Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 116 - 101: The Child Who Never Grew Up_3

Chapter 116: Chapter 101: The Child Who Never Grew Up_3

"Don’t worry, you’ll grow tall sooner or later. Your dad is so tall and your mom isn’t short either, you’ll definitely not be short in the future."

"Hopefully."

"What do you mean hopefully, you have to grow taller, how would you find a partner if you don’t grow?"

Lin Xiaohui giggled, took out a notebook to jot down measurements, hurried him to put his coat back on fearing he’d catch a cold, and then took both of them to stroll around the Bund, and Nanjing Road.

Tired from walking, they found a privately owned little restaurant to eat.

Han Yu naturally wouldn’t let her pay and hurriedly settled the bill, then sat down to eat and chat.

Thinking that he was about to go to the pier to take a ship back to Linghai after a little while, Lin Xiaohui truly felt reluctant to let him go and said in a low voice, "Salted Fish, I’m not planning to go back for the New Year."

Han Yu was stunned and asked in amazement, "Your aunt doesn’t allow you to go back?"

"That’s not it."

"Then why aren’t you going back?"

Lin Xiaohui glanced at Liang Xiaoyu who was sitting beside him and whispered, "Neither my dad nor my mom will likely go back for the New Year, so I would only be able to go to my sister’s place, which isn’t really interesting."

"But you’ll also be alone here."

"Salted Fish, I... I don’t want to work at my aunt’s place anymore."

"Where do you plan to go!"

"Several tailoring shops near our aunt’s place, many sisters like me who are tailors aren’t planning to keep doing that anymore. We’ve talked it over and are preparing to work in a factory."

Han Yu was really a bit worried and asked with intense concern, "Which factory?"

"A garment factory. The salary at the factory is higher than what I’d get at my aunt’s, and it’s not as tiring as working there."

"How much is the salary?"

"We went to check it out a few days ago. They pay by the piece, the more you work the more you earn. The most can get four hundred and sixty yuan a month, the least can also get more than two hundred."

Logically speaking, people should move up and water flows down, I should support her job change.

But Han Yu was still worried and with a knitted brow asked, "Does your aunt know?"

"I plan to keep working until the 27th or 28th of the twelfth lunar month before telling her. It’s her shop’s busiest time right now, I can’t just stop working abruptly."

"If your aunt finds out, she definitely won’t be happy."

"Salted Fish, come outside."

"Ah..."

"Come on out!"

Han Yu realized she had something to say that wasn’t convenient to discuss in front of Liang Xiaoyu, asked Liang Xiaoyu to keep eating, and followed her out of the small restaurant.

Lin Xiaohui pulled him under a parasol tree and said with a troubled expression, "You’ve never been to my aunt’s house, you don’t know how small it is."

"What does it matter if it’s small, you don’t live at her house, you live at the shop."

"The shop is her home, her home is the shop!"

"I didn’t have the heart to tell you in letters, her shop is opened at home, not only do I work there, but my uncle does too, and there are two children. During the day it’s fine, but at night they pull a curtain, whatever they do inside I can hear. It’s inconvenient to do anything, even more inconvenient than when we were children living on the boat!"

"Can’t sleep well at night?"

"Don’t get me started. These past few months, I don’t even know how I’ve endured it."

Anyone who has ever lived on a boat, especially a small one, can understand her feelings.

Han Yu nodded slightly, "Since it’s so tiring during the day, and you’re not sleeping well at night, then change your job. Actually, you don’t necessarily need to stay in East Sea, you can earn money in Linghai too, it’s just that there aren’t so many tall buildings, so many cars, and people."

Lin Xiaohui said without a second thought, "I don’t want to go back. Besides, I’ve already found a job. That factory is really good – a Hong Kong owner, a Hong Kong-funded enterprise, providing food and housing, with a cafeteria and dormitory for female workers."

"Alright, when you start working, when I have time, I’ll go have a look."

"I knew you would support me."

"What else can I do if I don’t support you? After all, you won’t go back with me."

"I need to earn money, lots of money."

"Then what?"

"Spend it, buy new clothes, buy a motorcycle, live in a big house."

"I have a motorcycle!"

"I know, you mentioned it in your letters, but that’s yours. I want to earn my own money to buy my own things."

After dinner, it was time to go to Sixteen Piers Pier to take a ship back to Bailong Port.

Having to part again, Han Yu felt really upset inside.

Lin Xiaohui, alone in a foreign place, felt lonely and equally distressed facing the separation. She whispered softly, "Salted Fish, don’t forget to write to me after you go back. You’re my only friend, no one else writes to me."

"I will definitely write letters, but the New Year is coming soon. If you start working at the factory, you might not receive them."

"Before I start working at the factory, I’ll give you a call."

"Alright, by the way, do you have enough money? I brought a hundred, you can take it if it’s not enough."

"I have money, enough for what I need."

"No worries, you still need to make new clothes for me. Even if you don’t charge for labor, you need money to buy fabric."

"It’s really not necessary. The new clothes are my gift to you for the New Year. Once they’re done, I’ll call you. Then you can let Brother Shao know, I’ll send it to Sixteen Piers Pier for him to bring it to you."

The more she said this, the more distressed Han Yu felt, asking with a wistful face, "Xiao Hui, do you really not plan to go back to Linghai in the future?"

Lin Xiaohui looked up at the neon lights flickering on Nanjing Road, and said with certainty, "I won’t go back until I make something of myself. Besides, we’re boat people. We barely stayed in Linghai as kids. To this day, we don’t even have a house in Linghai, no decent home to speak of – what’s there to go back to?"

She had mentioned in her letters more than once about making something of herself before going back. He always thought she was joking, but she turned out to be so determined.

Seeing her firm expression yearning for a better future, Han Yu suddenly felt that he was somewhat lacking in ambition, having little desire to go onto foreign ships to be a sailor and earn big money.

Lin Xiaohui, unaware that he was zoning out, felt somewhat embarrassed under his gaze and muttered, "Stop staring dumbfounded, am I that good-looking?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Really, really good-looking."

"You’re just sweet-talking me. It’s cold outside, come on, let’s go in and eat."

"Oh."

Han Yu snapped out of his daze, suddenly realizing he had been inappropriate and blushed with embarrassment.

Lin Xiaohui could feel that he truly liked her, filling her heart with a warm and delightful sensation. She silently thought that it felt really nice to be liked and cared for by someone, even if the person who liked and cared for her was just a kid who never seemed to grow up.