Chapter 212: Playing by Unconventional Rules

Chapter 212: Playing by Unconventional Rules

As soon as Xiulan mentioned it, Lin Heng remembered that his carriage was still in town, and Caiyun was waiting for him there.

“Oh no, I was so happy I forgot all about it.”

Lin Heng patted his forehead, feeling a bit annoyed with himself.

Xiulan glanced at him and said, “Caiyun will probably drive the carriage back herself, so there’s no need to worry.”

“That’s all we can do for now.”

Lin Heng nodded helplessly. Without a phone, there was no way to contact her, so he had to leave it at that for the time being.

“You must be hungry. I’ll go make some food.”

With that, Xiulan turned and went to the kitchen. Lin Heng took a sip of tea and followed her out. Xiao Xia, having grown tired of playing with her wooden horse, saw Lin Heng and stretched out her arms, asking, “Daddy, let’s go play with candy wrappers.”

Lin Heng didn’t refuse, as he also wanted to check if Caiyun had returned.

Opening the courtyard gate, Lin Heng saw a few boys from the village digging through a dirt pit nearby, obviously searching for candy wrappers.

His family’s trash was often dumped in that pit, which was meant to be filled in later. Xiao Xia’s candy wrappers often ended up there too. But ever since she got into the candy wrapper game, she started collecting them, keeping them like treasures in a small box.

As he passed by his parents’ yard, Lin Heng saw his Elder Brother, Lin Yue, who had just returned from making charcoal in the mountains.

Father Lin noticed Lin Heng and curiously asked, “Lin Heng, your mom said two people came by in a jeep earlier. What was that about?”

“They came to buy mountain goods and to check out my musk deer. Their family runs a pharmaceutical company, so we might sell musk to them directly in the future.”

Lin Heng replied with a smile, not mentioning the sale of the century-old wild ginseng.

The fewer people who knew about the ginseng, the better. Becoming a Ten-Thousand-Yuan Household was already enough to stir envy. Adding a Centennial Wild Ginseng to the mix might provoke ill intentions.

It wasn’t that he feared his parents or Elder Brother would ask for money. He often bought them clothes and food, so he didn’t mind spending a bit on them.

Even if no one had bad intentions, news of him having so much money wouldn’t be good. Relatives would surely come asking to borrow money once they knew he was wealthy.

Many of his relatives still lived with three generations under one roof, always short on money to build new homes.

“Oh, I see. I thought it was something else.”

Father Lin and the others didn’t suspect much. It’s common for those in the pharmaceutical business to have money.

Mother Lin asked curiously, “Did you reach an agreement?”

Lin Heng shook his head, “No, they wanted to buy my musk deer outright.”

After a few words, Lin Heng was pulled away by Xiao Xia, “Daddy, let’s go play!”

“Alright, alright.”

Lin Heng had no choice but to let her drag him along.

At the village center, under the big ginkgo tree, they saw children playing the candy wrapper game on a bench.

Xiao Xia let go of Lin Heng’s hand and ran over to join them.

Lin Heng watched them play. The simple candy wrapper game brought the children so much joy, and it was amusing to watch.

Xiao Xia quickly lost all her wrappers, but instead of asking Lin Heng for more, she snatched one and tried to run off.

However, she hadn’t taken more than two steps before Lin Heng caught her by the shirt and pulled her back. “What are you doing?”

“This is my candy wrapper,” Xiao Xia said weakly, clutching the wrapper.

“You lost it to someone else, so it’s theirs now. If you play, you have to follow the rules.”

Lin Heng’s expression turned serious. He couldn’t stand spoiled children and didn’t want his daughter to become one.

There’s a limit to indulgence; not every demand should be met.

Seeing Lin Heng’s stern face, Xiao Xia reluctantly returned the wrapper.

“You should apologize too.”

Lin Heng added.

Xiao Xia looked at Lin Heng, then at the boy she had taken the wrapper from, and apologized in her soft, childish voice, “I’m sorry!”

The boy didn’t say anything and ran off.

Lin Heng watched Xiao Xia, thinking how difficult it was to teach a child. Even he felt a bit exhausted.

At this stage, she needed to gradually understand the rules. Once she understood, other lessons could follow, helping her grasp the truth of the world and eventually learn to break the rules.

Raising a child was tough. He didn’t want her to be naive, but he also didn’t want her to become mean.

Lin Heng tried to explain the reasoning to her, but when he finished, he saw Xiao Xia’s big eyes, clear and innocent, leaving him at a loss.

Thinking it over, he decided to try a different approach. He played rock-paper-scissors with her, using a candy as the prize, and then took it back after losing.

“Daddy, you lost, this is mine!”

Xiao Xia was initially stunned, then looked at Lin Heng with puffed cheeks, hands on her hips, clearly displeased.

“Now you know how it feels to have something taken away, right? That’s how others feel when you take their things.”

Lin Heng smiled at her, handing the candy back.

Xiao Xia thought for a moment, seeming to understand a little. She looked at the candy in Lin Heng’s hand and stepped back, “If you want it, you can have it!”

Lin Heng was speechless.

How did this turn out differently from what he expected? Was this lesson a success or a failure?

As Lin Heng was momentarily stunned, Xiao Xia took the candy back, peeled it open, hesitated for a while, and then offered it to Lin Heng again.

“If you want to eat, just tell me, don’t grab!” Xiao Xia said crisply, looking at Lin Heng.

Lin Heng was baffled: “???”

“Who taught you that? Do you know you just took someone else’s stuff?”

Lin Heng was speechless. Xiao Xia was completely unpredictable. So she knew she shouldn’t take other people’s things yet did it on purpose?

“Mom said so. Hurry and eat.”

Xiao Xia pressed the candy against Lin Heng’s lips.

“I don’t want it. What are you thinking?” Lin Heng shook his head, looking at his daughter’s little head, increasingly puzzled.

Xiao Xia popped the candy into her own mouth and snuggled into Lin Heng’s arms, trying to get away with it by being adorable.

“Tell me, why did you take someone else’s stuff?” Lin Heng was more determined to understand the logic behind this.

“She always beats me!” Xiao Xia said, chewing the candy, a bit defiant.

Lin Heng was speechless: “That doesn’t mean you can take her things. Without me, you’d be in trouble.”

Hearing this, Xiao Xia was finally a bit scared: “Then I won’t do it next time!”

“Whether or not you’ll get in trouble, you can’t take things.” Lin Heng warned.

“Okay!” Xiao Xia said, her smile sweet as the candy she was eating.

Lin Heng was about to say more when he saw Caiyun returning with the carriage.

“Second Brother, why didn’t you come down? I’ve been waiting for ages.”

As she approached, Caiyun began to complain.

Lin Heng smiled helplessly: “I couldn’t help it, things happened suddenly. I’ll treat you to hotpot later to make up for it, okay?”

Caiyun’s eyes lit up at this: “Alright, I’ll eat until you’re broke, Second Brother.”

“If you’re not afraid of gaining weight, go ahead.” Lin Heng laughed heartily.

Placing Xiao Xia down, Lin Heng went to help unload the carriage and led the horse to the stable at the back of the mountain.

When Lin Heng returned to get the carriage, Caiyun asked curiously: “Second Brother, what business were you discussing today? That woman seemed quite impressive.”

When Lin Heng was talking with Jin Fuqiang and Bai Xueqing, he spoke softly, and Caiyun and Wang Zhou were busy unloading goods, so they didn’t hear clearly.

“Just trading mountain goods, what else could it be?” Lin Heng laughed.

“Auntie, hug!” Xiao Xia called out, reaching her arms out again.

“Alright.” Caiyun picked up Xiao Xia, carrying the report card and certificate into the house.

Soon, the surprised voices of their parents echoed from inside. Caiyun had proven her studies were worthwhile, feeling a sense of pride.

Father Lin and Mother Lin felt a bit guilty but mostly joyful. Caiyun’s achievements were indeed impressive.

Seeing Xiao Xia and Caiyun playing happily, Lin Heng was temporarily free and turned to go inside.

In the kitchen, Xiulan had already finished cooking. When Lin Heng entered, she was ladling out freshly made carp soup.

“It smells wonderful,” Lin Heng said, hugging his wife’s slender waist from behind with a chuckle. It just didn’t feel as good as in summer, with the clothes being so thick.

Xiulan rolled her eyes at him, using a tone meant for coaxing children: “Stop messing around and add some firewood. We can eat soon.”

“Alright.” Lin Heng didn’t intend to fool around, so he went to add some firewood.

Once the rice was cooked and the rice soup was drained, they could start eating.

“Give me a bowl of rice soup,” Lin Heng said, smiling at the milky white soup in the pot. It had a rich rice aroma that he always enjoyed.

“Not now, there’s carp soup,” Xiulan said, setting the rice soup aside and handing chopsticks to Lin Heng.

Lin Heng shrugged with a smile and went to call Caiyun over for dinner.

Three dishes and a soup were served, including a small bowl of stir-fried pickled long beans with meat, perfect with rice.

Xiao Xia was now starting to use a spoon to eat by herself, sitting on a small stool and focused on her meal. Xiulan had mixed a bit of sugar into her rice, making it delicious.

“Sister-in-law, your cooking skills have improved again. I’m so satisfied,” Caiyun said with a smile after the meal.

Lin Heng looked at her and said: “Since you’re so happy, help take care of Xiao Xia tomorrow. Xiulan and I are going to the city, and when we come back, we’ll have hotpot.”

“Okay.” Caiyun readily agreed. She liked Xiao Xia a lot, so looking after her wasn’t a difficult task.

After the meal, Xiulan watched Lin Heng head off to wash the dishes and said: “If you don’t turn your malt into sugar soon, it’ll grow too big.”

“Alright, I’ll do it this afternoon,” Lin Heng quickly replied, almost forgetting about it.

“By the way, is your fermented tofu ready?” Lin Heng asked.

“Of course, it’s already fermenting in the jar,” Xiulan said with a wink. Ever since she learned how, she hadn’t failed once.

The hardest part of making fermented tofu is getting the white mold to grow. After that, it’s simple: just chop it up, mix with spices, and finally submerge it in a jar of liquor to ferment for a year.

As long as the white mold appears, the rest is easy because the alcohol prevents spoilage.

After washing the dishes, Lin Heng went to check on the malt. Xiulan had been changing the water for the past few days, and the malt was growing well. Since it hadn’t been exposed to light, it was a beautiful pale yellow, like chive shoots.

Seeing it, he realized it was time to start making malt sugar.

“Let’s get started. I’ll help you,” Xiulan said to Lin Heng, eager to work together, as it always brought her joy.

Lin Heng checked the time and shook his head. “Why don’t we wait until we get back from the city tomorrow? There’s no rush for a day or two, and if we start now, we’ll be up until midnight.”

Making maltose is quite a complicated process, especially since fermenting with glutinous rice takes six to seven hours. It was already 5:30 in the afternoon.

Xiulan felt a bit disappointed hearing this, but she realized Lin Heng had a point, so she nodded. “That works too.”

“Let’s play cards.”

Feeling a bit bored, Lin Heng suggested playing cards with Xiulan and Caiyun.

They played until eight o’clock, when Caiyun had to leave to go to bed.

“I’ll make dinner. Caiyun, eat before you go,” Xiulan said as she started to leave, but Lin Heng stopped her. “I’m not hungry. Let’s just have some biscuits and kudzu root powder before bed.”

“That sounds good.”

Xiulan blinked and didn’t refuse; she wasn’t very hungry either.

“Caiyun, don’t leave yet. Eat before you go,” Lin Heng said to Caiyun, who was about to head home.

“Alright, thank you, Second Brother.”

Caiyun stayed without hesitation, smiling.

Lin Heng took out some red dates, chopped them into small pieces, added brown sugar, and poured hot water over it. The kudzu root powder turned a beautiful dark red, making it look very appetizing.

Then Lin Heng crushed some biscuits and mixed them in, offering it to the three of them. “Try this.”

“This is delicious, Second Brother, you’re amazing,” Caiyun praised after taking a spoonful.

Xiulan blinked in surprise. “It’s really good.”

Only Xiao Xia pointed at the hawthorn paste, clamoring, “I want more of this.”

Lin Heng added another spoonful of hawthorn paste for her, and she immediately beamed with delight.

After they finished eating, Lin Heng walked Caiyun home. When he returned, he washed up and put Xiao Xia to bed.

Once Xiao Xia was asleep, Lin Heng finally got into bed to rest.

The room with the fireplace was already warm, but snuggling up to his wife’s warm body made it even more comfortable.

“There’s nothing like holding you now. During the day, the clothes are too thick,” Lin Heng chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Xiulan’s slender waist, thoroughly enjoying the moment.

Xiulan blinked, feeling content, and softly said, “Let’s sleep. We have to go to the city tomorrow.”

“No way, we made so much money today, we should celebrate. How about you pamper me a little?” Lin Heng said with a mischievous grin.

Before Xiulan could respond, Lin Heng’s hands started to wander.

“No~”

Xiulan initially wanted to sleep peacefully, but soon her body softened under Lin Heng’s touch. Facing his assertive advances, she could only surrender herself.

After their intimate exchange, they added a new memory to this special day.

“Ugh, you’re so annoying!”

Xiulan glared at Lin Heng.

Seeing his silent, mischievous smile, she added, “Go get me a glass of water, I’m so thirsty.”

The sheets were soaked, and she was extremely dehydrated.

“Heh, want me to give you some?” Lin Heng teased.

Xiulan rolled her eyes at him. “You think you can replenish all that? Hurry up,” she urged softly.

Lin Heng got up to fetch water while Xiulan changed the sheets.

After quenching her thirst, Xiulan finally lay back down, satisfied, and snuggled into Lin Heng’s arms.

Lin Heng immediately embraced his wife, who hadn’t dressed yet. Although she said she didn’t want to, she was quite cooperative.

Despite the uncontrollable urges that came with this closeness, it only made them feel even more connected.

— Translator’s Notes —

– candy wrapper game: A traditional children’s game in rural China where players flip colorful candy wrappers onto a flat surface; if it lands face up, the player wins the wrapper from the opponent, similar to a coin-flipping game.

– kudzu root powder: A starch powder derived from the root of the kudzu vine (Pueraria lobata), commonly used in Chinese herbal drinks for its cooling properties and as a thickener in desserts and soups.