Chapter 3
Raising a child is never easy.
Before Lin Mei prepared to have a child, she had seen the efforts others made to raise children. She was mentally prepared. This was the path she had chosen, and she should treat this new life well.
Lin Mei has seen quite a few children, including those who cry a lot, those who make noises, those who are annoying, and those who are likable. She has seen them all.
Some children will be little angels, while some will be little devils, but what is more important than this is how parents guide their children onto the right track. This is the responsibility of parents.
In Lin Mei's opinion, it is more a question of the blessings of the parents than the blessings of the child or which family he is born into.
As long as the child is healthy, the parents are blessed.
Of course, children's personalities will be different, and the time and effort required to raise them will also be different. It is they who choose to bring children into the world, and it is only natural that they should let their children live a happy life.
Lin Mei did not choose to have a child for the purpose of providing for her in her old age. This is the family she chose, and her mission is to make this child live a happier life.
Of course, Lin Mei also has expectations. She hopes that her children can grow up healthy, without any major disasters or serious illnesses, and live an ordinary life smoothly. This is already a lucky person.
Lin Mei knew her own conditions and Tu Chenglin's conditions. Her expectations were simple, but they could not be described as simple.
This requires a lot of love, not to mention that happiness is a concept that is difficult to define. Just like now, looking at her daughter, Lin Mei feels happy.
Lin Mei, who was well prepared, felt that her preparations were of no use.
Tu Mian is so well-behaved.
She would cry out when she needed something, making it easier for adults to take care of her, but otherwise she was always well behaved. That was fine, some children were easy to take care of, as Lin Mei had seen.
But it was a little early for Tu Mian to start turning over, walking and talking.
Lin Mei would also ask others for advice when taking care of her children. She knew roughly when the children would learn to walk and talk, but when Tu Mian walked towards her vigorously under her guidance, when Tu Mian looked into her eyes and called "Mom" sweetly, Lin Mei hugged her daughter.
She realized that this child, who weighed only 15.8 jin when he was born, seemed to be a little smarter than ordinary children.
At night, Lin Mei tossed and turned, unable to sleep, thinking about what happened during the day.
Tu Chenglin couldn't sleep because of the noise. He stood up and said impatiently, "I have to go to work tomorrow. What do you want to do so late? Do you still want to sleep? You don't have to go to work, but I do. It's annoying enough for me to support you all day."
Lin Mei also got up from the bed. She was taking care of the children at home and always heard Tu Chenglin say that she was dependent on him. She was tired of hearing this rhetoric.
But Tu Chenglin is not a bad person, he just has some bad habits, which she also has. Isn't it necessary for family to have mutual understanding between two people?
It's just that this person lacks some consideration and understanding, or maybe he realizes that she is the one who will stay with him without him having to please her, so he can reveal all his bad temper to her.
Lin Mei wanted to find a job, but the child was too young and she was worried about him, so she could only endure Tu Chenglin's words.
However, this is not the most important thing right now.
"Old Tu, I've discovered that our Guo'er is so smart. She rolls over early, talks early, and walks early. Guo'er is really smart."
Listening to Lin Mei's excited voice, Tu Chenglin fell silent.
He knew that Tu Mian had been speaking for a long time, and he was the third word she called him, the first two being "Mom" and "Sister". This made Tu Yin cherish her sister even more.
But what does this matter?
Tu Chenglin was impatient. He scratched his head and said, "Guo'er is so young now, how can you tell whether she is smart or not? Instead of telling me this, you might as well pinch Guo'er's nose bridge more and see if you can make it higher. Also, Guo'er is still young now, so you might as well focus more on Hua'er. Hua'er is about to enter junior high school, so you should tutor her well."
In the darkness, Lin Mei rolled her eyes.
Tu Chenglin always thought that if Lin Mei married him, she would be Tu Yin's mother and should treat Tu Yin as her own daughter.
Lin Mei is not a saint and cannot be so generous. She can only be an ordinary stepmother. It is impossible for her to treat Huaer better than Guoer.
Everyone is selfish. Besides, it has been so long, and Huaer still calls her auntie.
The little girl is still young, and Lin Mei can understand her. Love is selfish, otherwise where would the word "partiality" come from?
Tu Chenglin has the nerve to say such things. Just let it go, and Lin Mei won't take it to heart.
Tu Chenglin, a college student, doesn't even tutor his daughter, but he still expects her, his stepmother who attended vocational school, to tutor her. How confident he is!
Men always say that they have too much to worry about, so they neglect small things. They are the ones who can do big things.
Is that really true?
Lin Mei didn't believe it.
However, when Tu Yin encounters problems and asks Lin Mei, Lin Mei will still tutor her, but she will not be too strict with Tu Yin.
Being a stepmother is always so awkward.
After Tu Chenglin fell asleep, Lin Mei was still not sleepy at all.
Things that she didn't have time to think about during the day, she had time to think about at night.
They now had their own little family, but Tu Chenglin wasn't just focused on it. His monthly salary was limited, and he had to leave money for cigarettes and to support his mother. The money he gave to Lin Mei was barely enough for them to live on, so they couldn't save any money each month. Furthermore, they were still renting, so they didn't know what to do if something happened in the future.
Instead of pinning your hopes on Tu Chenglin getting a promotion and a raise, it’s better to think about how to make some money.
Before, Tu Mian was too young and Lin Mei couldn’t do anything.
But now Tu Mian is eating rice porridge and can walk. Lin Mei wants to go out and find something to do, preferably some small business, so that she can take care of Tu Mian. If she goes to work, it will be unlikely that she can take care of Tu Mian.
The next day, Tu Chenglin went to work and Tu Yin went to school, leaving only Lin Mei and Tu Mian at home. Lin Mei carried Tu Mian on her back with a red strap and took him out to see what she could do.
The town they lived in was called a small town, but it was about to become a county town. The population here was about 400,000, so the streets were quite lively, especially during market time.
The streets were bustling with people and noisy.
Lin Mei was a little worried that Tu Mian would be disturbed and start crying, but when she looked behind her, she saw her daughter looking around curiously with her eyes open. Her eyes seemed to be open wider than usual, as if she did so on purpose just to be able to see everything clearly.
Lin Mei felt soft inside, so cute. As a mother, she was always touched by her daughter's unintentional little actions. When she looked at her, she found everything about her cute.
Seeing that her daughter was quiet, Lin Mei breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, she would also work hard.
She had been to many places today and had a plan in mind. When it was almost noon, Lin Mei hurried back because she wanted to go home to cook.
Tu Chenglin only cooked for me when I was in confinement after childbirth, and after that, Lin Mei cooked for me.
Even if Tu Chenglin cooks better, in his eyes, this is what Lin Mei should do, and he will not be grateful for Lin Mei's efforts.
Fortunately, Tu Chenglin also knows how to do housework. He thinks Lin Mei doesn't clean the floor well, so he sweeps and mops the floor every day. He doesn't take a nap, so he just wipes the furniture at home.
From this perspective, he has good energy, but he is really unlikable. He can only do things but not talk, and he is always harsh towards Lin Mei.
If Lin Mei's hair fell on the ground and was not picked up immediately, Tu Chenglin would say something after seeing it; if there was too much hair on the ground, he would also nag at her.
He was only six years older than her, but like her father, even Lin Mei's own father did not have such high expectations.
But Lin Mei came back a little late today. When Tu Chenglin came back, Lin Mei was still cooking.
Tu Yin was also at home. She was not idle either. She was drawing on the table with a notebook.
Tu Chenglin thought she was doing her homework and felt very relieved. When he got closer, he saw that she was just drawing some little people.
Tu Chenglin slammed the table in annoyance, and Tu Yin was frightened and raised her head in panic.
"Have you finished your homework? Why do you just draw little people all day long and not focus on studying?"
Tu Yin pouted: "I want to play with Barbie dolls, but Dad, you won't buy me one. Can't I just draw on my notebook to satisfy myself?"
There are many dolls in Tu Yin's room, but this was her previous home.
When Tu Yin wants to play with dolls, she goes to her mother's house.
But Tu Yin's room was occupied by the child brought by her stepfather, and Tu Yin's doll became that child's doll.
Every time Tu Yin went there, she could only sleep with the child. But before, this room belonged to her alone. Now, not only did she have to share it, it no longer belonged to her.
At night, Tu Yin felt more and more sad as she thought about it, and she couldn't help crying. The louder she cried, the more wronged she felt.
But the one who was scolded was Tu Yin.
If she goes there, she will suffer the grievances caused by her mother, and when she comes back, her father will nag her mother that her mother is at fault and tell her not to get close to her mother.
But Tu Yin knew that her mother might be the one at fault in the marriage in everyone's eyes, but her father was not much better, he just didn't make any mistakes in principle.
But does that mean that Dad is a good person? She is afraid of every time her father gets angry, and many people are afraid of his bad temper.
However, since then, Tu Yin no longer went to her mother's house and had a rift with her mother.
Tu Chenglin didn't care what injustice the child suffered. In his opinion, it was nothing.
When he was little, as the middle child, didn't he suffer any hardship? Back then, he didn't even have enough to eat, yet he still grew up well.
He simply said, "Your generation has better conditions now, yet you still want to play with Barbie dolls. We didn't have those wonderful things back then. Besides, you're already that old, why are you still playing with Barbie dolls? You should focus on your studies."
Tu Yin didn't understand how serious it would be to be considered a serious matter in the eyes of adults. But she knew that if she continued to be stubborn with her father, she would be the one who would suffer. Her father's beatings were very painful.
When Tu Yin put the notebook away, Lin Mei just brought the last dish to the table.
Tu Chenglin loves to eat meat, so there is always meat on the table every day.
He took a bite of the meat dish and was disgusted by its saltiness.
Lin Mei was thinking about something while cooking, and she didn't pay attention when adding salt and shook it too much.
Tu Chenglin put down his chopsticks, anger rising. He shouted angrily: "It's okay that I cooked late today, but why is this dish so salty? Lin Mei, what do you want to do? You don't care about this family, do you? If you want to go back to your parents' home, go back now!"
Lin Mei was not scared. She had been thinking about discussing it with Tu Chenglin, so she told Tu Chenglin her plan.
Tu Chenglin was unhappy when he heard that Lin Mei wanted to do something.
"Am I starving you, or am I short of clothes for you? You should go out and find something to do! Don't the flowers and fruits need you to take care of them? Don't they need you to cook for them?"
Lin Mei knew that she couldn't give in to Tu Chenglin at this time, otherwise she would have to do as she did before and follow Tu Chenglin's wishes, but that would make her uncomfortable.
Why should we have to obey Tu Chenglin's wishes in everything and make ourselves uncomfortable?
"We're still renting a house now, but what about the future? Do we have to keep renting a house like this? Guo'er is still young and can live with us, but have you thought about how she'll live when she grows up? Hua'er's room is small to begin with, are we going to have to squeeze them into one bed? You, as a father, don't think about these things, but I always have to. With your meager salary, you can't save any money every month. What if something really happens that requires money in the future?"
Lin Mei became more and more excited as she spoke, but she stopped when she noticed Tu Yin pursed her lips and looked a little uneasy, but her fingers were clenched tightly, and she wanted to continue arguing in her heart.
Tu Chenglin couldn't eat anymore, so he picked up his coat and walked out.
"I don't care about you, just look at it yourself!"
When talking about Tu Chenglin's pain, he didn't think about how to solve it, he just wanted to escape, because the solution for him was to avoid talking about it.
Lin Mei not only had to face this mess alone, but also had to comfort Tu Yin and pick up food for her.
"Eat more and don't worry about your dad. He will be back soon."
Children are sensitive. Tu Yin just finished the bowl of rice and went back to her room.
She doesn't like quarreling. Tu Yin always can't understand why adults always like to quarrel and why can't they talk nicely?
Faced with this situation, she was worried and couldn't sleep during her nap. She packed her schoolbag and went to school without waiting for Lin Mei to call her.
Tu Chenglin's anger could not change Lin Mei's determination. After Tu Yin went to school, she continued to take Tu Mian out.
Now she has no money, and Tu Chenglin has also made it clear that he will not help her. Lin Mei thought about finding a job first to save some money and then start a small business.
But if that happens, it will be difficult for her to take care of Tu Mian. No boss would like to hire a woman with such a young child.
Her parents only came to visit when Tu Mian was one month old, and Tu Chenglin's mother was even worse, not even coming. Later, Tu Chenglin took them back to visit his mother, who lived only a few blocks away.
The only people she can rely on are her two brothers. The eldest brother likes to play mahjong, and the debts he owes are paid off with the money she sent home from working. The younger brother found a way out for himself, and after getting married, he became like a son-in-law, only going home to visit during the Chinese New Year and visiting his mother-in-law.
As for Tu Chenglin's brothers and sisters, there are many of them. Li Xiaohong gave birth to many children in that era, and three of them died young. But if Lin Mei goes to borrow money, this family will not be peaceful.
Lin Mei also had friends in this small town, but how much could she borrow? Everyone had their own families, children to raise, and each family had its own difficulties.
Thinking about this, Lin Mei's mind went blank. It would be difficult for her to even take the first step.
At first glance, it seemed like there was nothing in all directions, but in fact, it was surrounded by fences, leaving her alone trapped.
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