Chapter 28: My Mother Has a Gift for Childbearing

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Lin Shaowen was strolling near the clinic. He could not wander too far, in case an emergency arose and he was unable to deal with it.

Just then, quite a few people began hurrying toward the personnel department.

“What’s going on?” Lin Shaowen stopped a worker and asked.

“It’s payday today.” The worker tossed out the words and hurried away.

“They’re handing out wages.” Lin Shaowen slapped his forehead.

It was Friday—and exactly one month since he had come to this world.

He had not received a single paycheck, yet his benefits had already been raised by two grades. Who could he even complain to about that?

Since everyone was going to collect their wages, he decided to join the crowd and see what was happening. He had not gone far, however, before he ran into Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu.

“Huairu, let’s remarry.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“You shameless woman, are you and Lin Shaowen having an affair?”

When Jia Dongxu saw that Qin Huairu remained unmoved, his expression changed at once.

“Keep spouting nonsense and I’ll report you to the security department.”

Qin Huairu was no longer the country girl she had once been. She had someone backing her now.

“You…”

Jia Dongxu instinctively raised his hand, preparing to slap her.

It was a habitual gesture he had made for years.

“Go on, hit me. Let’s see whether you can keep your job afterward.”

Qin Huairu’s face was cold as frost. She had seen for herself how Lin Shaowen dealt with people like them.

Beating someone at the factory—especially a woman—would cost Jia Dongxu dearly. He would be lucky to escape with his hide intact.

In the end, Jia Dongxu did not dare. He glared fiercely at Qin Huairu, then ran off.

He needed to collect his wages too, after all.

Qin Huairu breathed a sigh of relief, only to see Lin Shaowen in the distance giving her a thumbs-up. Her face immediately reddened as she walked over.

This was the factory. She would never dare carry things too far here.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“It’s payday, isn’t it?” Lin Shaowen replied with a smile.

“Where do we collect our wages? Could you take me there?”

“Come on.”

Lin Shaowen led the way. Qin Huairu stayed one step behind him instead of walking beside him.

The personnel department was buzzing with activity.

Several thousand people stood in line to collect their wages. The sight was truly spectacular.

“Older Sister Qin.”

The moment Silly Zhu saw Qin Huairu, he hurried over.

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“Zhuzi.” Qin Huairu smiled at him.

“You only just came to the factory, so you probably don’t have any wages to collect, do you?” Silly Zhu asked, grasping for something to say.

“I’m only here to look around.”

Her tone was indifferent.

Her eyes seemed to wander over the crowd, but her attention remained fixed on Lin Shaowen.

“Doctor Lin.”

Li Chunhua spotted Lin Shaowen and waved him over, drawing quite a few sidelong glances.

“Big Sister Li, what is it?” Lin Shaowen asked as he approached.

“Here, this is yours.”

Li Chunhua handed him an envelope.

“Big Sister, cutting in line isn’t really appropriate, is it?”

Lin Shaowen’s embarrassed expression eased the resentment of many of the workers.

“Cutting in line, my foot.” Li Chunhua covered her mouth as she laughed. “You’re the only person in the clinic. Could they possibly have mixed up your wages with someone else’s?”

Everyone suddenly understood.

So that was why Lin Shaowen had received his wages so quickly. His entire department consisted of just one person.

The clinic’s full name was the Steelworks Medical Department. Technically, it had one department head and several directors. But doctors were in short supply everywhere, and no one wanted to come to the steelworks merely to idle away their days.

As a result, Factory Director Yang was temporarily serving as department head. In other words, he was Lin Shaowen’s immediate superior. But Director Yang was a very busy man; apart from coming to Lin Shaowen for massages, he hardly ever visited the clinic.

“All right. Thank you, Big Sister.”

Lin Shaowen smiled, then turned and left.

As soon as Qin Huairu saw him go, she immediately said goodbye to Silly Zhu, who had been boasting about his thirty-seven-and-a-half-yuan wage.

The steelworks’ workload had not been particularly heavy lately.

Today was payday, and tomorrow was the weekend. Although it was not yet three o’clock, many people were already leaving work one after another.

Holding the envelope, Lin Shaowen thought he might stop by the cooperative store for a look. But just as he mounted his bicycle, Qin Huairu caught up and stopped him.

“Where are you going?”

“To the cooperative store. Would you like to come?”

“I would. I’d like to have a look too.”

Qin Huairu smiled brightly.

“Doctor Lin, would you mind giving me a ride?”

“Hop on.”

Lin Shaowen smiled.

Qin Huairu climbed nervously onto the rear seat. The last time she had ridden a bicycle was on the day she married. Jia Dongxu had borrowed Third Uncle’s bicycle and ridden into the village to fetch her, making countless villagers green with envy.

She was careful to keep her distance. Her hands merely rested on the back of the seat, without touching any part of Lin Shaowen.

Even if a number of workers saw them, they could find nothing improper to criticize.

At the cooperative store, Qin Huairu looked around constantly, like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. Yet she was very well-behaved and did not dare touch anything.

“Why do you look as though this is your first time here?” Lin Shaowen asked in surprise.

“It isn’t. This is only my second time.”

“Your second time?” Lin Shaowen exclaimed.

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Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu had been married for seven or eight years, hadn’t they? Banggeng was already in primary school.

She had lived in the capital for seven years, yet this was only her second visit to the cooperative store?

“When would I have had the time?” Qin Huairu rolled her pretty eyes. “Madam Jia watches me every day as though I were a prisoner. Sometimes, even when I go out to buy vegetables, she secretly follows me.”

“Who can blame her? You’re so beautiful.”

Lin Shaowen laughed.

“If I were her, I’d follow you every day too, afraid you might run off with someone else.”

“Stop it. I don’t believe you.”

His praise made Qin Huairu’s pretty face flush crimson.

Seeing her expression, Lin Shaowen could not help feeling his heart stir.

He did not know exactly what he felt for Qin Huairu. But if the villains of the courtyard compound were ranked, the Widow Qin would certainly come first.

And yet, from the Jia family’s perspective, Qin Huairu had never truly mistreated anyone—not even Madam Jia, who seemed determined to court disaster every day.

“What are you looking at?” Qin Huairu asked, her face flushed.

“Nothing.”

Lin Shaowen shook his head and began wandering through the store with her.

They reached the clothing section.

Lin Shaowen casually picked out two skirt suits and held them against Qin Huairu for comparison. Finding the size more or less right, he asked the salesclerk to wrap them up.

“No, don’t buy them.” Qin Huairu immediately grew anxious.

“Why not?” Lin Shaowen asked in surprise.

“You’re still young. Don’t spend money so freely. You need to save for a wife.”

She spoke very softly, but the salesclerk still heard her.

“What’s your relationship?” the salesclerk asked warily.

The two looked about the same age, but the salesclerk could tell at a glance that Qin Huairu had already been married.

“I’m his elder sister.”

Qin Huairu hurriedly explained, “I’m from the countryside. My younger brother is studying at a university in the city.”

“Phew!”

The salesclerk visibly relaxed.

“You can tell your younger brother is going places. What’s wrong with him buying his sister two outfits?”

“Exactly.”

Lin Shaowen gave the salesclerk a thumbs-up.

“You look awfully familiar.” The salesclerk studied him for a moment before suddenly remembering. “Weren’t you the one who came here last time with a young girl to buy clothes? Was she your girlfriend?”

“Don’t tease me, Sis. She’s my younger sister. She’s only in middle school.”

Lin Shaowen hurriedly waved his hands.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. You have quite a lot of siblings.”

“My mother is very good at having children.”

Lin Shaowen answered with complete seriousness.

Qin Huairu could not hold back a laugh at his outrageous nonsense. She reached over and pinched him lightly at the waist.

Lin Shaowen turned his head and looked at Qin Huairu, her little face flushed and rosy. For a moment, he was stunned.

She truly was the enchanting Widow Qin after all.