Chapter 280 - 278: Meeting Second Uncle

Chapter 280: Chapter 278: Meeting Second Uncle

Lin Qiao ran out of the room and looked all around, but she didn’t see her dad. She estimated the time and decided to head straight for her family’s bamboo forest.

She was sure that her father would find time this afternoon to tell her mother about Nuannuan’s idea and her offer to lend them money to raise bamboo forest chickens. The matter was too important for their family, and she couldn’t afford any complications. She had to get her dad to give her mom a heads-up. ’It would be terrible if Mom doesn’t think it through and, worried about saving face for Grandma, changes her attitude toward Nuannuan too.’

As she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard her dad’s familiar voice calling her name. She looked up and saw him walking back toward the house, carrying harvested bamboo shoots.

"Why aren’t you at home with your friend? What are you doing running out here by yourself?" Lin Qiao’s father looked at his eldest daughter in confusion, his expression suddenly downcast. "Don’t tell me your friend changed her mind?"

"No, no. Nuannuan didn’t change her mind." Lin Qiao could tell her father was also very nervous about this. She quickly shook her head to reassure him. "But, Dad, I have something to tell you. It’s very important."

Lin Qiao began by telling him how Liu Li had recognized Gu Nuan Nuan at dinner. She then recounted the whole story Gu Nuan Nuan had shared with her: how Gu Nuan Nuan’s maternal uncle had saved Lin Qiao’s second aunt, only for the aunt and her daughter to slander him. Next, she described how she’d gone looking for her mother and overheard their grandmother telling her mom to return the bamboo forest rights to the village, worried they wouldn’t be able to repay their debts. Finally, she told him how she’d revealed the truth about her second aunt to her grandmother, only to be scolded and forced to apologize. She poured out every last detail to her father.

The longer Lin Qiao’s father listened, the darker his expression grew. A flash of anger crossed his face, but he quickly suppressed it, his brief fury giving way to dejection.

After a long moment, he sighed softly. "Qiaoqiao, don’t resent your grandmother. That’s just how she is. But after all, she did lend us money and help our family out in the past. No matter what, we shouldn’t resent her. Otherwise, what’s the difference between us and your second aunt and Liu Li?" His expression was deeply dispirited. "Poverty grinds you down. When you’re poor, it’s inevitable that people will look down on you."

"Dad... I swear I’m going to make lots and lots of money in the future, so no one can ever look down on our family again," Lin Qiao vowed, clenching her teeth.

"...It’s good to have ambition, but right now, you should be focused on studying hard. An education is the only way out, just like your uncle." Lin Qiao’s father sighed. Father and daughter walked on in somber silence. As they neared the house, her father finally said, "You go back to the room and keep your friend company. Don’t worry about anything else. I’ll handle your mom and your grandma. I’ll talk to them and make sure no one gives your friend a hard time again."

"Okay."

Lin Qiao nodded emphatically, then added a reminder, "You and Mom should probably hold off on telling anyone that Nuannuan is lending us money to raise chickens. I just have a bad feeling about telling Grandma and the others too soon." After what had happened, Lin Qiao had subconsciously become wary of her grandmother’s side of the family.

"We won’t. We won’t say anything for now. After all, nothing’s set in stone yet." Lin Qiao’s father nodded, showing he understood. His eldest daughter’s suggestion actually matched his own thoughts.

Lin Qiao finally felt relieved and ran straight back to her room.

At one-thirty in the afternoon, the village’s god-welcoming ceremony began. Lin Qiao took Gu Nuan Nuan and her two younger sisters out to watch the festivities. They immediately ran into Lin Qiao’s grandmother. Lin Qiao’s heart leaped into her throat. She quietly murmured, "Grandma," and then stared at her, on high alert, terrified she would make a snide remark or two at Gu Nuan Nuan. Thankfully, her fears were unfounded. She had no idea what her dad had said to her grandmother, but when her grandmother saw them, her expression only shifted slightly. She let out a barely audible huff and turned her head away before walking off.

As her grandmother passed them, Lin Qiao finally let out a sigh of relief.

"I told you I’m not afraid. Why are you so nervous?" Gu Nuan Nuan teased Lin Qiao. She wasn’t the least bit afraid because if anyone truly angered her, she had her own ways of getting even. So what if Lin Qiao’s grandmother had age on her side? She had no patience for unreasonable, troublemaking people, whether they were women, the elderly, or children.

In this life, no one was going to get away with using their age, youth, or weakness to emotionally blackmail her. With reasonable people, she would be reasonable. But with those who weren’t, they shouldn’t blame her for using her own methods to fight fire with fire. So, it was actually lucky for Lin Qiao’s grandmother that she hadn’t tried to provoke her.

"I’m the one who invited you. If my grandmother said something to you, I’d lose face!" Lin Qiao said with a wry smile, offering an excuse that also happened to be true. She then pulled Gu Nuan Nuan along, picking up the pace. "Let’s not talk about this anymore. Come on, let’s go watch the festivities." Gu Nuan Nuan smiled faintly and let herself be pulled along.

Outside, they could already hear the boisterous sounds of gongs and drums and the crackle and pop of firecrackers in the distance. The farther they walked, the more people they saw. For a village that didn’t seem particularly large, there were surprisingly quite a few people.

"There’s going to be an opera performance in the village today, so it’s especially crowded. Besides our own villagers and the guests we invited, people from the surrounding villages all come to join in the fun." Lin Qiao frowned as she looked at the procession, which was surrounded by a crowd packed several layers deep. With her small frame, she knew they’d have to split up to get through. She pulled her two younger sisters aside and instructed them, "We’ll probably have to separate. Lin Long, you watch over your little sister. And you two head back home on your own when it’s about time, okay? Don’t leave the village, you hear?"

"Okay, Sis, we won’t wander off." In front of Gu Nuan Nuan, Lin Long and Lin He were exceptionally well-behaved. After nodding, they eagerly took each other’s hands and started squeezing into the crowd. Being small, they slipped through easily.

Lin Qiao smiled at the sight.

Her two sisters were always sensible, and with all the excitement today, her warning was mostly just a formality; she wasn’t truly worried. She turned back, held Gu Nuan Nuan’s hand tightly, and carefully instructed, "Nuannuan, hold on to me. If we get separated, let’s meet back here at this spot and wait for each other."

"Alright." It would have been easy for her to part the crowd and clear a path for them without attracting notice, but she decided against it. ’Even if others don’t perceive it, I probably can’t hide it from Lin Qiao,’ she reasoned. Seeing the jostling mob in front of them, she made a new plan. ’I’ll just create a personal, transparent shield for myself. Otherwise, all this physical contact will be unbearable.’

Just as Gu Nuan Nuan and Lin Qiao were about to push into the crowd, she suddenly heard her second uncle calling her name from behind in a surprised and delighted voice.

"Nuannuan! Nuannuan—"

From across the crowd, Gu Lihuang spotted Gu Nuan Nuan’s figure not far ahead and could hardly believe his eyes. He jumped up on the spot, waving his arms frantically over people’s heads in her direction. After a few waves, he realized she probably couldn’t see him, so he cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and continued to shout, "Over here! Over here, Nuannuan! Can you hear me? Nuannuan, Second Uncle is over here—"

Gu Nuan Nuan, surprised, turned and waved in Gu Lihuang’s direction to show she’d heard him. Then she tugged on Lin Qiao’s arm. "Hang on, I’ve run into my second uncle."