Stepmother Reborn: Dad, my mom hasn't hit me for three days

In a blink of an eye, it was March 1979.

Zhang Xiuhua came back from the commune with her bicycle basket full of things. She happened to meet Li Jianxin at the entrance of the village. She called him and said, "I went to the county town and saw a big sale at the mall. There is a piece of clothing that suits your child."

Li Jianxin became interested and saw Zhang Xiuhua take a piece of clothing out of the basket.

It’s true that the T-shirt looks good and has good quality. Li Jianxin gestured and said, “Not bad! Very good!” But he didn’t want it.

Zhang Xiuhua thought he thought it was too expensive, so she waved her hands and said, "No charge. This is a gift for you. Thank you for helping me sell tofu."

Li Jianxin really didn't think it was expensive. "I'm a twin. How can I divide the same piece of clothing?! They'll fight later. You'd better spare me. Less trouble is worse than more."

Zhang Xiuhua looked at him in surprise, "Why don't you put it on this one today and that one next time?!"

Li Jianxin had a look on his face that said "don't mention it". "No! Twins are hard to deal with. If you give clothes to one and not the other, they will say you are partial. Yesterday, the two kids were playing at the door and I accidentally spilled water on the oldest. The second child was upset and sat down in the mud. He kept muttering, 'Big brother plays in the water, I want to play too.'"

Zhang Xiuhua burst out laughing. Hahaha, this is so funny.

"We have to buy doubles of everything now. If we don't have it, we'd rather not buy it. An Rou bought two pairs of shoes before, the same style but different colors, and now each child wears one. Everyone who sees it has to ask about it."

Zhang Xiuhua understood and said, "I'll give this dress to someone else."

The two separated at the door. Zhang Xiuhua returned home. Youcai came out of the house, holding a letter in his hand, "Aunt Zhang?! My dad has a letter!"

Zhang Xiuhua was surprised. "I sent your father a letter before, but he didn't reply to any of it. Finally, a letter came?!"

Youcai said happily, "My dad will be back soon!"

"Really?! When?"

"Soon. He'll be back in two or three months." Youcai handed over the letter.

Zhang Xiuhua read the whole thing quickly and found out that they were indeed going to be back soon. She told the children to study hard and wait for their father to come back, and then she would take them out to dinner.

Youcai's face immediately fell, "Aunt Zhang, how can you always bring up studying?"

Although Youcai is no longer a poor student, compared with Jidong, the top student, his grades are nothing.

Zhang Xiuhua ignored his antics and said, "If you have any questions, I'll hire an educated youth tutor for you."

Although educated youth can now take the college entrance examination, there are still some educated youth going to the countryside in the past two years, one batch each spring and autumn.

Youcai immediately shook his head and said “No need”.

As she was talking, Aunt Wang came in from outside and told her a piece of gossip in a mysterious way, "Xiuhua, have you heard about it?"

Zhang Xiuhua was a little confused, "What did you hear?"

"Jianxin is going to Shanghai!" Aunt Wang Er talked even more excitedly when she saw that Zhang Xiuhua didn't know. The best part about gossip is that you know it, but the other person doesn't.

Zhang Xiuhua looked at her in surprise, "Really? When did it happen?"

She just met Li Jianxin and didn't hear him mention this matter.

"An Zhiqing sent me a letter this morning. I heard that his father-in-law used his connections to bring his family of three to Shanghai." Aunt Wang's eyes were filled with envy. "You know, Jianxin is really lucky. Other educated youths returned to big cities and abandoned their wives and children in the countryside. Only An Zhiqing was devoted to Jianxin and would come back to see Jianxin and his two children as soon as he had a holiday."

When An Rou returned to Shanghai, the villagers said that Li Jianxin was confused. But who would have thought that during the summer vacation, An Rou not only came back, but also brought a lot of things for Li Jianxin and the two children.

Now, they actually brought the three of them to Shanghai. You know, it was not easy to move from the countryside to the city at that time. After all, people in the city could eat rationed food.

Zhang Xiuhua also exclaimed, "Jianxin is indeed lucky."

Is it a good life? An Rou went back to Shanghai to study, and Li Jianxin took care of the two children alone, acting as both a father and a mother, and also had to work in the fields to earn work points. Fortunately, Miao Xiaohua saw how hard her son worked and finally helped him. In order to make sure the children had clothes to wear, Li Jianxin had to get up early and work late every day to sell tofu for her.

During that time, Li Jianxin was working alone, splitting the wood into three pieces, and became as thin as a bamboo pole. When the villagers saw him like that, they all said he was stupid.

Now he is going to Shanghai, and they say he is lucky. Good life is never given by God, but earned by oneself.

While the two were talking, Li Jianxin came over. Compared to before, his eyes were red.

Seeing that Second Aunt Wang was there, Li Jianxin did not ask her to avoid him, but instead talked about the news that he was going to Shanghai, "I just found out not long ago. An Rou sent a letter at noon. Sister-in-law, I can't help you sell tofu anymore."

Seeing that he had come all the way here, Zhang Xiuhua immediately smiled and said, "It's okay. When are you leaving?"

"I just received a letter and have already processed it. They said it will take until June or July." Li Jianxin's smile deepened.

Zhang Xiuhua nodded. This period of time would be convenient for her to find someone to take over. "How will you live in Shanghai? Do you have a job?"

Li Jianxin was worried, "No! My father-in-law will help me get a residence permit first. The job may have to wait."

Zhang Xiuhua has confidence in Li Jianxin. "You are so sweet-talking, you won't be afraid in Shanghai. If you can't do legitimate business, you can do speculation."

Li Jianxin's eyes widened. Speculation?! How could that be possible!

Zhang Xiuhua pointed to the south and said, "The south has already opened up. Shanghai will also open up in the future. You can try it first, and maybe you will become more proficient in it later."

Li Jianxin seemed to be thinking about something.

Aunt Wang interrupted, "But he has two children. Your mother won't go over. Who will take care of your children?"

Li Jianxin sighed heavily, "I'll see when the time comes."

He came and left quickly.

The villagers soon learned the news and all envied Li Jianxin's good fortune.

After Li Jianxin left, Aunt Wang came up to Zhang Xiuhua and said, "Xiuhua, Jianxin has gone to Shanghai, and you need someone to help you sell tofu. Why don't you let your uncle do it? We have two college students now. Although our tuition is waived, we still have to spend money on food, clothing, housing, and transportation. The work points we earn are not enough."

Zhang Xiuhua laughed and said, "Second Aunt, you should have told me earlier. My eldest sister-in-law mentioned this to me a long time ago. Her family is under even greater pressure, with three children."

When Aunt Wang Er heard that she had plans, and Xu Chunying was closer to her, she stopped forcing her, "I'm just saying, if you have plans, forget it."

Zhang Xiuhua turned around and talked to Xu Chunying about this matter.

Xu Chunying agreed without hesitation, "Okay, it's just selling tofu. Your brother is stronger than Li Jianxin. He has plenty of time, and I guarantee he can help you sell it."

Zhang Xiuhua nodded and planned to let her elder brother go to the nearby village to sell tofu after Li Jianxin left.