Lin Xiang stayed for a while longer at her grandmother’s house before saying goodbye.
Before leaving, she said to Zheng Miaoyue, "If you need my help, co find at Xingfu Restaurant or my ho. Don’t keep things to yourself. I see that your grandmother, grandfather, mom, stepdad, and little brother are all good to you. Be sure to tell them and let them stand up for you."
Zheng Miaoyue still looked downcast, unable to speak, only nodding her head repeatedly.
Until today, she had never thought of complaining to her family.
With her biological parents separated and each having their own new lives, even if her stepdad was good to her, she felt like an outsider.
Her grandparents were elderly, and she didn’t want to worry them, so she had gotten used to keeping everything to herself.
But after Lin Xiang’s suggestion, she realized that her family loved her more than she had imagined.
As Lin Xiang walked out of the governnt residential area, she unexpectedly saw Cheng Jinyun standing across the street.
She jogged over and asked in surprise, "How did you know I was here?"
"Your roommate ntioned she usually stays around here, so I ca to look for you. Are you done with your business? Want to head ho?"
"Sure!"
Lin Xiang walked alongside Cheng Jinyun, telling him about the events of the day.
"So, people really need to be strong enough to protect themselves, or at least have soone to back them up. Otherwise, if sothing really happens, you might get sold out."
Cheng Jinyun said, "I’ll try my best to be your support. I won’t allow anyone to harm you."
Lin Xiang turned her head to look at him, only to see the seriousness in his eyes, as if making a promise.
But apart from that, there was no other emotion in his eyes.
In the end, she might have been overthinking.
The two of them first went back to Xingfu Restaurant, just in ti for closing.
Compared to yesterday, Mrs. Lin’s face had a bit more smile today, no longer looking worried.
"Business was pretty good today."
"Not bad, though still not as good as before, but better than yesterday. I asked the students, and they have no complaints about Xingfu Restaurant. They’re just keen to take advantage of the long holiday and good weather to go out and about."
Lin Xiang thought to herself, I explained this to you yesterday, but you wouldn’t listen!
But she could understand Mrs. Lin’s feelings and said nothing further.
"Oh, honey, you need to co to the restaurant again tomorrow."
Mrs. Lin took off her apron while putting on her coat, saying to Lin Xiang, "Today, a Mr. Wan ca looking for you, saying there’s sothing urgent he needs to discuss. Since you weren’t here, he arranged to et at the restaurant tomorrow at ten in the morning."
Mr. Wan?
Could it be the original landlord of this place?
"Got it, Mom. I have nothing else tomorrow, so I’ll co early."
After returning ho, Mrs. Lin quickly washed up and went to rest.
Lin Xiang couldn’t sleep, so she brought a stool to sit in the living room, watching Cheng Jinyun fix the TV.
The TV was just worn from use, not broken, just needed so adjustnts to ensure it could receive channels at Xingfu Restaurant.
Lin Xiang knew nothing about these things, but the complicated process beca incredibly simple in Cheng Jinyun’s hands.
In no ti, the original snowflakes turned into black-and-white images.
It had to be said, the old TV’s picture quality wasn’t great, with distorted images. But in the seventies, owning a TV already made one much luckier than most people.
"This TV can only receive five channels. Here’s the remote, you can tune to whatever channel you like."
After being away from tech products for over a year, Lin Xiang finally found she could watch TV again.
Even though the picture quality was lacking, it still moved her to tears.
Cheng Jinyun hadn’t expected Lin Xiang to cry just from watching TV, and quickly handed her his handkerchief, "Honey, are you okay?"
Lin Xiang shook her head, wiping her moist eyes with the handkerchief, "Just thinking that now that Xingfu Restaurant has a TV, business could get a lot better, I get so excited!"
Cheng Jinyun was skeptical, "Really?"
"With money, I can buy a courtyard house!"
Cheng Jinyun remained silent, and after a while, looked at Lin Xiang intently watching the TV screen, "You really want a courtyard house that much?"
Even though she already had three properties in Beijing, Lin Xiang clearly wasn’t satisfied.
A courtyard house, it was her first chance across two lifetis to own one. Wouldn’t passing up on buying one be a waste of her rebirth?
"Of course! But I don’t have enough funds right now, I can only afford a two-entry house at most. But my goal is to buy a three-entry courtyard house, all in one go."
Cheng Jinyun silently noted her words in his mind.
It wasn’t until an episode was over that Lin Xiang yawned and stood up, "I’m tired, I’m going to sleep first, see you tomorrow."
The next morning, the Lin family of three arrived early at Xingfu Restaurant.
Cheng Jinyun carried a boxed TV in his arms.
When they arrived, several sisters-in-law were already waiting at the entrance.
Lin Xiang glanced at her wristwatch, "It’s only just past eight, didn’t we say you didn’t have to be here until nine?"
Coming from the army to Xingfu Restaurant, taking the bus and ti spent walking, took at least forty minutes, aning the sisters-in-law must have left by seven at the latest.
That’s so early.
"We have nothing to do at ho, might as well co early to work."
"Indeed, indeed, with the young boss paying such high wages, we can’t be lazy."
Lin Xiang promised a salary of thirty yuan per month, plus two yuan for cooking.
But when giving their pay, she added a five-yuan bonus for each of them, as a token of appreciation for their hard work.
Though not totaling even forty yuan, for the sisters-in-law, this money greatly improved their family’s life, with so left over.
Thus, everyone worked with enthusiasm.
"I’ll get a key made later today, so you can let yourselves in if you arrive early and don’t have to wait at the door."
Inside, Lin Xiang pointed to the front desk, "Place the TV there, it has no blind spots, and except for those very far away, everyone should be able to see it."
Cheng Jinyun nodded, putting the TV on the counter.
"There," Cheng Jinyun adjusted the antenna, tuning in to the movie channel, "At this ti, this is the only channel that’s on."
The sisters-in-law exchanged looks, "Does Xingfu Restaurant have a TV now?"
"It’s an old TV from a relative’s house, tends to cut out once in a while, but having it is better than not."
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