Because she had slept a lot in the afternoon, Lu Jiaxin was still very alert by nighttime. The room was a bit stuffy, so she took mosquito incense and a palm-leaf fan and walked out, to find Lu Jiajie sitting under the jujube tree.
Jiaxin lit the mosquito incense and placed it under a stone bench before she sat down, "Fifth Brother, I slept too much at noon, but why aren't you sleep yet with work tomorrow?"
Lu Jiajie said with a smile, "I can't sleep either. Jiaxin, your courtyard is really nice, not only is it cool but you can also see the stars."
He wasn't actually unable to sleep, but rather, his mind was in turmoil thinking about Jiaxin's words, so he couldn't fall asleep. His in-laws' house was fifty square meters, split into three rooms, and he and his wife had a room to themselves. Compared to many others, their living conditions were quite good. But in the summer, the house was like a steamer. He was naturally heat-sensitive and prone to sweating, making the summers particularly unbearable.
The hardships were one thing, but recently some changes at his in-laws' had brought a severe shift in their attitude. Lately, he had been dreaming of getting his own place, but with the shortage of company housing and his lack of seniority, it was an unattainable dream.
Jiaxin didn't keep talking about running a business; sometimes it was best to leave things unsaid. In the early days of economic reform, many people looked down on individual business owners, which meant those who went into business were mostly returned educated youths or jobless young people. If she said too much and Jiajie impulsively quit his job to go into business, Fifth Sister-in-law and her family would definitely be unhappy with her. Furthermore, if the business failed and he went into debt, it wouldn't only sour relationships, but Fifth Brother's standing in the Ma family would suffer as well.
Lu Jiajie didn't bring up running a business either. Instead, he asked Jiaxin why she didn't report to the police after losing her memory, "Third Uncle has a comrade working at the local prosecutor's office. If you had reported it, you would have been home long ago."
Jiaxin had her excuse ready, "Before he saved me, Xue Mao had saved a girl named Xiao Cui, who was a year older than me. She came from a rural village just outside the Ancient Capital. Her parents wanted to marry her off to a forty-something widower working at the meat processing plant for a high bride price. That widower liked to beat his wives and it's said that he had beaten his previous wife to death, so Xiao Cui ran away to avoid the same fate."
Through their interactions, Jiaxin realized the girl was cunning and money-loving, so she didn't like her. However, when she left, Xue Mao said he had left his street vending business to her, and Jiaxin did not refuse. She didn't want to be friends with such people, but women needed to be a bit selfish and shrewd to live well.
The women of the flower-growing families had been brainwashed for thousands of years, believing they should dedicate everything to their families and children. Fortunately, the younger generations were slowly awakening, and the daughters were starting to focus on themselves more.
Lu Jiajie pieced it together himself, "Were you worried that you also ran away from a forced marriage, afraid of being returned and married to a widower?"
Jiaxin nodded and said, "I was lucky I didn't come back. Otherwise, with my memory lost, Ding Jing and Zhao Siyi would have found other ways to harm me."
Mentioning these two people, Lu Jiajie's face twisted with disgust, "Xinxin, those two have hearts of snakes and scorpions. You don't have to go back home or get in contact with them. If you need anything, look for me or Big Brother."
Lu Jiaxin felt quite fortunate for her original self. Although her real father was worthless, she had two brothers who cared a lot about her and would stand up for her. She said, "Fifth Brother, Ding Jing and Zhao Siyi nearly cost me my life; I can't just let that go."
Lu Jiajie, worried she might act recklessly, quickly said, "Xinxin, Zhao Siyi has a disgraceful nature, and the Fan family will never let her through their doors. But if you're still not satisfied, when she goes to school, I can have someone spread the word about the things she's done in her class. With such a reputation, both teachers and students will keep their distance."
If she could steal her sister's fiancé, there was nothing she wouldn't dare to do; no one would want to associate with someone so prone to backstabbing.
Lu Jiaxin thought his approach was too weak, "Fifth Brother, if she could seduce her sister's fiancé, she wouldn't be afraid of rumors and gossip. Plus, she's good at playing the victim. She could argue that I'm jealous of her university acceptance and am slandering her out of spite; I can't possibly go to the university and explain it to everyone."
Seeing that Lu Jiajie was about to speak again, she waved her hand and said, "Fifth Brother, don't worry, I won't do anything illegal. They are not worth it."
After chatting for more than half an hour, Lu Jiajie felt sleepy and started yawning, "Xinxin, it's late, let's go back to the room and sleep!"
He shared a room with Xue Mao where the bed was too small to fit them both. Coincidentally, Xue Mao had taken down the doors of the three rooms in the rear part of the house to clean, so he simply used one as a bed board to sleep on.
Lu Jiaxin couldn't sleep either after returning to her room, so she took out a notebook and wrote down the significant events she remembered. There's an old saying, "Even the best memory is not as reliable as faded ink." Over time, some details might be forgotten, but writing them down on paper made them more secure.
To prevent others from understanding, she used symbols that only she could interpret. However, as she was born after the '90s, she knew very little about the events of the '80s and '90s. She was more familiar with the major events of the following two decades.
After writing down everything she remembered, Jiaxin checked her watch and found it was past ten o'clock. She yawned and climbed into bed. Since arriving here, her routine had become more regular. She used to go to bed after midnight, but now she got into bed before nine every night.
Early to bed was early to rise, so the next day Lu Jiaxin woke up at six in the morning, washed up, and went out to buy breakfast. Knowing Lu Jiajie liked deep-fried dough sticks, she bought steamed buns and dough sticks. Xue Mao had made porridge, so there was no need to buy that.
After she bought breakfast and saw that Lu Jiajie was still not up—since he had to go to work—Lu Jiaxin asked Xue Mao to wake him.
After washing up, Lu Jiajie saw the dough sticks on the table, took one, bit into it, and said with a smile, "Xinxin, now that we've moved into the new house, we should follow tradition and throw a few dinner parties, invite people over, and have a lively time."
Lu Jiaxin was aware that what he referred to as a housewarming banquet was actually just warming the house. She replied with a smile, "There's no need to invite outsiders. Just have you and Big Brother's families come over for a meal; that will be enough."
"Okay."
After breakfast, Lu Jiajie went to work, and Lu Jiaxin took Xue Mao shopping for clothes. They didn't go to the department store because it was too expensive, instead heading to Xiushui Street.
When Xue Mao saw the street, his eyes widened at the rows of stalls selling all sorts of goods—clothing, shoes, socks, embroidery, shoe soles—and beyond that, a snack stall.
Seeing the constant flow of people at the snack stall, Xue Mao said excitedly, "Sister Xin, there are so many people here. If we set up a snack stall, we would definitely earn much more than before."
He was eager to get a stall up and running, so there would be a daily income. In the past, they often had to worry about the next meal after finishing the last, and the hunger made him anxious whenever he was idle.
Lu Jiaxin didn't oppose Xue Mao setting up a snack stall, but she wouldn't let him do it here—the cost-efficiency was too low. She said, "This place is too far from our home. If we set up a stall here, we'd have to rent a place."
Upon hearing about renting a place, Xue Mao gave up on the idea. Rent was not cheap, and without his sister coming over, he wasn't confident about running it alone.