Although it sounded a bit like they were already family, she would be living here for a long time to come, so having good relationships would be beneficial.
“Hello, little sister.”
“Little sister, I’m your eldest brother, Lin Guodong.”
“I’m your second brother, Lin Guozhi.”
“Third brother, Lin Guoan.”
“Fourth brother, Lin Guoping.”
“I’m your fifth brother. My name is Lin Guoxing.”
Lin Guoxing didn’t dare step forward, afraid that his old man would hit him again.
But he still raised his voice and shouted to Lin Jiaojiao from a distance.
“Hello, brothers.”
Actually, Lin Jiaojiao hadn’t picked up on any special meaning in their words. She simply assumed that people in the Northeast liked to address each other as brother and sister.
When they were out and about, didn’t everyone always say “brother, brother, brother”?
It was either “old brother” or “little sister.”
Maybe it was just their friendly way of addressing people!
Lin Jiaojiao had lived in the South in her previous life, so she didn’t understand Northern customs.
Through a series of coincidences, she quickly integrated into this family.
“Little sister, you’ve been on the train for so long. Go rest. I’ll wash these vegetables.”
Lin Guoan took over the work in Lin Jiaojiao’s hands.
“Little sister, sit here.”
Lin Guoping brought over a chair.
Lin Guodong and Lin Guozhi, meanwhile, brought Lin Jiaojiao pastries and candy.
“Tomorrow I’ll buy some malted milk. Little sister is too thin. She needs to build herself up.”
Lin Guozhi looked over Lin Jiaojiao’s figure and felt she was too frail.
The men of the Lin family were all tall and sturdy.
How could their little sister be so thin and slight?
“Then I’ll go trade for some cloth coupons so Mother can make little sister two outfits.”
Lin Guodong chimed in.
In the family, only Lin Guodong and Lin Guozhi worked in town.
Lin Guodong was a worker at the machinery factory, while Lin Guozhi worked in the logistics department of the Gongxiaoshe.
These days, having a formal job was no easy thing.
Even finding a spouse was much easier than for others.
As for Lin Guoan, Lin Guoping, and Lin Guoxing—
The three brothers stayed home to farm.
Jobs in town were one radish per hole—finding two was already difficult enough, and wanting more was extremely hard.
But the Lin family was united. Whenever an opportunity arose, they would sell everything they had to secure a job slot.
“No need to be so polite. I don’t need these things.”
When Lin Jiaojiao heard they were going to get things for her, she quickly waved her hands and said.
With all the food, drink, and lodging, she already owed the Daduizhang’s family so much. She couldn’t keep accepting things from others.
How would that be any different from being a gold digger?
“No, you do need them.”
The Lin boys didn’t listen to Lin Jiaojiao’s suggestions. Instead, they went their own way and prepared gifts for their little sister.
Only Lin Guoan remained, helping his mother Zhang Aihua prepare dinner.
This dinner was prepared extremely lavishly—enough to match the amount of food typically served during New Year and festivals.
“Little sister, eat more.”
“Jiaojiao, you’re so thin. Eat more vegetables.”
“Comrade Lin Jiaojiao, eat more meat.”
The Lin family was incredibly warm and enthusiastic, and Lin Jiaojiao ended up eating herself stuffed at this one meal.
After dinner, she rubbed her round belly, feeling utterly lazy all over.
She’d eaten so much she couldn’t even bend at the waist.
She’d originally planned to help wash dishes after dinner, but now she couldn’t do that either.
Zhang Aihua kept her in the room chatting, while the task of clearing the dishes was left to the boys.
“Auntie, I’ve never eaten so well in my life.”
“Thank you.”
In that moment, she truly felt the warmth of home.
How wonderful would it be if the Daduizhang’s family really were her family?
This was the warmth that a normal family should have!
Unfortunately, Lin Jiaojiao had never experienced it, and neither had the original owner of this body.
The two of them were both pitiful children.
“It’ll get better from now on.”
“Although our family doesn’t eat this well every day, we can still guarantee you’ll have enough to fill your stomach.”
“Look at my boys—if we didn’t let them eat their fill, how could they have grown so big and strong?”
When it came to raising children, Zhang Aihua was extremely proud of herself.
Her children were all raised healthy and strong, far better off than some families’ sickly little ones.
On her first day at Qingshan Production Brigade, Lin Jiaojiao had an unforgettable day.
That night, lying in bed and replaying everything that had happened during the day, she felt as if she had fallen into a dream.
Even in her past dreams, she had never imagined that she would be treated with kindness by others.
This made her feel even more grateful toward the Daduizhang’s family.
“If only life could stay like this forever, how wonderful would that be?”
Although she didn’t know what the Daduizhang’s family’s motives were for treating her so well, she would enjoy the happiness of the present moment.
If she later discovered that the truth wasn’t what it seemed, it wouldn’t matter—she was already used to being abandoned.
Lin Jiaojiao thought she might not be able to fall asleep that night.
But who would have thought that, while pondering her thoughts, she would drift off in no time.
She slept through the night without a single dream, all the way until broad daylight.
It was only when she heard noises outside that she woke up.
Remembering that it was her first day at Qingshan Production Brigade, and that she was staying at the Daduizhang’s house, she didn’t want to be lazy in bed.
So she quickly tidied herself up and opened the door to go outside.
Outside were the two brothers, Lin Guodong and Lin Guozhi.
They had to go to town for work, so they got up earlier than everyone else in the household.
Zhang Aihua was also up, busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Since the eldest and second sons had to go to work, she had to get up a bit earlier to cook, or else her two sons would go hungry.
As for the others, they wouldn’t stay in bed too long either, and one by one they got up in succession.
Lin Guodong and Lin Guozhi ate breakfast early because they had to go to town.
When they saw Lin Jiaojiao come out, they greeted her warmly.
“We’re having flour-drop soup for breakfast, along with corn cakes.”
“Go wash up quickly, and in a bit I’ll have Mom make you a special egg pancake.”
Lin Guodong took a set of toiletries from his own room.
It was a new large iron basin with red peonies printed on it.
There was also a towel and a bar of soap.
He had dug these out of his cabinet yesterday, thinking Lin Jiaojiao might need them, so he set them aside in advance.
“I have a mug here that was issued by my work unit—I’ve never used it. You can have it!”
Lin Guozhi brought out a large mug with “Love Your Job” written on it, along with a pink towel.
The two brothers put the items together and handed them to Lin Jiaojiao.
“This is too precious—I can’t accept it.”
Lin Jiaojiao was flattered and a little overwhelmed.
These brothers had said they wanted to prepare gifts for her, and she hadn’t expected them to actually follow through.
And receiving gifts first thing in the morning—it would be a lie to say she wasn’t happy.
But she had already taken too much advantage of others’ kindness, and she felt that accepting this wasn’t quite right.
“If they give it to you, just take it.”
“If they didn’t have it, even if you wanted it, they wouldn’t be able to produce it.”
Zhang Aihua watched the children’s interactions outside, and her heart swelled with gratification.
In her heart, Lin Jiaojiao was her daughter.
Their daughter had been lost for so many years, and now that she had finally returned home, their sons doted on her.
This was the scene she had dreamed of seeing.
As for Lin Jiaojiao’s identity, the Daduizhang had already sent people out to investigate.
Don’t let the fact that he was merely the Daduizhang of the Qingshan Production Brigade fool you—he still had some connections under him.
Finding someone to look into Lin Jiaojiao’s background was absolutely something he could do.