Lin Ziyou suddenly thought of something. He looked up at Lin Zijin and said, “Sister, I saw Third Sister today. She ran out in a hurry, and after a short while she ran back again.”
Lin Zijin didn’t pay much attention and nodded. “Oh, oh.”
In any case, her relationship with the children in her stepfather’s family wasn’t very good. Especially Lin Shu, who was three years younger than her, constantly targeted her. Everyone felt she was freeloading in their house.
She was the only one who wasn’t Lin Jiancheng’s biological child.
But that wasn’t exactly fair to say either. Her mother, Yang Qingqiu, had married into this family, taken care of Lin Jiancheng and the children, and managed the household—she might not have had credit, but she certainly had hardship.
Lin Zijin also tried her best to be diligent, helping her mother with chores and taking care of her younger brother.
Beyond that, her mother felt sorry for her and didn’t let her do too much.
She was told to study hard and get into university—who would have thought that university would later be abolished?
In truth, she also wanted to escape this family. She knew that over all these years, her mother had been enduring everything for her sake.
Going down to the countryside wasn’t a sudden whim. She felt that once she left this home, her mother’s life would be better too, and she would no longer have to suffer for her anymore.
She had also thought about finding a job, but jobs were hard to come by these days—every position already had its person.
Many graduates like her ended up taking over their parents’ jobs. As for her, there was no chance.
Yang Qingqiu didn’t have a formal job either. She would occasionally go with the women in the alley to paste matchboxes just to earn a few cents for herself.
In the household, aside from her, Lin Xue and Lin Shu also didn’t have jobs. Lin Jiancheng wasn’t particularly close to her, but he didn’t mistreat her either. Compared to his biological daughter, she was naturally not as important.
So it wasn’t that she didn’t consider work—there truly was no opportunity.
She gently patted Lin Ziyou, who was leaning against her. “Come on, little Youyou, let’s go find Mom.”
“Okay~”
The two siblings left the room and went to find Yang Qingqiu, who was busy in the kitchen.
Lin Zijin had her own room. The house had originally been one large room split into two, but her room was very small—only enough space for a bed and a desk.
There was also a small cabinet that Yang Qingqiu had specially made for her. Although the room was small, it was warm and cozy, filled with her mother’s love.
Seeing Yang Qingqiu busy in the kitchen, she walked over and hugged her waist, her voice soft and sweet. “Mom~”
Hearing this, Yang Qingqiu’s anger that had been building up gradually faded. However, she didn’t show it on her face and kept a stern expression as she said irritably, “What do you want?” In truth, she was a little happy inside—she liked it when her daughter acted spoiled with her.
“Mom, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have made you angry today.”
“From now on, I’ll listen to you.”
“Oh? You’ve come to your senses? Not going to do your great ‘construction’ plans anymore? Planning some big achievements?”
Lin Zijin curled her lips slightly and nodded. “Mm-hm, I’m not going anymore.”
“I’m going to stay with Mom and my brother. I’ll listen to you and be your good daughter again.”
Hearing this, Yang Qingqiu felt much better. The corners of her mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
“Got it. Go play with your brother. The kitchen is hot.”
“I’ll help you, Mom.”
As soon as Lin Zijin finished speaking, Yang Qingqiu immediately turned around and pushed her out. “Go, go outside and play with your brother.”
“No one else goes into the kitchen—why are you coming in?”
“Trying to show how capable you are? Go on, we don’t need you here.”
Lin Zijin felt a tightness in her chest after hearing that. In this family, even when her biological parents were busy doing housework…
She didn’t insist anymore. She came out of the kitchen and ran into her stepsister, Lin Shu, who looked at her with a half-smile.
“Oh? Not helping your mother anymore? Your mother is really pitiful…”
Lin Zijin didn’t even bother responding. She simply walked past her and took her younger brother back to their room.
Seeing that she was ignored again, Lin Shu’s expression turned ugly.
“You…”
It was always like this. No matter what she said, Lin Zijin never responded. That kind of complete disregard made her feel extremely frustrated.
Just a useless burden anyway. She glared hard at Yang Qingqiu, who was busy in the kitchen. So annoying—hogging her father.
Yang Qingqiu was extremely efficient, or rather, she had already been thinking about getting her daughter out of this household. Within just two days, with the help of Hu Cuihua, she had found a suitable young man and quickly arranged a matchmaking meeting.
After breakfast, Yang Qingqiu was still smiling when Hu Cuihua told her the news. After cleaning up the table and washing her hands, she went to Lin Zijin’s room.
“Zijin, hurry up, change your clothes.”
“Put on something nice—the light blue dress I made for you last time. Where did you put it?” As she spoke, Yang Qingqiu started searching around the room.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“What do you mean what am I doing? At eleven this morning, at the state-run restaurant—you’re going to meet someone.”
Lin Zijin was instantly stunned. “What?”
“Mom… isn’t this too fast?”
After finding the dress, Yang Qingqiu shoved it into her arms.
“Fast? How is it fast? Good opportunities don’t wait for anyone. I had your Aunt Hu Cuihua help ask around. That young man’s surname is Lu… I think his name is Lu Jin… something Jin Yu, I forgot.”
“But that’s not important. What matters is he’s in his early twenties, tall and handsome.”
“His family situation is also decent. He has an older brother who’s already married, two older sisters who are married too, and I think a younger sister as well.”
“He works at the steel factory, a formal state employee. He’s also the nephew of a steel factory director. That’s a very good background.”
“Lots of people are already eyeing him.”
Lin Zijin frowned, not even finishing her mother’s words, thinking to herself—would someone that good really end up being her turn?
“Mom…”
Before she could finish, Yang Qingqiu cut her off.
“No ‘mom’ this or ‘mom’ that. Zijin, you must go meet him today. Maybe it’s a match. If not, we’ll keep looking.”
“If it works out, then it’s perfect for both sides.”
Then her tone softened.
“Zijin… Mom doesn’t want you to be sent down to the countryside. I really don’t.”
“Life in the countryside is really hard. Even though when I was young I had your grandparents and uncles who treated me well, I didn’t suffer too much…”
“But when your biological father left for that period, I really experienced how hard life could be. It was too difficult.”
“Not only did I have to take care of you, I also had to manage the household—fetching water, working in the fields, cooking, washing clothes, feeding chickens… there wasn’t even time to rest.”
As she spoke, her eyes turned red.
Lin Zijin felt a wave of heartache. Looking at the few strands of gray hair at her mother’s temples, her throat tightened.
“Alright, Mom. I’ll go.”
In the next room, Lin Xue was pressed against the wall, ear against it, listening to the conversation between mother and daughter.
When she heard the man’s background, jealousy surged in her heart.
Yang Qingqiu was a liar—always saying she treated all the children like her own, but in the end she only cared about her biological daughter.
Such a good match, and she didn’t think of her at all—only her own daughter.
The more she thought about it, the brighter her eyes became as an idea formed in her mind.
She quickly rummaged through her nicer clothes, changed into them, looked at herself in the mirror with satisfaction, then secretly slipped out of the house and headed straight to the state-run restaurant to wait.