Chapter 185 Blackmail
Panpan has always been double-standard and treats people differently. He gives out colorful candies to the children who are close to him, White Rabbit to the best ones, and the cheapest orange candies or rock candies to the children who are not close to him and need to share the joy. Rock candies
are also candies!
He really can't bear to give out candies, so he takes out his lunch box and gives out homemade "lollipops" to everyone.
This lollipop was made by Panpan last night when Lin Shu was making sweet potato shreds for the children. After boiling the syrup, he took a toothpick to roll the syrup ball.
Although it is not round enough and has pits and depressions, it is sesame candy when dipped in a little black sesame and white sesame.
How rare!
"This is delicious, really delicious!" Everyone praised it, it was fragrant and sweet.
Panpan immediately felt a little disappointed and a little hurt.
Forget it, it is only right for the second aunt and the second uncle to share the sweets when they get married, and they cannot be stingy.
The Lu family gave the highest standard of reception etiquette to Mrs. Jiang's arrival. Fang Dihua and Old Man Lu personally entertained her and were very cordial.
The branch secretary and the team leader also came. Their enthusiastic attitude made Mrs. Jiang feel that her son was from the Lu family village.
Old Mrs. Jiang took Fang Dihua's hand and thanked her vigorously, and also thanked the branch secretary and the team leader, "Thanks to you for the pork, duck eggs and other things. We can't buy so much in the city, otherwise it wouldn't be enough to entertain the guests. How embarrassing would that be? With the meat you gave us, it will be so grand."
This was the original intention of the branch secretary and the team leader. They thought that it was difficult to buy meat in the city, and a lot of meat was needed for wedding banquets. They gave pork to Director Jiang, so that the people in the city could feel the benefits of our relatives and friends in the countryside, right?
Of course, they gave Jiang Weidong pork to repay Jiang Weidong for helping them sell sanitary products. If Jiang Weidong hadn't specifically mentioned it, they wouldn't have had much, but when he specifically pointed it out, the sense of accomplishment and the feeling of being proud reached the peak.
Their efforts were seen and appreciated by others. What could be happier than this?
It really wasn't in vain!
"Welcome!" The branch secretary laughed and invited Mrs. Jiang to stay for a few days.
The branch secretary and the team leader both gave the Lu family a few pounds of fine noodles, hoping that they would roll noodles or make dumplings to entertain the guests.
Jiang Weidong asked Brother Lu to unload the things tied up on the roof of the car. There was some uneaten meat, a bag of white flour bought from the city, some malted milk, snacks, etc., which totaled two baskets.
In addition to the regular gifts of noodles, meat, snacks, etc., Old Lady Jiang also gave Fang Dihua, Lu Xiuxiu, and Lu Cuicui extra gifts she had prepared.
Fang Dihua wore a black metal headband, while Lu Xiuxiu and Lu Cuicui wore red and green plastic headbands. In those days, the country people called plastic chemicals, which were very rare things.
The next day, Jiang Weidong drove his wife and mother to Linjiatun.
Lin Shu and her two children did not go. She wanted to give the main venue to her second sister and second brother-in-law. After all, they were newly married and returned to their parents' home. They should enjoy the treatment of being the center of attention. If she and her two children went there, her parents and the eldest uncle's family would inevitably be distracted to entertain them, which would steal the limelight from her second sister.
In addition, she lived close to her parents' home. She usually rode her bicycle there every now and then. If there were some good things at home, she would go there to deliver them. If there were any delicious food there, she would send Lin Yue to deliver it. She was very diligent.
In two days, Lu Shaotang would come back to celebrate the New Year. He would also visit his father-in-law and mother-in-law before the New Year. She and the children could go there then.
The two children missed their grandpa and grandma very much. They always stayed in the arms of their father Lu. They would soak their feet with their grandfather before going to bed, saying that it was good for grandpa and grandson to soak their big feet. After the second
sister and her friends left, Panpan Tiantian took the radio to the infirmary to accompany her grandfather to work to relieve her boredom. She also invited Xu Xiaoyou and other friends to listen to the radio.
Lin Shu also cleaned up the house. Although Fang Dihua, Lu Dasao and Lu Xiuxiu would help her look after the house, she was used to arranging everything if she didn't go home for a few days. It was more like reminiscing about her own things than cleaning.
This is a habit she developed when she lived alone in her previous life.
The big lump of soy sauce that she dropped before leaving also needs to be checked and turned over to see if there is any bacteria.
Then she takes Lu Xiuxiu to make a pot of spicy cabbage for the family. The spicy cabbage of the Xian ethnic group requires shrimp sauce, chili powder and other ingredients. Generally, she will make a batch of shrimp sauce when there is shrimp sauce at home.
Lu Xiuxiu had laid the foundation of sewing under Guo Tailor two years ago. She didn't learn any cooking skills. After all, it is impossible for Lu Dajie to ask her niece to cook. If the mother-in-law asks her niece to cook, Lu Dajie will have an opinion. She would rather do it herself than let her niece get involved. But Lin Shu
doesn't care. As long as the children are willing to learn, she will ask them. Lu
Xiuxiu was willing to work with her, but Lu Cuicui was not.
Ever since Lin Shu first came in and asked Lu Cuicui to wash her hands before eating, and Lu Cuicui said with a sullen face that she didn't want to meddle in other people's business, and knocked Panpan and Tiantian over, Lin Shu has never been close to her.
Lu Cuicui has never tried to please her either, and would only call her "Auntie" when she had no choice, and would ignore her at other times.
But these past two days, for some reason, Lu Cuicui suddenly approached Lin Shu, not as close and natural as Lu Xiuxiu, and with a little embarrassment, as if she was saying, "I'm approaching you and you're taking the initiative to care about me, so I'll tell you what's the matter."
Lin Shu taught Lu Xiuxiu to put all the spicy cabbage with sauce into the jar and seal it. She glanced at Lu Cuicui next to her, "Cuicui, is there something wrong?"
Lu Cuicui pretended to be shy and tugged at the corner of her clothes with her fingers, "Auntie, can you teach me how to be white?"
Lin Shu looked at her in surprise. Lu Cuicui was only 11 years old after the Chinese New Year. Does she know how to love beauty?
To be honest, Lin Shu really has no feelings for Lu Cuicui, and doesn't care whether she is beautiful or ugly, let alone how Lu Cuicui will develop in the future.
Perhaps because of this indifference, she did not activate the life trajectory of Lu Cuicui's original lover. In that world, most of the Lu family lived a miserable life. How about Lu Ersao and Lu Cuicui?
She didn't know.
Lin Shu was a little surprised when Lu Cuicui suddenly approached her.
She looked at Lu Cuicui. Although Lu Cuicui's appearance did not meet the public's aesthetic standards and many people said she was ugly, she looked a little older than before. Her
originally squinting eyes became bigger, her jawline became clearer, her chin was pointed, and her lips were thick.
Let's put it this way, if Lu Cuicui grew up a little more and her eyes became bigger, she would look like the animated version of Mulan, a live-action version of anime.
Lu Cuicui felt a little embarrassed when Lin Shu looked at her. She knew she was ugly, others said she was ugly, and her mother privately scolded her for being an ugly egg picked out of her stomach all day long.
Only her father never thought she was ugly, and he even earned money to buy her a scarf and a red hairband, saying that she was still young, and that girls would change a lot when they grow up, and that she would be pretty after some changes. But
her own mother scolded her for being a fool and dreaming, saying that pretty girls were pretty when they were young, and if you don’t believe it, look at Tiantian, Panpan, Xiuxiu and Lu Ping? If
you were an ugly child when you were young, you will only be an ugly adult when you grow up!
She went around everywhere, hanging out with the educated youth, and heard some female educated youth whispering, "A white complexion can hide all ugliness" and that boys like white skin.
She just wanted to be white.
If she was white, she would be pretty, and she wouldn't have to worry about droopy eyes, bulbous noses, and thick lips.
She asked her grandfather, but he said that there was no secret recipe for whitening, and that white and black were all innate, just like the empress and concubines in ancient times who could only apply powder to be white.
She wondered why Lin Xia was tanned when she was running around in the countryside, but she became white in the winter?
Lin Xia must not have the secret to whitening, it must have been taught by her third aunt.
Third aunt has not changed in the past few years, and has always been so white and tender. It would be impossible without a secret recipe.
So she mustered up the courage to ask Lin Shu.
How should Lin Shu answer?
Whitening is the eternal pursuit of Chinese people. Haven’t you seen that even in the 21st century, many people are still pursuing whiteness, youthfulness and thinness?
Even the most rubbish skin care products can be multiplied several times in price as long as they claim to have whitening effects, and sales will also increase.
Can she tell Lu Cuicui that local whitening is useless, cheap whitening is useless, genes determine whether your skin color is black or white, and if you don’t have money, don’t waste money? The reason
why Lin Xia is dark in the summer and white in the winter is because she has a white foundation. Look at her white skin.
Lu Cuicui's skin is wheat color, which is popular in the West. How can it be so white?
If she said that, the other party would definitely not believe it. Lu Cuicui obviously believed that she had a secret recipe. To be honest, it would be a thankless task if she didn't tell him.
She thought for a while and said, "Don't go out in the hot sun. Pay attention to sun protection and moisturizing. Apply clam oil balm or something when the wind is dry in winter."
In order to make Lu Cuicui feel that she was not fooling people, Lin Shu also gave the two of them a complicated and expensive mask formula, such as egg white, white vinegar, and rice washing water for washing the face. In
this era, most of the country people had never seen white vinegar. Rice was not produced locally, and there was even less rice washing water. Egg white was okay, but it was also a luxury.
For some people, if it is not expensive and troublesome, they will think it is useless. If it
is expensive and troublesome, even if it is useless, they will comfort themselves in their hearts that it is useful.
Lu Cuicui really listened to her.
She said shyly: "Auntie, can you smear the egg shell on me when you lay eggs in the future?"
When cracking eggs, the egg white cannot be cracked cleanly, and she can just sip it with her fingers to wipe her face.
Lin Shu: "Okay."
Lu Cuicui was immediately happy, and imitated Panpan's sweet way to say thank you, and took the initiative to help Lin Shu do some work.
Lin Shu found it funny that she was willing to curry favor with herself just to be beautiful. She used to have a stern face and acted like "you look down on me, I'm not your friend", but now she is "condescending" to be beautiful?
She also taught Lu Cuicui and Lu Xiuxiu some simple methods, so that the little girls can try them out when they are free.
Such as loofah water, cucumber slices, aloe, etc.
Lu Cuicui was excited when she heard it, "I know where to find aloe."
There is no fresh cucumber or loofah now, but there is aloe.
She immediately ran out to ask for aloe.
Although Lu Cuicui is a girl, because Fang Dihua and Lu's father are more tolerant of their grandchildren, and because there is someone in the family who cooks for them, they don't need to be trapped at home, so the girls in the Lu family are much more comfortable than girls in other families.
Lu Cuicui is particularly free and can be said to be the most comfortable girl in Lujiazhuang.
Although she will be 11 years old after the Chinese New Year, she has never done any housework until now, and farm work is not expected of her. She doesn't like to stay at home and is out playing every day.
As the saying goes, where time is, there are specialties.
Lu Cuicui's specialty is that she knows everything about the people and things in Lujiazhuang.
She knows that Zhang Xiaofang's house in the future has a pot of aloe and a large pot of cactus.
Zhang Xiaofang's father is the elder brother of widow Sun's late husband.
That cactus will bloom red flowers and bear red fruits in summer. You can eat the flesh inside after grinding off the thorns. It is sour and sweet and delicious.
Aloe vera was of no use to her before. She only heard that it works well when mashed with something else.
Since it can whiten the skin, she wants to plant a big one.
Her desire to be beautiful is too strong. She is 11 years old and is a big girl. On top of the shame of a child, she also understands the self-esteem of beauty and ugliness. She can't stand people, including her own mother, saying that she is ugly all day long!
She ran to the back of the village in one breath. When passing by widow Sun's house, she suddenly heard a strange sound coming from inside. She immediately understood that widow Sun was having an affair at home.
Don't look at her young age, but she is knowledgeable!
After all, she had seen a lot of things when she was wandering outside every day without going home. She knew who went to whose house to steal things and who went to whose house to steal people.
She went around to the back of Widow Sun's house.
Widow Sun's house was the last row of houses. Because there were no houses behind it, a wall was built behind the house for safety.
It was estimated that because there was a wall to block the wind, the back window of the main hall of Widow Sun's house was not blocked like other houses. It might be for ventilation and smoke exhaust.
Lu Cuicui climbed over the low wall, stuck to the back window, opened the window a little and looked inside.
At this glance, she saw familiar
faces. It turned out that Widow Sun and Lu Shaocai were lying on the kang in the house!
The two of them had a big fight on the kang, and were still whispering private things.
Widow Sun smiled with a hooked voice and asked softly: "Can't Zhao Meifeng serve you?"
Lu Shaocai snorted, "I don't want her to serve me. I'm tired of her. She stinks of pig feces all day long, I don't want to touch her."
The two whispered something again.
Widow Sun: "My family can hardly open the pot, let alone fine noodles, even dried sweet potatoes are not enough." As she said this, she sobbed softly.
Lu Shaocai immediately embraced her and called her his darling, and promised to send her a bag of food in the evening, "Corn and sorghum, you go and grind it yourself."
If she took the ground flour, Zhao Meifeng would find out.
Zhao Meifeng now spends every day in the pig farm, not only is it smelly, but she doesn't hang around him like before, and Lu Shaocai can't stand being ignored.
He chose Zhao Meifeng because she licked him. When
Widow Sun saw that he was willing to give her food, she immediately happily snuggled into his arms.
After a while, Lu Cuicui heard Widow Sun sighing, "Oh, if we could be a long-term couple, I will serve you as I serve the landlord every day."
Lu Shaocai: "That's not impossible. Who knows, one day the bitch might fall into the pigpen and get eaten by pigs."
He didn't really want Zhao Meifeng to die, but he was in a good mood and wanted to please Widow Sun and satisfy his desires, so he would do whatever she said.
When Lu Cuicui was almost frozen outside, Lu Shaocai finally said goodbye and slipped out quietly.
Good guy, she didn't go out the front door, but jumped out of the back window.
No wonder the back window was not closed in such a cold day.
Lu Shaocai was very happy and walked home proudly with his legs crossed.
Lu Cuicui caught up with him and shouted, "Uncle!"
Lu Shaocai was just savoring the wonderful taste brought to him by his grandson's widow. When he turned around and saw Lu Cuicui's face, he immediately felt disgusted and thought to himself: How could the second son's family give birth to such an ugly girl? Look at her drooping eyes, with a gap as wide as a palm between them.
He felt relieved and said with a cheerful face, "Cui Cui."
Lu Cuicui walked up to him and stretched out her hand, "Uncle, can you lend me five yuan?"
Lu Shaocai: "What? What do you want the money for? If you want money, you can ask your father."
Lu Cuicui stared at him steadily, with a sarcastic look and a domineering attitude, "Uncle, you must give it to me, because I know your secret."
Lu Shaocai's heart skipped a beat. What secret?
He turned around and looked.
Lu Cuicui laughed and said, "Yes, I followed you here."
Lu Shaocai's heart, which had just been full of joy, suddenly fell into an ice hole, and he looked around in panic.
Fortunately, tomorrow is the Little New Year. It is freezing cold and everyone is busy at home. There are not many people on the street.
He whispered, "Little girl, don't talk nonsense. I just passed by there."
Lu Cuicui shook her head, "No, I saw you from the back window..."
"Shut up! What nonsense are you talking about!" Lu Shaocai believed her completely, but was annoyed that a little girl didn't know anything.
He said, "My shoes were torn on the road, and I went to borrow needlework to mend them. You..."
"Uncle, I'm not a fool. I know." Lu Cuicui tilted her head and looked at Lu Shaocai with a smile.
Lu Shaocai immediately felt a chill crawling up his spine. This was not a little girl at all, but a little devil.
He was panicking and didn't have time to think about what to do. He searched his pockets and found only one dollar.
He had brought three dollars with him before he left. He gave two dollars to Widow Sun. She was considerate of his grandfathers and asked him to keep money. She only gave him one dollar out of two dollars.
In this day and age, a countryman who could easily take out fifty cents from his pocket was considered rich. He had to be a village cadre. It was good for him to take out one dollar.
Lu Cuicui didn't expect him to give her five dollars. She was asking for a high price and then paying it back.
She reached out and grabbed it, "You still owe me four yuan, or you can buy me two bottles of vanishing cream."
Third Aunt said to use clam oil, just to fool her. She was not a fool. Didn't she know that clam oil was cheap and vanishing cream was expensive? Third
Aunt used very expensive vanishing cream to make her skin white and tender, but she asked her to use clam oil, which cost five cents a bottle, to fool a child?
Clam oil cost five cents a small one, and fifteen cents a big one. Balsam cost twenty-five cents a box, but good vanishing cream cost one yuan a bottle!
Lu Shaocai just evaded her and said he would go home to get it for her.
Lu Cuicui followed him.
Lu Shaocai didn't know how to deal with her for a while. He couldn't beat or scold her, and he couldn't let her speak out, so he had to coax her first.
He went home and took Lu Jinling's vanishing cream to give to Lu Cuicui.
Lu Jinling had vanishing cream, clam oil and other things, but she was reluctant to use the vanishing cream every day. She only used it when she went on blind dates or went out with male educated youth or young male teachers .
Lu Cuicui took the vanishing cream and put it in her pocket, feeling very satisfied.
She ran away with a smug smile, and went to the back of the village to ask for aloe vera.
Just then, she saw Widow Sun coming out of the house, her butt twitching, and Lu Cuicui felt that she was the coquettish one.
What was she thinking about asking Widow Sun for?
Widow Sun must be more afraid than Lu Shaocai that people would know that she was having an affair, because she herself was impoverished because of the bald man. If people knew that she and Lu Shaocai were having an affair, who knows that she was also having affairs with other men?
Those women in the village would definitely tear her apart, after all, they would not want to tear apart their own men, right?
Lu Cuicui gripped the ground with her toes and thought about it. She wanted a pair of nice shoes next spring. Auntie San made beautiful shoes, but she would not make one for herself.
Widow Sun also made beautiful shoes. Why not ask Widow Sun to give her a pair of shoes later? After
thinking it over, Lu Cuicui went to Zhang Xiaofang's house next door to Widow Sun
to the east to ask for aloe. It was difficult to survive by breaking off branches and leaves in this season, so Zhang Xiaofang's mother said that she would give her two small aloe trees in the spring.
Lu Cuicui could not wait and took out a dollar directly, "Sell it to me for two cents!"
Zhang Xiaofang's mother was shocked. Is the Lu family really rich? A little girl can just take out a dollar?
If it were someone else's family, her first reaction would be to suspect that the child stole money from the family, but it was different in the Lu family. They gave their children pocket money. Didn't you see Tiantian and Panpan sharing candy on the street?
I heard from the children that Panpan and his family also sold tea eggs and candied haws.
Since Panpan and Tiantian have money, Fang Dihua is not partial. The children from the other two rooms must also have money.
However, Zhang Xiaofang's mother is not the kind of person who is greedy for money. In the countryside, flowers and plants are asked for, but no one spends money to buy them.
If she sells them to Lu Cuicui today, won't people scold her when she talks about it later?
If the Lu family knew about this, they would think she cheated the child out of money.
She smiled and said, "It's just an aloe plant, it's nothing, why would they charge for it? You can move all the pots away, and when we divide the aloe plants next spring, you can send us a few more. Sometimes they get bumped or burned, I will just mess them up and they will heal quickly."
Lu Cuicui: "Okay, I'll bring it back to you later."
She left with a clear conscience, holding the heavy pot of aloe.
Lu Cuicui took the aloe plant home, and Lin Shu had already pickled the kimchi with Lu Xiuxiu.
Seeing that Lu Cuicui really wanted to bring back the aloe vera, she asked casually. Lu Cuicui did not hide it and said that she went to Zhang Xiaofang's house to buy it, and Zhang Xiaofang's mother gave it to her, saying that she could give the smaller one to the Zhang family next year.
Lin Shu did not think much about it. Generally, adults in the family would think that the children under their noses were just children and would not think much about it.
If the person involved did not say anything, the family would really not know what the child did outside.
Especially this kind of messy child.
Lin Xia and Jiang Weidong took Mrs. Jiang to live in the Lin family for three days. After breakfast on the day of the Little New Year, they returned to the Lu family.
Mrs. Jiang was happier than her son and daughter-in-law. Since she knew that her son was going to marry Lin Xia, the smile on her face has never disappeared.
She smiles when she goes to sleep at night, laughs out loud in her dreams, and laughs out loud before she wakes up in the morning.
She feels even happier these few days when she is at her in-laws' house.
This time, the meeting between Old Lady Jiang and her in-laws was quite successful.
Lin's mother and father are honest and gentle, and Lin Yue is still childish. The two men in the Lin family work in the agricultural machinery group of the commune and earn money. They have enough food and clothing at home, and they don't calculate for the Jiang family to get benefits. Old
Lady Jiang herself is an old lady who came to the city from the countryside. She has set her sights on Lin Xia and loves her like a treasure. Naturally, she is also good to her parents, brothers, and nephews.
She is not like most city mothers-in-law who put on airs and look down on rural in-laws, so the Lin family is naturally closer to her. They have been entertaining her wholeheartedly these few days.
Mother Lin also discussed with her that if the daughter had a child and Old Lady Jiang could not take care of it, she could bring the child to the countryside, or she could go to the city to help take care of the child.
Old Lady Jiang was very happy.
Mother Lin and Aunt Lin gave them gifts in return, all of which were food they cooked themselves.
Old Lady Jiang and Fang Dihua went to have a friendly time, while Big Brother Lu and Second Brother Lu were responsible for entertaining Jiang Weidong.
Lin Xia took Lin Shu to pack up the gifts she brought back, and said with a smile: "Our aunt is really different from before. She specially prepared gifts for you and Tiantian Panpan, and asked you to go back and stay for two days before the New Year. This time when I went back to my parents' home, many people in the village came to visit our house. Most of them said good things, but there were also people who said sour words. Before our mother could say anything, auntie would retort back."
Auntie Lin's gift was a signal, or to be more precise, an apology. Auntie Lin used to be
quite feudal. When Lu Shaotang "sacrificed" her, she was afraid that Lin Shu would bring bad luck to the Lin family and was not friendly to Lin Shu.
However, Lin Shu had no opinion of Auntie Lin for a long time. No matter whether Auntie Lin was good to her or not, she was really helpful to Lin's father and mother.
When Lin Yue got divorced and Lin's mother was sick, Auntie Lin and her uncle helped a lot.
Lin Shu naturally remembered them well.
I just don’t know why Mrs. Lin suddenly brought up the old things again. Is she afraid that she will hold a grudge? No, I usually see my aunt in a friendly manner when I go back to my parents' home.
Lin Xia explained: "Looking at what Auntie meant, I felt really bad for Lin Yaner, and wanted to get closer to us."
Auntie Lin was not good at kissing her daughter, so it was understandable that she wanted to get close to her niece.
Lin Shu didn't have a deep impression of Lin Yan. She seemed to have never seen her twice.
Cousin Lin Yan lives a self-centered life, focusing on her own family and rarely helping her parents' family. She only comes to visit when she needs help from her parents' family throughout the year. At other times, Aunt Lin sends her sons and grandchildren to visit her.
Lin Yan married into the brigade of the suburban area of the county town. Although she didn't have a city hukou, she could do anything conveniently because she was close to the county town. Her life was comfortable and no different from that in the city.
At first, Aunt Lin complained that her mother-in-law was partial. She gave all the good candidates to the daughters of the second son's family, but not her own daughter.
We didn't want the Hou family in the province. The daughter didn't have the appearance, personality and ability of Lin Dan, so we couldn't marry her. Even if we went to the Hou family, they wouldn't like her.
But the Qian family in the city were just ordinary workers. Why did they give Lin Xia to her instead of their own daughter?
After the two daughters got married, Aunt Lin found that it was really difficult to deal with the mothers-in-law in the city. It was not easy for Lin Xia to come back. When she brought something home, she had to be treated with strangeness by the man. Qian Lisheng saw that the Lin family was friendly and close to the Yue family on the surface, but in fact they looked down on the countryside. Aunt Lin was really angry.
Looking at her son-in-law's family, although they were not from the city, but the son-in-law would help with the housework when he came home, and he would not look down on the Lin family.
At that time, she felt balanced again and felt that Lin Yan had married well.
But the daughters of the family seemed to have forgotten their parents' home for a long time, and would not go back to their parents' home unless they needed to. Look at the second room, there are three daughters of the family. Even if the eldest daughter and the second daughter can't go home often, they will give money.
She began to be jealous again.
But as time went by, Lin Yue got divorced, Lu Shaotang "sacrificed", Lin Xia got divorced, and Lin Dan's in-laws
had trouble. Aunt Lin suddenly realized. She felt that everyone was destined to be good, and bad things would come after good things.
Now Lin Xia married a better man, Lin Dan's man was fine, and he was making a living in Lujiazhuang, and Lin Shu's life was getting better and better. She followed her man to the city to enjoy a good life. She thought, see, what did I say?
Good things come after bad things!
Those who were jealous and said sour words only saw that the three sisters married well, why didn't they see when they suffered?
Aunt Lin, speaking from her own experience, murmured to her uncle that after ten, twenty, or even a lifetime, people have ups and downs, some suffer first and then enjoy happiness, and some enjoy happiness first and then suffer. After all, the sweetness and bitterness did not fall from the sky. After
she figured it out, she only envied Lin's mother and father but not jealousy. She
said to Uncle Lin, "If I marry you, I will be a member of the old Lin family, and my niece is also my real niece. If they are good to me, I will be proud of my aunt, and I will have face when I go out, and others will not dare to bully me casually. When they come back to honor their parents, it is equivalent to honoring us at the same time. I am content."
"We have few male descendants in our two branches, and we can't fight like some families, we have to stick together." "
We should get along well with the second branch. The daughters and sons-in-law of the second branch are powerful, and we will also benefit from it."
She clearly told her son and daughter-in-law to respect their second uncle and aunt. From now on, they must send a portion of the delicious food at home to the second uncle's house. If the second uncle and Lin Yue are not at home, they can go to Mother Lin's house if they have any work. Help.
This time Lin Xia came back, she specially prepared gifts for Lin Shu and Zai'er and invited them to live there before the year. This was also a roundabout way of apologizing to Lin Shu.
When Lu Shaotang "sacrificed", Aunt Lin reflected that she was indeed unkind. Although she later helped the second roommate a lot, she never formally apologized to Lin Shu.
If the elder is embarrassed to apologize to the junior, give him a gift and the other party will know.
Whether she knew it or not, as long as Lin Shu responded, Aunt Lin would know that she would forgive her and not mind her anymore.
Lin Shu is a soul that traveled through time and space, and she is a relative of them. She has no feelings for them since childhood, so naturally she will be sincere to them only when they are good to her.
Since her uncle and aunt have made efforts, she will not be stingy. When I go back to my mother's house, I prepare two gifts and include my eldest aunt's family in my mother's area. After the New Year, I give some rabbits to my eldest uncle's family so that they can raise Angora rabbits to earn some extra money. In the countryside, you can earn only 80 yuan a month. That's a big subsidy, enough for daily purchases of matches, salt, etc.
The next day Jiang Weidong took Lin Xia and Old Lady Jiang back to the city. After the 16th day of the first lunar month, Lin Xia had to come back to the countryside. It was not
until the 28th of February that Lu Shaotang hurried home.
Chen Yanming was unable to come to celebrate the New Year because he was on a business trip to the capital.
In order to let Lao Lu go home to celebrate the New Year with his wife and children, Chen Yanming was very selfless.
Lu Shaotang brought back a lot of New Year gifts, many of which were from the unit. The New Year benefits were
a basket of apples, a basket of hawthorns, 20 kilograms of pork, 50 kilograms of flour, malted milk, snacks, brown and white sugar, tea, wine, etc.
Lu Shaotang left the pork in the family yard and left it there. The team members at home will eat, since they have killed the New Year pig at home.
He arrived home in the morning, and seeing that he was not tired, Lin Shu packed up the gifts and asked him to go to Fang City to see his grandmother.
Don't eat lunch there, so as not to bother my aunt and uncle. See the old man go home after giving filial respect, and take her and the children to Linjiatun after lunch.
When we arrived at Linjiatun, we saw Panpan and Tiantian kissing each other. They fed my grandma and grandpa some magic potion.
"Grandma, Grandma, I miss you so much!"
Lin's mother teased them, "If you miss us, why don't you come with Second Aunt when you come back?"
Panpan immediately said, "Didn't my mother say not to steal Second Aunt's limelight? "
Tiantian: "Yes, my mother said that my second aunt is the bride, and she should be the focus wherever she goes. We can't steal the limelight, and it will be fine in the future."
Lin's mother: "You two are smart."
Lin Yue also He ran back from outside with Baoer and his cousins and nephews. They went out to catch birds with a sieve, but they caught only three sparrows after a long time, which was not enough to fill their mouths.
Seeing that Lin Shu and Lu Shaotang had returned, Lin Yue asked his nephew to Go and call Uncle Lin and Father Lin back.
Lu Shaotang carried all the things into the house, and Mother Lin asked him to go in and get on the kang to warm up.
Mother Lin is not so worried now. She looks fatter and healthier than before, and is as cheerful as Mrs. Jiang all day long.
She took out the melon seeds and peanuts prepared for the New Year and gave them to Lu Shaotang and the children, even though she knew Lu Shaotang was not happy. I like snacks, but my mother-in-law loves her son-in-law, so she will treat him with whatever she thinks is good.
Lu Shaotang was very considerate and grabbed a handful.
Lin's mother was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
Lin Shu: "Mom, where is my aunt? I'll call her through the wall."
Lin's mother whispered: "Don't call yet, your sister Lin Yan'er is here."
Lin Shu: "Oh, what a rare guest, I haven't seen you for a while, why did you come back so suddenly?"
Mother Lin looked outside, as if she was afraid that the neighbors would hear her. "Just now your brother came over and said something, as if he came back to ask for money, saying that his sister-in-law was getting married and the family didn't have enough money for the dowry, so she I came back to borrow some."
Lin Shu was surprised: "This is... rare."
Generally speaking, it is the man who is busy collecting betrothal gifts, and I have never heard of the woman worrying about dowry.
In today's society, it is tacitly accepted that the man should give the woman a dowry when marrying a wife . The bride price is a betrothal gift, and a portion of it will be left by the bride's parents for their son to marry a wife. The bride's dowry depends on the situation, mostly clothes and other items for the bride.
Even so, in fact, most of the betrothal gifts given by the man are less than 30 yuan in cash, fabrics and cotton for two or three sets of bedding, and two new sets of fabrics for the woman. The majority of the money is spent on the house. If the conditions are really good, a sewing machine will be prepared. .
It has come to the point where they need to raise money for the bride's dowry. It seems that even though Lin Yan'er's sister-in-law has married into a wealthy family, the other party still looks down on her and will only agree if she brings expensive things as a dowry.
However, this is their business, so Lin Shu naturally doesn't care.
Very Soon, Lin's father and uncle came back together. When they saw Lu Shaotang, they exchanged greetings and asked Lin's mother to prepare two dishes and give them two drinks.
The family had already slaughtered the New Year pig, and Lin Xia had brought some meat when she returned home. Lin's mother had made some salted pork but had not eaten it for the past two days, waiting for her third son-in-law and his family to come over and eat it during the New Year
. After serving it on the table, Lin Shu was asked to quickly stir-fry a large plate of leek and eggs, roast some chilled chili peppers and mix some cabbage hearts, and then stew some cabbage jelly tofu in the pot.
While we were eating, Aunt Lin's angry voice came from the yard next door, "Who are we? Are we talking about asking for a bicycle? Do you think I look like a bicycle? Your father and I want to have that kind of money. Why did we do that in the first place?" Why don't you buy a car for your brother's wedding? Why don't you accompany him? Are you rushing to help your sister-in-law? "
Lin Yan'er: "Then you can be my dowry and give me a car."
Aunt Lin was furious, "Is there a girl like you who doesn't want to be there all the time? What are you doing to help your mother-in-law's family? All you want to do is make money from your mother-in-law's family to subsidize your husband's family? "
Lin Yan ? Son: "You still say you are not partial and do not favor boys over girls? You and my father work for my brother and sister-in-law all day to earn work points, take care of their children, and spend money on them. I am a married girl who was squandered by her husband. Water, you don't even think about giving me money. You always complain that I don't give money to my parents. Are you marrying a daughter of a noble family or selling her?
Aunt Lin: "I asked you to send the child to me so I can take care of it. It's not that you complain. Did I not take good care of her?"
Uncle Lin's face darkened when he heard the quarrel. He stood up and wanted to go home to scold the girl, but was stopped by Lin's father.
Lin's father sighed and said, "What will you do if you go back? Beat her up!" ? After the beating, won't you still feel bad for yourself? "
Uncle Lin felt upset and drank a glass of wine, which made a hissing sound due to the spicy taste.
This is the good wine that Jiang Weidong brought over. It was not finished when he returned home, so Lin's father was reluctant to drink it and saved it for his third son-in-law to come.
He felt sorry for his elder brother drinking too much, so he let his elder brother drink tea and eat meat, and then gave the bottle of wine to Lu Shaotang so that his son-in-law could drink good wine.
"Second uncle, second aunt, please judge, where did I go too far?" Lin Yan'er didn't go over here, but ran over angrily.
She glanced at Lin Shu and Lu Shaotang in the room, as if she had found the backbone, and said to Lin Shu: "Sister, you said that the family's money was used to marry my brother, and I didn't have much dowry when I got married. You are in the same situation. You didn't have much dowry when you got married, and the betrothal gift given by the in-laws was left by the second aunt for Lin Yue to marry a wife. You must understand me the best!"
Her eyes were sharp, as if if you don't stand with me, you are a traitor.
Lin Shu was not used to her, "No, I don't understand."