She wouldn't care about losing face anymore!
Asking for favors by giving gifts and smiling politely at others' doorsteps was something she had never done before, but for Xiaoqiu's future, she was willing to take that step.
Lin Xia thought of the seven yuan and change in her pocket and realized it probably wasn't enough!
She decided in her heart that as soon as her older brother returned, she would borrow the money he had been secretly saving.
Since she had just recovered from her illness and her emotions had been running high since waking up, she slowly drifted back to sleep.
Lin Xia was awoken by the sound of banging and cursing, accompanied by the clanging of an iron basin. She blinked, looked at the ceiling and the interior of the room, and then realized she had returned to the past.
Lin Qiu wasn't in the room. Lin Xia calmly sat up, pushed back the covers, and stepped down from the bed, a cold smile playing on her lips.
Without thinking, she knew it must be Qian Chunli and her group returning!
Separated by just a wall, Qian Chunli, with a hideous expression in the kitchen, was pointing at Lin Qiu, who stood by her side with her head down. Chunli, hands on hips and cursing, said, "What the hell! Are you drinking the oil or what? Just a bottom left in the half bottle! How are we supposed to cook now? Do any of you still want to eat? Wait till your father comes back, I definitely need to tell him, and see how he deals with you! Nobody squanders resources like that..."
Qian Chunli had returned home in high spirits with her daughter Lin Yu after attending a joyful banquet in the village, bringing back some candies and pastries in a cloth bag.
After hiding them away in her room, she went to the kitchen, and upon seeing the oil bottle, she exploded in anger!
Lin Yu, glancing at Lin Qiu and her downtrodden demeanor, flickered with disdain and schadenfreude in her eyes, but her words came out gentle, "Lin Qiu, don't blame my mom for being angry. Our family is struggling, and we can't be so wasteful!"
At this moment, Lin Xia came out. Lin Qiu, seeing her sister emerge, just wanted to persuade her to go back inside, but was stopped by Lin Xia.
As Lin Yu saw her with a dark expression on her face, her eyes shifted, "Lin Xia! Are you feeling better?"
Lin Xia didn't make a sound. She sized up Lin Yu, and they were about the same age. Lin Yu was dressed from head to toe so differently from them; one might think she was a girl from the city.
But she wasn't!
Qian Chunli was registered in the countryside, and her previous marriage was to someone from the village, so naturally, Lin Yu and Lin Qiang also had rural household registrations.
It was later, after marrying Lin Aiguo, that she changed her household registration to that of the city.
Qian Chunli, panting and gasping, glared at Lin Xia. Even though she felt the other's gaze somewhat intimidating, she didn't take it to heart.
It wasn't like she hadn't gone out before, leaving these kids at home.
But over the years, she realized these kids were particularly proud.
After she had complained a few times to Lin Aiguo about their excessive eating and drinking, they naturally wouldn't overeat. They would eat just as much as she prepared, and never sneak extra.
So how come she leaves for merely a day, and everything changes?
The thought of the oil, enough to last several days, being squandered on a single meal, set her inner rage crackling!
She put her hands on her hips and pointed at Lin Xia and Lin Qiu, shouting, "Are you little brats trying to rebel? Just wait till your father comes back and sees what I tell him! All of you with big mouths running wild, not even stopping to think about our family situation!"
Lin Qiu timidly tugged at Lin Xia, thinking let her curse as long as she wants, and once the old woman has had her fill of scolding, this will be over! What else could she do?
But Lin Xia pulled Lin Qiu's arm away and gave her a reassuring smile.
This must be resisted!
This was her first test since going back to the past!
If Lin Xia behaved as usual, then she would be useless! How else could she talk about changing the fate of her family?
Lin Xia approached Qian Chunli with a cold sneer and glared at her fiercely, "What's going on at home? Why don't you tell me? What's wrong with using a bit of oil when we cook? We eat from our own ration supply, what right do you have to criticize, always moving food to your parents' house?
When my dad gets back, I'm going to tell him as well. It seems the one who joined our family later has really been hiding her intentions! We see the food being moved, what about the things we don't see? Who knows what good stuff from the house has been taken away!"
After Lin Xia rattled off this tirade, not only was she taken aback, but Lin Qiu and Lin Yu, who were standing near the water vat, were also stunned!
Was this still the Lin Xia they knew?
Qian Chunli was completely stupefied by Lin Xia's piercing gaze and the torrent of words that spilled from her mouth!
Ordinarily, this Lin Xia would only bury herself in work; since when could she speak so boldly and articulate her thoughts so clearly?
And she even directly pointed out her moving food to her parents' house!
She knew she had been incidentally seen by these kids once, and it had frightened her for a few days, but after noticing they didn't say anything, she let her guard down.
Upon reflection, since Lin Aiguo only returned once every fortnight, if there was no solid proof, she could deny it to her death and they wouldn't have any evidence against her!
With this thought, Qian Chunli immediately felt more confident, "What nonsense are you spouting? When have I ever moved food to my parents' house? Without evidence, don't blather on! Besides, I'll see whose side your father takes in the end!"
In this regard, she was somewhat confident; having shared a bed, Lin Aiguo had indeed been on her side these past years.
Furthermore, these kids never received any favor from Lin Aiguo, so when the time came and she shed a few tears and embellished the story with complaints, they would be in for some trouble!
Lin Xia retorted, "Then what are you babbling about? Where's your evidence for us guzzling the oil? I don't care whether he believes me or not, but I have to let him know!"
She didn't believe Qian Chunli could produce any evidence! That would not be easy to prove!
Of course, Lin Xia knew that it would be a futile argument without solid evidence, but her purpose in saying this was not to seek an immediate verdict.
After all, she had only just returned to the past; there were still many things to sort out. Today, facing Qian Chunli, she couldn't remain as meek and enduring as before, but it was definitely not the time to completely knock her down either!
No matter how bad, this family was still temporarily needed as a place for her and her siblings to live.
Qian Chunli, feeling guilty, avoided Lin Xia's fierce gaze and obstinately argued, "What are you talking about? How can you accuse me of blathering nonsense? No matter what, I am your elder... It really should be made known and judged. You lot always act so high and mighty..."
She wanted to cling to this point to make Lin Xia submit since as an elder, the younger generation should not speak to her in such a manner.
And regarding the wasting of oil, she believed she was in the right no matter where she took her case!
But Lin Xia was not afraid of her argument; since she dared to confront the issue, she had thought about how to handle it, "So what if you're an elder? That doesn't give you the right to be unreasonable. You accused me of blathering first; I was just following your lead!
If you want people to judge, let's go outside the main gate now. I'll call out the neighbors to give their judgment...
Our mother died early, and now that it's these times, we still can't eat our fill. Just putting some oil in the food when cooking normally and you falsely accuse us...
It's also a good time to discuss why the rations are never enough. There are four of us, each with a supply of 27 pounds of rations. How come we never see it when it's time to collect the food..."