Chapter 3

Lin Tian helped make lunch. It wasn’t the busy season, so households didn’t eat lavishly. The Lin family had sweet potato rice with stir-fried cabbage, which was already considered good.
Zhang Lamei could cook well enough; the cabbage looked decent.
Lin Tian wanted to supplement nutrition but said nothing, she could always eat something better at her own home later.
After work, Lin Dawei returned to wash up and eat. Lin Yang, who had been absent all morning, also appeared.
Lin Yang hadn’t gone to school after middle school and didn’t work for points, wandering around all day. The Lin parents coddled him and didn’t want him farming, hoping to find a job for him in the city. But it wasn’t that simple, and he wasted his days idly.
Zhang Lamei was anxious. Normally, a son his age should be settled, and many in the village had married. But without a proper job or income, who would marry their daughter to him?
That was why Lin Tian’s proposal was appealing.
After all, a proper job in the capital was a huge temptation.
The family of four sat down to eat. Lin Yang grumbled, “When will we get to eat meat? I’m tired of vegetables every day.”
Lin Tian knew this was the perfect moment to speak. “Lin Yang, once your second sister goes to the capital, has a child, and establishes herself with your brother-in-law, in at most two years, I’ll get him to arrange a proper job for you. Then you’ll be a worker.”
Lin Yang’s eyes lit up. “Second sister, are you serious?”
“Of course! When have I ever lied to you? But our father wants me to marry someone else, then how could I go to the capital?” Lin Tian feigned a worried expression.
Lin Yang looked at his father, why wouldn’t he agree to such a good plan?
Lin Dawei remained unmoved, his gaze calm as he looked at the family. He set down his chopsticks and said to his second daughter, “I’m just worried about you. The capital is far, and you’re pregnant. Besides, Chu Ci abandoned you, what if he doesn’t recognize you? Didn’t your mother explain my point of view? I’m doing this for your own good, Er-ya.”
Lin Tian looked at her father’s kind expression, inwardly sneering, but outwardly smiled. “Dad, I know you mean well. But Chu Ci and I are legally married. He wants to go to university, so he won’t dare deny me. Once the child is born, his family will be pleased, and I can get my brother a job easily. Chu Ci told me his second uncle is an official, his second aunt’s family is in government, and his grandparents are old revolutionaries. Dad, such good in-laws, would you really turn them down? Besides, my child still has its biological father, he’s the best choice. If you disagree, I won’t remarry; I’ll just live with the child on my own.”
Chu Ci never said these things, the original Lin Tian wouldn’t have known them. Lin Tian learned this from the book, using it as bait to leave here. After all, once she left, the family could wait. She knew them well, they were all paper tigers to outsiders.
Lin Tian needed their agreement because this era was unique. If Lin Dawei refused and she had to manipulate the brigade leader to leave, what could she do?
Moreover, she was alone, pregnant, and weak. If the family insisted on forcing her to marry, she’d have to expend effort despite her frailty. So it was best to resolve things with words if possible.
Lin Tian’s reasoning made sense. Lin Dawei wavered, after all, he’d always wanted his sons and grandsons to have a good life. Now Lin Tian was painting a tempting picture, and he truly wanted to “eat” it.
“Are you sure your husband will listen to you?” Lin Dawei’s biggest concern remained. Chu Ci wasn’t easy to deal with. Even from their brief interactions, Lin Dawei could tell.
“Don’t worry, Dad. He has a soft heart, otherwise, I couldn’t have successfully married him in the first place,” Lin Tian reminded him.
Lin Dawei thought it over and nodded, she had a point.
Originally, his daughter had admired Chu Ci for always receiving big packages. Wanting that for his second daughter, he had arranged the marriage.
Who knew, before they did anything, Chu Ci had proactively proposed after hearing the village gossip?
“Luckily, you two had the marriage certificate back then, that was at Chu Ci’s request. You’re right, he’s soft-hearted. Maybe your brother’s plan can actually work,” Lin Dawei said. Persuaded by Lin Tian, he increasingly felt that his son had a real chance of moving to the city. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought: after all, the two weren’t divorced, so if Er-ya went to the capital, so be it. How could Old Wang next door compare to Chu Ci? Between a bride price and a job, the job was far more important.
Lin Dawei and Zhang Lamei both sank into these pleasant daydreams, and even Lin Yang felt confident that he’d become a worker without issue.
“Dad, Mom, don’t worry. Chu Ci is a responsible man. If he refuses to arrange a job for my brother, I’ll threaten him with divorce and keep the child from him, he’ll definitely comply,” Lin Tian reassured them again, giving them a “booster shot” of confidence.
Lin Dawei finally laughed with satisfaction. “Good, good, you’re right. Now, when are you going to the capital? You’ll also need a letter of introduction from the brigade leader, so you need to prepare well. Otherwise, why not take your brother with you now? You two can watch out for each other along the way. You’re pregnant, and your brother can take care of you.”
Lin Tian rolled her eyes inwardly, who was taking care of whom? With Lin Yang being such a mama’s boy, she, the pregnant woman, might end up having to take care of him. She forced a slightly troubled expression and continued to persuade: “Dad, don’t let my brother suffer along with me. Besides, who knows what it’ll be like there? If we can’t even get enough to eat, what about Lin Yang? He’s still growing. I’ll wait until after the child is born and the in-laws are satisfied with me, then we can bring it up.”
After she spoke, Lin Yang piped up: “Dad, I’m not taking care of her. Besides, the train ride is exhausting. What if we get sent back with my sister? I’ll wait until my work is secured before going. I don’t want to suffer for nothing.”
Lin Dawei nodded, realizing that it wasn’t convenient to go out now, and he also felt for his son. “You’re right. Wait until your sister is settled, then we’ll talk about it. You’ve never traveled far, you can’t handle such hardship yet.”
Lin Tian silently scorned him in her mind but kept her smile on her face. “You’re right, Dad.”
No one would block her from going to the capital now, and Lin Tian finally felt at ease.
After lunch, Lin Dawei planned to rest a bit before work. Zhang Lamei went to the kitchen to clean up, but Lin Tian, breaking with her usual habits, didn’t help.
Instead, she turned to Lin Dawei. “Dad, I want to discuss something with you.”
“What is it? Speak,” Lin Dawei said, now more tolerant, hoping his second daughter could help arrange a job for his son.
Lin Tian said, “I’m going to the capital, but I don’t have a penny, even can’t buy a ticket. So I thought maybe you could help me find someone wanting to buy a house. I plan to sell it, so I can go find Chu Ci.”
Of course, Lin Tian wasn’t penniless, but she had long decided not to return. Keeping the house would be pointless. Hiding such a big plan from her parents wasn’t realistic either, better to give them a heads-up than have a fight later.
Lin Dawei frowned. He had been thinking of keeping the house for the family.
But without travel money, it wouldn’t work, and he wasn’t willing to pay. Compared to his son, a house was secondary. They already had a house, and he had only one son, an extra house wasn’t essential. But if selling it could help his daughter go to the capital, even better. Still, losing the money from selling it pained him a bit.
Seeing his reluctance, Lin Tian pressed on: “Dad, once Lin Yang has a job, he’ll get a house too. Isn’t a clean apartment better than these earthen houses in the village? You have to think ahead, not just about the present.”
Lin Dawei finally relaxed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll help you inquire about selling the house. Once you have the money, you can quickly go to the capital to find Chu Ci. There are so many female students there, you’ll want to stake your claim early. Otherwise, if he fancies someone else and divorces you, what then?”
He glanced at his daughter. She was indeed pretty, but she had little education and couldn’t compare to city folk. If he were Chu Ci, he would have divorced a rural girl long ago, one reason he had initially opposed her going to find him.
But Chu Ci was an intellectual, such people cared about face and shame. If Er-ya went to the school to find him, he definitely wouldn’t dare divorce. This had to be done quickly, though, or if Chu Ci returned from vacation and divorced her, Lin Yang’s job might be lost too.
The thought made Lin Dawei anxious; he wished he could sell the house immediately and send his daughter off on the train tomorrow.
Lin Tian had no idea about his thoughts, but the two coincidentally aligned, she truly wanted to leave as soon as possible. Another day increased the risk, what if the Lin family changed their mind again?
Sigh. Being transmigrated into a book world was one thing, but couldn’t she have found loving parents? She had been an orphan before, and now her parents favored sons over daughters. Sometimes Lin Tian wondered what it would feel like to grow up in a normal family. She had never experienced parental love, but for the two children in her womb, she hoped they would.