Reborn as a Rich Woman in the Eighties
Chapter 129 - 128: No Wonder

Chapter 129: Chapter 128: No Wonder

Lin Xia raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Two bicycles? I delivered them to the gatekeeper at Qian Chunli’s workplace, how come they still don’t know?"

This was several days ago; they had directly sent them over when they moved.

Yu Hongmei was taken aback. She went to her eldest uncle’s house yesterday, where her mom and the others were speculating that the bicycles might have been taken by Lin Xia and it was unlikely they were lost, yet they hadn’t expected them to be at Qian Chunli’s workplace.

"She has been taking care of my eldest uncle and hasn’t been to work at all!"

"No wonder!" Lin Xia hooked her lips. This was indeed a case of a comical mix-up.

"Lin Xia! Won’t you even ask how my eldest uncle is doing? No matter what, he’s your dad! He got injured because he was looking for you!" Yu Hongmei still felt that Lin Xia had become heartless and cold-hearted.

Lin Xia scoffed, "My dad? Sister Hongmei, you saw for yourself how he treats us! Besides, I also visited the hospital the other day, and it was not a big deal! You must’ve heard about the fight I had with Qian Chunli, right?"

"I did! What was it about?" Yu Hongmei was truly curious.

Lin Xia felt some things needed to be made clear to Yu Hongmei and everyone else; they couldn’t allow Lin Aiguo and the rest to spread falsehoods behind their backs.

"Why? It was Lin Qiang who hit him! Initially, he was tricked by Qian Chunli and her son into thinking it was Lin Dong who hit him, so I went to the hospital to see him. He lashed out at me, cursing thunderously!

Of course, I couldn’t let my Dongzi take the blame for that, so I revealed the truth! As a result, Qian Chunli tried to hit me. How could I tolerate that? We ended up fighting..."

Yu Hongmei was stunned. She had heard about the altercation but was unaware of these details.

"So you’re not going back to that house anymore?"

"Not going back! Sister Hongmei, you know the kind of life we used to live. Now that my eldest brother has left, we’re even more incompatible; how could we continue to live together?"

Although Yu Hongmei was very curious about where Lin Xia and her siblings were currently living, she understood that even if she asked, Lin Xia wouldn’t tell her.

So, with nothing in common to discuss and half-hearted conversation, they waved goodbye and parted ways.

Once they were far away, Lin Qiu, holding Lin Xia’s arm, finally spoke up, "Sis! When she goes back, she’s sure to tell everyone, right?

Just now, why didn’t you hint to Sister Hongmei to keep it from Jianbin and the rest that she saw us here?"

Lin Xia explained as she smiled, "I thought about giving her a heads-up at first, but then I figured if I did that, wouldn’t it indirectly confirm that we’re living in the city?

So, I said nothing, and they can’t be sure whether we came to the city just for shopping or if we’re actually living here!"

After saying this, Lin Xia deliberately looked back to see if Yu Hongmei and Cao Jianbin were stealthily following them.

Lin Qiu also glanced back, sweeping the area, "Sis, let’s walk around a bit more before heading back!"

It had been challenging to settle into their new home, and she didn’t want people finding them too soon.

Lin Xia draped an arm over Lin Qiu’s shoulder, "Sure! It’s a great opportunity to show you around!"

Since they had moved here, she hadn’t taken Lin Qiu out for a stroll, and Lin Qiu had consistently stayed quietly at home.

On the other end, Yu Hongmei and Cao Jianbin finished their shopping and hurried to the bus stop.

Cao Jianbin curiously asked, "This Lin Xia from your eldest uncle’s family has changed a lot, hasn’t she?"

"A bit!" Yu Hongmei was somewhat distracted, lost in thought.

Seeing that she wasn’t interested in talking, Cao Jianbin simply smiled gently and kept quiet.

After Yu Hongmei got home and waited for Lin Aijia to return from work, she told her about encountering Lin Xia and her sister and also mentioned the bicycles were at Qian Chunli’s workplace.

As soon as Lin Aijia heard this, she didn’t even bother to delay and wanted to go straight to Lin Aiguo’s home, but Yu Hongmei pulled her back, "Mom! Wait a second, Lin Xia mentioned something else!"

"What’s that?" Lin Aijia was no longer in a hurry, sitting down to listen to what her daughter had to say.

"The reason Lin Xia got into it with our aunt is that they tricked my uncle into thinking it was Lin Dong who had taken it!"

Lin Aijia slapped her thigh, "I knew it! There must be something fishy going on, no wonder your uncle didn’t go into details yesterday! Ah! The mess in their home is truly a tangled account!"

If it hadn’t been for the fact that he was her own elder brother, she really wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him.

How violently he had made a scene at her home last time, flipping tables and cursing her!

Seeing this, Yu Hongmei advised, "Mom! That’s why, when you go to my uncle’s house, just say you ran into Lin Xia and know where the bicycle is. But don’t get involved in anything else!"

"Alright! Mom knows what to do!" Lin Aijia got up and headed to Lin Aiguo’s home to talk about the bicycle incident.

Qian Chunli and Lin Qiang, who had been listening quietly to the conversation between Lin Aiguo and his sisters, felt a sense of relief, realizing that the bicycle wasn’t lost. But upon hearing that Yu Hongmei had run into Lin Xia and Lin Qiu, they were even more curious about where Lin Xia and the rest had moved to.

Clearly, Lin Aiguo was even more eager to know.

"Hongmei didn’t ask where those kids were living now?"

Lin Aijia shook her head, "No! Even if she had asked, Lin Xia and the others definitely wouldn’t have told her! It’s likely they just happened across each other while shopping in the market!"

"Big brother, I’ll have to leave now! I need to go back and cook. I’ll come over to see you when I have some free time!"

She had come to understand that it would be better for her to stay out of her brother’s family affairs from now on.

After Lin Aijia left, Lin Aiguo sat with a sullen face, his thoughts unknown.

Qian Chunli and her daughters went back to their own business quietly, not daring to make a sound for fear of Lin Aiguo suddenly losing his temper...

The next day, Lin Xia dressed herself up warmly to try out the street vending location her second brother had suggested.

Because the weather was cold and the roads slippery, and since the street wasn’t too far from where she lived, she worried that if she bumped into officials from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce again, she might lose her bicycle. So, she decided to walk there instead of riding.

On the way, she pondered how she had sold goods near her home for quite some time without encountering anyone from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce. She surmised this was likely due to the small size of her area and the fact that she moved around selling outside factory gates.

When she found the spot her second brother had described, indeed, there were people setting up stalls on both sides of the street.

They were selling all sorts of small wares like needles, thread, elastic bands, and even underwear and socks.

Lin Xia felt a surge of joy, as if she had finally found her tribe.

She scoped out the location, and eventually decided to set up her stall next to a big sister wearing a floral padded jacket.

Lin Xia spread a red cloth on the ground and then placed her small goods like hairpins, headbands, earrings, and socks on it.

She glanced at the goods the big sister was selling. Her stall was quite large, offering items like fake collars and dark blue aprons.

The fake collars came in white, grey, light coffee colors, and even red checks among various others—it was unclear whether they were homemade or sourced from somewhere else.

At that time, anyone wearing a sweater with a round neck would feel incomplete without a fake collar inside, not to mention it also protected the neck from the cold.

So, people generally kept several, wearing the darker ones to work and the white or lighter ones casually.

Some people made their own, but homemade ones tended to be floppy. Lin Xia had tried making her own too, but they never turned out as well as the ready-made ones.

The big sister also looked over Lin Xia’s merchandise. Women of any age would like those ornaments, and the big sister was no exceptions.