Chapter 21: Internal Conflicts of the Old Lin Family

“The money is gone! I bet you took it to support your family!” Lin Daguan still couldn’t believe that the silver, which was safely kept at home, could suddenly disappear. He was convinced that Lin Xiaowu had taken it to help her family.

Just like his mother, she was an ungrateful leech—always thinking of how to support her family instead of her own household.

“Husband, you have to believe me, I really didn’t take it…” Lin Xiaowu insisted, knowing that the money in question was carefully saved for her beloved son’s future marriage.

“Damn it! It’s because I trusted you too much that I let you use the money to support your family…” Lin Daguan knew exactly how much money Lin Xiaowu had managed to save up.

Just the thought that all that silver might have been wasted on her family made him furious, wanting nothing more than to beat this wasteful woman senseless.

In fact, he picked up a door bolt that was resting against the door and swung it at Lin Xiaowu with all his might.

As he struck, he berated her with harsh words.

The onlookers outside, initially thinking that the drama at the old Lin house had come to an end, realized there was still an exhilarating show to watch and became engrossed in the scene.

“Enough! If you keep yelling, both of you get out!”

Old Man Lin, who had been silently observing the chaos, finally stepped in to put a stop to this farce when he heard the painful cries from Lin Daguan and the increasingly frenzied discussions outside.

“Father, I really didn’t take the money to support my family!” Lin Xiaowu covered her bruised face, sobbing to Old Man Lin in an attempt to get him on her side.

“Shameful! Don’t you think this is embarrassing enough?” After saying that, he bent down and pulled a tiny piece of broken silver from the sole of his shoe and handed it to Lin Daguan. “Take this; it’s for Doctor Yang’s consultation fee.”

Lin Daguan knew that they were already the center of attention, so seeing that Old Man Lin was willing to contribute, he dropped the door bolt and reached out to take the small piece of silver.

However, to his dismay, it was barely worth anything.

Looking up, he saw his father’s pained expression.

“Father, do you really want to give or not? If not, stop teasing me,” Lin Daguan lost his patience.

Ever since Lin Dayou had moved out of their home, life had been particularly uneasy for them, especially financially…

Ultimately, Old Man Lin relented, hunched over, and shuffled back to his room.

Doctor Yang was unaware that the mere change he received resulted from scraping coins from Old Man Lin’s shoe. When Lin Daguan offered it to him, he did not reach out to take it but instead gestured for his apprentice to collect it.

After politely nodding at Lin Daguan, he took his apprentice and headed toward Lin Dayou’s house.

As soon as Doctor Yang left, another wave of bickering erupted in the old Lin family household. The clash of voices and curses had the watching villagers captivated, abandoning their meals to witness the spectacle.

Meanwhile, at Lin Dayou’s home, Lin Luoxi had risen early and was busily tending to the simple kitchen.

After rinsing some fish, she had previously marinated, she prepared to cook it but discovered that the only pot at home had a crack and was unsuitable for making fish soup.

As her gaze swept across the kitchen, she spotted a clay pot that had been left in the corner, a smile finally breaking across her face.

“Sister, that’s the pot for your mother’s medicinal broth!” Lin Luoping saw Lin Luoxi happily grasping the clay pot and couldn’t help but exclaim.

“I have no choice. I want to make fish soup for everyone, but we don’t have a pot, so I’ll have to use this,” Lin Luoxi said, trying to entice Lin Luoping with the promise of food.

“Fish soup? That sounds great! Sister, let me help you wash!” As soon as food was mentioned, Lin Luoping’s stomach began to rumble, and she eagerly volunteered to assist.

“No need! You’re too little, and if you break it, we won’t have anything left to cook the fish!” The only cooking pot they had was cracked—this clay pot was precious and had to be kept safe.

“Oh.” Once Lin Luoping heard that, she immediately stopped insisting on helping and obediently grabbed a small stool, sitting down in front of Lin Luoxi to watch her work.

From that moment on, no matter where Lin Luoxi went, Lin Luoping followed closely behind, as if afraid Lin Luoxi wouldn’t share the fish with her, much to Lin Luoxi’s amusement and exasperation.

It wasn’t just Lin Luoping watching with anticipation; even Lin Dongqian, who usually said he didn’t care for fish, lingered in the kitchen to lend a hand.

As the hustle and bustle continued, the people in the old Lin family were completely unaware that chaos had erupted in their household.

Perhaps hearing the commotion, but seeing no connection to their own family, they chose to ignore it.

As the fish cooked in the clay pot, bubbling away and turning milky white, the fragrance wafted through the air above Lin Dayou’s household.

“Wow, big brother, second sister, that smells great!” Lin Luoping, who had been sitting by the kitchen, caught a whiff of the delicious fish soup and swallowed hard, her excitement palpable.

“It really does smell good! I can’t believe fish can taste this wonderful when cooked like this…” Lin Dongqian finally began to believe Lin Luoxi’s claims about fish being delicious, inhaling deeply to capture every bit of fragrance.

“See, I wasn’t lying to you!” Lin Luoxi said confidently as she watched the expressions of delight on her brother and sister’s faces.

“Don’t cook the fish too long, or it will become tough. It’s almost ready,” she said, grabbing bowls to serve everyone a helping of fish and broth.

“Mmm, this is so good!”

Lin Dayou and Lin Wangshi, despite being ordered to rest by Lin Luoxi, couldn’t help but notice how aromatic the fish smelled. They hadn’t anticipated that the fish would taste this good, completely different from the muddy, fishy flavor they had known before.

Sipping the flavorful broth, Lin Luoxi felt a surge of pride; she had added a drop of water from the Spirit Dew Spring, and even without ginger to mask any unpleasant smells, it tasted fantastic.

“Hey, what are you cooking those smells so good?” Accompanying Doctor Yang were Village Chief Lin Zhousheng and a young man named Yang Xiaofeng.

“Village chief, Doctor Yang, Yang Xiaofeng, you’re here!” Lin Dongqian stood up, respectfully acknowledging their presence.

“Village chief, Doctor Yang, Yang Xiaofeng, have you eaten yet? We have fish soup here that’s very delicious…” Lin Luoxi, aware that these three were important figures for their family, stood up enthusiastically.

Seeing them all look at the fish soup in their bowls, she hurried to fetch three additional bowls, filling each with fish broth.

“Uncle Village Chief, Grandpa Yang, Yang Xiaofeng, if you don’t mind, please try our fish soup,” Lin Luoxi said warmly as she personally presented the bowls to them.

Village Chief Lin Zhousheng had tasted fish soup before, but the overpowering muddy smell still haunted him.