Lin Xia rubbed her nose in distress. She had always been working, only knowing how to work herself to the bone and was so numb that she had never engaged in trade and understood nothing about it;
The more pressing issue was that she was afraid that right now she couldn't even scrape together a few dollars, where was the start-up money supposed to come from?
What small business doesn't require a bit of capital to start? Who would give her goods on credit?
For a moment, she felt stifled and angry at herself. The heavens had given her a chance to start anew, yet she didn't have a single idea, she was truly useless.
However, when she thought about how poorly she, her younger brother, and little sister had lived in the past, and how her eldest brother might even die, Lin Xia bit her teeth and clenched her fists fiercely!
She could not let the hardships of her previous life repeat themselves, no matter what she had to ensure that her big brother lived a good life, enable her younger brother to continue his studies, make sure her little sister could run a small business in the future, and as for herself, she wanted to make something of herself.
At this moment, Lin Qiu finished cleaning up and came in, seeing Lin Xia stupidly sitting on the kang wearing only thermal underwear, she hurriedly walked to the edge of the kang.
"Sister! Why haven't you lain down? You just got a bit better, don't catch a chill! Lie down quickly. Sister, sleep a bit more, and big brother and Xiaoqiu will be back by noon!"
"Xiaoqiu! I'm much better! Nothing's wrong! I'll help you make lunch in a little while!"
Lin Xia felt much better all over, with only a dry, painful throat and a dizzy head, and she did not want her sister to treat her like a patient.
Xiaoqiu complained unhappily, "Sister! Why do you always have to be so tough! You finally took a day off because you were sick, you should rest well! If you keep this up, I'll get angry!"
"Okay! I'll listen to you! Isn't that enough?!"
Lin Xia smiled happily, letting Xiaoqiu tuck her in while she continued to chatter.
Xiaoqiu deftly tucked the blanket around Lin Xia and felt her forehead. "It's good! The fever has gone down! Sister, you lie down. I'm going to fix the worn cuffs of big brother's sweater!"
Lin Xia had no choice but to agree to avoid upsetting her sister, "Okay!"
Xiaoqiu contentedly picked up a navy blue sweater with three fine knitting needles stuck in the cuff from the quilt pile, seeing Lin Xia looking at her, she smiled and said, "Sister! My knitting skills are better than yours now! I'll knit all our sweaters from now on!"
"Okay!" Lin Xia answered with slightly reddened eyes, watching Xiaoqiu's hands that, despite having calluses, had not yet become rough as they deftly knitted the sweater, she felt a mix of happiness and pain in her heart.
Thinking about how Xiaoqiu married into such a family, her once lively spirit had been completely worn down, Lin Xia still remembered the last time she saw her, her hands full of cracked calluses and protruding joints, her face gaunt, her eyes vacant, she was nothing like the vibrant person she was now.
But now everything was better. Since she knew the future, she would go to any lengths to ensure Xiaoqiu had a different life.
Xiaoqiu continued to knit, all the while keeping an eye on Lin Xia, and when she saw her sister slowly close her eyes, she quietly heaved a sigh of relief.
She finally fell asleep. Actually, there was a lot of work she needed to do, and she really did not have the time to sit and knit, but ever since her sister woke up, she had been so worried in her heart.
Xiaoqiu quietly set down the sweater, tiptoed down to the floor to put on her shoes, and went out the door.
Lin Xia slowly opened her eyes. She hadn't actually slept; her mind was in turmoil, she had many things she wanted to do, but didn't know where to start.
The thought of possibly facing Qian Chunli that evening made her itch to give her a good beating!
But what would a beating solve? At most it would just cause a few days of physical pain, without solving any real problems.
Lin Xia sneered, the best revenge against Qian Chunli was for all of them to live better lives than her children!
She steeled her heart, determined that before anything else could happen, she would be tough and earn money, a lot of money…
"Xiaoqiu! Is your sister awake yet? Is she feeling any better?"
A man's deep shout came from outside, and Lin Xia suddenly sat up excitedly, shouting, "Big Brother! Big Brother!"
Lin Xia frantically scrambled out of bed to put on shoes, hurriedly putting them on the wrong feet, but she didn't care at all. Dragging her shoes, she ran outside as if she would never see her big brother again if she were any later!
How many years had it been since she last heard Big Brother's voice!
Ever since that year when Big Brother was rendered jobless due to a work injury, there was only a black and white photo left of him. Whenever she missed him, she would take it out to look at it.
Lin Chun had just parked his 28-inch bar bicycle, and as he turned to enter the house, he was startled by Lin Xia charging out!
"Xiaoxia, are you feeling better? Why are you up? Go back and lay down quickly!"
Lin Chun slightly furrowed his brow, looking at his disheveled sister with red eyes, he quickly stepped forward and softly scolded her.
Lin Xia, regardless of anything else, rushed up to Lin Chun, grabbing his arm tightly and looked up at him with barely controlled eyes.
Big Brother was 1.75 meters tall, thin and lean, not particularly fair, but his facial features were reminiscent of Yu Wanhua.
He had delicate eyebrows and eyes, a straight nose, and rather thick lips. He wore a dark blue Sun Yat-sen suit which was frayed at the collar and cuffs.
Lin Xia examined him from top to bottom, crying and laughing simultaneously, shouting excitedly, "Big Brother! Big Brother! It's so good to be alive! So good!"
Lin Chun paused for a moment, then smiled and touched her forehead, feeling that it wasn't hot, and playfully flicked it, "Silly girl! You're not feverish anymore! What nonsense are you talking about! Of course it's good to be alive! Come on! Let's get back inside!"
Lin Xia grinned, touching the spot on her forehead that her big brother had flicked, feeling an overwhelming sense of joy inside.
She wished he would smack her a few more times, hard. "Big Brother! Flick my forehead again!"
This tangible feeling made Lin Xia want to both cry and laugh, but she knew she couldn't do that; it would scare her big brother. So she had to find another way.
Lin Chun made a "tsk" sound and looked at Lin Xia as if she were foolish, "Xiaoxia, have you gone silly from the fever? Usually, if I flicked your forehead, you would be upset. But today, you're actually asking for it! Fine, but I'll do it with force this time, and you better not cry if it hurts!"
Xiaoqiu appeared from the small door beside the backyard at that moment and saw the big brother and sister playing around. She couldn't help but laugh, "Big Brother! Just flick her already, I'll testify that it was my sister who asked for it!"
Lin Xia turned around and saw Xiaoqiu with her sleeves rolled up and her hands all covered in black soil, she knew Xiaoqiu had been working in the back yard.
"That's right! Hurry up, Big Brother! I'm waiting for it!"
Lin Chun was at a loss due to his two sisters, "Fine! Both of you insist, so how can I not flick!"
He intentionally curled his finger and warmed it with his breath. Lin Xia tensed her shoulders slightly and squinted her eyes in anticipation, "Alright, here I go!"
Of course, the buildup was more dramatic than the act itself; Lin Chun gently flicked Lin Xia's forehead and then pushed her toward the house, "Hurry on now! You silly girl! Don't go getting sick again!"
Lin Xia let her big brother guide her back inside the house. She took a deep breath of the outside air, looked up at the blue sky, and felt bubbles of joy rising in her heart.
Big Brother was still alive! It was wonderful!