Chapter 46: Brother Sends Cotton

Lin Xiangxi ate the roast chicken while talking to Lin Xiangnan about the gossip of the Gu family. In the end, he even left a chicken leg for Hu Meili, covering it with a lid.

After wiping his hands clean, Lin Xiangxi said with anticipation, “Sister, are you going out to find a job? You can take me with you on your bicycle.”

The bicycle was sent by Gu Zhenhua yesterday. He didn’t bring much money or tickets back this time, after all, it wasn’t convenient to live at the Gu family’s, he borrowed money to buy things from his comrades, he would pay them back when he returned to the army.

“No, I’m not going. I can get married and stay in the city, why would I look for a job? Am I bored with my life?” Lin Xiangnan directly gave up, “It’s so hot, I just want to stay at home and blow the fan, eat watermelon.”

After graduating from high school, Lin Xiangnan spent half of her day wandering around outside, Hu Meili never cared, she just hoped that Lin Xiangnan would continue to be lucky and find a job.

But good luck doesn’t last forever, Lin Xiangnan really went around looking for jobs, but she didn’t find any recruiting units.

She wanted to buy a job with a lot of money, but she didn’t meet anyone suitable to sell it. There were no advertisements now, most jobs were taken by relatives and friends, rarely were outsiders considered.

Fortunately, her marriage was settled, the matter of going down to the countryside was finally resolved, Lin Xiangnan felt relieved and just wanted to indulge herself recently.

Lin Xiangxi tentatively asked, “Can I ride your bicycle out to play?”

“Go ahead. Be careful, don’t get heatstroke.” Lin Xiangnan finished speaking and went back to her room to blow the fan.

Lin Xiangxi was a sensible child, he went out to play in the afternoon and came back to pick up Hu Meili from work.

When they lived in the old big courtyard, Hu Meili only needed to walk a few minutes to get to work, now it took half an hour.

When Hu Meili came back, she was carrying a big package, and her eyes were red. She put the package down and went to the kitchen to cook silently.

Lin Xiangnan didn’t dare to touch Hu Meili’s bad mood, she could only wink at Lin Xiangxi, “What’s wrong with Mom? Did she get into a fight with someone and lose?”

“That package is from Big Brother, he sent cotton. They planted cotton in their brigade this year, he knows it’s hard to buy in the city, so he specially sent some home.”

Lin Xiangnan nodded understandingly, every time Hu Meili received a letter from Lin Xiangdong, her mood would be low for a while.

They had written to Lin Xiangdong about the divorce and moving to a new house. Lin Xiangdong didn’t know when they were moving, so he could only send things to the factory.

Lin Xiangnan’s marriage was settled, and Hu Meili’s heart was relieved by half, the other half continued to worry about Lin Xiangdong.

She had settled her daughter, but her son was still suffering in the countryside.

However, although Hu Meili was sad, she didn’t hesitate to eat the chicken leg. After finishing it, she instructed Lin Xiangnan to get paper and pen and help her write a letter.

“Just say that you’re getting married, so he doesn’t have to worry. Tell him to take care of himself in the countryside, if he needs anything, tell the family, Mom will help him figure it out. He’s still young, just persevere, don’t find a partner in the countryside, if he finds a wife from somewhere else, I won’t recognize him.”

When they first went down to the countryside, the educated youths were definitely unwilling to marry locals. But Lin Xiangdong and his group of educated youths had been in the countryside for six years, and returning to the city was still a long way off. The life in the countryside was also hard, so many people couldn’t hold on and settled down locally.

Hu Meili is now a worker in the city, but she grew up in the village and had done farm work, she knew what life in the countryside was like, that’s why she was so adamant about not letting Lin Xiangnan go down to the countryside, she was afraid that she couldn’t take the hardship and would marry a local man.

She was also equally worried about Lin Xiangdong.

After Lin Xiangnan finished writing the letter, she checked it again.

“What do you mean, suggest he doesn’t find a partner in the countryside? Write it clearly for me, just say that if he dares to find a partner in the countryside, I won’t recognize him as my son, I’ll beat him to death.”

Hu Meili only went to literacy classes and could recognize a few characters, but her handwriting was ugly, she always asked the children at home to write letters for her, so she could only dictate and then stare at Lin Xiangnan, changing the content of the letter.

After writing the letter, Hu Meili went to her room to get money and tickets that they had saved.

Lin Xiangnan also wrote down the amount of money and tickets in the letter, to prevent anyone from stealing them without her noticing.

Now, when sending packages and letters, many of them would be checked. In some areas, the packages of educated youths would be stolen by local inspectors.

The brigade where Lin Xiangdong was located was still good, the leaders of the brigade were good people, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to get so much cotton.

After finishing the letter, Hu Meili said, “The cotton batting at home is old, I’ll use this cotton to make you a new quilt for your dowry.”

“Okay.”

Hu Meili wasn’t a generous person to begin with, as long as she was willing to give, Lin Xiangnan happily accepted.

“You’ve already bought all your own things, you don’t need anything. Keep the dowry that Gu Zhenhua gave you. I’ll prepare a thin quilt for you, that’s enough.”

“That’s it?” Lin Xiangnan pouted.

Hu Meili had just finished speaking, when she saw the speechless expression on Lin Xiangnan’s face, she immediately said excitedly, “Just that? Other families who marry off their daughters, they take half of the dowry, the more ruthless ones, they take all the dowry. I don’t touch your dowry, I even prepared a dowry for you, countless people would envy you if they knew.”

Speaking of this, Hu Meili felt regretful. She couldn’t brag to those aunts and uncles about how generous she was, and how generous the son-in-law she found was.

The things Gu Zhenhua brought out made Hu Meili very proud. But for fear that the Gu family would be jealous and cause trouble, they kept the engagement very low-key.

It wasn’t that Hu Meili was afraid of Gu Fugen and his wife, she just found them annoying and didn’t want to have much contact with them.

Hu Meili spoke grandly, but Lin Xiangnan didn’t buy it, she directly exposed her, “What are you saying? You already got a thousand yuan from me. You’re not being nice if you’re still thinking about my little dowry.”

This thousand yuan was indeed the reason why Hu Meili stopped.

Although she felt guilty, she didn’t lose her momentum, “We agreed before, this thousand yuan is for the room you’re living in. You’ve already spent half of it, and you’ve been living in the house for so long, you’re still bringing this up.”

Hu Meili had a controlling desire for her children who hadn’t grown up yet, but not for her married children.

Before Lin Xiangnan got engaged, Hu Meili took this thousand yuan without any qualms, she even had her eyes on the remaining private money in Lin Xiangnan’s hands. Lin Xiangnan clearly spent her own money, but Hu Meili felt like her own wallet hurt, as if Lin Xiangnan was spending her money.

But after Lin Xiangnan got engaged, Hu Meili suddenly became carefree, she didn’t say anything anymore, no matter how Lin Xiangnan spent money.

She even educated Lin Xiangnan, “After you get your marriage certificate, you must make Xiaogu hand over his salary, understand?”