Chapter 4 Abacus
In the ward, Liu Mei, while nursing her rosy-cheeked baby, didn't forget to try and get closer to Li Qiuhong.
Li Qiuhong was attracted to Song Lubai's appearance and her status as a city dweller. At first, she chatted with Liu Mei quite warmly, but as the conversation went on, she sensed something was off.
"Lu Bai is such a pitiful child. She lost her father at a young age, and her mother struggled to raise her. Now she's grown into a beautiful young woman. You can't tell that she used to be thin, small, and dark-skinned, like a wilted bean sprout."
The women in the ward were astonished.
How did her biological father die?
"So your mother-in-law isn't your biological mother-in-law? How many younger brothers and sisters-in-law does your husband have?"
Liu Mei deliberately ignored other issues, focusing solely on spreading the reputation of Song Lubai as a jinx.
She deliberately ignored the fact that Song Lubai's father was a heroic martyr who died on the battlefield, and only emphasized the false information that Song Lubai's life was not good before and that her life only got better after her mother married her father-in-law.
Song Lubai had no idea what Liu Mei had said or what she was planning in the ward. She took Lin Jinyao to a department store and bought some hair accessories and hair clips for three cents. As soon as they went out, they saw a truck parked at the door.
A tall, thin man carried a suitcase inside. The suitcase tilted, and the soap inside spilled all over the floor, landing right in front of Song Lubai.
Song Lubai squatted down to help pick them up, and they finished quickly.
At this moment, a girl wearing a floral blouse came out of the building and said with a smile to the man in front of Song Lubai, "Brother Guangming, you're back. Did you have any rare or good stuff this time?"
Upon hearing this, the customers still in line all turned their attention to Li Guangming, staring intently at him.
These days, city dwellers aren't afraid of spending money, they're afraid of not having goods.
Whether it's a dual-income or single-income family, there are usually many children in the family; three is not considered many, and four or five is also normal.
Although single-income families live a tight life, they have no problem making a living.
With receipts, one can occasionally buy canned goods and pastries to try and improve their living conditions.
For dual-income families, the financial burden is even lower; they might not be able to buy what they want when they go to a department store.
Li Guangming smiled as he was watched by the crowd. "What's so special about it? It's just the same old stuff."
He was speechless, feeling that Wang Juan liked to show off her superiority in front of the crowd.
Working in a department store is an honorable thing, but after a while it just gets the same.
Wang Juan always liked to ask this question loudly when the truck returned, which would always attract a crowd. At first, he found it amusing, but after a while, he couldn't take it anymore.
Even if they manage to purchase some rare items, most of them won't reach ordinary people. Those connected to the department stores will get wind of it early on, and those rare items will be "internally" consumed long before they're sold.
After packing the box, Li Guangming subconsciously thanked her. When he looked up and saw Song Lubai's delicate and clean face, as beautiful as a lotus emerging from water, he stammered.
He coughed lightly, "Thank you, comrade."
Song Lubai glanced at him, shook her head, and said with mixed feelings, "It's nothing, don't be so polite."
She got up to leave.
Li Guangming, as if possessed, lowered his voice and said, "We just got a new batch of brightly colored fabrics today, as well as floral Braga dresses. If you want to buy them, I'll put in a word with someone and reserve them for you, as a way of thanking you for your help earlier."
Li Guangming blushed after he finished speaking.
He knew he was probably older than the young woman opposite him, but when she looked at him with her clear, bright gaze, he couldn't help but blush, his heart pounding like a drum, completely out of control.
Song Lubai shook her head, "Thank you, but no need."
She didn't have much savings and couldn't afford to buy a dress herself.
So Aunt Li is wrong. There's no need to rush into finding a partner; what you should be rushing to do is get a job first.
With a job, she felt more confident and was able to choose a partner with better prospects.
Even after everyone had gone far away, Li Guangming looked back several times.
He didn't know what was wrong with him, he just wanted to look at that girl a few more times.
Song Lubai couldn't muster any energy all day.
Ever since she woke up from the dream, she felt that everything was strange.
Lin Jinyao, her little follower, stayed close to her, holding her big hand with her little one, skipping and jumping around from time to time, looking carefree.
The Lin brothers came home from school in the afternoon. The first thing they did was open the pot lid to see if there was any food inside.
Seeing the empty pot, the two of them pursed their lips.
Before the twins even entered the door, Song Lubai knew they were back just by hearing the sound of the pot lid being lifted.
As soon as the door opened, Song Lubai immediately assigned tasks, "You two do the laundry, and I'll cook."
Next to the basin was Lin Jinyao, who had been scrubbing clothes for a long time. Her hands were covered in soap suds, and she was having a great time playing with the bubbles.
The first to react was not the twins, but their biological father, Lin Dahai.
Upon hearing this, Lin Dahai stopped smoking, frowned at Song Lubai, and said with dissatisfaction, "The girls do the laundry, why are you making them do it? What kind of older sister are you?"
Lin Dahai was nearly fifty years old when he had twin sons, and he naturally doted on his two younger sons.
Song Lubai hesitated deliberately and said, "Then, Uncle, will you cook? I only have two hands, and I can only do one job."
Ever since he hit her, Song Lubai has never called Lin Dahai "Dad" again.
Lin Dahai was bald, and the smoke rings he exhaled swirled around his head.
He snorted, "If you had come back a little earlier, you would have finished washing by now. Go cook first, then do the laundry. There's no rush."
Song Lubai wrung out her clothes and put them in the basin, as if she hadn't heard anything. She turned to the twins and said, "I'm cooking now. You can only eat after all the clothes in the basin are washed. We don't support idlers in our family. No one can eat without doing any work."
Song Lubai's idea was very simple.
Household chores are not something that someone is solely responsible for doing.
Lin Dahai and her mother Zhang Cui support their family with their salaries. When she was in school, she was a freeloader. She worked whenever she could, which was also her way of contributing to the family.
Twins can't do much work when they're little, but as they grow older, it's only right that they contribute some chores to the household.
To be fair, nobody should be sitting at home eating for free.
The twins were quite obedient to her; once her face fell, they couldn't muster any thought of resisting.
Because the two of them were raised by their older sister from a young age, they would inevitably be beaten by Song Lubai whenever they were naughty.
The two of them squatted down and started scrubbing the clothes obediently, while Lin Dahai took a deep drag on his cigarette.
He felt that Song Lubai was increasingly disregarding him.
If he continues, this girl will definitely turn against him.
That year, he got so angry that he slapped her. The brat yelled that he was bullying the daughter of a hero and martyr, and her voice was so loud that the whole world could hear it.
He never expected that a young girl could be so difficult to deal with. So many years have passed, and he still can't please her or get close to her. They can only remain in this stalemate, each minding their own business. This feeling of unease makes him feel terrible.
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