Concealment

“Who said they would sell you as a child bride?” Lin Chengshan asked, seeing how frightened his daughter was. He believed that someone else must have said this to her, as there was no way such a young girl could know about these things on her own.

Those people were truly reprehensible!

Gossiping among themselves was one thing, but how could they talk like this in front of a child?

Lin Chengshan remembered hearing unpleasant things from others when he was a child too. While he could brush it off, seeing his daughter so fearful made him wonder how much she had suffered in his absence.

Lin Qingqing remained silent. Her mother had told her not to talk about these things.

“Let’s eat first.” Seeing his daughter lowering her head, Lin Chengshan did not force her to tell him who said those words.

In the past, Lin Chengshan spent less time with his daughter, and his daughter was a little afraid of him. She didn’t dare tell those people, which was normal. Lin Chengshan gently rubbed his daughter’s head and signaled her to eat quickly. After he was reborn, he came back in a hurry, fearing that if he came back a minute later, his daughter would be gone.

Lin Chengshan hadn’t bought any food on his way back. His priority had been to save his daughter’s life. Watching her eat bite by bite gave him a deep sense of fulfillment.

In his past life, apart from handling business and dealing with people like Xiao Man, Lin Chengshan often cooked and even learned from top chefs. He had always thought that if his daughter were still alive, he would make her all sorts of delicious meals.

Every year on his daughter’s memorial day, Lin Chengshan would prepare a feast in her honor. On regular days, he would place homemade pastries and other treats in front of her portrait.

That portrait was drawn by Lin Chengshan from memory. He used to have a family photo of himself, Xiao Man, and Lin Qingqing when she was very young, sitting on his lap.

Lin Chengshan had once carried that photo with him, but Xiao Man had destroyed it. Without any photos of his daughter, he had to rely on his own memory to draw her image. Memories, however, tend to fade over time. Lin Chengshan didn’t dare to alter the first drawing he made of his daughter. Even after becoming wealthy and hiring renowned artists, none of the portraits seemed to capture the likeness of his daughter accurately.

Apart from food, Lin Chengshan also placed toys and new clothes in front of his daughter’s portrait.

But what was the use? His daughter was no longer alive, and those things were just for show.

“Don’t worry, Daddy would never sell you as a child bride. You are Daddy’s precious daughter,” Lin Chengshan said. “Your mother didn’t want you, but Daddy wants you. Daddy wants you to be the happiest girl in the world.”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

It was Zhao Xintong, who had gone to the countryside with Xiao Man as an educated youth. Zhao Xintong and Xiao Man had a fairly good friendship.

Before going to the city, Lin Chengshan had sent his daughter to Zhao Xintong, asking her to help take care of the child. He didn’t trust the Lin family to look after his daughter. But who knew his daughter would drown? When Lin Chengshan called home, Zhao Xintong still said everything was fine and the child was okay.

So Lin Chengshan sent money to Zhao Xintong. He had to stay in the city to make Xiao Man come back.

Whenever Lin Chengshan thought of the past, he was filled with hatred. He hated these people and also hated himself.

“Have you found Xiao Man?” Zhao Xintong asked, carrying a bamboo basket with a large cabbage and two eggs inside. She took the eggs and cabbage out of the basket.

Before going to the city, Lin Chengshan had given Zhao Xintong quite a bit of money. Now that he was back, Zhao Xintong didn’t really want to give the money back.

“No, I’m not looking anymore,” Lin Chengshan said.

“Not looking anymore?” Zhao Xintong was surprised. Lin Chengshan loved Xiao Man so much, and now he wasn’t looking for her?

“Yes, not looking anymore,” Lin Chengshan nodded.

As soon as Zhao Xintong entered, Lin Qingqing stopped what she was doing and didn’t eat another bite. Lin Qingqing was somewhat afraid of Zhao Xintong. Zhao Xintong and Xiao Man had a good relationship and often talked together. They both disliked Lin Qingqing.

After the college entrance exams were reinstated, Zhao Xintong took the exams but failed to get into college. This left Zhao Xintong feeling bitter. Despite taking the exams many times and studying hard, it was Xiao Man, who was taking the exam for the first time, who got accepted.

Although Zhao Xintong and Xiao Man were friends, that didn’t mean Zhao Xintong had no selfishness. Zhao Xintong was always envious that Xiao Man could marry a soldier. Even though Lin Chengshan later became a professional, he had a job and sent money to Xiao Man every month. Zhao Xintong’s in-laws, on the other hand, were much worse off, scraping a living from the land without a proper job.

“It’s for the best,” Zhao Xintong said. “By the way, did you get your divorce certificate?”

Many people in the countryside got married without official certificates and therefore didn’t need divorce certificates either.

But Lin Chengshan and Xiao Man were different; they had official marriage certificates.

“…” Lin Chengshan was silent. Of course, he remembered they hadn’t gotten a divorce certificate.

Xiao Man didn’t care about the divorce certificate, as many educated youths didn’t. The times were different from later years. The Internet is not so developed, and identity information in various places is not interoperable. As long as you had proof of being single, you could get married again.

Many people committed bigamy, and it was hard to detect unless someone specifically pointed it out.

“I will handle it,” Lin Chengshan said. He remembered that in the previous life, when he went to find Xiao Man, she didn’t care about the divorce certificate. Lin Chengshan had tried to win her back, and Xiao Man, fearing that others would find out they weren’t divorced, tricked him into getting the divorce certificate, saying they would start over.

As a result, of course, the two of them did not start over, and Xiao Man remarried.

“From now on, I’ll take care of my daughter myself,” Lin Chengshan said. “You can keep two yuan for your help, but give me back the remaining eight yuan.”

Lin Chengshan looked at his daughter, who was obviously hungry but had stopped eating. He realized Zhao Xintong’s influence on her was significant. He couldn’t let Zhao Xintong stay, and he needed to show his daughter his attitude towards Zhao Xintong.

The past hadn’t happened yet, so it wasn’t the right time to fall out with Zhao Xintong, especially since her husband was a relative of the Lin family.

Lin Chengshan hasn’t been without any help in this village. As long as he hasn’t left the village with his daughter, it’s best not to make things too tense. Now that the policies have just loosened up, many things are still restricted. Lin Chengshan doesn’t want to argue with these people over such matters at this time.

This hatred and resentment still need to be avenged, but he had to choose the right time and method.

As a father, he couldn’t act recklessly. He had to be smart.

“Um…” Zhao Xintong no longer had the eight yuan. After getting the money, she went to the market to buy clothes and other things. Zhao Xintong spent the money on her family and didn’t think about spending it on Lin Qingqing. Thinking quickly, Zhao Xintong said, “I saw Qingqing’s clothes were patched, so I bought clothes to make her new clothes. I also bought cotton to make her a quilt. The money is almost all spent.”

“Then let’s see how much you’ve spent, and I’ll take the items,” Lin Chengshan said. “Give me back the remaining money.”

Zhao Xintong didn’t expect Lin Chengshan to insist. She didn’t work much, so she didn’t have much money. The money was in her mother-in-law’s hands, and she couldn’t get it.

To persuade her family to help her return to the city, Zhao Xintong had bought many things for them.

“Don’t tell me you’ve spent all the money?” Lin Chengshan sneered. “That money was for my daughter, not for you.”

“No,” Zhao Xintong said.

“You took care of my child for two days, and I’ll pay you for that. That’s what you deserve,” Lin Chengshan said. “But the rest of the money…”

“Can you wait a few days?” Zhao Xintong asked.

“I gave you cash,” Lin Chengshan said. “A full ten yuan. How could you not have any cash left after just two days?”

Lin Chengshan didn’t care if Zhao Xintong was a woman. She had deliberately concealed his daughter’s death and tricked him into sending money. It was too despicable. At that time, ten yuan was not a small amount, and Zhao Xintong hadn’t taken good care of the child.

“Yes, yes.” Zhao Xintong was about to explode with anger, but she still had to behave better in front of Lin Chengshan, and she didn’t want the villagers to know that she had spent all the money. Zhao Xintong looked at Lin Qingqing, “Qingqing, why don’t you eat? This dumpling soup is getting cold.”

“You go back first. I’ll come to your house later to get it,” Lin Chengshan said.

Even though it was summer, Lin Chengshan didn’t want his daughter to eat cold soup. It wouldn’t taste good when cold. He was already upset about not having the best ingredients to make food for his daughter, so he couldn’t let her go hungry any longer.

Zhao Xintong quickly left with her empty bamboo basket. Lin Chengshan didn’t make her take back the cabbage and eggs. At most, he could just consider them as bought by him.

“Qingqing, hurry up and eat,” Lin Chengshan said, looking at his daughter. “These people are not good. You don’t need to pay attention to them. Daddy will protect you.”

“…” Lin Qingqing didn’t say anything. She looked at Lin Chengshan with her big, watery eyes, slightly reddened.

They’re not good people? Does that mean they are bad people?

Lin Qingqing didn’t dare speak, fearing that if she said something wrong, it would make her dad angry. As long as her dad didn’t abandon her or sell her, she would be very obedient.

Seeing his daughter’s silence, Lin Chengshan felt a deep sense of helplessness. He needed to slowly show his daughter his love and care. He truly cherished her dearly.

When Zhao Xintong returned home, she was extremely upset and immediately complained to her husband, Xu Youcai, “Your cousin is really something. We helped take care of his daughter, and now that he’s back, he wants us to give the money back. I’ve already spent it all; there’s no money left to give him. He said he’ll come over to get the money later. What are we going to do? What should we do?”