Lu Jiaxin bought Xue Mao three sets of clothes and two pairs of shoes, all in dark, dirt-resistant colors, with both pairs of shoes being liberation-style canvas shoes.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to pick out something more stylish for him, but Xue Mao refused, saying he wouldn’t even wear anything nicer. His reasoning was that since he worked with his hands every day, even nice clothes would get dirty quickly, a waste of money.
Jiaxin, however, had no intention of denying herself. She browsed from one end of the street to the other and put together six outfits for herself, three dresses and three sets of separates, along with matching shoes and socks. Once she’d finished buying clothes, she sent Xue Mao home ahead of her and headed to the department store herself. Luck was on her side, Lu Hongjun was working that day.
Walking into his office, Jiaxin handed him a shopping list she’d already written out. “These are the things I need for the new house. Let me know when you can get them all for me.”
Lu Hongjun took the list, glanced at it, and set it down, saying with an even expression, “Four thousand yuan, I already deposited it into your bankbook yesterday afternoon. The household only has a bit over three hundred yuan left now, there’s no money to buy these things for you.”
Jiaxin laughed. “The household only has six thousand yuan in savings? Dad, do you really take me for a fool?”
“Just those three finely crafted gold jewelry sets Ding Jing owns would be worth several thousand yuan on their own. Ten thousand yuan is probably pocket change to you.”
She didn’t believe a single word about the household savings being only a few thousand yuan. He’d worked at the department store for over twenty years, and had been general manager for more than ten of them, even without taking bribes, he should have accumulated a substantial nest egg.
Lu Hongjun’s face changed. “Jiaxin, don’t talk nonsense. Your Auntie Ding only has one gold ring, where would she get three sets of gold jewelry?”
Jiaxin gave a small “oh” and said casually, “If you don’t know she has three sets, maybe they were left to her by her previous husband.”
Only one gold ring, who did he think he was fooling? If not for his status and position, why would a beautiful woman marry an old man like him unless she wanted a comfortable life?
When Lu Hongjun married Ding Jing, she’d only had a few old changes of clothing. So that gold jewelry could only have been acquired after their marriage, but the question was, where had she gotten the money for it?
Seeing his expression, Jiaxin knew immediately that Ding Jing had been accepting favors behind his back. She’d assumed this had been done with Lu Hongjun’s knowledge, but apparently the woman was bolder than that.
Lu Hongjun quickly composed himself and said to Jiaxin, “I’ll buy you a watch and a bicycle. Nothing else.”
Besides the watch and bicycle, the shopping list also included a washing machine, refrigerator, color TV, electric fan, sewing machine, and cassette recorder.
Jiaxin scoffed. “Why should that venomous mother and daughter get to use a refrigerator and color TV while I, your own biological daughter, get nothing at all?”
Lu Hongjun said, holding back his temper, “If you’d stayed at home, you’d have had access to all of that.”
Jiaxin said without the slightest hesitation, “If I’d stayed there, I’d probably be reunited with Mom by now.”
Lu Hongjun said with a headache, “Dad knows you’ve suffered out there and you’re upset, but your Auntie Ding and Siyi both explained everything to me, it was all a misunderstanding.”
Jiaxin had no interest in arguing with him about whether that mother and daughter were good or bad, right now she just wanted the items. “Just tell me, are you buying them for me or not?”
Naturally Lu Hongjun refused. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it, it was that he’d already announced yesterday he’d given all the savings to Jiaxin. If he bought this many big-ticket items all at once, who knew whether Liao Xiangmei might use it as an opportunity to make trouble for him. Still, he also knew his daughter’s temperament had changed drastically, and if he didn’t satisfy her, she’d surely make another scene.
After thinking it over, Lu Hongjun said, “Xinxin, I’ll buy you the watch and bicycle first. The color TV, refrigerator, and washing machine, I’ll get you those next year.”
Jiaxin wasn’t so easily brushed off. “I need to study English, so a cassette recorder is essential. I don’t know how to use a sewing machine, but Xue Mao does, it’ll be handy for altering clothes later too, having one at home.”
In fact, it wasn’t Xue Mao who knew how to use a sewing machine, it was her. In her past life, her family had been in the clothing business, so she’d studied fashion design in university, and after graduating had gone abroad to study in that flower capital for three years, staying on afterward at a major firm to build up work experience before returning home three years later. She’d originally planned to go work at her family’s own company, but after her father remarried and had a son, her grandparents had guarded against her like a thief. Finding it pointless, she’d gone to work in Pengcheng instead.
Back in the ancient capital, she’d already wanted to sell clothes, but without capital she’d had to settle for a small food stall to support herself and Xue Mao. Now that she had capital and connections, she was determined to return to her original trade.
Thinking of how weak she was in English and math, and that she was now willingly taking the initiative to strengthen this subject, Lu Hongjun had no reason to refuse. “I’ll get you the cassette recorder soon. The sewing machine, we’ll talk about in a few days.”
“And the bicycle and watch? Also, it’s so hot right now, I can’t sleep without an electric fan.”
Lu Hongjun felt another headache coming on and said, “Fine, I’ll send over the fan along with the bicycle in a couple of days. That’s it for now, nothing more.”
Jiaxin knew she couldn’t get everything all at once, so she planned to ask for more once these items arrived. Just as Fifth Brother had said, if she didn’t take it, it would only benefit that venomous mother and daughter instead.
Lu Hongjun brought up the matter of retaking her exams. “I’ve already arranged your school, classes start next Monday.”
Jiaxin didn’t outright refuse to retake the exam, she knew that neither Lu Hongjun nor Lu Jiaguang would approve of that, so she employed a delay tactic instead. “Yesterday while cleaning with Xue Mao, I only worked for a short while before I felt tightness in my chest and shortness of breath, and had to go lie down. Dad, my injury might have left lasting aftereffects.”
The moment he heard this, Lu Hongjun couldn’t sit still. “Child, why didn’t you say something about this sooner? Come on, let’s go get you checked out at the hospital right now.”
Watching him fret so anxiously, Jiaxin sighed inwardly, Lu Hongjun really did love the original owner. It was just that this love could never outweigh the happiness of having a beautiful woman in his arms.
At the hospital, Lu Hongjun had her undergo a full physical examination.
Looking over the results, the doctor said, “There’s no lasting damage from the head injury, and the wound has healed well. However, she’s severely anemic and needs to properly build up her nutrition.”
Jiaxin quickly added, “Doctor, whether I’m doing chores or reading, I feel exhausted after just a little while.”
The doctor explained this was caused by insufficient qi and blood, and advised, “Go home, eat nutritiously, rest well, and avoid overexertion.”
Jiaxin was secretly delighted, this was exactly the excuse she needed, handed to her on a silver platter.
Lu Hongjun felt a jolt of worry and asked, “Doctor, this shouldn’t affect her studies, should it?”
Jiaxin quickly added, “I failed my exams this year, and my father wants me to retake them next year.”
“Doctor, I failed the college entrance exam this year, and my father wants me to retake it. But I get chest tightness and shortness of breath after just a little work, can my body handle retaking the exam?”
The doctor understood how important the college entrance exam was to a person’s future, and there was no way he’d tell them to focus on health first and worry about the exam later, he couldn’t take responsibility for that kind of advice. He offered a tactful reminder instead. “To recover properly, you need both good nutrition and plenty of rest.”
Jiaxin felt deep gratitude toward this doctor, and immediately threw a question at Lu Hongjun. “Dad, do you think my studies matter more, or my health?”
Lu Hongjun answered without a second thought. “Health is the foundation of everything, if your health collapses, nothing else matters. Xinxin, let’s focus on recovering your health first, and worry about everything else later.”
This answer satisfied Jiaxin well enough.