Lin Chun and Lin Dong both felt that something was off as soon as they got back home.
After serving the meal, Xiaoqiu, with eyes sparkling, quietly mimicked how her sister had left their mother and daughter speechless in defense.
The brothers looked at Lin Xia with newfound respect after hearing the story.
Like Xiaoqiu, Lin Dong looked up to Lin Xia admiringly, "Big sister! You really do what you say!" he said. The words you spoke at lunch were realized immediately.
"Of course!" Lin Xia ruffled her brother's short hair. "Hurry up and eat! After eating you need to do your homework!"
With her there, she wouldn't let them be bullied again!
"Okay!" Lin Dong agreed promptly. "After I finish, I'm going to Haizi's house to do homework. He has some problems he wants me to help explain!"
"Go ahead! Eat quickly then," Lin Xia remembered the neighbor's kid, Haizi, who was skinny but a good kid.
With many years of endurance behind him, Lin Chun thought things through a bit more.
"Xiaoxia, now that you've confronted them, what if she complains to dad once he's back?"
Xiaoqiu's hand paused in the act of picking up food with her chopsticks, looking anxiously at Lin Xia.
She had forgotten about their father's reaction upon his return. She thought if her father decided to punish them, she would volunteer to take the beatings, being the robust one who could take a hit!
Lin Xia met Lin Chun's gaze squarely, "Then let her complain! When I didn't confront them before, did she complain any less?"
She knew she couldn't change her brother's mindset right away, but she was determined to try and gradually influence him.
The proverb "A good horse is ridden, a good person is cheated" is too accurate. Sometimes when you need to be tough, you have to be!
Lin Chun was taken aback by Lin Xia's response, but upon further thought, he realized she was right.
Even when they were submissive, their old mother hadn't refrained from making complaints and causing trouble!
"That's true!" And with that, he stopped talking and focused on his meal.
Lin Dong glanced at his brother and sister, pursed his lips slightly, and continued eating the rice in his bowl.
Seeing the mood was down, Lin Xia continued to boost their spirits, "I'm telling you, even if dad comes back and she complains, we can file our own complaints.
And if dad still only believes what she says, it's fine, we'll divide the food and each eats their own! Let's see what she can do then!"
She was aware that it wouldn't be easy, but what did she fear? As someone who had faced death once, she was willing to become the villain for her siblings' sake!
Moreover, Lin Aiguo didn't mean much to her anymore! If need be, she was ready to break away from this family!
After the meal, Xiaoqiu cleaned up the kitchen, Lin Dong went to Haizi's place, and only Lin Xia and Lin Chun were left in Western House.
It was only then that Lin Xia softly spoke to Lin Chun about wanting to give a gift to secure a job for Xiaoqiu, but she didn't have much money and asked him to lend her the money he had been saving in secret.
Without a word, Lin Chun pulled out neatly folded money from his pocket, which Lin Xia counted: twelve yuan and thirty cents.
He looked at it, thinking it might be too little, and added, "Xiaoxia, is this enough? If not, I can borrow some from my colleagues!"
Even though he couldn't borrow much, Xiaoqiu's employment was a big deal.
If such a grown girl kept staying at home, with their half-brother being so useless, he was worried.
"It should be almost enough!" Lin Xia thought for a moment; together with her few yuan, it should suffice. Money was tangible at that time—a person's monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan.
In the end, she took eleven yuan, leaving Lin Chun with one yuan and thirty cents.
No words were exchanged that night, and the next day Lin Xia had breakfast and then pushed her bicycle out the door, ready to head to work.
It took half an hour to ride from the old house to her workplace. She had only been riding for a short while when the crisp sound of a bicycle bell came from behind her.
Lin Xia turned her head to look and saw that the cyclist behind her was her aunt's daughter, Yu Hongmei.
Yu Hongmei worked with her at the timber processing factory, and her aunt's family also lived in the nearby streets, two blocks away.
Yu Hongmei was quite pretty, with an oval face, big double-lidded eyes, and a high nose bridge. By the standards of that time, she was considered a real beauty.
Even now, dressed in a dark blue labor cloth work uniform with a small three-button collar, it seemed to look better on her than on most people.
Lin Xia didn't feel much about this sister; she just called out flatly, "Sister Hongmei!"
Yu Hongmei glanced at Lin Xia, observing that her complexion was a bit sallow yet her spirits seemed fine, she casually asked, "Hmm! I heard you were sick, are you better now?"
She knew about Lin Xia taking a day off the day before, but assumed the fever was nothing serious if she had sweated it out under a heavy quilt—they hadn't made a big deal of it.
Besides, she had never been close to the children her elder uncle's wife had left behind.
"Much better!" Lin Xia intuitively felt there was not much to chat about with her, as they were indifferent toward each other even in her previous life.
"Oh," Yu Hongmei was always a bit haughty, and seeing that Lin Xia didn't seem keen to talk, she was even less inclined to speak herself.
After that, the two of them rode on, each silently pedaling their bicycles.
Along the way, they encountered a few colleagues, both men and women, and made small talk.
Lin Xia successfully rode to her workplace and locked her bicycle in the shed.
She looked around the factory area, comparing it to its later decline, it was undoubtedly in its prime during this period for Lin District's factories.
Lin Xia followed everyone to the workshop; at the time, she did all sorts of work in the big workshop - pressing boards, stacking boards and sometimes even working on the circular saw to cut lumber.
Wearing cotton gloves, Lin Xia worked quite efficiently.
But, having just recovered from illness, she felt weak, so after doing a bit of work, she began to break out in cold sweats.
Yet she still persevered, biting her lip. Although she had returned to the past, she couldn't just quit her job at will.
Before she found another way to make money, she had to earn this wage.
Finally, at nine o'clock when there was no more material coming down from above, the saws were stopped for a half-hour break.
Lin Xia wiped the sweat from her forehead and went to the toilet with her colleagues who were working with her.
During this time, she kept looking out for Liu Lanying's presence.
Liu Lanying was a worker on the upper floor; Lin Xia had not been at the factory for long and was not yet familiar with her.
She had never done this kind of favor-seeking or gift-giving before, but Lin Xia silently encouraged herself.
No matter what, first she had to strike up a conversation and then find out if the garment factory was hiring. If a gift was needed, she would act accordingly.
Finally, on the way to the restroom, Lin Xia ran into Liu Lanying, who had another female colleague with her, chatting as they walked. It seemed they had just come out of the restroom.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Xia approached with a smile and greeted her, "Sister Liu!"
"Ah!" Liu Lanying was taken aback for a moment before she remembered who the other person was, "You're Xiaolin from the big workshop downstairs, right?"
"Yes!" Lin Xia smiled openly, "Sister Liu, I have something I need to talk to you about! Do you have a moment now?" As she spoke, she smiled at the person beside her.