Chapter 6 Can Xiao Yu accompany me?
Song Xinwen never expected her husband to say such a thing. When her father passed away and Song Xinran lived with them, didn't her husband say things like that having another woman in the house made it inconvenient for him to do anything?
But Song Xinwen didn't think too much about it at the moment. He just advised, "Xinran, you are too young to know the importance of money. You earn a lot of money at the glass factory. Six hundred a month is already a lot. Your brother-in-law only earns eight hundred a month. They have to do heavy lifting every day. You won't find a better job."
"Besides, Xiao Yu is only four years old. What will he do if you quit your job? Children need money for food and clothing."
Song Yu was too young to understand the meaning of many of the words his elders said, but he understood the last sentence. He looked up and thought he could eat very little and didn't need to buy new clothes because he wouldn't spend much money.
But a child can't interrupt at a dinner table where adults talk incessantly. Song Yu, who was already timid, swallowed her words and decided to talk to her mother alone later.
Despite Song Xinwen's repeated advice, Song Xinran still said, "I have already resigned."
Song Xinwen finally sighed.
Cai Yongde tried to smooth things over: "Alright, we've talked so much and our mouths are dry. Let's have a bowl of porridge that Xinran cooked."
"Xinran's cooking skills are amazing. I've never tried fish slice congee before."
“Xinran,” Cai Yongde said, “Don’t listen to your sister. If you quit your job, then quit. If you can’t find a job, then stay at our house for the time being. We have a lot of rooms. Your sister is busy at home too. She has a lot of work in the fields and she also has to cook. You can help her in the kitchen. After you go to work, your sister will be thinking about you all the time.”
Upon hearing this, even Song Xinwen knew Cai Yongde's intentions: he coveted Song Xinran's culinary skills.
but……
Isn't this treating people like babysitters?
Song Xinwen said, "Xinran, you should think it over carefully. It's better to have a stable job."
Cai Yongde glanced at Song Xinwen, looking displeased. Song Xinwen then remained silent.
The air was quiet for a moment. Song Xinran, who had finished eating, was sipping her water without saying a word.
She understood Song Xinwen's concerns, but she didn't want to explain further. All she could think about was getting Song Yu to live in town as soon as possible, since it was inconvenient for her to stay at someone else's house.
If she goes to town, the first task is to find a place to live. Lingde Town, where she is currently, is a relatively remote place. When she came back from town, she looked up some information on the bulletin board. The cheapest single room in town is 50 yuan a month, but it does not have a private bathroom or kitchen. There is nothing in the room except a bed frame.
She planned to rent a place in town to sell her wares at a stall. She definitely needed a separate kitchen, and she and Song Yu also needed a separate bathroom for safety. Even if she wanted to save money, she couldn't afford to do it in a place like this.
She would need to prepare at least 200 yuan to rent a house for a month, and also 200 yuan as a deposit. That would leave her with only 655 yuan. She would also need to buy the materials she needed to set up her stall, which would require another large sum of money.
Even if a room costs 200 yuan a month, the landlord won't provide some daily necessities, such as pots and pans, bed sheets and quilts. These things may not cost much individually, but they add up to a large sum.
Song Xinran was currently short of money. She went through her thoughts and decided to go back to the original owner's house later to see if she could pack some things to take to town, which would save her money.
As the saying goes, "open source and reduce expenditure," but since she can't open source for the time being, she can only focus on reducing expenditure.
After thinking it over, Song Xinran looked at Song Xinwen, who was preparing to clear the dishes, and slowly said, "Sister, I want to take Xiaoyu back to our hometown later."
Upon hearing this, Song Xinwen became angry: "Can't you even say a few words to my sister? You immediately want to go back to your hometown. Those mud-walled houses are no longer habitable."
Song Xinran explained, "No, I was thinking that Xiao Yu has never been back to his hometown, so I wanted to take him there. Since I'm here, I'll definitely stay at my sister's house. How could I possibly go out and stay alone?"
The second half of her sentence was cleverly worded, as the original owner was rather reserved and wouldn't have been able to say it before.
Upon hearing this, Song Xinwen's expression softened, and he exclaimed, "After working outside for two years, you've become more cheerful."
She was probably thinking about the past, and said, "It's good to take Xiaoyu back to visit, so that she won't grow up without knowing where her hometown is."
"Xinran, please sit down. I'll clear the dishes."
Song Xinran neither agreed nor refused, but simply asked, "Which room is Xiao Yu staying in now? I'll find him some clothes to wear."
It was already late autumn, but the children were running around outside all day and were sweating easily. The weather wasn't too cold in the afternoon, but after dinner, a chill would creep in in the evening.
Song Xinran found Cai Yang's coat on the cool couch in the main room, but did not see Song Yu's.
Song Xinwen said, "Xiao Yu lives alone now. I originally wanted him and Xiao Yang to live in the same room with me, but the child is still young. Xiao Yu is sensible and said he could sleep by himself, so he lives on the second floor."
Song Yu climbed off the stool and offered, "I'll take Mom to her room."
Song Xinwen: "Okay, then you two go."
Song Yu lives on the second floor. The stairs in Song Xinwen's house are a bit steep, and it takes the child quite a bit of effort to climb them, but he should be used to it and doesn't need anyone's help.
The room door wasn't locked; it was ajar. Song Yu pushed it open easily, and Song Xinran saw the room where the child usually stayed.
The bed was low, and Song Yu could climb up on her own. The pink peony-patterned sheets were old and had a lot of pills on them. The quilt was wrapped up and placed at the foot of the bed. The floor was clean and there was no trash on it, but the whole place felt empty, with not even a place to sit.
Song Yu ran to a wooden box on the ground without a lid, leaned over it, took out a thin jacket, shook it with both hands, and stretched out his two thin arms to try to squeeze it into the sleeves.
He was still too young. Although he could dress himself, his movements were still a bit clumsy, especially since the clothes were a bit big, which made it even more difficult. He didn't manage to squeeze his hand through the right hole, and his little fist came out through the big tear in the side of the clothes.
Song Yu also noticed something was wrong. He looked down and his face immediately turned red. He quickly took off his clothes and tried to put them back on.
Song Xinran walked to his side, took the clothes from his hands, and Song Yu stared at her blankly.
She asked softly, "Xiao Yu, don't you have any other clothes? This dress is torn; I'll mend it and wear it again."
Song Yu said, "Yes."
He lay on the box, still wanting to continue searching, but Song Xinran picked him up and put him aside. She then began rummaging through the clothes in the box.
There were quite a few clothes, including winter cotton-padded jackets and trousers, summer short-sleeved shirts and shorts, autumn shirts and light jackets... However, each piece looked somewhat worn and faded, and some had badly worn cuffs and trouser hems, with a patch of the same color on the knee.
Song Xinran felt a dull ache in her heart. She took out all the light jackets and asked, "Which one does Xiaoyu want to wear?"
Song Yu glanced at the clothes and pointed to a black one with some excitement: "This one."
Song Xinran helped him put it on, and the child was quite happy. He straightened the hem of the clothes to make them smoother, and whispered to Song Xinran, "This is the best shirt, it doesn't have any holes."
Song Xinran patted his head: "When we go to town, Mom will buy you clothes, okay?"
Song Yu shook her head: "No, I'm going to have new clothes soon. My aunt said that Xiao Yang has grown taller and can't wear his clothes anymore, so give them all to me."
He pursed his lips and smiled shyly: "I have a lot of clothes."
A sudden pang of sadness welled up in Song Xinran's heart. She forced herself to suppress it, squatted down in front of Song Yu, and looked at the child with a slight smile: "But what should Mommy do if she wants to buy Xiao Yu new clothes?"
Song Yu lowered his head, feeling a little embarrassed. He felt that he didn't need to spend money to buy new clothes, but his mother wanted to buy them.
He whispered, "Then let's buy them, just two yuan's worth will do."
Although two yuan was expensive, Song Yu had two yuan in savings, which he kept in his pillow, and no one had ever noticed it.
If his mother bought clothes and ran out of money, he would give her the money he had saved.
Song Xinran was slightly taken aback. Although prices weren't considered expensive at the moment, even the cheapest children's coats cost around twenty yuan.
Seeing the child's serious expression, she smiled and said, "Okay, I'll buy two yuan's worth."
Song Yu was finally happy.
Song Xinran held his hand, and although Song Yu was still a little uncomfortable, he no longer pulled his hand away.
"I'll take Xiao Yu to visit his hometown."
Song Yu asked, "Now?"
Song Xinran asked, "What's wrong? Is Xiao Yu busy right now?"
Song Yu nodded earnestly, her voice quite happy: "I'm going to help my aunt wipe the table and wash the dishes. My uncle said the table I wiped was the cleanest, and the dishes I washed were the shiniest!"
Song Xinran frowned slightly and squeezed the child's soft hand: "Xiao Yu, take a rest today. Let Xiao Yang wash the dishes and wipe the table." Song Yu shook his head: "No, Uncle said Xiao Yang is clumsy and will break the dishes while washing them."
He puffed out his little chest, wanting to tell his mother that he was very capable, could do many things, and was much better than Cai Yang.
Song Xinran closed her eyes briefly, then said pitifully, "But Mom will be scared to go back to her hometown alone. Can Xiao Yu come with me?"
Song Yu pursed his lips. Although he really wanted to help his aunt wash the dishes and wipe the table to show his mother that he was capable, his mother would be scared to be alone, so he decided to stay with her instead.
He nodded and obediently replied, "Okay."
It was 6:30 p.m. The weather was nice today, and it was estimated that it wouldn't get dark until after 7 p.m. Song Xinran held the child's hand and walked on the muddy road, thinking that 40 minutes would be enough for the round trip.
Sure enough, it was still quite early when they arrived at their hometown.
The house in front of me is made of earthen walls and has a tiled roof; it looks somewhat old.
Song Xinran stood there, somewhat stunned. The moment she saw the house, countless feelings welled up inside her, and many scenes flashed through her mind.
Song Yu tugged at her hand and softly called, "Mom."
His gaze held a hint of worry. Song Xinran snapped out of her reverie, momentarily ignoring the rapidly flashing images, and smiled, "Let's go in."
Song Yu was a little bewildered. He looked at the corn stalks that were piled up in front of the mud-walled house, bundles of them neatly arranged, completely blocking the doorway.
How are they going to get in?
Could he climb in through the window? But the window is so high, even if he tries very hard, he might not be able to get in. If he falls while standing on the window, he could break his leg.
As Song Yu thought this to herself, her two short legs couldn't help but tremble.
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