Chapter 8 Little…Brother Xie Lin, why are you here?

As soon as she entered, she ran into Tan Qiuyue.

“Rou Rou, what’s wrong? Why do you look so pale?” Tan Qiuyue said with concern.

Inside, Lin Weimin was drinking tea. Hearing this, he quickly put down his cup and came over.

“What’s wrong with Rou Rou? Did Lin Yiwan bully you?”

Hearing this, Lin Yirou couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She just wanted to look at that stack of newspapers; why did Lin Yiwan say those things?  It caused everyone to blame her. 

She had never been so humiliated in her life. Lin Yirou felt extremely wronged.  But she held back her tears and shook her head.

“No… no one bullied me. I’m just unhappy.”

The couple felt even more distressed.

“Rou Rou, tell Mom and Dad if anything is bothering you. Don’t keep it bottled up inside; it’ll make you sick,” Tan Qiuyue said, hugging her shoulder.

“Yes, Rou Rou, Dad also bought you the watch you’ve always wanted. Don’t be unhappy. Come and take a look,” Lin Weimin said, taking a delicate watch from his pocket.

“Is it a Longines?”

Lin Yirou’s eyes lit up.  Tears still in her eyes, she happily accepted it.  Even the disappointment of not seeing the stack of newspapers Lin Yiwan had was lessened.

Tan Qiuyue, seeing the watch, couldn’t help but chide, “Rou Rou already has a watch. Why buy another one? This is so expensive.”

But the joy on her face was no less than Lin Yirou’s.

“My daughter deserves the best. As long as she’s happy, 300 yuan is worth it.  Wearing this watch, others won’t look down on her at work.”

Seeing Tan Qiuyue’s coquettish expression, Lin Weimin felt extremely pleased.

Lin Yirou looked exactly like Tan Qiuyue.  Both possessed the same delicate and harmless appearance, instantly evoking a protective instinct in others, greatly satisfying Lin Weimin’s patriarchal tendencies.

Wearing the watch, Lin Yirou suddenly thought of something and said dejectedly, “I can’t accept this watch.  Sister should have it. After all, she’s going to the countryside.”

Lin Weimin looked unconcerned.

“She doesn’t need a watch in the countryside; it would be wasted. Keep this one; you can wear them both.”

But Lin Yirou lowered her head, her face full of disappointment.

“Sister is already angry with me. It’s all my fault. I can’t find a job, so she has to go to the countryside. I feel bad if I accept this watch.”

“She dares?” Lin Weimin’s face darkened.  “Giving you her job is her good fortune. I feed her, clothe her, and send her to university. What does she have to be dissatisfied about?  Does she dare blame you?”

Tan Qiuyue quickly patted his back, soothing him. “Weimin, don’t be angry. Wanwan is still young; she’s just momentarily upset. Let’s talk to her.”

This was like adding fuel to the fire. Lin Weimin’s face became even darker.

“I was a father at her age.  What does she not understand? Tomorrow, I’ll call her back and tell her to transfer the job to Rou Rou and get out to the countryside immediately.”

Tan Qiuyue, of course, continued to soothe and persuade him.

Unsurprisingly, Lin Weimin became even more disdainful of his “rebellious and unreasonable” eldest daughter.

Lin Yiwan was unaware that Lin Yirou and her mother had secretly poisoned her reputation again.

Returning to the courtyard house, she put the painting in the wooden house in her space and took out the other jars and bottles to check them.  Especially the blue and white porcelain jar.

She was shocked by what she saw.  The picture of Guiguzi descending the mountain?  Wasn’t this the jar that had sold for nearly ten million yuan in Hong Kong City before her rebirth?

Before Lin Yiwan’s rebirth in 1990, ten million yuan was an astronomical sum for most people in China.

Looking at the jar in her hand, Lin Yiwan’s heart pounded wildly.

Although Song Huaqing later became very successful and earned a lot of money, earning ten million yuan in a single day was a thrill beyond words.

After calming her racing heart, she carefully put the jar into her space.

There were many other things on the ground. Lin Yiwan checked and found two more valuable antiques. The rest were ordinary jars.  She didn’t mind; she put them all in her space. They could be used for planting flowers if nothing else.

After putting everything away, Lin Yiwan went to the department store. She bought many daily necessities, using up all her various ration coupons. She kept the industrial coupons for later.

After putting everything away in her space, it was already five o’clock in the afternoon. Lin Yiwan felt hungry.

It was summer, and the sun was still high in the sky. She had only eaten a little in the morning and afternoon. Lin Yiwan didn’t want to make do with dinner again.

After all, her rebirth was worth celebrating.

Taking out her meat coupons and non-staple food coupons, she went to the state-run vegetable market.

Rows of bicycles were parked outside the market, and the market was crowded with people, with long queues in front of each stall. Vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, and meat were all available.

After all, it was the capital city; the supply of goods was far superior to where she had worked in the countryside in her previous life.

However, even with the abundant supply of meat, not everyone could afford it.  Each person could only receive half a kilogram to one kilogram of meat coupons per month.

With such a small amount, one had to be frugal. People rarely bought meat unless they were extremely hungry.

Lin Yiwan’s coupons were issued by her work unit.  She had eaten at the unit canteen and received meal subsidies, so she didn’t need money or coupons.  She saved the coupons and gave them to Lin Weimin every month.

This time, she was planning to go to the countryside, so she didn’t need to hand them over.  She only had a kilogram of meat coupons and two kilograms of non-staple food coupons.

Arriving at the market, Lin Yiwan went straight to the fish stall. This was the only kind of meat that didn’t require meat coupons.

But apparently, others had the same idea. The queue was very long. Lin Yiwan quickly joined the back. It would be best if she could buy some fish; otherwise, she would buy some meat.

The queue slowly moved forward. After an unknown amount of time, it was finally her turn.

There was one fish left!

Lin Yiwan felt incredibly lucky.

Without hesitation, she asked the vendor to weigh it.  A grass carp, more than three kilograms, lively and kicking, cost her one yuan.

Lin Yiwan, holding the grass stem used to string the fish gills, bought some bean sprouts, chili peppers, and various seasonings.

Beijing’s latitude is relatively high, so it gets dark late in the summer; it usually doesn’t get completely dark until nearly eight o’clock.

Carrying the fish, she walked home happily, stepping on her own shadow.

Just as she was about to reach her doorstep, a tall figure in military green suddenly came into view.

Lin Yiwan stopped.  When she confirmed who it was, a blush crept onto her face.

“Brother … Xie Lin, why are you here?”

He wouldn’t have seen her looking so childish, would he?