Reborn as a Rich Woman in the Eighties
Chapter 242 - 241 Who to Remit to Makes No Difference

Chapter 242: Chapter 241 Who to Remit to Makes No Difference

After getting off work and having dinner, Lin Aiguo sat cross-legged on the kang smoking his large tobacco pipe, occasionally coughing twice, as if he could never quite expel the persistent phlegm in his throat.

Because he had gone through quite a bit over the past two years, not only had the wrinkles on his face deepened considerably, but the white hairs on his temples and crown had also become more numerous than the previous year.

After eating, Qian Chunli and Lin Qiang cleared the table and washed the dishes in the kitchen, while the other went back to the Western House to take a nap.

Now that Lin Qiang had moved to the Western House and Lin Yu occasionally visited from her dormitory in the city, the whole house was somber and oppressive.

Lin Aiguo looked out at the pitch-black night through the window, his eyes slightly squinting as he exhaled a puff of smoke from his pipe and sighed out of habit.

He had been transferred to work at the foothills because they took into consideration his advanced age, poor health, and his past admission to a psychiatric hospital, assigning him to the boiler room to manage the furnace.

Such work gave him much more time to reflect on his past.

He knew his children resented him, and in the past, he had resented them too! He had wished he could beat and subdue each of them!

Especially Lin Xia, he had wished he could flay her skin!

Ever since the incident where Lin Qiang had mistakenly caused an injury to Lin Qiu’s arm and they had had a major fight, leading to them leaving home, too many things had occurred.

But it seemed that every time he violently confronted them to settle accounts, things did not end well for him; he ended up in the hospital, and even a psychiatric institution, experiencing many firsts in his life.

Now, however, his feelings towards his children were complex; perhaps as people age, some things change...

After cleaning up the kitchen, Qian Chunli walked into the room and saw Lin Aiguo’s sullen face, not looking at her with kindly eyes.

She knew the new year was approaching and that Lin Aiguo might be harboring some anger inside, so she was always careful not to provoke him.

In a soft voice she asked, "Aiguo, shall I spread out the bedding now?"

Lin Aiguo snorted coldly, "What else would we do if not?"

Qian Chunli silently climbed onto the kang, opened the kang cabinet, and began pulling out the bedding, both of them silent.

As she busied her hands with the task, her mind started racing. Just the thought of Lin Xia, that wretch, who had actually managed to appease Lin Aiguo with threats and allurements, using a mere eighty yuan a month, made her blood boil.

After being released from detention, her son Qiangzi had been intimidated by others and had become much more timid.

She had even put aside her desire for revenge against Lin Xia for the moment; with that kid around, they wouldn’t gain any advantages by going there, and they might even end up being counterattacked.

But to just let it go made her feel stifled; she would sigh deeply for no reason at times.

Just then, the outer door made a sound, and someone entered the house.

Lin Aijia pushed the door open and came straight in. Seeing Qian Chunli spreading out the bedding, she asked in surprise, "Big Brother! Are you going to sleep already? So early?" She had tidied up her own home before coming over and hadn’t expected them to be preparing for bed already.

"There’s nothing else to do after dinner! Aijia, come and sit! Why have you come?" Lin Aiguo’s expression softened immediately upon seeing his sister.

Lin Aijia sat down on the edge of the kang and said, "I didn’t have anything to do after dinner either, so I thought I’d come over and visit for a while!"

She glanced at Qian Chunli; there were things she didn’t want to talk about in her presence.

Lin Aiguo raised his eyebrows slightly, "Go and make tea, get some water!"

"Okay!" Qian Chunli quickly got off the kang and left the room.

Knowing Qian Chunli would be back soon, Lin Aijia brought up a harmless topic, "Big Brother! The new year is almost here; have you bought most of your new year’s goods?"

"Hmm! What about your family?"

"Bringing a little something home every day, we’re almost there too!"

After Qian Chunli brought in the tea, she tactfully went to the Western House.

Only after hearing the Western House door, did Lin Aijia pull out a slip of paper from her pocket and say, "Big brother! This is the remittance slip for this month!"

Lin Aiguo took a look, handed it to Lin Aijia, and said, "Hold on to it for now, we’ll withdraw it some other day."

Lin Xia had been sending the eighty yuan on time every month to Lin Aijia, and even though he had moved down, he hadn’t told them to change the remittance to his name.

Having safely stored the slip, Lin Aijia couldn’t help but suggest again, "Big brother! Since you’ve been moved down, why don’t we go and tell Lin Xia to send it to you from now on!"

It wasn’t a big deal for her to receive the money per se, but in the long run, it would always be a hassle to have to transfer it from her.

"What’s the difference who it’s sent to!" Lin Aiguo suddenly changed his mind, "But going to see is also fine! It’s almost New Year anyway, we’ll see how we’re going to celebrate it..."

Lin Aiguo thought about last year’s New Year celebration in the ditch, frowning deeply.

He had sons and daughters, but last year not one of them was around; Lin Chun went off to another place, and Lin Xia and the three others hid so well he couldn’t find them, leaving his younger brother, Lin Aiye, to laugh at him.

If it weren’t for the fact that he had to go to the ditch because the old lady was there, to be honest, he really didn’t want to go there for the New Year’s celebration.

Lin Aijia wasn’t so optimistic, "Big brother! Didn’t I tell you a while ago? Hongmei and I happened to go to the city to shop and stopped by Lin Xia’s place. I originally thought about mediating a bit, but Lin Xia was so stubborn, so I think your visit might..."

Later, her daughter even complained, saying she shouldn’t meddle in these matters.

But this was her own big brother’s family affair; if she didn’t lend a hand, who else would...

In the Western House, Qian Chunli looked at her son lying exhausted on the kang and felt a surge of heartache.

"Qiangzi! Which part hurts, should mom apply some cupping for you?" She knew lifting large logs wasn’t easy; when they had first thought of getting into the lumberyard, that was the only job available due to labor shortage.

She had originally thought it was a good plan, to get in first and then slowly persuade Lin Aiguo to help change him to another position.

Who could have thought that after so much had happened, Lin Aiguo now seemed to loathe them, and a position change was even more out of the question.

Moreover, with Lin Aiguo at that unit, they couldn’t even find someone to help them if they wanted to.

Lin Qiang gritted his teeth and grunted, "No need! Those losers can go to hell!"

One by one, it seemed like someone was instructing them to mess with him.

Qian Chunli widened her eyes, "Are they still bullying you?"

This was what pained her the most. Ever since her son came back from detention, he had started to face bullying at work.

But what could she do about it? She didn’t know any tough people, and her brothers couldn’t help either.

Lin Qiang got up from the kang, listened for a moment to hear if there was talking in the Eastern House, and then whispered to Qian Chunli, "Mom! I really don’t want to work this job! Besides being tired every day, the money doesn’t even end up in my hands! It feels absolutely pointless!

If I were like that bitch Lin Xia and did some small business, I’m sure it wouldn’t be worse than her."

Lin Xia was able to give Lin Aiguo eighty yuan a month, which was more than what he made from a month’s hard labor, so it was clear that she must be earning quite a lot!

But now, he didn’t dare to think about Lin Xia; he hadn’t lacked for warnings and beatings while inside.

Qian Chunli didn’t quite support her son’s ideas; she still wanted him to have a stable job to talk about and to make it easier for him to find a partner in the future.

Gently patting Lin Qiang’s shoulder, she whispered, "Qiangzi! Bear with it for now! I heard that after New Year’s, your unit will be allocating housing. You might not qualify, but he might just make it...

Once we get the housing, even if we only get this old house, when you get married, you’ll have a place..."

At these words, Lin Qiang’s spirits lifted, and the mother and son whispered together for a long while, then, quietly, exchanged glances and smiled...