Chapter 7 Looking at each other
Lin Shuhong's biological mother had passed away long ago, and he was not close to his stepmother, Zhang Cui.
As the saying goes, having a stepmother and half-siblings means having a stepfather. In Lin Shuhong's heart, the small family she formed with Liu Mei was naturally more important.
Lin Shuhong, who has both a son and a daughter, listens to his wife very much. The next day, he took the opportunity to go back to Liu Mei's parents' home and took Liu Xingchun into the county town before dark.
It was too late to catch the bus to the city, and riding a bicycle at night was not safe, so they had to stay overnight in the county town.
The next day, around noon, Song Lubai had just returned from the hospital with Lin Jinyao when they met Liu Mei's niece at their doorstep.
Song Lubai was naturally familiar with Liu Xingchun.
In recent years, Liu Mei would always bring her nephew and niece from her maternal family to visit during holidays.
Liu Xingchun has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and her face is not small. When she smiles, a pair of deep dimples appear on her cheeks, making it hard for people to dislike her. Moreover, she always greets people with a smile.
"Auntie, thank you so much for taking care of me these past few days. My mom asked me to bring you some food. This is all the food we have in the village, so please don't mind it."
Song Lubai was only a month or so older than her, but according to seniority, Liu Xingchun should call her "aunt".
Liu Xingchun was wearing a light red jacket, and her cloth shoes were clearly new. Her indigo trousers had no patches on them.
It was clear that the other person had specially dressed in nice clothes in order to enter the city.
Song Lubai gave a rather unenthusiastic smile and stepped forward to unlock the door. "Have you been waiting long? Come in quickly."
Once inside, Song Lubai asked Lin Jinyao to pour water for Liu Xingchun.
"You're here, why bring anything?"
Song Lubai would still exchange polite words. Although she didn't dislike Liu Xingchun, the other party was Liu Mei's niece, so she didn't like her that much.
Liu Xingchun drank her water and smiled apologetically, saying, "My aunt has been troubling you these past few days. My uncle has been busy with work and was planning to have me go to the hospital to take care of her until she is discharged."
As she spoke, Song Lubai noticed that she was becoming shy and hesitant.
"What's wrong? Just tell me what's wrong."
Liu Xingchun was just waiting for her to say those words.
“My uncle’s family lives in the county town. I’m taking care of my aunt, so I can’t travel back and forth every day. I’ll have to trouble you for the next few days.”
Seeing her slightly downcast expression, Liu Xingchun quickly said, "I'll just stay at the hospital with my aunt and won't come to squeeze in with you. But there are many inconvenient places in the hospital, so I'll inevitably have to trouble you."
Song Lubai was afraid that she would stay here.
Her bed is too small; there's no way another person could fit in.
Liu Mei has been hospitalized for several days now. Song Lubai thinks that if Liu Mei cares about the money, she definitely won't stay in the hospital for long. It's only a few days, and she can bear with it.
Besides, even if she didn't want to tolerate it, Lin Dahai wouldn't agree if he found out.
The balance between her and Lin Dahai is very delicate, and any external factor will disrupt this balance.
But she wasn't afraid.
My aunt said, if you're not happy, then fight back. If someone bullies you, you have to retaliate in kind, otherwise there will be a next time.
Before he could even settle into his seat at home, he took Liu Xingchun to the hospital again.
Liu Xingchun also had a change of clothes prepared for Liu Mei in the cloth bag she was carrying.
These past few days, Song Lubai has only been responsible for delivering meals; she doesn't care about anything else.
Even if Liu Mei wanted her to do her housework, she wouldn't. If the other party wisely didn't bring it up, she would pretend not to know.
Anyway, she's not my sister-in-law, so I'll just maintain appearances and politeness.
It was right at the end of the workday for everyone, and I could hear lively conversations inside the ward even before I entered it.
Judging from the noise, there must be quite a few people in the ward.
Before entering, Song Lubai noticed that Liu Xingchun had deliberately straightened her clothes.
The ward was packed with people, and many relatives of the patients in the two beds opposite Liu Mei had come to visit.
As Song Lubai entered, she keenly sensed a gaze upon her.
She looked up and saw a familiar-looking young man with delicate features staring at her with bright eyes.
Seeing her look at him, Li Guangming hesitated, his voice hoarse as he uttered, "Comrade, hello, we meet again."
His palms were sweaty, and Li Guangming secretly hated himself for being so useless.
Song Lubai nodded, then turned to Liu Mei and said, "Sister-in-law, Xingchun is here. Let them stay here with you. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Liu Mei couldn't wait for her to leave, and in order to show her generosity in front of everyone, she deliberately took out 50 cents from her pocket and stuffed it into Song Lubai's hand.
"Xingchun's arrival has troubled you all again. Your mother has worked hard these past few days. Take this money and buy some things to take home as a token of your gratitude. Don't keep offering it back and forth; it doesn't look good. Just accept it."
Liu Mei has a job in the county town, although it's a temporary job, it's still much better than toiling in the fields in the village.
Lin Shuhong earns about forty yuan a month from her job. The two of them only have one child, and they live a very easy life.
Although it stung a little to take out 50 cents, Liu Mei gritted her teeth and the pain subsided.
Liu Mei wanted to show Sister Li that her family was well-off, so that Sister Li would think more highly of her niece.
Song Lubai didn't know what was going on with Liu Mei, but she was forced to give her 50 cents.
With so many people in the ward, it really doesn't look right to keep making way for others.
And just like that, she left with fifty cents inexplicably.
In the ward, Sister Li watched her nephew peeking out the window, feeling secretly pleased, confident that the matter would definitely succeed.
Song Lubai doesn't talk much, but she's polite and poised. She's even in high school. The only downside is that her father died after she was born.
It doesn't matter if we don't have a job now, since our household registration is in the city. After we get married, we'll find a way to get a job through connections, and then the couple's life will naturally be sweet and happy.
Sister Li was beaming with joy; the sickness she had felt during her hospital stay had vanished, and she looked cheerful and happy.
Liu Mei held Liu Xingchun's hand, looked at Li Guangming, and said to Sister Li, "This is my niece from my mother's side, named Liu Xingchun. She is capable and filial, both at home and outside."
Liu Xingchun lowered her eyes and looked shyly at the person opposite her, then greeted them in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.
A short while later, Sister Li saw her family out. Liu Xingchun hesitated, but at Liu Mei's prompting, she followed them out.
"Big sister, you're not fully recovered yet, why did you come out to see us off? We're not strangers."
Li Guangming's mother considerately told her sister-in-law to go back to her ward to rest.
Sister Li specially escorted me to the hospital entrance, lowering her voice to say, "I'm fine, it's just a minor ailment."
She looked at Li Guangming with shining eyes, "How was the viewing today?"
She's confident her nephew will definitely agree this time!
A young man in his early twenties, anyone can tell where his eyes are looking!
Li Guangming scratched the back of his head and nodded awkwardly.
He thinks it's okay, but he's afraid that people won't like him.
Sister Li clapped her hands and laughed, shaking her head and giggling.
"Just wait and see. I'm keeping this in mind. You should also go and talk to them. If things go well, try to get married within three months."
"Sister-in-law, what do you say?"
Li Guangming's mother naturally had no objections.
She wants her son to get married soon, but he wasn't satisfied with any of the women she had previously arranged for him to marry. Now that she's finally found someone he likes and whose conditions are suitable, she'll give it her all.
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