Chapter 26: Preparing for the New Job

It was night. Xu Damao was the first to pass out from drunkenness. After Lin Shaowen gave Yan Jiefang, who had been watching from the sidelines, a handful of grilled skewers, the latter promptly helped Xu Damao back to his room.

Seeing that Qin Shan and the others were still in high spirits, Lin Shaowen ignored the dissuasion of Qin Huairu and Li Hong and opened another bottle of Moutai.

"Fragrant, so fragrant!" Qin Shan shouted with bleary, drunken eyes.

Drinking from big bowls, eating meat in large chunks, and even having fruit—a life like this was something he wouldn't have dared to dream of. Qin Jianshe and Qin Jianguo were no better, stumbling around the courtyard in a drunken stupor, drawing pointing fingers and whispers from the other residents of the residential compound who had gathered to watch.

"Typical country folk, they don't know the first thing about manners."
"Exactly, it looks like they’ve never lived a decent life."
"Why on earth did Doctor Lin invite them to dinner anyway?"
...

Qin Huairu, Li Hong, and the others flushed with embarrassment.

"Listen to yourselves. Who was born right at the feet of the Imperial City? Which one of your ancestors wasn't a farmer for eight generations?" Lin Shaowen stood up and said loudly. "This kind of ideological consciousness is unacceptable. Yi Zhonghai... no, First Uncle, you really need to take charge of their ideological education."

Yi Zhonghai, who had been hiding in the crowd, immediately stepped out with a stern face. "Lin Shaowen is right. Your thinking is indeed problematic..."

"Pah!"

Many people spat secretly before quickly scurrying away. Yi Zhonghai’s face darkened instantly; ever since Lin Shaowen arrived, his prestige in the compound had been dwindling.

"Hahaha!" Lin Shaowen laughed until he was doubled over. "First Uncle, you're not doing so well either—people don't respect you anymore."

"Go drink your horse piss," Yi Zhonghai cursed before turning and walking away. Seeing this, the others dispersed as well.

Only the Jia Matriarch remained in the central courtyard, "summoning spirits" and directing her ire toward Yan Bugui. No one knew what kind of feud they had, but her first volley of insults was aimed squarely at the Third Uncle.

The women of the Qin family began to tidy up. After Lin Shaowen took a shower in the bathroom, he lay down on his bed. Qin Huairu and the others were very sensible; no one went into his bedroom, and the whole family slept on the floor of the study. It was midsummer, so it wasn't cold, though the floor was a bit hard. But for people from the countryside, that was nothing worth mentioning.

"Little Sister, can we take a shower?" Sun Xia asked in a low voice.
"I want to wash too," added Zhang Li.

They had spent the entire day traveling by bus from Qin Village, and they were drenched in sweat. On top of that, they had spent the evening cleaning, only finding a moment of relief late at night. They weren't exactly tired—compared to farm work, this was trivial—but they felt very uncomfortable.

"I'll go ask him." Qin Huairu gritted her teeth and walked toward Lin Shaowen’s room.

"Little Sister, don't go..." Zhang Li was about to call out to Qin Huairu, but Li Hong grabbed her.

"Mom, why didn't you stop Little Sister?" Sun Xia asked anxiously. "Little Sister is a divorcée, and Doctor Lin is a young, unmarried man. Isn't this just asking for gossip?"

It wasn't just the city people whose words were sharp; in the countryside, rumors were like tigers. Once a reputation was ruined, one might as well drink pesticide.

"Do you think Huairu doesn't know what she's doing?" Li Hong sneered. "I felt something was off this afternoon. Doctor Lin looked like he was just teasing the Jia Dongxu mother-son pair, but in reality, he was backing up your sister."

"This..." Sun Xia and Zhang Li exchanged glances. It did seem to be the case. Otherwise, why would a stranger help them find housing and jobs for no reason?

"It's eight or nine chances out of ten that this girl has taken a liking to Doctor Lin," Li Hong affirmed.

"Unless Doctor Lin is blind, how could he possibly marry Little Sister?" Sun Xia looked incredulous. It wasn't that she looked down on Qin Huairu, but a man like Lin Shaowen—even in the city, let alone the countryside—was a "golden turtle son-in-law." Why would he marry a woman who was divorced and had a child?

"Do you think Huairu doesn't know that?" Li Hong rolled her eyes. "But in her situation, if she goes back to the village, she can only marry some old bachelor. It would be better to... better to be someone's concubine."

It was only the sixties. Divorce, whether in the city or the countryside, was already a source of deep shame. Rather than going back to the village to be looked down upon, it was better to live a comfortable life in the city.

Sun Xia and Zhang Li fell silent. If they put themselves in Qin Huairu's shoes, they reckoned... they might be even more proactive.

Half an hour later, Qin Huairu returned with a flushed face, holding several new towels.

"Huairu, we can't just take people's things," Li Hong said urgently. The towels felt extremely soft and looked like high-end goods. They must have cost quite a few yuan.

"Little Lin gave them to us. Remember to take them with you when you leave tomorrow," Qin Huairu said with a smile.

"Take them?" Li Hong and the others were shocked.

"If you don't take them, you don't expect Little Lin to use things you've used, do you?" Qin Huairu said helplessly.

"What kind of family does this Doctor Lin come from?" Zhang Li asked, unable to believe it.

"His father is a senior engineer, and his mother seems to be a university professor... I don't really understand it either," Qin Huairu said with a bitter smile. "Look at his delicate skin; he doesn't look like someone who has ever suffered."

"That's for sure," Li Hong and the others nodded. They saw Lin Shaowen’s generous demeanor and realized he was not from an ordinary family.

"Go wash up quickly. As for Dad and the others..."
"We'll just use one towel," Li Hong said hurriedly.
"Alright, go take your showers," Qin Huairu smiled. "Little Lin said not to be so constrained. He originally said he would give you some bedding, but those were all new, and I was afraid we might get them dirty, so I didn't take them."
"No, no," Zhang Li waved her hands quickly.
"That's right, we don't need the bedding," Sun Xia added immediately.

If he gave away such nice towels without a second thought, what would happen if they took the bedding too? They couldn't take advantage of him like that.

"Alright, go wash up, it's very late," Qin Huairu said with a smile.

Li Hong and the others went to the bathroom immediately. Watching their backs, Qin Huairu remembered the tender moments in the room just now and couldn't help but lean against the wall, her face flushing red. This little troublemaker was just too good at stirring things up.

The next morning, by the time Lin Shaowen woke up, the Qin family was already up. Qin Huairu had bought breakfast and placed it on the table, and everyone was waiting for Lin Shaowen.

"Eat, don't wait for me," Lin Shaowen waved his hand and went to the bathroom to wash up.

A while later, when he came out, no one had touched the breakfast.

"Eat," Lin Shaowen said helplessly.

"Doctor Lin, thank you for taking us in yesterday. Next time, if you have the chance to visit Qin Village... we will treat you," Qin Shan said gratefully.

"Sure." Lin Shaowen nodded with a smile and looked at Qin Huairu. "Later, take your parents to the bus station, then come find me at the rolling mill. I'll inform the security department."

"Are we going today? I'm not prepared at all," Qin Huairu said nervously.

"It's better to get things settled early. It's not easy to find a job nowadays," Lin Shaowen said with a smile.

"That's true, Huairu. It's better for you to get to your unit early."
"Little Sister, send us word once you've joined the unit."
"Don't mistreat yourself while living alone in the future."

Qin Shan and the others chattered on, and before long, everyone was in tears. Lin Shaowen, who couldn't stand such scenes, got up, pushed his bicycle, and headed to work.