Chapter 24

Lin Yun was speaking in front, while Lin Yumei and Lin Yonggang stood behind her nodding constantly. Zhao Lanxiu looked at the three of them—completely unmoved and unyielding—and she honestly didn’t know what to do. If it were earlier in time, she might’ve just taken direct action, but now, every word out of their mouths was “we earned this money ourselves, we’ll spend it how we want.” And the truth was, they hadn’t done anything wrong—it was all to help improve the household.

The worst part was, everything they said was true, and Zhao Lanxiu had no way to refute them.

In rural households, disciplining children typically relied on physical punishment. This used to work in the Lin family, but ever since Lin Yun started making money with her siblings, that method lost its effectiveness. If it were only Lin Yun, Zhao Lanxiu might’ve just locked her at home for two weeks to get her under control. But with all three kids united, she really didn’t know what to do.

After all, there was already so much work to do every day, and she didn’t have the time or energy to keep an eye on all three kids. Most of the time, she didn’t even know what they were up to.

But today, seeing all the new things suddenly appear in the house, she realized that her daughter likely had far more money on hand than she ever imagined.

“You kids carrying around this much money is too dangerous. Hand it over to me and I’ll save it for you. I’ll return it when you get married.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Lin Yun became instantly alert. Mess with her if you must, but don’t mess with her money. She refused outright.

“No way. Mom, don’t push it. Every time we make money, we use it to improve things at home. It’s not like we’re doing anything shady. Why do you have to control everything?

If that’s how you’re going to be, we won’t make money anymore. There’s no benefit to it anyway, and we still get scolded for buying anything.”

The two others nodded in agreement, completely synchronized. Lin Yonggang even said bluntly to his mom, “If you think what we’re doing is wrong, I’ll just go back to hanging out with Qiangzi and the guys every day. They’ve been asking why I haven’t been around lately.”

Lin Yonggang had learned a thing or two from his sister. He knew their mom favored sons over daughters. Even though he didn’t think he got anything special out of it, he had to admit his situation was better than his sisters’. So now, he knew exactly how to play his mom—if his sisters’ words didn’t work, he’d step in.

Maybe it was his words that stunned her, but Zhao Lanxiu stayed silent for a long time.

Lin Yun followed up on what Lin Yonggang said, “Alright, Mom. It’s late. We’re going to bed. Let’s talk tomorrow. Isn’t Dad going to turn in the public grain tomorrow? Let’s just get some sleep now.” She started yawning and walked toward the house, but after a couple of steps, she suddenly turned back and said, “Oh right, Mom, remember to put the meat in the water jar or it’ll go bad by tomorrow. Also, let Dad go with Yonggang tomorrow. We borrowed Third Uncle’s ox cart, so Dad can ride it instead of carrying everything himself.” Then she went inside.

Zhao Lanxiu couldn’t believe what she heard. She turned to her son, “You borrowed your Third Uncle’s ox cart? He agreed?”

She knew her older brother well. He was an honest, upright man, but his wife was something else. Even though their third brother lived closest to them, Zhao Lanxiu visited his place the least—mainly because she didn’t want to see his wife.

At first, Zhao Lanxiu used to go there often. But every time she did, her sister-in-law would give her a face full of disdain. Despite visiting many times, she’d rarely even make it through the door.

Zhao Lanxiu wasn’t stupid. Eventually, she just stopped going. Only during the busy farming season, when there was no other choice, would she go borrow the ox—then help take care of the cattle and cut grass for a couple of weeks as payment.

So when Lin Yun said they borrowed the ox cart from Third Uncle, Zhao Lanxiu was stunned. “How did you manage that?”

Lin Yonggang pointed at the meat. “We bought a jin (500g) of meat, and Sis cut off a piece to give to Third Aunt. She was very happy and lent us the ox without a second thought.”

Even Lin Yonggang found it surprising. He’d heard his mom complain about Third Aunt countless times. But tonight, just one small piece of meat had totally changed her attitude.

“Dad, call me in the morning so I can go fetch the ox from Third Uncle. You don’t have to carry everything this year. Sis also said after we turn in the grain, we can use the ox to roll the threshing ground—it’ll make things much easier.”

Up until now, Lin Chuntian had been quietly listening. He finally spoke: “Why waste money on that? It’s not like I can’t carry it.”

“Well, we already gave them the meat. It’s not like you can go back and ask for it now.
Dad, don’t forget to wake me up tomorrow. I’m heading to bed too.”

After the three kids had all gone to bed, Zhao Lanxiu looked at Lin Chuntian. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

Usually as silent as a rock, this time Lin Chuntian actually responded: “What can I say? Even you can’t control them. You think they’ll listen to me? These kids are smarter than us, and they’ve grown up. As long as they don’t turn bad, let them be.”

Zhao Lanxiu wasn’t pleased. “Oh, now you want to be the good guy? So I wasn’t doing everything for the kids before? Fine, from now on, I won’t interfere either. Let them do whatever they want.”

The next day, the three kids woke up early as usual. Lin Yonggang fetched the ox cart and helped Lin Chuntian load the grain onto it. Then they set off slowly toward the grain station, carrying two rice cakes Zhao Lanxiu had made for them that morning. She’d gotten up very early and made breakfast for the father and son—not anything fancy, just sweet potato rice with a bit of leftover pork lard from the last time they rendered fat. Still, both men ate heartily.

Spending an entire day turning in public grain was pretty normal. The grain station wasn’t close, and it’s not like you could just show up and be done. There were tons of people turning in grain every day, but only one station—so the queue was long, and waiting for inspections took forever.

Lin Yun had been hearing Lin Yonggang mutter all morning, “It has to pass, it has to pass.” After all, if it didn’t, they’d have to haul everything back, re-dry it, and bag it again—basically repeating the exhausting process of harvest season all over.

Lin Yun reassured him: “Don’t worry. If it really doesn’t pass, just give them the thing I gave you.”