Jiang Weidong walked to the kitchen door and said to the Lin sisters, Lin Shu and Lin Xia, who were washing the dishes, “Lin Xia, Lin Shu, I’m leaving now.”

Lin Xia’s ears turned a bit red.

She glanced at him and nodded, “Go ahead.”

Old Lady Jiang looked at her son’s back with a degree of satisfaction and said, “That’s more like it.”

She thought her son was trying to be close because she had asked the sisters to act as her goddaughters.

That evening, Lin Xia whispered to Lin Shu under the covers.

She felt she had done something that other women might criticize her for being a vixen or improper, just to keep Jiang Weidong hanging?

It’s not that I will marry you as my partner, but rather see if you’re suitable for marriage.

If not, then it’s over.

Lin Shu said softly, “Second sister, that’s the right approach. Before marriage, it’s important to date for a while to understand whether you’re suitable for each other.”

Lin Xia: “I feel a bit sorry for Grandma Jiang.”

Lin Shu: “We’re sincere with Grandma Jiang. There’s nothing to feel sorry for.”

After all, she had spared Grandma Jiang from paying for Han Yun’s sewing fees.

At home, she never gave anyone any leeway and always charged for services.

Moreover, she had even covered the cost of Grandma Jiang’s medicinal ointments.

She knew that although Grandma Jiang and her younger son’s family seemed distant, the old lady actually cared a lot about them, especially the two children.

The medicinal ointments Grandma Jiang wanted were just gifts for them.

Anyway, she hadn’t seen them at Jiang Weidong’s place.

Besides, the value of feelings cannot be measured.

She and Grandma Jiang could be considered close friends despite the age difference.

The next morning, Old Lady Jiang was a bit displeased.

Both of her goddaughters were leaving.

There would be no one to accompany her to buy groceries and make dumplings in the future.

Actually, someone had suggested she learn from Mrs. Qian and spend some money to find a poor girl from the countryside to stay with her.

That would be similar to having her own daughters.

But Old Lady Jiang refused.

She had her own thoughts and believed that good friends are hard to come by and are a matter of fate.

Some people may look poor, and you help them out, but they still long for their own parents.

Even if their parents scold or mistreat them, they still care about them.

It’s not that they aren’t grateful, but as she grew older, she found that simple acts of kindness rarely result in true gratitude.

Similarly, when you help someone expecting something in return, you’re imposing pressure on them.

Along with that little bit of help comes your sense of superiority and self-righteous accomplishment.

If people don’t meet your expectations, you’ll feel it’s not worth it.

She wanted a daughter she could get along with.

It must be fate.

Lin Shi took the power supply bureau’s truck with Lin Xia and others, and Jiang Weidong helped them get to the power supply bureau.

Before they left, Old Lady Jiang was reluctant to part ways.

Lin Shu said, “Grandma, if you get tired of staying in the city, let Brother Jiang take you to my place. Our whole family will always welcome you.”

Old Lady Jiang was delighted.

Although she might not go, Lin Shu’s words made her feel valued and gave her a sense of freedom and choice.

“Grandma, come whenever you want.”

Grandma Jiang waved them off, “Oh, I know.”

On the way, Lin Shu couldn’t stop laughing.

Lin Xia asked, “Third sister, what are you laughing about?”

Lin Shu laughed heartily, “I’m laughing at you guys.”

Lin Xia, who wasn’t easily embarrassed, hugged Lin Shu and said, “Stop laughing, or I’ll tell your future husband all your embarrassing stories from childhood.”

Lin Shu stopped laughing and said, “Alright, I won’t laugh. I don’t want Brother Jiang to think badly of me.”

At the power supply bureau’s gate, Jiang Weidong helped carry the bag of fabric onto the truck.

Shen Meizhi, who was also going to the countryside, glared at Lin Xia and Jiang Weidong with a scowl and rolled her eyes.

Lin Xia ignored her and proactively sent Jiang Weidong off, as he was heading to the Huang County branch.

Jiang Weidong said, “When I have time to visit Qing County, I’ll also… if it’s convenient, visit your Father and Mother.”

Lin Xia wasn’t easily embarrassed, but for some reason, her cheeks flushed a bit when he mentioned visiting her parents. “We’ll talk about it then. Be careful on the road.”

Jiang Weidong: “Okay, take care of yourself at work too. Don’t overwork yourself. You should know that many people care about you.”

Lin Xia noticed people around them looking curiously and said, “I know, hurry up and go.”

After seeing Jiang Weidong off, Lin Xia returned to the unit and saw Lin Shu making Shen Meizhi so angry that she was rolling her eyes.

Lin Shu said, “Sister, your eyelids probably have a spasm issue. If you keep being so tense, it might develop into eyelid weakness. My father-in-law is the best barefoot doctor in our county. You should go to our brigade’s clinic and get a few injections.”

Shen Meizhi snapped, “I’m not sick! Why are you so annoying?”

Lin Shu retorted, “Sister, if you’re not sick, why are you rolling your eyes at strangers like that?”

Lin Xia stepped in and pulled Lin Shu away, “Third sister, let’s clean up and go.”

Shen Meizhi looked at Lin Shu and her sisters with displeasure.

…so the impression of Lin Xia has worsened!

Originally, she thought Lin Xia was hypocritical, pretending to be coy with men.

Now seeing Lin Shu, she felt that Lin Shu must be even more pretentious than her sister!

Clearly, she was a vixen!

On the way to Qing County, Lin Xia asked the truck driver to stop, wanting to help Lin Shu take her things home.

Coincidentally, the team leader was patrolling the spring planting situation on his bike, so Lin Shu asked him to help take the things back, so the truck wouldn’t have to wait.

As Lin Shu watched the truck carrying her sister and the others leave, she hurried home.

Panpan and Tiantian, who were playing on the street, saw their mother’s figure.

Panpan and Tiantian ran back like swallows, calling out, “Mom, Mom! Why didn’t Second Aunt come?”

Lin Shu explained that Second Aunt had to go to Qing County first to report and arrange her work.

“Mom, while you weren’t home, the chickens, ducks, tomato seedlings, and eggplant seedlings missed you.”

Panpan and Tiantian each took one of Lin Shu’s hands, happily sticking close to her.

Lin Shu hugged them one by one, then they all went home together.

It was already past lunchtime.

She had a quick bite with some hot water-soaked pancakes and then started tidying up her room.

She liked to keep things clean—not to the level of obsession, but a room that hadn’t been slept in for a few days needed to have its furniture, bedding, and so on wiped down and aired out.

In spring and summer, with the high moisture, bedding can easily become damp and smelly if not aired out.

Rooms with insufficient ventilation can develop a musty odor.

The guesthouse she stayed in this time had a strong musty smell.

Actually, even the muddy floor at home could have an odor.

Tiantian said, “Mom, yesterday we helped Grandma air out the quilts and pads. They smell like sunshine. Come smell them.”

There was no smell left from yesterday’s airing, but Lin Shu cooperated and smelled them. “Hmm, it really does.”

After cleaning, Lin Shu organized a bag of defective cloth that Jiang Weidong had helped buy.

Inside, there were several colors of cloth and a lot of cotton threads.

She sorted them by type.

Some of the dyed cloth had a tie-dye effect, which she planned to make into a few small dresses for Tiantian and Xu Xiaoyou, some summer vests and shorts for Panpan and Bao’er, and a few nightgowns to give to her sister-in-law and others.

Knowing Lin Shu was back, Mrs. Li, Mrs. Qiu, and other women who didn’t work in the fields came over to chat with her, to hear about the city and broaden their horizons.

Soon, the conversation turned to the issue of electricity being introduced to the countryside.

Panpan said, “It’s true that electricity is coming. Second Aunt and her colleagues came here and went to the county!”

Originally, Lin Shu thought the introduction of electricity was a good thing that everyone would be happy about.

However, two old women had worried expressions on their faces.

They were worried about the cost.

“Doesn’t the electricity require each household to contribute?”

“Isn’t the electricity bill quite expensive? They’re reluctant to even use their kerosene lamps, and now they need to use the more costly electric lamps?”

“It’s not something that’s absolutely necessary, is it?”

Lin Shu listened to their chattering and realized they weren’t just fussing.

It was indeed a genuine concern.

Currently, in the city, there were no individual electricity meters; everyone paid a flat rate of one yuan per month.

In the countryside, even if the amount couldn’t be as high, a few dimes or cents a month was still required.

Given that, many households in the production team couldn’t even manage that extra amount.

And for them, even ten or twenty yuan was a significant sum, hard to come by.