Mother Lin’s hand paused for a moment as she glanced at Lin Chuxia before turning back to her selective sorting. “The Qin Family is well-off; they won’t miss a little bit. I won’t send things with her; this way, she won’t have trouble carrying it all by herself over the long journey.”
Lin Jiayi spoke with a trace of pity, “That’s true. Speaking of which, Chuxia’s days at the Qin Family haven’t been as good as we thought. You’re still wearing old clothes. Hasn’t Qin Yang sent you any money for new clothes?”
As she said this, she even tugged at the hem of her own clothes, the implication clear as day.
“Speaking of it, since Qin Yang is not at home, I as the elder sister should take care of you. But as you see, Guang Yuan has just started his business, and all the money is tied up in that. I really want to help, but my hands are tied.”
Mother Lin packed the bag and swept her gaze over her two daughters, “Why talk about all this? Everyone has their own fate; just focus on living your own life well. Who has time to worry about everyone else?”
Lin Jiayi, however, said, “Mom, Chuxia is still my sister after all. I do wish for her to have a good life. When I arranged her marriage to Qin Yang, wasn’t it for her to have better days?”
Lin Chuxia was finished with her meal and had intended to leave, but Lin Jiayi insisted on dragging her into conversation.
Hearing her insincere words, Chuxia couldn’t help but laugh.
Her elder sister truly hadn’t gained any more sense, not even after being given a second chance to relive life.
“Big sister, if you really want to take care of me, it’s easy,” said Lin Chuxia all of a sudden.
“What?” Lin Jiayi instinctively lifted her head.
Lin Chuxia glanced at Li Guangyuan, who was speaking with Mr. Lin, “Mom was worried about me having trouble carrying things back by myself, right? Why not have your husband give me a ride?”
The few people weren’t far apart, and Li Guangyuan, upon hearing this, readily agreed, “Sure, I’ll take Chuxia back first, then come back…”
“No,” Lin Jiayi sharply interrupted before Li Guangyuan could finish, “Lin Chuxia, have you no shame? To actually suggest getting a ride from your brother-in-law.”
Lin Chuxia looked at her innocently, and Li Guangyuan also frowned slightly, “Jiayi, what’s the harm in that?”
“I said no, and that’s final. Lin Chuxia, if you want to leave, then go now. Nobody in this household is stopping you. Don’t create any drama.”
She would never allow Lin Chuxia and Li Guangyuan to be alone together.
Li Guangyuan truly didn’t understand Lin Jiayi’s overreaction and wanted to apologize to Lin Chuxia. Mother Lin interrupted, “Enough, if you’re leaving then go quickly. You come back just to cause trouble; this household owes you nothing. Stay away if there’s nothing important.”
“I know,” Chuxia indeed didn’t care to return to this house.
Pushing her bicycle, she had just reached the gate when a person hurried in.
Aunt Sun came in carrying a basket of pears and seeing Lin Chuxia, she spoke up loudly, “Are you leaving? I’m glad I caught you in time. I heard you were visiting your parents, so I had your uncle pick a basket of pears for you to take back.”
“Aunt Sun, there’s no need,” those pears in the basket were large and top-quality that could be sold for a good price.
“You child, just take them if I’m giving them to you, no need to be so polite with your aunt,” said Aunt Sun without a second thought. She took the net bag that was hanging on the back of the bicycle seat and started filling it with pears. She filled it to the brim and, seeing that it might not hold up, directed Lin Jiadong, “Jiadong, get your sister some string to tie it up, wouldn’t taste as good if they fall and get bruised.”
“Okay,” Lin Jiadong quickly found some string and secured the pears for Lin Chuxia.
Throughout this, nobody regarded the displeased expressions on Mother Lin and Lin Jiayi’s faces.
After Aunt Sun left, Lin Jiayi snorted coldly, “Aunt Sun treats you really well, one might think she’s your mother by the way she acts.”
“Are you saying that mom is not as good to me as an outsider?” Chuxia looked to Mother Lin, “Mom, Jiayi didn’t mean it, please don’t take it to heart. I’m leaving now, no need to see me out.”
Jiayi was stunned, “Mom, that’s not what I meant.”
Mother Lin was fuming and didn’t know who to be angry with. Watching Chuxia take away such a big bag of pears made her even more upset.
She turned to her son and shouted, “When I told you to find a rope, you just found one? How many ropes do we have at home for her to take? She comes back once and hauls stuff to her in-laws, your eldest sister took so much pastries and wine, and I only gave her some pears to take back, what did she take?”
Jiadong scratched his head, puzzled, “Second sister took pastries and wine too. I saw it, she didn’t take less than the eldest sister.”
…
Chuxia went straight back to the Bun Shop, where it was just starting to quiet down. Su Wensong was there too, working with Sun Bingnan to check the remaining stock of ingredients in the shop and recording what needed to be prepared for tomorrow.
Granny Sun and Ma Yingzi were making buns, as the shop would have another rush when the train arrives in the afternoon.
Chuxia placed the pears she brought back on the table and invited everyone to eat.
Everyone stopped their work to join the bustle, except for Lanlan, who was slumped over the counter, listless.
This was unlike Lanlan’s character.
Chuxia gave Sun Bingnan a look, asking what was wrong with her.
Sun Bingnan had a clueless expression as if he just realized his sister was acting strange.
Seeing that he was of no help, Chuxia personally took a pear and asked Lanlan.
Lanlan took the pear and responded lifelessly that it was nothing.
“You don’t look like it’s nothing. Is it that time of the month? If you’re not feeling well, go home and rest,” Chuxia wasn’t harsh with her sisters, as girls have those few days every month.
“Really, it’s nothing, I just want to be alone for a while.”
Then Granny Sun, holding two freshly washed pears, handed one, a larger one, to Chuxia, her face beaming with joy.
Chuxia had noticed earlier that Granny Sun was particularly happy today, her face almost blooming with smiles.
“Granny, have you encountered something delightful? You look so happy that even the wrinkles on your face have multiplied.”
Granny Sun was plump, an uncommon sight these days. Because she was overweight, she had fewer wrinkles compared to others her age.
Granny Sun touched the corners of her eyes, unusually not arguing with Chuxia.
“You guessed right, indeed there’s some good news. It’s quite unfortunate today, Boss Lin, that you were not in the shop, otherwise I would have insisted you help me with your good counsel.”
Chuxia got interested, “What happened?”
“It’s my son, Sun Hao, whom you know. He came to the shop to eat today, and he didn’t come alone but brought a female colleague. This lad is already in his twenties and hasn’t found a partner, I was starting to think he didn’t care about finding a wife. Today he brings his female colleague to eat and secretly asks me what I think. It’s the first time I’ve seen my boy like this, tsk tsk tsk… It’s really something.”
Chuxia glanced at Lanlan and understood why she was feeling down.
She couldn’t help but ask, “Is Sun Hao dating a girlfriend? Granny, what do you think about her?”
“Isn’t that so? This boy was so secretive, I only found out after asking that they’ve been dating for a few months, and he brought her to me because he wants me to start arranging the marriage. She seems okay to me, not as pretty as Boss Lin, but more than enough for my son. They are both in the police force, and you know how people say nowadays, it’s important to have common interests. The only question is how well they will get along in the long run.”