CH 321

Zhou Lingling saw Lin Lan’s calm expression as she asked it, not seeming shy at all. In fact, she seemed almost purely curious.

“There are condoms, but our Commune doesn’t have any. You can go to the County Hospital and ask for them.”

Lin Lan thanked her and left without wasting any time.

It was less than 3 o’clock when she returned home. If she went to the County town now, the sky would most definitely be dark when she returned. Her waist and legs were still sore as well, so she couldn’t last for that long.

She tidied up and took Xiaowang back to her mother’s house.

On the road, it was inevitable that other women would roll their eyes at her again, “Wasn’t it said that she was sick and was on leave? How is she able to ride a bike and venture out then?”

Some women in the village have negative opinions towards her, feeling that she had brought down the atmosphere of the village. Especially when Han Qingsong did her work for her, took a leave of absence on her behalf and handled the housework, they didn’t think that it was him being a loving husband. In retrospect, they only thought of Lin Lan as a commanding wife, someone who didn’t play her role in society and only knew how to manipulate her husband.

Lin Lan heard them mutter words of jealousy. If they had the ability, they should go ahead and manipulate their own husbands. What was the point of merely knowing how to glare daggers at her?

She arrived in the Lin Family Village in about ten minutes. The family members were all at work as Old Lady Lin led the kids to clean up the house and cook at home.

Seeing Lin Lan come back, Old Lady Lin habitually put on a straight face, “It’s the autumn harvest, why did you come back to your mother’s house all of a sudden?”

Lin Lan smiled and said, “Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival, but I was busy moving and didn’t come back. Today I took a leave of absence…”

“What kind of leave are you asking for during the autumn harvest?” Old Lady Lin was in a  panic, “If all of you ask for leave all the time, who is going to work? Who is going to earn work points? There are a bunch of children at home that you have to feed.”

At this time, every household relied on earning work points to live, so the workers almost never asked for leave unless they were seriously ill.

The old lady couldn’t take it anymore when she saw that her daughter was doing well yet had asked for leave. She began to tell her not to be lazy. After separating the family, there was all the more reason to live well, so it would be best to not slack off.

Xiaowang, “Grandmother, my mother got sick from exhaustion. She really isn’t lazy.”

Lin Lan took out mooncakes and a few apples, “This is a gift.”

Although poor, she still wanted to live a serious life, and the best way to do that was to bring a sense of ritual to her lifestyle.

Only then did Old Lady Lin glance at her daughter suspiciously, “Are you sick? Is it serious?”

Lin Lan smiled, “It’s okay, it’ll get better from resting.”

Old Lady Lin asked her to sit down to drink some water. Then, she brought out a pomegranate for Xiaowang to eat, “Your eldest sister-in-law’s family gave it to me.”

Lin Lan asked Xiaowang to play with the other children as she took out some money and put it on the table, “Mother, this is what you lent me last time. The other portion is us fulfilling our responsibility to take care of you and father.”