Chapter 13: Lin Heling

Lin Mu smiled and said: "If you don't beat them, they won't become useful."

Ercai, the little bald head who had finished his haircut, was eating, and he nodded along, seemingly agreeing with his grandmother's words.

Lin Zhao picked up a dumpling for him and then picked up one for the bald Gu Da Cai, laughing: "What are you nodding for? Do you want me to beat you a few times too?"

"Plop—!"

The dumpling on Ercai's chopsticks fell into the bowl, and the child looked terrified, "Mother hits people too?"

Gu Da Cai was also a little nervous, his thin face wrinkled together.

When Mother hits him, can she avoid Ercai? He didn't want to lose face.

Lin Zhao could die laughing in her heart, pretending to be serious, "If you two are obedient, you won't get beaten. If you are naughty, then remember, wait for your father to come back and let your father beat you. Comrade Gu Chenghuai has muscles all over, full of strength, and hits the most painfully."

Gu Da Cai & Ercai looked shocked: "!!!"

In just a few breaths, the meat dumplings wrapped in white flour were no longer fragrant.

"Pfft..." Lin Shisheng couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Zhao Zhao, look at how you scared the two little ones, even scaring the cubs you gave birth to, are you a biological mother?"

"Yes, a biological, biological mother." Lin Zhao couldn't help but laugh either.

Lin Mu glared at the two unreliable siblings and comforted her grandsons, "Your mother is joking with you. Your father is a great hero who protects the country. He only hits bad people, not children. Eat quickly."

Ercai set his heart at ease, ate the dumplings in big mouthfuls, and used his mouth to save face for himself, "I know my mother is teasing us. Mother said we are her precious eggs. If Father beats us, Mother will definitely protect us. Mother can't bear to see us beaten."

"Ercai is really smart." Lin Mu felt her grandson was really smart, "Gu Da Cai is also smart."

Lin Zhao wrapped many dumplings, and Lin Shisheng ate refined grain until he was full. He had never been so satisfied in his life.

He drank the dumpling soup, his tone was quite complicated, "Zhao Zhao, your cooking skills are getting better and better. It's his blessing that your husband was able to marry you."

Lin Zhao's eyes flickered, and she asked calmly, "Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law are having trouble again?"

Not wanting to mention the troublesome wife, Lin Shisheng changed the subject, "Did your husband say when he would have time to come home to visit relatives?"

"No." Lin Zhao thought of the letter she had sent, and the children's father would be receiving it soon, right?

Looking forward to a reply.

Lin Mu understood that her son-in-law didn't have it easy and advised her daughter: "Chenghuai's profession is dangerous and hard work. If you have time, send a few more letters."

"Mm-hmm." Lin Zhao nodded.

Lin Mu understood her daughter. Although she was delicate and couldn't stand hardship, she never spoke falsely. Being able to agree meant she had taken it to heart.

Seeing her this time, Zhao Zhao's temperament had changed quite a bit.

Lin Mu used the cloth pocket tied around the Fourth Cub's neck to wipe her face, and said as if inadvertently: "Zhao Zhao can finally be considered grown up. Do you still remember when you were in the first year of junior high and didn't want to live at your uncle's house, insisting on going home to live, and your eldest brother and second brother picked you up and dropped you off at school every day..."

Lin Shisheng looked at his mother, wanting to say something, but was stopped by his mother's eyes.

"Mother remembered wrong." Lin Zhao held the Third Cub in her arms, wiping his hands, "It wasn't the first year of junior high, it was the first year of high school, and I only lived at home for two days. It was too cold to bear, so I still lived at my uncle's house."

Laughter overflowed in Lin Mu's eyes, and her heavy heart fell back to its original place.

It was her daughter.

She must have opened up.

"You still remember, I thought you had forgotten. If you have time, go see your uncle."

Lin Zhao didn't know that because of her change after awakening, her mother thought she had been possessed by something bad.

Thinking of her uncle, Lin Zhao felt very guilty.

"Mother, is my uncle..." blaming me.

The last two words didn't come out. She was indeed very ungrateful, and it was only right for her uncle to blame her.

"Zhao Zhao, don't think too much, Uncle doesn't blame you. He misses you very much and is also a little sad. If you go see him, everything will pass. How good our uncle was to you, providing for your schooling, saving all the good things for you, when did he ever get angry with you?" Lin Shisheng comforted her a few times.

He consciously collected the bowls and went to the kitchen to wash them.

Lin Mu never spoiled boys. The second brother and his brothers all knew how to do housework. Before Lin Zhao got married, she hadn't washed dishes more than ten times.

"I will go see my uncle," Lin Zhao said. Even if her uncle scolded her, she would accept it. It was indeed her lack of conscience.

"Mm. Go see the vegetable garden, see if you are satisfied, and while your Second Brother is here, just order him around." Lin Mu didn't want her daughter to be unhappy, so she changed the subject.

Lin Zhao went to the backyard. The vegetable garden was surrounded by bamboo strips that only reached the calves, and a wooden frame was set up against the wall, which was convenient for planting beans and loofahs. The small vegetable plot was neatly arranged row by row.

The vegetable garden healed Ercai's obsessive-compulsive disorder severely, and he exclaimed: "Second Uncle is amazing! Mother, our family's vegetable garden is the same as Grandmother's!"

Lin Zhao was also very satisfied.

Not long after eating, Lin Mu and Lin Shisheng were going home.

Gu Da Cai and Ercai were particularly reluctant, and two pairs of eyes appeared watery.

Lin Zhao touched the two cubs' little bald heads. The feel was prickly and not comfortable, but fortunately, it destroyed the breeding ground for lice.

"I'll take you to Grandmother's house another day."

Ercai's face instantly bloomed, and he asked excitedly: "When? I miss Grandfather."

"I miss him too, I miss the stories Grandfather tells, I love listening to them," Gu Da Cai said.

Lin Zhao chuckled, "Coincidentally, I like them too."

Her father's origin was mysterious. He came wandering because of the war, and he was only ten years old at the time. His head had been injured, his memory was confused, and he didn't remember where his home was, only knowing that his surname was Lin and his name was Lin Heling.

He was literate and could paint, full of knowledge, and could tell any story. He also looked good. According to Lin Zhao's grandmother, her father stood there like a noble son in a play, handsome, anyway, everything about him looked good.

Lin Zhao prepared a lot of good things, including canned food, brown sugar, meat, and hanging noodles, wanting Lin Mu and Lin Shisheng to take them back, but neither of them would agree.

Even if Lin Zhao was angry, they wouldn't accept it. There was really no way, so Lin Zhao cooked a bowl of dumplings, put them in a lunch box, and let her mother take them back for her father to eat.

"It's for Father. If Mother doesn't want it, I'll send it back myself," Lin Zhao was very unhappy.

Angry that her mother was being formal.

Those things were all drawn by her in a lottery. She wanted to be filial to her parents, and it had nothing to do with the Gu family, but her mother said it was bad for her.

Lin Zhao specifically pointed out that the dumplings were for her to be filial to her father. Now Lin Mu couldn't refuse.

"Fine, Mother will accept it. Daughter knows how to be filial, let your father be happy too."

There was no smile on Lin Zhao's face, "Those things are also for me to be filial to you and Father, why don't you accept them."

"You're already a mother of four children, why are you still so ignorant? If I accept it, will you still have a reputation? People in the village will poke your spine, saying you are subsidizing your maternal family behind the Gu family's back. Your father always says that public opinion is fearsome. You can't think of these things, but Mother can't harm you," Lin Mu said earnestly.

"But..." These things had nothing to do with the Gu family.

This couldn't be said directly.

Lin Zhao felt a little aggrieved.

Without a job and without economic independence, she couldn't even be filial to her parents.

"Mother knows you are filial. Our family is poor, but we don't lack food. Keep those good things for Gu Da Cai and the others to eat. As long as you take good care of the children and let Mother worry less, Mother will be at ease." Lin Mu patted her daughter's hand with a smile and gave Gu Da Cai and Ercai a bunch of instructions before leaving with Lin Shisheng.

People from the Harvest Brigade ran into them.

"Gu Da Cai's grandmother is going back already."

"Why not stay a little longer."

"Lin Sister-in-law is going back after seeing her daughter."

No matter what they thought in their hearts, the people in the Harvest Brigade were fine on the surface.

Lin Mu belonged to the temperament of eating soft but not hard, and also smiled and exchanged pleasantries with people, "Yes, going back, there are still things at home."

After saying a few words, the two Lin family members left.

The villagers at the entrance of the village were still talking.

"Chenghuai's family is really blessed. She's already married, and her maternal family still misses her. I saw her mother and brother bring her a basket of eggs and a fat fish. This Lin family really loves their daughter."

"Yes, I haven't seen a family that loves their daughter as much as the Lin family in ten miles and eight villages. If it weren't for the Lin family spoiling her, Chenghuai's wife wouldn't have become so lazy."

"Even willing to give fish, that's meat, the Lin family is really willing."

"I heard Gu Da Cai's grandmother came in a hurry as soon as she heard her daughter bumped her head. The Lin family is so protective of their own, didn't Chan get beaten?"

A group of women talked endlessly like marmots in a melon field.

Those who knew the inside story looked left and right, and seeing no one coming, lowered their voices and said: "How could she not be beaten? She was beaten until she howled. It was Gu Da Cai's second uncle who did it."

One of them changed to a comfortable sitting position, her eyes extremely bright, and hurriedly asked: "The Gu family didn't stop him?"

"Stop him? If it were you, you wouldn't stop him either," said the well-informed woman.

These words instantly hooked everyone.

"Tell us in detail..."

The woman was stared at by several pairs of eyes and was extremely satisfied. She talked about what she had inquired about, and it was passionate and saliva-splashing.

After listening, someone said: "Didn't hear Gu Grandmother go to the Gu family's third branch to settle accounts."

"Gu Da Cai's grandmother is a village bully. I heard she killed people before. No one who confronted her ended well. Chan's grandmother is old, how dare she go over? She still wants to live a few more years," another woman guessed.

What this person didn't know was that, by mistake, she had guessed Gu Grandmother's thoughts seven or eight out of ten.

"Chan is also strange. I haven't seen her confront Tie Dan's mother and Bang Bang's mother, but she just got into a fight with Gu Da Cai's mother. What is this? What people say is 'hating each other at first sight, fighting when they meet'?" The aunt who was sewing the hole in her pants said with incomprehension.

There was no lack of clear-headed people in this group.

A woman in a blue shirt smiled, "Chenghuai's allowance is higher every year. He's married, and the money he hands over is getting less and less. Chan can take less and less advantage, so can she not resent it?"

"Tsk! Chenghuai can't not marry a wife, he has to start a family. Chan's temperament... is a bit overbearing."

They were all clear-headed people. After thinking about it a little, they all knew what Gu Chan was thinking.

Without Gu Chan knowing, because of her repeated tossing, her reputation was affected.

It wouldn't show in the short term, but when she got older, there would be times for her to cry.

Gu family's third branch.

Lin Zhao finished sewing two sets of clothes and shouted to Gu Da Cai and Ercai in the yard, "Gu Da Cai, Ercai, come in and try on your new clothes."

The two children ran into the room with a patter-patter.

Looking at the two identical short shirts and black pants, they grinned happily.

"Thank you, Mother." Gu Da Cai's voice was light, his eyes bright.

The corners of Ercai's mouth were about to reach the back of his head. He took off his clothes directly and was about to try them on immediately.

Seeing this, Gu Da Cai also hurriedly took his off.

The parents' looks were outstanding, and none of the Gu family's cubs were ugly. Gu Da Cai and Ercai ran up the mountain and down the river all day, and the two were tanned dark, but from their eyebrows and eyes, you could see that they didn't look bad.

Clean eyebrows and eyes, the same straight, upturned nose bridge as their father, lips neither thick nor thin, just right, and even their head shapes were a big cut better than the children in the village.

Even if they were shaved bald, they were still good-looking with clear eyebrows and eyes.

It was just a bit dark.

Usually, it wasn't obvious when they wore rags, but when they changed into new clothes, it was like changing into two different people.

Gu Da Cai smoothed out the hem of his shirt, raised his head to look at Lin Zhao, and fine expectations flickered in his eyes, "Mother?"

Lin Zhao met a pair of clear, black-and-white eyes, pulled his hand close to her, looked him up and down, and nodded with a smile at the corner of her mouth, "Good-looking, especially good-looking, as handsome as your father."

Under her praise, Gu Da Cai's face became redder and redder. He was shy, and his heart was bubbling with joy.

Ercai was a child who couldn't be quiet for a second and also leaned over.

"Mother, what about me?" He blinked his big eyes and asked for praise righteously.

"You look good too." Lin Zhao was amused by his little expression.

Ercai: "..." Just this?

He asked anxiously: "Am I as handsome as Father too?"

Gu Da Cai felt his younger brother was so stupid, so he said: "Ercai, you look the same as me. I am as handsome as Father, so you must be as handsome as Father too."

Ercai laughed, "I forgot."

"Mother, can my brother and I go out?" he asked.

Lin Zhao glanced at Ercai, knowing clearly in her heart, "Want to go out and show off again?"

"Mother~~" Ercai's voice carried a wave of coquetry.

"Not now, the clothes have to be washed before they can be worn," Lin Zhao explained in a light voice, "You two take them off first, Mother will wash them for you later. The weather is hot, they will be dry by tomorrow morning, you can show off tomorrow."

Gu Da Cai felt that his mother worked hard to make them clothes, so while taking off his clothes, he said: "Mother, we will wash them ourselves, right Ercai?"

What else could Ercai say? Of course, he agreed.

"Right, we will wash them ourselves."

Lin Zhao got up, moved her stiff body, and said: "That's fine, I'll watch you wash. Gu Da Cai, take the laundry soap, do you know which one it is?"

"I know." Gu Da Cai went back to the room to get the laundry soap.

It wasn't that hot, and it was still bright, so Lin Zhao took the children to the river.

The riverside was cool, and there were many people. Some were washing clothes, some naughty little boys were rolling up their pant legs to catch fish, and others were chatting while enjoying the cool...

Yuanbao's mother was also washing clothes. Seeing Lin Zhao, she was very surprised and greeted her enthusiastically, "Chenghuai's family is here too."

Lin Zhao curled her lips, "Out for a stroll."

Gu Da Cai and Ercai found a stone slab with a slope, squatted side by side, soaked their shirts first, applied laundry soap, and rubbed and scrubbed. Their movements were skilled, and it was obvious it wasn't their first time washing.

"Gu Da Cai, Ercai, apply a bit more laundry soap," Lin Zhao pulled the Third and Fourth Cubs who wanted to step into the water, not letting the two little ones get close.

Yuanbao's mother and other women washing clothes were dumbfounded.

"Gu Da Cai's mother, you don't even wash clothes for your children." An older aunt looked disapproving.

Before Lin Zhao could speak, Gu Da Cai said seriously: "Ercai and I can wash them ourselves, Mother works hard making clothes."

"...?" How hard is it to make clothes!

"Can making clothes be as hard as earning work points?" Changsheng's mother couldn't help but speak, saying in front of Lin Zhao: "Your mother is just lazy." ===== CHAPTER 14 =====