Lin Yue was laughing like a child.

He had seemed steady during the divorce days, but after working happily with the farm machinery team and being protected by Sister-in-law Lu Da, he had reverted to his carefree, childlike self.

He didn’t seem to have grown up at all.

When Bao’er saw his older siblings, he wanted to get down and play with them instead of being carried like a monkey by his dad.

It was frightening.

Bao’er was different from Lin Yue; he resembled Lin Father more—slow, unhurried, and very steady.

Panpan generously offered candy to Bao’er and immediately warned, “Don’t eat too much candy, it will rot your teeth and hurt.”

Bao’er, who was about to put the candy in his mouth, hesitated, unsure whether to eat it or not.

Tian Tian smiled and said, “Go ahead, but don’t eat too much. Remember to rinse your mouth after.”

Bao’er then happily put the candy in his mouth without any worries.

Lin Yue greeted Lu Shaotang but dared not say much more.

Lu Shaotang was broad-shouldered and imposing, even as a fellow man, his presence was very intimidating.

Moreover, although Lu Shaotang was handsome, his natural demeanor was cold and somewhat fierce, giving off a strong aura when he wasn’t smiling.

It wasn’t until Lu Shaotang took the initiative to show concern that Lin Yue relaxed, asking about Lin Shu’s foot.

As the two children were about to enter the yard, they turned back and said, “My mother twisted her foot while bravely fighting off a thug!”

Lin Father and Lin Mother, who were at Uncle Lin’s house next door, came running out upon hearing the news, “Oh, Shaotang is back!”

Everyone was very happy to greet Lu Shaotang.

Lu Shaotang smiled and greeted everyone.

Uncle Lin’s son and daughter-in-law also came over to chat.

Once inside the house, everyone first exchanged pleasantries, expressing their immense joy at Lu Shaotang’s safe return. Lin Mother and Lin Father couldn’t help but shed some tears.

With their son-in-law back, they were overjoyed.

After wiping their tears, they talked about the commune’s recognition conference and then mentioned Xu Ermao.

Lin Mother clasped her chest, “Oh my, is it really that bad? It’s terrifying!”

Lin Aunt said, “So, those who seem honest and simple aren’t necessarily so. In the future, if there are any missing girls or daughters-in-law in the village, we should first check the honest men in the village.”

Honest men, represented by Uncle Lin and Lin Father: …

They didn’t argue, though.

If checking through a bunch of supposedly honest men could catch one fake honest but truly bad one, it would be worth it.

After catching up, Lin Aunt started organizing lunch.

Since Lin Yue’s divorce, Uncle Lin and Lin Aunt had put in effort to manage things…

The relationship between the Lin family and their neighbors had greatly improved since Lin Father and Lin Yue became tractor drivers.

The bond between the two families grew even stronger.

Lin Daniang instructed her daughter-in-law to pick some chives from their own vegetable garden.

If the spinach hadn’t grown, she was to go to the Zhou family’s place to ask for some, and also invite Zhou Mother, Zhou Father, and Zhou Weimin to join them for a meal.

When a son-in-law visits, it’s customary to have someone accompany him for drinking.

Fang Dihua prepared a variety of dishes: a bit of the previously made pickled meat, including half a pig’s ear, half a pig’s tongue, a large piece of sausage, a pig’s trotter, and a piece of liver.

Lin Mother asked Lin Daniang to cut everything up, and then mix with some scallions and soy sauce.

Additionally, there were stir-fried garlic spinach, scrambled eggs with chives, and hand-pulled noodles.

The saying “first meat and then noodles” was observed, so for the son-in-law’s first visit, they had fine noodles for him, his wife, and the children. The adults continued with cornbread as usual.

The adults were busy with cooking, leaving the children feeling bored and wanting to socialize outside.

Panpan asked Bao’er, “Want to go out and play?”

Bao’er, with a dazed expression, shook her head, saying no.

Panpan responded, “Why so silly? It’s much more fun outside!”

Bao’er replied, “Cold.”

Panpan and Tiantian were at a loss for words.

Tiantian encouraged, “Just run around and you’ll warm up.”

Bao’er whined, “Tired.”

The two older kids exchanged looks and, without further discussion, each grabbed one of Bao’er’s hands and started dragging him outside.

Bao’er initially resisted but eventually gave up and let them drag him along.

The children wanted to see if there were any festive decorations or colorful items in the neighborhood.

Lin Shu inquired about the awards ceremony, “Jing Secretary mentioned you were selected, but then you weren’t allowed to go. Was it someone who specifically blocked you?”

Originally, Lin Father and Lin Mother didn’t want to discuss it, but when their daughter returned, they chose not to bring it up.

Lin Father and Lin Yue had known about their selection and removal from the list for a while.

At first, they were a bit displeased, but when they discussed it with Lin Mother, she said, “What’s the point of that false honor? As long as we are healthy, well-fed, and have jobs, it’s better than any empty title.”

Lin Mother also pointed out, “The leaders still gave you a thermos, a basin, and a teacup. What more do you want?”

Indeed, it was true that some leaders had commented that Lin Yue’s divorce was not ideal and might affect their reputation, hence the directive to the commune to prevent them from attending the ceremony.

Lin Shu remarked, “I need to mention this to Director Qin when I get the chance. Divorce isn’t a crime. Why should that affect what we’re entitled to?”

Lin Father and Lin Mother were averse to trouble and preferred to avoid conflict unless it was a big issue.

They told Lin Shu not to worry too much, as long as they were getting paid regularly.

Lin Shu didn’t say anything further.

Lin Mother then changed the subject to the Sun family.

She smiled and said, “Lin Yue is stubborn and not very smart, but thankfully our family members are sincere. Most of his colleagues in the farm machinery team like him.”

Lin Yue had originally planned to retaliate against the Sun family, but since he wasn’t particularly clever or ruthless, he wouldn’t do anything extreme.

He wasn’t the type to play dirty tricks.

He straightforwardly questioned Sun San and his younger brother and sister about scaring Lin Mother.

Sun San claimed ignorance and denied it.

Lin Yue decided to lay everything out in the open, clearly explaining the issues between the two families to everyone and letting them judge for themselves.

Lin Yue felt that since the Sun family was playing dirty behind the scenes, why should he still save face for them in public?

He had spent enough time interacting with Lin Father and the tractor operators for them to know who they were and their characters.

They naturally also knew what kind of person Sun San was.

Sun San had taken shortcuts and used money to gain favors during assessments and often bought cigarettes for the instructors during training.

He liked to play little tricks.

However, he wasn’t particularly smart, and his methods weren’t sophisticated. Could city folks be fooled by him?

Even the rural farm machinery workers, after spending time with him, knew about his petty tricks.

So, Lin Yue’s straightforward approach and refusal to play dirty actually earned him favor with his colleagues.

Those who didn’t like Sun San naturally became more distant and wary of him.

Imagine having a colleague who likes to play dirty tricks and has a crazy younger brother—one might never know when they could provoke them, or when the younger brother might act against you behind your back.

It’s quite frightening.

Who wants to deal with such people?

Sun San was openly isolated by Lin Yue!

Lin Yue felt he had avenged his mother.

Since the Sun family stopped causing trouble, he considered the feud resolved.

He hoped the Sun family would stay out of trouble and each family could live their own lives peacefully.

However, the Sun family had been in chaos and unrest due to his interference over the past few months.