SUMMARY
Lin Lan woke up and transmigrated into a shrewish wife who drank pesticides. The original owner ruined her husband's promising future, and all five of her children became villains in the end.
Her in-laws are biased. The uncles and aunts are insatiable. She has five bear children and a cold-faced husband to take care of. . .
Lin Lan: Trying to take my money? We've already separated. I'll take it back!
My husband dares to run wild? I'll teach him to be a new man!
It's difficult to discipline wild children? That is due to the lack of love! Shower them with love!
What's the matter with that cold-faced man?
Chapter 1 – Drinking Pesticides
At the end of June in 1970, the summer heat was scorching at noon. In the past, the members of Shanzui Village would be resting for a while, but today, they were all gathered in the yard of the brigade headquarters.
There was a sharp shrill from the crowd, "Tell him that if he doesn't come back, [1] I will drink these pesticides and just let him collect my dead body!"
"Oh my gosh, did she really drink it?"
"The 1605 pesticide is very poisonous!"
"Aiyo, mother! There's a dead person! There's a dead person!"
The crowd screamed, and the crowd became chaotic.
The captain yelled, "His wife is already dead, Doctor Chijiao!"
The party secretary glared at him and said: "Go and send a telegram again. This is urgent!"
. . . . .
Headache, dizziness, and thirst. These are Lin Lan's biggest feelings about having a hangover.
Last night she was in a bad mood and drank two more glasses. She went back to her apartment and fell asleep. The nightmare kept going all night and constantly heard the sounds of calls and the door slamming in her ears.
Unexpectedly, when she woke up, there was another buzzing sound in my ears that disturbed her dreams.
"Second brother, do you think Mother really drank pesticides and died?"
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Keep it quiet. Mother is acting to scare them. She just wants Dad to come back home. Let's go cut grass."
Lin Lan tried her best to open her eyes, but her eyelids seemed to be stuck together by something, and she couldn't open them.
After a while, there was another harsh voice, "The Third Eldest [2] is in the army. I've seen her taking care of her five children, spending the whole day on her kids. She doesn't even help us out. If she doesn't want to live, she can just go back to her maternal home. No one even cares about her. It's not like she hung herself, she just drank some pesticides. This is just showing that she dislikes this mother-in-law, wanting to let me die first. Goodness, gracious! Never have I ever seen such a malicious daughter-in-law! You want to separate the family? Why don't you just get a rope and choke me to death? Stop poking her. Just go do whatever work you have to do. Don't try to be lazy!"
Then, there was the sound of the door slamming.
What was this about drinking pesticides and separating the family?
What a mess.
Lin Lan had a splitting headache and almost exhausted all of her energy just to open her eyes.
When she opened her eyes, she first saw the narrow and cramped room. She didn't see any windows, only a broken grass curtain hanging. The walls and roof were black and smokey, and the corners of the room were covered with black ash. There was an unpleasant smell mixed with various scents. Lin Lan couldn't tell whether it was animal feces or urine from the children as well as a moldy smell and some other kind of strange smell.
This kind of environment was bound to make people unhappy and irritated.
Lin Lan suddenly thought, "Did I cross over and transmigrate?
Lin Lan waited for a long time with her eyes closed, and then opened her eyes. It was still the smoky yellow mud wall.
At this moment, she was convinced that she had really crossed.
The reason for this conclusion is that some information that did not belong to her had appeared in her mind, as if she had read a book or a movie, and was deeply engraved in her mind.
She was in the 1970s of ancient China, Province D, a small village in the north of China, Shanzui Village.
The original owner has the same name as her. Her maternal family was Lin Jia Village. Her husband's surname is Han, and her husband, Han Qingsong, is a soldier. The two have five children.
The original owner had never gone to school and only attended a literacy class for a few days. She could not recognize more than fifty words. Since she was a child, she had been strong and violent. Her temper was not very good. She was ignorant and not cultured. When she encountered problems, she wouldn't calmly think of a solution. The most common method she used was making a fuss so when she went to her mother's house, she was not welcome.
She was married to Han Qingsong at the age of 16. He was not at home all the time. She was suppressed by her mother-in-law and her sisters-in-law. She couldn't think of a way to resolve conflicts and to ease the relationship.
Han Qingsong served as a soldier at the age of 17. After more than ten years of hard work, he is now a company commander.
His future was promising.
Because of this, the original owner was not at ease, always suspecting that he looked down on her and wanted to climb higher to have a better future.
This was why she kept making a fuss to make him go home to live so he wouldn't be hooked by those educated, young, and beautiful foxes outside.
The reason why she drank the pesticides this time was because the original owner had heard some people discussing the news a demobilized soldier had brought back—Han Qingsong had someone outside, and she was the daughter of a certain commander!
Han Qingsong definitely wanted to talk with her about his desire to divorce her! This had become the last straw that crushed the camel. The original owner ran to the commune to telegraph the troops again and again. He had to change his job and go home. If he didn't go home, she would just die! And she would bring all five of their children to go die together.
This matter was known by her mother-in-law, and she naturally disagreed. The good future of her son was the glory and financial support of the old Han family. If her son was brought back, wouldn't that be like going back to the liberation overnight? [3]
This absolutely could not happen!
Then the original asked her mother-in-law to give her man's salary to her. Otherwise, she would force her man to come home. If she didn't agree, she would drink pesticides!
She asked her second son, Han Wangjun, to quietly pick up an empty 1605 bottle and return, thinking that there were no pesticides inside. When she poured the water in, she couldn't see any pesticides with water so she pretended to drink pesticides to scare them.
Of course, there was also the meaning of making her family see how awesome she was.
How could she have known that this 1605 is highly toxic, and if the liquid drops on the skin when the pesticides are sprayed, she will be poisoned? What's even worse is that she directly drank the pesticides with some water.
Although she pretended to take a sip, it was enough to kill a woman with an unhealthy body all year round.
Hence, Lin Lan was transmigrated over.
In the original story, this time, the original had actually succeeded.
Her husband, Han Qingsong was frustrated by the trouble and had no intention of having an official career. He finally applied for a job change with the army and would go home in a few days.
But even though he went home, this didn't make the family reconcile but opened the prelude to the tragedy.
The original owner vowed that as long as the man returned home, she would live in peace, but when the man came back, she suspected again that the man looked down on her and suspected that he had an affair with other women. As long as he left her sight, she would wonder if he has a tryst with someone.
The village's eldest unmarried women and even widows were part of her suspicions.
As long as the man didn't follow what her heart wanted, she would make a lot of noise and threaten to kill herself.
Han Qingsong became the director of the commune public security bureau after he changed his job and was later promoted to the deputy director of the county public security bureau. At that time, the Cultural Revolution was coming to an end so control was loosened. Some public servants didn't follow the law so public security in the county became more and more chaotic.
He was busy with official duties and was troubled internally and externally. Finally, after she made a big fuss, he was physically and mentally exhausted and was stabbed to death in the process of performing official duties.
After his death, she became even more twisted. She resented her children and used them to vent her anger, but she would also shield her children's shortcomings and spoil her children. She raised them all into wastes, and in the end, none of them had a good death.
Wait for a second!
Lin Lan suddenly realized that this familiar plot seemed like a novel she had read a long time ago. The male and female protagonists in the book are childhood sweethearts and were busy making a fortune for a well-off life. The female partner is impressive because of her natural style. She is the daughter of the original owner, Han Maisui, with a pretty, youthful, and lively personality. Since childhood, she has been raised by the original owner to be more vain and vain. She always feels that she is a princess, and she wants what she wants. Anyone that is not good to her is a bad person. The original owner helped her daughter devote herself to pestering the male protagonist, and several of her sons were also crooked and did not have good endings in the end.
The fundamental reason is inseparable from this twisted family.
She actually transmigrated into this kind of home…
What should she do?
Going back? That's impossible.
Running away from home? Getting a divorce?
No one gets divorced during this time period. If she just divorces herself, her maternal family probably wouldn't want her. It is impossible for a divorced woman to return to her maternal family in this era. This time period was just this feudal.
And at this time, she couldn't go anywhere without her household registration, work points, or letter of introduction. She can't find a job. She can't make money. Eating a meal has even become a problem. She can barely even survive. It seems like she can only live as the original owner's identity.
The only problem was if she suddenly stopped being evil and became a nice person. Who knew if people would become suspicious? But even if people became suspicious, she really couldn't live her life the same way as the original owner did.
She suddenly came up with an idea. She can use this disaster to survive. Suddenly she thought of an idea and was no longer disheartened. She could use the reason of no longer wanting to entangle the past to have a steady life. [4]
En, not bad!
But it was because her mother-in-law who suppressed her husband so he had no affection for her. This wasn't an urgent thing. She still had many ways to pass the days.
For her, the scariest thing is…
Notes
[1] I will drink these pesticides – Pesticides can also be translated to farming chemicals. This is highly toxic and poisonous to the human body and can cause death.
[2] Third Eldest – In Chinese, they will refer to children by the order in which they are born.
[3] Liberation – I didn't quite understand this sentence. Here's what it is in Chinese. 要是把儿子弄回来，那不是要一夜回到解放前? The first part is definitely "if she was to bring her son back". The part I don't get is 解放. The definition of this word is liberation or emancipation. If anyone knows how to translate this, feel free to leave a comment below to help me out.
[4] I found this small paragraph a bit hard to translate into English. Basically, she thought of an excuse/reason as to why she became nice and stopped being mean in case people became suspicious of why her personality had such a big change. She said that she would use this incident of drinking pesticides and not dying as the reason for not wanting to keep mentioning the past and to live a steady life.
Translator's Note: This novel seems to fit with the kind of novel that I'm currently interested in. I found the original owner to be quite stupid and annoying, but I'm excited to read how Lin Lan will adapt to her situation. Please comment below if you enjoyed reading this chapter and let me know if you think I should continue translating this novel.
Chapter 2 – Applying for a Career Change
Those five children!
The most terrifying thing in her whole life is children. In her limited interaction with kids in her past, most of them are bear children [1].
The most feared thing in her life is the child. In her limited experience with children, most of them are bear children.
For example, her colleague's six-year-old daughter would always want her to buy stuff for her whenever she entered the office. She would continue to act cute and look for opportunities to hug her and pull on her earrings and necklace to tell her that she wants to wear it but would also beg her to not tell her mother.
If it was only once or twice, she would just let it go, but after a few times, she finally couldn't help telling her colleague. The colleague apologized in front of her, saying that her child was ignorant and not sensible but turned around and complained to her colleagues behind her back that she was stingy and unloving and was too harsh on the child.
There were also the children of her own relatives and her younger brothers' kids. Every time they went to her house, they would go through the place like bandits. If she didn't put away her cosmetics, jewelry, and electronics in advance, it would be a disaster. Thousands of skincare products and cosmetics would be spread around all over the place.
Not to mention that when she got angry, even if she didn't smile and say that it was okay, her relatives would complain to her mother, "Why is Lan Lan getting more and more stingy, lowering herself to the same level as a child. When a girl becomes old enough, she has to quickly get married and have children, or she'll just become an old antique with a perverted character."
Even if her thousands of skincare products and cosmetics were ruined by her nieces and nephews, her mother would scold her several times. In the end, she bought a house by herself instead of leaving the money to her brother to buy a house for his wedding and then developed to the point that she would not get married or have children.
"You don't have children anyway. Won't this house and money become theirs in the future? What's wrong with giving it to them now? Don't give it to outsiders. Don't waste it."
In short, she is afraid of marriage, afraid of children, afraid of being a mother. She doesn't want children who are like little devils, and she doesn't want to be a mother like her own mother.
She made up her mind to stay single for the rest of her life, not to harm or be harmed by others.
Now that she has worked hard for ten years and has achieved success in her career and life, why does she need to find a man to give birth to a child who would reduce her quality of life?
Who knows why, but god didn't want her to live comfortably so he actually let her transmigrate into a shrew [2, with five bear children and a wooden husband [3]!
She thought to herself, "I can't live this kind of life!".
She closed her eyes tightly, wondering if she could transmigrate back again. Maybe this was a dream?
At this time, a child's timid cry came from her ear. "Mother…dead…dead…" A little hand groped around her face and neck. It wasn't a lightweight and pressed so hard that her eyes and neck hurt and her breath was uneven.
Lin Lan had to open her eyes and pull the little, black hand away, "What are you doing?"
After speaking, she regretted it. Her tone was too fierce and might've scared the child.
But the little child didn't care, staring at her with a pair of big eyes, scared that she was really dead.
Although Lin Lan didn't like children, she also admitted that the little child had very beautiful big eyes which were shining in the dark, but he was too thin. Adding on to the fact that no one took care of them, and his body looked very dirty.
This is Wang Wang, the youngest son of the original owner, who is 4 years old. He had a lazy eye, was weak-sighted, was introverted, and felt excessively inferior because he was born prematurely. The original owner dislikes him very much, thinking that he is a little blind, a fool, and a burden.
Lin Lan didn't think he was stupid. How could a fool's eyes be so focused and bright?
"Mother, eat." He stretched over his dark little hand which held a piece of melted, sticky candy.
It looked dirty and made Lin Lan feel a bit nauseous.
But she couldn't bear to be angry with him. After all, her own transmigration was a very mysterious issue, and it had nothing to do with him.
She closed her eyes and said, "You eat it by yourself. Don't touch me."
The sticky, little black hands made her so nervous and sweaty.
The child was very afraid of her. He shrank to one side and did not dare to touch her anymore, but his eyes were stuck on his mother in fear that his mother would die like others said.
Kid…
Lin Lan sighed. Having her raise five children is simply an impossible task.
She closed her eyes and went through the lives of her five cheap children. She quickly broke into a cold sweat. The original owner was really good enough to raise these children into the story's big villains.
Lin Lan was silent for a long time, feeling that although she was not afraid to live as the original owner, she did not have the courage to manage the five children.
Their future is seriously too . . . Once she enters the role, she has to bear the responsibility of correcting them and guiding them on the right path.
Oh my god, she's most afraid of children, okay!
Even if the cute, little angel is afraid of her, she could suddenly enter hell mode!
She is also convinced by this luck.
She was thinking about it, and hearing a "squeak", someone stomped in.
"Mother, I caught a big crucian carp. It's so big!" A sturdy boy rushed in and danced excitedly, "Mother, guess how I caught it? When I was drinking water, I grabbed it with my hand. Yes, haha!"
Lin Lan reluctantly opened her eyes and looked at him. This is the third son. Seeing that he was wearing only a pair of shorts, his body was tanned, and only the whites of his eyes and teeth were shining in the dim room which was especially funny.
This Sanwang [4, ever since he learned to swim in the river at the age of three, he has fallen in love with the water. Unless the river freezes and cannot be entered, the rest of the time he would secretly go swim.
But as the old saying goes, drowning is caused by being able to swim [5, and later on, this kid ended up drowning.
Ai… Lin Lan sighed.
Sanwang was puzzled, "Mother, what's wrong with you? Are you still unhappy with a fish this big?"
"Sanwang!" Another boy walked in from the outside, closed the door and walked to the edge of the kang, and whispered, "Mother, Sanwang, this silly boy. If it wasn't for me pulling him along, he would've just wanted to send the fish to the main room." He pushed Sanwang's head, "Stupid!"
Sanwang was indignant and pouted, saying, "Don't push my head!"
"Mother, are you feeling better now? I'm going to go make some fish soup for you to drink. Or else, grandmother would send the fish to my aunt and uncle to eat. Today, she asked the eldest brother and eldest sister to deliver the chicken eggs and forced eldest sister to wash Aunt's clothes. She's really too biased!"
Lin Lan glanced at him. This is Erwang. He has been very shrewd and astute since he was a child. He is more mindful than other children, has a small mouth and is good at coaxing people, and is even more similar to the original owner's little padded jacket than her daughter is. However, hearing unpleasant words is just having a glib mouth and being honey-mouthed and dagger-hearted. Anyway, when he grows older, he will rely on his mouth to walk around the world, and eventually, in the end, his big mouth would cause bad things to happen.
Right now, these children are still small. All of them are innocent. Even if they are crooked, they aren't really crooked yet. They have to wait for Han Qingsong to die, and then, they will really become evil.
Lin Lan wondered if she started to guide them now, she would be able to lead them the right way to avoid those tragic endings, right?
Ai, there is a long way to go.
At this time, old lady Han's harsh voice came from the main room, and the loud voice was clearly scolding her on purpose.
Lin Lan frowned. Although the original owner was wrong, the old lady's butt was too biased and treated the original owner too badly.
She stopped the idea of having Erwang to send the fish to the main room. After all, she was a bitch and an old lady. If she knew how to respect the elders, she would frighten them.
She said: "Erwang, take your brothers outside to grill fish to eat."
It is common for the children to make a fire-grilled sweet potato at the bottom of a bridge or at nooks and crannies. The original owner used to steal things and take the children to eat outside.
"Okay, Mother. Wait until it's done grilling and I'll bring it back to let you eat." Erwang said this while he greeted Sanwang and ran out, ignoring Xiaowang who was huddled in the corner on the kang.
This poor child, everyone ignored him.
Lin Lan also knows that Erwang was just saying nice words to hear, and the fish won't be brought back. Most of it will go into his own stomach. If Sanwang could eat two bites, that would already be pretty good.
. . . . .
Regiment Command Headquarters at a certain military station in Province D.
Regiment Commander Chen looked at Han Qingsong in front of him, and in a blink of an eye, ten years had passed, and the young recruit egg had become a company commander. More than a decade of working in the military made his handsome face no longer tender, but his posture is still upright and strong, and his momentum is calm and concise.
Although this person is not good with words, he is outstanding in his profession, loyal and keen, and has a bright future.
And now he says he wants to change jobs? The brain is kicked by the donkey! [6]
"Han Qingsong, you have become a regular worker, and our division will set up a top team in the coming year. The headquarters has decided to appoint you as the captain of the special training. Now you have to change your career? You have to think clearly!"
Who knows how many people have their eyes on this position and there are many people who tried their best to get this position.
Han Qing pressed the corners of his lips tightly and stopped talking, clenched his fists, and nodded for a moment.
There are very few ordinary rural conscripts who can make it to his military position. As long as there is a little bit of hope, no one is willing to demobilize and change jobs. Not only do his comrades do not understand, but even his old company commander is also puzzled, so he immediately looked for him for an explanation.
But he didn't want to explain too much.
Although he has shown a lot of talent through these years, there was also the price of blood. In particular, he has suffered two serious injuries. It is a blessing for him to be alive. With his current physical fitness, going to the special training team will actually affect the training.
The most important thing is: Now that he has to make a choice between his family and his career… he doesn't want to go back on his word.
After more than ten years away, every time he visits relatives for a few days, he has no time and energy to fulfill his duties as a husband and father. Therefore, he is responsible for the current situation in the family.
His wife was seeking death and even threatened to take the children to jump into the river. Although he knew she was threatening him with her old tricks, he was tired.
He didn't want to keep doing this over and over again.
He had repeatedly promised her that he would apply for his family to join the army in the coming year and let her and the children follow.
She clearly agreed as well, but now she has changed her mind again, and as long as she makes trouble, there will be a lot of drama. Jumping into the river and drinking pesticides will not make her give up when she is upset.
After careful consideration, he decided to go home and live with his wife and children.
Regiment Commander Chen knew that Han Qingsong was a boring gourd and wouldn't speak. He had offended many people for this He couldn't pull back the things he was looking for, and it would be useless for anyone to persuade him.
He said, "You are allowed to visit your family for half a month. Go home and take care of your housework"
When Han Qingsong returned to the dormitory, he received another telegram from home, which was different from the previous telegrams that asked him to return quickly, seek death, or he would not be allowed to return.
This one is for him to divorce his wife quickly!
Notes:
[1] bear children – In Chinese, it says 多半都是熊孩子 which translates directly as "most of them are bear children". This means that children are wild and similar to bears. Personally, I find this term kind of cute and I have a feeling this will be showing up a lot in the future so I will continue translating it as bear children.
[2] a shrew – The Chinese is 泼妇. It directly translates to a shrew, but I feel like this translation is a bit insufficient. It refers to the animal, the shrew. This word is also part of the title. In the title, I wrote "Shrewish Wife" because it wouldn't make a lot of sense if it said, "Shrew of the Seventies Manages the Household". Shrews are highly aggressive. When used to describe a woman, it can be understood as a woman with a violent, scolding, or nagging temperament.
[3] wooden husband – This means that her husband is cold, straightforward, and stiff, like wood. Most of the time, these kinds of husbands don't know how to show affection or be romantic.
[4] Sanwang – This refers to the third child. I'm not sure if this is really the third child's name or if it's more of a nickname. The eldest/first-born child will probably be Dawang, the second-born child is Erwang, the third-born child is Sanwang, the fourth-born child Siwang, and the fifth-born child is Xiaowang. Should I write it as San Wang or Sanwang? Which one do you guys prefer? Lin Lan is the character's full name; Lin is her last name and Lan is her first name.
[5] drowning is caused by being able to swim – I'm not 100% sure that I translated this part correctly. This is the Chinese. 不过俗话说淹死会水的，这小子后来正是被淹死的
[6] The brain is kicked by the donkey – This is a Chinese idiom. I think it means, "Are you stupid? Did you get your brain kicked by a donkey?"
Chapter 3 – Eavesdropping
Although she didn't directly drink pesticides, this 1605 is a highly toxic pesticide. Even if she sipped a little with a bottle of water, it is still enough to kill someone.
Lin Lan only felt dizzy, ringing in her ears, and nausea. She prayed that the poison didn't damage her liver, kidneys, and nerves.
After lying down for a long time, she didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore so she wanted to move around.
The room was narrow and dark, and she almost tripped when she put her feet on the ground. Seeing that the broken grass curtain made the room dark and unventilated, she tore it off.
Xiaowang on the kang thought she was going to lose her temper again and shrank into the corner in fright.
Lin Lan strolled for two steps, and her chest felt tight and suffocated. She wanted to drink some water and then remembered that the earthen jar and bowl had been broken by the original owner.
She wanted to go to the hall to pour water to drink, but she was too weak and exhausted so she had to go back to the kang and sit down.
At this moment, Erwang came back. He put a leaf bag on the kang which had a few pieces of the grilled fish and two turtles.
Erwang grinned, "Mother, the fish has already been eaten by Sanwang. I am unwilling to eat it so I left it for you."
Lin Lan knew it well, and glanced at him, "Erwang, your father is not at home. It is not easy for us to live each day. It is not a big deal to eat more and eat less. You can't lie to your mother and play tricks.
Erwang smiled and said: "Don't worry, mother. I have never lied to you before."
Lin Lan just asked him to pour a bowl of water for her to drink.
Soon Erwang slipped back with the water and whispered: "Mother, it's terrible. Grandfather and the others are hiding in the house, holding a meeting to decide how to deal with you."
Lin Lan had already heard vague sounds from the main room before, mixed with the old lady's cursing, and guessed they were discussing how to deal with the original owner.
She took the bowl, realized that the rim of the bowl was sticky, and she suddenly felt nauseous. When she brought the bowl to her mouth, she smelled a strange smell in the water, and she didn't feel like drinking it anymore.
She remembered that there was very little oil and water at home. Even if there is no detergent, this bowl should not be so dirty.
She endured the nausea and took a sip, thinking that in the future, she definitely had to keep the house nice and clean and not be this disgusting.
"Did your grandmother say she wants to drive me back to my maternal family?"
Erwang was surprised: "Mother, how did you know?"
From where they were, they couldn't hear anything that they were saying.
Lin Lan snorted, "I just guessed."
Er Wang looked at her, thinking that in the next moment, his mother would roll up her sleeves and rush over to make a fuss, and then subconsciously moved to the side to avoid being affected.
Lin Lan didn't move like Erwang thought she would. Lin Lan put the bowl down, and asked, "Where is Sanwang?"
"He was being lazy while cutting the grass and went to the river again. Mother, wait till he comes back and I'll punish him for you." Erwang looked like a good older brother.
Lin Lan glanced at him, "Go to the hall to listen to what they say, and then come back and tell me."
Erwang immediately went out, and Xiaowang in the corner crawled forward and said, " . . . to drive the Lin family out and split the family."
Lin Lan looked at him curiously, and then remembered that although Xiao Wang has a lazy eye, his hearing is better than ordinary people's, but later on, the original owner became more and more twisted. She used him to vent her anger and despised him. Since then, he had become a severely autistic patient.
At this moment, he was still a normal child. He just to spoke a little later than others.
Because the children call him a little blind boy and a little stupid boy, he became even less talkative, and there was no one to protect him so he naturally became more and more autistic.
Lin Lan waved at him. Xiao Wang didn't respond, she had to say: "Xiao Wang, come here."
Xiao Wang crawled to her side.
Lin Lan coaxed him in a soft voice, "What did you hear them say? Tell your mother everything."
At first, Xiaowang could only say a few words. Under Lin Lan's guidance, he was slowly able to say a whole sentence.
Through Xiaowang's broken vocabulary, what they were saying was the same as what Lin Lan guessed.
After a while, Er Wang returned to report what he heard which confirmed Lin Lan's guess.
Sure enough, the old lady first said that she wanted her son to come back and divorce her, and she had already sent a telegram to Han Qingsong. The old man disagreed. He felt that they had already been in-laws for so many years, and it wasn't okay to be so cold. It didn't look good, and it made their family lose face. They also supported separating the family. It seems that the eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law's family agree with separating the family. After all, the husband and wife together were the main laborers in the family and worked the hardest. But second brother and second sister-in-law disagreed. This was probably because they wanted to spend Han Qingsong's money but also wanted their eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law to do more work so they could relax.
"What my grandmother means is that my father's allowance should be given to her to hold onto, not a cent given to Mother. She doesn't even think of giving us a couple of points. She said that besides a few rations left, there was nothing else, and they needed to earn their own work points to eat." Erwang said angrily, "Mother, you say, how can they be so low, keeping Father's allowance and not giving it to you. And they still want us to earn our own work points for our meals? Aren't eldest uncle and second uncle are both at home earning work points? Why don't they go out and earn their own money to spend?"
Lin Lan motioned to him to calm down, "Your father will come back in a few days and talk about it."
Erwang looked at her in surprise, why didn't my mother bother? Momma and they all said they were going to kick her out, why didn't she fight?
"Mother, they want to drive us out!"
Lin Lan said, "I know, I won't let them succeed."
Separating the family is fine, but how can you keep the money earned by the Third branch [1] but kick out the Third branch's wife and children?
No way!
Erwang stared at Lin Lan as if he didn't recognize her.
Lin Lan touched Xiaowang, smiled approvingly, and praised him, "Xiaowang is awesome! What you just said is almost the same as what your brother said."
Mother praised him!
She praised him like she praised his sister and brother!
Xiaowang looked up at her with wide eyes, trying to see her face clearly.
Seeing that the child was so excited that he was about to faint, Lin Lan quickly rubbed his head again. He seemed to like her touch a lot, and the furry head rubbed her hand like sunflowers look for the sun.
Inexplicably, Lin Lan had a feeling of deja vu. She was frightened and withdrew her hand quickly.
Xiao Wang felt his mother's disgust, the light in his eyes dimmed again, and the whole body shrank back down again.
Lin Lan's heart felt a bit sour. She didn't. have the heart to bear it and smiled. She turned to the window with her face, motioning to go there to listen.
Xiaowang thought that his mother was playing games with him, and his eyes were shining with joy.
He crawled down the kang. Although his eyesight was not good, he was familiar with the environment around him, and he didn't bump into it. He stepped on a small tree stump bench to eavesdrop from the window.
Erwang was dumbfounded. What's wrong with Mother?
Although he thought it was strange, he didn't want to be left behind so he ran outside again to eavesdrop.
Just now, his mother actually praised that little fool and didn't praise him for what he said. He can't be left behind.
Lin Lan hugged Xiaowang and listened for a while. Even though she was a chill person, everything that she heard made her angry. The old lady Han is really good enough. It was wrong to take the initiative to make a fuss and look for death, but the old lady is not much better. She was probably on par with the original owner.
Not to mention anything else, the money Han Qingsong earned. The old lady only gave good things to her younger son and daughter. They were obviously the sons and daughters of two poor and middle peasants, but she had to be the same as the young masters of the landlord's family. But the children in the family qre so young that they can't go to school. They all have to cut grass, pick up dung, and go to the fields to earn work points. Everyone is dark and thin. She who doesn't like children even feels bad for them.
No matter how bad the original owner was, how could she not feel bad for her children? Of course she wants to earn money to improve the lives of my children.
She had an idea right now and said a few words to Xiaowang, "Do you know what you have to do?"
Xiaowang nodded, "Mother, I know what I have to do."
Lin Lan brought him down, "Wait until they have left and then go." She smoothly took out a wooden stick.
Xiaowang was so frightened that he immediately hid in the corner, thinking that his mother was going to hit him again.
Lin Lan hurriedly said: "Xiaowang, Mother is giving this to you to use so you won't run into anything when you walk."
Xiaowang's eyesight is not good. Staying all day was not good for him. In the future, she wouldn't be able to watch over him all the time so she needed to let him practice walking around by himself.
If she had money, she would first take Xiaowang to go get his eyes checked and get treatment early. Maybe his eyes could be fixed to a certain extent.
Xiao Wang just laughed, "Okay, Mother." He used the wooden stick to find his way out.
Lin Lan greeted Erwang when he came back again and said a few words.
Erwang hesitated, "Mother, we are stuck with grandmother. Don't you already know that?"
Lin Lan said: "After the separation, you don't want to follow your mother? Do you want to follow your grandmother?"
Er Wang immediately shook his head, "Of course, I will follow Mother. My eldest brother will definitely want to follow Grandmother and abandon Mother, but I am not like this."
Lin Lan said: "Your eldest brother will not abandon Mother. Your eldest brother is a man, and he knows how to protect your mother and you guys after our families separate. Go ahead.
After the meeting in the main house was over, the men left the house, and the women stayed at home to cook, Er Wang and Xiao Wang went to the main house as Lin Lan ordered.
Sister-in-law Han and the old lady went to the vegetable garden. Sister-in-law Han was cooking, and there were many children in the family. As long as she made sure the kids didn't fall and get hurt, everything would be fine, and she didn't have to care a lot.
Soon, Erwang took something, headed back to the east wing and handed it to Lin Lan. "Mother!"
This is Lin Lan and Han Qingsong's marriage certificate, similar to a primary school student's certificate, with one-inch photos of the two people.
Lin Lan above was young and pretty with a bit shy and bold gaze. Han Qingsong next to her was dressed in a military uniform, sitting upright and handsome. They matched each other quite well.
It's just that there are a few small holes in Lin Lan's photo which look like she was stabbed by a needle.
Originally, having their own marriage certificate in their own house was good enough, but old lady Han insisted on putting her son's marriage certificate in her own house, saying that it was as nice as a painting and looked good.
Lin Lan rolled up the marriage certificate and said with a smile: "Erwang, Mother promises you that after the separation, your mother will let you have a good life, and let you eat noodles made with white flour, eat meat, eat sugar, and go to school!"
Notes:
[1] Third branch – Lin Lan's husband is the third son of the family so his family is considered the Third branch. For the first son, the eldest brother, his family is the First branch. For the third son, his family is the Third branch. The Chinese is 三房 (san fang) which directly translates as "third room", but Third branch seems to make more sense in English.
Chapter 4 – To Intimidate/Scare
During dinner time, the whole family came back, but Dawang and the Mai Sui brother and sister pair did not come home.
Right now the security was pretty safe. There aren't a lot of kidnappings on the road, and there is only one road from Shanzui Village to the town. It's hard to get lost. The 11-year-old boy is leading his 9-year-old sister so there is nothing for the adults to be worried about.
Lin Lan was actually a little worried. She wasn't worried about their safety, but she was worried about Dawang and the two Mai Sui children. They went to town with their younger aunt and younger uncle and they would not learn anything good from following their youngest uncle and aunt.
In the future, she has to find a way to make her children stay farther away from their youngest uncle and aunt.
Because her sister-in-law and brother-in-law were Mrs. Han (old lady Han) children who she gave birth to at a late age, they were extremely spoiled and precious to her. The family reluctantly gave up food and clothing and were frugal in order to save food and cloth tickets for them to attend high school.
Her brother-in-law spent all day outside like a rich, young master, drinking and eating meat at restaurants.
Her sister-in-law, like a landlord's family's young lady [2, did not even put her fingers in the spring water. She was raised white and fat, and her niece was sent to wash her clothes.
After not seeing each other for ten days and a half months, the old lady still feels like she has wronged them.
The money they spend is all earned by Han Qingsong, but Han Qingsong's children spend less than a cent, and it wasn't the original owner's fault.
Lin Lan cleaned up and took Xiaowang's hand to go eat.
The Han's eldest sister-in-law was busy working in the hall, and when she saw her coming out, she greeted her with a smile as if nothing had happened. "Dawang's mother, you're probably hungry already. Come and eat."
The Han's second sister-in-law glanced at Lin Lan and sarcastically said: "Oh, I say the third family, your life so good that you can spend all day laying around doing nothing. When you wake up, there's already someone to serve you food, just like a landlord's wife [2].
Lin Lan ignored her, greeted the eldest sister-in-law, took Xiao Wang to get water to wash her hands. "Why are my little hands so dark…" Before she finished speaking, she felt that her voice was too soft, not in line with the original host's savage and rude image. Then let go of his voice, "Wash your hands frequently to avoid diarrhea."
Xiao Wang squatted down obediently and put his dirty hands covered with scars in the black crockpot to rinse them out and rubbed them against his clothes even though they were drenched in water.
Lin Lan frowned and hurriedly caught his hand and had no choice but to squat down and wash him clean while teaching him how to wash his hands.
"You got it?"
Xiaowang nodded.
Lin Lan led him into the house for dinner.
The Han's second sister-in-law looked at her as if she was a stranger. She said that so she would jump up and beat her. Why didn't she respond as if she was deaf?
Lin Lan lay down all morning and all afternoon, and did not go to work, but the Han's second sister-in-law was arranged to do more work, and she was very unhappy. She wanted to run Lin Lan to make her jump and make trouble so she would definitely rush back to her maternal family which would anger her mother-in-law.
How would she know that Lin Lan would ignore her!
This was too abnormal.
Lin Lan led Xiao Wang into the house, and the others immediately stared at them. Xiao Wang got scared so he hid behind Lin Lan.
Lin Lan also found that he was very resistant to leaving the room that they lived in, being in front of people, and talking in front of them. If she didn't help him out in time, after a long time, he would have a very serious autism, and even his mother would be shut out from his heart.
Fortunately, he is still looking for love and affection from his mother, and he isn't very sick.
She subconsciously softened her voice, "Don't be afraid, Xiaowang. Let's eat." She abruptly swallowed the phrase, "This is all a family", trying not to say words that would ruin the peace.
Even so, everyone in the room looked at her as if she was an aliens—the original owner hadn't spoken like this normally in many years. As long as she opened her mouth, either cursing or coldly sneering and laughing.
Sister Han couldn't hold back, and said in surprise: "Da Wang's mother is . . . what's wrong?"
Why did was it similar to a blind date where the unmarried woman is shameless and still speaks gently and kindly.
Lin Lan tried to make herself sound a bit ruder, dragged a small bench to sit down, took a pancake, broke it apart, and gave Xiaowang a piece. She then said, "Nothing's wrong. I just saw the gate of death and chatted with Yama, King of Hell. I've seen through it.
Because they believed in ghosts and gods, the ignorant people easily believed what she said.
Moreover, it wasn't impossible that she had met the gate of death and her temperament changed drastically.
Anyway, she wouldn't explain. Whatever they made up themselves doesn't matter.
Although the Han family has enough food to be full, the food is not that great. It is nothing more than cornmeal pancakes, boiled sweet potatoes, pickles, soy sauce, onion, garlic and so on. There are vegetables in the summer and autumn vegetable garden, and there is also salt water for cooking. There wasn't a lot of meat.
But compared to those who don't have enough to eat and drink three times a day, this is quite good.
After taking a bite, Lin Lan almost spit it out. It was bitter and rough. How could this go down her throat?
What a terrible taste!
When she is in charge of her own home, she must eat fine noodles and meat dishes!
Everyone at the full table was watching her and Xiaowang eat so intensely that they forgot to eat themselves.
Second sister-in-law Han couldn't help but continue to provoke, "Third family, do the pesticides taste good? What's the flavor like?"
Lin Lan snorted, "You want to drink it that badly? If you just try it yourself, won't you know how it tastes."
The second sister-in-law Han was immediately unhappy. "Third family, how can you say something like that?"
Lin Lan finally swallowed the pancake stuck in her throat and deliberately ignored her. "I heard that I'm going to be driven back to my parents' house?"
Eldest sister-in-law immediately got on guard, for fear that the third family would lift the dining table up. "There's nothing like that going on. Dawang's mother, don't worry."
The others also looked at Lin Lan nervously.
Lin Lan smiled and turned to look, "Erwang and Sanwang, these two preserved eggs [3, where did they go now?"
They were still at home a few moments ago. In a blink of an eye, they weren't there anymore. They really are naughty boys who couldn't obediently stay at home.
A few adults almost choked like their breath had turned into stone. If you have something to say, just finish saying it. Why do you have change the subject?
The Han's second sister-in-law snorted and said, "Who knows . . . You spend all day not cutting the grass and not earning work points. You only know how to be rude. Da Zhuang and Da Tian all . . ."
"Separating the family, right?" Lin Lan nodded, "Separating the family is good!"
The Han's second sister-in-law, "…"
Did this shrew really go to the King of Hell, Yama? Why was it so irritating!
The old lady Han knocked the chopsticks on the table, "I'm going to say some ugly things. We are a big family. We aren't like those kinds of family who don't understand rules and talk nonsense. If we want to separate the family, besides your own rations for each person. After we split the family, you guys have to earn your own work points, take care of your own children and their food, I . . ."
"It doesn't matter. They still have a father." Lin Lan looked nonchalant.
Han Qingsong is coming back anyway.
The old lady Han was interrupted, and her breath suddenly stagnated.
Although the original author could be noisy, but to be honest, it didn't matter if it was asking for money, having her man come back, or whatever else, she would make a fuss and shout, but it was all self-inflicted. She had never scolded her mother-in-law straight to her face.
Moreover, Lin Lan's soft-spoken speech gave the old lady the illusion that this is her eldest daughter-in-law, not her third daughter-in-law. She subconsciously made a face and made a mother-in-law type of move, "The mother-in-law is speaking. How can the daughter-in-law interrupt?"
Lin Lan looked at her in surprise, "Oh, I see. You want me to slap the table and scold my mother, right?"
She rolled up her sleeves as she spoke.
Compared to the original owner, she is very temperamental, and she is afraid that they will not be able to adapt to her deliberately gradual and orderly progress. Since she was not used to the way she normally spoke, then she still had to slap the table and curse someone?
Lin Lan is a little uncertain. It couldn't be that this person was used to being abused?
"Oh, Da Wang's mother, don't." Sister Han hurriedly pressed her arm, "If you have something to say, don't get angry."
Don't lift up the table.
Lin Lan smiled, "Yeah, isn't that how it is? The judge Cui said the same. He told me that quarreling and losing my temper can't solve the problem so I have to sit down and have a good talk. He also said that my heart was borrowed when I was born. If he opened it for me, I will understand the truth, and I won't be able to be like that anymore."
Seeing the family was shocked by her as if they had seen a ghost, she smiled again and continued to add fire, learning the drama, holding a fist and shaking it to the old man and the others, apologized, "I used to be confused. When I'm doing something not right, Dad, eldest brother, second brother, eldest sister-in-law, you have to bear with me."
"Patter." Someone dropped their chopsticks on the table.
The old lady Han was so surprised that she forgot to scold her, and she kept looking at her, wondering if she had drank the pesticide, died, and was possessed by something?
Second sister-in-law kept screaming at the men, trying to get the men to support herself.
Lin Lan didn't care if they lost their souls one by one, but first made sure she, herself, and Xiaowang finished eating.
This thick pancake was stuck in her throat, and she couldn't swallow after a few mouthfuls so she had to keep drinking water.
When she finished eating, she noticed that everyone else was peeking at her while eating, making it obvious that they were nervous.
Don't look at how the old lady Han scolded her so vigorously behind her back, but when she was actually in front of her, the old lady Han was not an opponent. She could win over her. The original owner also wouldn't let the old lady Han hit her, and the original owner was also very shameless so her mother-in-law Han who still wanted a bit of face really had no way to win.
Only after it was all over and the original owner was not there anymore could anyone criticize and scold her.
After all, the old lady doesn't have the name of a shrew, and she still has to have face.
Thinking that the old lady wanted to drive herself and the children out but would not give any money, Lin Lan didn't want her to eat peacefully.
She put down her chopsticks, "Father, I have something to say."
Without waiting for the old man Han, the old lady Han slapped her chopsticks like a frightened rabbit, pulling her face and cursing nervously, "What kind of dog shit do you have? I warn you, drinking pesticides again won't scare people. Next time you want to drink pesticides you won't need to get a bottle, I'll buy you a full bottle!"
Lin Lan touched Xiaowang and told him to eat his own food and said to the old lady, "Mother, regarding what you said, pesticides are materials and can't be randomly bought whenever you want to buy some. I want some money to bring Xiaowang to the town's hospital to have a look at his eyes."
"We don't have any money!" The old lady was like a cat whose tail was trampled on. "It's not like you don't know our family's situation? Where would we get the money to see a doctor? Besides . . ."
He's just a stupid fool. What kind of illness is there? Raising him hungry but not dead is already good enough.
Lin Lan sneered. Since that's the case, I'm sorry I'll have to offend you. I'll take the money for this quarter first!
Notes:
[1] In this chapter, Lin Lan's husband side of the family is introduced. The uncle and aunt are younger than normal because the old lady Han or Mrs. Han gave birth to them at an older age. The Chinese is 小叔和小姑 so it means that most likely, they are Lin Lan's children's youngest paternal aunt or uncle so I used the term their youngest uncle and their youngest aunt. They are also Lin Lan's sister-in-law and brother-in-law so you might have seen the two terms used interchangeably.
[2] In this time period, a landlord's family was considered rich so whenever they mention this, it's similar to saying you're someone from a rich family.
[3] these two preserved eggs 这俩皮蛋- This is sort of like saying those two naughty boys/rotten eggs. In Chinese, preserved eggs is pi dan 皮蛋, and naughty in Chinese is tiao pi 调皮. It's like a play on words with the word pi 皮.
Han Qingsong's allowances were sent once every three months. However, it wasn't personally sent by him as all payments were entrusted to the army's logistics for unified processing.
These two days were the arrival dates for the remittance of the second quarter. First, it would go to the county town and afterwards, the postman would send the remittance list to the house. Because of the lack of staff, the postman would take at least three days to send the order to the house.
Lin Lan wanted to make the most out of this time difference. She would go to the county town tomorrow to obtain the remittance list first and take out the money beforehand just like the old lady Han.
When Han Qingsong provided the remittances early on, the recipient was written in the name of the old man Han. But the old lady Han would take the referral letter and the old man Han's personal seal to withdraw the money.
Later, the original owner gave birth to Xiaowang. In the past few years, she had been causing trouble annually, insisting that Han Qingsong had to remit the money to her. The old lady Han naturally refused to agree, so Han Qingsong simply allowed Lin Lan's name to be written on it as well. Both names were capable of withdrawing the money, it's just that the original owner never had a chance to do so.
Lin Lan waited for Xiaowang to finish eating before she led him out for a walk to digest the food.
In the alley, she met a boy in the village who would always be playing with Sanwang. She quickly asked him, "Xiao Niu, where is Sanwang?"
Xiao Niu was taken aback by her presence. Not daring to look at her, he dashed away, "The Southern River."
Lin Lan carried Xiaowang on her back and headed to the southside of the village. On the way, many villagers that passed by were silently and sneakily taking glances at her direction.
"She's fine now? Didn't she die after spewing white foam from her mouth?"
"Don't speak of nonsense, it's probably just water mixed inside the empty medicine bottle."
"Hey, do you think Han Qingsong really wants to divorce her?"
"Shhh, she's here."
Lin Lan walked by with Xiaowang on her back and glanced at the woman who was gossiping about her divorce. She was considered one of the former enemies of the original owner. She mimicked the expression and tone of the original owner, "I wouldn't marry you even if I get divorced."
"You!" The woman was so angry.
Lin Lan left leisurely.
"Is she possessed?"
Why don't you continue?Before that, the original owner would definitely be retaliating angrily as she jumped around in rage. People who had nothing better to do often liked to irk her to see her funny and enraged exclamations.
Lin Lan came to the Southern River as she carried Xiaowang. There, she saw the little brat Sanwang swimming around in the river like a happy duck.
Stupid brat, you even forgot about eating.
"Sanwang, come up here!" Lin Lan called him.
Sanwang heard his mother's voice but he dived into the water like a fish. He proceeded to remain submerged underwater for a long time.
Lin Lan was startled to see that, "Han Wangmin, get out of there quickly!"
People who came out of their houses to find cicada larvaes heard her yell and they knew that the Shrewish Wife was at it again. However, they did gather round to watch the scene unfold, be it consciously or subconsciously.
Sanwang was reluctant to leave, but in the end he was afraid that Lin Lan would get angry, so he reluctantly swam over and climbed ashore with a dazed look, "Mother, why are you here?"
Thanks for reading.
Where is your second brother?"
"Did he not bring the melon home? I found a wild melon when I was cutting the grass and asked my second brother to send it home for mother to eat."
Lin Lan guessed that Erwang had probably hidden somewhere and ate it by himself. She told Sanwang to go home for dinner, "In the future, you're not allowed to swim in the river alone or at night.
Thinking of the possibility of this kid drowning in the water, Lin Lan felt that it would be appropriate for him to stray further from the body of water.
Sanwang didn't care, "Mother, I'm good with water."
A modernised 7-year-old wouldn't be considered sensible, but like a little adult, he was better at cutting weeds and catching fish on a daily basis than his elder brother.
"Have you heard that those who drown are those who can swim(1)? Why would those who do not know how to swim approach the river?" Lin Lan urged him to go home.
(T/N: A saying that one's skill may bring misfortune as well. The logic comes from the concept the ones who are unable to swim knows better than to go in the water, so the ones who drown were always the people who could swim)
Although Sanwang followed her home, he didn't take it seriously and talked about it excitedly.
After returning to the village to watch Sanwang enter the house, Lin Lan went to the brigade headquarters with Xiaowang on her back because the branch officers would frequently idle here after dinner.
At this time where every other family was having a hearty dinner, the men gathered in duos and trios to enjoy the coolness as they made small talk. The summer season was all about weeding, so there was nothing much to do at night. The roads and reservoirs did not need the additional maintenance recently, so the members were relatively free.
Even from a distance, she heard the sound of the phonograph that was brought by theSecretary as the Peking Opera 'Red Lantern' was played.
Seeing Lin Lan coming with her child on her back, the villagers looked at her one after another.
"What is she doing with the little fool on his back?"
They used to hear rumours that she disliked Xiaowang and had never seen her taking him out to play.
Did she really get possessed today?
When she was just making a scene and fussing about, everyone said that she had succumbed to the evil; and yet, once they were used to her loud tantrums and she remained calm, no longer being enraged, it was ironic that the villagers seemed to think that the possibility of her being possessed this time was significantly higher.
Lin Lan thought that it was good to have a reputation as a shrew to protect her body. Anyway, her reputation was already at rock bottom, so there was basically nothing to be ashamed of as the others gossiped about her.
For example, she pretended not to see the gathering of wives and walked past with her head high, so she definitely didn't have to say hello.
Saying hello would scare them.
It was an unwritten rule that there were only men in the Brigade(2) team. Men will find men to play together and women will be teased if they come over. At this time, countrymen were not good at expressing feelings with their own partners. The weird part was that besides working, some men would never gossip and exchange feelings with their own wives for the rest of their lives.
(T/N: A board of committee members typically in charge of management and service. It functions kind of like a Student Council— instead of students, the members comprised of adults and the school's settings would be a village to a town/city.)
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Secretary, Leader, let me write a letter of introduction!" Lin Lan was not afraid of being heard. Instead, she learned to shout loudly, just as the previous owner did before.
The advantage of this was the fact that there were many microphones that were almost synchronized. The Secretary and the Leader of the Brigade heard it and someone responded for them.
She knew where the two were, so she went to them with her child on her back.
"I'll say, Qingsong's daughter-in-law, are you okay?" The cadres didn't have much prejudice against her and they even took the initiative to care about her.
Lin Lan tried not to be as out of character as she could, so she said with a rough expression, "I'm okay. I just wanted a letter of introduction to go to the county town tomorrow."
"Why are you going to the county town?"
"Look at my Xiaowang—he is four years old and his eyes are not in a good condition, so I want to take him to the hospital."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They were going to see a doctor, not to complain.
She had made trouble before. She thought that Han Qingsong would not come home and her mother-in-law treated her harshly, so she wanted to file a complaint with the county's Revolutionary Committee.
If a soldier's family were to file a complaint or a report, that would become a very serious matter.
Fortunately, she didn't make it.
The Leader exchanged glances with the Brigade's Secretary,should we ask the old man Han?
The secretary winked at the accountant next to him as the latter hurried to ask the old man.
Lin Lan said again, "Secretary, can I borrow five dollars? I will return the remainder if I can't finish it. As for the rest, you can just deduct them from my work points later on."
Soon the accountant came back and made a gesture— there was such a thing.
The Brigade's Secretary happily approved as he went back to the room. Taking the paper, he wrote a few words and sealed it before letting Lin Lan press her fingerprint on it.
"Thank you, Secretary. Thank you, Leader," Lin Lan accepted the letter of introduction and the money, even asking Xiaowang to thank them again.
Everyone was at a loss seeing her being so polite. Something is… not right.
The tigress even said' thank you'? This kind of courtesy belonged to a city dweller that was knowledgeable.
Lin Lan didn't say much, leaving them to think about it by themselves as she went home with Xiaowang on her back.
As soon as she left, the office broke into chaos and they asked what was going on.
The old man Han was still angry about the fact that a lady had gone to the men's den. Later, he heard that she was borrowing money for her child to see a doctor and he felt his old face become flushed again. That was because his family was the one that treated her third family harshly and refused to help her obtain treatment for the child.
"This woman, she said at home that if she wasn't busy, she would send him to the doctor's place. I didn't expect her to go there personally, though,"
Those who were empathetic could also understand her point of view—she would get busy as the Autumn Harvest was only a few days away, so when would there be ample time to go by then?
Or, it was probably old lady Han who would not give her the funds. If it was their youngest son or daughter who were ill, she would have rushed them to the hospital long ago.
With Lin Lan's previous foreshadowing, the old head Han didn't think much about it. He even took the initiative to keep it from the old lady Han that Lin Yan had borrowed five Yuan from the Brigade. He was going to refer back later to tell them to put the money on the family tab as well.
That night, Lin Lan told Erwang to watch Sanwang carefully. Then, she asked Erwang to quietly go to the kitchen cupboard to get some snacks.
As a result, Erwang took out two palm-sized covers, "Mother, they finished eating them all."
Their family was big, so it was normal for them to finish up the food that was made on that day. Then, they would start a new batch of food the next.
Lin Lan had to give up, and then quietly took the military kettle brought back by Han Qingsong. She filled it with water and hid it.
In the West Kang (3), the old lady Han heard the movement and she wanted to take a look, but she was restricted by the old man, "I guess the child is drinking water, just go to sleep."
(T/N: 'Kang' is a term for a small platform that is used for working, sleeping etc. Think of it as a Chinese version of a Japanese tatami, but with a hole that is connected to the chimney pathway. This makes the 'bed' warm in winter as the fire burns in the fireplace.)
Early before dawn the next morning, Lin Lan got up and took Xiaowang to the county town.
Because there was not enough dry food and no food stamps, she had to go around to the vegetable garden and pick up two cucumbers quietly to satisfy her hunger. If the old lady Han wanted to lecture her for it, then so be it.
Shanzui Village had only one dirt road that led to the county town. Walking East along the Southern River, it was less than fifty miles away. However, she had to walk for a long time with her child.
After all, she was a squeamish modern civilian. Surrounded by air conditioning in hot weather and heating in the cold, she had never carried a child like this against the blazing sun.
She was hot and tired, feeling that the sun above her head had now turned into a big fireball to scorch her. The dirt road under her feet was also rather bumpy as she walked very painstakingly.
Soon, her back, legs and feet started to hurt and become sore.
Xiaowang was also a very sensible child. Hence, he took the initiative to walk as he held hands without letting her carry him.
Lin Lan tried to persuade Xiaowang to talk, but he didn't like to communicate after he left the house. His mouth was tightly sealed, especially since they left the Shanzui Village.
Lin Lan spoke to him with a dozen sentences. It would be considered good if he could reply with a word or two; should it be outsiders, he wouldn't bother to reply at all.
Lin Lan didn't force him to talk. She was a bit nervous, to be honest— if he had started to chat away with her, she really didn't know what to talk about.
After all, she really didn't know how to bring up children.
Later, they encountered a mule cart. After hitchhiking for a while, she was considered lucky to get a free ride.
After the carpooling, they finally entered the county town within a few days. However, she didn't know the way around. She didn't know where the post office was, so she asked the security officer with red armbands and indigo clothes for directions.
When the people heard her tone and looked at her posture along with a skinny child, they knew that she was an average or lower-classed peasant. They immediately showed her the way enthusiastically, and a kind person even gave them two pieces of candy.
Lin Lan took Xiaowang to drink some water and eat a piece of cake on the side of the road. She pondered as she thought about buying a bicycle; her legs would definitely break if she ever went out without a bicycle.
There was not enough dry food. They each had a few bites and drank a few mouthfuls of water to continue the journey. The county town was not too big, so they arrived at the post office soon.
At this time, the county's Posting and Telecommunications Office was not big.It was also very conspicuously next to the department store.
Lin Lan entered the lobby and looked at the window where there were a few people queuing up. Some of them called and sent telegrams, and there were two or three people at the remittance window.
She pretended not to understand anything, so she asked someone to ask where to get the remittance.
A female staff member in a gray-blue uniform helped her, asking her where she came from and how much she would withdraw.
Lin Lan tried to imitate women from other countries who had never seen the world before. The timid eyes and timid tone of voice naturally made people want to help.
"Did you bring the remittance slip?"
"The remittance slip hasn't been sent home yet, it's been at the post office in the past two days. Can you check it for me? If it arrives, I will wait outside for the night to pass, collect the money, and then take the baby to the hospital for treatment," Lin Lan said, trying to make the tone of her voice as troubled as she could to spark the other party's feelings of sympathy for her.
Sure enough, the female staff member looked at Xiaowang and asked what was wrong. It was a pity to know that his eyesight was not good.
"This kid has such handsome eyes, why can't you see clearly?" She raised her hand and put it in front of Xiaowang's eyes. Naturally, he couldn't respond.
"Wait for a moment, I'll check it for you."
Soon, the female staff member smiled and greeted Lin Lan, "You came here at the right time; we were just about to send the order. If you hadn't come this time, it would have taken at least two or three days to get the order."
Lin Lan happily thanked her.
She took out the letter of introduction and the marriage certificate, "I am a woman of no education. I can't write my name, so I only know how to press fingerprints. This is a marriage certificate that was issued by the government, can it prove that I am the wife of Han Qingsong?"
"It can!" The staff inside was amused by her.
Lin Lan's eyes were clear, "Then, please take it out for me quickly."
This time it was 260 Yuan— 40 Yuan more than what it was before!!!
The remittance slip did not come with a message. Hence, it was natural to have no explanation as to why there was an increase in money. Things like this could only be understood through a family letter.
Lin Lan pressed her handprint onto the documents before dividing the portion of the money into two. Then, she proceeded to put the two parts into her pockets and thanked the staff members.
"Hurry, go to the hospital and get your child cured early."
After Lin Lan left, several female staff members gathered together to gossip, "It's 260 Yuan! What does her husband do? Why is there so much money?"
"The remittance address belongs to the army."
"He's an officer. It's truly amazing how the countryside managed to conscript an army officer."
"How did she get such a great marriage partner?!"
Lin Lan, who was envied to have a successful marriage, was currently very tired as she journeyed with the child. Although the body belonged to the original owner, the pain, fatigue and the sense of accomplishment seemed to have stemmed from her soul.
So the fact that she couldn't endure hardships, couldn't deal with troubles, and couldn't cope with exhaustion was entirely because of her.
(T/N: The author was very ambiguous about this but it means that everything she feels now is from her emotions alone. Only the outer shell, that is the body, belongs to someone else but everything she is experiencing is because of her emotions alone)
She must have a bicycle, she must be able to eat white noodles and meat!
Leaving the post office, she wondered if she should go to the school to find Dawang and Maisui first. However,upon looking at the weather, she thought it would be best to go to the hospital first.
It was not the first time for the siblings to go into the county town to deliver items to her brother-in-law and sister-in-law— they would be able to go home by themselves without a problem.
So, she brought Xiaowang along and sat on a stone in front of the hospital to rest as she truly couldn't walk any further.
Before this, her energy and will to continue came from her determination to withdraw money. Now, she wanted nothing more than to find a restaurant and have a good meal before having a good rest in a guest house.
It's a pity that she didn't have any food stamps with her. Hence, even if she had the money, she couldn't buy anything to eat—how annoying.
Xiaowang slumped next to her, leaning on her to gain a sense of security.
Lin Lan patted him, motioning that there was nothing to be afraid of.
After resting for a while, Lin Lan got up. As her movement was too abrupt, her vision blackened for a moment and her entire being swayed.
"Be careful—" Someone helped steady her in time, which was why she didn't end up collapsing onto the ground.
Lin Lan knew that this was probably caused by her low blood sugar levels or the low blood pressure. It took some time for the darkness to dissipate from her eyes, needing about an entire minute to regain her sight gradually.
"Well… my friend, are you okay?" The gentle and warm voice made her relax involuntarily.
Lin Lan rubbed her eyes, "Thank you, I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy."
She thanked the person and saw that it was a male doctor in a white coat. He was probably around 26 or 27 years old, born with gentle features and handsome traits with a unique bookish spirit.
He was looking at her with a faint smile, his eyes coated with an odd expression.
Lin Lan hurriedly moved away from the male doctor slightly. She held Xiaowang's hand and the child hugged her thigh tightly with no intention of letting go.