All the members are good people, only the host is a pervert

Chapter 157 The Young Widow 8

Just a few days into her job at the supply and marketing cooperative, Lin Ruan used the industrial coupons Chen Jianguo had saved up during his lifetime to buy herself a 26-style bicycle. Although it was a women's bicycle, it lacked a basket like the 28-style bicycle. She installed a bamboo basket with a lid that she'd found in some unknown world, earning Lin Cuilan a ton of praise for her ingenuity.

Lin Ruan whispered to Lin Cuilan, "Mom, I met a good junior high school classmate today. She's also married in the city. She has some connections now and can help me buy some meat or fine grains. No tickets are required, and it's 20 cents more per pound. I think if there is any, we should buy some. We should eat fine grains as much as possible. Eating coarse grains all the time will damage our teeth. What do you think?"

Lin Ruan had a good idea. If Lin Cuilan agreed, she would often bring back some rice and flour. She had plenty of these things in her space anyway. If Lin Cuilan disagreed, then she would just eat more during the special meal in her space. Who knew that Lin Cuilan was even more supportive than she thought. She agreed immediately and said readily: "You are a capable child, and your good classmates are also capable. They can get such precious things. Mom can't let you spend money alone. So, Mom will give you 15 yuan every month. You can keep it to buy rice and meat, and the rest is your pocket money."

Lin Cuilan didn't care about money at all. She only earned 45 yuan a month, so even if she gave Lin Ruan 15 yuan, she would still have 30 yuan left, enough to last a month. She was very open-minded now. If she saved her money for a lifetime, she might end up in the hands of those ungrateful people when she died. It would be better for her and Lin Ruan to spend all the money on food and drink, so she could live a few more years.

Seeing that Lin Cuilan was so understanding, Lin Ruan didn't say much. She took the money with peace of mind, and then brought back some fish, meat and fine grains from the space every now and then, and just said that she bought them.

Every morning, Lin Cuilan would wake Lin Ruan up to eat after she had prepared breakfast. After breakfast, she would ask Lin Ruan to clean up and go to work, never letting her touch any of the dishes or pots.

Arriving at the supply and marketing cooperative, Lin Ruan began her day of slacking off. She was new to the job, having arrived with a letter of introduction from the military, so naturally, she wasn't assigned to the popular counter, the farm implement counter. After working for several days, Lin Ruan hadn't seen a single customer.

However, the counter next to her was always packed when new stock arrived. The iron pans and kitchen knives, which required industrial stamps and a considerable amount of money, were almost immediately sold out. When the lady at the counter was too busy, Lin Ruan would volunteer to help. Not for the lady's thanks, but simply to utter the four all-purpose phrases reserved for salespeople:

The first sentence: "Look, look, if there are tickets or not, look!"

Second sentence: "Ask, ask, ask. If you have money, just ask!"

The third sentence: "If you want to buy, buy. If not, get out!"

The fourth sentence: "Someone come here, there's trouble!"

As he said these words and looked at the big words on the wall that said "No beating or scolding of customers without reason", Lin Ruan felt refreshed.

How could I not feel refreshed? All the bad tempers of the day were cursed out, and not a single bit of it could be kept in my heart.

During the lunch break, as long as Lin Run is not on duty, she will go home to eat. Although Lin Cuilan starts get off work later than Lin Run, she gets off work earlier than Lin Run. So except when she or Lin Run is on duty and the two of them eat at the company, usually Lin Cuilan cooks when she gets home.

Now her and Lin Cuilan's grain and oil books are all with Lin Cuilan. She can't get up in the morning, so every month Lin Cuilan takes the household registration books of both of them to get things. Anyway, the food is eaten by both of them, so they don't care who takes advantage of whom.

As soon as Lin Ruan entered the house, she could smell the aroma wafting from the kitchen. "Mom, I'm back!" Lin Ruan put down her bag, carried the things in the basket into the kitchen, looked at Lin Cuilan who was cooking, and said with a smile: "Mom, I brought back five pounds of rice, two pounds of flour, two pounds of noodles, two pounds of fish, and one pound of meat. You can put the fish in the basin and raise them first."

Lin Cuilan quickly took the things from Lin Ruan's hand and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, are you tired from work today? Go wash your hands quickly, the meal will be ready soon."

Lin Ruan went to wash her hands obediently. When she finished washing and returned to the dining table, the dinner was simple - egg pancakes, spinach and white noodle dumpling soup, a dish of salted duck eggs in red oil, and a plate of fried cabbage and tofu.

The mother and daughter sat at the dinner table, sharing their experiences of the day. Lin Cuilan would tell her about the various family matters handled by the street office, and Lin Ruan would also tell her some of the strange things that happened in the supply and marketing cooperative.

In the evening, mother and daughter would read and study in their own rooms. Lin Cuilan read a wide variety of books, but she mostly read recipes.

Lin Ruan was naturally looking at high school textbooks, which Lin Cuilan had urged her to collect, both overtly and covertly. She even went to the bookstore on Saturdays and Sundays to buy Lin Ruan some books she thought would be useful. By now, Lin Ruan understood that Lin Cuilan must have some memories of the future, though it wasn't clear whether they were rebirths or precognition. However, it didn't matter; this Lin Cuilan actually saved Lin Ruan a lot of trouble.

Lin Ruan's room wasn't a complete change, but at least the old newspapers covering the walls had been replaced with a pale pink coarse cloth. The origins of this coarse cloth were quite amusing—the Lin family, upon learning that Lin Ruan had become a widow and had a job and a generous pension, became interested. When they came to ask for money and a job, Lin Cuilan happened to be there, and they were swiftly scolded by her.

Seeing Lin Cuilan leading the charge, Lin Ruan said nothing, but quietly cast a curse of bad luck on the entire Lin family. As it turned out, they were quiet for only two days. When they were about to return, they happened to catch a wild boar descending the mountain. Wild boars wouldn't normally go to the main road, but the Lin family took the path at the foot of the mountain to save a few steps. As a result, in addition to the four married sisters, even Lin Ruan's two-year-old nephew, who they had intended to appeal to their feelings, was tragically killed by the wild boar.

The coarse cloth on the wall was the mourning cloth brought from the Lin family's funeral. Lin Ruan boiled onion peels in water and soaked the white coarse cloth in it. After half an hour, he put the dyed coarse cloth into the water with white vinegar and continued to soak. The result was a pink coarse cloth nailed to the wall, which looked very beautiful.

The fate of the Lin family was originally caused by Lin Ruan, so she naturally didn't think it was unlucky. Lin Cuilan didn't think it was unlucky either, but she thought that the mourning cloth would be better used as a bed sheet instead of hanging it on the wall. However, she was always doting on the people she loved, so not only did she not say that Lin Ruan was wasteful, but she praised Lin Ruan for her cleverness and beautiful room decoration.

Lin Ruan, who was so flattered, used the remaining mourning cloth to nail up the wall of Lin Cuilan's room. In an instant, both rooms became pink and tender, and even Lin Cuilan felt a little younger when she saw them. She was so happy.

However, even a peaceful life can be full of ups and downs. One day, while Lin Ruan was working at the supply and marketing cooperative, Chen Lihong suddenly came over. She hurried into the cooperative, looked around, saw Lin Ruan, and hurried over to him.

"Lin Ruan, second sister-in-law, I... I'm really desperate this time, you must help me." Chen Lihong said hesitantly.

Lin Ruan frowned slightly, thinking of all the unpleasant things that happened in the Chen family before, and asked: "What happened? You tell me first."

Chen Lihong sighed deeply and said with a distressed look on her face, "Ever since Mom moved out, life has been unbearable for us. Mom used to cook for us, and although we weren't rich, at least we had enough to eat. Now, we all have to eat at our workplaces. I only make ten yuan a month, which is not enough to eat! The food in the workplace cafeteria is expensive, and I don't have enough to eat every day. Please lend me some money for the sake of our past friendship, otherwise I don't know how I'm going to survive."

Her words were so exaggerated that Lin Ruan almost laughed. "Isn't ten yuan a month enough for you to eat? Ten yuan a month means you can spend thirty cents a day. Even if you go to a state-owned restaurant, a cup of soy milk, an egg, and two fried dough sticks in the morning only cost five cents. Two vegetarian buns in the evening are only five cents, and a vegetarian dish at noon is only ten cents. You can even buy a few steamed buns. If you're ruthless, you can eat whole-grain steamed buns morning and night. You can even have a white flour steamed bun and a non-vegetarian dish every day for lunch, and a plate of braised pork is only twenty-eight cents. Is your textile factory cafeteria more expensive than a state-owned restaurant?"

"Also, what past affection do we have? Chen Lihong, what past affection do we have between you and me? Even if there is, I don't have any extra money to lend you. When we divided the family, I gave you everything I deserved. At the very least, you still have a mother and two brothers. How can a sister-in-law borrow money from her widowed sister-in-law? It's so ridiculous that people will laugh to death if people tell others about it." After saying that, Lin Ruan simply turned around and went to the warehouse at the back, no longer paying attention to Chen Lihong.

Chen Lihong stood there, her face turning red and white, her eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness. She gritted her teeth, cursed under her breath, and left the supply and marketing cooperative.

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Chen Lihong grew increasingly angry. She felt like Lin Ruan was deliberately not helping her. She only had 10 yuan a month, and it wasn't just for food. Didn't she buy clothes? She didn't even have a partner, so shouldn't she buy some vanishing cream and a hairband to dress herself up? Ten yuan, no matter how she calculated it, was never enough. Not enough!

In the evening, just after Lin Ruan and Lin Cuilan finished their meal, they heard a rapid knock on the door. Lin Ruan opened the door and saw Chen Lihong, his face instantly darkened. "Why are you here? I've made it very clear that I won't lend you any money."

Chen Lihong ignored him and rushed into the house, overturned the dining table, and started throwing a tantrum. "You cruel woman, if my mother hadn't been partial to you, you wouldn't be in this situation today? Now I'm in trouble, and you're just watching me die!"

"And you!" Chen Lihong pointed at Lin Cuilan and shrieked, "How can you be such a mother! You didn't care that your own daughter was starving to death, but instead you were working like a slave for your daughter-in-law, a widow whose husband died and she had no children!"

Seeing this, Lin Cuilan was furious and grabbed Chen Lihong by the hair. "You uneducated thing, if you keep going wild here, I'll send you to the police station!" Chen Lihong was so frightened that she dared not move, but her eyes were still filled with hatred.

Lin Ruan couldn't stand her scolding, but she also felt that if someone like Chen Lihong died, it would be a blessing for her. Didn't she say she couldn't have children? Then she didn't want to have children. So she took out a pill from her space and dissolved it in the washing water, then said to Lin Cuilan: "Mom, get out of the way."

When Lin Cuilan saw Lin Ruan carrying a basin of vegetable washing water, she quickly let go of the hand that was pulling Chen Lihong's hair and hurried to the side.

Chen Lihong felt her hair being loosened, and just as she opened her mouth to curse, she was splashed with a basin of dirty water in her face and body. She even swallowed a few mouthfuls accidentally before she felt something in her mouth. When she spit it out, she found that it was a vegetable root covered in mud.

"Ahem, ahem, Lin Ruan, you dead widow, are you crazy? I'm going to kill you! Ahhhh!!!!" Chen Lihong was furious and rushed towards Lin Ruan regardless of anything. But Lin Cuilan came over again and grabbed her hair.

Chen Lihong's eyes turned red with anger, and she kept cursing Lin Ruan and Lin Cuilan.

Lin Ruan wasn't angry at all now. She had poisoned Chen Lihong. The Hanpo Pill, a deity from the world of immortal cultivation, was originally intended for those with ice spiritual roots to enhance their cultivation. After consuming it, mortal women not only experienced excruciating abdominal pain during their periods, but also experienced a chill that entered their bodies, making pregnancy difficult. The daily effects of the cold poison would not only worsen her health, but also shorten her lifespan. In this day and age, Chen Lihong had a tough time.

Lin Cuilan naturally didn't know that Lin Ruan had poisoned Chen Lihong. She simply grabbed Chen Lihong's hair and dragged her out, cursing, "There's no mother like me. When the family split up, she even gave you 200 yuan to buy you a job. She only asked for 5 yuan a month for your retirement, and said you don't have to give any more after you get married. There's no mother like me who, when you still don't have a partner, told you that no matter how much betrothal gifts your partner gives you, you can take it all away without leaving a penny."

After being dragged outside, Chen Lihong continued to struggle and curse. "Just wait and see, I won't let you go!" she shouted viciously, then limped away.

Lin Cuilan returned to the house angrily, "What an ungrateful person! It's totally unreasonable!"

Lin Ruan comforted her, "Mom, don't get angry and hurt yourself."

However, Chen Lihong refused to give up. Her biggest hatred now wasn't for Lin Ruan, but for her own mother, Lin Cuilan. She went to the neighborhood office and exaggerated the allegations, alleging that Lin Cuilan had abused her, starved her of food, and even kicked her out. Upon hearing that their employee had been reported, the neighborhood office leader summoned Lin Cuilan to question her.

Lin Cuilan was naturally not afraid and confronted Chen Lihong with confidence. She thought that although she was no longer a good mother who loved her wholeheartedly, she was definitely a loving mother. At least she found a job for her daughter, which only required five yuan for pension every month, so her daughter did not have to hand over all her salary. The betrothal gifts were also clearly written in black and white to be taken away by Chen Lihong when they got married, and she, as a mother, did not want a penny.

If Chen Lihong said that ten yuan a month was not enough for her food and drink, even the leaders of the street office would be shocked. Is she supposed to eat delicacies every day? Ten yuan a month is not enough?

Tsk.

After understanding the situation, the leader criticized Lin Cuilan a few times, not too harshly, and then let her go. Chen Lihong knew her words were untenable, but the grievance and anger in her heart were real. Now that she had made a scene in front of Lin Cuilan's leader, she regained some of her rationality and realized that it was useless to say more, so she left the street office in a huff.