Chapter 282 You Get What You Pay For
Because the next day was New Year's Eve and there was no time to buy a refrigerator to take home, Chen Chunhua just kept the bill.
After all, although the refrigerator can reflect your family's financial resources nowadays, its extremely unstable power supply system can cause the screen to go black in the middle of a fight.
The refrigerator is mostly just a decoration, so there is no need to rush.
Chen Chunhua was able to earn so much this year, and she felt that she should be most grateful to her family. In the second half of the year, she basically did not take care of the family affairs, leaving it all to Liang Shengdi and Lin Guoqing.
It's not that there are certain jobs that are hers and certain jobs that are not, but it's quite difficult to be in this completely hands-off position without family support.
For example, Lin Guoqing has now learned to cook with oil, and he washes all the clothes in the house, including Chen Chunhua's. He also cleans the house with the children on weekends.
Even though it may only be cleaned once or twice a month, at least it is cleaned.
As for the work in the fields, except for the autumn harvest, Liang Shengdi basically works alone in the three and a half acres of fields all the time. Even so, sometimes old lady Liang would go out for a stroll in a boat, which shows her persistence.
There were also a lot of things to do before the New Year, such as making rice cakes, offering sacrifices and blessings, pickling duck and sausage, and buying New Year's goods, all of which were done by Liang Shengdi and Lin Guoqing together.
To be honest, Liang Shengdi had a very miserable time this month before the New Year. Apart from carrying rice to make rice cakes, which was not difficult for her, everything else was quite difficult.
Especially regarding the rules of sacrifice, she told Lin Guoqing several times that it was okay, since Chunhua would come over to pay her respects anyway, so she could just wait until she came and decide if something was wrong.
Lin Guoqing clicked his tongue several times and said, "Chunhua is almost living in the mushroom house, and you still want her to worry about these things? That's nonsense!"
Lin Guoqing opened his notebook, which was full of notes he had specially written down beforehand, such as the direction, the dishes, etc. He then carried out the superstitious activities according to his scientific notes.
There was no time to make new clothes this year, so Lin Guoqing bought ready-made clothes according to everyone's body size. It cost a lot of money, probably nearly two months' salary.
He doesn't usually spend money except for buying things for the family, but this year Chunhua hasn't been involved in household affairs, so he's been paying for the children's tuition and living expenses, so at the end of the year, he's only got this 1,500 yuan year-end bonus.
"Although I don't earn as much as you earn in half a month, you should still save it." On New Year's Eve, Lin Guoqing pushed the small tin box where he saved his money to Chen Chunhua.
Chen Chunhua said while counting with a smile, "Don't be discouraged, you just earn little now, but you will definitely earn more in the future."
Lin Guoqing snorted. Yes, the factory director said that his salary would be increased to 45 yuan a month next year. A 7 yuan increase at once is really a lot.
On the first day of the new year, we went hiking as usual, but this year, Chen Chunhua paid 300 yuan into the donation box at the entrance to the top of the mountain.
This is what we agreed to when we came here last year. If we make more money this year, we will come back to donate more money to fulfill our vow. Now that we have said this, we must keep it. Otherwise, the Bodhisattva will think that we are not keeping our promise.
In the year since I last visited, two of the dilapidated temples on Xiaxi Mountain have been renovated, though the golden statues of the Bodhisattvas inside seem to have yet to be erected. Dead branches on the roadside no longer hit my head every three steps, and broken stones no longer sprain my feet. There seem to be more monks here too.
300 yuan is not a small amount of money. When Chen Chunhua paid the money, the two young monks who were standing by and keeping accounts thanked her and chanted "Amitabha". They also called the abbot of Xiaxi Temple.
The abbot is an old monk, who is said to have grown up on this mountain since childhood. No one knows how he got through those years, but as soon as the chaos was over, he came back.
The host asked her who she wanted to fill in as the donor name. She could fill in individual name or the whole family.
Chen Chunhua directly reported Lin Guoqing's entire family in Sihe Village.
"Amitabha, thank you for your donation." The old monk put his hands together, bowed slightly and said thank you.
"The Lotus Sutra states that any believer who generously supports the construction of a temple or altar will receive the following ten merits: all negative karma from time immemorial will be mitigated or eliminated; the gods will protect them, turning misfortune into good fortune; obstacles will be removed, preventing the suffering of revenge; and demons and evil spirits will be unable to invade..."
Liang Shengdi yawned behind Shen Chunhua and muttered softly,
"You shouldn't have given so much. I think they gave 10 or 20 yuan so they wouldn't have to listen to this old monk's sermon..."
Lin Guoqing forced a smile and stepped on his mother's foot, "Can't you go back and say this?"
Chen Chunhua was also quite confused. She actually just wanted to have her name engraved, preferably in the front of the queue, so that she could show off to her grandchildren when she was old. Master, you don’t have to explain Buddhist scriptures to me so seriously. I don’t understand them either!
The old monk talked for a long time, and finally said what they wanted to hear.
"...When the time comes, a stone plaque will be hung on this wall, engraved with the names of all the donors. They are all great benefactors blessed by the Bodhisattva. Everyone can come and take a look then."
Before leaving, the master also gave Chen Chunhua a string of Buddhist beads that were said to have been blessed to ensure her safety.
After thanking her repeatedly, they went down the mountain. Halfway through, Chen Chunhua gave the Buddhist beads to Lin Shuying.
"Dannan, you're going to take the college entrance exam this year, so you should wear it."
Lin Shuying exclaimed in confusion, "Didn't that master just now say it would guarantee safety? Can it also guarantee admission to school?"
Liang Shengdi smacked her lips. "You get what you pay for! The Bodhisattva has to guarantee you a place in the college entrance exam, considering your mom donated so much money! Otherwise, it would be too useless..."
Chen Chunhua & Lin Guoqing: ...
The nunnery at the foot of the mountain was still deserted. The family went in as usual, burned incense, and planned to leave, but they ran into Ma Fengjuan inside. She was kneeling on a cushion and chanting Buddhist scriptures. Judging from her seat, it was the seat where the nun of the nunnery originally sat.
She has been eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures for the past two years, which makes her look more delicate and older. When she stands next to Lin Fuqiang, probably no one would say that they are an old man and a young wife.
Chen Chunhua politely called her sister-in-law, "You didn't spend the New Year at home?"
Ma Fengjuan curled her lips slightly and said, "I was at home last night. Master Jingbai hasn't been feeling well these past two days, so I'm here to help her run the nunnery."
Chen Chunhua said "oh" twice. She didn't have much to talk about with Ma Fengjuan anyway, so she said a few auspicious words to take care of her health and then left.
After leaving the nunnery, she looked back a few times. Lin Guoqing asked her what was wrong, and Chen Chunhua shook her head.
"Nothing, I just think Erniu is a difficult kid."
Erniu is still young now. When he gets older and wants to get married and have children, he will have a grandmother in her eighties, a father in his sixties, and a mother who has passed away. No one can help him at home.
But this is probably the best ending.
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