Li Chu said with a wry smile, "I quit a long time ago..."
He described the whole thing to his sister from beginning to end.
After listening, Li Qin sighed and said, "No matter what, people still have to rely on themselves. Good days are earned through hard work."
They didn't continue the topic. After chatting with her sister about other things, Li Chu took her leave when she saw that it was almost time.
Back at the hospital, it was just in time for lunch. Ding Qiunan was already queuing up in the cafeteria with her lunchbox.
"Where did you go? I came looking for you just now and you weren't there."
“I went to visit my sister and told her to remember to come over tomorrow and invite Sixth Brother too.”
Ding Qiunan thought for a moment and said, "Li Chu, how about I go over and call Jiang Li tonight? It's the New Year, and it's just her and her daughter. It must be so hard for them."
“Okay, you can bring Xiao Hei over after dinner tonight, my child and I won’t go.”
"OK"
After finishing their meal, Li Chu locked the clinic door, then cuddled his wife and lay down on the bed to sleep, to avoid getting bored.
In the afternoon, Ding Qiunan bought some food from the cafeteria to take back. After eating, she took Xiao Hei and headed towards the courtyard house with a flashlight.
Walking down the street, she thought about what Li Chu had told her during dinner.
Ding Qiunan didn't know what to say about Qin Huairu and her mother-in-law.
The reason I was willing to use my sister Li Qin's name to get a job for her family from the neighborhood committee was because, as a woman myself, I knew how difficult it was for her to raise three children and take care of her mother-in-law all by herself.
But who knew that things could change so much in the last two years?
She didn't know what to say; everyone has their own way of living.
Like Jiang Li, she declined any help beyond the house she was asked to stay in.
They firmly believe that they can live a good life with their own hands.
They stumbled and waded their way to the courtyard house.
On a snowy day, everyone stayed indoors, and there was no one in the yard.
"Clang clang clang"
Who is it?
"Xiao Li, it's me, Qiu Nan, open the door."
As her voice carried, Ding Qiunan sensed that several pairs of eyes were now staring at her from behind the windows of many houses in the front yard.
"Qiu Nan, why did you come through such heavy snow? Come in, come in quickly."
"Auntie!"
"Hey, has Nannan eaten yet?"
“We’ve already eaten, and Mom is teaching me to read.”
"My little girl is so good!"
"Qiu Nan, your dog won't come in."
"It's alright, don't worry about it." Ding Qiunan sat by the stove warming herself by the fire. "Xiaoli, to make a long story short, starting tomorrow, come to my place for dinner. It's the New Year, and it's just you and the child. Is that really necessary?"
"I..." Jiang Li was about to say something when Ding Qiunan interrupted her.
"Don't give me any of that nonsense. We're all family, no outsiders. It's just my sister's family. If you bring your daughter over, she can play with my two kids. You can also help me cook, saving you and your daughter from having to cook yourself. Just give me a straight answer, stop beating around the bush."
Jiang Li looked at Ding Qiunan helplessly. Of course she understood Ding Qiunan's good intentions. Ding Qiunan had come to call her in the heavy snow so late at night. What else could she do?
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say. My daughter and I will come over and spend the New Year with you, alright?"
Seeing that Jiang Li agreed, Ding Qiunan immediately beamed with joy: "That's more like it. Then pack a couple of clothes and come with me."
"What did you say?" Jiang Li stared at her, her eyes wide. "Go there now?"
"Otherwise what? Since we're going to go anyway, what's the difference between now and tomorrow?" Ding Qiunan said matter-of-factly.
"No, it's not appropriate for us to go there at night, and it's also inconvenient for us to stay."
"I have plenty of rooms over there, not enough for you two. Hurry up and pack your clothes."
Jiang Li looked at Ding Qiunan with a mixture of amusement and exasperation; this was far too decisive.
Forget it, let's just listen to her.
She immediately stood up and said, "Nannan, go and get a couple of your own clothes, and put on your cotton-padded coat and overcoat. Let's go with your aunt."
"Okay, Mom."
"That's right, since we're going to go there sooner or later, it's all the same."
Jiang Li looked at Ding Qiunan, shook her head helplessly, and said sincerely, "Qiunan, thank you!"
Ding Qiunan smiled and said, "There's no need to thank me. We're friends, and Nannan even calls me 'Auntie.' We're practically family, aren't we?"
Hearing what she said, Jiang Li felt a lump in her throat and almost couldn't hold back her tears.
"Family"—I haven't heard that word in a long time.
Ding Qiunan walked to Jiang Li's side, put her arm around her shoulder, and patted her on the shoulder.
"Alright, Xiaoli, go pack your clothes."
On the way there, there was one person and one dog, but on the way back, there were two adults with one child and one dog.
When she went out, there were still the same few windows and the same figures. Ding Qiunan couldn't figure out what was so interesting about it.
"Xiao Li, you've been living in this courtyard for a few months now. What do you think of the people here?"
Jiang Li pursed her lips and chuckled softly, "The people in this courtyard are quite interesting."
"interesting?"
“Yes,” Jiang Li nodded, “On the surface, the neighborly relations seem to be quite good, but in reality… how should I put it, it’s like they can’t stand seeing others doing better than them.”
That's a very insightful point.
“You’re absolutely right. That’s why we moved away. When Li Chu and I lived here, don’t laugh at us, but neither of us dared to cook at home. We were worried about people gossiping behind our backs.”
"That's how it is in the compound. It was the same when I lived there. If anyone dared to cook meat, the whole alley would know. If you didn't share some with your neighbors, a lot of people would talk behind your back and say sour things."
After a pause, Jiang Li continued, "Your Li Chu must have a high salary, and I think he likes to eat meat. He definitely can't live in this kind of compound."
"Haha," Ding Qiunan couldn't help but laugh when she thought of her husband's craving for meat.
“He’s always saying that food without meat is soulless, and now even those two little ones are just like him.”
Ding Qiunan said with a look of disgust.
Jiang Li glanced at her enviously, saying something disdainful, but her face showed a happy smile.
Isn't this the life she's always dreamed of?
But she only felt envious; she didn't have any other ulterior motives.
The two chatted and laughed and arrived home quickly.
Li Chu was quite surprised when he saw Jiang Li and the child arrive together. He hadn't expected his wife to be able to get them here today.
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