Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart-Chapter 645 - 644: Repay the Money

Lin Nianhe still hadn’t figured out where to find sparring partners for Zheng Shan when two unexpected yet unsurprising visitors showed up.

"Teacher Lin,"

After school, as Lin Nianhe was still grading homework in the classroom, Shen Cailan came in holding her mother’s hand into the second-grade classroom, followed by Yang Daniu and his wife.

"Huh? Auntie, Brother Yang, Sister-in-law, what brings you here?"

Lin Nianhe was preoccupied with matching errors to students and didn’t catch on immediately.

"Teacher Lin," Cailan’s mother spoke as a representative for both families, "We’ve come to repay the money."

With that, she handed over a small red cloth bundle clenched in her palm.

Sister-in-law Yang, following suit with a nod, eyes tinged red, passed over a similar red cloth bundle.

Lin Nianhe was momentarily stunned before she recalled what money the two families were repaying.

The money for the hearing aids.

She had not expected that within a year, both families had managed to save enough money.

Especially Cailan’s mother, who had struggled through the year with three children on her own.

She didn’t refuse, even though two hundred yuan meant little to her now.

She smiled, took the cloth bundles, ruffled Shen Cailan’s hair, and asked, "How’s Yumin been lately?"

"All is well, all is well," Sister-in-law Yang nodded repeatedly, her nose souring as her eyes reddened further, "Teacher Lin, thank you... I, I don’t even know what to say, if it weren’t for you, our Yumin’s life would have been over... "

Shen Cailan also couldn’t help shedding tears, reaching out to grasp Lin Nianhe’s hand.

Lin Nianhe wrapped an arm around Shen Cailan’s shoulder, and with her other hand, she patted Sister-in-law Yang’s shoulder: "Don’t cry, aunt, it’s all right as long as the child is fine."

"Yes, yes, it’s a joyous occasion," Yang Daniu’s eyes were also slightly moist.

Lin Nianhe changed the subject, turning to Cailan’s mother and saying, "Auntie, I heard from Teacher Miao and Teacher Wang that Cailan is doing very well in her studies, and so is your second son. You will be blessed in the future."

Cailan’s mother, dabbing her eyes, nodded: "Yes, the children are a comfort. As long as they can study, I will support them no matter what!"

"Indeed, a few tough years and it will get better once the children grow up," Lin Nianhe chimed in, then addressing Yang Daniu’s couple, who had calmed down, she said, "Brother Yang, Sister-in-law, don’t mind my meddling, but since Yumin started speaking late, you both should teach him more at home, otherwise, he might fall behind when it’s time for school."

"No, no, not at all," Sister-in-law Yang said while waving her hand, "Teacher Lin, you want what’s best for Yumin, I know... it’s just that the two of us only attended the literacy class for a few days, we don’t really know how to teach him..."

Before Lin Nianhe could offer advice, Cailan’s mother interjected: "Let Yumin come over to our place. He can learn along with our little Xiaoxiao when Cailan teaches him to recognize characters."

Having spoken, Cailan’s mother blushed slightly, then added a line: "By following the book, you can’t really teach it wrong."

"That would be wonderful! Cailan is such a good student, and I was just worried about her homework being interrupted..."

"There’s no trouble with that, herding one sheep is the same as herding two..."

As they conversed spiritedly, Lin Nianhe decided not to interrupt, quietly listening with a smile on her lips.

With the vigorous development of two factories, the villagers’ lives improved significantly, and the frequency of squabbles over trivial matters decreased—after all, instead of bickering, it was better to do more casual work and earn more money!

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

...

This year’s winter was exceptionally cold, and almost every morning Lin Nianhe had to knock away the ice sealing the door cracks with the door bolt in order to push the door open.

A few times, the door bolt was even frozen to the door.

She didn’t suffer much though—with no one visiting in the winter evenings, she could confidently use the heater. The room was small, and two heaters were enough to maintain an indoor temperature of about twenty-five degrees, which was quite comfortable.

Night after night quietly slipped away amid the sound of snow and the flipping of book pages in tranquility.

Zheng Shan really found her interest; once the little girl finished her homework, she would look for Wen Lan. Sometimes, when Wen Lan was busy, she would play against the wall by herself.

Wang Dong indeed was very interested in being her sparring partner, but unfortunately, whenever Zheng Shan heard his voice, she would run off, unstoppable.

Apart from the occasional windless days, Zheng Shan most of the time played table tennis indoors.

Fortunately, this sport doesn’t require a lot of space; a makeshift table could be formed by putting two tables together.

Perhaps sports really could heal one’s mood; Zheng Shan’s expression gradually relaxed, and she smiled more and more frequently.

Lin Nianhe saw it all and was always thinking about how to find a sparring partner for the young girl...

She did want to organize a "Lan County Table Tennis Championship," but who would have the leisure to join a sports meeting in the cold depths of winter?

Even Wang Xiao didn’t have the courage to blindly praise her idea, and suggested she refrain from making suggestions for now.

Unable to do anything else, Lin Nianhe, worried that Zheng Shan would become depressed again without a playmate, fetched an unmarked table tennis racket from the space and gave it to her.

Upon receiving this gift, Zheng Shan’s eyes shone like stars.

Yet she didn’t dare to use it, only taking it out every day to look and touch, and placing it by her pillow when she slept, she could have sweet dreams all night.

"Hezi! You better think of something fast, I really can’t beat Shanshan at all now!"

One day, Wen Lan found Lin Nianhe, shaking her arm for help: "I never want to play table tennis again in my life!"

Lin Nianhe, feeling a bit dizzy from the shaking, broke free from Wen Lan’s arm, somewhat in disbelief: "Sister Lan, are you sure? You two have only been playing for just over half a month, right?"

"Yes!" Wen Lan equally couldn’t believe it, "I don’t know what happened, but I just can’t beat her!"

As she spoke, she patted her chest as if she had survived a disaster: "It’s a good thing this kid is young, otherwise she would wear me to death!"

Seeing that Sister Lan was truly in a state of almost going insane at the touch of a paddle, Lin Nianhe had to make a decision—

"Shanshan, do you want to find more skilled people to play with?" Lin Nianhe asked.

"Yes!" Zheng Shan nodded without hesitation.

"Then take your racket. For this month’s exams, I’ll allow you to take them later. During those exam days, we’ll go to the provincial city together."

"Okay."

On December 1st, 1976, Lin Nianhe, with two letters of introduction, and Zheng Shan, carrying her new table tennis racket, boarded the train to the provincial city together.

They had no idea where this road would lead, they just wanted to preserve that smile.

"Teacher Lin, I... am a bit scared."

Standing at the entrance of the provincial city table tennis team’s training arena, Zheng Shan tightly gripped Lin Nianhe’s hand.

"Don’t be scared. They’re all professional athletes; we’re just here to play ball with them," Lin Nianhe encouraged, "Shanshan, this is just a game, just like the games you play with Teacher Wen."

Zheng Shan licked her lips, didn’t speak, but pressed herself closer to Lin Nianhe.

Lin Nianhe squatted down and held her shoulders.

"Shanshan, listen."

"Hmm?"

"These ping pongs, the sounds of the table tennis, you like them, right?"

"Hmm... I like them."

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆novelkiss