Chapter 4

Seeing the cubs off, Lin Zhao returned to the room. The house was a mess, but she didn't have the heart to tidy it up. After all, the bump on her head hadn't gone down yet, and it would hurt from time to time, which was very annoying.

Wait until tomorrow... talk about it tomorrow.

Having convinced herself, Lin Zhao lay down and closed her eyes.

When she woke up again, the sky had darkened, and Ercai's voice came from outside.

"Brother, why hasn't Mother woken up yet? Did Mother faint?"

The eldest had quietly gone in to see Lin Zhao and knew his mother was breathing. Hearing Ercai's words, he scolded him: "Ercai, your voice is too loud, what if you disturb Mother! Grandma said people with head injuries need to rest more, stop talking."

Ercai listened to his brother the most and fell silent.

After the sun went down, the room looked very dark, but there was no need to light a lamp for the time being.

Lin Zhao got up and got out of bed. Just as she opened the bedroom door, the eldest greeted her. Fearing that his mother would change back to the way she was before and ignore people, he didn't dare get too close.

Standing where he was, he asked: "Mother, does your head still hurt?"

Lin Zhao approached the eldest, touched the top of his head, and said with a smile: "I feel much better after a sleep."

The eldest saw that his mother hadn't changed and smiled: "Grandma asked me to bring you food, will Mother eat now?"

Lin Zhao was indeed a bit hungry after a sleep, "Okay."

Ercai hurriedly brought the food.

The opportunity to perform was snatched away by his younger brother. The eldest felt stuffy in his heart, but seeing his mother smile at him, the corners of his mouth curled up in a small arc.

Lin Zhao took the food Ercai brought, cornmeal porridge stewed with Chinese cabbage, the only meat being the poached egg on top of the rice.

Without the cubs saying it, she knew this poached egg was for her to nourish her body from Gu Mu.

"Thank you, eldest and second child."

"You're welcome." The eldest blushed shyly and got a stool for Lin Zhao to sit down and eat.

It was midsummer, and there were many mosquitoes in the countryside. These mosquitoes were very poisonous; one bite and there would be a big bump, which was especially itchy.

Lin Zhao had several red bumps bitten on her legs.

Building a house, buying a mosquito net, was imperative.

"Eldest, second child, I plan to build a new house for our family, do you two have any opinions?"

The eldest widened his eyes.

Build a house!?

"Can we build a brick and tile house?" second child became excited and said loudly.

The eldest signaled his younger brother to be quieter, so as not to disturb his younger brother and sister who had just fallen asleep. The third and fourth cubs had played happily in the afternoon and had been coaxed to sleep early by their brothers.

second child covered his mouth, looked at Lin Zhao expectantly, his voice lowered by a few decibels, but his tone added some small waves: "Mother, the cubs like brick and tile houses."

Don't say, it was quite cute for a child to speak like this.

"... Sure." Lin Zhao thought of the zeros on the passbook handed in by the children's father and nodded decisively: "Brick and tile houses are clean, let's build a brick and tile house. At that time, I'll install mosquito nets for you, so you won't be woken up by mosquitoes at night. However, bricks and tiles are more troublesome... It's okay, I'll write a letter to your father tonight and let your father think of a way."

Gu Chenghuai, who was far away in the military camp: Thank you for thinking of me.

Seeing the eldest didn't speak, Lin Zhao softened her voice: "Why doesn't the eldest speak? The house we build is our home, and every family member can offer opinions."

"Mother, does the family have money?" the eldest asked hesitantly.

Lin Zhao felt sour in her heart. The eldest was sometimes so steady that he didn't look like a child. Children being forced to grow up was all because of the parents' inaction.

She smiled at the eldest and said softly: "Yes, there is money to build a house and let you four treasures eat meat."

The eldest beamed, his smile clean, his eyes bright.

Lin Zhao ate the food in big mouthfuls, not disliking Gu Mu's poor cooking skills at all.

Don't look at her being white and tender now, unlike a country girl, in fact, she didn't suffer when she was a child...

Her parents and brothers were all good to her, but their whole family relied on farming to live, and even eating their fill was difficult. It was good enough to have cornmeal porridge to fill their stomachs.

She was able to go to school because her uncle, who was a worker in the city, provided for her.

Thinking of the past few years when she seemed to be possessed and inexplicably lost contact with her uncle, Lin Zhao felt that she was an ungrateful wretch.

"Mother, I'm still in the same room as second child, is that okay?" the eldest made his own request.

second child nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Right, right, right, I want to live in the same room as my brother!"

Lin Zhao asked with a smile: "Then what about the third and fourth cubs?"

The eldest said without thinking: "Then let the four of us be in one room." He never thought about handing his younger brother and sister over to his mother to take care of.

"Un." second child had no opinion. He had always been whatever his brother said, he was.

Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Zhao told the cubs to sleep early, and both sides returned to their rooms.

Before returning to the room, the eldest couldn't help but look at Lin Zhao, silently praying in his heart that Mother would be the same tomorrow as she was today.

Lin Zhao didn't know the eldest's little thoughts. After returning to the room, she didn't rush to sleep, but sat at the table and wrote a letter to the children's father.

She suffered a great disaster today, it was really unjust, and she felt aggrieved in her heart, thinking of her image in that book—a pretentious person, a cannon fodder without luck, full of bad habits, no other advantages besides being able to give birth... so angry, the more she thought, the angrier she got.

She gave birth to four treasures for Gu Chenghuai, so what if she was raised by him? Besides, her man didn't say anything, why did that hateful book say that about her?!

Lin Zhao took out the stationery and fountain pen that hadn't been used for a long time. It seemed that since she was pregnant with the twins, she hadn't written to the military region so diligently!?

The ink in the fountain pen had dried up...

This fountain pen was a gift from Gu Chenghuai, it cost more than ten yuan.

She opened the drawer, took out the ink inside, and sucked the ink into the pen.

Lin Zhao wiped off the remaining ink on the nib and started writing the letter. She wrote several pages of paper, and by the end, her wrist was sore, and she forgot what she had written.

She was a girl whose anger came quickly and went quickly.

After writing the letter and venting, the irritability that was blocking her heart dissipated seven or eight out of ten.

Thinking that there seemed to be a braised chicken leg in the cupboard, Lin Zhao got up to get it.

Unwrapping the oil paper package, a rich salty fragrance rushed to her face, and she couldn't help but swallow.

It really wasn't that she was greedy, but that her stomach lacked oil.

There was only one chicken leg, it wasn't appropriate to give it to any cub, and it was late at night, it wasn't good for the cubs to eat this kind of braised product, so she'd better finish it herself!!

Lin Zhao licked her lips and started eating with a crunch. The braised flavor was really fragrant. She took a bite and couldn't help but speed up her chewing, finishing a leg in two minutes.

The bones couldn't be wasted, feed them to the stray dogs tomorrow.

The stray dogs of the Harvest Brigade had ancestors who had earned merit. In the most difficult times, people never thought about killing dogs to fill their stomachs.

Early the next morning, when Lin Zhao woke up, the four cubs in the family had already been to the old house for breakfast and returned.

Hearing movement in her room, the eldest hurriedly ran over and knocked on the door gently.

"Is it the eldest? Come in." Generally speaking, the child who would knock on the door must be the eldest. If it were second child, he would have rushed in directly.

The eldest heard his mother's gentle voice, and a smile appeared on his face.

He pushed the door and entered.

"Mother, does your head still hurt?" He asked as soon as he entered.

While asking, he was also looking at the bump on Lin Zhao's head.

Seeing that the bump had shrunk by a circle, he said in surprise: "Mother, the bump on your head has become smaller."

"Yes, I noticed it too." Lin Zhao smiled.

Just at this time, second child rushed in, looking at her with glowing eyes: "Mother, when are you going to the county town to buy meat buns?"

Lin Zhao casually stroked the stray hair on the top of second child's head and said: "I'll go after I wash my face and brush my teeth."

The smile on second child's face widened, the corners of his mouth almost reaching the back of his head.

He didn't urge her, just wanted to make sure his mother would really go buy them.

second child, who got the definite word, was like a diligent bee, pouring face-washing water for Lin Zhao, serving face-washing water, finding towels, taking toothbrushes and toothpaste... he wished he could even brush his mother's teeth for her.

Lin Zhao hurriedly stopped him: "... Don't worry about me, go do your own thing."

She couldn't stand it, she wasn't a beautiful waste.

"Oh." second child turned his head to leave, but turned back after two steps: "Mother, hurry up."

Lin Zhao: "..."

"Little greedy bun." Lin Zhao complained in her mouth, but her eyes were filled with smiles.

second child didn't feel offended, grinning like a little fool: "Right, I'm a little greedy bun."

He leaned in front of Lin Zhao again, raised his head, and asked with a smile: "Mother, can you buy two meat buns for your little greedy bun?" second child raised two fingers.

Lin Zhao pushed away his little face that was acting cute, not eating his act: "No."

Forget it if not.

second child didn't pester her anymore, turned his head gracefully, and walked toward the eldest.

Lin Zhao discovered another advantage of second child: he knew the current affairs, and when he should give up, he never hesitated or dragged his feet.

The third and fourth cubs were also up, playing in the courtyard. The two cubs wanted Mother to hug them. The eldest, as a child, was in charge of his younger brother and sister, and was also exhausted. It was only better when second child helped.

After Lin Zhao finished washing, she sent the children to the old house and went to the county town alone.

There was no bicycle at home, but the brigade leader had one. However, the brigade leader's wife was someone who loved to take advantage. Borrowing their bicycle meant not only giving benefits but also being nagged, so it was better to walk.

Seeing Lin Zhao going to the city again, the long-tongued women of the brigade started whispering about her again.

"The eldest's mother is going to the county town again. Isn't it not the day to collect the allowance yet? What is she going to the county town for again?"

"Who knows, Lin Zhao is the only one in the whole brigade who lives well, raising herself white and tender, and she doesn't care about the children, throwing them all to her mother-in-law. Chenghuai's mother really had eight lifetimes of bad luck to marry such a daughter-in-law."

"Yeah, yeah, don't talk about her being able to give birth! Which woman can't give birth? A daughter-in-law like her who is lazy and greedy... even if she can give birth, I wouldn't want her."

Wang Chunhua was passing by and heard these people talking behind others' backs. She couldn't help but say: "The eldest's mother wouldn't take a fancy to your son either."

That aunt was so angry her face turned green: "How are you talking!"

What's wrong with her son? Her son is fine.

This breath couldn't be dissipated without retorting. This aunt countered sarcastically: "I heard you were still begging to help Lin Zhao yesterday. I don't know if she thanked you."

Wang Chunhua didn't take it to heart and said lightly: "I help people because I hope that when my children encounter trouble outside, there will be kind people to help. It's not that I'm lacking that word of thanks from others. Besides, everyone is a neighbor, helping each other is what should be done, where is the need for these empty things."

After saying that, she turned and left.

The few long-tongued women were caught on the spot talking about others, and they couldn't gather together anymore, dispersing in a hurry.

Lin Zhao didn't know about the interlude here. At the entrance of the village, she placed the chicken bones left over from last night in the place where stray dogs often were.

As soon as she left, a big yellow dog appeared on the spot. Its fur was messy and dry, and it was very thin, with the bones on its body clearly visible.

Smelling the fragrant bones, the big yellow dog sniffed with its nose, licked with its tongue, but didn't eat. It moved its head away from above the bones and barked.

"Woof..."

A moment later, a small yellow dog walked out, walked slowly to the bones, and started gnawing, its tail wagging like a propeller.

The big yellow dog was drooling. It was hungry too, but from beginning to end, it never thought about eating a bite.

The bones of the braised chicken leg were very soft, and the puppy finished eating quickly. Its stomach didn't feel much, and it barked milkily at the dog mother: "Woof..."

This meant it hadn't eaten enough.

The big yellow dog lowered its head and licked the cub's head, licking it until it fell to the ground, and it barked again milkily and fiercely.

After that, the two dogs, one big and one small, left.

The road from the Harvest Brigade to the county town wasn't considered short, of course, it wasn't close either. Riding a bicycle was naturally considered close, but relying on walking was naturally far.

Lin Zhao arrived at the county town when it was nearly eleven o'clock. It took two hours, and she was almost exhausted.

She first went to the post office to mail the letter, and only felt relieved after watching the post office staff stick the stamp and place it in the middle of the stack of letters with her own eyes.

"You still don't trust me with things?" The round-faced girl with two short braids at the counter teased with a smile.

This girl was named Liang Yi, who had worked at the post office for several years and knew Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao chuckled, "It's just that I haven't mailed a letter for a long time, and seeing your movements are nimble again, I find it interesting."

Liang Yi was overjoyed by the praise. Seeing Lin Zhao's forehead was red and could still see some swelling, she asked with concern: "What happened to your head?"

"Bumped it." Lin Zhao said casually.

"Be careful, bumping your head is no small matter."

"Un." Seeing someone coming to handle business, Lin Zhao waved at the counter and walked out of the post office.

After mailing the letter, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative again.

The family lacked many things, and Lin Zhao carried all the coupons that were about to expire with her.

She bought some cloth, hard candy, toothbrushes, toilet paper...

Seeing there were Warrior shoes, she asked the salesperson: "Do you have any for a five-year-old child?"

Lin Zhao looked like a rich person, and she was nimble in buying things. She would pay as long as she was satisfied with a glance. The salesperson's attitude in front of her was okay, without the usual arrogance of ignoring customers.

People in this era rarely bought shoes; everyone wore cloth shoes made by themselves. Adults rarely bought shoes, and families who bought shoes for children were even rarer. The supply and marketing cooperative had imported a few pairs of children's Warrior shoes, but who knew they hadn't been sold for more than a year. Seeing Lin Zhao wanted to buy them, the salesperson was very happy, "Yes, how many pairs?"

Before Lin Zhao could speak, she recommended them dutifully: "Warrior shoes are of good quality and look good on the feet. You definitely won't regret buying them back."

"Two pairs, thank you." Imagining the eldest and second child's happy appearance when they saw the shoes, Lin Zhao felt that no matter how much money it cost, it was worth it.

The salesperson was happy in her heart. Even if there was no reward in terms of money and coupons for selling the accumulated items, the director would verbally praise her, which was good for her evaluation of being advanced.

So she was even more enthusiastic, wrapped the two pairs of Warrior shoes in paper, placed them on the counter, and pushed them over: "Seven yuan."

Yes, two pairs of shoes for seven yuan, almost half a month's salary for an ordinary worker, which was quite expensive.

Lin Zhao held the shoes in her hand, gestured, estimated in her heart, felt the size was appropriate, and paid decisively.

The salesperson had been working for half a year and had never seen anyone who didn't feel sorry for money like this. She couldn't help but envy her, and remembering there were two blankets accumulated, she took the initiative to say: "Do you want blankets?"

"Yes!" Lin Zhao's eyes lit up.

Just right, go back and replace the blankets that the third and fourth cubs covered.

The salesperson squatted down and took out two blankets from the cabinet under the counter.

They were red and looked tacky, but the quality was good.

"I want them all." Lin Zhao said.

(End of this chapter)