After returning to town, Lin Momo and Shi Guang went to the grain shop as they had agreed beforehand.
We bought a total of 5,000 jin of staple foods, including rice, glutinous rice, brown rice, white flour, and black flour.
Since it was purchased from several grain shops, it wasn't considered particularly conspicuous.
The shopkeeper and his staff, thinking it was a wealthy family in town stocking up on food for the winter, assured them with smiles:
"Don't worry, we will deliver the goods on time later."
Time leaves behind only the addresses of unused shops.
The two shops, the larger one located on the main street, were rented out just two days ago at a price of 8 taels per month due to the high foot traffic in the area, with a six-month rent of 48 taels paid in advance.
This is something that time requires.
He was impatient to have someone come and collect the rent every month, and if it weren't for the fact that the business outlook for the second half of next year was not good, he would have asked the tenant to pay a year's rent upfront.
Then the two went into a clothing store and went on a shopping spree.
After buying enough clothes and bedding, the two walked side by side toward the empty shops on South Street, waiting for the merchants to deliver the goods to their door.
*
Two days later, in the early morning.
After settling things at home, Lin Momo and Shi Guang left the town in a rented carriage.
Instead of heading straight to Nanshan, they first visited Linjia Village.
The car slowly came to a stop on the country road outside the village.
Lin Momo jumped off the carriage.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Shi Guang asked anxiously from behind, lifting the curtain.
Lin waved her hand and said, "I'm not going into the village, don't worry."
With that, he started walking forward.
Instead of approaching the village, she turned onto a path and came to the riverbank.
This river is like an amusement park.
It has an extraordinary attraction for the children in the village who lack toys. Even though the adults don't come to the riverbank much in winter because they are too cold, the children still love to run there.
The river water was cold, and a north wind was blowing. Lin Momo couldn't understand what fun things there could be to do here in winter.
I looked up and saw...
On the nearby riverbank, a child of about ten years old was about to go into the river. Looking down, several of his friends were already standing on the exposed riverbed.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Lin Momo quickly called out to the little kid on the shore.
The child was startled, turned around, and immediately exclaimed, "Sister Er Ya! It's you!"
Unexpectedly, this little brat recognized her.
That makes things much easier.
Lin Momo was secretly delighted and smiled as she beckoned to the child, "Come here for a moment."
"What's up?" The little kid stepped forward, grinning.
A few days ago, he often joined his friends to watch the excitement outside the second branch of the Lin family, so he wasn't shy at all.
"What's your full name?" Lin Momo asked deliberately, trying to find out his name.
"What's your real name? I'm just called Gou Dan!"
Lin Momo's heart skipped a beat: "Uh, Gou Dan, could you do Er Ya a favor?"
This name does indeed sound very rural.
"What kind of help?"
"Go back and call Sanya over for me. Remember to do it quietly, and don't let anyone else know."
Lin emphasized this point, then tempted him with a reward, "If you can do it, these two candies are yours."
Then, she opened her palm in front of him, revealing the candy in her hand.
"Okay, Sister Er Ya, wait for me, I'm going right now!"
Dog Egg's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously licked his lips. Then, he turned around and ran towards the village two or three hundred meters away.
Which little brat can resist the temptation of sugar-coated bullets?
Looking at Gou Dan, who was running faster than a rabbit, Lin Momo smiled.
A short while later, Lin Sanya came running over, panting, with Gou Dan.
Lin gave the candy to the grinning Gou Dan and said with a smile, "Alright, go play now."
After Gou Dan left happily, Lin Sanya asked curiously, "Second Sister, why didn't you come into the village when you came back?"
However, thinking about his brother's wedding a few days ago, his second sister neither attended nor gave a gift.
Her mother was furious at home, cursing her second sister for being an ingrate who wouldn't even come back for her own brother's wedding.
She even said things like, "She married into a good family, but now she's turned her back on her own family, afraid we'll benefit from her success. If I'd known she was such an ungrateful wretch, I should have just strangled her when she was born..."
Her brother angrily retorted, "Since she doesn't consider herself part of the family, she can forget about ever stepping into this house again!"
Even her father was angry with her second sister.
My second sister has really offended everyone in the family this time.
I thought to myself, my second sister probably guessed it too, which is why she doesn't dare to go home.
"Sanya, your second sister came here to take you away. Would you like to go with your second sister?" Lin Momo asked with a smile.
If she's willing, then she can take her to live in the mountains; if she's not willing, she won't force her.
Lin Momo handed the choice to her.
Although he desperately wanted to rescue her from the inferno of the Lin family's second branch and prevent the tragedy in his dream from happening, he also didn't want to do something thankless.
"Go with Second Sister?" Lin Sanya asked incredulously, her mouth agape. "Aren't we going to tell Father, Mother, and Big Brother?"
The second sister didn't go into the village, and even had Gou Dan secretly call her out, clearly intending to abduct her secretly.
Lin Sanya couldn't help but recall that her second sister had left without a word the last time.
"Yes, we'll leave quietly, but they'll definitely find out about it from Gou Dan later."
By then, they had already gone into the mountains.
When they went to town, they couldn't find anyone at the newly bought house. Even though the second branch of the family was unwilling to give up, they had no choice but to give up.
When Grandpa Lin found out that it was she who took Sanya away, he didn't worry about his granddaughter.
Before leaving, Lin Momo left a letter for the old man, which Uncle Li, who stayed at home, would later deliver to Linjia Village.
However, the letter did not mention the abduction of Lin Sanya, only saying that the couple was going on a long trip and the return date was uncertain.
After hesitating for a long time, Lin Sanya stammered, "Second sister, can I...can I not go?"
Her eyes were fixed on a spot on the ground, and she dared not look at her second sister's face.
She was quite happy to hear that she could live with her second sister, but the thought of her parents and eldest brother made her terrified and she couldn't be happy at all.
My mother told my eldest brother that she no longer recognized my second sister as her daughter, and that my second sister would have no family home to return to in the future.
If she leaves with her second sister, won't she never be able to come home again?
With that thought in mind, she simply couldn't muster the courage to leave with her second sister.
Besides, even if I went to live in town with my second sister, my eldest brother would drag me back and beat me up anyway, so it's better not to go.
Since Lin Momo had already tested Lin Sanya once before, she wasn't surprised to be rejected again.
"Can you tell me why you're unwilling?" Lin Momo still wanted to try.
I want to know what she's really thinking? What are her concerns?
"I'm scared. Second sister, I don't want to leave here."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
