Chapter 268: “cured Her Inner Turmoil”
The New Year hadn’t even ended yet, and Lin Zhao had to go back to work!
She had gotten used to sleeping until she naturally woke up every day, and suddenly having to get up early made the working person want to go crazy.
That night she tossed and turned without sleeping well, and the next day Lin Zhao actually woke up on time.
Seeing the four kids sleeping soundly beside her, she annoyedly lightly pinched Yu Bao’s cheek, the one closest to her.
The next second, Yu Bao opened his eyes, saw his mom’s face, smiled at her, then sat up.
“Mom, I’ll see you off to work.” He rubbed his eyes, his voice hoarse from just waking up.
Lin Zhao was stunned. “You’ll see me off? You went to bed so early last night because you wanted to get up early today to see me off?”
Yu Bao answered earnestly. “Yeah, I’ll see Mom off to the village entrance.”
Lin Zhao felt waves of emotion surge in her heart, rubbing her son’s little face. “You’re really my good son.”
“No need, you lie down. I’ll get up myself, watch your younger brother and sister, and obediently listen to your grandma.”
Yu Bao blinked. “No need for me to see you off?”
“Right, no need. It’s very cold outside, don’t catch a cold. If you catch a cold, it’ll give me an even bigger headache.” Lin Zhao pressed Yu Bao’s shoulder with one hand and pulled the quilt up with the other.
“Then I’ll really go back to sleep?” Yu Bao eyed his mom’s expression.
“Go to sleep, go to sleep, watch your younger brother and sister.” Lin Zhao instructed repeatedly.
The little friend saluted, lay down straight. “Mom, ride your bike slowly on the road.”
On New Year’s Eve, Gu Chan had returned the bicycle. She knew her third sister-in-law had to visit relatives.
“I know, you little person worrying about so much.” Lin Zhao got out of bed to put on her shoes.
Yu Bao strained to look at her sideways, his voice soft. “Because you’re my mom.”
Lin Zhao paused slightly, walked to the bedside, and kissed her eldest son’s forehead. “You’re also my treasure son, sleep obediently, I’ll be back in the afternoon.”
Yu Bao touched the spot where Mom had kissed him, smiling so much that his eyes curved.
Mom hadn’t kissed his younger brother and sister; this kiss was a special reward just for him, it really made him happy.
The sky wasn’t very bright yet, and after turning off the light, the room was even darker. Afraid the kids would be scared, Lin Zhao pulled the curtain open a crack before leaving.
“Is this okay?”
After getting Yu Bao’s affirmative reply, she added: “Da Huang and Amber are outside, call them if there’s anything.”
The two dogs couldn’t help with much else, but they could bark for help.
“Mm-hmm.” Yu Bao responded.
“Then I’m off, see you in the afternoon.” Lin Zhao said, closing the door.
She left home wrapped up tightly, facing the cold wind. Birdsong accompanied her on the road, the air unusually fresh, which inexplicably improved her mood a bit.
Lin Zhao arrived at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and saw Li Fen, whom she hadn’t seen for days. During the New Year, all salespeople took turns on duty. Since Lin Zhao and Wang Ju were new, they rested from New Year’s Eve to the fourth, and the others followed the same pattern.
Wang Ju and Lin Zhao met at the door, both raising arms to cover their mouths as they yawned.
“Pfft—!”
They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Had nightmares all night.”
Lin Zhao and Wang Ju said almost simultaneously.
As the words landed, they pursed their lips in smiles.
“Seems you’re not that eager about work either.” Lin Zhao pushed open the door, gesturing for Wang Ju to go first, following closely and shutting the door behind her.
Wang Ju showed a complicated look. “To be honest, who really likes work?”
“Lots of them, like my uncle and aunt, and Yun Cheng cousin, and many more.” Lin Zhao looked admiring.
There were quite a few people who loved work, because for them, work meant building the country, forging a backbone for future generations. They were full of energy, burning their own light and heat, only hoping the suffering nation could stand tall in the world, hoping its people could hold their heads high.
Wang Ju knew what kind of people Lin Zhao meant; her expression also turned respectful.
“Mm, there are many like that.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to learn; she just lacked the drive, always missing that enthusiasm.
She had graduated from technical secondary school, which was considered high education, but she felt lost about future work and life.
Her father said if you don’t know which way to go, just take a job first; time will give the answer.
“That’s great.” Lin Zhao sighed. “With generations of such people emerging, even those wanting to slack off can lie down more steadily.”
Wang Ju heard this for the first time, her eyes lighting up slightly. “That makes so much sense.”
It suddenly cured her inner turmoil.
She gave Lin Zhao a thumbs up, went around to her counter, and started inventorying and stocking. Wang Ju didn’t like going to work, but when busy, she was more serious than anyone.
…
After Yu Bao and Heng Bao got up, they led their younger brother and sister to the old house, ate breakfast, then played at the door.
“Yu Bao, Heng Bao.”
A familiar voice rang out.
Yu Bao looked up and saw it was Second Uncle, quickly standing up, his excited voice rising. “Second Uncle?”
His words carried undisguised confusion.
“Second Uncle, why are you here? My mom went to work.”
Lin Shisheng: “I’m not looking for your mom, I’m looking for you two.”
Yu Bao looked even more baffled. “What’s up?”
“Didn’t you two ask me to find kittens? Found two. Jing Mo and Xiao Bai said let you pick first, so I brought both.” Lin Shisheng said unhurriedly.
“Kittens?!!” Yu Bao’s eyes sparkled. “Where? I want to see.”
As he spoke, he called his brother: “Heng Bao, Second Uncle brought the kittens for us to choose!”
Heng Bao was thrilled too. “Second Uncle, where’s the kitty?”
“Your house.”
At that, the twins vanished from the spot, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“Going to see the kitty!” Heng Bao’s loud voice drew Yuan Bao and other kids chasing after.
“Twins, wait for us, we want to see the kitty too.”
“Kitty, I want to see the kitty!”
The kids playing in the village one second disappeared, following Yu Bao and Heng Bao rushing into his house.
“Wow, there really is a kitty, such a tiny kitty, it can barely walk steadily.” Yuan Bao exclaimed.
Tie Niu worried. “Twins, do you know how to raise kitties? They’re so small, what do they eat?”
Da Zhuang said: “They must eat grain.”
“Kittens can’t bite coarse grain wowo!”
The little kids chattered noisily, very lively.
Da Huang and Amber were very interested in the new friends, crouching not far away watching the kittens, occasionally stretching out front paws to paw at them, stopped by Yu Bao.
“Da Huang, you guys behave.” He said. “You’re too strong, the kittens will hurt.”
The two dogs inexplicably got scolded, became much more obedient, lay on the ground quietly watching, no longer pawing.
Heng Bao asked Yu Bao: “Bro, which kitty do you want?”
“What about you?” His brother asked back.
“I want the black one, okay?” Heng Bao’s eyes full of expectation.
Lin Shisheng brought two little milk kittens, one pure black, one yellow, both with perked ears, round eyes, looking adorably silly.
Yu Bao, worthy of being twins with Heng Bao, also fancied the black one, excitedly letting out a strange yelp.
“Sure.”
Heng Bao carefully cupped the black kitten with both hands, holding it up to his chest, introducing to his little friends: “Yuan Bao, Tie Niu… this is my family’s new member, a cute little black cat. See, pretty, right?”
“Mm-hmm, really pretty. Twins, the kitty you chose is the prettiest!” Yuan Bao cheered.
Heng Bao beamed with pride.
He looked at Lin Shisheng and said: “Second Uncle, we’ve chosen, we want this black kitty. Take Little Yellow back.”
Little Yellow cat: Little Yellow? Who’s Little Yellow? Hate these boundary-less humans.
Yu Bao patted Little Yellow cat’s head to soothe, saying in a milky voice: “Little kitty, you’re pretty too. We didn’t choose you because we can only pick one, not because you’re not pretty. Don’t be sad, Jing Mo Ge and Xiao Bai will take good care of you. When we and Mom go accompany the army, you can still see your…”
Thinking of something, he looked up at Lin Shisheng. “Second Uncle, is Little Yellow cat brother or sister?”
“…It’s a sister.” Lin Shisheng said.
Heng Bao glanced at the little black cat, couldn’t tell, and asked: “What about Little Black?”
“Little Black is a brother.” Lin Shisheng followed Heng Bao’s naming.
Yu Bao’s little face scrunched up. Little Black…
What a lousy name.
As the older brother, he couldn’t outright dislike his younger brother’s choice. Yu Bao’s eyes turned, and he said to Heng Bao: “Heng Bao, Mom agreed to let us raise a kitty, isn’t she the best mom?”
“Yeah.” Heng Bao agreed.
Yu Bao continued: “Then shouldn’t we ask Mom to name the kitty?”
“Right!” Heng Bao thought his brother made sense.
“Phew!” Yu Bao breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Shisheng chuckled.
How should he tell his two nephews that their mom would very likely name it “Mei Qiu.”
“Yu Bao, how was your mom’s mood this morning?”
Yu Bao: “Not good, Mom almost couldn’t get up.”
The reluctance on Lin Zhao when getting up early was too obvious, hadn’t escaped the eldest son’s eyes.
“Guessed it.” Helplessness appeared in Lin Shisheng’s eyes. “Told her not to take that shift, she won’t listen, insists on suffering this.”
Yu Bao knew what his mom was thinking. “Mom gets bored at home, says work passes the time. Except for the dead of winter being too cold to get up, everything else is pretty good.”
He had a good memory; everything Lin Zhao said, he remembered word for word.
Lin Shisheng said no more.
“You two sure about the black cat? Then I’ll take the yellow one back to Momo and Xiao Bai?”
“Sure.” Yu Bao replied.
Lin Shisheng wasted no more words, taking the yellow kitten home.
Before he left, the two boys kept reminding him to go back early, not to let their kitty freeze.
Valuing the cat more than their dear Second Uncle, little ungrateful ones.
Meng Jiusi’s holiday was limited; he had to go to work after New Year, no time to stay longer. The kittens were carefully cared for by them for a few days, eating, sleeping, and playing well. Father and sons plus one cat set off on the return journey.
The train conditions at that time were quite chaotic; chickens and ducks could be brought on, let alone a kitten so small you might not notice it if not looking closely. They boarded smoothly.
They had berths, which was pretty good.
Meng Jiusi pulled down the window, waving to Lin Zhao. “Go back, be careful on the road.”
Lin Zhao shook her head. “I’ll go back once the train starts.”
“Youngest Brother, eat the things I made for you soon, don’t let them spoil. The chili sauce from Aunt can keep; use clean chopsticks when eating, seal it right away. Watch Momo and Xiao Bai. When there’s a chance, I’ll come see you.”
Jing Mo and Guang Bai’s eyes reddened slightly. Hearing their aunt say she’d visit, they were stunned for a moment, then joy lit their faces.
“When?” Jing Mo Ge climbed the window with both arms, eyes shining.
“…When the weather warms up.” Lin Zhao didn’t brush off the kid, giving a seriously considered answer.
“Good, we’ll wait for you. Aunt, you must come. Then I’ll take you to eat the braised pork from the troops canteen, it’s super tasty.” Jing Mo said smiling.
“Sure. On the road, watch Xiao Bai, don’t talk to strangers. If anything feels off, shout for adults right away. If your dad isn’t around, ask people in special uniforms for help…” Lin Zhao instructed.
“Got it.” Jing Mo said lightly. “I remember everything Aunt said, don’t worry, we’ll get there safely. We’ll write to you when we arrive.”
This trip was just Youngest Brother with two kids, and so far away. Lin Zhao racked her brains, telling Jing Mo and Guang Bai all the anti-abduction methods she knew.
The train gave a few whistles and slowly moved forward.
“Sit down quick, we’ll keep in touch by letter.” Lin Zhao walked alongside the train. “Youngest Brother, take care of yourself. If anything, call home—”
Meng Jiusi leaned half out the window, constantly responding, waving to his sister.
His eyes stung a bit; as warmth surged in his heart, it filled with reluctance.
“Dad, when you have leave later, bring us back again.” Jing Mo awkwardly comforted his dad.
Meng Jiusi ruffled his son’s head, pulling both into his bosom.
“Good, when there’s a chance, I’ll bring you back.”
Even without his son saying, he’d come back. His home was here, his blood relatives here.
…
Today, only Lin Zhao saw Meng Jiusi off. Lin Shichang had work at the factory, Lin Shisheng was out driving, Lin Heling and Song Xiwei had sent people to the county, and the couple went to the movie theater.
…What was there to see them off for? They had nothing going on, missed their youngest son, got a few letters of introduction from the brigade leader, and went to the troops to see him.
Lin Zhao left the train station and ran to the movie theater, taking out the ticket her classmate had left her, sneaking in quietly.
She sat next to her parents.
Lin Heling saw her, pointed at her pretendingly, showing a helpless smile.
The emotion in his eyes clear: Wouldn’t come when told earlier, loves sneak attacks.
Song Xiwei showed no surprise, gave Lin Zhao some pine nuts, pointed at the movie screen, then turned her attention back to the movie.
Lin Zhao arrived late but didn’t disturb her viewing; she watched with great interest.
These pine nuts are really tasty, wonder how Dad made them?
Forty minutes later, the family walked out of the movie theater.
Lin Heling: “Saw your youngest brother onto the train?”
“Of course. You and Mom weren’t going, so only I could. Otherwise, everyone else has family seeing them off, just my youngest brother alone—how lonely, how sad.” Lin Zhao said discontentedly, advocating for her youngest brother.
“Just happened to catch a movie Mom was interested in; miss it and have to wait for another chance. Your youngest brother isn’t that picky.” Lin Heling said helplessly.
His several sons were all open-minded, none petty, even the youngest raised outside.
“You can’t do this in the future.” Lin Zhao put herself in the position and already couldn’t stand it. “You won’t see me off when I go accompany the army…? I won’t see you and I’ll definitely cry.”
“You’ll see us crying even harder.” Song Xiwei directly burst her bubble.
“Mom!” Lin Zhao was unhappy.
Song Xiwei shook her head. “Calling Mom won’t help; you know what kind of person you are. If your dad and I don’t show up, it’s fine. If we do, you’ll definitely wail and whimper that you’re not going to accompany the army…”
Lin Zhao covered her ears.
Don’t listen, don’t listen.
