Chapter 33 A True Little Bride Although he knew Lin…
Although he knew that the price quoted by Lin Li at this time must be false, he couldn't do anything about it since the right to trade was in someone else's hands.
Lin Qingan looked at Chen Gengnian and shook his head slightly.
Chen Gengnian understood what he meant.
They couldn't come up with five hundred taels, and even if they could, they wouldn't risk losing everything overnight for a stranger.
They weren't wealthy enough to do such large-scale charity work.
Chen Gengnian released Lin Li and walked to Lin Qing'an's side.
Lin Li dusted himself off and walked over to Chen Gengnian with a sly grin, asking him a question.
"What? Young man, if you like it, I can give you this amount. Cash on delivery, I, Lin Laosan, keep my word!"
Lin Li held up a four with one hand and a five with the other, clearly indicating 450.
This made Lin Qing'an and the others even more convinced that the five hundred taels they had just mentioned was a fake number.
Neither Lin Qingan nor Chen Gengnian spoke, while Chen Yuetao remained anxiously on the side.
Suddenly, Lin Jing stepped forward and punched Lin Li, knocking him to the ground.
Lin Jing spat, disregarding all moral principles and ethics, and cursed, "Beast!"
After cursing, he dragged the girl into his house.
"You brat, you good-for-nothing! You're going to get what's coming to you... ah—"
Before Lin Li could finish cursing, a shadow suddenly pounced on him, startling him so much that he quickly covered his head and face with his hands.
Lin Qing'an, fearing that Bai Fu might act recklessly, quickly spoke up to stop him.
"Baifu, come back!"
Upon hearing the shout, Baifu obediently ran back. Lin Li was about to scold Baifu, but upon seeing Chen Gengnian, he dared not utter a sound and could only slink away.
Only a few nosy people were present to watch the show, so Lin Li shamelessly extended an invitation to everyone.
"Fellow villagers, today is a joyous occasion for me, Lin Li. Although there were some minor mishaps, they have all been resolved. I have not prepared a banquet, but I have prepared some wine. If any of you do not mind, please come in and have a cup of celebratory wine!"
Lin Li clasped his hands in a fist salute towards the crowd, narrowed his eyes when he saw Chen Gengnian and Lin Qing'an, and then automatically skipped over them.
Several people present saw that the donkey that Lin Li had brought back was carrying a large bundle. They looked at each other, and then their attitudes changed completely. They all went up to Lin Li, put their arms around his shoulders, and congratulated him.
A group of people entered the courtyard laughing and joking, and the remaining women and men, unable to persuade their husbands to stay, had no choice but to disperse.
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian stood there in silence, watching as the once quiet courtyard gradually filled with laughter and joy.
Chen Yuetao walked over and pulled Lin Qing'an up, sighing deeply, "Alas! The third son of the Lin family has always done inhuman things. Today, he caused such a big commotion, and the old house only sent one person to come and take a look before leaving. Now, no one can control him."
Chen Yuetao gently patted Lin Qingan's hand and comforted him, "You don't need to feel guilty. Everyone has their own destiny, and there are some things that no one can interfere with."
Chen Gengnian also put his arm around Lin Qingan and said, "Let's go home."
Lin Qing'an nodded, took a deep look at Lin Jing's house, and called out to A Meng in his mind.
"Go and keep an eye on them. They're both young girls, so lend a hand if necessary."
Ah Meng, who didn't like to show himself in public, had already seen everything clearly from inside his magic bag. He didn't refute it, but just gave a faint "hmm" as an agreement.
Lin Qing'an and the others returned home with heavy hearts. When no one was around, A Meng leaped onto the roof of Lin Jing's house.
In Lin Jing's room, a girl in a red wedding dress sat on the edge of the bed with her hands neatly folded on her lap.
Lin Jing, on the other hand, paced back and forth in front of her.
After walking countless times, she finally stopped in front of the girl, then took out a small dagger from her bosom and handed it to her.
"Hey, if that old bastard comes in and I can't beat him, use this to defend yourself. I'll hold him off while you run as far away as you can."
"I won't run away." The girl didn't take it. No longer with tears in her eyes as before, she firmly rejected Lin Jing's offer. "Don't bother. Since I'm already married to him, then do as you please!"
Lin Jing leaned down to look at that fair and beautiful face. Although her words were full of compromise, she still saw those long, thick black eyelashes trembling incessantly.
The girl suddenly looked up and met Lin Jing's gaze. This unexpected turn of events made Lin Jing's heart skip a beat, and her own flustered expression was reflected in her dark, bright eyes.
Lin Jing hurriedly looked away, her feet moving away uncontrollably.
"Thank you."
The gentle voice rang out again. Lin Jing coughed twice as if trying to hide something serious, then said helplessly, "No need to thank me. I know you have no choice in the matter. I will do my best to protect you."
As she spoke, Lin Jing forcefully shoved the dagger into her hand again, staring into her dark eyes and saying slowly, "Unless you..."
For some reason, Lin Jing suddenly found herself unable to continue speaking.
The girl stared at her, her big eyes blinking as she waited for what she would say next.
Lin Jing couldn't help but swallow hard before angrily saying, "Unless you want to be my real concubine!"
"Huh?" The girl was a little flustered when she heard the term "little mother," and her slender white hands waved frantically.
"No...no...I just don't want you to take risks."
She finally spoke her mind.
"Then do as I say." Lin Jing instructed, "Anyway, he can't change his ways. He won't stay at home for long and will definitely go gambling again. Let's guard against it one time at a time."
"Okay!" This time, the girl didn't say one thing and mean another.
She got up and walked towards Lin Jing, stopping a meter away, and introduced herself in a low voice: "My name is Liu Yiyi, what's your name?"
Lin Jing looked over and saw that her eyes, still flushed, curved into a perfect arc, and her red lips were slightly upturned below her delicate nose.
She has such a beautiful smile!
The thought suddenly popped into Lin Jing's mind, and she quickly composed herself, replying, "Lin Jing."
Beneath the decisive action lay panic and a rapidly beating heart.
Liu Yiyi stopped in front of Lin Jing with her hand outstretched and said gently, "I wish our alliance all the best."
Lin Jing glanced at the snow-white hand, rubbed her own rough hands against the hem of her clothes, and then slowly reached out to shake hands with her.
"The alliance is going well." After saying that, she quickly left and then asked Liu Yiyi, "Are you hungry?"
Liu Yiyi was about to say she wasn't hungry, but the next second her stomach made a soft rumbling sound, and she blushed with embarrassment.
Lin Jing understood. "Wait here, I'll go get you something to eat."
After saying that, she went over and peeked through the crack in the window. Lin Li and some men were drinking happily and probably wouldn't come in anytime soon, so she felt relieved and went out.
Liu Yiyi looked around the room; the entire room perfectly illustrated the abject poverty of the household.
Besides a dilapidated wooden bed, there was only a crooked dressing table and an old wooden box whose paint color was no longer discernible.
Liu Yiyi slowly opened the box, inside which was a pile of coarse cloth clothes that had been washed until they were faded.
She walked to the dressing table, which contained nothing of a young lady's accord except a wooden comb.
Looking at everything before her, and recalling the man's insults towards Lin Jing, Liu Yiyi felt a pang of bitterness rising in her heart.
It turns out they were all pitiful people who shared the same fate.
"You brat, what kind of delicious food do you make but not enough to treat your uncles and elders?"
The shouting and cursing came from outside again. Liu Yiyi, imitating Lin Jing's earlier actions, looked through the crack in the window and saw Lin Li drunkenly pointing at a spot and cursing.
That's a blind spot; Liu Yiyi can't see it, and naturally, she can't see Lin Jing either.
Lin Jing asked with a half-smile, "Would the uncles still eat it even with arsenic added?"
These words enraged Lin Li, who stood up and was about to rush towards Lin Jing.
Liu Yiyi was immediately anxious and was about to go out to help when she saw Lin Li being held back by those men.
"Don't take it personally with a little girl. As long as there's good wine, we brothers can have a good drink."
The man handed a large bowl of wine to Lin Li, saying, "Wishing you a happy marriage, brother, and a long and happy life together!"
Lin Li was overjoyed. He picked up the wine bowl, albeit unsteadily, and said with great gusto, "Drink!"
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.
The others also picked up their bowls, but instead of drinking it all down like Lin Li, they put the bowls to their lips and looked at each other while Lin Li was drinking, and then pretended to take a few sips.
Liu Yiyi felt something was off about these people. She wondered if Lin Jing had seen them outside, and thought she would wait for them to come in and ask.
A short while later, Lin Jing opened the door and brought in a steaming bowl of soup and rice.
"Just eat this and I'll cook you something delicious after I've dealt with that old man."
The bowl was a little hot, so Lin Jing placed the rice on the wobbly dressing table and held it steady with her hand.
Liu Yiyi sat on the still slightly wobbly wooden chair, looking at the bowl of hot rice with a poached egg on top and Lin Jing holding onto the table. Her eyes involuntarily reddened again, and her nose tingled.
No one had ever treated her as well as her mother.
"Eat up," Lin Jing urged, seeing that she hadn't started eating.
Liu Yiyi nodded, picked up her chopsticks, took a fried egg, and, under Lin Jing's gaze, used her hand to catch it and fed it to Lin Jing.
This sudden action startled Lin Jing so much that she almost let go and stepped back.
"Wh...what happened?" Lin Jing was so nervous that she could barely speak.
Liu Yiyi pressed the egg directly against Lin Jing's lips, feigning wariness, and said, "If you take a bite, I'm afraid you'll poison it."
"Huh?" The tension in her heart vanished instantly. Lin Jing frowned and stared at Liu Yiyi. Seeing that she didn't seem to be joking, an inexplicable anger rushed to her throat. She wanted to curse, but she managed to suppress it.
Lin Jing opened her mouth, took a small bite of the egg white, chewed it and swallowed it in front of Liu Yiyi.
"Is that enough?" Lin Jing's tone was somewhat harsh due to her anger.
Liu Yiyi shook her head, then held the egg to her lips again, continuing, "Take a little more, who knows what the yolk will do..."
Before Liu Yiyi could finish speaking, Lin Jing angrily took a big bite, and the fried egg was instantly reduced to half.
Lin Jing, barely suppressing her anger, roared, "Is that alright now?"
She's absolutely furious! Don't let your good intentions be wasted!
Lin Jing glared at Liu Yiyi, giving her a warning look.
Silently tell yourself, you'd better not say another word!
But the next second, Liu Yiyi crossed her line again.
"You've already eaten; I don't eat what other people have eaten."
Lin Jing: ? ? ?
"Liu Yiyi, you!" Lin Jing was so angry she wanted to curse, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything when she saw the other person's face.
So, with a reluctant expression, she opened her mouth and bit the remaining half into her mouth, then asked, word by word, "Is this alright now, Miss?"
Liu Yiyi put away her chopsticks and said lightly, "That's enough."
Then she lowered her head and began to eat the hot rice. There were only some green vegetables in the rice, but Liu Yiyi thought it was extremely delicious.
Lin Jing glared angrily at the top of Liu Yiyi's head, holding her breath with nowhere to vent her anger.
As I watched, I noticed that Liu Yiyi's body began to tremble.
This person...cried?
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Author's note: I've got so few clicks, I've lost all motivation. I'll try my best to finish writing it!
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