Chapter 2

There was plenty of time to study in the space and the mall, so Lin Xiangnan quickly bought a bottle of mineral water and swallowed the strengthening and invigorating pills.

As soon as the pills went down, she immediately felt a warm sensation all over her body, her body became much lighter, and her mind became clearer. The memories of the previous eighteen years stored in this brain quickly merged with her own memories.

In just a few minutes, Hu Meili’s scolding in the yard suddenly became friendly. When she first woke up, she still found it annoying.

Hu Meili finished scolding in the yard before bringing a bowl of congee into the house. She didn’t even knock on the door, she just pushed open the door to Lin Xiangnan’s room.

Lin Xiangnan was startled and felt relieved that she hadn’t entered the space with her body, and she had put the empty mineral water bottle back, otherwise she would have been exposed.

Their eyes met, and Lin Xiangnan was so embarrassed that she didn’t know what to say, but Hu Meili just placed the bowl of congee on her desk.

“Remember to drink the congee when you get up later. Of all the people in the family, you’re the worst. It’s just a few dried mushrooms, have you never eaten them in your life? You even dared to eat what Liu Hongying made, aren’t you afraid of being poisoned…”

As soon as the door to the room opened, Lin Xiangnan realized that Liu Hongying was also at home, gluing cardboard boxes in the living room, which was only a few square meters.

So Hu Meili was deliberately scolding her in front of Liu Hongying.

Liu Hongying was also a tough one. Knowing that she was wrong, she didn’t say a word when she was scolded, her face didn’t change at all.

“What are you looking at her for? I’m not afraid of her. She’s so old and still staying at home eating and drinking for free, I can’t even say a word to her.” Hu Meili glared fiercely at Liu Hongying and urged, “Hurry up and drink the congee. I’m going to make dinner, I’m not going to eat what Liu Hongying cooks.”

After saying that, Hu Meili didn’t care about Lin Xiangnan’s reaction and went out to cook again.

This was the image of a vicious stepmother, which made Lin Xiangnan click her tongue and sigh in her heart, “Good heavens, she doesn’t even bother to pretend.”

Fortunately, she was her biological daughter, otherwise, with her fighting ability, she wouldn’t even be enough for Hu Meili to fill her teeth.

In 1960, Lin Xiangnan’s biological father, Lin Guangzong, died of illness. Hu Meili took over his job, but she had just started as an apprentice, earning only 18 yuan a year in her first year, 20 yuan in her second year, and 22 yuan in her third year. She would only get a raise to 34 yuan after she finished her apprenticeship and was officially graded. Although her salary would increase later, it was still difficult for her to support three children at the beginning.

Life was already difficult, and the Lin family often came to her for money, so Hu Meili didn’t hesitate and remarried with her children to Liu Laoblack, a worker in the same factory.

Although Hu Meili had such a name, she actually looked ordinary and had a bad temper, so she only found someone with similar conditions when she remarried.

She had two sons and a daughter, and Liu Laoblack was the same. However, Liu Laoblack originally had five children. After his original wife died, he didn’t take good care of them, and two of his sons died. Thinking that the family couldn’t be without a woman, Liu Laoblack started living with Hu Meili.

They had been married for thirteen years, through thick and thin, but in the past two years, their marriage had been quite bad, and Hu Meili had been holding back a lot of anger.

The year before last, the family borrowed money to buy a job for their stepson Liu Hongshan, and last year, their stepdaughter Liu Hongying returned to the city due to illness and ate for free at home. This year, their stepson Liu Honghe and their own daughter Lin Xiangnan graduated in the same year, and they both wanted to stay in the city. The family still hadn’t paid off their debts, so where could they get the money to buy jobs for the two children?

Because of the matter of going to the countryside, Hu Meili had already made a fuss at home several times. She was adamant that Lin Xiangnan must stay in the city.

Her eldest son had already gone to the countryside, and her second daughter must stay by her side. Liu Honghe, a boy, wouldn’t mind suffering a bit in the countryside.

But their stepson Liu Honghe refused, and he also made a fuss at home, begging Liu Laoblack to buy him a job. He had bought one for his brother, why not for him?

Jobs weren’t something you could find just by looking for them. If you waited until you were thirsty to dig a well, it would be too late. So, although this batch of students graduated at the end of June, the family had already started making a fuss after the New Year, in January. They had been arguing until now, and the matter of the job was still unresolved.

Every family had several children, and it was now as difficult as climbing to heaven to find a job.

Because of the matter of going to the countryside, even siblings could become enemies, let alone a family like theirs.

Lin Xiangnan had a space, and she could eat and wear warm clothes in the countryside, so she actually wanted to go to the countryside, so that her family wouldn’t notice the change in her personality.

Not to mention anything else, at least the houses in the countryside were spacious, unlike in the city, where a 50-square-meter house had to accommodate seven people, each room was small, and they had to share with others, there was no private space at all.

Lin Xiangnan got up and walked around the cramped room, sighing as she looked. After looking around, she went to check the handwriting on her homework in the textbooks on the desk and looked at her appearance in the mirror.

“Huh, this handwriting is exactly the same as mine, and my appearance is also similar. The brother in the underworld really arranged it well.”

There were no two identical flowers in the world, but there could be two similar flowers. The familiar appearance and familiar handwriting quickly made Lin Xiangnan relax.

She picked up the warm congee on the desk, took a sip, and her face wrinkled into a ball, “Even white porridge can be made so unappetizing, Ms. Hu is really a talent.”

The porridge didn’t have any rich flavor, and the rice grains weren’t cooked to a soft and glutinous texture, it was like leftover rice from the night before boiled with water, thin and watery, making people have no appetite at all.

Lin Xiangnan had just put down the bowl in disgust when there was a ‘bang’ and Hu Meili’s voice of smashing a basin came from outside the room.

“Oh, you scared me with this sudden noise.” Lin Xiangnan could fully imagine how chaotic life in this family would be in the future.

After a while, those who should go to work went to work, those who should go to school went to school, and they all came home one after another. Hu Meili made even more noise.

Lin Xiangnan didn’t want to get involved in family matters, so she hid in her room and drank milk and ate bread.

Her body was lacking in nutrition, and she was less than five feet tall. Fortunately, she was only eighteen years old and still young, she could eat some good food to make up for it, and she could still grow taller.

After eating and drinking her fill, Lin Xiangnan lay down on the bed and entered the space to check the situation. The villa in the space had water and electricity, the kitchen could cook, and the underground parking lot had become a storage room, where she could store a large amount of supplies that wouldn’t spoil.

She hadn’t finished exploring the functions of the space yet, when there was a commotion outside the room, and Hu Meili and Liu Laoblack started arguing again. The other people in the yard watched the excitement and tried to persuade them.

Hu Meili became angrier and angrier as she spoke, pointing at Liu Laoblack’s nose and scolding, “They say it’s hard to be a stepmother, and I know it now. For all these years, I’ve washed clothes, cooked meals, and worked like a cow and a horse in your house, have I ever mistreated Hongying and her two siblings? And this is how you treat me?”

“My eldest son is still suffering in the countryside, your eldest daughter is back in the city, and your second son has also bought a job. What’s going on, you want to keep all three of your children in the city and send all of my children to the countryside? Did I owe your Liu family in my last life? I deserve to be bullied by your Liu family?”

Liu Laoblack wiped his face and explained helplessly, “The job I inquired about is manual labor, it’s not suitable for girls. And it’s not even certain if they’re willing to sell it, it’s all just talk, and you’re already making a fuss.”

The other aunts in the yard also quickly pulled Hu Meili, persuading her, “That’s right, don’t be in such a hurry. There’s still time.”

Hu Meili sneered at Liu Laoblack, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. If you really push me too far, we’ll get a divorce. The policy states that every family must have one child who goes to the countryside, no matter if Lin Xiangnan can stay in the city or not, Liu Honghe is definitely going to the countryside.”

“What are you talking about, why are you talking about divorce all of a sudden.” Liu Laoblack’s face changed involuntarily.

The others also followed suit, “Divorce is not something you can just say, you’ve been married for over ten years, how can you get divorced over such a small matter.”

“That’s right. Calm down, both of you calm down. If you have something to say, let’s talk about it, don’t say things in anger.”

Hu Meili wasn’t talking in anger.

The current policy was still relatively lenient, only-children and young people with disabilities could avoid going to the countryside, while other families with multiple children had to send at least one child to the countryside. As for the remaining children, it depended on their parents’ ability.

Her eldest son had already gone to the countryside. Even if Lin Xiangnan couldn’t find a job for the time being and became an unemployed youth, she could use the excuse of keeping her daughter to take care of her in her old age, and then send her youngest son to the countryside in the future, delaying it for a year.

With a year’s buffer, even if Lin Xiangnan couldn’t find a job, she could find a good family to marry into. By then, she would only have one son left to take care of her in her old age. In this case, where there was only one child left in the family, the organization would help arrange a job, and her youngest son could at least get a temporary job.

Once her youngest son’s job was arranged, she would apply for medical retirement and give her job to her eldest son, so that her eldest son could also return to the city.

She only had three children, and if she planned carefully, she could still make sure that all of her children would be fine.

Unlike now, with six children in the family, no matter how you calculated it, her own children were at a disadvantage.

Lin Xiangnan didn’t know what Hu Meili was planning in her heart. When she heard Hu Meili talking about divorce, she felt a little guilty.

When Hu Meili stopped her scolding and went back to the room to drink water to moisten her throat, Lin Xiangnan quickly ran over to her and whispered, “I want to go to the countryside. I’ll sign up when I graduate. Now, if you go to the countryside, you can go to the commune in this city to join the team, it’s not as hard as my brother’s, I can do it.”

Upon hearing this, Hu Meili slapped Lin Xiangnan on the forehead, “How could I have given birth to such a useless thing. If you dare to say these cowardly words again, I’ll beat you to death.”

Lin Xiangnan shook her head, well, the force was just right, she was stunned but not hurt.