Chapter 89 - 30: "It’s Bound to Come

Chapter 89: Chapter 30: "It’s Bound to Come

"That’s not necessarily true," Lin Zhao muttered under her breath. "I was just worried you wouldn’t be able to part with the money again."

Mrs. Lin had sharp ears and caught her words. "When it comes to your father, have I ever been reluctant?"

Lin Zhao faltered.

She’d had enough.

She took a gulp of water and changed the subject. "Dad, Mom, after the double-rush harvest is over, I’m planning to build a brick-and-tile house."

Father Lin immediately asked, "Do you have a way to order the bricks and tiles?"

"I asked Gu Chenghuai, and he managed to order them," Lin Zhao said with a smile.

"Then let’s build it." Father Lin supported her plan. His light-colored eyes rested on her face, and he couldn’t help but smile. "It must have been hard on you, living in a house with crumbling walls for so many years."

When his daughter was living at home, the walls weren’t allowed to shed dust, or she would throw a fit.

He had no idea how she’d managed to put up with it these past few years.

Lin Zhao nodded. ’That’s right. It was so hard on me.’

"When the time comes, have your brothers go and help." With that one sentence, Mrs. Lin had laid claim to a month of Lin Shichang and Lin Shisheng’s time.

"Okay, I won’t treat my brothers unfairly," Lin Zhao said.

Father Lin, looking gentle and scholarly, chuckled softly. "What’s this about treating them unfairly? It’s only natural for older brothers to help their younger sister."

He didn’t care about other families; in his subconscious, he believed girls needed to be cherished more carefully than boys.

Lin Zhao was no longer the naive little girl who didn’t understand anything. She knew that in some families, girls were treated as tools, worse even than cattle or horses.

’It’s wonderful being your daughter.’

When Lin Dadan and the others heard their aunt had returned to her family’s home, they came running back from all corners of the village, faces lit with excited smiles.

The other village kids knew at a glance that they were about to get some tasty treats. The smart ones already knew to stay on their good side.

"Da Dan, your aunt definitely brought you guys some good food again. I saw it! She was carrying a basket. I don’t know what’s in it, but can you bring it out to eat? I want to broaden my horizons." The speaker was a boy of about ten, dressed in black, patched clothes. His face was tanned to a dark sheen, which made his teeth look very white. His envy was plain to see.

Another boy, with his arm slung around Lin Dadan’s shoulder, sighed. "It’s so great to have an aunt."

Da Dan looked at him, speechless. "You have aunts too, and more than one."

That just made the boy feel worse. He gave Da Dan a reproachful look.

Er Dan laughed. "Your grandma isn’t nice to your aunts, so of course they’re not close with their family. My grandma always says that even after an aunt gets married, she’s still one of us, and we should always think of her when good things happen. That’s why my aunt thinks of us, too. My grandpa says relationships are a two-way street; you can’t just take. ’Taking’ means you only know how to take advantage of people."

He even added an explanation, afraid his friend wouldn’t understand.

The boy’s head drooped, and he said listlessly, "My grandma doesn’t listen to me."

Er Dan thought for a long moment before coming up with a solution. "...Then you should grow up fast. Once you’ve made something of yourself, your grandma will listen to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed Da Dan and ran for home.

Leaving the dark-faced boy behind, lost in thought.

’If you make something of yourself, your family will listen to what you say.’ Those words left a deep impression on his heart.

Lin Xibao ran home, bringing Lin Xuan and Lin Zheng with her. The moment they returned, the courtyard burst into life.

"Auntie!"

"Auntie, you’re back!"

The three little girls shouted happily.

Lin Zhao saw that her second brother’s two daughters had their hair neatly done and smiled. "Who did your hair for you? You look so sharp."

’Much more care was put into it than when that woman Qiu Lian does it.’

"Our eldest uncle’s wife did it," Lin Zheng said frankly, her eyes bright and full of life.

Lin Zhao gestured for her to come closer, wiped the sweat from her niece’s face, and asked in a gentle voice, "What were you doing out there?"

’Auntie’s voice is so gentle,’ Lin Zheng felt a little dizzy with delight. She said, "We were out playing, with my sisters."

Lin Zhao glanced at the restless Lin Xibao next to them and smiled faintly. "Did Xibao take you with her?"

She knew Xibao was the village’s little tyrant, the king of the kids, the kind who could rally a hundred followers with a single call.

Lin Xibao pouted, stomped her foot hard, and said, "I did take her!"

’Auntie wiped Zhengzheng’s sweat and is only looking at me now. Does she think I stink?’

Having no other choice, Xibao decided to take matters into her own hands and went to wash up nearby.

Her retreating figure looked so full of resentment that Lin Zhao could feel it from several steps away.

She walked over and popped a piece of candy into the mouth of a certain little girl who, despite looking cool as a cucumber on the outside, was keeping score on the inside.

"Is it sweet?"

The eyes of a certain little girl who never stayed angry overnight lit up, and she smiled like a little sun. "Sweet! So sweet! The candy Auntie gives is the sweetest!"

She greedily savored the sweetness in her mouth and tried to snuggle up to Lin Zhao, only to be rejected in disgust.

"Go wash up properly. You stink, you’re all sweaty."

"You don’t even know to wear a hat when you go out. Be careful or you’ll get tanned as black as a charcoal briquette."