Old Lin's family lived in a small alley not far from where the stall was located. The group walked quickly and arrived in no time.
"We're here, come in, all of you," Old Lin said, opening the courtyard gate.
Following Old Lin's words, Min Yueqing entered the room, glancing at him discreetly. She sighed inwardly; this old man seemed to have a story. Judging from his speech and actions, he must have seen the world and possessed such excellent skills, yet he lived such a difficult life.
There were two mud houses in total. A few wooden frames were erected in the yard, with only a few clothes hanging out to dry. Most of the clothes were patched, just like the clothes Old Lin was wearing today.
However, on the other side of the yard, there were many vegetables planted. It was the season for the vegetables to ripen, and a large patch of lush green vegetables grew together, growing very well, which immediately added vitality to the yard.
Old Lin walked to the edge of the house and put down the wooden frame he was carrying. Shi Tou followed suit, placing the things he had snatched next to the wooden frame. As soon as he put them down, he ran away in a flash, afraid that Old Lin would catch him.
Old Lin caught his breath and, seeing how nimbly Shi Tou dodged, couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "You little brat, why are you acting like this? Do you think I would really hit you?"
Stone didn't argue with him, but just chuckled twice, thinking to himself, "I had no idea you had such a bad temper. What if you like to hit children?"
Perhaps hearing the commotion in the yard, an old woman came out of the house. Her questioning voice rang out, "Why are you back so early today?"
"I'm back! Business was good today. I met a customer who knows his stuff; he wants to come back and buy more!" Old Lin replied loudly as he saw his wife come out.
Today he was finally able to hold his head high, earning real money, unlike before when he would go out early in the morning and come back late at night, still unable to sell his goods, forcing his wife to live a hard life with him, unable to even afford meat.
Although the old lady was wearing patched clothes that had faded a bit from washing, she was clean from head to toe, and even her silver hair was neatly styled. She was clearly a diligent and clean old lady.
Min Yueqing, with her two children, greeted the old lady with a smile.
The old lady seemed to have a much better temper than Lao Lin. Although she didn't know who they were, she responded with a smile and asked Lao Lin to invite them into the house to sit down. She then went into the kitchen to pour them water.
When Lao Lin was setting up his stall outside, he had a very sour face, but when he returned home and faced his mother, he became visibly gentle and obedient to her arrangements.
Old Lin led them into the main room, pointed to the bench next to the wooden table and said, "Please sit down, I'll go get my things."
Min Yueqing, naturally, followed the host's lead and sat down on the bench with Pei Ji and Shi Tou.
Pei Ji stared at the room with wide, curious eyes, then whispered in Min Yueqing's ear, "Mother, this house is different from ours, the color is different too."
Min Yueqing put her finger to her lips and gently shushed.
Although Pei Ji was still somewhat puzzled, he obediently shut up when he saw his mother's expression and continued to look around. He was very curious and observant, and he had a great desire to explore everything around him.
A moment later, the old lady came in through the side door, carrying two rough earthenware bowls filled with warm water. As she placed the bowls on the table, she said, "There's nothing good at home, so please make do with this water."
The three immediately thanked her, and Min Yueqing then said to the old lady, "Grandma, we came uninvited and are sorry to bother you. Please don't be shy and don't make a fuss about us."
Shi Tou was also very sensible. Seeing that the old lady was about to walk back, he followed her and said, "Grandma, I'll help you carry it."
The old lady initially tried to refuse, telling Stone to go back and sit down, but she couldn't resist the agile Stone. Before she could finish speaking, Stone had already run ahead of her, as if leading her away.
The old lady hadn't seen such a well-behaved and sensible child in a long time. Shi Tou was also very outgoing and had a sweet tongue. In the short time it took to help bring him some water, he had the old lady beaming with joy and treating him as affectionately as her own grandson.
Old Lin came out carrying a box full of his most cherished treasures, only to find that his wife didn't even glance at him, but instead looked at a young boy she had just met that day with great affection. His heart ached.
Old Lin immediately placed the box on the table and said to Min Yueqing without any politeness, "They're all here, choose for yourself."
The subtext is: make your selections and leave quickly, or I'll lose favor with you all.
Min Yueqing was completely bewildered, not understanding why the old man, who had been quite polite just moments before, had suddenly become cold again. She could only sigh that you can never guess what an old man is thinking.
The small table in the room was a bit too high for Pei Ji, and if a box were placed on it, he would be completely unable to see it. Min Yueqing carefully took out all the paper cuttings from the box and placed them on the table.
Pei Ji and Min Yueqing began to look through them with great interest. Shi Tou wasn't very interested in them. In his eyes, there wasn't much difference between paper-cutting and New Year pictures; they were just for display anyway, and he was only interested in seeing them for the novelty of it.
The works in the box were rather messy, some of them were even thrown in before they were finished cutting. As Min Yueqing looked at them, she carefully separated the finished products into two groups, making it easier to select them.
Min Yueqing was increasingly amazed as she looked at the paintings. She had thought that Lao Lin only knew how to cut out characters, flowers, and birds, but she hadn't expected him to also have small landscape paintings, which were quite unique.
"Mother, look at this! It's a little child!" Pei Ji excitedly picked up a paper-cut and presented it to Min Yueqing like a treasure.
Min Yueqing took a look and saw that it really was a paper-cut depicting a figure. The figure was a child with a pigtail tied in the air riding on a cow, swinging a bamboo stick in his hand. The child had a round face and expressive eyes, and his whole being exuded a lively and spirited air, making one feel as if they were witnessing a real event.
Min Yueqing immediately said to Old Lin, "Old man, could you get us a box or a small case? We can put the bills we want in there, and it will be more convenient to count and calculate the money later."
Before Old Lin could even reply, the old lady looked at him with displeasure, "It should have been given to the important person long ago, why did we have to wait for someone to tell us?"
Before Lao Lin could say a word, he was scolded. He sat there speechless for a while, but still didn't dare to talk back. He went into the house with his head down and got the item.
Min Yueqing was amazed. She never expected that someone as straightforward and stubborn as the old man could have such a rich range of expressions on his face. It really is true that everyone has their match.
Once Lao Lin took out a small box, Min Yueqing and Pei Ji began their real treasure hunt, grabbing anything that looked even slightly interesting and putting it into the box.
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