Han Qingsong's allowance was remitted once a quarter. He didn't send it himself; it was all entrusted to the army's logistics department to handle uniformly.
These two days were the arrival dates for the second quarter's remittance. It would first arrive at the county town, and then the postman would deliver the remittance slip to the house. Because they were short-staffed and slow, it would take at least three days for the postman to deliver the slip to the house.
Lin Lan wanted to take advantage of this time difference. She would go to the county town tomorrow to get the remittance slip first and withdraw the money before the old lady could.
In the earliest days, Han Qingsong's remittances were written under Old Man Han's name, and the old lady would take the letter of introduction and Old Man Han's personal seal to withdraw the money.
Later, after giving birth to Xiaowang, the original owner made a fuss every year for the past few years, insisting that Han Qingsong remit the money to her. Han-laotaitai naturally didn't agree, so Han Qingsong simply had Lin Lan's name added as well. Either of the two names could collect the money, it was just that the original owner never had the chance to collect it.
Lin Lan waited for Xiaowang to finish eating, then led him out for a walk to digest the food.
In the alley, she ran into a boy from the village who played with Sanwang and quickly asked him, "Xiaoniu, where is Sanwang?"
Xiaoniu was startled by her, didn't even dare to look at her, and ran away quickly. "At the South River."
Lin Lan then carried Xiaowang on her back and headed south of the village. On the way, she met many villagers who all peeked at her covertly.
"Is she alright now? Didn't they say she was foaming at the mouth and poisoned to death?"
"Don't talk nonsense, it was just water mixed in an empty medicine bottle."
"Sigh, do you guys think Han Qingsong is really going to divorce her?"
"Shh, she's coming."
Lin Lan walked past carrying Xiaowang on her back and glanced at the woman gossiping about her divorce. She was also one of the original owner's nemeses, so she imitated the original owner's expression and tone. "Even if he divorces, he won't marry you."
"You!" That woman was furious.
Lin Lan walked away leisurely.
"Is she possessed?"
Why wasn't she acting shamelessly and throwing a tantrum? In the past, she would definitely have cursed and jumped up and down. Some busybodies just liked to anger her and watch her make a fool of herself.
Lin Lan carried Xiaowang to the bank of the South River and saw that brat Sanwang swimming happily in the river like a duck.
That brat, not even caring about eating.
"Sanwang, come up!" Lin Lan called him.
Hearing his niang call, Sanwang slipped into the water like a fish with a swish and didn't surface for a long time.
Lin Lan watched with trepidation. "Han Wangmin, get your ass up here right now!"
Some people who came out after dinner to look for cicada nymphs heard this and knew the Han family's shrew was throwing a tantrum again, so they intentionally or unintentionally looked over to watch the fun.
Sanwang was reluctant to leave, but ultimately afraid of Lin Lan's anger, he swam over unwillingly, climbed ashore, and put on a blank look. "Niang, why are you here?"
"Where is your erge?"
"Didn't he go home to deliver the wild melon? When I was cutting grass, I found a wild melon and asked erge to take it home for niang to eat."
Lin Lan guessed Erwang was hiding somewhere eating it himself. She told Sanwang to hurry home and eat. "From now on, you are not allowed to go into the river alone, and you are not allowed to go into the river when it's dark."
Thinking about how this boy later drowned in the water, Lin Lan felt that fate made fools of people; she had to keep him away from the water.
Sanwang, however, didn't care. "Niang, my swimming skills are great."
A 7-year-old child in modern times would still be ignorant, but he was like a little adult, cutting grass and catching fish daily, even more capable than his older brothers.
"Haven't you heard that those who drown are those who know how to swim? Who comes to the river if they don't know how to swim?" Lin Lan urged him to go home.
Although Sanwang followed her home, he didn't take it seriously and excitedly talked about this and that.
After returning to the village and watching Sanwang go home, Lin Lan carried Xiaowang on her back and went to the brigade headquarters, because the party secretary and those men all came here to chat after dinner.
At this time, every family had eaten dinner, and the men gathered in twos and threes in the courtyard of the brigade headquarters to cool off and talk. The summer management season was just weeding, and there was no work at night. Recently, there was no road building or reservoir construction either, so the commune members were relatively free.
From far away, she could hear the babbling sound of the radio brought by the party secretary, which was playing the Peking opera "The Red Lantern."
Seeing Lin Lan coming over with a child on her back, the villagers all looked at her, not even caring to listen to the radio, and discussed animatedly.
"What is she doing carrying the little fool on her back?"
In the past, they only heard her despising Xiaowang, but never saw her leading Xiaowang out to play.
Was she really possessed today?
Before, when she first made a fuss and threatened suicide, everyone said she was possessed. Once they got used to her fussing, now that she wasn't fussing, everyone instead felt it was more like she was possessed.
Lin Lan felt that having the reputation of a shrew as a shield wasn't bad. Anyway, her reputation had already hit rock bottom, and there was basically nothing she didn't dare to do out of shyness or fear of people gossiping.
For example, when she saw those people gossiping, she pretended not to see them and strode past with her head held high, absolutely not needing to greet them.
Greeting them would instead scare them.
The people playing at the brigade headquarters were all men. This was also an unwritten rule; men gathered with men to play, and if a woman came over, she would be teased. At this time, rural men were not good at expressing their feelings to their women. Apart from working, some men would never chat or exchange feelings with their poniang in their entire lives, which was also bizarre.
"Party Secretary, Brigade Captain, write me a letter of introduction!" Lin Lan wasn't afraid of people hearing, but instead imitated her past self and shouted at the top of her lungs.
The advantage of this was that there were many megaphones. Almost simultaneously, the party secretary and the brigade captain heard it, and someone answered for them.
She knew where the two were, so she carried the child over.
"I say, Qingsong's xifu, are you alright now?" The cadres didn't have much prejudice and even took the initiative to show concern.
Lin Lan tried not to be too out of line, keeping a wooden face and a rough voice. "I'm fine. I need a letter of introduction, I'm going to the county town tomorrow."
"What are you going to the county town for?"
"Look at my Xiaowang, he's four years old, and his eyesight isn't very good. I want to take him to the hospital to get checked."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she was going to see a doctor and not to file a complaint, it was fine.
In the past, she had also made a fuss, complaining that Han Qingsong didn't come home and that her popo mistreated her, and wanted to go to the county revolutionary committee to file a complaint.
If a military family member filed a complaint or reported someone, it was a very serious action.
Fortunately, she didn't end up going.
The brigade captain and the party secretary exchanged a glance. Should they ask Old Man Han?
The party secretary winked at the accountant next to him, and the latter quickly went to ask Old Man Han.
Lin Lan added, "Party Secretary, can I borrow five yuan? I'll return whatever I don't spend, and whatever I spend, I'll make up for with work points later."
Soon the accountant came back and made a hand gesture, indicating that this was indeed the case.
The party secretary readily approved, went back into the room to get letter paper, quickly wrote a few sentences, stamped it, and had Lin Lan press her fingerprint.
"Thank you, Party Secretary, thank you, Brigade Captain." Lin Lan took the letter of introduction and the money, and also had Xiaowang say thank you.
Seeing her so polite, everyone was instead at a loss. This... wasn't right.
A tigress could also say thank you? Being so polite made her seem more like an educated city person.
Lin Lan didn't say much more, leaving them to fill in the blanks themselves, and carried Xiaowang home.
As soon as she left, the headquarters exploded, with everyone asking what was going on.
Over there, Old Man Han was still angry that an old woman like her ran into a men's gathering. Later, hearing that she borrowed money to take the child to see a doctor, he felt his old face burn, as if his family mistreated the third branch's wife and wouldn't treat her child's illness.
"This woman, I told her at home that I would send them to see a doctor in a couple of days when we're not busy, why did she run over here herself."
Those who were observant understood, however. In a few days, it would be the autumn harvest and they would be even busier, where would they have the time to go?
It was nothing more than the old lady holding onto the money and not letting her spend it. If the youngest son or youngest daughter had a headache or a fever, they would have run to the hospital long ago.
With Lin Lan's previous groundwork, Old Man Han didn't think much of it, and even took the initiative to hide the fact that Lin Lan borrowed five yuan from the brigade from his laopozi, thinking he would tell the brigade later to deduct it from the family's work points.
That night, Lin Lan instructed Erwang to watch Sanwang properly, and also asked Erwang to quietly go to the food cupboard to get some dry rations.
As a result, Erwang brought out two palm-sized flatbreads. "Niang, they're all eaten."
With a large family, the dry rations for the day were basically all eaten, and more would be made the next day.
Lin Lan had no choice but to drop it, and quietly took the military canteen Han Qingsong brought back, filled it with water, and hid it.
On the kang in the east room, Han-laotaitai heard the noise and wanted to get up to take a look, but was held down by Old Man Han. "Probably the children drinking water, go to sleep quickly."
Early the next morning, before dawn, Lin Lan got up and set off for the county town with Xiaowang.
Because there weren't enough dry rations to eat and she didn't have grain coupons, she had no choice but to detour to the vegetable garden and quietly pick two cucumbers to take along to stave off hunger. As for the old lady cursing later, she would let her be.
There was only one dirt road from Shanzucun to the county town, heading east along the South River. It was less than fifty li, and taking a child, she would have to walk for a good half of the day.
After all, she was a delicate modern person. When it was hot, there was air conditioning; when it was cold, there was heating. She had never walked so fiercely under the scorching sun carrying a child.
Hot and tired, she felt the sun above her head turn into a giant fireball roasting her, and the dirt road under her feet was full of potholes, making it exceptionally hard on her feet.
Soon, her back ached, her legs hurt, and her feet hurt; there wasn't a single place on her body that didn't hurt.
Xiaowang was also sensible. He didn't let her carry him and took the initiative to get down and hold her hand to walk.
Along the way, Lin Lan tried her best to tease Xiaowang into talking, but he didn't like to open his mouth after leaving the house. Especially after leaving Shanzucun, his little mouth was shut even tighter.
If Lin Lan teased him ten times, it was considered good if he replied once or twice. If there were outsiders, he wouldn't reply at all.
Lin Lan didn't force it. To be honest, she was also a bit nervous. If this child chattered away with her, she wouldn't even know what to talk about.
After all, she really didn't know how to take care of children.
Later, they encountered a mule cart and hitched a ride. After walking for another half a day, they were lucky enough to encounter a tractor.
Walking for a while and hitching rides for a while, they finally entered the county town before noon. She didn't know the way and didn't know where the post office was, so she first found a public security officer wearing a red armband and indigo clothes to ask for directions.
As soon as they heard her tone and saw her posture, along with the skinny child she was carrying, they knew she was a poor and lower-middle peasant from the countryside. They immediately pointed the way enthusiastically, and a kind-hearted person even gave them two pieces of candy.
Lin Lan took Xiaowang to drink water and eat a piece of flatbread by the roadside, thinking to herself that she must buy a bicycle. Going out without a bicycle would break her legs.
The dry rations weren't enough, so they each took a few bites, drank a few mouthfuls of water, and continued on their way. The county town wasn't big, and they soon arrived at the post and telecommunications office.
At this time, the county post and telecommunications office wasn't big either. It was next to the department store, and its location was very conspicuous.
Lin Lan entered the hall and saw a few people lining up at the windows, some making phone calls and some sending telegrams. There were also two or three people at the remittance window.
She pretended not to understand anything and found someone to ask where to collect remittances.
A female staff member wearing a grayish-blue uniform received her, asking where she was from and how much money she was withdrawing.
Lin Lan tried her best to imitate other country women who hadn't seen the world. Her timid gaze and timid tone naturally made people want to help her.
"Did you bring the remittance slip?"
"The remittance slip hasn't been delivered to my house yet, it should arrive at the post office these two days. Could you help me check? If it's here, I'll withdraw it. If it's not, I'll wait outside for a night, collect the money, and take my baby to the hospital for treatment." Lin Lan tried to sound as aggrieved as possible to arouse the other party's pity.
Sure enough, the female staff member looked at Xiaowang, asked what was wrong, and felt very sorry upon learning his eyesight was poor.
"This child has such handsome eyes, why can't he see clearly?" She raised her hand and waved it in front of Xiaowang's eyes. Xiaowang naturally didn't respond.
"Wait here, I'll go check for you."
Soon, the female staff member smiled and called Lin Lan over. "You came at the right time, it just arrived and we were about to dispatch the slips. If you hadn't made this trip, it would have taken at least two or three days to get the slip."
Lin Lan thanked her joyfully.
She took out the letter of introduction and then the marriage certificate. "I'm a woman, I don't have a seal and I don't know how to write my name, I only know how to press my fingerprint. This is the marriage certificate, issued by the government. Can it prove that I am Han Qingsong's xifu?"
"It can!" The staff member inside was amused by her.
Lin Lan's eyes were clear and bright. "Then quickly take it out for me."
This time there was actually 260 yuan, a full 40 yuan more than before!!!
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