Chapter 47

Lin’s mother hesitated. She didn’t dare to accept the meat buns from her daughter-in-law.

“No, no, you keep them for yourself,” she said, not daring to mention them being for the children either.

“These were left over from breakfast. You know I don’t eat leftovers. If you don’t want them, I’ll just throw them away,” Ning Shu said with a dual personality.

Looking at her calm-faced daughter-in-law and the buns in the bowl, Lin’s mother realized they were meat buns because the oil stains from the meat had seeped out. Such meat buns… only her daughter-in-law could make them.

“Then I won’t be polite,” she said. Haicai had caught a cold recently and wasn’t feeling well, so having them to boost his health would be good.

Ning Shu handed her the bowl and didn’t say anything more, starting to eat her meal.

“I’ll head back now,” Lin’s mother said, taking the plate with her.

As Lin’s mother left, Yi Bao curiously asked, “Mother, don’t we eat leftovers? Last time, you used leftover dinner to make porridge for the next day.”

“Your grandmother is old and doesn’t want to eat good food. She always wants to save the good food for you. If I don’t say it like that, she won’t accept it,” Ning Shu explained.

Although she really didn’t like eating leftovers, she couldn’t answer Yi Bao like that, or he might think she only gave Lin’s mother what she didn’t want to eat, which wouldn’t be good if the children learned from her.

Yi Bao suddenly realized, “Mother, you’re really filial to grandmother, willing to give her meat buns.”

“I’ll also give mother meat buns in the future, and grandmother too,” Er Bao said.

Ning Shu smiled, “I’ll be waiting for Er Bao then.”

She then told Yi Bao, “Because your grandmother is a good grandmother and she’s your father’s mother. If she wasn’t a good grandmother, of course, I wouldn’t give her any. Remember, when others are good to you, you can respond appropriately, but if they’re not good to you, you don’t have to be polite.”

Outside the door, Lin’s mother’s eyes turned red. She felt it wouldn’t be right to take the meat buns back like this, so she wrapped the four meat buns in her clothes, planning to return the bowl to her daughter-in-law.

But then she heard these words.

Lin’s mother didn’t go back in. She left quietly. Now she was reassured.

Her daughter-in-law had truly changed for the better.

When Lin’s mother returned home, she attracted the attention of Lin’s father, Lin Guofeng and his wife, and Lin Guoliang and his wife.

They all looked at her, as if they all wanted to say something, but no one spoke.

Finally, Lin’s father spoke first, “Why did you bring the buns back?”

Yes, Lin’s mother had originally wrapped the buns in her clothes, but now she had put them back in the bowl.

Her daughter-in-law was showing filial piety to them, so what if others saw?

“Lin’s daughter-in-law said, ‘You work hard during the busy farming season. These four buns are to nourish your bodies,'” Lin’s mother said generously.

Lin’s father was surprised but also pleased. “Then we’ll keep them,” he said.

His character, to borrow a modern phrase, was very easygoing. If his daughter-in-law gave them to him, he would eat them; if not, it was fine too.

“We’ll heat them up later. Two for Haicai to nourish his body, and the other two, one for each of us. Is dinner ready?” Lin’s mother asked.

Lin’s father nodded. “Qingmei is preparing it.”

“Qingmei, did you call me?” Lin Qingmei came out of the kitchen.

Lin’s mother handed her a bowl. “Heat up the meat buns.”

“Okay.” Lin Qingmei took the bowl and went to heat them up.

Qian Aifen said gratefully, “Thank you so much, Mother.” Her son had been sick with a runny nose and drowsiness for a long time.

She was worried and had taken him to see a barefoot doctor and given him medicine, but it didn’t seem to help.

The barefoot doctor said this cold would take a long time to heal, about a month. She was anxious but there was nothing she could do.

These days, her son had been eating a bowl of egg custard every day to nourish his body.

Zhang Qinfang often looked at her with disdain for this.

“Mother, I noticed that our Haiquan has been coughing too. He needs to nourish his body too.” When Zhang Qinfang heard that Lin’s mother had given Haicai two meat buns, she immediately brought her own son out as well.

Did Lin’s mother not know if Lin Haiquan was coughing? They lived together every day, and she knew everything about him. Lin’s mother looked at Lin Haiquan. “Haiquan, are you coughing too?”

“Haiquan, I heard you coughing last night,” Zhang Qinfang called her son’s name and blinked at him desperately as he looked over.

Lin Haiquan was silent for a moment. He also wanted to eat the meat buns, but he hadn’t coughed, and he didn’t want to lie to his grandparents.

After considering for a while, he lowered his head and said, “I… I haven’t coughed.”

When Zhang Qinfang heard this, she almost wanted to go up and twist his ear. But after all, he was her only son, and she couldn’t bear to.

This stubborn child was just like his father, with a head as hard as a block of wood.

Lin’s mother was very satisfied with such a grandson. It was not good for children to lie and deceive.

“We’ll add some sausage and vegetables later. Last time, when we were helping Lin’s daughter-in-law’s family build a thatched house, she brought over a pound of sausage. They only ate half of it and left the other half to be stir-fried at night. It can also nourish your bodies.”

“Yeah, we’re having meat for dinner tonight!” Lin Haiquan jumped up happily.

The others heard and smiled too.

“Mother, did Third Sister-in-law really become a worker?” Lin Guofeng asked.

When this matter was mentioned, everyone looked nervously at Lin’s mother.

Even Lin’s father looked more serious than usual.

Lin’s mother nodded. “Yes, she passed the exam, but she transferred the worker position out.” They couldn’t say “sold” outside, they had to say “transferred.”

Although everyone knew what was going on, they had to be tactful in their speech.

“What?” Lin Guoliang doubted if he had misheard.

Qian Aifen also exclaimed in surprise, “This… how could she give up such a good job?” It was true. Ning Shu was really something… becoming a worker, and then selling the job.

Lin’s mother sighed. “It’s like this…” She explained the situation with Ning Shu, “So, Third Daughter-in-law didn’t want to transfer this position. Maybe in the future, that director will give her trouble, so it’s better to transfer it now.”

Qian Aifen’s mind was racing, wondering how much money the job was sold for.

Not only Qian Aifen was curious, but everyone else was too.

Zhang Qinfang even asked directly, “Mother, how much did Sister-in-law sell the job for?”

Lin’s mother glanced at her. “How would I know? She won’t tell me about these things.”

Although she didn’t know how much the job was sold for outside, it was definitely more than 500. So, the job was worth at least 700.

However, as long as she had a rough idea in her heart, it was fine.

Ning Shu was already living more comfortably than the eldest daughter-in-law and the second daughter-in-law.

If they knew she had sold the job for so much money, they would definitely feel uncomfortable.

She wouldn’t say anything that would provoke jealousy.

Zhang Qinfang couldn’t help muttering, “I don’t think she’s meant to be a worker, otherwise how could she encounter such a bad thing?”

As long as Ning Shu didn’t become a worker, she would be happy.

However, when she thought that Ning Shu had sold the job for several hundred yuan, she felt unhappy again. “Mother, My Husband can become a worker,

“Can my Husband use third brother’s connections? Why not ask third brother? The eldest brother and the head of the family might also have the opportunity to become workers,” Zhang Qinfang said.

Her words were quite persuasive, at least Lin’s two brothers and Qian Aifen were somewhat tempted.

Lin’s mother didn’t know if there was a connection with her third son.

But even if there was a connection, it was normal for a husband to help his wife.

So she didn’t listen to Zhang Qinfang’s words. “Mind your own business. Guodong isn’t here, how can she use connections?”

Zhang Qinfang persisted, “That’s not necessarily true. You can write letters or send telegrams. Didn’t third sister-in-law write a letter to third brother before? The next day, third sister-in-law went to buy a bicycle.”

“Shut up. Even if her job was arranged by Lin Guodong, so what? They’re a married couple. If someone in the same house doesn’t help, should they help you?” Lin’s mother thought this second daughter-in-law was really good at stirring up trouble.

“Don’t think too much. I have four children. Each of them was sent to school. The eldest dropped out in third grade, the second graduated from primary school but didn’t pass the entrance exam to middle school. Only the third child was diligent. It’s not that we squeezed the eldest and the second child and didn’t let them go to school. So, their future is earned by themselves. Whether it’s the eldest daughter-in-law or the second daughter-in-law, if you’re jealous, swallow it. Blame your own men for being useless,” Lin’s mother snorted.

“Grandma, Grandpa, it’s time for dinner,” Lin Qingmei’s voice came from the kitchen.

The next day, the news that Ning Shu had become a worker spread. Many people went to Lin’s mother to confirm it.

Lin’s mother didn’t say much, only that she didn’t know either, and they had already separated their households.

Ning Shu had been in the fields with her three children these days. Since she didn’t usually interact with many people, no one went to ask her.

Today was the day to sell the job. Ning Shu had breakfast, instructed her three children on some matters, and then rode her bicycle to the county town.

She left for the county town at about the same time as everyone else went to work, so she ran into the villagers again. As they watched Ning Shu ride away on her bicycle, they began to discuss her.

“Ning Zhiqing is going to work in the county town?”

“I don’t know, didn’t Guodong’s mother say they didn’t know either?”

“Is that so? I heard that the recommendation letter from the brigade leader’s side is already written.”

“Ning Zhiqing is a high school student after all, so it’s not surprising that he’s becoming a worker, right?”

Even though she had started working, people were still talking about it.

Not only the villagers but also the educated youth were curious. Some even thought about asking Ning Shu about the situation.

When Ning Shu arrived at the garment factory, it was not yet eight o’clock, but Ning Zhu was already waiting at the factory gate with a girl.

They had an exchange of interests and didn’t bother with pleasantries. After greeting each other, they went to handle the procedures.

The procedures were handled quickly. In just half an hour, everything was done, and Ning Shu received 850 yuan.

Ning Shu was not at ease with so much money on her, so she went to the post office to deposit the money.

This time she deposited 900 yuan, plus the previous 200 yuan, totaling 1100 yuan.

After depositing the money, Ning Shu decided to inquire about buying a house. She certainly wouldn’t blindly inquire on her own like a headless fly.

She knew Li Fei and Meng Jie in the county town, so she naturally asked them.

Compared to Li Fei, Meng Jie was more reliable, after all, he was from the county government, and it would be more convenient to handle various procedures with him.

But if you ask someone for help, you can’t go empty-handed.

So, she opened the app to see if there was anything she could send as a gift.