Reborn as a Rich Woman in the Eighties
Chapter 255 - 254: Inquiring

Chapter 255: Chapter 254: Inquiring

It hadn’t been two days since Lin Xia returned from her stall when she encountered Mrs. Wu at the doorway.

Mrs. Wu smiled warmly, "Xiaolin, do you have some time? Grandma wants to have a little chat with you."

She thought it over and still wanted to ask about Lin Qiu’s family situation before making a decision.

Marriage matters for the younger generation cannot be taken lightly, as they would have to live with them in the future, and everything needs to be in harmony.

Especially since they were neighbors living next door, it would have been awkward to maintain contact if things didn’t work out in the end, better to clarify things beforehand to avoid any painful mishaps if the children really got involved later on?

Lin Xia smiled lightly, "Sure! I have time!"

Opening up her thoughts, she wondered what Mrs. Wu wanted to discuss, could it be about Lin Qiu and Wu Zhengyang’s matter?

Mrs. Wu led her into her yard, and they sat down on wooden chairs to talk.

"Xiaolin, you see, it’s almost been a year since you moved here, living as our next-door neighbor, yet we still don’t know who all are in your family!"

Lin Xia realized, was she gathering information about her family?

Though it was normal for others to inquire, she could only ask her, who else would know?

"My mom passed away a few years ago, my dad remarried a widow, and I have an elder brother who works in another city!"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wu exclaimed, "Ah! You all have indeed had your share of hardships!" Life with a stepmother surely wasn’t easy.

Lin Xia laughed, "It used to be quite tough indeed, but life has gotten better now!"

The two chatted for a while, and Lin Xia casually inquired about Mrs. Wu’s family as well.

Although neither mentioned it directly, both understood what was going on.

When Lin Xia left, Mrs. Wu headed to her second daughter’s hair salon.

Wu Zhenghong was giving a perm to someone; she had overheard her mom calling the next-door neighbor into the yard earlier.

The mother and daughter exchanged a glance, and only after Wu Zhenghong finished setting up the perming cap did Mrs. Wu whisper to her, "I asked, mom passed away, dad married a widow! There’s also an elder brother out of town!"

Wu Zhenghong smiled, whispering back, "Mom, that sounds okay! As long as Xiaolin’s brother is willing, that’s all that matters!"

She had a good impression of Lin Qiu and her siblings, seeing how her brother always found excuses to visit Lin Qiu’s clothing store, she wasn’t unaware of his intentions.

Mrs. Wu sighed, "He’s willing alright, but I just wanted to make sure he isn’t coming from an unreliable family!"

"Oh mom, don’t worry so much, it’s not even certain if they would agree!" Wu Zhenghong felt anxious; the girl was not only beautiful but now she had her own store and was making money, wouldn’t she pick and choose when it comes to suitors?

Mrs. Wu didn’t like what she was hearing, "What’s lacking in Xiaolin’s brother? Why wouldn’t they agree?"

"Nothing’s lacking! Alright, Mom! I’m busy here! You better head back inside!" Wu Zhenghong didn’t want to argue here any longer, raising her voice a bit—what if someone in Lin Qiu’s shop heard them?

Yet Lin Xia hadn’t mentioned to Lin Qiu that Mrs. Wu had been inquiring about them.

She felt that in matters like these, it was better to see the intent from the man’s side, and it was preferable for the woman to be a bit reserved.

Soon, Lin Dong was on summer vacation.

Lin Xia was now used to her younger brother always ranking first in his studies,

but rewards were still necessary to not dampen his enthusiasm.

Lin Dong happily accepted the fifty yuan from his elder sister, then placed it in his designated money spot, saving it without spending.

Lin Xia, surprised, asked, "Dongzi! Why aren’t you spending the money I gave you? You can go out for meals or shop with Haizi!"

High school was really tense at the moment, with college entrance exams like crossing a single-log bridge for tens of thousands.

So many were weeded out in just the preliminary exams; hence from the moment he began high school, Lin Dong studied intensely.

Dongzi chuckled, "Playing with Haizi doesn’t cost much, I’ll save this money for when it’s needed!"

He knew his eldest sister could make money, but he also knew that it was all hard-earned.

He never spent all the living expenses given to him, so he saved up this significant amount and intended to spend it wisely.

Lin Xia smiled, her little brother was indeed good at saving money.

"Alright! Handle it yourself! After all, once I give you the money, it’s yours! You guys can play however you want, just don’t go to the big river, it’s dangerous!"

Every summer, a few people would drown in that big river.

Dongzi hugged Lin Xia’s shoulder, reassuring her, "Big sister! Don’t worry! We won’t go to the big river! At most, we’ll just play along its banks!"

"Hmm! Okay!" Lin Xia felt relatively at ease with Dongzi; he wasn’t the type of child who would get into trouble.

Dongzi and Haizi didn’t play together for long; after two days, they began helping out at the stall in the greenhouse.

Lin Xia thought about hiring someone, so she had to commute back and forth; she didn’t want her brother to work hard during his hard-earned summer vacation.

But Dongzi insisted, knowing his sister earning money wasn’t easy, and staying at school was unavoidable.

Now that he had the time, he wanted to help out and make himself useful.

Eventually, Lin Xia stopped stopping him; constantly studying wasn’t ideal either, getting simple-headed, mingling more with others was a form of exercise.

That day, Lin Aiguo came to the stall.

It just so happened that Dongzi and the hired Liu Caifeng were there.

"Is Dongzi on vacation?"

Dongzi looked at Lin Aiguo; he had heard about the incident with his second sister wanting to leave him at home to eat and also knew about him wanting to give the old house to his eldest brother.

It was good now that he could find them, and there was no turmoil in the house, but still, he really couldn’t say if this calm was just a temporary thing.

"Yeah! What are you doing here?"

Lin Aiguo, pulling out Heixiazi Fruit from his cloth bag that he had specially picked from the mountain, handed it to him, "I picked these on the mountain. You guys mix them with some sugar and eat!"

He knew Lin Xia’s family also had a backyard where they grew vegetables, so he picked these and brought them over.

"Thank you!" Dongzi received them with mixed emotions. His nose tingled, who wouldn’t want a good father?

In the past, before moving out of that home, he always went to Haizi’s home to do homework.

Seeing how Haizi’s father treated Haizi so well, he was incredibly envious.

A father’s love might be unexpressive, might not be adept at showing it, but it could still be felt from the looks and the details.

But what about them?

Since he was young, he and his siblings never felt any fatherly love.

All he brought them was either beatings or painful memories.

Lin Aiguo’s actions now left him with entwined feelings of love and hatred. It was truly indescribable.

"What’s there to thank!" Lin Aiguo, seeing Dongzi biting his lips and looking down, felt a pang in his heart.

He had indeed been too cruel to them before.

He wanted to change now, wanted to mend things with them, yet he knew that it wouldn’t be easy to remove all barriers.

It might be relatively easier with Lin Qiu and Dongzi, but Lin Xia definitely wouldn’t compromise easily.

Last time he brought over some mushrooms, Lin Xia didn’t react like Dongzi but was very cold toward him, colder even than to the customers who came to buy goods.