kvmb Chapter 162 The Young Widow 13
Chapter 162 The Young Widow 13
Lin Cuilan was curious and asked, "Ruanruan, why are you back so early?"
Lin Ruan smiled and took Lin Cuilan's hand, leading her into the room. Pointing to the two pieces of clothing on the kang, she said, "These are the defective cloths from the supply and marketing cooperative. They're mine. I thought you'd been working so hard at home, so I asked someone to make you two new sets of clothes. Mom, try them on and see if they fit you well."
Lin Cuilan asked in disbelief: "For me? New clothes made for me?"
Her eyes were almost red and her heart was as soft as water. Lin Ruan also said that she worked hard at home and was a caring person.
Ever since she got married, no one had offered to make her any clothes. City dwellers were given eight feet of cloth coupons each year, but a full-grown woman needed nine feet to make a single suit of clothing, and a full-grown man needed even more, eleven or twelve feet. Naturally, the coupons weren't enough for everyone in the family. She'd used to rely on her husband when he was around, and then on the children as they grew older. Her own new clothes were simply scraps left over from making clothes for her family, pieced together, and she was happy to wear them.
This mentality remained unchanged even after they moved out. Lin Cuilan gave all the cloth coupons she had saved to Lin Ruan. She knew that not only could Lin Ruan occasionally buy defective cloth, but she also had various coupons saved by Jianguo during his lifetime. Lin Ruan also had cloth coupons to use, but she was still worried that Lin Ruan would not have enough.
Although she also knew that Lin Ruan would occasionally buy a new piece of clothing, after all, she was the one who washed the clothes at home, and she knew exactly which one was Lin Ruan's new one.
But she didn't think anything of it. Instead, she felt happy, the kind of happiness that comes from knowing a child she cares about is doing well. But that happiness was different from the happiness she felt now.
The happiness now was soft and sweet, making her feel relaxed and as if she wanted to lie on the clouds.
"Mom, Mom?" Lin Ruan's voice brought Lin Cuilan back to her senses. She pursed her lips and smiled, seeming a little embarrassed and shy. She said softly, "Then I'll try."
The Zhongshan suit was thicker, suitable for cooler weather. Lin Cuilan put on the gray-black Lenin suit and turned in front of the mirror. Although the style was simple, it made her look energetic and neat.
Next, Lin Cuilan tried on the black pants and white plaid lapel shirt, which made her look several years younger. It was early autumn, so this outfit was perfect for her.
Lin Cuilan thought to herself, take off all your clothes, rinse them after get off work in the evening, and you can wear new clothes to work tomorrow. Then you must show off in the company.
This is a new dress that Lin Ruan specially used to make for her. And it’s not that she just used the cloth to make it herself, but she specially asked someone to make it for her!
In the evening, the mother and daughter sat at the dinner table, eating a simple but heartwarming meal. Lin Cuilan kept talking about Lin Ruan's goodness, saying that she was really blessed in her previous life to have such a good daughter-in-law.
Lin Ruan just smiled and agreed with Lin Cuilan from time to time, but what she was thinking about was her life.
After traveling through so many worlds, Lin Ruan's memories of her past life have become very vague. Only her unchanging personality tells her who she is. But despite this vagueness, there is always a lot of space in her heart, always clamoring for more and more different emotions to fill the emptiness. In this world, Lin Cuilan seems to have filled a corner.
This made Lin Ruan feel very magical. She didn't know what she was thinking. Lin Cuilan was not unconditionally partial to her alone. It was because in her memory of her previous life, it was Lin Ruan who sent her to the hospital and prevented her from dying on the street. That's why she had this preference now.
Maybe family affection is just so overbearing, Lin Ruan thought. If Lin Cuilan was younger, if she and Lin Cuilan weren't in a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, if Lin Cuilan felt love for her instead of family affection, Lin Ruan might not feel any satisfaction and would just keep her like a pet for a while, then throw her away when she got bored.
After all, in her cognition, all feelings are conditional, but love is the cheapest thing for her.
Lin Cuilan's good mood reached its peak a week later when Lin Ruan brought her two more sets of clothes, one of which was even a cotton coat! It was made of corduroy and contained a full pound of cotton!
Lin Ruan claimed the fabric was defective, but Lin Cuilan couldn't find any flaws after searching through all four garments. Lin Cuilan knew Lin Ruan must have overbought, and her purchase limit was definitely insufficient. She'd spent countless dollars on favors from colleagues and bought countless items.
Not to mention the fabric, cotton was so hard to buy, and it must have cost a lot of money. He quietly bought the fabric and cotton, made a cotton coat, and brought it back to her.
"You kid," Lin Cuilan said with some difficulty. She felt sorry for Lin Ruan and quickly opened the wardrobe. She took out a handful of banknotes from a cloth bag and stuffed them into Lin Ruan's hand. She scolded her, "Mom has a cotton-padded jacket that can still be worn. It has fabric and cotton. You can make your own clothes. I will be happy if you wear them well. If you can wear new clothes every day, I can eat several more bowls of rice every day."
"Take this money and try on the clothes. This color suits you. You're fair-skinned, so any color looks good on you. My cotton-padded jacket is still wearable. Be good and go try it on."
Lin Ruan smiled and refused, saying, "Mom, I've had that cotton-padded jacket of yours for years. I noticed last winter it was already thin and stiff, but I didn't have a job last winter, so I didn't have the conditions to make one for you. Now I have the conditions, and since I made it especially for you, you just have to wait and get warm through the winter. As for me, don't worry, I made two for myself too. They're the same corduroy, but yours is brown and mine is white."
Seeing that Lin Cuilan was about to say something, Lin Ruan waved the money in her hand and said quickly: "I'll take this money, Mom. When I have the chance, I'll make myself a cotton-padded jacket of a different color. Although white looks good, it won't get dirty easily. You can keep yours, okay?"
Seeing Lin Ruan's insistence, Lin Cuilan didn't say anything more. She herself was a person who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. After spending time with Lin Ruan, she also found that Lin Ruan was a perfect complement to her, a person who was gentle on the outside but strong on the inside. As long as Lin Ruan made a decision, she had no choice but to obey.
But that was just her nature. There was no sense of grievance that a mother-in-law like me should listen to her daughter-in-law. She directed all her cruelty at those three ungrateful people. Not long after the ungrateful person Chen Jianguo got married, Liu Mei became pregnant. Chen Jianguo even came to her several times, wanting her to go back and take care of Liu Mei, but she scolded him and sent him away.
She didn't know that the reason they wanted her to go back was because they had their eyes on her money and her job, and they also wanted her to go back and be a housekeeper.
Lin Ruan also knew about Lin Cuilan's character flaws, but she didn't think about asking Lin Cuilan to change. Instead, she kept guiding Lin Cuilan to become more and more dependent on herself in daily life. She enjoyed Lin Cuilan's dependence on her and also enjoyed Lin Cuilan's care for her.