By eleven o’clock in the morning, a few people had trickled in.
The mother and daughter duo managed the outside and inside respectively; though there weren’t many customers, they were kept busy enough.
The next day, which wasn’t market day, there were fewer people. There were more in the morning, mostly townspeople, and only four or five people came for lunch.
On the third day, more people came, and they couldn’t keep up with the demand for dumplings. But there was nothing they could do; they couldn’t afford a refrigerator. Besides, a refrigerator would cost several hundred, and they’d have to go to either the county or provincial city to buy one, and it wasn’t certain they could get it there.
Even though their prices were low and they relied on small profits and quick turnover, after three days, Lin Wan calculated the costs and found they actually made more than ten yuan. They collected a lot of tickets, and just the different kinds alone amounted to about ten. What they desperately needed now were these tickets. When the diners heard that they accepted all kinds of tickets, they brought out extra cloth tickets, sugar tickets, and pastry tickets.
Lin Wan was thrilled to have earned so much in just three days at such low prices, and this greatly motivated Liang Hongmei in her studies.
She specifically went to the stationery shop next to the school to buy a pencil and eraser to practice writing.
In a few days, she had learned a dozen characters. She had to practice writing them down.
Every few days, her brother would come over during his break to visit them and would bring some clothes from home for the mother and daughter.
When Mrs. Lin had come last time, she didn’t bring any change of clothes. Fortunately, the weather was warm then, and the clothes were light, so she could wash them at night and wear them again the next day without delay.
However, the clothes had patches on them here and there.
After Lin Wan saw this, she thought to herself that she should make some clothes for her mother and brother tomorrow.
"Brother, Mom is really enthusiastic now. She doesn’t mind being tired at night and studies writing at the desk like a primary school student. She can recognize dozens of characters now," Lin Wan quietly told Lin Yinghui about their mother’s changes over the past few days, in the shop.
Both were very pleased. "Mom learning is a good thing. When I get back, I’ll ask around the village to see if anyone has old books. I’ll find some for Mom."
"Yeah, brother, the end of the month is coming up. You should start preparing to report to school."
"I know. I’ll start getting ready once I’m done with work over the next few days."
"Brother, just bring some change of clothes from home. Mom and I will buy the rest for you here. I’m not sure if the university will provide bedding."
"The notification didn’t mention it, so we should be prepared ourselves."
"Brother, Mom and I will prepare these things for you."
Lin Yinghui looked at his little sister’s chatter, then suddenly smiled at her, "Little sister has changed."
"How have I changed? Aren’t I still your little sister?" Lin Wan gave her brother a side-eye, denying it with her words.
Having gone through so much, living over fifty years, how could she not change? She was no longer a girl in her teens.
"Yes, yes, still my little sister." Lin Yinghui helped her pick vegetables, smiling indulgently.
Mom said that brother looked like Dad, not only was he handsome, but he also looked good when he smiled.
Mom said Dad was very tall and remarked that the year they got married, he suddenly grew a few inches taller.
When Dad left, she had little impression of him, so whenever Mom showed a nostalgic smile, she and her brother couldn’t comprehend Mom’s feelings.
In their hearts, Dad was just a deserter who abandoned the family!
As September approached, the weather gradually grew colder. The city where her brother was going had very cold winters.
In this era, most people wore blue overcoats; they either had two or four pockets. For girls, it was the kind of loose clothing with flower patterns. Looking out, the streets and alleys were a sea of blue.