Chapter 99

When Wang Honghua’s words spread, the villagers laughed out loud.

Old Lady Qi laughed particularly loudly.

“Li Aifeng, what disgusting thing have you done? How can she be reborn as a dog in the next life?!”

Li Aifeng’s face turned red with anger. Wang Honghua had been acting crazy recently, and with the gossip spreading about the Wang family’s daughter being a lunatic, the villagers were talking more than ever.

Although Lin Daguo was shameless, he still wanted to keep some dignity in the village. He hoped that the villagers wouldn’t know about their daughter-in-law’s insanity. The village had often criticized Lin Daguo’s family for being ungrateful and heartless. Over time, the criticism faded.

Now, with Lin Hongwu marrying a madwoman, the villagers had new gossip. The village busybodies, with nothing better to do, talked about how the Lin family’s misfortune was karma, and how people get what they deserve.

Li Aifeng was even more annoyed when she heard Old Lady Qi laughing like a pig. She had been at odds with Old Lady Qi for more than ten years. This old woman was a big mouth in the village. Most of the little things in her family were spread by her. She was so angry that she started to curse, “That cursed old hag, always causing trouble for me! I’ll tear her face apart!”

Lin Daguo’s face darkened as he saw his wife’s endless curses and her desire to confront Old Lady Qi. He pulled her back.

“What are you doing? Don’t you remember Hongna’s warning? If any more trouble comes from our house and it reaches the town, don’t expect to get any money from her!”

Lin Hongna’s warning was what Lin Daguo cared about most.

Li Aifeng knew this well, but her frustration was too much to contain.

She looked around, not seeing Lin Hongwu, and was even angrier.

“Where is that good-for-nothing Hongwu? With such a big problem at home, where has he run off to?”

Lin Hongwu had been feeling very frustrated lately. Fearing Wang Honghua’s rage, he couldn’t take it anymore and ran off to the town without even informing his parents.

Lin Daguo and his wife had hoped to have a son to support them in old age, but instead, their son turned out to be unreliable and ran away, leaving them behind.

“Alright, enough about that troublemaker. Close the door quickly. Do you still want people to laugh at us?”

Li Aifeng snapped out of her rage and, along with Lin Daguo, worked to calm Wang Honghua while trying to chase the onlookers away with a forced smile.

“Look at the time, it’s already past twelve-thirty. Chen Dazhao, Li Daniu… we won’t keep you any longer. We’ll chat another time.”

The Lin family shut their doors, keeping the prying eyes of the village gossipers outside.

Seeing that there was nothing exciting to watch, the villagers yawned and dispersed one by one. Only Old Lady Qi was unwilling to leave. She moved her old legs to the outside of the Lin family’s earthen wall and listened again and again. When she couldn’t hear anything significant, she was eventually called back by her husband.

Lin Hongwu, who had been hiding in the town, was kicked and chased back by Lin Daguo the next day.

Currently, it is the busy farming season in the village, crucial for the food supply for the second half of the year. The village leader had already announced that no one could slack off or hire labor.

Lin Hongwu couldn’t slack off either. Since Lin Daguo and his wife had become cold towards him and no longer cared for him as they once did, he was expected to work just like everyone else. Lin Hongwu was put to work in the fields, bent over, pulling weeds. Under the hot sun, he worked hard, sweating profusely. He tried to take a break by rubbing his back, only to look up and see the village leader’s son, leading a shiny, well-fed wolfdog, keeping a watchful eye on him from a distance.

Lin Hongwu: “……”

*

With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, the scent of zongzi^[1]rice dumplings leaves filled the air as every household in Yunshui County washed zongzi leaves and soaked rice in preparation for making zongzi.

The people of Yunshui County preferred sweet zongzi. With glutinous rice being precious these days, most families couldn’t afford pure glutinous rice zongzi. They mixed white rice with glutinous rice to make a few small zongzi, allowing the children to have a taste.

Families with better conditions in the county would add dried red dates inside, giving the zongzi a sweet flavor.

While the Gu family was busy soaking glutinous rice, Gu Shi’an and his team, who had been away for more than half a month, finally returned home, looking worn out and disheveled. The once energetic group of young men had returned with beards and looked significantly thinner. Xu Xiangqian was limping due to an ankle injury sustained during training.

Gu Shi’an had a shoulder wound, covered by his clothes, which Zhang Cuilan and her husband couldn’t see, but Lin Yao could.

The timing of their return was not ideal, with their fat son asleep soundly in bed.

Gu Shi’an, who was dirty and couldn’t bathe due to his injuries, was brought a basin of water by Lin Yao. She took a new towel from the wardrobe, dampened it, wrung it out, and handed it to him to clean himself.

Gu Shi’an wiped himself down, draping the towel over the basin, and took the opportunity to change his dressings when Lin Yao wasn’t looking.

When Lin Yao turned around, Gu Shi’an was trying to put on clothes.

Lin Yao, suspicious, asked, “Gu Shi’an, what are you doing?”

Gu Shi’an, somewhat unconvincingly, said, “Nothing, I’m just cleaning up.”

Lin Yao wasn’t convinced. She went over and saw that Gu Shi’an had a palm-sized wound on his well-defined shoulder, which appeared to be healing but had some fresh bleeding through the gauze.

Lin Yao’s face grew stern as she hurriedly treated his wound and scolded him, “Look at you. Even when you’re injured, you don’t tell the family. What’s the point of having a mouth if you don’t use it?”

Gu Shi’an, in good spirits, only smiled, took Lin Yao’s small hand, kissed it, and playfully said, “Yao Yao, I’m hungry.”

Well, with that, Lin Yao’s anger dissipated.

To make it home before the Dragon Boat Festival, Gu Shi’an and his team had traveled nonstop, without proper rest for two nights. Lin Yao prepared a bed for him, encouraging him to get some good sleep, and quietly left the room.

Zhang Cuilan was in the yard, sifting rice to remove small stones. After that, she picked up dirty clothes from the ground, fetched water from the well, washed them with soap, and hung them on bamboo poles to dry. Then she sat under the pomegranate tree, weaving straw sandals. She worked quickly, able to finish a new pair in half an hour.

Lin Yao washed her hands, tied on an apron, and entered the kitchen. Carrying a small basin, Zhang Cuilan looked at her and asked, “Yao Yao, it’s not mealtime yet. What are you doing?”

Lin Yao, sipping barley tea, replied with a smile, “Mom, it’s no trouble for me to get things ready. It’s better to prepare the food in advance.”

The old lady felt a pang of sympathy, suggesting that it was too hot now and it would be better to wait until evening when it’s cooler.

“If I prepare it earlier, Gu Shi’an can eat it earlier.”

This was music to the old lady’s ears. She was pleased not just for the zongzi but because she appreciated her daughter-in-law’s care for her son. The fact that Lin Yao cared for Gu Shi’an was more important than anything else!

Gu Shidong sat in the yard, eagerly staring at the soaked glutinous rice in the basin, hoping to eat sweet zongzi soon.

Gu Mancang, having cleaned the large reed leaves and wild vegetables, called his youngest son to help retrieve the pork belly hanging in the well. The family would be reunited for the holiday, enjoying a big meal together.

Lin Yao reminded him, “There’s a grass fish in the bamboo basket. Watch out for Daju, don’t let it steal any.”

Mother Xu had just sent a grass fish. When Daju saw it, he stuck his tail up and meowed beside it.

Lin Yao had hung the fish in the well to prevent Daju from stealing it.

“Got it.”

Gu Shidong agreed and went to fetch the meat and fish from the well.

The grass fish was fresh and tender, and there wasn’t enough for the whole family. Lin Yao planned to make a delicious fish and tofu soup, with side dishes of home-grown vegetables, a stir-fry of chives and eggs, a stew of potatoes and meat, and a dish of homemade pickled bamboo shoots. The staple food was freshly steamed buns made from a mix of two kinds of flour.

Such a meal might not be luxurious, but it was among the best.

And with the sweet zongzi already prepared, Lin Yao was working busily. Before long, the Xu family’s five members also arrived at the courtyard..

The two families had agreed to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival together.

Gu Chunmei brought a basket of freshly made sweet dumplings and greeted Lin Yao, “I didn’t come empty-handed. I specially made your favorite sweet date dumplings. Do they smell good?”

Lin Yao laughed and playfully tapped her, “They’re not even cooked yet. Do you think I have a dog’s nose?”

“Haha, that’s not what I said.”

The two sisters chatted and laughed, and in less than half an hour, they had prepared a table full of delicious dishes.

The Gu family usually ate in the main room, but since there were more people this time and the weather was hot, they decided to move the table outside to eat in the yard.

Gu Shi’an and Xu Xiangqian had been roughing it in the mountains, chasing down drug traffickers, enduring hunger and fatigue, and sometimes only managing to get by with water.

Now, seeing the table full of fragrant dishes, they felt their stomachs rumbling.

Gu Shi’an remained composed, but Da Tou Brother, who had been eagerly waiting in the yard, couldn’t contain himself. As soon as the food was served, he quickly grabbed several pieces of the potato and meat stew and drank two big mouthfuls of the delicious tofu fish soup. It was just too fragrant!

The adults ate in the yard while the two little ones, Gu Doudou and Xu Tangyuan, were fast asleep in their small beds, oblivious to the delightful smells.

The aroma from the yard was so enticing that the two children, who usually slept for two to three hours, woke up halfway through their nap. They began making noises in the house, so their fathers took them outside and fed them the freshly steamed egg custard.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, Yunshui County experienced two days of rain. On the third morning, the light rain showed no sign of stopping. Gu Shi’an, dressed in a raincoat, went to the vegetable garden to harvest the first batch of chives. They were growing lush and thick, and he had gathered a large handful. As he was about to head back, he suddenly felt someone watching him from the yard. When he looked up, he only saw a pair of large feet disappearing into the rain.