Around six o’clock, Mom came to the store after school. Lin Wan spoke with her, took a fish from the shop, and bought a chicken at the market. Then, she went to Grandma’s house.
When Lin Wan arrived, Hu Lijuan and Tan Aixiang were cooking in the kitchen.
Hu Dong was helping Grandma watch the front outside, while Grandma was playing with Little Daming in the living room.
Seeing Lin Wan coming, Tan Aixiang and Hu Lijuan hurriedly came out.
"Why are you here at this time? You haven’t eaten yet, right? Perfect timing, stay for dinner."
"It’s really troublesome for you, Saozi. Let’s hurry and cook these, or they’ll spoil easily."
"If you’re coming, just come. Why bring these things? They’re hard to store in the summer. Don’t waste them in the future," Tan Aixiang said kindly, accepting the items with a smile and inviting Lin Wan to cool off in the living room.
Lin Wan agreed and went to the living room herself. This place used to be her home, and now, in just a few days, it had become someone else’s. She was immensely grateful she had bought a house in advance; otherwise, how would she accommodate this situation?
"It’s so hot. Don’t run back and forth so often. Now Bo Xu has moved back here to live, and your mom is here too. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m more concerned about you living alone over there."
"Grandma, I’m doing well, don’t worry. Anyway, I have to go to the store every day, so it’s on the way here. Have you had medicinal baths these days?" Lin Wan looked at the child in the cradle, pinched its plump little face lightly. The little one didn’t get upset and seemed lively.
"Yes, Lijuan helps me every day. Is it alright living over there? Your mom and Aunt Jin came back the day before yesterday, and they said the house you bought is very nice and has a big yard."
"The house is very nice, but Grandma hasn’t seen the place yet. When should I take Grandma to stay for a few days?"
"Okay, Xiao Yi has a new house; I really should go check it out. I’ll stay over for a couple of days when the weather gets cooler."
Although Han Ying said not to trouble Lin Wan with running back and forth, she was still very happy to see her.
After talking with Grandma for a while, Lin Wan went to the kitchen to help. Tan Aixiang cleaned and stewed the chicken. She fried the fish until crispy, so it could be made into braised fish in a couple of days.
If Lin Wan didn’t come, their meal would be simple: coarse corn porridge, two cold dishes, and a bowl of salty pickled vegetables. The mantou was steamed with cornmeal by Hu Lijuan.
Tan Aixiang’s breastmilk was very nutritious, so there was no need for special supplements. Caring for a child was exhausting. Except for not being able to get up early in the morning, Grandma didn’t have to help with diapers, cooking, or anything else at other times.
After dinner was ready, Shen Boxu and Shen Qing gradually returned home.
Shen Boxu felt guilty about the incident, always feeling he owed Han Yi and Lin Wan.
During dinner, the couple was very enthusiastic toward her. Lin Wan acted generously, trying to ease their guilt, otherwise, she would feel embarrassed. Moreover, this house was originally theirs; strictly speaking, she and Han Yi were just temporary residents.
Knowing that her home was far away, her mother-in-law insisted on Lin Wan taking the bicycle back when she left.
Lin Wan pretended she needed to go back to the store to ride the tricycle and left in a hurry.
It took Lin Wan more than forty minutes to walk from there to her home. Luckily, there were quite a few pedestrians on the road; otherwise, she would have felt frightened.
For the next two days, Lin Wan didn’t go to the store; she stayed at home reading books and practicing drawing.
At this time, there wasn’t as much variety in painting materials as there was later.
Most were ink brushes, colored pencils, and Chinese paintings.
Lin Wan’s specialty was using markers, but she didn’t have them then; she used Chinese painting pigment powder, which could also create gouache paintings.
A set of paints cost two yuan at school. Lin Wan had a set.
At that time, many art supply factories probably had oil paints, but they were too far away to obtain them. Besides, she was studying fashion design, so colored pencils were adequate.
Lin Wan’s learning of Chinese painting was purely a personal hobby.
In the past two days, besides painting, Lin Wan read books and researched clothing styles.