Chapter 31: The 1990s Teacher Supporting Character Who Despises the Poor and Favors the Rich (8)

Just moments earlier, the villagers had been saying that Fang Yuwei was unfilial, came back only to argue with Mother Lin, and didn’t even bring the children to visit the ancestors.

But in the next moment, the Lin family appeared together. Mother Lin saw Third Aunt Lin and smiled more than usual as she greeted her. “Are you going up the mountain?”

“Going right now.” Third Aunt Lin replied cheerfully, teasing the two children a bit before leaving.

“Mom, Mom—” The two children ran over to hug Fang Yuwei with laughter that was young and clear.

Everyone looked at each other—who was it that said Fang Yuwei wasn’t close to the children?

Spreading false gossip again!

In previous years, only three members of the Lin family went to the mountain. This year, with Fang Yuwei and the two children joining, their curiosity was piqued and they were full of energy, adding a lot of fun for everyone.

Lin Yan and Mother Lin held sickles to clear the way. Father Lin followed closely behind with a basket of offerings. Fang Yuwei walked with the two children, looking at the trees and plants on the mountain that were taller than a person.

Aside from the sun being too strong, the air was still fresh.

The group crossed numerous obstacles and even had to wade through a small creek before finally arriving at the gravesite. A year’s time had allowed wild grass to cover the tombs, so next came the task of cutting trees and weeds.

Father Lin placed the offerings and poured wine for the ancestors. Lin Yan held a brush to trace over the red characters on the tombstone. The two children came over curiously to watch their father and reached out to grab the brush.

They wanted to play too.

Lin Yan brought the boys over and handed each a writing brush. He was patiently teaching them hand-in-hand. When he looked up and saw Fang Yuwei’s beautiful eyes watching curiously, he gently asked, “Do you want to write?”

Fang Yuwei’s eyes flickered, and she didn’t speak.

According to the customs of the Fang family, girls were restricted from many things.

They could not inherit family property because it was believed they would bring bad luck to the village. They could not offer incense to the ancestors because they were destined to marry out. On Qingming Festival, they were not allowed to approach the tombstone, let alone trace the red characters with a writing brush…

This was something she had been forbidden to do since childhood. Under the insistence of her eldest aunt, she even had to stay far away because, as a girl, she could not continue the family line and was considered a “money-losing good.”

And women who married into the Fang family, during such holidays, were only expected to work—like killing chickens, cooking, preparing offerings, clearing the way through the mountain. These were their responsibilities. Offering incense to ancestors and tracing red on tombstones were men’s duties.

In the end, Fang Yuwei was the one holding the brush and tracing the characters. She was also teaching the two children to recognize the words on the tombstone.

The two little ones wrote as they learned in their childish voices, a bit silly and clumsy.

Mother Lin watched them with a smile that reached the corners of her eyes. She had also picked a handful of wild fruits, which made the two kids extremely happy. Xiao Yangyang grabbed one and immediately put it in his mouth.

The wild fruit was quite sour. His little face instantly scrunched into a ball and his body even trembled twice, like a meme.

Xiao Chaochao held the wild fruit and, seeing his brother’s reaction, hesitated for a moment before putting it in his mouth. He then repeated the same movements, his eyes squinting into slits.

It was sour.

So sour he waved his arms and legs and jumped on the spot several times.

“Pfft.” Fang Yuwei couldn’t help laughing, and just then, a water bottle appeared in front of her.

Lin Yan said gently, “Drink some water.”

The sun was blazing.

Fang Yuwei’s eyes fell on Lin Yan’s hand. His arms were covered in fine sweat, and a large portion of his clothes were soaked. After all, cutting trees and weeds under the blazing sun was extremely exhausting.

She took the bottle, drank a few sips, then handed it back to him. “You drink too, you’ve been sweating so much.”

“Okay.” Lin Yan responded, but instead took the water to feed the children first, coaxing them to drink several sips. Only after that did he drink half a bottle himself, then went back to chopping.

The Lin family didn’t have many graves, so they finished the rituals by noon and made it down the mountain in time for lunch.

The two kids had played wildly on the mountain for half a day. As soon as they got home and started eating, they were already drowsy. They climbed onto the bed and fell asleep on their own.

Mother Lin was afraid they would get hot, so she brought out the only two fans they had at home and set them up for the children.

After the meal, Fang Yuwei was also sleepy. She had gotten up early and climbed the mountain, yawning several times. Mother Lin quickly said, “Go inside and sleep. You must be exhausted.”

Hearing that, Fang Yuwei felt a little embarrassed.

Compared to the Lin family, all she did was watch over the children and follow the group, covered from head to toe. She hadn’t done any hard work.

“Go ahead. Get more rest.” Mother Lin repeated, her tone full of concern.

“Okay.” Fang Yuwei got up and went into the room. The children were sleeping on the inner side of the bed. Mother Lin was worried they might fall off and had placed pillows on the outside as a barrier.

She removed the pillows and lay down.

The quilt and pillows had just been washed, and the room had been cleaned thoroughly. Since Mother Lin was always in town, it must have been Father Lin who did it.

The old couple from the Lin family weren’t good at expressing themselves, but they wholeheartedly thought of their children.

Outside the room.

Lin Yan was cleaning up with Mother Lin. She wouldn’t let him help. “Go sleep. You’ve been busy all morning and must be tired.”

“I’m not tired.” Lin Yan felt sorry that his parents had been working all day. Since he rarely came back, he continued helping with the chores.

Mother Lin looked toward their marital bedroom and softly said, “Xiao Wei and the kids are sleeping. They must be exhausted.”

Speaking of them, a touch of gentleness slowly appeared in Lin Yan’s eyes. “If they don’t nap at noon, they get sleepy right on time.”

They were just like her.

You could tell at a glance that they were her children. Only their appearance resembled him. Their temperament and habits were exactly the same as hers.

“Are you home? Have you eaten?” Third Aunt Lin walked in from the entrance.

Hearing her loud voice, Mother Lin quickly went up to greet her. “Aunt, is there something you need?”

Third Aunt Lin handed over a bag. Inside were some pastries and some sweet potato noodles. “My mother is having a tombstone set up this year. This is from our family to yours.”

According to the village customs, when a deceased elder’s tombstone is set up, the daughter will buy a lot of pastries and sweet potato noodles to bring back to her maternal home. The maternal family then distributes some to every household in the village.

Mother Lin took the bag.

Third Aunt Lin looked around. “Where are the kids?”

“They’re sleeping inside with their mother,” Mother Lin replied, then added, “They’ve been tired all day. Got up early this morning and were sleepy long ago.”

Third Aunt Lin had naturally heard the gossip from the villagers and leaned in close to Mother Lin. “This morning, what were you and your daughter-in-law doing over at Heizi’s house?”

She heard that Fang Yuwei was trying to run away again, and Mother Lin went to talk her out of it.

She didn’t think that was the case, so she asked casually.

“The two kids ran off and hid again. Their mother was so anxious she searched the whole alley for them,” Mother Lin shook her head as she spoke. “Too mischievous. They wouldn’t even come out of hiding.”

“That’s just how kids are.”

After Third Aunt Lin left, she immediately spread the news.

So it wasn’t a family fight? They were looking for the kids.

Everyone else had been talking nonsense.

The villagers who had started spreading rumors were also present. Faced with the disapproving stares from everyone, they looked embarrassed and kept quiet.

After finishing their work, Father Lin and Mother Lin went back inside to rest.

Lin Yan took a shower and quietly opened the door to the room.

This was their marital room. When Fang Yuwei was in postpartum confinement, she stayed here too. But many unpleasant things happened at that time, and she never came back afterward.

Fang Yuwei and the two children were sleeping soundly. The small electric fan was blowing steadily. She had covered the children with a thin blanket, but she herself wasn’t covered with anything.

The tiled house was a bit drafty, and she had been chilled by the fan. Her body curled up, and she hugged herself.

Lin Yan moved the fan to a different position and turned down the fan speed. He walked to the side of the bed and lay down in the middle.

The bed was only 1.5 meters wide. The children were sleeping on the inside. There wasn’t much space left for them. They were almost pressed against each other.

Lin Yan was indeed tired and sleepy, but he couldn’t fall asleep at all. Being so close to Fang Yuwei stirred the feelings he once had.

The two children weren’t sleeping steadily. Xiao Yangyang started turning over and kicked Fang Yuwei with one foot, then wiggled around.

“Mm—” Fang Yuwei groaned in her sleep, looking annoyed as she pushed away the little foot.

As soon as she pushed it away, Xiao Yangyang’s other foot came “smack” against her again.

In her sleep, Fang Yuwei’s brows knitted together tightly, and her lips pouted.

Just as Lin Yan was about to get up to move the child further inside, Fang Yuwei once again pushed her son’s little foot away and shifted herself toward the outer edge of the bed.

Half-asleep, Fang Yuwei felt like she had touched her beloved duck plushie on the bed. She stretched out her slender leg and placed it over the “cute duck’s” body, then turned and hugged it with both arms.

She was a bit confused. Why didn’t it feel fluffy anymore?

It didn’t feel very soft when hugging it either.

Fang Yuwei forced herself to stay half-asleep. Eyes still closed, she fumbled from the bottom up, finally touching the “cute duck’s” fluffy head. She grabbed the fuzzy hair and rubbed it, but felt that the hair was a little longer than usual.

Forget it. It was her “cute duck” after all. She had hugged it to sleep for years.

She cuddled it and rubbed it a few more times. Then she kissed the “cute duck” on the face and snuggled up, happily drifting back to sleep.

Only Lin Yan lay stiffly on the bed, frozen like a rock. His heart pounded like a drum, and his body was too tense to move.