“Mom, I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have come in!” Song Dabao had already lost the excitement he had when they first entered. He thought that when Lin Ruxia asked earlier whether they wanted to come in, it was because it was too expensive and she didn’t really want them to.
Song Erbao and Song Sanbao also lowered their heads.
“Why shouldn’t you have come in? I should be praising you for overcoming your inner fear! Being able to face others’ gazes directly is something very admirable. Many people don’t even dare to face it because of their initial timidity. You did very well, so just enjoy this meal—it’s my reward for you, alright?” Lin Ruxia smiled at them with satisfaction.
Seeing that Lin Ruxia wasn’t angry, their uneasy hearts gradually calmed down.
“These are your meat buns!” The cashier brought over a plate with three large buns. They were huge—each about twice the size of Lin Ruxia’s palm. Three of them filled the entire plate.
Then an older woman brought over two large bowls that looked almost like basins. “Comrade, here are your pork noodles!”
Looking at the size of the bowls, Lin Ruxia swallowed and wailed inwardly: Oh my, why are they so big? Can we even finish them?
She glanced at the kids beside her—they were staring at the bowls and gulping.
Lin Ruxia pushed the two bowls toward Erbao and Sanbao and handed the buns to Dabao. “You eat first!”
The three little ones couldn’t resist anymore and immediately began wolfing down the food.
“Slow down! If it’s not enough, we can order more!” Lin Ruxia was worried they might choke since they were barely chewing.
After her reminder, they slowed down a bit, but still swallowed after only a couple of bites. She knew it wasn’t realistic to change their eating habits overnight—especially when faced with delicious food.
The older woman brought two more bowls and placed them on their table. Lin Ruxia gave one to Dabao, telling him to eat it after finishing the bun. Then she used her chopsticks to divide half a bowl among the three of them while saying, “I can’t eat that much—you all eat. There are two buns left. After finishing your noodles, Erbao and Sanbao, see if you can still eat more. If not, we’ll pack them to take on the road.”
“Okay, Mom!” Sanbao replied with his mouth full.
At Song Family Village:
“Aunt Qiu, I heard your family split yesterday?” The separation had only happened after work around 4 PM, so many people only heard about it that night. Naturally, curious neighbors came asking.
“Yes, the children are grown. It’s better to live separately,” Mother Song replied, glancing at the gossip-loving Aunt Big Mouth.
“Did your third son’s family agree? That’s tough—how will they raise so many children?” Aunt Big Mouth, who held traditional views, believed having many sons was a sign of ability and secretly envied Lin Ruxia.
“What choice do we have? We can’t keep raising them forever,” Mother Song rolled her eyes.
“I heard she’s pregnant again—is that true?” another woman chimed in.
“Yes, but only about a month along,” Mother Song answered reluctantly.
“Your daughter-in-law is something else—your third son comes back once and she gets pregnant every time! If I had such a daughter-in-law, I’d be smiling even in my dreams!” she said, casting a glance at Aunt Big Mouth, who felt embarrassed.
“Having many children isn’t necessarily a good thing. Look at us—we’ve been eaten into poverty,” Mother Song replied diplomatically.
Back at the restaurant:
Lin Ruxia had eaten less than half of her half-bowl before she was full. Watching Erbao and the others finish their noodles and continue eating the buns, she couldn’t help but marvel at their appetites.
“Aren’t you full?” she asked, seeing them clean up everything—including the soup.
“Not at all! It’s so delicious!” To Lin Ruxia, who was used to top chefs’ cooking, the food tasted average.
“If you’re not full, let’s go,” she said, glancing at the clock—it was almost 9:10. There was a bus back at 3 PM, and they still had things to do.
“Mom, you didn’t finish your noodles,” Sanbao reminded her.
Under the gaze of three pairs of big eyes, Lin Ruxia felt a bit embarrassed. Wasting food was shameful in this era.
“Uh… Mom’s a bit too full,” she said, patting her stomach.
“Then… can I finish it?” Erbao asked cautiously.
“You’re not full yet?” she asked.
“No, we’re full. But it feels wasteful to leave it. And I’ve never eaten until I’m completely stuffed—I want to try,” Erbao said.
“Alright, go ahead. I’ll wait,” Lin Ruxia said, watching him divide the remaining noodles into three portions and share them with his brothers.
After they finished, seeing their satisfied expressions and no discomfort, she finally relaxed—she had been worried they might overeat.
“Mom, we can go now!” Sanbao said happily.
“Alright.” Lin Ruxia stepped out first, followed by Dabao.
“Let’s go to the supply and marketing cooperative,” Lin Ruxia said, planning to exchange those clothes.
Following her memory, she led them to a shop labeled “Supply and Marketing Cooperative.”
“Ah, Comrade Lin! Back to buy dresses again? We just got some new ones!” the clerk greeted enthusiastically.
“No need, Comrade Yu. I’m not here to buy dresses today,” Lin Ruxia replied, recalling that this woman, Yu Minzhi, had a good relationship with the original owner.
“Then what do you need? I’ll get it for you.”
“I’d like to exchange some clothes I bought earlier for fabric. Is that possible?”
“How many?”
“Twenty pieces.”
“What?!” Yu Minzhi exclaimed, then quickly covered her mouth and made an excuse when others looked over.
Lin Ruxia played along, though she didn’t understand why.
“Wait for me,” Yu Minzhi said, asking a colleague to cover for her before taking leave.
“Can you come to my house?” she asked quietly.
Lin Ruxia agreed.
Yu Minzhi’s house was nearby—a small courtyard. No one else was home.
“My husband took the kids back to the countryside today,” she explained.
Inside, she glanced at the children. “They are…?”
“My sons. I’m exchanging the clothes for them,” Lin Ruxia said.
The children felt proud hearing her introduce them.
“Dabao, can you watch the door outside?” Lin Ruxia said.
Once they stepped out, Yu Minzhi closed the door.
“Tell me, what’s going on?” Lin Ruxia asked.
“I’m sorry, Comrade Lin. The cooperative doesn’t actually allow exchanges. Before, I used my own fabric coupons to give you new clothes because yours were still in good condition. I said I gave them to my nieces, but actually… I sold them. If you don’t want these twenty items, you can sell them to me. I only have ten feet of fabric coupons right now, but I can make up the rest with other coupons.”
“Do you think I’m easy to fool?” Lin Ruxia said calmly. “Even if your nieces wore them, would you really go to such lengths?”
“…Alright. You’re right. I sold them. But don’t worry—no one will trace it back to you.”