Chapter 52: Wang Lin Visits Home

The mother and daughter wept bitterly, holding each other tightly. Seeing her mother cry, Doudou began to wail loudly as well, which immediately reminded them to quickly wipe away their tears.

"Doudou, do you remember grandma?"

Shen Yue tried to comfort her, but it was obvious that Doudou did not remember.

"Mom, how did you know I was here?"

Wang Lin wiped her tears, glanced at the window of the food supply station, and then lowered her head.

"Your dad saw you. That stubborn old mule only cares about saving face, so pay him no mind. Have you and Doudou eaten yet? I'll take you somewhere to get a bite. By the way, why did you come here? Are you... are you going back this time?"

Shen Yue instantly betrayed Wang Zhengang.

Then she remembered the main purpose of her visit. She had originally thought her daughter had run back with the child, but seeing no luggage and noticing that both of them were wearing brand-new padded cotton jackets and shoes—Doudou included—and even smelled faintly of vanishing cream, it was obvious they were well-fed and living a comfortable life.

Feeling puzzled, she wanted to know what was really going on.

Wang Lin nodded, her eyes red as she said, "I came here with Huacheng. He came to sell some goods, and I tagged along to see you all."

"My good girl finally knows to come and see her mother. Doudou, will you let grandma give you a hug?"

Shen Yue looked at Doudou, wanting to embrace her.

Doudou hastily buried her face in Wang Lin's shoulder, clearly showing resistance.

"Where did you get this little hairstyle for Doudou? It looks so stunning!" Shen Yue had noticed Doudou's princess cut right away and was utterly amazed by it.

She considered herself quite fashionable, yet this was the first time she had ever seen such a gorgeous haircut.

"It's called a princess cut. Huacheng gave it to Doudou; only he knows how to do it. He said it was the popular hairstyle from the Warring States period down to the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties in China. By the way, Huacheng is exceptionally skilled at haircutting. He could easily work as a professional barber now, but he refuses to do it because he thinks the pay is too low." If Zhang Huacheng had possessed such barbering skills in the past, her family wouldn't have opposed their marriage to the point of a bitter falling out.

"Is he really that capable?"

Shen Yue found it a bit hard to believe.

She naturally knew what kind of character Zhang Huacheng had, having met him several times; he had no real talents to speak of, knew only how to use smooth words to deceive her daughter, and was dirt poor yet hopelessly stubborn about his pride.

"He refuses to work as a barber because he thinks the pay is too low?"

Shen Yue suddenly snapped back to reality and said indignantly, "How lucrative are barbers nowadays? A haircut at a county barbershop costs two or three paper notes, and yet he still thinks the pay is too low? What does he even do now that can earn him that much money?"

"Mom, Huacheng makes a lot of money now."

Seeing her mother criticize her husband, Wang Lin grew defensive.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that for now. Have you and Doudou eaten? I'll take you to get something to eat first. How about having lunch at home?"

Seeing her daughter grow angry, Shen Yue sighed helplessly, knowing that her youngest daughter was just as stubborn as Wang Zhengang.

"We've already eaten, and we're heading back this morning."

Wang Lin shook her head.

She had simply come for a visit; after all, since her mother hadn't visited her in half a year, she had been worried something might have happened. Now that she saw both her parents were safe and sound, her mind was at ease.

"Can you go back in the afternoon? The food station is distributing meat this afternoon, so you can take some fat pork back with you. Doudou is at the age where she's growing; eating some fat meat is good for her."

"Does Doudou want to eat meat?"

With that, Shen Yue looked toward Doudou.

To her surprise, Doudou thought about it for a moment upon hearing this, and then shook her head.

This left Shen Yue momentarily stunned.

"Eat eggs, not meat."

Doudou said in a cute, childish voice. Right now, eggs were her absolute favorite.

"Mom, we never run out of meat at home. Huacheng is a mountain guard now, and every day he brings back huge game animals. We have so much meat left over at every meal that Doudou hasn't even been very enthusiastic about eating meat these past couple of days."

Wang Lin explained.

Meat was truly in no shortage at home. They only ate the pork Zhang Huacheng bought back; wild boar meat was completely ignored, wolf meat came by the potful per meal, and red deer meat was the same. Having meat three times a day had made even Doudou lose her enthusiasm for it.

"A mountain guard?"

Shen Yue was dumbfounded.

Zhang Huacheng became a mountain guard?

And they couldn't even finish eating all the meat???

"Yeah, Huacheng went to the morning market to sell wolf meat, and it's already sold out. Right now, he's waiting for the department store to open so he can buy a sewing machine. So... I just brought Doudou here to see you guys."

It was still half an hour before eight o'clock, and Zhang Huacheng had taken some people to wait there.

Wolf meat?

Shen Yue suddenly remembered Yanni mentioning that someone at the morning market was selling wolf meat, and occasionally wild boar and red deer meat as well. Could it really be her son-in-law?

"Being a mountain guard is so dangerous! There are so many wolves in the mountains..." Shen Yue found it hard to believe. Zhang Huacheng actually dared to go into the mountains? He dared to be a mountain guard???

"They go together in a group, and the nearby wolf packs have already been wiped out by them. There's no danger." Although Wang Lin knew this was just something Zhang Huacheng said to comfort her, she had no choice but to say it.

The wolf packs in the Changbai Mountains roamed everywhere and could never be completely wiped out.

After chatting for a while, seeing that Doudou was getting restless, Wang Lin said, "Mom, the department store is about to open. I'll take Doudou for a walk around. I'll come to see you often from now on."

"Ah? I'll come with you."

Shen Yue quickly offered.

It had been so hard to finally see her daughter, and she was hoping they could share a meal together.

"We came with a group of people, and besides, you and Huacheng always end up arguing the moment you meet." Wang Lin wanted to go together too, but remembering how her mother and Zhang Huacheng would invariably start fighting after just a few sentences, she shook her head and refused.

"I'll give you some money." Shen Yue hurriedly searched her pockets and pulled out a handkerchief rolled into a ball.

"I have money, Mom, look!"

Wang Lin quickly pulled open her pocket, revealing dozens of yuan and some ration coupons inside. She had specifically brought these to make purchases at the department store.

"Ah? Well... alright then."

Shen Yue was also stunned at the sight, then put the handkerchief away. With the food station failing to pay wages for several months, she only had about two yuan left to her name. She hadn't expected her youngest daughter to be carrying so much money now.

"Doudou, say goodbye to grandma!"

Wang Lin prompted Doudou.

Doudou blinked her big eyes and buried her face back into Wang Lin's shoulder.

"Mom, I'm heading to the department store now. I'll come see you again in a few days, and I'll bring you gifts then." Knowing that Doudou was afraid of strangers, Wang Lin didn't press the matter further.

"Just coming to see us is enough, you don't need to bring anything—truly, don't bring anything."

Shen Yue's eyes turned red as she reluctantly let go of Wang Lin's hand.

Inside the food station window, Wang Zhengang saw his daughter leaving with the child and couldn't help standing up to take a look. Seeing his wife standing in place wiping her tears without moving a muscle, he stomped his feet in exasperation.

"Xiao Meng, go call your master's wife back!"

"Okay!"

Soon, Shen Yue came back wiping her tears. Before Wang Zhengang could even speak, she scolded, "Look at the two of you, father and daughter, both as stubborn as mules! Can't either of you ever say a soft word? What kind of life is this!"

Whatever Wang Zhengang was about to say got choked back inside him.

"Master, the meat is all sold out!"

"Master, Mistress, the two of us are going to sharpen our knives first so we can slaughter a pig this afternoon."

Realizing the situation was delicate, the two apprentice butchers quickly pulled down the window shutter, packed away the remaining piece of meat, and hurried outside, not forgetting to close the door behind them.

What are you crying for? What's this about Linlin bringing the child here? Sit down and talk, sit down."

Feeling somewhat in the wrong, Wang Zhengang hurriedly fetched a stool for Shen Yue.