Chapter 29: Savings

It’s rare to make furniture, and since there was enough wood, Zong Shao had the necessary furniture made. In total, there was a bookshelf, two low cabinets, a chest of drawers, a dining table, and four small stools.

The furniture looked like a lot, but in reality, only the bookshelf was a large item. It was as tall as a person and half a meter wide, with a row of cabinets at the bottom. It could hold books as well as miscellaneous items. The four shelves above were roughly the same size and could hold quite a few books.

The low cabinets, as expected, were for the bedside. They reached about Lin Wei’s knees and had two drawers, which could store small items.

The chest of drawers was only half the width of the one downstairs but taller, reaching Lin Wei’s chest. The three lower drawers were square, and the top shelf had no doors, making it a semi-open space for small decorative items. However, there was nothing to decorate the house with for now, so any future additions would have to wait.

The dining table was square, half the size of the one Lin Wei currently had at home. It wasn’t as tall, reaching Lin Wei’s thighs. Because the tabletop was relatively thin, the whole table wasn’t heavy, and Lin Wei could lift it by herself. Unlike the current table at home, which was hard to move.

Since the stools’ heights varied, Zong Shao had them made in a standard size, keeping only four stools for the family.

Although the furniture wasn’t bulky, there was a lot of it, and once it was all moved in, the downstairs area was packed, leaving very little space to stand.

So, after bringing everything in, Zong Shao and Zhou Jianhai didn’t rest but immediately started carrying the low cabinets upstairs.

Once the low cabinets were moved, they brought up the bookshelf, moved the current chest of drawers in the living room next to the wooden sofa, and placed the new chest of drawers next to the old one.

They then moved the old dining table to the left side of the entrance, near the window, with the high stools against the wall, and put the new square table in the middle of the dining area. After this rearrangement, the addition of the square table didn’t make the dining area feel crowded, and it even made the living room and dining area appear more spacious.

After Zong Shao and Zhou Jianhai finished, Lin Wei gave them each a cup of cool water. It wasn’t that she was reluctant to make tea for them, but the weather was too hot for hot tea.

Zhou Jianhai took the cup and drank it all in one go, then asked, “Is there anything else?”

“No, that’s all.” Zong Shao replied.

Lin Wei then asked, “Have you had breakfast? If not, you can stay and eat before you go.”

Zhou Jianhai glanced outside and said, “Are you sure it’s lunch?”

Lin Wei blushed at his remark. She had indeed gotten up late today and couldn’t help but glare at Zong Shao.

Zong Shao coughed lightly and said, “He had breakfast before coming, don’t worry about him.” He then urged Zhou Jianhai to hurry back.

At first, Zhou Jianhai thought that if they insisted on having him stay for lunch, he could always go back and tell his wife not to cook for him. But as soon as he said something, Zong Shao kicked him out.

“Rude friend!”

After hearing Zhou Jianhai’s complaint, Deng Xiangyun didn’t offer any comfort. Instead, she laughed and said, “Deserved it, who told you to have a big mouth!”

Zhou Jianhai: “…” Fine, this is my wife.

…

While Lin Wei was brushing her teeth and washing her face, Zong Shao was busy in the kitchen.

Zong Shao could cook, but his cooking skills were average. He could make food that was edible but couldn’t make anything that would really delight the taste buds. As long as one wasn’t picky, it was fine.

Lin Wei wasn’t very particular either. She had lived in the school dormitory throughout her middle and high school years and ate pickled vegetables and steamed buns for several years.

But the two children, used to the food made by their grandmother and mother, were very critical of their father’s cooking. They didn’t waste food, but they would subtly ask who would be cooking the next meal. If it was their dad, they would groan, and if it was their mom, they would express, “Let’s eat less so we can leave space for the next meal.”

Usually, in order to meet the children’s expectations, Zong Shao would take on the next meal as well.

He said the kids couldn’t always be pampered, and a bit of tough love was necessary.

After a few instances, even Mingming learned to stay silent when eating his dad’s cooking.

For breakfast, Zong Shao cooked noodles. First, they cooked quickly, and second, they were perfect when breakfast was late, and lunch was too early.

And noodles were one of the few dishes Zong Shao could make, and he even added a fried egg on top, which smelled delicious.

Since breakfast was much later than usual today, both kids were starving. Especially Mingming, who slurped down a big mouthful of noodles and said proudly, “I could eat a whole cow today!”

Lin Wei laughed and said, “We don’t have a cow for you to eat.”

Mingming, not catching that Lin Wei was joking, thought for a moment seriously and said, “Well, I can eat a lot.” He quickly finished one bowl of noodles and asked for more.

They used deep bowls, which didn’t look big but had a decent capacity. Lin Wei, an adult, could feel full after two bowls of noodles, and Mingming, being a child, usually ate less than her.

Lin Wei was afraid he’d feel uncomfortable after eating too much, so she only gave him half a bowl and said, “There isn’t enough noodles. Your dad still wants some.”

Although Mingming felt that half a bowl wasn’t enough for him, he looked at his dad’s big build and helplessly said, “Fine,” and then added, “It’s not that I can’t eat more, it’s that there’s no more noodles.”

“Yes, Mingming eats the most.” Lin Wei followed up, handed him the bowl, and asked Zong Shao, who was about to put down his chopsticks, “Should I get you another bowl?”

Zong Shao, who had only intended to have a light breakfast, glanced at his wife and son and said, “Yes.”

…

Zong Shao thought that after three bowls of noodles, he might not be able to eat much for lunch, but it turned out he was worrying for nothing. It wasn’t that he was hungrier than usual, but after eating his fill, there was still work to do—spring cleaning.

They had done a thorough cleaning when they first moved in, and since then, the floors were swept every day, and the bedside chest of drawers was wiped every few days. Their home always looked clean.

However, Lin Wei usually only did surface cleaning, and the corners and edges were hard to reach. Also, the last big cleaning had been a month ago, so it was time to do a proper cleaning.

Today was Sunday, and they had new furniture in the house. Since it was a good day, Lin Wei mobilized everyone, especially Zong Shao, to help.

While the couple was cleaning windows and sweeping the floor, Mingming and Ruirui weren’t idle either. Each of them grabbed a small cloth and wiped wherever they could reach.

After they were done, Lin Wei and Zong Shao had to wipe again. They couldn’t just clean the sides of a chest of drawers and leave the top untouched.

But the children’s actions deserved praise, so after finishing, Lin Wei called the two kids together and paid them for their work.

The two brothers were thrilled, “We get paid?”

Since Lin Wei usually didn’t hide the money when counting their allowances, the kids knew that “pay” meant money, and their eyes lit up.

Lin Wei smiled and nodded, “Of course.”

This idea came from a novel Lin Wei had read. She thought it was a great idea—motivating the children to work while helping them understand how hard it was to earn money.

She already gave them pocket money from time to time, adding up to about a dollar each per month. The kids didn’t have any spending plan and spent the money as soon as they got it. Lin Wei never thought it was a problem. The children of other families in the cotton mill’s workers’ compound were the same, with the only difference being how much pocket money they received.

But after that dream, Lin Wei thought maybe it would be better to help the kids become better, though she hadn’t figured out how to do it until today when she saw them taking initiative. Suddenly, she had an idea, and she put this plan into action.

Lin Wei raised her hand to quiet the children’s cheers, then began counting the money for them: “You clearly wiped six stools and two cabinets. The stools are one penny each, and you only wiped the outside of the cabinets, so each one counts as two pennies. That totals ten pennies. Ruirui wiped the sofa and the coffee table. The long sofa counts as four pennies, the short one counts as two, and did you wipe the coffee table drawer?”

Ruirui immediately answered, “Yes!”

“Then the coffee table also counts as four pennies, just like your brother, so it’s a total of ten pennies.”

After calculating the money, Lin Wei took two ten-penny bills from her pocket and handed them to the two children, saying, “From now on, your wages will be calculated based on this standard, but you can’t do the same task twice. For example, if you wipe the stool once in the morning and again in the afternoon, you can only get paid for one of those times. Understand?”

The two children answered in unison, “Understood!”

“Now that you have your money, what do you want to do?” Lin Wei asked.

Mingming loudly said, “Buy food!”

Ruirui said, “I want to save it.”

Before Lin Wei could speak, Mingming asked, “Aren’t you going to buy food with me?”

He hoped his younger brother would buy snacks with him, so he could eat all the snacks he bought without having to share with Ruirui.

Ruirui thought for a moment and said, “This is the first time I’ve earned money.” It was meaningful.

But Ruirui didn’t fully understand what “meaningful” meant, so he didn’t finish his sentence. Mingming understood, though. He looked down at the money in his hand with a heavy heart and, suppressing his pain, said, “Then I won’t buy food either.” He also wanted to save his money.

So, that summer, Mingming and Ruirui both had their first savings, even if it was just ten pennies.

…

In late July, Lin Wei received the first letter from home, along with a large package of mushrooms and mountain delicacies.

When she opened the large package, she found it was filled with smaller wrapped packages made of oil paper. Lin Wei opened them one by one, discovering that in addition to the mushrooms and ferns she had previously brought home herself, there were also plenty of chestnuts and pine nuts, and the quantity was no small amount.

Chestnuts and pine nuts were both considered good things. Chestnuts made a sweet soup, and pine nuts could be roasted and eaten as snacks, similar to sunflower seeds, but rarer.

Looking at the mountain goods piled on the coffee table, Lin Wei didn’t hurry to put them away in the cabinet. Instead, she took out a stack of oil paper and planned to wrap some of them up to send to Deng Xiangyun, Liu Dan, and the others.

However, after dividing the mountain goods, there wouldn’t be much left for each person.

But Lin Wei thought to herself, as the saying goes, “It’s the thought that counts.” No matter how little, it was her heartfelt gift. She was sure they wouldn’t mind, so she didn’t hesitate.

She wrapped up the mountain goods, tied them with string, and didn’t rush to deliver them. Except for Yang Yi, who wasn’t working, the others were all busy at this time of day.

So, when Zong Shao came home that evening, he saw the oil-paper-wrapped packages on the coffee table and initially thought Lin Wei had bought some snacks. It wasn’t until he asked that he realized it was a letter from her family.

Zong Shao unbuttoned his coat, walked over to the sink, and asked as he washed his hands, “How are your parents lately?”

“They’re doing well, just missing Mingming and Ruirui,” Lin Wei said as she carried the dishes outside.

Upon hearing Lin Wei’s words, Mingming specifically said, “I miss Grandma too. Mom, don’t forget to tell her when you write.”

Lin Wei replied, “I know, I told them that last time.”

Mingming wasn’t fully satisfied with her answer. He said, “Make sure to tell her again this time.”

Since their grandmother passed away, it had been Lin Wei’s mother who helped take care of the two children, so the children had a deep attachment to her. On the day they left, they had hugged their grandmother and cried, which made her eyes tear up as well. If it weren’t for the fact that her daughter’s family had finally reunited, she would have wanted to keep the children.

After settling down on the island, Lin Wei had written a letter home to report their safety, and Mingming had reminded her multiple times to make sure to tell Grandma how much he missed her.

Ruirui, being more introverted, hadn’t insisted as much as his brother, but he also mentioned it several times when Lin Wei was writing the letter.

Recalling that scene, Lin Wei helplessly said, “How about I read the letter to you after I write it?”

The two children immediately agreed, “Okay!”

Lin Wei continued, “By the way, Mom also shared some good news. Second Sister-in-law is pregnant.”

Zong Shao smiled upon hearing this. “Really? Second Brother must be thrilled.”

“Of course. He’s been showing off lately, almost wanting to name the baby right now.”

Lin Wei’s second brother, Lin Jianjun, was three years older than her. He had recently turned 26 and married five years ago. They had a good marriage, but they hadn’t had children yet.

In the first two years after their marriage, Lin Wei’s mother was still fine with it, thinking they were still young and had plenty of time. But after three or four years, seeing that Lin Wei had gotten pregnant and had children, while her older brother’s family had no children, Lin Wei’s mother began to feel uneasy and would often ask if they had any news.

Although her mother never pressured them with statements like “If you don’t have a son, there will be consequences,” the pressure was still there.

From what Lin Wei knew, after the New Year, her brother and his wife had gone to the city for a check-up. The doctor confirmed there were no issues with either of them and prescribed some pregnancy preparation medicine, which they followed. They finally felt at ease.

Maybe the doctor’s medicine worked, or maybe they just relaxed, but within less than half a year, they were finally expecting.

Imagining her second brother’s proud look, Zong Shao shook his head with a smile and asked, “When did they find out? How far along is she?”

Lin Wei calculated the time in her head and said, “They found out a few days after we left. It’s been almost two months. From what my mom said, Second Sister-in-law must have suspected it earlier, but she didn’t want to disappoint Second Brother until he noticed and they went for the check-up.”

Zong Shao smiled and said, “Good news is good news.”

…

After dinner, Lin Wei took the oil-paper packages and left, with Mingming tagging along. He couldn’t sit still, so when he saw Lin Wei going out, he followed her. Ruirui, on the other hand, was tired from playing all day and didn’t want to move, so he sat on a stool and watched as his mom and brother left.

Because their house was close by, Lin Wei went to the Zhou family’s first.

But when she arrived, she saw that the lights were on in the Zhou household. She called out three or four times, but Deng Xiangyun didn’t come out, so she left to visit other families first.

Lin Wei hadn’t been married into the military for long, so she didn’t know many military wives, and her close friends could be counted on one hand. Apart from Liu Dan, Shen Qing, Zhao Li, and Deng Xiangyun, she had also made a friend, Yang Yi, when they went tide-catching together.

Since Liu Dan and Yang Yi were neighbors and lived closest to Lin Wei, she went to their house first. After visiting them, she went to Zhao Li’s house, a bit farther away.

Her last stop was Shen Qing’s house, which was next to the military family placement office.

When she arrived, Shen Qing had just finished dinner. She came out of the kitchen after hearing the noise and smiled when she saw Lin Wei. “What brings you over?”

“I received a package of mountain goods from home, so I wrapped some up to bring over to you,” Lin Wei said, pulling out the oil-paper package. “It’s just some dried mushrooms and ferns, nothing special, don’t mind it.”

Shen Qing jokingly said, “Don’t talk like that. You’re being kind enough to bring me something, and I would never mind. Mountain goods are hard to come by, and my husband Li is especially fond of them.” She invited Lin Wei and Mingming to sit down.

But Lin Wei saw that it was getting late, and since she still needed to bathe, she didn’t stay long. After handing over the mountain goods, she chatted briefly with Shen Qing and then left.

As Lin Wei passed by Zhou’s house on her way home, she entered the yard and called out.

This time, Deng Xiangyun came out quickly. Upon seeing Lin Wei, she asked, “Did you come looking for me earlier?”

Lin Wei nodded and explained, “I called out a few times but didn’t see you come out, so I took Mingming and went to Sister Liu’s house first…”

Lin Wei paused here, then, under the light in the living room, carefully observed Deng Xiangyun’s expression before asking, “Is something wrong?”

Deng Xiangyun pursed her lips, and after a moment, she said, “Ah Hai has a cousin coming over.”

Hearing the implied meaning in Deng Xiangyun’s words, Lin Wei was somewhat surprised. “Is his cousin coming alone?”

Although a cousin is still a relative, there is a level of distance. It would be fine if an elder was accompanying her, but if the young girl was coming alone, things seemed a bit odd.

Deng Xiangyun nodded. “She’s coming alone. She arrived in Yangcheng today, but didn’t know which boat to take to the island. She somehow managed to call Ah Hai, and that’s how he found out about it.”

Lin Wei fell silent. She thought to herself, this girl is really brave, not even notifying anyone in advance about her journey, and not worrying about the trip. She didn’t even consider that when she arrived in Yangcheng, her phone call might not get through, and she could be stranded on the streets. Her family must be quite bold, letting her travel without knowing how she was getting there, not worried about the possibility of her disappearing halfway.

Moreover, even though they are relatives, just showing up without any notice might seem a bit abrupt. Perhaps the young girl didn’t understand this, but didn’t the elders understand either?

Lin Wei asked, “So what are you going to do now?”

Deng Xiangyun replied, “We’ll just have to pick her up. In a few days, there’s a supply delivery coming. Ah Hai contacted some comrades at the Yangcheng base and booked a room for her at a guesthouse. She’ll stay there for a couple of days and then come over with the supply ship.”

There is no direct ferry between Yangcheng and Yaixian. Military families visiting relatives either take a supply ship or travel by boat to Ye City and transfer to a bus to the island.

But Zhou Jianhai’s cousin, a young girl, is unfamiliar with the place. He’s afraid she might get lost during the transfer, so he asked a comrade to help make arrangements.

Asking for favors isn’t a big deal, but what Deng Xiangyun worries about now is that it’s easy to call on help, but difficult to send it back.