But this was also her own daughter, and it would be a bit much to put her on the waiting list for marriage right away, so Zhou Yanzhu didn't say anything, she just sighed.
"If you don't like it, I'll have your dad talk to the Lu family about it."
"Then explain it more clearly."
Jin Shu didn't have much sympathy for her mother, since this whole thing had nothing to do with her from beginning to end. How they handled it was their business, not hers.
When she got home, the stove and pot were cold. Zhou Yanzhu simply heated up the leftover cornbread from yesterday, added some of her own pickled vegetables, and also fried a plate of eggs with some lard.
The eggs were placed in front of Jin Shu, and her three younger brothers stared longingly at them. Just as they were about to pick up their chopsticks, Jin Baosheng slapped them.
Jin Shu looked at it, but didn't say anything. She simply pushed the eggs to the middle of the table.
"Everyone must be tired today, let's eat together."
In Jin Shu's eyes, they were just eggs. She was once a powerful deity, so naturally she wouldn't care about such food.
But she understood the situation of her time. Every household was tightening their belts. Urban working families were better off, but rural families faced much more difficulties. At that time, a family's monthly income was less than fifteen yuan, while a pound of eggs cost nearly one yuan.
The eggs laid by the chickens at home are all saved up to sell in town.
After Jin Shu arrived, Zhou Yanzhu fried four eggs in total.
Two were the first day Jin Shu came, one was the day Jin Shu started her period, and the other was today, when Jin Shu fainted due to heatstroke.
As for the three younger brothers, they could only smell the eggs from the side and didn't have a chance to touch their chopsticks at all.
In a rural family where sons are generally favored over daughters, Jin Shu could see that the couple were not bad people, considering that the older sister could still enjoy such treatment.
So Jin Shu didn't intend to eat and drink for free here, and she pushed the eggs in front of her three younger brothers.
"Eat."
"Eat more. Your health is so poor. You'll suffer when you get married."
Every family hopes to marry a wife to carry on the family line. Look at Jin Shu's body, so fair and thin, like freshly cooked tofu. She looks like her bones could fall apart with just a little wiggle. She'll have a hard time getting married in the future.
Jin Shu ignored the words she didn't like, ate some pancakes and drank some cornmeal porridge to fill her stomach, and then went back to her room.
The couple didn't expect her to come and work in the fields in the afternoon, so they didn't call her after lunch, and took the three children and left.
As soon as I arrived at the field, I heard the accountant, Xiao Wang, shout.
"Your daughter has written a letter."
Zhou Yanzhu immediately handed the sickle to her husband and ran over, rubbing her hands on her clothes a few times before taking the letter.
She was illiterate, but she opened the letter first, found only one piece of paper inside, and then handed the paper to Xiao Wang.
"What did Yinyin say?"
Xiao Wang had a good relationship with Jin Yin before, and since she also wanted to know how Jin Yin's life was in the city, she readily unfolded the paper and read it aloud.
"I'm doing well here, but I caught a cold and became seriously ill..."
Upon reading this, Xiao Wang exclaimed "Oh dear!"
"You're sick. I've heard of people getting sick from not being used to the local environment, but I didn't realize it was this serious."
Zhou Yanzhu urged him to continue reading, her face full of worry.
“My biological parents treat me well, but their town insurance policy is in Jin Shu’s name, so I can’t get medical treatment and reimbursement in town and have to pay a lot of money out of pocket for medical treatment.”
Don't worry, I've endured a lot of hardship in the countryside over the years, but I've managed to get through it.
"This child... has been in poor health since childhood, what are we going to do now?"
Xiao Wang continued reading.
"How are you all doing at home? There's something else that's been bothering me."
Lu Xu is a good person, honest, kind and gentle, but I am unable to rekindle our relationship because I live far away in a town.
Because of this incident, I felt guilty and uneasy day and night, and my health deteriorated further.
Lu Xu is a good man, hardworking and capable. I wouldn't suffer if I married him, not to mention his family has a house with remaining funds. I can't bear to give him up. I think if Jin Shu could marry him in my place, she could enjoy a lifetime of happiness.”
After reading this, Xiao Wang handed the letter to Zhou Yanzhu.
She then said that she did very well on her school exams, that you don't need to worry about her being sick, and that you shouldn't let such a good person like Lu Xu be snatched up by other girls.
Is Lu Xu really that good? I hadn't really paid attention to him before.
These words instantly put Zhou Yanzhu on guard.
Having known Lu Xu for so long, Jin Yin must know him best. If she says he's good, it proves that the young man from the Lu family must be quite good. Wouldn't it be a huge loss if such a precious son-in-law were to be targeted by other girls?
Fortunately, the engagement hasn't been called off yet, and to outsiders, Lu Xu is still considered the son-in-law of the Jin family.
"I still need to find some time to have a serious talk with Jin Shu about getting married."
Zhou Yanzhu has traditional ideas and believes that girls are born to get married and have children. After all, a woman cannot support herself and her children by doing farm work alone. In the end, the family still has to rely on a man, so it is especially important to marry a reliable and good man.
Jin Shu is frail and sickly, so she needs to find someone more considerate and gentle.
Lu Xu looked fair-skinned and always smiled at people; he seemed quite nice.
Jin Baosheng was usually silent, but he couldn't help but ask a question after hearing Zhou Yanzhu say that.
"Would a girl who grew up in the city and has been studying all her life agree to get married?"
"How much does it cost to go to school? It costs five or six yuan a month. Which family can afford that?"
Her three sons have only graduated from primary school so far.
Jin Baosheng frowned.
“I’ve already borrowed the money. If the child wants to study, let her continue. She’s already in the first year of high school. Who knows, she might even get into university and become a college student.”
"Did you borrow the money? How much did you borrow? From whom?"
"Don't worry about that, just take care of things at home."
Zhou Yanzhu became anxious and chased after him to ask.
"How can I ignore this? I need to know how much money the family has left. Yinyin is sick, and very sick. I heard that treatment is very expensive, and her parents in the city don't plan to treat her."
This child is someone I raised, and hearing this news now is like a knife cutting into my heart.
Why don't we send the money first to help Yin Yin get treatment?
"I can skip school, but I can't lose my life!"
Jin Baosheng's brows furrowed even more, and he remained silent the entire way.
——
Jin Shu stayed at home and sat on the bed in the room for a while, thinking.
In this unfamiliar world, there are still many things she needs to adapt to. She doesn't understand this era, but she knows that to live well, she must understand and adapt to it.
All she has in her mind now are the original owner's memories, which has given her a basic understanding of this world.
But the original owner was only a sixteen-year-old child. Her knowledge and experience came from school and family, and everything she knew was about the city. Now that she was in the countryside, if she wanted to continue her studies, she had to find a way to understand this place.
Jin Shu decided to go out for a walk.
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