The Lin family's ancestral home is a large quadrangle with five courtyards extending east and west.
It was Su Ling's first time here, and he was truly amazed to see such a large and well-preserved house. Having lived through that era, the Lin clan had actually managed to preserve their ancestral home intact, which was truly remarkable.
Because there are many courtyards, many people live in them. Mrs. Lin passed away early, and Mr. Lin lived alone in the quiet courtyard of the main house. The others were arranged according to seniority. Lin Feng was the grandson, and he was Lin Lihong's son in his old age. The other courtyards had been allocated long ago, leaving only the four-courtyard in the west wing for him. The layout was a bit small, but a small garden was built in the fifth courtyard behind it, with rockery and rocks, a small pond and a small bridge. The scenery was much more beautiful than that of other courtyards.
The car stopped in the parking lot in front of the ancestral home. People who had been working in the yard for a long time came forward to greet them. When they learned that the head of this generation had returned, they all looked respectful and enthusiastically helped unload the luggage.
When I opened the trunk of the car, I was stunned to see it was filled with rice bags and tea boxes.
Lin Feng was carrying a small suitcase and standing by the car with Su Ling. Seeing the staff's confusion, he said, "These are the rice and tea leaves that Su Ling grew in the countryside. He brought them back specially for Grandpa's birthday to share with everyone."
The staff was even more shocked when they heard this, and looked at Su Ling who was standing next to Lin Feng in disbelief.
Mr. Su, who is fair-skinned and well-mannered, actually went to the countryside to farm?
Isn’t it unbelievable?
Su Ling said modestly: "Actually, the villagers helped to plant it, and I just helped out."
He spoke calmly, but the surprise in the staff's eyes lingered for a long time. Given Mr. Su's status and position, his willingness to go to the countryside was unexpected enough.
The staff carried rice and tea leaves into the yard, going back and forth several times, attracting the curiosity of others.
Su Ling and Lin Feng entered the courtyard and walked a long way to the fourth courtyard in the west wing. Although no one had lived here for a long time, it was usually cleaned. Today, when they learned that they had returned, Aunt Zhou, who took care of the yard, tidied the house early.
In modern times, even the oldest courtyards have been equipped with modern facilities such as water, electricity, coal, air conditioning, refrigerators, televisions, etc.
There was a kitchen in the yard. Aunt Zhou cooked sweet-scented osmanthus dumplings and waited for Su Ling and Lin Feng to arrive, just in time to start eating.
Su Ling was not used to it for a while after not coming back. He sat in the restaurant and ate dumplings quietly.
The glutinous rice balls are delicious, glutinous but not greasy. With a light bite, the thick sesame filling flows out. It tastes fragrant and sweet in the mouth, and paired with the sweet-scented osmanthus soup, it is very satisfying.
"Mr. Su looks thinner than before the New Year," said Aunt Zhou.
"Huh? No?" Su Ling put down the spoon and touched his cheek, "Maybe I had a little baby fat before?"
Lin Feng looked up at him and said, "You've indeed lost weight. You were sick a while ago."
Aunt Zhou heard this and asked worriedly, "Why are you sick? Are you feeling better now?"
Su Ling said hurriedly: "It's fine, it's fine now! It's just a common cold and fever, it will be fine after taking medicine."
Under the table, he stepped on Lin Feng's leather shoes.
How could he just casually bring up something like being fucked until he had a fever? If Aunt Zhou got to the bottom of it, wouldn't he be so embarrassed that he'd dig a hole in the ground with his toes?
Hearing that he had recovered, Aunt Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You should all take care of your health. You can't take advantage of your youth to do whatever you want. If you overdraw your health now, you will have to pay it back in the future."
"Yes, yes, I understand, Aunt Zhou." Su Ling bit the spoon and nodded obediently. He was handsome, with beautiful eyes, and was especially lovable when he acted cute. Aunt Zhou looked at him with a kind look.
She has worked in the Lin family for thirty years, and she is in charge of all the affairs of the west wing. Lin Feng almost grew up under her care, and she has always loved him like her own child. After Su Ling came, she loved him as much as she loved the whole family, and she took care of him equally.
It’s a pity that the young people are not used to living in the old house and like to move out. They only see each other a few times a year. It’s a rare occasion that they come back today, and Aunt Zhou is trying various ways to be nice to them.
After eating the dumplings, the two went to the main courtyard to visit the old man.
The old man is old and loves quietness. The yard he lives in is not big, but the layout is elegant. The yard is full of flowers, plants and trees, and there is a pond of koi in the corner. The old man’s daily pleasure is to make a pot of tea, sit by the stone table and watch and feed the fish.
When Su Ling and Lin Feng arrived, he was throwing a handful of fish food into the pond. Hundreds of koi gathered in one place, sparkling red light and rippling water. It was so lively that the old man laughed happily.
Seeing Lin Feng holding Su Ling's hand and entering the yard, the old man threw all the fish food in his hand into the pond, clapped his hands, and looked at them kindly.
"Are you back?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes, grandpa." Lin Feng said respectfully.
"Hello, Grandpa." Su Ling greeted politely.
"Okay, okay, come and sit down." The old man invited them to sit together at the stone table. He was in his nineties, with all white hair, beard and eyebrows. He was thin but healthy. He was also a handsome guy when he was young. He had more wrinkles as he got older, but his eyes were still bright.
After the two of them sat down, he shouted into the room with full energy: "Xiao Zhang, Xiao Zhang——"
"Hey, here they come!" A middle-aged man ran out of the room, holding a plate of cherries. It was Zhang Yuan, the nutritionist who usually took care of the old man. His eyes lit up at the two young men at the stone table, and he smiled, "Hey, Xiao Feng and Xiao Ling are here? Let's try these red lantern cherries together. They're big and sweet."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhang." Su Ling took one politely.
"Xiao Zhang, go and make another pot of tea." The old man said.
"I'll go right away." Zhang Yuan put down the cherries, picked up the teapot and teacup on the table, and went back to the house to make tea again.
The old man wiped his fingers with a wet wipe, picked up a cherry, put it in his mouth, tasted the sweetness, and nodded with satisfaction.
"You two should eat too, don't just sit there and watch." He urged the two young men.
"I'm eating, Grandpa." Su Ling took a cherry and handed it to Lin Feng. Lin Feng ate it directly from his hand, and his lips touched Su Ling's fingertips intentionally or unintentionally.
Su Ling glared at him. "Be more restrained in front of the old man!"
Lin Feng remained calm, picked a big cherry and fed it to Su Ling.
Su Ling was in a dilemma as to whether to eat or not, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
The old man was quite pleased to see the two children being so affectionate, and he wasn't as prejudiced against his grandson's wife as others. After all, he was old enough to have seen all sorts of ups and downs. When his grandson wanted to marry a man, he was opposed by all the uncles. Only he had called Su Ling over to chat with him. After a few words, he understood his character and found that he was a good boy with deep feelings for his grandson, so he agreed to their marriage.
Although there was no grand wedding banquet outside, a grand Chinese-style wedding was held at the Lin family's ancestral home, and the Lin family members were invited to drink and feast.
Su Ling and the old man have a common language.
The old man likes to collect calligraphy and paintings, especially the paintings of Master Zhang Qianyi. When he learned that Su Ling was Zhang Qianyi's last disciple, he was so happy that he started chatting with him very enthusiastically.
Seeing that the old man really liked the teacher's paintings, Su Ling went to the teacher to get a painting and gave it to the old man. The old man was so happy that he smiled like a child.
"I heard that your teacher held an art exhibition recently?" asked the old man.
"Yes, it was held at the JSK Convention and Exhibition Center four days ago. I took a video. Grandpa, do you want to see it?" Su Ling took out his mobile phone and opened the photo album.
"I want to watch it, of course I want to watch it." The old man took the video that Su Ling opened and watched it with relish.
Su Ling shot three short videos in total, each video was more than ten minutes long. The art student had a strong shooting angle, and each painting was captured clearly, beautifully and grandly.
The old man looked at it for a while, put down his phone, and rubbed his eyes. "I'm old and can't see clearly."
Su Ling said: "It's because the phone is small and it's not convenient to read."
Zhang Yuan brewed some fresh tea and placed it gently on the stone table. Overhearing their conversation, he poured the tea while saying, "There's an iPad in the room. It has a big screen and can see clearly."
Lin Feng stood up: "Where is it? I'll get it."
Zhang Yuan said, "It's on the bedside table in the old man's room. He was secretly watching TV series until eleven last night, and I caught him."
The old man said unhappily, "Is that what you call peeking?"
Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Yes, yes, you are looking at it openly."
The old man picked up the teacup, blew on it, took a sip, and looked very proud.
Zhang Yuan didn't argue with him. As people get older, their tempers become more and more like those of children. Most of the time, you have to go along with what they say, otherwise, when they get angry, it's hard to stop them.
Lin Feng went into the house and took out the IPAD. Su Ling transferred the video to him, and the big screen was indeed clear.
"Wow, Master Zhang is indeed worthy of his name. His paintings are truly magnificent," the old man muttered as he admired the paintings. "I wanted to go see them in person, but they said I'm approaching my ninetieth birthday and can't go anywhere. I'm stuck in this little courtyard and get bored every day. I missed Master Zhang's exhibition for nothing."
Seeing that he was watching intently, the others didn't disturb him and sat beside him drinking tea and eating cherries. When the old man had watched enough, he finally put down his IPAD with a look of satisfaction.
"When will your teacher hold his next art exhibition?" he asked Su Ling.
"It's hard to say." Su Ling said, "But next time the teacher holds an art exhibition, I will tell you in advance."
The old man nodded repeatedly. "Tell me half a month in advance."
Su Ling replied: "Yes."
After drinking tea, the old man said he was tired and wanted to go into the house to lie down. Su Ling and Lin Feng helped him in, and then they left. Zhang Yuan sent them to the gate of the courtyard.
After visiting the old man, the next step is naturally to visit my parents-in-law.
Lin Lihong is the eldest son and lives in the middle of the main courtyard. On the old man’s birthday, the task of entertaining guests fell on him and Rong Siqiu.
When Su Ling and Lin Feng arrived, there were several people sitting in the living room. Rong Siqiu was wearing an exquisite cheongsam, with jade around her neck and jade bracelets on her wrists. She looked graceful, dignified and elegant.
Seeing his son and daughter-in-law coming, Rong Siqiu waved to them.
"Finally I'm back." She looked at Su Ling and frowned slightly. "I've lost weight after going to the countryside."
Su Ling smiled and said, "I haven't lost much weight actually. Working in the countryside every day has made me stronger."
Rong Siqiu asked him to sit next to her. Lin Feng wanted to sit down with her, but she pushed him away. "Your father wants to see you. He's in the study. Go find him yourself."
Lin Feng stood still, staring at Su Ling.
How could Rong Siqiu not see that his son was protecting his wife? Every time he came back to the ancestral home, he refused to leave Su Ling, as if he was afraid of being bullied.
Su Ling nudged his shoulder and winked at him. "Go ahead. I'll sit with Mom for a while."
Lin Feng then left reluctantly.
As soon as he left, the middle-aged woman sitting opposite smiled. "Oh, sister-in-law, Xiao Feng is indeed the eldest brother's son. He likes to stick with his wife."
"You're not serious." Rong Siqiu glared at her and said to Su Ling, "Don't listen to your aunt's nonsense."
Su Ling could only smile politely.
This middle-aged woman is Lin Feng's aunt, named Lin Yawen. She is 59 years old this year. She has a cheerful personality and a masculine demeanor. She wears a neutral suit and pants, has neat short hair, and a well-maintained pretty face. She looks ten years younger than her actual age.
"I'm not talking nonsense, am I, Third Sister-in-law?" Lin Yawen asked the old lady in purple dress beside her.
Jiang Lihua picked up the teacup, blew on it, and said slowly: "I'm old, and my memory is bad. I almost forget things that happened decades ago."
Unable to find support, Lin Yawen turned to ask the other person. "Third sister-in-law forgot, but fourth sister-in-law must have remembered, right?"
Fourth sister-in-law Chen Man also gave an ambiguous answer and refused to fall into the trap.
Lin Yawen was helpless, and Rong Siqiu scolded her, "You are so unruly in front of the children, you are so old."
"I'm only fifty-nine, still young!" Lin Yawen raised an eyebrow at Su Ling, "Right, Xiao Su?"
"Yes, when I first met her, I thought my aunt was only 30 years old." Su Ling said. This was the truth. When he first came to the ancestral home and saw the brisk and capable Lin Yawen, he thought she was some "cousin". But when Lin Feng introduced her as his aunt, Su Ling was shocked.
"This child is so sweet." Lin Yawen looked kind and took out a small box from her brand-name bag and handed it to Su Ling, "Here, this is a gift from my aunt."
"Ah...this..." Su Ling hesitated and didn't dare to answer, looking at her mother-in-law for help.
"Take it." Rong Siqiu said, "It's just a small square seal, not worth much money. Give one to everyone you catch."
Su Ling then took it and opened the box. Inside was a small jade seal, milky yellow in color, with a delicate texture and as smooth as fat. It was actually a piece of high-quality Hetian jade.
How is this not valuable?
It’s obviously valuable!
Any gift she gives is worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. My aunt is really generous.
"Thank you, aunt." After all, Su Ling came from a wealthy family, so he was used to such small scenes and put away the jade seal generously.
"Yawen has given gifts, so we elders have to give gifts too." Jiang Lihua and Shen Man were not to be outdone. They took out a small brocade box from their bags and gave it to Su Ling.
Su Ling smiled shyly, but internally he was complaining bitterly. After receiving the gift, he had to sit here and chat. He had originally wanted to sit for a while and then leave, but now he couldn't.
His third aunt gave him a rosewood bead bracelet, and his fourth aunt gave him a bottle of ambergris, both of which were very valuable.
The guests have all given gifts, so how can Rong Siqiu, as the mother-in-law, not give gifts?
She plucked a jade plate from her finger and handed it to Su Ling. "Last month, I went to Myanmar and gambled for a small stone. I cut out a glass-type imperial green jade with one knife and made a pair of earrings and a fingerboard. I'll wear the earrings, and the fingerboard is for you."
Su Ling looked at the jade fingerboard in his palm and felt the pressure.
Glass-type imperial green!
It can be encountered by chance but not sought after!
A small fingerboard costs tens of millions!
"Mom...this is too expensive..."
"I only spent 50,000 yuan on the raw materials. It wasn't expensive at all."
Rong Siqiu said nonchalantly. Gambling on stones is all about luck. She had just bought them casually, not expecting anything good to come out of them. But when she cut into them, she saw green. The value of 50,000 yuan instantly increased to over 100 million yuan, making others envious.
But for her, the cost price was only 50,000 yuan, and giving Su Ling a fingerboard would only cost 10,000 or 20,000 yuan.
Since my mother-in-law said so, what can Su Ling do?
I can only wear it on my hand obediently.
Well, I've received the gifts, so I can just chat with you in peace!
So, he chatted and laughed with the three old ladies in a calm manner. When Lin Yawen asked him what he was busy with in the countryside, he told them some interesting stories about Shixi Village.
"Oh, you're farming yourself?" Lin Yawen looked at Su Ling in surprise. It was hard to imagine that such a noble young man would condescend to work in the fields.
"Most people in the village are self-sufficient. I can't go to the market in town to buy vegetables every day. Since I have space in my backyard, I learned to grow vegetables there." Su Ling said, "The vegetables I grow at home can be picked and eaten right away. They are fresh and tender, and taste great."
"Hearing you say that, I feel like eating too." Lin Yawen said, "When I have time, I will go to Phoenix Mountain to play too."
"Speaking of Phoenix Mountain, did Xiaofeng buy a piece of land there?" Jiang Lihua asked.
Rong Siqiu took the teacup, took a sip and said, "It wasn't Xiaofeng who bought it, it was Zhiyuan from the second family who bought it."
"Zhiyuan? He's not..." Shen Man frowned. Word of Lin Zhiyuan's actions had already spread among the relatives. Someone who exploited his position to embezzle huge amounts of company funds, transferring them overseas and using them for his own benefit was truly heartless and worthless.
As they were talking, new guests came into the yard. Two little children, about four or five years old, ran into the living room and came over to call out sweetly without any shyness.
"Hello, great-grandmother, hello, great-aunt!"
The child was younger and shouted at several old ladies. When it was Su Ling's turn, he got stuck.
"Call him uncle." The old lady who followed in reminded them.
The child then obediently called Su Ling "Uncle".
Suddenly, their seniority was raised. Su Ling picked up the snacks on the table and gave them to them. The two children took them, climbed onto the chairs and sat down to eat.
Rong Siqiu said to Su Ling: "Your second aunt is here, go and make another pot of flower tea."
"Okay." Su Ling stood up, picked up the empty teapot and cups on the table and went to the kitchen.
My second aunt is Cen Guixiang, the wife of my second uncle Lin Lihao and the mother of Lin Zhiyuan. These two children are her great-grandchildren.
Lin Zhiyuan did something immoral, but as his mother, she did not avoid suspicion and instead brought her great-grandson to visit. I wonder what she is up to.
"Oh, I'll just come and sit down. No need to soak it specially." Cen Guixiang smiled politely. She had already sat down next to her granddaughter, took out a handkerchief and wiped her hands that were covered with pastry crumbs.
Of course, Su Ling listened to her mother-in-law and went into the kitchen on her own, stealing a brief moment of leisure.
That's why he didn't like coming to the Lin family's ancestral home. Everyone lived together, so it was very convenient to visit each other and they could chat endlessly.
Second Aunt chose this time specifically and brought her two children with her, obviously she came prepared.
Probably because he received the news, Lin Feng returned to his ancestral home today, and he was anxious to use his status as an elder to bring an army to task.
However, Su Ling was not worried at all, because his mother-in-law was not an easy person to deal with.
He patiently brewed the scented tea while the old ladies in the living room chatted about this and that without getting to the point. Perhaps intentionally or not, Cen Guixiang turned the topic to the children.
"Sister-in-law, look at how big my great-grandson is. When will your Lin Feng give you a grandson?"
Su Ling held the brewed flower tea and stood at the kitchen door with pursed lips.
Rong Siqiu, the mother-in-law, didn't urge her, but outsiders became anxious.
"Lin Feng and Su Ling are still young." She said lightly.
Cen Guixiang smiled ambiguously. "They're both men, so how will they have a child? I heard from my Zhiyuan that he's invested in a biological research company overseas and is researching artificial wombs. If Lin Feng is interested, I'll ask Zhiyuan to help ask."
"Don't worry, Second Aunt."
Lin Feng's cold voice suddenly sounded as he came out of the study. Perhaps he had an unpleasant conversation with his father, and there was a chill on his body. Cen Guixiang's topic hit the nail on the head, which made his eyes sharp and his expression cold.
The author has something to say: I haven’t corrected the typos yet, I will fix and replace them tomorrow~ It’s too late today, I’m going to bed first, please ignore the typos!
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