Chapter 104 - 35: Compensation

Chapter 104: Chapter 35: Compensation

’...Seriously? When have you ever been on the losing end of anything!’

The brigade leader knew Lin Zhao had a bad temper, so he placated her with a very good attitude. "Of course."

"Changsheng’s mother, that’s enough out of you!" The brigade leader was exasperated.

"You were the one in the wrong for stealing. Fix your attitude. Apologize where you need to apologize, and pay what you need to pay. Don’t bring trouble on the whole brigade. If we lose our ’Advanced Brigade’ title because of you, you’ll be a disgrace to everyone here."

Once their own interests were involved, the expressions of the onlookers changed. They all began to persuade Changsheng’s mother.

"Changsheng’s mother, you really are in the wrong here. Just listen to Da Zai’s mother. Do whatever she says and get this over with. We can’t just stand here at a stalemate. We all have things to do."

"Yeah, that’s right. You stole the bricks, so you should be the one to pay for them."

"And... the evidence... those are the Gu Family’s bricks. Your Changsheng was the one who took them. You can’t deny it. If Da Zai’s mother really reports you to the public security bureau, you’re the one who’s going to suffer."

...

The more she listened, the more flustered Changsheng’s mother became. She glared resentfully at Lin Zhao. "I’ll pay you fifty cents! No, twenty cents..."

Lin Zhao lifted her gaze to look at her, her eyes dripping with sarcasm.

"Twenty cents? Why don’t I give you twenty cents and you can go try to buy a few bricks with it."

Her expression turned cold. "If you’re not going to apologize and compensate sincerely, then I won’t waste any more time. Let’s just report this to the public security bureau."

Seeing that Lin Zhao was serious, Father Changsheng quickly jumped in. He shot his wife a fierce glare before turning to Lin Zhao with an apologetic smile. "Da Zai’s mother, we’ll pay, we’ll pay! Two yuan, is that enough? Please don’t call the public security bureau. For the sake of everyone in the brigade, please don’t."

Two yuan?

That was more than enough.

"Fine," Lin Zhao agreed.

It wasn’t that she minded burning bridges, but she still had to live in the village. It was best to be merciful where she could.

Changsheng’s mother clawed at her husband’s face, her voice suddenly shooting up and becoming shrill. "Are you crazy? That’s two yuan!!!"

"Then what do you suggest we do? Who told you to have such nosy hands?" The man shook off her arm, went home to get two yuan, and gave it to Lin Zhao.

Changsheng’s mother’s eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. She tried to snatch the money back but was forcefully dragged away.

The couple fought and brawled all the way into the evening.

For over half a month, they were the main characters of the village gossip.

After this incident, Changsheng’s mother, who had always loved to gossip about others, didn’t even like to leave her house anymore.

Lin Zhao took her two sons home. Er Zai said indignantly, "I’m never playing with Brother Changsheng again!"

"We don’t play with him anyway," Da Zai corrected his younger brother. Changsheng used to always make fun of them for having a father who didn’t care and a mother who didn’t love them, which was why they never played with him.

"Not for my whole life!" Er Zai insisted, taking it seriously and holding a grudge.

"Mhm."

Lin Zhao was amused by her sons’ conversation. A five-and-a-half-year-old talking about "a whole life" was just too funny.

Remembering she hadn’t seen the twins all day, she instructed Da Zai and Er Zai, "You two go to the old house and get Third Child and Fourth Child. I’ll go home and cook. Dinner will be ready when you get back."

"Okay!"

Before the two brothers could head over, Mother Gu arrived, leading a pair of short, wobbly human cubs. She dropped the children off and then departed, leaving without a trace after performing her good deed.

The twins hadn’t seen their mother all day. The moment they saw Lin Zhao, they started to wail, with teardrops the size of beans rolling down their faces.

"Bad! Mama bad!" Fourth Child hugged her mother’s neck tightly, crying at the top of her lungs. Her tender little face pressed against Lin Zhao’s neck, and a trickle of wetness slid down her skin. A milky, babyish crying voice rang out, "Mama... didn’t... bring... Bao."

She accused her, one word at a time.

Third Child wailed while hugging his mother’s leg.

The wailing gave Lin Zhao a headache. She quickly tried to soothe them. "Okay, okay, Mama’s bad, Mama’s bad. Please stop crying. Mama will make you some fragrant steamed egg custard with a couple drops of sesame oil, how about that?"

Her coaxing was useless; the little one-year-olds just kept crying.

They had been with their mother every day for the past few days and had gotten used to it. When they woke up today and didn’t see her, the two little milk dumplings were filled with grievances.

"How about Mama gets you some candy? It’s sweet, do you want some?" They were her own precious children; she had to coax them when they needed it.

Er Zai sidled over and asked eagerly, "Mama, what kind of candy are you giving Third Child and Fourth Child? Is there any for me and my brother?"

"If you two help me calm your little brother and sister down first, there will be," Lin Zhao said.

Hearing this, Er Zai’s eyes darted around cleverly. He brought over the twins’ towel and wiped their faces and noses one by one.

The twins were stunned and forgot to cry.

They would have to build up the mood to cry again, so they simply stopped.

Lin Zhao was speechless. ’It’s like they’re putting on a show.’

Third Child lifted his tear-washed eyes and reminded her in a crisp voice, "Mama, candy."

"You won’t be left out." Lin Zhao tapped Third Child’s nose and went back into the house to get the candy.

Her four little ones trailed behind her.

Lin Zhao opened the cabinet. The shelves were filled with food: milk powder, malted milk powder, shrimp crisp candy, rock sugar, apples, a watermelon, canned yellow peaches...

So much food!!

Seeing all this food, Da Zai and Er Zai, who had never had enough to eat since they were little, felt incredibly satisfied. Their eyes shone like stars.

"Mama, what’s that?" Er Zai stood on his tiptoes, pointing at the can of yellow peaches, his drool nearly hitting the floor.

"Canned yellow peaches. You want some?" Lin Zhao said with a smile.

"Mhm, mhm, mhm." Er Zai nodded his little head rapidly.

"We’re about to eat dinner, so you can have some tomorrow. I’ll put it on the table tomorrow morning for you to eat when you wake up."

"Okay," Da Zai said. "Can our little brother and sister eat it?"

Lin Zhao gave the candy to her four children. She had processed the twins’ portion, crushing it into tiny pieces to ensure they wouldn’t choke.

"No, they have to be a little older before they can eat it."

Er Zai looked at his younger brother and sister sympathetically while happily eating his shrimp crisp candy.

’Good thing I’m not a one-year-old,’ he thought with relief.