As she drove, Lin Yun gazed at the familiar scenery along the street, her thoughts drifting away. She recalled driving through bustling cities in modern times, the passenger seat piled high with the spoils she had just bought from the mall.
Back then, she never meticulously calculated every penny for a piece of cloth or a pound of meat. Now, sitting on a bumpy oxcart, holding the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar she just bought, she feels incredibly at ease.
As the oxcart turned into the alley, several women washing clothes by the well looked up. Seeing it was Lin Rushan's family, they began to whisper among themselves:
"Wow, the Lin family has really struck it rich! Buying so much stuff!"
"I heard his eldest son lost money gambling, and the shop is almost closing down. Where did he get the money?"
"Didn't you see? There's silk on that carriage! Tsk tsk, the sun must have risen in the west..."
Lin Yun ignored the gossip, simply straightening her back with a faint smile on her lips. Lin Rushan, however, felt somewhat uncomfortable, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact.
When the oxcart stopped in front of the house, Lin Yun immediately saw her mother waiting in front of the door and her brother Lin Feng squatting in the corner.
Lin's mother twisted her apron in her hands, her face full of anxiety; Lin Feng, on the other hand, had his head down, his toes unconsciously circling on the ground, and only looked up sharply when he heard a noise.
"Father, Yun'er, what are you doing..." Lin's mother, Madam Lu, was so shocked by the goods on the oxcart that she couldn't speak.
Lin Feng rushed over, touched the silk, and looked at the bag of white rice and flour. His voice changed: "Where did all this come from?"
Lin Yun jumped out of the car, dusted herself off, and said with a smile, "Mom, brother, let's move the things inside first."
The family hurriedly carried the goods into the house. The small main room was immediately filled to the brim with rice bags, cloth, pastries, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar... Each item made Lu Shi and Lin Feng's eyes widen.
Lin Rushan closed the door, took out the silver note from his pocket, carefully unfolded it, and placed it on the table: "Our family... is rich now."
As Lu stared at the words "eighty taels" on the banknote, her legs went weak and she almost collapsed to the ground.
Lin Feng lunged at the table, his fingers trembling as he traced the silver notes, murmuring, "Silver...real silver..."
Lin Yun poured a glass of water and handed it to her mother, saying softly, "Mother, have some water first and calm down."
Madam Lu took the water glass, but didn't bother to drink it. She grabbed her daughter's hand and said, "Yun'er, where did this money come from? You can't do anything foolish!"
Lin Yun was both amused and exasperated: "Mother, what are you thinking? This money is what I earned selling patterns, it's clean."
"What do you mean by 'drawing a picture'?" Madam Lu and Lin Feng said in unison, their faces full of disbelief.
Those few sheets of paper actually sold for an astronomical price?
Then Lin's father recounted in detail what had happened at Jinxiufang on East Street that day.
When Madam Lu heard that Xie Dongjia had offered one hundred taels for the design, tears welled up in her eyes; when she heard her daughter insist on taking a cut, Lin Feng suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the room; when they heard the documents finally signed and filed, the whole family fell silent. Their daughter/sister was so capable.
After a long while, Madam Lu hugged Lin Yun tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, "My Yun'er... I'm so sorry, I've made you suffer..."
Lin Feng was also distressed. He had caused his family to suffer, and now that his sister was so capable, he felt utterly useless in comparison.
Lin Yun walked to her brother's side and gently patted his shoulder: "Brother, let bygones be bygones. From now on, let's work together to rebuild the family business, okay?"
Lin Feng raised his head, his eyes red: "Yun'er, I'm sorry... I'm sorry to this family... I'm sorry to you, a woman..."
"To err is human, to forgive divine," Lin Yun said softly. "Brother, you're educated and good at accounting, so the business in the shop will depend on you in the future."
Lin Feng nodded emphatically, a long-lost gleam rekindling in his eyes.
As night fell, the Lin family, for the first time ever, prepared a sumptuous meal.
The aroma of braised pork filled the house, the golden scrambled eggs glistened with oil, and the white rice steamed hot.
Lin Rushan even brought out a pot of wine and poured a small cup for everyone.
"Today, our family finally has hope." Lin Rushan raised his glass, his voice choked with emotion. "Come on, let's drink!"
The whole family raised their glasses and gently clinked them together.
This meal was incredibly satisfying.
After the meal, Lin Yun handed the banknotes to her mother and said, "Let's pay off all the debts first, to avoid any further complications."
Lin's father nodded, "Yes, yes, yes."
Lin Feng volunteered: "I'll go, to prevent those people from causing trouble again."
Lin Yun said, "Brother, I'll go with you. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I said that day that I would personally go to pay off the debt."
Lin Yun was afraid that this simple-minded guy would be scammed again, so she had to stay with him.
Lin Rushan looked at his two children with satisfaction and breathed a long sigh of relief.
Outside, the moonlight, like water, quietly spilled into every corner of the courtyard, as if draping a gentle veil over this family that had endured so much hardship.
That night, the lights in the Lin family's house remained lit for a long time.
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