northernbook Chapter 25 Taking a large bowl to Uncle Hai's house to beg for food
Chapter 25 Taking a large bowl to Uncle Hai's house to beg for food
Since eating the childless man's property, Lin Houde felt he had a small fortune and looked down on everyone in the village.
Now that Daya is with Han Tongsheng, a scholar who is destined to become a scholar, and they are just waiting for the two to get married, he will be the scholar's father-in-law. She feels even more different from the other peasants in the village.
He stopped farming and would take his son, Lin Dashan, to teahouses in the county every few days to show off.
Especially after being upset by Lin Chang'er yesterday, he went to the city with Lin Dashan to relax this morning.
They didn't return to Linshui Village until sunset, so they were unaware of Lin Chang'er causing trouble at the Guo family's house at noon.
When he got home, Yang Cuihua had already prepared the meal: a dish of peanuts, a plate of pickles, a plate of stir-fried vegetables with pork cracklings, and a staple food of mixed grain porridge.
It wasn't a lavish meal, but it was quite good for Linshui Village.
Lin Houde hummed a little tune, sipped his wine with peanuts, and seemed to be in a good mood.
Yang Cuihua then asked, "Is there some happy occasion today?"
Lin Houde chuckled, and Lin Dashan chimed in first, "Mother, guess who we saw when we came back?"
Yang Cuihua looked bewildered. "Who?"
Lin Dashan chuckled, "That ingrate Lin Chang'er is raising that little bastard child named Jingzhe, who's with the Gu family's youngest son. He's taking a big bowl to Uncle Hai's house to beg for food!"
When they returned, they happened to see the two children from the Gu family carrying bowls toward Zhou Lizheng's house. What were they doing at this hour if they weren't begging for food?
Yang Cuihua stared in shock, "What?" Begging? Didn't they just extort one or two taels of silver from them yesterday, and now they have to beg for food?
Lin Houde took a sip of his wine and said leisurely, "I told you long ago, the Gu family's bunch of cowards are hopeless, they don't even know how to spend their money."
That brat Lin Chang'er will come begging to us sooner or later.
Yang Cuihua was secretly delighted. She didn't care how the girl ended up begging for food. The more miserable that brat was, the more comfortable she felt.
However, she remembered something else and told him about Lin Chang'er's disturbance at the Guo family at noon.
Lin Dashan then said, "That brat might have gone mad, or maybe she was bitten by a rabid dog? Anyone would dare to bite her."
Lin Houde, however, held his wine glass and pondered for a long while without saying a word.
Yang Cuihua couldn't contain herself any longer, "The head of the household?"
Lin Houde then put down his wine cup and solemnly said, "In my opinion, that girl seems to be possessed. Think about it carefully. She used to be such a delicate and frail young lady, and she would wipe away tears if she raised her voice even slightly."
How could she suddenly change her temperament and become so strong-willed?
Yang Cuihua and Lin Dashan both paused, then nodded in unison.
Yang Cuihua said, "If we're talking about strange things, the strangest thing is that the doctor told us to prepare for the worst, but she not only woke up, she's also lively and energetic. Could it be that she's really possessed by a spirit?"
“Mother is right,” Lin Dashan followed up, “I saw it with my own eyes…”
He suddenly stopped, some images flashed through his mind, and then a chill ran down his spine, as if he had lost his voice.
Seeing his expression, Lin Houde pressed him for details: "What did you see?"
Yang Cuihua also looked at her son expectantly, but Lin Dashan pretended to be stupid and smiled, "What else could it be? He saw that brat Lin Chang'er being carried back by the Gu family like a piece of mud!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Houde glared at his son and said disdainfully, "How pathetic! The person isn't even dead yet, and you're already so frightened."
Yang Cuihua also shook her head, but Lin Dashan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned his head to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
At this moment, Lin Houde said again: "My dear wife, you said that Brother Hai not only made the Guo family, but also the Li family and the Yu family come to apologize in person according to the rules?"
She even said something like, "Should Brother Guo divorce his wife?"
Yang Cuihua nodded and repeated the few words Zhou Hai had said at noon.
Lin Houde paused for a moment, then said, "He would never speak so recklessly under normal circumstances. Is he perhaps influenced by that brat Lin Chang'er?" Otherwise, why would he be so protective of her?
The man with the triangular eyes rolled his eyes and said to Yang Cuihua, "Here's what we'll do: tomorrow, find some time to talk to Sister-in-law Zhou and say... like this..."
After saying that, he turned to his son, Lin Dashan, and said, "You should also talk to Guo Dabao about this."
Yang Cuihua and Lin Dashan readily agreed.
Lin Houde then picked up his wine glass again and took a sip of wine, looking intoxicated, but his eyes were filled with turbulent undercurrents.
He was determined to get revenge on Lin Chang'er for making a huge scene yesterday.
But having already learned his lesson once, he won't be so eager to personally lead the charge again.
Of course, as long as the child's mother conveyed the message to Dashan, he didn't believe that the Zhou and Guo families would remain calm.
Lin Chang'er had no idea that her unscrupulous uncle and aunt were up to something again. While waiting for the two children to return, she delivered some braised pork to the strange old woman next door and borrowed a pair of fire tongs.
Yesterday in the grove of trees, she saw many crab holes, but she didn't bring any tools and was afraid of getting pinched if she tried to use her bare hands, so she didn't do anything.
When I went there again today, I gave the fire tongs at home to my sister-in-law, and I borrowed a pair from outside.
The old woman was a woman of few words. After accepting the gifts and giving her the fire tongs, she saw the guest out.
Everyone has their own attitude towards life, and Lin Chang'er didn't think much of it.
After waiting a while, the two children returned, and the whole family took advantage of the time when the neighbors were eating to set off with their tools.
Originally, the plan was to leave Gu's mother at home to take care of Gu's second sister-in-law.
But Gu Ersao insisted on going with them, saying that she was in good health and it wouldn't be a problem.
Lin Chang'er then privately instructed Gu's mother to keep a close eye on Gu's second sister-in-law.
Mother Gu readily agreed, and when they left, the whole family seemed to be able to make a contribution to the family, their faces beaming with joy.
Gu Xiaoman sat in the basket on his father Gu Erlang's back, waving to Lin Chang'er from time to time and calling out "Auntie".
Gu Xiaolu also sat in the basket, which was carried by Gu Dalang and his wife in turns.
The little goldfish followed its mother on its own, and even helped its mother put the fish into the fish trap along the way.
Lin Chang'er had promised Gu Xiaoman that she would take him to collect duck eggs, so when they arrived at the place, she asked Gu Xiaoman to follow her.
Gu Erlang said, "Third sister-in-law, Xiaoman doesn't know anything, so let your second sister-in-law and mother take him for a walk around the area!"
Gu Xiaoman understood. Afraid that Lin Chang'er would listen to her father's advice and not take him, he puffed out his cheeks and hugged Lin Chang'er's leg, saying, "I want to collect duck eggs with Auntie. Auntie said so."
Lin Chang'er smiled and said, "Second brother, the child is young but understands everything. We can't really treat him like a child!"
"Don't worry about Xiaoman coming with me. Little Goldfish and Gu Xiaolu will help look after her; she won't be in the way."
After saying that, he led a few of the younger ones into the grove of bushes.
As Gu Erlang watched Lin Chang'er's decisive back, with his son's cheerful laughter ringing in his ears, he was filled with mixed emotions.
When he went in, he deliberately lagged behind, waiting until he had some distance from his elder brother and sister-in-law before speaking to his mother, "Mother, I have something I want to discuss with you."
Mother Gu nodded. "Go ahead."
While the mother and son were talking, Lin Chang'er had already started her business.
Gu Silang already had experience, so he and his sister-in-law led the other adults to collect sea duck eggs, while the twins and Gu Xiaoman stayed by her side.
Gu Xiaolu and Gu Xiaoman had such a strong bias towards Lin Chang'er that they couldn't help but cheer.
Aside from needing some common sense and luck to find sea duck eggs, it's really not a technical skill.
Therefore, after searching with Lin Chang'er for a while, the twins and Gu Xiaoman started searching on their own, just like they were doing.
The little goldfish was the luckiest, and soon found a large sea duck egg in the tree hole. Lin Chang'er asked him to put it in his little basket.
Gu Xiaolu was also lucky, finding a medium-sized one in the mud pit.
Gu Xiaoman grew anxious and looked at Lin Chang'er pleadingly, "Auntie..."
Lin Chang'er smiled and said, "Take your time and you'll definitely find it. Our Xiaoman is very capable."
Gu Xiaoman, who was usually very obedient, chuckled and continued working.
Lin Chang'er had just found a crab hole and was using tongs to pull crabs out when she suddenly heard Gu Xiaoman shouting from nearby, "Auntie, Xiaoman found duck eggs! Lots of duck eggs!"