each other. Lin Hong touched the girl's forehead with the back of her hand and said, "You don't have a fever. Why are you saying the same thing again?"
Lin Wan was completely confused, then heard Lin Chengwei laugh out loud: "You're such a forgetful girl. You said the exact same thing three months ago, and you're still saying it now. We already promised to go to the city if we have the chance! Erhong's job is almost done anyway. Didn't Brother Huai say that there's a vacancy at his eldest brother's steel plant, and he can report there in mid-October? I won't bother your man. It's not good to owe him too many favors. I'm thinking of starting a small business in the city, selling some food, or maybe doing some moving at a construction site."
Surprised that she had said exactly the same thing three months ago, Lin Wan thought about it and understood everything.
Yes, no matter when, I always make the same decision, which is to slowly bring my family to the city.
But Fu Xiuhuai actually helped arrange a job for my second sister?
Lin Wan didn't dare ask too much, for fear of being exposed. After a little inquiry, she learned that her second sister would be reporting to the steel plant in mid-October. Although she was a temporary worker, her salary was more than half higher than that of temporary workers in the sugar factory, so she was happy for her.
The three of them huddled together in the house, chattering like a trio of sparrows making noise on the mountain. Zhou Guihua, who had come running, laughed when they heard it. "Alright, Wanwan must be tired after just coming back. Stop rambling about the factory and the city. We still have several days to go."
Lin Wan smiled and stood up: "Auntie is right, it's better to go to bed early."
When Lin Wan came out of her second sister's room and left with her aunt, she heard Zhou Guihua whispering to herself, "How have you been these past few months since your marriage? You said everything was fine in your letter, but I'm still worried."
This question really stumped Lin Wan. She didn't even have any memory of the past year, so how could she know whether it was good or bad.
There seems to be no problem, but I just don't feel at ease.
Seeing Lin Wan remain silent, Zhou Guihua sighed again, "You broke up with your former classmate Fu... and now you're marrying his uncle. I'm worried his family might object."
"Break up?" Lin Wan was stunned when she heard this. "Auntie, I told you we broke up?"
"Of course not. Didn't you say that when you came back before getting married?" Zhou Guihua felt that breaking up with her boyfriend and marrying his uncle would easily give people a chance to gossip about her. However, since Lin Wan wanted to marry, and she had seen Fu Xiuhuai's people, she didn't try to stop her. "You young people are so opinionated and you're not afraid of anything. I'm just worried that the Fu family will target you."
"Not really." Lin Wan asked a few more questions in detail. When she heard her aunt mentioned that she had really said that they had broken up, her heart was inevitably moved.
It is possible that I break up with Fu Mingjun, but even if we break up, how could I marry his uncle?
The Lin family members went back to their rooms to sleep one after another. Lin Wan walked a few steps to her room, pushed the door open, and saw a tall figure sitting in front of her desk.
The 1.5-meter bed next to it also looked a little smaller.
Compared with the big bed in the Fu family villa which was so spacious that two people could sleep in it with clear separation, Lin Wan suddenly felt a little nervous when she saw the small bed which was barely enough for two people to sleep in.
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