Chapter 10: Thieves Lin Qing'an and Chen Gengnian are in the bridal chamber...
Lin Qing'an and Chen Gengnian sat there somewhat at a loss. Lin Qing'an spoke first, saying, "Let's go out and offer a toast to the village head."
The aunt had just told him that he didn't need to be shy and could go out to eat, drink, and have fun with everyone, so Lin Qing'an spoke up to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Okay, good!" Chen Gengnian was a little dazed. The usually steady and reliable person had become as dull as a fool today.
Chen Gengnian and Lin Qingan raised their wine bowls and clinked them together with the village head. Chen Gengnian sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you for coming, Uncle Village Head. My husband and I will remember this and will definitely repay you when we have the chance."
Lin Qingan also expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Uncle Village Head!"
The village head raised his wine bowl and said nonchalantly, "I treat Brother Nian like my own child, and you will be my child too. We're family, so let's not be so formal!"
The three of them raised their bowls and drank the wine in one gulp.
The liquor slid down his throat, and the spicy, pungent taste made Lin Qing'an's face turn bright red.
Chen Gengnian quickly poured him a glass of water, and he felt much better after drinking it.
It was at this time that some of the men in the village who were on good terms with Chen Gengnian came over and tried to persuade him to go drinking, so Chen Gengnian had no choice but to leave.
Before leaving, he reminded Lin Qing'an, "Don't drink anymore, the liquor is a bit strong."
Lin Qingan nodded with a smile before being pulled away.
Despite the lively crowd, Lin Qing'an found it quite boring.
He suddenly remembered Lin Yanfeng and immediately looked around, but after scanning the room, he couldn't see him. Without thinking, Lin Qing'an went straight into Lin Yanfeng's room.
Sure enough, a figure was sitting behind the bamboo curtain.
Lin Qing'an lifted the curtain, and Lin Yanfeng looked up at her.
Although he lowered his head very quickly, Lin Qing'an still saw it clearly.
He walked over, sat down next to Lin Yanfeng, and asked, "What's wrong? Missing your parents?"
"Hmm." Lin Yanfeng said with a thick nasal tone, "My parents would be very happy if they were here."
Lin Qing'an patted Lin Yanfeng on the shoulder, comforting him: "Yes! We must live a good life so that our parents can rest in peace in the afterlife."
"So don't cry." Lin Qing'an tugged at Lin Yanfeng's sleeve to wipe his tears. "Today is a joyous day, be happy and cheerful."
Lin Yanfeng remained silent for a long time, letting Lin Qing'an wipe away his tears. After a long silence, Lin Yanfeng whispered to Lin Qing'an, "Brother, happy wedding!"
Lin Qingan laughed and punched him, joking that Ta Qiao's seriousness made him uncomfortable.
But Lin Yanfeng didn't refute it again, and the atmosphere was a little strange. Lin Qing'an couldn't figure out what was strange about it.
The village head left early, and Chen Gengnian got away to go out with Lin Qing'an to see people off. When they came back, Chen Gengnian picked up two boxes, which were the wedding gifts that the village head had prepared for him and Chen Gengnian.
Inside were two new sets of clothes and some pastries. The clothes were made by Wang's mother, the pastries were bought by Wang Tingting, and the bag of copper coins, which weighed about one tael, was given by the village head.
He was like Chen Gengnian's maternal family, preparing a generous dowry for him.
Lin Qing'an put all these things, along with the betrothal gifts he had given Chen Gengnian that Chen Gengnian had refused, into his treasure bag before coming out to have dinner with Chen Gengnian and Lin Yanfeng.
Lin Qing'an, Chen Gengnian, Chen Yuetao, Lin Jing, and Lin Yanfeng sat at a small table by themselves. They were enjoying their meal when someone called his name from behind. Everyone turned around and looked in that direction.
"Aqing."
Wang Shu was holding a half-bowl of wine, looking at him with slightly drunken eyes.
"Aqing, congratulations on your marriage!"
Lin Qingan stood up, and Chen Gengnian followed suit.
Lin Qing'an replied calmly, "Thank you."
He showed little emotion, as if the person in front of him was a complete stranger.
"Ah Qing, are you blaming me?" Wang Shu suddenly stepped forward and approached Lin Qing'an, but Chen Gengnian pulled her to his side first.
He roared angrily, "Wang Shu, what are you doing?"
Chen Gengnian's voice was a bit loud. When Wang Shu came over, many people had already looked over, and now even more people were watching.
In a secluded corner, Zhang Cuiping and Zhou Caixia exchanged a glance, then stood up, crossed their arms, and walked toward Lin Qing'an.
Wang Shu was already somewhat drunk, and Chen Gengnian's angry words made his resentment and regret surge forth unrestrainedly.
He looked up at Chen Gengnian and said sharply, "Aqing and I grew up together since we were little. Even if you get married, we will still be best friends. What, can't we even say a few words to each other?"
"Excuse me, Wang Shu, but please show some respect when you speak to my husband!" Lin Qing'an looked at Wang Shu with icy eyes and said, word by word, "Wang Shu, you are not worthy to be my friend."
Wang Shu's eyes reddened, and she said excitedly, "Aqing, you're blaming me, aren't you? We clearly agreed..."
"Wang Shu!" Chen Gengnian interrupted Wang Shu's increasingly incoherent ramblings, asking clearly, "What exactly do you want? Where were you when A-Qing needed someone by her side the most? Where were you when A-Qing was driven to the brink of suicide by her aunt and uncle? Where were you when A-Qing needed you?"
"I...I..." Wang Shu was so frustrated by the question that he kept backing away, unable to answer a single word.
Chen Gengnian watched as two streams of cat urine slowly dripped down his face, and added insult to injury: "You were the one who betrayed him as a friend first, and you were the one who acted like a coward first! If I were you, I wouldn't have the face to come and drink this cup of wedding wine today!"
Snap snap snap—
Loud applause rang out, and Lin Qing'an, holding Chen Gengnian's arm, said with admiration, "My husband is absolutely right!"
As she spoke, she tilted her head and nuzzled Chen Gengnian's shoulder, praising him in a coquettish tone, "Brother Nian, how are you so amazing? I like you so much."
Lin Qing'an was so excited that he clapped his hands until they hurt.
Chen Gengnian noticed this and gently stroked his slightly reddened hand.
Wang Shu glanced at the two's intimate behavior and was so angry that his eyes rolled upwards, and he almost fainted.
Zhang Cuiping quickly came over to help him up, deliberately raising her voice and saying in a sarcastic tone, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, young man Shu. My nephew has been possessed by something, and now he's completely out of control."
"That's right, Lin Qing'an, you are a truly ungrateful wretch. My brother Shu did so many things for you before, and now you treat him like this? Are you even human?"
As soon as Zhang Cuiping finished speaking, a sharp and sarcastic voice came from outside the courtyard, followed by a middle-aged woman rushing in.
She supported Wang Shu's other half, glared fiercely at Lin Qing'an, and cursed, "Lin Qing'an, you jinx! You look down on my Shu-ge, and my Shu-ge looks down on you too!"
As soon as Chen Yuetao stood up, she saw Lin Qing'an release Chen Gengnian, put one hand on his hip, and point at Wang Shu's mother with the other, cursing back:
"Wu Xiangmei, do you have hemorrhoids in your mouth? Your breath smells like shit, don't suffocate the villagers!"
Wu Xiangmei retorted sharply, "Lin Qing'an, you're a jinx! I had someone calculate your fate long ago. Not only did you bring death to your parents, but whoever you're with in the future will also be cursed to death by you."
Just as Lin Qing'an was about to speak, his gaze was drawn to Zhang Cuiping. He followed Zhang Cuiping's turn and saw Lin Pan'er, Lin Tianyou, and Lin Tianci from Zhou Caixia's family walking out of the courtyard together.
This was not surprising, but what was strange was that Zhou Caixia also went out, and before leaving, she exchanged a glance with Zhang Cuiping.
Lin Qing'an immediately felt that the two of them were definitely plotting something shady.
Lin Qingan thought of it in just a moment.
He narrowed his eyes, and an idea instantly formed in his mind.
Meanwhile, Chen Yuetao and Wu Xiangmei were already arguing.
Without Lin Qing'an's obstruction, Chen Yuetao slammed her hand on the table, took a few steps to Wu Xiangmei's side, pointed at her nose, and scolded, "Wu Xiangmei, are you bullying my Qing'er because he has no one to back him up?"
Wu Xiangmei raised her hand to retaliate, but the next second she was knocked to the ground by the force of Lin Jing rushing over.
Without Wu Xiangmei's support, Zhang Cuiping couldn't hold onto Wang Shu, and the two of them stumbled and fell down.
Chen Gengnian pulled Lin Yanfeng back and stepped forward to issue a final warning to Wang Shu and Wu Xiangmei: "Aunt Wang, today is the big day for Qingge and me. If you continue to cause trouble, don't blame me for being impolite. It's hard to say whether my fist will kill someone."
"Hey, get up! Stop making a scene here."
"That's right, Aunt Wang, quickly take Wang Shu back to rest. Look at him, I hope nothing bad happens to him."
The villagers came forward to help her up, offering words of comfort and advice. Wu Xiangmei glanced at her son, who was already fast asleep on the ground, and decided not to linger any longer.
I came here today because I was afraid my son would do something foolish. It's good that he's drunk like this now.
She went forward to help Wang Shu, but the drunk man was too heavy for her to support.
Because he was a terrible person and usually hung out with Zhang Cuiping and others, no one was willing to lend a hand in times like these.
Wu Xiangmei was exhausted after struggling for a long time, so she sat down on the ground and started to throw a tantrum.
"Your old bastard father is like a dead man, completely irresponsible. What sins did I commit to marry into such a family..."
This commotion was exactly what Zhang Cuiping wanted. She glanced at Lin Qing'an's new house and became even more nervous when she saw a figure through the half-open window. She silently stepped forward to block Lin Qing'an's view.
But as soon as she stood there, Lin Qing'an stared at her with a half-smile, and Zhang Cuiping's body trembled uncontrollably. She tried to comfort herself, telling herself that Lin Qing'an would definitely not notice.
But the next second, Lin Qingan suddenly called out to Chen Gengnian.
"Brother Nian, I'm going back to my room to get something. You keep an eye on things."
"Okay!" Chen Gengnian didn't ask any more questions, nor did he notice anything amiss.
Lin Qing'an had just taken a step when Zhang Cuiping stepped forward and blocked his way. Suddenly, she raised a ghostly smile and asked, "Qing-ge'er, why don't you eat something first? You can get whatever you need later. You've been busy all day, have something to eat first."
Everyone present who heard this was now in an uproar.
Is Zhang Cuiping possessed by something?
Chen Gengnian also eyed Zhang Cuiping warily.
Lin Qingan ignored him, pointed at the window of the new house and shouted, "There's a thief in the house!"
In an instant, Chen Gengnian and several men in the courtyard rushed towards the new house.
Lin Qingan also ran over to get the key and open the door, but at that moment someone had already opened the window.
"Lin Tianyou, Lin Pan'er, Lin Tianci? What are you doing here?" Lin Jing shouted, "You're stealing!"
Lin Jing's every word echoed in the courtyard, and everyone could hear it clearly.
A note from the author:
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I was a little slow because I had some things to explain and handle. Please forgive me.
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