Chapter 230: You're rancid

Qiu Lian returned home, only to realize her brother coming to pick her up—was a trap.

Just entered the courtyard.

A strange old man stared at her, a gaze that made one extremely uncomfortable.

She frowned, saying with some dissatisfaction, "Who is this, why is he in our house, and staring at people, really annoying."

Qiu Lian's brother was afraid the mountain dweller would get angry and miss out on those fifty yuan, so he hurriedly apologized with a smile.

The old man laughed, a piece of vegetable leaf stuck to his yellowing teeth, and one could smell that sour, rancid odor from far away.

"It's fine, being fierce is good, the fierce ones can guard the home, I just like the fierce ones." He was very frivolous, and greasy too.

Qiu Lian sensed something was wrong and spat, "Who cares if you like it!"

She looked at her own brother, "Who is this?"

The person asked smiled, "Who else could it be, your man. Sister, am I good to you, afraid you wouldn't be able to marry, I specially found him for you."

Qiu Lian looked fiercely at the vulgar and shabby man, disdain flashing in her eyes.

"I don't want to."

The mountain dweller, whose clothes were so oily the original color couldn't be seen, had his smile stiffen, his face revealing undisguised malice.

"Don't want to? That's not up to you." He reached out and grabbed Qiu Lian's arm, his strength so great that no matter how Qiu Lian struggled, it was useless.

"Your brother from your maiden home has 'married' you to me; from today on, you're my woman, I won't allow you to say no! Honestly give birth to a son for me, and you'll have a bite to eat; dare to be dishonest... *heh*, I have plenty of ways."

Qiu Lian discovered she couldn't break free from the lecherous man's hand and sought help from the Qiu family's old couple.

"Dad, Mom, I don't want to marry this person!"

Knowing it wouldn't work without some bargaining chips, she hurriedly stated her value, "I can wash clothes and cook, and I can work in the fields to earn work points, I won't eat for free, Mom..."

Knowing her mother had a little bit of affection for her, she looked at Old Mrs. Qiu desperately and sorrowfully.

Old Mrs. Qiu looked at her son, met his unmoved eyes, and knew there was no room for negotiation in this matter.

"I'm not the head of the house, our family's affairs are listened to by your brother." She said, "There are good mountain dwellers too, your man can part with fifty yuan to marry you, he will be good to you, don't make a scene, go with him, and don't come back in the future!"

After saying this, Old Mrs. Qiu turned and darted into the room.

Qiu Lian's eyes were practically splitting.

"Mom, you can't treat me like this!"

Her body lunged forward, the mountain dweller hugged her waist, pinning her firmly in his arms, the smell on his body invading her nasal cavity, and Qiu Lian nearly vomited.

A look of enjoyment appeared on the man's dark face; the girls from down the mountain were soft, just a bit dark and thin.

It didn't matter.

As long as she could give birth, anything else was fine.

"Woman, stop making a scene, the road up the mountain is long, I don't want to rush at night, if we run into wolves..." He threatened halfway through his words.

Wolves...?

Qiu Lian's face changed slightly, her struggle becoming more violent, and she found her chance; she bit the man's arm, and while the other party was in pain, she ran toward the entrance.

With only half a meter left to the entrance, Qiu Lian's eyes lit up.

In an instant, she only felt a pain in the back of her neck, her body falling softly to the ground, never to climb up again.

She looked back slowly, meeting her own brother's calculating eyes.

"... Knew you wouldn't be honest." The young man threw away the stick in his hand, very satisfied with his masterpiece.

Qiu Lian's eyes were blood-red.

The mountain dweller walked over, his straw sandals crushing her feet, gradually applying force.

Within seconds, Qiu Lian's face turned pale with pain.

After teaching her a lesson, the mountain dweller carried her on his shoulder, ignored the Qiu family, and strode away.

When the shabby man left the Qiu family, someone in the village saw it, and before long, it spread throughout the village, soon reaching other brigades.

"The Qiu family's daughter married into the mountains."

"Mountain dwellers have no land, so poor that even dogs don't care, what were those two from the Qiu family thinking?"

"Oh my, Qiu Lian's reputation is ruined, and she's not diligent, what family would be willing to want a daughter-in-law like her, except for a mountain dweller, she couldn't marry even if she wanted to."

"Poor Lin family's two children, how hard it is for children without a mother! If their father remarries, their situation will be even harder, sigh, the sins committed by adults, the ones who suffer are the children."

Those who knew some inside information said: "Xuanxuan and Zhengzheng aren't suffering at all, the Lin family is very good to them, I see the two girls are two sizes fatter than when Qiu Lian was there, and they're also lively, and now that their father has a good future, they won't be bad off in the future!"

Everyone fell silent.

"So, Qiu Lian picked up the sesame and lost the watermelon, what do you think she was after?"

Who knows.

The news of Qiu Lian "remarrying" reached the East Wind Brigade.

At this time, Lin Shisheng had just returned home.

He appeared in front of the Lin family's gate, looking like a scavenger.

None of the Lin family's children recognized him, thinking he was a refugee, and Dadan even gave him a ladle of water.

"Uncle, where did you come from? Drink some water quickly, it's cool boiled water, if it's not enough I'll pour you more, we don't have other things at home, but water is enough."

Lin Shisheng was indeed thirsty, took the ladle, and drank *ton, ton, ton*.

He finished the ladle of water quickly.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

"I've come back to life!!" He said.

This voice... so familiar.

"Dad?" Lin Zheng shouted loudly.

She stared at the man at the gate with a full beard and hair long enough to cover his eyebrows, wanting to recognize him but not daring to.

Is it Dad?

Dadan looked at the bearded man in slow motion, measuring his demeanor with his gaze, observing his standing posture.

A moment later, he exclaimed: "Gu Gu Ershu? It's Gu Gu Ershu!!"

The first shout was uncertain, the second was full of vigor.

Lin Shisheng patted his head, "Stinky brat, so you didn't recognize me just now, how long has it been, you don't even recognize me!"

Dadan didn't feel awkward at all, laughing *hehe*, "Gu Gu Ershu, you have a face full of beard, your hair is blocking your eyes, and I've never seen these clothes, it's normal not to recognize you."

Lin Shisheng: "..."

He took two steps forward and stood in front of Dadan, "Look clearly, have you never seen these clothes of mine?"

Lin Shisheng said with annoyance, "I was wearing these when I left."

They were just a bit dirty!

He sneered, "At such a young age, your eyesight is already bad."

Dadan took two steps back, unable to help saying, "Gu Gu Ershu, did you not change your clothes, you're rancid."

The voice was really not small.

Lin Shisheng walked toward the house, finding time to reply: "Do you think driving is playing, it's suffering. We didn't eat a single hot meal on the road, and our sleep was just snatched, it's good enough that we came back safely, who cares if I'm rancid or not?!"

Hearing that his Gu Gu Ershu didn't eat well or sleep well, Dadan walked quickly toward the kitchen, "Gu Gu Ershu, I'll go boil hot water, you take a bath first, leave the clothes too, Er Dan and I will wash them later."

Lin Xuan felt heartache for her father and said, "There are still noodles sent by Aunt at home, I'll go cook them, and fry an egg."

The Lin family wasn't like other families, where the head of the house watched the eggs closely, counting them at least three times a day; making something good for someone returning from afar, everyone had this treatment, and no one minded.

"Good, I'm truly missing this hot meal." Lin Shisheng put down the things he brought back, sat on his father's recliner, leaned his head back, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"It's great to be home!"

Lin Zheng brought over a washbasin, "Dad, wash your face first, when Grandpa and Grandma come back, they'll dislike you for being shabby."

Lin Shisheng obediently sat up, washed his hands and face with the water his daughter brought, and his brain felt much clearer.

"How was it at home while I was away?" He asked with concern.

"Very good." Zhengzheng said with a smile.

Xibao patted her little chest, her whole person overflowing with enthusiasm, "With me and my brothers here, no one bullied Sister Xuanxuan and Zhengzheng."

"Thanks to you, otherwise I wouldn't have been at ease leaving them at home." Lin Shisheng smiled, showing a row of white teeth, giving Xibao the reaction she wanted.

The little girl's smile became even brighter.

"Gu Gu Ershu, Dad brought us back a few days ago... cake made by Aunt herself, and two roast ducks, it's a pity you weren't here, if you were, you could have eaten them!" Xibao felt it was a pity for her Gu Gu Ershu.

Lin Shisheng's focus was here, "Cake made by your aunt?"

Damn it, he missed the boat.

So angry.

"That's right, Aunt made them for Yubao and Hengbao, it's their birthday, Gu Gu Ershu, you remember, right?" Xibao reminded him.

"Gu Gu Ershu, did you buy them gifts?" Her clear, bright black eyes glanced at the things Lin Shisheng brought back.

"You haven't been back for a long time, if you forget their birthday, Yubao will be disappointed, and Hengbao will be angry."

How could Lin Shisheng forget.

He remembered every year.

Before, when there were few channels for money, he would send an egg or a chicken leg, how could he forget this year after joining the transport team.

"I remember." He said.

Hearing this, Xibao nodded like a little adult.

She leaned her head over and said with a grin, "Gu Gu Ershu, is there a gift for me?"

As she spoke, her black eyes, bright as stars, fluttered.

"Yes, there is, for everyone." Lin Shisheng pinched his niece's face.

He watched Xibao and the two eggs grow up; they were about the same as his own children.

Xibao wanted to ask what it was, but felt the prickly sensation on her face, grabbed her Gu Gu Ershu's hand, and saw the new calluses on it, as well as small cuts from something.

The little girl's expression turned serious.

Pouting, her voice trembling, "Gu Gu Ershu, is driving the truck very tiring, if you're tired, why don't you stop doing it."

Lin Shisheng's heart softened, "Not tired, it's not as tiring as working in the fields."

Xibao had picked wheat, it was very tiring, so tiring she couldn't straighten her waist.

Her little face wrinkled into a ball, as if considering some major life event.

She sighed, "Working in the fields is tiring, joining the transport team is also tiring, what isn't tiring? Isn't being a salesperson tiring?"

"What job isn't tiring, one can only say it's relatively easier." Lin Shisheng said.

Xibao struggled for a moment, puffed out her cheeks, as if having made some decision.

"If Aunt sends me a gift again, I won't accept it." It was so hard to say, one could see how painful it was for her to say this.

Lin Shisheng couldn't help but laugh.

"If you don't want it, your aunt will think you're being formal with her, and she'll be unhappy."

Xibao didn't want her aunt to be unhappy, and said in a dilemma, "Then I'll accept it."

She rested her chin on her right hand, imitating the old people in the village, "Hard to say, it's hard either way."

Lin Shisheng: "..."

Before he could speak, he saw Xibao smile brilliantly at him, asking mischievously, "Gu Gu Ershu, do you think I imitated it well?"

"... Well."

Lin Shisheng took a bath and shaved off his beard; only then did everyone see... he had lost a size.

Lin Xuan brought out the noodles at the right time.

She said, "Dad, eat quickly while it's hot."

Lin Shisheng smiled at his daughter and started eating the noodles; he was starving, so his eating manner naturally wasn't very good, but no one cared.

After finishing, he felt he had come back to life.

"Phew! I've truly had enough of those dry buns on this trip."

Dadan asked, "Can't you find a state-run restaurant to eat?"

"Where are there state-run restaurants? We walk on paths where birds don't poop, with no village in front and no shop behind, we stop wherever we rest, and we can't even sleep soundly, just afraid things will be stolen... the transport team earns a lot, but it's truly tiring." Seeing the children were curious, Lin Shisheng told them some things he could tell.

For example, he didn't mention a word about blocking a knife for someone.

"Dad, Mom, I'm becoming a regular next month." Lin Shisheng shared the great news with his family.

Ning Xiwei had long seen that the second son's arm was stiff, and hearing his words now, she immediately associated the cause and effect.

"Are you okay?" She asked with concern, asking a question the children didn't understand.

Lin Shisheng shook his injured arm, his words tinged with a smile, "I'm fine!"

Song Xiwei frowned.

The young man hurriedly sat properly.

Lin Heling patted his wife's shoulder, his gaze looking toward the second son, "Since you're becoming a regular, then work hard. Don't do what you shouldn't, be steady."

"I know." Lin Shisheng said solemnly.

The Lin couple didn't say anything more.

Dadan's tone was excited, "Gu Gu Ershu is going to be a driver?!!!"

"Not yet, in a few months I'll become a driver." Lin Shisheng said, he was still getting familiar with it.

Dadan said, "That's also very amazing! Gu Gu Ershu, when Hengbao knows you're driving a big truck before him, he'll definitely be envious to death."

Lin Shisheng raised his chin.

He thought so too!

Just as they were talking, a young man who had a good relationship with Lin Shisheng came to find him.

"Shengzi, heard you're back, I came to talk to you."

Lin Shisheng walked out, "Let's talk outside, my family needs to rest in a while."

"Done."

The two young men walked toward the foot of the mountain; while talking, they could also pick up some firewood.

The young man first asked what it was like outside, and Lin Shisheng told him what he saw and heard wherever he thought of it.

After listening.

A look of longing appeared on the other party's dark face.

"You've finally gotten out, it's much better than digging the ground! Work hard, when you make a name for yourself, your brother will still be waiting for you to pull him along." He said half-jokingly.

But he didn't expect a real opportunity to come.

"For the next two months, the transport team needs temporary workers to move goods, it can be done for two months, the work is very tiring, and it doesn't earn much, do you want to do it?" Lin Shisheng asked.

This was still his "reward" for his injured arm.

Three spots, one for his childhood friend in the village, one for the two good brothers who helped him divorce smoothly.

"I want to, I'd be a fool not to!!" The young man was full of excitement, excitedly helping Lin Shisheng bundle firewood, "Don't be busy, I'll pick it up, I'll cover your family's firewood this winter!"

Lin Shisheng: "..."

"No need." He said speechlessly.

"Need to, need to." The young man said, "You can think of me for a good thing that earns money, what's it to me to help you pick up firewood, it's only right."

He hugged Lin Shisheng's shoulder and patted it a few times, "Brother, thanks."

"You're welcome." Lin Shisheng waved his hand, "Still the same words, if my eldest brother and I aren't home, keep an eye on my house..."

The young man patted his chest, "Rest assured! With me here, I guarantee not a single hair will be missing from your house."

After finishing the good news, he told Lin Shisheng about the Qiu family's affairs.

Lin Shisheng frowned upon learning that Qiu Lian had returned.

Before he could figure out what he was thinking, he heard that Qiu Lian had been "married" into the mountains by the Qiu family, and a complex look flashed in his eyes.

There were no other emotions, just feeling a sigh.

That woman thought her maiden home was her retreat, looking at the Qiu family as more important than her small family, and now that she had fallen to this point, she didn't know if she regretted it?

Regardless of whether she regretted it or not, it had nothing to do with him, and nothing to do with his two daughters.

He hoped that woman wouldn't appear again.

If she popped up, it would only add new gossip for them. ===== CHAPTER 231 =====