Chapter 145 - Epilogue 2: Take it easy, things will only get better.
Lin Chuntao suddenly brought it up, and Pei Ying was stunned for a moment, her eyes darting around as she pursed her lips uncertainly.
How could he possibly explain this? He wasn't frightened, but he was shocked.
He looked at Lin Chuntao and was unsure of her meaning. Should she tell him, or should he let it pass in confusion?
Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Lin Chuntao said to herself, "Anyone who sees this will find it unbelievable. I don't necessarily want to hide it, but I feel that even if I explain it, people might not understand."
“You and my sisters are my closest and most trusted people. I feel at ease telling you this, but my sisters are too young to understand. Besides, children tend to keep their mouths shut. If they tell anyone, the villagers might think I'm some kind of mountain monster.”
Pei Ying sensed that Lin Chuntao's words implied she was telling him something, so he chimed in, "We've been together for so long, you're my wife, a living, breathing person, definitely not some kind of mountain spirit."
"It's just that my wife knows how to make so many things, and she has never done them before. She can cook without any teacher. But I have eaten a lot of steamed buns, and countless steamed bun vendors cannot make steamed buns without a sour taste. Only my wife can make them."
Lin Chuntao nodded and said to Pei Ying, "I jumped into a lake once before, and when I was rescued, I inexplicably had something on my body. This thing is ethereal and invisible to everyone, and I can't explain it. This thing won't harm me; on the contrary, I can occasionally get things out of it."
"The stuff in the porcelain bottle, was it extracted from there?" Pei Ying asked.
Lin Chuntao nodded. "Yes."
Pei Ying still had some doubts: even if things could appear out of thin air, how did Lin Chuntao know what these things were for, or whether they could be used?
Since they had been having a frank conversation, Pei Ying asked the question as well.
After saying this, Lin Chuntao remained silent for a moment before replying, "Do you believe in another world?"
Pei Ying frowned. He didn't quite understand, but he had heard the saying that there are always people more capable than you.
Lin Chuntao said, "A world completely different from ours today, all these things come from that place."
Pei Ying asked, "Including you, right?"
Lin Chuntao didn't say yes or no, but her silence spoke volumes.
Lin Chuntao said, "Many things are perhaps just fate, and I have no power to change them. All I can do is live my life to the fullest and cherish the people around me."
Cherish the people in front of you. Pei Ying's lips twitched slightly. He smiled and looked back at the ginger soup on the cabinet. He reached out to test the temperature of the bowl and then brought it over.
"It's not hot anymore, get up and drink it before going back to sleep."
Lin Chuntao got up, drank some ginger tea, and lay back down. Pei Ying didn't ask about the other world. The two chatted about family matters for a while and then went to sleep.
The next day, the first day of the Lunar New Year, is for getting up early to eat sweet soup with eggs.
Children in every household who love to sleep in will get up early, afraid that if they get up late, the adults will eat their eggs.
Although Lin Chuntao's stomach didn't hurt much, her lower back was sore and uncomfortable.
Pei Ying got up early to start a fire and cook sweet soup with eggs.
Lin Chunxing and her sisters got up and came out. They immediately saw that the kitchen door across the street was open. They thought Lin Chuntao was making sweet eggs and skipped over. Before they even entered the house, they called out, "Sister, you're up so early?"
After they finished speaking, the sisters went into the kitchen and saw Pei Ying standing in front of the stove, cracking eggs into the pot.
"Brother-in-law!" Lin Chunxing said, "I thought it was my sister who got up."
Pei Ying said, "Your sister has an upset stomach and is still asleep, so I'll cook for you."
Upon hearing that her sister was unwell, Lin Chunxing and the others' expressions changed drastically. Pei Ying quickly said, "It's nothing, don't worry."
Knowing that Lin Chuntao was still asleep, Lin Chunxing and the others didn't want to go inside and disturb her.
Pei Ying said, "Go wash up, and you can eat when you come back."
The younger sister carried a basin to the backyard to wash up, only to find a bed sheet hanging there. Lin Chunxing seemed to suddenly realize something, and her worries lessened considerably.
When Pei Ying returned from washing up, the sweet egg soup was already cooked. He brought the bowls and chopsticks to the table, ladled a bowl for Lin Chuntao, and seeing his sisters come in, he said, "Chunxing, you can ladle a few for yourselves. I'll take two to your sister first, and if she's still hungry, I'll cook more."
Lin Chunxing nodded in agreement, "Okay."
Lin Chuntao was awakened by the smell of sweet egg soup. When she opened her eyes, she saw Pei Ying standing in front of her bed with a steaming bowl of eggs. She yawned and stretched.
"What time is it?"
“It’s just dawn,” Pei Ying said. “I’ve made some sweet egg soup. Get up and eat two before you go back to sleep.”
Lin Chuntao shifted her body slightly. Thankfully, her stomach didn't hurt. She smiled and said, "My back is a little uncomfortable, but it's not like I can't get out of bed. Take this to the kitchen and boil some hot water for me to wash up. I'll get up and eat."
Pei Ying did as she was told, and then helped her adjust the temperature of the water for washing her face.
After finishing her chores, Lin Chuntao went to wash her face. Seeing that Lin Chuntao had gotten up, Lin Chunxing and the others were also waiting for her to have breakfast together.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and everyone is not working.
After breakfast, the sisters went out to play, while Lin Chuntao went back to her room to sleep.
In Yizhou, there is a custom that the food made on New Year's Eve must also be made for New Year's Day. It is said that one meal is enough for two years. No new dishes are made on New Year's Day. The food made yesterday is just heated up and eaten. So there is nothing to do on New Year's Day. Lin Chunxing felt a little uncomfortable and came back after playing outside for a while.
I rested on the first day of the Lunar New Year and visited relatives on the second day. As planned, I got up early and went to my uncle's house. I had lunch at my uncle's house before going to the county town.
When Pei's parents learned that Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying had come, they were overjoyed. Qin Suyun invited Chunxing and Duo'er to sit down and eat candy. Pei's mother happily took Lin Chuntao's arm.
Upon learning that Pei Ying had arrived, his two uncles and aunts came quickly, warmly holding Lin Chuntao's hands. Lin Chuntao responded with a few words before Qin Suyun pulled her away.
Knowing that they had to go back, Pei's mother ate dinner early, and after dinner, Lin Chuntao and the others went home.
When they returned to the village, the sun had not yet fully set.
As soon as they arrived at the village entrance, they encountered Lin Jiaye and his group running wildly along the edge of the fields. Upon seeing Lin Chuntao, they obediently called out "Sister," and Lin Chuntao responded. Lin Chunxing asked about Lin Qingqing, and Lin Jiaye said, "She should be at Aunt Guizhi's house. There are a lot of people at Aunt Guizhi's house today."
Lin Chuntao frowned slightly. "What happened?"
Lin Jiaye said, "Shui Lian's former mother-in-law and husband's family came, and her brother also came with his wife and children. They were arguing fiercely."
Lin Chuntao: "..."
Are you crazy? Coming to someone's door to argue on the second day of the Lunar New Year?
Lin Chuntao didn't go home; she went straight to Aunt Guizhi's house.
Lin Shuilian's former mother-in-law was much better than when Lin Chuntao last saw her; at least she wasn't as pale as before, but she was skin and bones. As for her ex-husband, he was still lying on a bamboo frame and had to be carried over.
Lin Chuntao met for the first time Guizhi's ungrateful son, who disliked his parents. He was with his plump wife, two children, and a few unfamiliar faces. They were all gathered at the gate of Guizhi's house.
The surrounding area was also filled with villagers, all watching the excitement.
Lin Shuilian's mother-in-law knelt down and begged Lin Shuilian to take the child back home, promising to treat her and the child well in the future. Guizhi's son said that he had grown up and it was time to repay the kindness of Guizhi and the others, and that he would come back to take care of them in the future.
Aunt Guizhi had long given up on his filial piety. Ever since Lin Shuilian's accident, all she wanted was for Lin Shuilian to be well. Now, her husband, daughter, and two other children were living a comfortable life and she didn't expect any filial piety from her son.
Today, the two groups met and wanted Lin Shuilian to go back. Aunt Guizhi refused to agree no matter what. When she refused, that shameless old woman knelt down at her door and made a scene.
Her son, who was going home to take care of her, also spoke up, saying that Lin Shuilian, a girl, couldn't stay at home forever. Since her in-laws still wanted her, they might as well send her back.
Aunt Guizhi said, "Where she stays is none of your business. Go back to your home. I don't need your filial piety."
At this point, the villagers still felt it was a good thing. After all, it was their son, and his return would bring honor to the family. They even wanted to persuade Aunt Guizhi. But the next moment, the son said, "You gave birth to me, so you have to raise me. You haven't taken care of me at all these years. You can refuse to let me into the house, but give the work that Lin Shuilian did to Xifen."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Guizhi suddenly realized that her son's desire to come back and take care of them was nothing more than a wish that he could earn money after hearing that they were able to work here.
Aunt Guizhi's heart, which had been dead for many years, was pierced once again. She calmly looked at the son and said, "It is true that I should raise you after giving birth to you, but ask all the uncles and aunts here, ask them if they need to raise a son who does not recognize his parents?"
Aunt Guizhi still gets along well with the villagers. Those who know what happened back then would think that this child is an ingrate, but looking at her now, she hasn't changed at all.
Lin Cunzheng said, "Jiahuai, you were the one who didn't acknowledge your parents back then. You went and acknowledged other people as your parents, so you can't blame them for that."
Lin Jiahuai was the name given to him by Uncle Dashan, but he later changed his name to Li Jiaheng.
Hearing Lin Cunzheng's words, Li Jiaheng raised his voice and said, "I was young then. Does that mean we can just let a child do whatever he wants? If your child says he doesn't need you to raise him, you just stop raising him?"
Grandma Sun looked at his resentful expression and sneered.
“When our children say they don’t need us to take care of them or raise them, it’s just something they said in anger, because they won’t run off to find someone else to be their parents. But you’re different; you’re serious and want to change your parents.”
Seeing that everyone was speaking up for Aunt Guizhi and the others, the elderly woman behind Li Jiaheng spoke up.
“Guizhi, we are all family. At first, you let the child stay with us temporarily. We did our best to care for him and treated him like our own son. Who knew that the child would develop feelings for us when he was young? We raised him to adulthood and he is now married with children. He wants to come back and take care of you as a parent. It is the child’s heartfelt wish.”
Aunt Guizhi looked at the woman who was speaking and said, "You used to be my cousin, and we were family, but that was in the past. We stopped being family many years ago, so there's no need for any sentiments or filial piety now!"
After Aunt Guizhi finished speaking, she looked at Li Jiaheng and said coldly, "If you want Shuilian to give you the work she's doing now, don't even think about it, it's not your turn!"
Lin Chuntao stood on the outside listening intently, her brows furrowed.
Shamelessness knows no bounds. They came to our door on the second day of the Lunar New Year, taking advantage of the fact that everyone dislikes arguing and fighting during the holiday, thinking that the matter would just be over.
Chen Dongniang turned around and saw her, calling out, "Chuntao, you're back?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Auntie, I just got back. What's going on? I overheard something about Sister Shuilian's work."
Chen Dongniang said, "Oh dear, how am I supposed to explain this to you? Your aunt had a son before, but he later recognized someone else as his parents. This year, he said he wants to come back and be your aunt's son, and asks your aunt to give him Sister Shuilian's job."
Lin Chuntao said, "What's going on? My sister Shuilian is doing a great job, and no one else can replace her! I don't agree to let someone else do it."
"Who do you think you are, disagreeing with me! You're just a young girl, is this your family's business to you to interrupt? Didn't your parents teach you that children shouldn't interrupt adults?"
The woman who had just spoken glared fiercely at Lin Chuntao, but Lin Chuntao was not angry and just smiled. The eldest mistress, Madam Sun, who was standing in front, immediately frowned when she heard the woman scolding Lin Chuntao.
"It's not her family's business, but she's the one who pays the wages. You guys still want to covet Shui Lian's job? Go back to your pipe dreams! Li family, back then you couldn't have children, so you forcibly stole Lin family's baby. Gui Zhi and the others are kind enough not to beat you to death, and you still have the nerve to show your face?"
The woman had never seen Lin Chuntao before, nor did she know that Lin Chuntao was the boss who had been doing the work for everyone. She just thought that Lin Chuntao was a young girl who didn't know her own limitations. She could scold her and boost morale. They had been waiting here for most of the day. Guizhi was blocking the gate and not letting them in. The sun was about to set. If they couldn't get any results soon, they couldn't just stay here overnight, could they?
Who would have thought that her one harsh word would offend the very person she shouldn't have offended?
Just as she was about to grin and ease the tension, Lin Chuntao called out to Aunt Guizhi, "Auntie, call my uncle and Sister Shuilian over to come over and have some melon seeds."
Aunt Guizhi didn't want to go, but Lin Chuntao came to their rescue, and the people didn't dare to crowd around Lin Chuntao's house.
She replied with a smile, "Okay, I'll call you Uncle Dashan."
Aunt Guizhi went back into the house and called Uncle Dashan and the old lady. Lin Shuilian also took the two children out of the house.
When Lin Shuilian's mother-in-law saw Lin Shuilian come out, she rushed forward but was stopped by Lin Shuilian's grandmother. The old lady knelt in front of Lin Shuilian and begged her, saying that the child could not be without a father and that Shuilian could not be so heartless.
Lin Shuilian was mute and couldn't speak, and just as Sixth Grandma was about to speak, Lin Hu interrupted her.
“Go back. We don’t have a father who wants to beat us to death. You have no right to call my mother heartless. If I were my mother, I would kill everyone who bullied and beat me and throw them into the latrine. That would be heartless!”
"Didn't you want my father to marry a rich girl and have a good son for him? Did she run away? That's karma!"
"I'm telling you today, my sister and I both have the surname Lin, and we have absolutely no relation to anyone with the surname Tian!"
After he finished speaking, he looked at Tian Xiang lying on the stretcher with disgust and frowned. "Useless trash, he's disgusting to look at!"
After saying that, he went over and pulled Lin Shuilian and her sister, saying, "Let's go."
Lin Hu was a man of few words. After Lin Shuilian returned, some of the village children would mock him and his sister. Apart from taking good care of his sister and helping his grandfather with chores, he rarely said anything. This was the first time he had ever seen the child get angry.
Lin Shuilian and her group walked in front, while Aunt Guizhi brought up the rear. She looked at the two groups of people in front of her and said, "I've said everything I needed to say today. If you still want to make trouble, then none of us will have an easy time!"
When Aunt Guizhi and the others arrived at Lin Chuntao's house, the villagers dispersed, and the two families, seeing no hope, left dejectedly.
Besides Aunt Guizhi, Grandma, Chen Dongniang, and Madam Hu all came to the house and sat down to chat for a while.
Everyone comforted Aunt Guizhi, who said, "I used to feel that my family was too small and that we were bullied, but seeing everyone helping me today makes me feel much better and I feel relieved."
Grandma patted her on the shoulder and laughed, "We're not only neighbors, but also family. Don't overthink it."
"Besides, you've been acquainted with Jialang for a while now, didn't he even buy you New Year's goods?"
Speaking of Lin Jialang, he made some money from making charcoal. Before the Lunar New Year, he bought some snacks and candies, one for his great-grandmother's family, one for Aunt Guizhi's family, and one for Lin Chuntao and the others. Lin Chuntao also gave Xiao Dujuan and Xiao Mengyue lucky money after receiving the gifts.
Grandma said, "Our whole family should just relax and live our lives with peace of mind. Things will only get better from now on."
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