Chapter 13 "Lin Heling"
Mother Lin smiled and said, "No punishment, no success."
The little bald boy who had just had his head shaved was eating his meal. He also nodded, seeming to agree with what his grandma said.
Lin Zhao took a dumpling for him and one for the bald guy, and said with a smile: "Why are you nodding? Do you want me to beat you up a few times too?"
“Pah—!”
The dumplings on Erzai's chopsticks fell into the bowl, and the child looked horrified, "Mom hits people too?"
The eldest boy was also a little nervous, and his thin face was wrinkled.
When his mother beat him, could she avoid Erzai? He didn’t want to embarrass himself.
Lin Zhao was so amused that she pretended to be serious. "If you two are obedient, you won't be beaten. If you are naughty, remember that you will be beaten by your father when he comes back. Comrade Gu Chenghuai is a muscular man with lots of strength. His beating hurts the most."
The eldest and second cubs were shocked: "!!!"
After just a few breaths, the meat dumplings in the white bread no longer smelled good.
"Pfft..." Lin Shisheng couldn't help laughing, "Zhao Zhao, look at how you scared the two little ones. You even scared your own child. Are you a real mother?"
"Yes, my dear mother." Lin Zhao couldn't help laughing.
Mother Lin glared at the two siblings who were acting out of tune, and comforted her grandson, "Your mother is joking with you. Your father is a great hero who defends his country. He only beats up bad guys, not children. Come eat."
Erzai was relieved and ate dumplings in big mouthfuls, using his mouth to save his dignity, "I know my mother is teasing us. She said we are her precious eggs. If dad beats us, mother will definitely protect us. She won't let us get beaten."
"The second child is really smart." Mother Lin thought her grandson was really smart, "The eldest child is also smart."
Lin Zhao made a lot of dumplings, and Lin Shisheng ate fine grains until he was full. He had never been so satisfied in his life.
He drank the dumpling soup and said with a complicated tone: "Zhao Zhao, your cooking skills are getting better and better. It is a blessing for my brother-in-law to marry you."
Lin Zhao's eyes flickered as she inquired calmly, "Are second brother and second sister-in-law quarreling again?"
Not wanting to talk about the annoying woman, Lin Shisheng changed the subject, "Did your brother-in-law say when he'll be free to go home and visit?"
"No." Lin Zhao thought of the letter she had sent. The child's father would probably have received it soon.
Looking forward to your reply.
Lin's mother understood that her son-in-law had a hard time, and consoled her daughter: "Cheng Huai's job is dangerous and hard, so you should send more letters when you have time."
"Yeah." Lin Zhao nodded.
Lin's mother understood her daughter. Although she was spoiled and couldn't stand hardship, she always spoke the truth. The fact that she agreed to it showed that she took it to heart.
When I met him this time, Zhaozhao's personality had changed a lot.
Mother Lin used the cloth bag tied around Sizi's neck to wipe her face and said casually, "Zhao Zhao has finally grown up. I still remember that when you were in the first grade of junior high school, you didn't want to live in your uncle's house and insisted on living back home. Your eldest brother and your second brother took you to school every day..."
Lin Shisheng looked at his mother and wanted to say something, but was stopped by his mother's glare.
"Mom remembered it wrong." Lin Zhao held Sanzai in her arms and wiped his hands. "It wasn't the first year of junior high school, it was the first year of high school. And I only stayed at home for two days. I couldn't stand the cold, so I moved to my uncle's house."
A smile filled Lin's mother's eyes, and her heavy heart fell back to its original place.
It's her daughter.
I think I'm getting the idea.
"You still remember, I thought you forgot. Go visit your uncle when you have time."
Lin Zhao didn't know that because of the changes she experienced after awakening, her mother thought she was possessed by some evil creature.
Thinking of her uncle, Lin Zhao felt extremely guilty.
"Mom, is my uncle..." blaming me.
She didn't say the last two words. She was indeed ungrateful and it was right for her uncle to blame her.
"Zhao Zhao, don't think too much. Your uncle doesn't blame you. He misses you very much and is a little sad. Everything will be over if you go see him. Our uncle is so good to you. He pays for your schooling and saves all the delicious food for you. He has never been angry with you." Lin Shisheng comforted her.
I collected the bowls consciously and went to the kitchen to wash them.
Lin's mother never spoiled boys. Lin's second brother and his brothers all knew how to do housework. Before Lin Zhao got married, she washed dishes no more than ten times.
"I will go to see my uncle." Lin Zhao said. Even if her uncle scolded her, she would admit it. She really had no conscience.
"Well. Go take a look at the vegetable garden and see if you like it. While your second brother is here, you can tell him what to do." Mother Lin didn't want her daughter to be unhappy, so she changed the subject.
Lin Zhao went to see the backyard. The vegetable garden was surrounded by a fence made of bamboo strips that were only as high as the calves. There was a wooden rack against the wall, which made it convenient to grow beans, loofahs, etc. The small vegetable patch was planted in neat rows.
The vegetable garden cured Erzai’s obsessive-compulsive disorder. He exclaimed, “Second uncle is so amazing! Mom, our vegetable garden is just like grandma’s!”
Lin Zhao was also very satisfied.
Not long after dinner, Lin's mother and Lin Shisheng were about to go home.
The eldest and second cubs were particularly reluctant to leave, and tears appeared in their eyes.
Lin Zhao touched the two boys' bald heads. They felt prickly and uncomfortable, but fortunately the breeding ground of lice was destroyed.
"I'll take you to grandma's house some other day."
The second child's face brightened instantly, and he asked excitedly, "When? I miss grandpa."
"I miss it too. I miss the stories grandpa tells me. I love listening to them," said the eldest son.
Lin Zhao chuckled, "What a coincidence, I like it too."
Her father's origins were mysterious. He wandered here because of the war. He was only in his teens at the time. He had a head injury and his memory was confused. He didn't remember where his home was. He only knew that his surname was Lin and his name was Lin Heling.
He could read and draw, was well-read, could tell any story, and was also good-looking. In the words of Lin Zhao's grandmother, when her father stood there, he looked like a nobleman in a drama, handsome and good-looking in every way.
Lin Zhao prepared a lot of good things, including canned food, brown sugar, meat and noodles, and wanted Lin's mother and Lin Shisheng to take them back, but they both refused.
Even if Lin Zhao was angry, they refused to accept it. There was really no other way, so Lin Zhao cooked a bowl of dumplings, put it in a lunch box, and asked her mother to take it back for her father to eat.
"It's for my father. If mother doesn't want it, I will send it back myself." Lin Zhao was very unhappy.
Her mother was angry because she was so distant.
She won those things in the lottery. She wanted to be filial to her parents and it had nothing to do with the Gu family. But her mother said it was not good for her.
Lin Zhao specifically pointed out that dumplings were her way of showing filial piety to her father, and now Lin's mother had no way of refusing.
"Okay, mother, accept it. Your daughter knows how to be filial. It will make your father happy too."
Lin Zhao didn't smile. "Those things are also my way of showing my filial piety to you and dad. Why don't you accept them?"
"You are already a mother of four children, how can you still be so ignorant. If I accept it, will you still have a reputation? People in the village will poke holes in your spine, saying that you are supporting your mother's family without the knowledge of the Gu family. Your father always says that people's words are scary, but you don't think of these things. I can't harm you." Lin's mother said earnestly.
"But..." These things have nothing to do with the Gu family.
This can't be said directly.
Lin Zhao felt a little aggrieved.
Without a job and financially dependent, I cannot be filial to my parents.
"Mother knows that you are filial. Our family is poor but we have enough food. The good things are left for the older boys. As long as you take good care of the boys and let me worry less, I will be relieved." Mother Lin smiled and patted her daughter's hand. She gave the older and younger boys a lot of instructions before leaving with Lin Shisheng.
Everyone from the Harvest Brigade ran into them.
"Grandma will be back soon."
"Why don't you stay a little longer?"
"Mrs. Lin is going back after seeing her daughter."
…
No matter what they think in their hearts, the people in the Harvest Brigade are doing it well.
Lin's mother was a soft-hearted person, so she smiled and said, "Yes, I have to go back. I have things to do at home."
After a few words, the two people from the Lin family left.
The villagers at the entrance of the village were still talking.
"Cheng Huai's family is so blessed. Her parents still care about her even after she got married. I saw her mother and brother brought her a basket of eggs and a fat fish. The Lin family really loves their daughter."
"Yes, I have never seen a family in the surrounding villages that loves their daughter as much as the Lin family. If it weren't for the Lin family's pampering, Cheng Huai's wife wouldn't be so lazy."
"They're willing to give away even fish. That's meat. The Lin family is really generous."
"I heard that when the eldest child's grandmother heard that her daughter hit her head, she came over in a hurry. The Lin family is so protective of their daughter, so Xing'er didn't get beaten?"
A group of women were chattering non-stop like wild animals in a melon field.
The person who knew the inside information looked around and saw no one coming over, so he lowered his voice and said, "He was not beaten at all, but he was screaming after being beaten. It was the eldest son's second uncle who did it."
One of them changed to a comfortable sitting position, his eyes bright, and asked hurriedly: "Didn't the Gu family stop you?"
"Why are you stopping them? You wouldn't be able to stop them even if it was you," said the well-informed woman.
These words instantly made everyone excited.
"Tell me more in detail..."
The woman was being stared at by several pairs of eyes, and she was extremely satisfied. She spoke about what she had found out with great passion and saliva flying everywhere.
After listening to this, someone said, "I haven't heard that Mrs. Gu went to settle accounts with the third room of the Gu family."
"Da Zai's grandmother is a village bully. I heard that she has killed people in the past. No one who has confronted her will be in good shape. How could Xing'er's grandmother dare to go to her at her age? She still wants to live a few more years." Another woman speculated.
What this person didn't know was that, by some strange coincidence, she had guessed most of what Grandma Gu was thinking.
"Xing'er is weird too. I haven't seen her fighting with Tiedan's mother and Bangbang's mother, but she's fighting with Dazai's mother. What's this? People say that two people hate each other when they meet, so they fight each other when they meet?" The aunt who was speaking spoke while sewing the hole in her pants, not understanding.
There are many sensible people among this group of people.
A woman in a blue shirt smiled and said, "Cheng Huai's allowance is getting higher every year. Now that he's married, the amount he hands in is getting less and less, so Xing Er can take advantage of less and less. How can she not complain?"
"Tsk! Cheng Huai can't not get married, right? He has to start a family. Xing'er's personality... is a bit overbearing."
They were all smart people, and they knew what Gu Xing'er was thinking after a little thought.
Without Gu Xing'er knowing, her reputation was affected because of these repeated disturbances.
The impact won’t be noticeable in the short term, but when she grows up, she will start crying.
-
The third branch of the Gu family.
After Lin Zhao had finished sewing two sets of clothes, she called out to the eldest and second sons in the yard, "Eldest son, second son, come in and try on your new clothes."
The two little kids ran into the house.
Looking at the two identical sets of short-sleeved shirts and black pants, he grinned with joy.
"Thank you, mother." The eldest son's voice was soft and his eyes were bright.
Erzai's mouth was almost stretched to the back of his head. He took off his clothes and tried it on immediately.
Seeing this, the older boy also quickly took off his clothes.
As both the parents are outstanding in appearance, none of the children in the Gu family are ugly. The eldest and the second child run up and down the mountains and rivers all day long, and they are both tanned, but you can tell from their eyebrows and eyes that they are not bad looking.
He has clean eyebrows and eyes, the same straight nose as their father, lips that are neither thick nor thin, just right, and even his head shape is much better looking than that of the other kids in the village.
Even with a shaved head, he still looks good with his delicate features.
It's just a little dark.
It wasn't noticeable how tattered his clothes were normally, but when he put on new clothes, he looked like a completely different person.
The eldest boy straightened the corner of his clothes and looked up at Lin Zhao, his eyes flickering with expectation. "Mom?"
Lin Zhao met his pair of clear eyes, black and white, and pulled his hand closer to her. She looked him up and down, and nodded with a smile on her face. "He's very handsome, very handsome, as handsome as your father."
Under her praise, the eldest boy's face became redder and redder. He was shy, but his heart was also bubbling with joy.
The second child was a little boy who couldn't stay still for a second, so he came over too.
"Mom, what about me?" He blinked his big eyes and asked for praise with confidence.
"You look good too." Lin Zhao was amused by his little expression.
Erzai: “…” That’s it?
He asked anxiously, "Am I as handsome as Dad?"
The eldest thought his younger brother was stupid, so he said, "Second son, you look like me. I am as handsome as my father, so you must be as handsome as your father too."
Erzai chuckled, "I forgot."
"Mom, can my brother and I go out?" he asked.
Lin Zhao glanced at the second child and knew what was going on. "Want to show off again?"
"Mom~~" Erzai said in a coquettish voice.
"Not yet. The clothes need to be rinsed before they can be worn." Lin Zhao explained softly, "Take them off first, and I'll wash them for you later. It's hot, so they'll be dry tomorrow morning. You can show them off tomorrow."
The eldest felt that it was hard for his mother to make clothes for them, so he took off his clothes and said, "Mom, we'll wash them ourselves, right, second son?"
What else could Erzai say? Of course he agreed.
"Yes, we wash it ourselves."
Lin Zhao stood up, stretched her stiff body, and said, "Okay, I'll watch you wash. Big boy, take the laundry soap. Do you know which one it is?"
"I know." The eldest son went back to the house to wash the soap.
It was not so hot now and it was still daylight, so Lin Zhao took the children to the river.
It was cool by the river, and there were many people. Some were washing clothes, some naughty little boys were catching fish with their trousers rolled up, and some were chatting and enjoying the cool air...
Yuan Bao's mother was also washing clothes. She was surprised to see Lin Zhao and greeted her warmly, "Cheng Huai's family is here too."
Lin Zhao raised his lips and said, "Come out and take a look."
The eldest and second son found a sloping stone slab, squatted side by side, soaked their shirts first, applied detergent soap, and kneaded and rubbed them. Their movements were so skillful that it was obvious that this was not their first time washing.
"Big cub, second cub, bring more laundry soap." Lin Zhao pulled the third and fourth cubs who wanted to step on the water, and wouldn't let the two little ones get close.
Yuanbao's mother and the other women who were washing clothes were stunned.
"Mother, you don't even help the children wash their clothes." An elderly aunt said with a look of disapproval.
Before Lin Zhao could say anything, the eldest son said solemnly, "My second son and I can wash our own clothes. My mother works hard to make clothes."
"......?" What's so hard about making clothes!
"Can making clothes be as hard as earning work points?" Chang Sheng's mother couldn't help but say in front of Lin Zhao: "Your mother is just lazy."
(End of this chapter)
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