Chapter 57
"Why do you look so worried? What happened?"
Seeing the expression on Lin Mian's face that clearly showed that he was worried, Lin Mei asked while leaning over to fasten Lin Mian's seat belt.
"I just heard some news and I'm a little emotional, that's all. By the way, Mom, have you bought anything?"
Whether it is saying that Tu Chenglin's stepson's name is "Tu Guo" or saying Tu Yin's view on marriage, it is not very appropriate at this time.
After the New Year, she will explain everything to her mother.
"It's all in the trunk."
"So what did you buy?"
It would be a lie to say that he wasn't curious. Lin Mian really wanted to know what Lin Mei bought, so he said it didn't matter where she bought it.
"Just rice, flour, grain, and oil."
ah?
Lin Mian was stunned.
It’s not that rice, flour, grain and oil are bad. These are necessities of life and are of course important.
But Lin Mian had seen the standards of Lin Mei's usual gift giving, and she understood Lin Mei's attitude.
Before starting the car, Lin Mei handed something to Lin Mian.
"I saw someone selling red envelopes, so I packed one for you."
The red envelope feels thick and bulgy, and you can tell that it must contain a lot of money without even opening it.
"Thank you, Mom~"
Lin Mian smiled with his eyes curved. Which child doesn't want to receive red envelopes during the Chinese New Year?
Lin Mei glanced at Lin Mian with a smile and said to her, "Listen to your mother later. Don't run around. Just stay by her side."
Those people in the village are not easy to deal with. It’s okay if they just say something behind her back, but Lin Mei doesn’t want these people to say anything in front of Lin Mian.
Her daughter had never heard any dirty words, so those unbearable words should not pollute Lin Mian's ears.
The roads in my hometown are a challenge for cars. They are all gravel roads. Driving on the country roads is very bumpy and makes people dizzy.
Before they even reached the destination, Lin Mian was almost dizzy.
Coupled with the previous emotional ups and downs, Lin Mian fell asleep in the bumpy ride without realizing it.
"Guo'er, get up, we're here."
Lin Mian rubbed his eyes and looked at the scenery in front of him. Thick white smoke rose from the chimneys of every household. The food cooked with firewood seemed to be more fragrant and could be smelled from a long distance away.
"Fortunately, everyone is eating now, so no one is coming out."
Lin Mei sighed softly and said that it would be very troublesome if a large group of people gathered around. Even though she had prepared melon seeds and peanuts in advance to deal with these people, some people's words were so sour and smelly that her sincere blessings and feelings would become less sincere.
Lin Mian helped Lin Mei take the gifts from the trunk. There were not many. Lin Mei carried two barrels of oil, and Lin Mian carried a bag of rice and a bottle of milk.
It's just like visiting an ordinary relative's house.
The car was parked quite far away, so they walked for a long time before arriving at the Lin family's house.
The Lin family’s house is a red brick house common in the countryside. It is hidden among the bungalows and is small and inconspicuous.
"Hey, isn't this my second sister? Why didn't you tell me before you came? I'll go kill a chicken for you right now."
Lin Mei's sister-in-law Xu Ermei walked out of the house and took the things in Lin Mian's hand. When she saw clearly what Lin Mian and the others were carrying, she frowned, but quickly turned into her initial enthusiastic smile, as if the frown just now was just an illusion.
"Aunt"
At Lin Mei's signal, Lin Mian obediently called for help.
She didn't like this aunt. When Lin Mei brought Lin Mian to her grandmother's house, when her eyes were attracted by the snacks on the table, Xu Ermei would directly put them away and say to her, "You city kids will definitely not like these things. These should be left for your cousin to eat."
Cousin?
At that time, little Lin Mian was stunned. She only knew that she had a cousin named Tingting, but no cousin.
When she asked the question in her heart, she saw her aunt puffing out her belly and said proudly: "This is your cousin. The teacher said that this time I am pregnant with a boy."
Looking at the belly that didn't show any sign of pregnancy, little Lin Mian didn't understand why snacks should be left for an unborn baby. By the time she was old enough to eat, the food would probably have gone bad.
Later, when she heard that her aunt had given birth to a child, Lin Mei and Lin Mian came over with gifts.
I just remember that the room was filled with smoke and everyone's expressions looked so stiff.
Lin Mian also held Lin Mei's hand and asked in a low voice why she came to her house. Shouldn't she be in the hospital?
When he learned that the child was born at home, little Lin Mian shuddered.
The next time he came to his grandmother's house, Lin Mian thought he would see a baby, but the only child at home was Lin Tingting.
"Hey, where's my little cousin?"
Xu Ermei was so sure at the time that Lin Mian thought she would have a cousin.
Grandma forced a strange smile on her stiff face and said that Lin Mian was mistaken. There was no new child in the family, only her cousin.
Lin Mian was very smart at that time. She was sure that her memory was correct, but everyone denied that she was wrong.
Until she threw herself into Lin Mei's arms, Lin Mei said to her very confidently: "You are not mistaken."
Since then, Lin Mian rarely went to his grandmother's house.
"You must have had a hard time on the journey. Come inside. I heard from Guo'er's father that you went to North City and will be gone for several years. If you hadn't asked people to send money home, your family would be worried to death about you."
When entering the room, Xu Ermei said as if it was unintentional.
The room is dim, and the elderly in the family are always reluctant to turn on the light bulb, and will only do so when they have no other choice.
At the moment, light can still penetrate into the room, so it cannot be said that it is invisible, so naturally, the lights will not be turned on.
There was a hint of stench in the aroma of the food, like something rotten or moldy.
"I've been trying to make a living in North City for the past two years, all for the sake of my children."
Lin Mei replied calmly. Her well-maintained face showed no signs of hardship, making people feel that she was living a good life. This was also the direct reason why Lin Mei drove here.
Even if she wanted to pretend, she was completely different from her past self. Moreover, before going to Beicheng, she had lived a relatively good life in Sucheng. If she wanted to find out, she could still find out.
"So, are you going out again this time when you come back? Let me tell you, we women are supposed to take care of our husbands and raise children. Why don't you just stay here now that you're back? I don't know if you still remember that widower Chen from our village? You used to play together when you were little. I'll make the decision for you and help you two get together, so you can feel at ease. He already has a son there, so he won't despise you for not being able to have children."
Although it was dark in the room, Lin Mei could clearly see the expression on Xu Ermei's face, which looked like "I'm doing this for your own good."
She almost laughed out of anger. She must have been thinking about this for a long time.
"What about my daughter? I'm afraid I can't bring her with me."
"Oh," Xu Ermei seemed to have just remembered Lin Mian. "A little girl should just go live with her father and let him raise her. This is her father's responsibility! Tu Chenglin is really stupid. He didn't know how to cherish his marriage after getting married once. He is really confused."
At the end, she was filled with righteous indignation and scolded Tu Chenglin, asking why he didn't live a good life and why Lin Mei had to come to her parents' home now.
The way he pointed out the problem in a roundabout way also opened Lin Mian's eyes.
It was agreed at the beginning that a chicken would be killed, but Xu Ermei never took any action.
Lin Mei chuckled, "I'm afraid Guo'er can't live with her father now. She has changed her name to Lin Mian, and is considered a member of our Lin family."
"What!"
Xu Ermei's face changed immediately. She didn't recognize any members of the Lin family. She had to solve this matter before other people in the family came back.
"Little sister, you're acting on impulse. I'm not saying anything to you, but Tu Mian is the child of the Tu family. He sheds the blood of the Tu family. How can he change just like that? Aren't you breaking the rules passed down by our ancestors?"
Rules passed down from ancestors?
That's really interesting.
Lin Mei didn't say anything else to Xu Ermei, just said to wait until the others came back.
She didn't want to make a scene in front of Lin Mian, as that would be too embarrassing.
But her silence didn't mean Xu Ermei would stop.
"What are you doing standing there? You haven't even brought up the food yet, and you don't even know how to do it."
Xu Ermei pushed Lin Mian. In her eyes, this child was too ignorant and didn't even know how to read someone's expression.
Lin Mian subconsciously looked at Lin Mei. She would not act on her own today. She would listen to Lin Mei and do whatever Lin Mei asked her to do. She wanted to support her mother.
Lin Mei couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so she pulled Lin Mian over and protected her behind her.
"My daughter's hands are not meant for carrying food or bowls."
"Why, your daughter is so precious? My daughter has been helping me with chores since she was little. She's a good girl that everyone around her praises. She won't have to worry about finding a husband in the future. I'm afraid your daughter will be despised when she gets married!"
Xu Ermei rolled her eyes and said in a sinister tone.
What she said made Lin Mei realize that it was useless to say anything to such a person. She already had her own fixed thinking and would not want to break the cage and walk out. She was already a caged person.
But Lin Tingting is still so young and shouldn't be trapped in a cage. This is also the main reason why Lin Mei came back this time.
The timid eyes that looked at her were full of longing for the outside world. If he didn't take this girl away, her life might continue with the so-called "fate", going out to work when she was old enough, and then being called back by her family to get married, and then... If she was sober, it would be even more painful.
"That's not a cause for worry. Every bite I eat is also a bite my daughter eats."
Lin Mei knew that in the eyes of people like Xu Ermei, if they didn't get married, they would have no food to eat, and their parents would not be willing to keep them at home. She had been disciplined to only think about relying on others and not thinking that she could support herself even if she was alone.
"Your daughter will be ruined by you sooner or later."
Xu Ermei grumbled softly and stopped asking Lin Mian to do anything. Lin Mian had someone backing him up, and she didn't dare to provoke him.
When Lin Guoying and Hu Hui came back from playing mahjong, they saw someone sitting in the house, someone they hadn't seen for a long time.
Looking at her daughter, who was so different from what she remembered, Hu Hui rubbed her hands. "Why didn't you tell me before you came? How long will you stay? Tomorrow is Chinese New Year at home, so you have to stay for dinner, right?"
If it were earlier years when Lin Mei had not yet divorced, she would definitely be driven away by Hu Hui if she came on the New Year's Eve dinner, for fear that her in-laws would be angry.
Only now could she ask Lin Mei if she wanted to stay for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Hu Hui and Lin Mei exchanged greetings. Lin Guoying didn't want to talk to his divorced daughter. He remained silent about his fatherly love for Lin Mei until Hu Hui asked them to stay for the New Year's Eve dinner.
He became much nicer to the younger generation. He smiled and said to Lin Mian, "Tu Mian, are you cold? Grandpa will light a fire for you."
"It's not cold, Grandpa. I've changed my name from Tu Mian to Lin Mian."
These words caused the room to be silent for a moment.
"You changed her last name to Lin? Do you know what you're doing? You're going to be ridiculed and criticized!"
Lin Guoying looked at Lin Mei with such sharp eyes, and there was raging anger burning in his turbid eyes.
At this moment, Xu Ermei hated herself for forgetting to put some melon seeds in her bag, otherwise this scene would be perfect for watching the fun, she thought with glee.
"You can't do this, Xiaomei. I'll be scolded when I see my ancestors. Change it back quickly. You can't let Tu Mian have the last name Lin."
Hu Hui frantically grabbed Lin Mei's hand. She was over sixty years old, with half of her body buried in the ground. What she feared most was that she would not be accepted by her ancestors after her death and would not be able to rest in peace.
Changing her name undoubtedly hit her nerves and made her dizzy.
"Why can't she change her name? Lin Mian lives with me, so naturally she has to have the same last name as me."
"You are committing treason!"
Lin Guoying pointed at Lin Mei's nose and cursed. The hatred in his eyes did not seem to be directed at his own daughter, but rather at his enemy.
Changing the name in violation of ancestral rules, divorcing without consulting them, and keeping the child with them, none of these rebellious acts could be accepted by Lin Guoying.
"How can this be considered treason? Shouldn't it be natural for my daughter to have my surname, just like your child will have yours? Could it be that the surname Lin was passed down from some royal family? There are so many people with the surname Lin in the world, couldn't they have had other surnames before this? My daughter can have whatever surname she wants, whatever name she wants."
Lin Mei shook off Lin Guoying's hand. He was old, and she was grown up too. She was no longer the girl who would grit her teeth and accept it actively when her father hit her, hoping that her father would hit her less.
Now, she is strong and he is weak, so why should she be afraid?
She had already had the courage and confidence to resist. She hadn't come empty-handed. She had weapons hidden under her thick clothes that she could take out when necessary. And Lin Mian's years of boxing and training were not in vain. Her daughter didn't need her to worry.
"You are so unreasonable!"
Seeing Lin Guoying, who was so angry that he could only breathe with his neck thickened, Lin Mei smiled.
Who is being rude, who is being unreasonable, who is being unreasonable?
"Lin Mian was admitted to North City University in advance."
After these words were spoken, the whole room was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.
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