Linjia Village.
After dawn, Lin Sanya, who had woken up naturally, did not see her second sister on the kang (a heated brick bed) and assumed that she had already gotten up and was busy outside.
But when she finished dressing and went out of the house, she didn't see anyone in the yard. She ran into the kitchen and saw no one there either. She couldn't help but wonder where her second sister had gone. Why couldn't she see her anywhere?
Lin Musheng, who had been sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), got up sometime earlier and was weaving something with bamboo strips again.
Lin Sanya ran to the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked, "Dad, have you seen my second sister? Did she go out?"
"Isn't your second sister in the house? I got up just as dawn broke, but I didn't see her."
Lin Musheng was taken aback by his little girl's question, and his knitting hands involuntarily stopped.
Perhaps he had slept too much recently, but ever since he woke up, he has been waking up before dawn every day and waiting until it is light enough to see things in the room before getting up and starting to work.
But when he woke up, he didn't see his second daughter, nor did he hear any noise.
I thought she was asleep.
Lin Sanya asked in confusion, "Ah! Where did my second sister go?"
Suddenly remembering something, he dashed out and went through the main room to the outhouse in the backyard.
But she still couldn't see her second sister, and Lin Sanya started to panic.
He thought to himself, "If there's no outhouse, where else can my second sister go?"
Xu, who rarely gets up early, was furious when she learned that Lin Momo had disappeared. She immediately started cursing, "That brat, where has she gone off to instead of working at home? Did she sneak off to town again? A little girl like her running around every day, isn't she afraid of being robbed by a child trafficker? When she comes back, I'll teach her a lesson this time!"
She escaped the beating last time, but this time Zhiqiang must retaliate tenfold. If this brat isn't taught a lesson, she'll think she's got a death wish.
Lin Sanya gleaned some useful information from her mother's words, and her eyes lit up.
Maybe my second sister really did go to town again.
Lin Musheng also thought it was possible, and his brows furrowed. This second daughter had gone to the county with her uncle, and last time she dared to run off to the town on her own. This time she actually went again without telling anyone. This was not the kind of personality a girl should have.
Her mother was right; her second daughter's temperament definitely needed to be corrected.
Otherwise, it will be difficult for them to get married in the future.
Knowing where his daughter was, Lin Musheng felt relieved and continued weaving his bamboo strips.
A short while later, Old Master Lin came in with a cane.
He handed the crutch to his second son and placed it by the kang (a heated brick bed), instructing him, "In a few more days, when your leg injury has almost healed, you can use the crutch to walk around and get some exercise."
"Yes," Lin Musheng replied.
As soon as Grandpa Lin entered the courtyard, he couldn't see Lin Momo. He went into the house but didn't see anyone either. He only saw Lin Sanya brewing medicine under the stove. He couldn't help but ask, "Where's Erya? I can't see her."
"I haven't seen anyone all morning, they probably went to town."
"She didn't even tell you adults where she went? That shouldn't be the case." Old Master Lin sensed something was wrong, his expression darkening. He then asked his granddaughter, "Sanya, don't you know where your second sister went?"
Lin Sanya sat up straight and shook her head, saying, "My second sister didn't tell me. I didn't see her when I woke up this morning."
The old man couldn't help but worry about Lin Momo.
Last time she went to town to sell medicine, what is she going to town for this time?
"Grandpa, Grandpa, someone's here! My father wants you to come home!"
Before the old man could think further, his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden shout from outside.
*
The Lin family's old house.
Today, the area outside the Lin family's gate is particularly lively.
Early in the morning, a horse-drawn carriage came from outside the village and finally stopped in front of Old Master Lin's house.
A large number of villagers quickly gathered in front of the Lin family's house to watch the spectacle, crowding the entrance.
The crowd pointed at the carriage and whispered among themselves.
Grandpa Lin, who was on his way back, saw it from afar and was quite startled. He wondered what kind of important person had come to his house that had caused such a commotion.
Pushing through the crowd and entering his own courtyard, Old Master Lin saw an old man and a young man sitting there, dressed in the manner of wealthy people from head to toe.
Lin Gensheng and his son sat awkwardly to one side.
The grandchildren were unusually well-behaved today, standing to the side and curiously watching the two distinguished guests in the courtyard.
Before he could get closer and see who it was, the old man immediately stood up and said with a warm smile, "Brother Lin, you're back! It's been many years since we last met, hasn't it? Hahaha."
"You are... Brother Shi?" Old Master Lin asked uncertainly.
"I never expected that after so many years, Brother Lin would still recognize me. I'm ashamed." If he were to bump into Brother Lin on the street, he might not even recognize him.
He looked much older than him; if he hadn't gone to the man's house, he wouldn't have recognized him.
The two old friends, who hadn't seen each other for many years, exchanged a few more pleasantries.
Old Shi then pointed to the boy beside him and said, "This is my eldest grandson, named Guangyao."
"This junior greets Grandpa Lin." The young man immediately bowed to Grandpa Lin and then stepped back behind his grandfather.
After they had all met, Grandpa Lin led the grandfather and grandson into the main room, where they sat down as host and guest.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Old Master Lin cut to the chase and asked, "Brother Shi, what brings you here today?"
Old Master Lin had also attended the private school in town back then, and this old friend was a classmate he met there. The two came from similar backgrounds and had similar temperaments. They were very close back then and talked about everything.
Later, Old Master Lin failed to achieve anything academically and returned home to inherit the meager family business, while his classmate passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. In order to help him advance further, his family moved to the county seat. With the distance between them, their relationship gradually became more distant.
However, every time Old Master Lin went back to the county town, he would always visit his home.
Although we've grown distant, we still keep in touch from time to time.
This classmate didn't pass the imperial examination to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination), but he reportedly had a son who was exceptionally gifted in his studies. The son passed the Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination) at a young age and eventually became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest-level imperial examination) and an official. The Shi family's fortunes changed from then on. After his wife passed away, this classmate lived with his son in another place.
From then on, the two never saw each other again.
The reason they've suddenly come here now is probably not just to reminisce.
Although Old Man Lin is old, his mind is still sharp.
Upon hearing this, Old Man Shi laughed heartily and said, "Brother Lin, you're still as straightforward as ever. Alright, I won't hide anything from you..."
The two elderly people were talking inside the house, but the boy quietly slipped out.
The boy standing under the eaves of the main room could vaguely hear the two old men talking, but he seemed completely uninterested in their conversation and ignored them.
In fact, his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
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