Chapter 9 – Lei Zhenzhen Finds Out

After the Lin family finished eating, they sat in the house chatting about everyday matters while the two children played nearby.

Lei Zhenzhen looked toward Lei Jun and asked: “Big Brother, how come you had time to come to town today?”

“Your sister-in-law gave birth yesterday, and it was twins. The two nephews cried non-stop from hunger, so Mother asked me to come into town and see if I could buy some malted milk powder to keep at home…”

Mother Lin looked at Lei Jun in surprise. “Oh? Twins? Then the second son of our in-laws finally has heirs. But malted milk powder is not easy to buy—once it’s stocked, it sells out right away.”

“Sigh, I know. When I got to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative this morning, it was already sold out.”

Mother Lin thought for a moment and said: “I remember that the daughter-in-law of the Meng family on the third floor just bought a can. She said it was to keep for the baby as an occasional supplement.”

“I’ll go ask her in a bit and see if she can share some with us. If she’s willing, that would be best. If not, we’ll think of another way.”

“Alright, alright, leave it to me.”

“Ha—what’s the trouble? We’re all one family. There’s no such thing as trouble when all it takes is asking someone.”

Lei Zhenzhen also looked at her mother-in-law with gratitude and said: “Mom, thank you…”

“We’re not like those people who make a big deal out of thanking each other in the family. That’s not how it should be.”

Lin Muchen took over the conversation. “Exactly. You’re my wife, the mother of my child—we’re one family, so don’t talk like outsiders.”

Lei Jun looked at the Lin family and felt genuinely grateful. His younger sister had married into such a good family—he could finally be at ease.

“But wait, Big Brother, didn’t you say Yueyue wasn’t due for another month? Why did she give birth now?” Lei Zhenzhen frowned and looked toward Lei Jun.

“Our sister-in-law found out that Zhenzi had died in service. She was heartbroken and went into premature labor. If Mother hadn’t gone home to fetch water and discovered her in time, I’m afraid…”

Lei Zhenzhen’s eyes turned red at the mention of her second younger brother. “What happened? Didn’t the family do a good job keeping it from her? Are Yueyue and the babies alright?”

“Sister-in-law and the two nephews are fine, but the twins are small, and our sister-in-law’s nutrition isn’t enough. The babies aren’t getting enough milk.”

“She went into early labor all because of Educated Youth Lin. She came to our house and told Sister-in-law about Second Brother’s sacrifice. When she saw Sister-in-law in severe pain, she didn’t even call for help—she just left…”

Lei Jun recounted everything to Lei Zhenzhen and the Lin family, including how they had gone to the Educated Youth Site to confront Lin Mengling and had reported the matter to the police.

Mother Lin was indignant. “How can someone be like this? You all did the right thing—reporting her to the police. That’s attempted murder! She absolutely cannot be let off.”

“This Educated Youth Lin looked so delicate and weak, yet she turned out to be so vicious. Luckily Yueyue and the babies have strong lives. Otherwise, your second brother…”

Wouldn’t their family line have ended?

“I thought I heard from the brigade that Sister-in-law and that Educated Youth Lin were friends? Didn’t she used to help her a lot?”

“They weren’t really friends—just went to the countryside together and kept each other warm in tough times. Yueyue just has too kind of a heart.”

“Sigh, you can know a person’s face but not their heart. In the future, we must keep our eyes open and not bring people with bad intentions into the house. If that happens, it could ruin the whole family.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Father Lin’s words. That’s right—people’s hearts are hidden. Who knows what someone else is thinking? You might help someone out, and they could be mocking you behind your back for being foolish.

From now on, when going out and making friends, they must stay vigilant. If you harm only yourself, fine—but if it affects your whole family, that’s real tragedy.

Isn’t that exactly what happened in the novel? The Lei family ended up in tragedy. Not a single person met a good end, including Lei Zhenzhen’s whole family. They all became stepping stones for Lin Mengling.

Now that Si Yueyue had transmigrated and successfully given birth, the fates of the Lei family and the Lin family had diverged from the original path.

A moment later, Mother Lin said to her family: “You all keep chatting, I’ll go ask upstairs.”

“Bring some of the vegetables our in-laws grew.” Father Lin said, watching his wife’s departing figure.

Mother Lin waved her hand. “I know.”

Everyone watched her leave and then played with the two children nearby for a while, making them giggle and laugh. The room was filled with the sound of children’s laughter.

“Big Brother, last time I went home, wasn’t Mother coughing really badly? How is she now? Any better?”

“Much better. She doesn’t cough much anymore.”

“That’s good. By the way, have Second Brother’s sons been named yet?”

“They’ve been named already. Sister-in-law gave them nicknames—An An and Lele. Father followed up and gave them formal names: Lei Qing’an and Lei Qingle.” Lei Jun explained.

“Sister-in-law said she hopes the two children will grow up in peace and joy, so she picked those names.”

“Peace and joy? That’s a good name.” Father Lin nodded approvingly.

“An An, Lele, the names roll off the tongue so smoothly. Xiao Huang and Xiao Hui have younger brothers now—are you happy?” Lei Zhenzhen asked as she looked toward her two sons who were playing nearby.

The Lin Xuguang brothers were playing a character-guessing game, and they looked up in confusion when their mother spoke.

“Little brothers? Is it the little brother Xiao Yun from Uncle’s family?”

Lei Zhenzhen shook her head. “No, these are two little brothers your Second Aunt just gave birth to. Xiao Huang and Xiao Hui are big brothers again.”

“Two little brothers?”

Lin Xuguang remembered that last time they went with their mother to Grandpa’s house, Second Aunt had a big round belly. Mother had told them that a baby brother or sister was inside.

“That’s right.”

“Wow—Xiao Hui is a big brother again! I want to see the babies!”

“Hahaha… alright, this afternoon, Mommy will take time off and bring you and Xiao Huang home to see the babies.”

Upon hearing his sister’s words, Lei Jun said: “Zhenzhen, you still have work. Just wait until your day off. Taking leave means losing pay—it’s not worth it.”

“It’s alright. It’s just one afternoon. My Second Brother’s children were born under such difficult circumstances. How could I, as their aunt, not go back to see them and feel at ease?”

“Sister-in-law and the babies really are fine. If something were wrong, would Big Brother hide it from you? Isn’t the day off coming in just a few days? You can go back then.”

“That’s right, Zhenzhen. Your sister-in-law and nephews are safe and well. No need to rush. Let’s go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative tomorrow and prepare some supplies for the boys before we go.”

Lei Jun thought his brother-in-law had misunderstood his meaning. “Brother-in-law, I didn’t mean—”

“Big Brother, An An and Lele are Zhenzhen’s and my nephews too. It’s only right that we prepare some birth gifts for them. Don’t stop us from bonding with our nephews.”

“Ha—how could I? In times like these, no family is well-off. Just going back is enough.”

“We understand, Big Brother. Don’t worry.”

Lei Jun nodded and didn’t continue the topic. Instead, he turned to Father Lin and began chatting about the crops. It was nearly time for the autumn harvest.

“It’s almost time for the autumn harvest, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, we country folks look forward to this time of year. Once the harvest is in, the grain sacks at home will finally bulge.”

Farmers were deeply invested in their crops. The autumn harvest grain had to last them until the summer harvest the following year—it determined the livelihood of the entire household for half a year.

Father Lin understood this well. If farmers didn’t work the land, even the rationed grain in town wouldn’t be distributed.

People in the city had it better in some ways—they didn’t have to toil in the fields, could earn wages, and their factories gave monthly benefits. But if the family had too many mouths to feed, even rationed grain wasn’t enough.

Creak…

The door opened.

Mother Lin walked in holding a can of malted milk powder, and at once, all eyes fell on her.

“What? Why’s everyone staring at me like that?”

Lei Zhenzhen’s eyes lit up when she saw the can of malted milk powder in her mother-in-law’s hands—the babies’ formula was secured.

“Mom, you really got it?! You’re amazing!”

Hearing her daughter-in-law’s praise, Mother Lin grinned from ear to ear. “Hahaha… Of course. Once your mom steps in, what can’t get done?”

“Yes, yes, in this building, Mom’s got the best connections.” Lin Muchen said with a laugh, giving a thumbs-up to the mother and daughter-in-law pair.

“Hahaha… alright, enough joking. Hurry and pack the stuff for Dajun. It’s time to get to work. Muchen still has to walk Xiao Huang to school.”

Mother Lin smacked her forehead. “Oh right! I almost forgot the time. You guys better hurry, or you’ll be late for work.”

In a flurry of movement, the ones with work rushed to their jobs, the kids headed off to school, and Mother Lin began packing up the things meant for the Lei family, placing them into Lei Jun’s back basket.

Lei Jun quickly tried to hand over the money for the malted milk powder to Mother Lin, but she refused and pushed it back.

After a little back-and-forth, Lei Jun managed to sneak the money under her drinking cup when she wasn’t paying attention.

Then, calling over Mother Lin and Lin Xuhui, he quickly left the Lin house.

When Mother Lin later cleaned up the house and found the money under the cup, she couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.