The kang (heated brick bed) for left-behind women

Chapter 148 Guilt

Lin Dachun then remembered Li Ruoxue, quickly let go, wiped his face, and said in a hoarse voice, still from crying, "This is... Ruoxue."

Lin Xilei paused for a moment, then reacted, a polite smile appearing on her face. "Hello, Sister Ruoxue. I'm Lin Xilei."

She walked up to Li Ruoxue and extended her hand.

Those hands were fair and slender, with neatly trimmed nails, a stark contrast to Li Ruoxue's rough hands, which were covered in flour from years of hard work.

Li Ruoxue hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron before grasping the hand: "Hello, little sister Xilei."

"Sister, you're so young and beautiful," Lin Xilei said with a smile, her eyes taking in Li Ruoxue's face.

"Come inside, let's talk inside." Lin Dachun walked over, his face still wet with tears, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, like a spring suddenly gushing from a dry well. "Ruoxue, go get some water. Leilei, have a seat."

Lin Dachun pulled Xilei into the cave dwelling.

Lin Xilei put down the canvas bag.

Inside were two packets of pastries, wrapped in oil paper, with the words "Daoxiangcun" printed in red on them—a brand only found in the provincial capital.

Li Ruoxue silently went to the kitchen and poured two bowls of tea.

Lin Dachun and Lin Xilei were already sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Lin Xilei took something out of her canvas bag.

A navy blue Zhongshan suit, two pairs of nylon stockings, both new;

There was also a pink bra.

"Try this on and see if it fits." Lin Xilei unfolded the Zhongshan suit and handed it to Lin Dachun, then handed the underwear to Lin Xilei. "Sister Ruoxue, this underwear is for you. People in the city all wear this style now, they don't wear bellybands anymore."

Lin Dachun took the clothes, his hands trembling slightly.

The fabric was crisp and smooth to the touch, a world apart from the patched-up old jacket he was wearing.

"Where...where did you get the money to buy these?" Lin Dachun asked, his voice filled with heartache.

"I got a job," Lin Xilei said with pride. "At a cotton mill in the provincial capital, I work as a machine operator. My monthly salary is twenty-eight yuan and fifty cents. That's what I saved up."

Twenty-eight yuan and fifty cents.

Li Ruoxue held it awkwardly in her hand, silently calculating in her mind.

She sells tofu, working from dawn till dusk, but she still doesn't earn much money in a month.

"Good, good..." Lin Dachun nodded repeatedly, his eyes welling up with tears again. "You've made something of yourself."

"How long are you staying this time?"

Lin Dachun held Lin Xilei's hand tightly. The last time he saw her, she was only a little over ten years old. Now, she had grown up and transformed from a girl into a graceful woman.

Her once unremarkable figure has now transformed into something like He Xiulan, the widow in the village—large breasts, curvaceous, and very feminine.

Because of the one-child policy, Lin Xilei grew up in other families.

"Not necessarily, maybe I'll just stay for a short time. After all, I've never lived with you before. You've been good to me and come to see me often, so I wanted to get to know you better. I heard there was a problem at home," Lin Xilei said with concern.

Lin Dachun sighed. This girl is so sensible.

"I'm sorry, I feel guilty. I went to see you before, but then some things happened at home, and I lost contact with you. I went to the city a few times, but I couldn't find you. I felt terrible." Lin Dachun felt that the person he felt most sorry for was this girl.

"It's okay, I understand. I've grown up and become more sensible." Lin Xilei held Lin Dachun's hand tightly and said sensibly and obediently.

Lin Dachun felt that his life was still good after all. Although his son had passed away, Ruoxue and Xilei were both very sensible.