CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 56: HE... HE... HE MOLESTED HIS SISTER-IN-LAW

Lin Qiao: "..."

She rolled her eyes and held her arm, saying, "It hurts."

"Sister-in-law, I didn’t mean to, let me see." Song Tingfan panicked after hearing this, instinctively grabbed her arm, and lifted her sleeve to see if it was red.

The fair arm remained fair.

Lin Qiao didn’t expect him to lift her sleeve and was stunned for a moment, but then she didn’t mind and blinked, saying, "Uncle, I’m teasing you!"

The young man realized he had lifted his sister-in-law’s sleeve, immediately let go of her arm, and then hurriedly walked forward with the basket on his back, stumbling over his own feet.

He... lifted his sister-in-law’s sleeve.

He, he, he, committed an indiscretion against his sister-in-law.

Lin Qiao thought the antagonist was freaking out, so she quickly caught up to him, coaxing, "Uncle, don’t be angry, I was just joking with you."

"I’m not angry." Song Tingfan didn’t dare to look at her, his ears clearly red with embarrassment.

"Just as long as you’re not angry." Lin Qiao, who was rather carefree, didn’t notice. She patted his head and then said with a smile, "Uncle, let’s go buy some fish."

Thinking about having a full meal, Lin Qiao bought a fish weighing more than four pounds. By this time, it was already late, and the two hurriedly got on a donkey cart at the village entrance.

When they returned to the village, it was already dark. They made their way back home in the darkness.

Song Qin and Song Rong hadn’t gone to bed yet, leaving the door open waiting for their return. Hearing footsteps, Song Qin quickly stood up, "Niu Niu? Qiao’er?"

"Granny, it’s us." Song Tingfan quickly responded.

"Granny, why haven’t you gone to sleep yet?" Lin Qiao closed the courtyard door, which creaked in the night.

"I couldn’t sleep."

Song Qin finally felt relieved, and she groped her way to the kitchen, soon bringing out the food. Because it was dark, they couldn’t see in the main room, so they set it up in the courtyard.

"Granny, didn’t you guys eat?"

Lin Qiao vaguely saw four sets of bowls and chopsticks and quickly said, "Granny, don’t wait for us next time, it’s hard on your bodies."

Song Rong, leaning on his crutch, spoke up, "At that time, I didn’t feel like eating, so I asked your granny to wait."

The intentions of the elderly couple were clear to both Song Tingfan and Lin Qiao, and Lin Qiao played dumb and accepted it, "Granny, have a little something to fill your stomachs first. I’ll cook the fish, it won’t take long."

"Leave it for tomorrow," Song Qin said, feeling sorry for her running around all day.

"It’s going to get fishy."

Lin Qiao picked up the fish again and said, "It’ll be done soon. Granny and Grandpa, you guys have a bit first."

"Sister-in-law, I’ll clean the fish." Song Tingfan quickly followed her in.

Song Qin and Song Rong naturally hadn’t eaten, so they followed into the kitchen. Song Tingfan cleaned the fish, Lin Qiao washed the pot, and Song Qin kept the fire going.

Song Rong, leaning on his crutch, didn’t stay idle, struggling to help fetch water.

Lin Qiao felt that a bit of movement was good for his health, so she didn’t say anything.

A quarter of an hour later, the smell of fish wafted out, even reaching the Wang Family next door.

The small voice of a child sounded in the room, "Mom, it smells so good, I want to eat it."

Then a woman’s voice followed, "Okay, go to sleep, tomorrow Mom will buy fish for you."

"I want to eat such fragrant fish."

"Okay, okay, tomorrow Mom will ask Aunt how to make it."

Here, a large bowl of fish was placed in the courtyard, and the four sat around it. Lin Qiao picked some for them, "Grandpa, Granny, Uncle, eat while it’s hot, and watch out for the bones."

Although it was dark, it didn’t affect the warm atmosphere in the Song Family; soft talking could be heard from time to time.

The fish fragrance gradually dissipated in the night, and as time passed, the sky slowly lightened again.

It was already past 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., at the Song Family.

Lin Qiao collected a few people’s dirty clothes, preparing to go to the river to wash them, "Granny, Grandpa, I’m going to wash clothes."

"I’ll go with you," Song Qin put down the broom in her hand.

Lin Qiao shook her head and refused, "Granny, you shouldn’t go, Grandpa will be alone at home."

Before she could say anything, she added, "Granny, there aren’t many clothes, I’ll be quick."

Song Qin wasn’t comfortable leaving Song Rong alone at home, so she had to instruct her, "Qiao’er, be careful."

"Okay."

Lin Qiao carried the basket to the river, where many people were washing clothes. Ignoring the not-so-good looks she received, she selectively paid no attention.

Recently, there were rumors in the village about her and Mr. Cheng, saying she was flirting with him, smiling brightly outside the school.

It was almost on par with online keyboard warriors.

These women were really too idle; they had to gossip to get through the day.

She found a spot at the edge to wash, and only when squatting down did she see Mrs. Lin Wu and Mrs. Lin Xu, "Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law."

They both nodded, not saying much, clearly not too fond of her.

Lin Qiao knew this in her heart, so she didn’t say anything more. After a while, Mrs. Lin Xu noticed her washing Song Tingfan’s clothes and was a little curious. She nudged Mrs. Lin Wu to make her look.

The sister-in-law was washing Tingfan’s clothes.

Mrs. Lin Wu also found it strange; usually, Song Tingfan washed them. People in the village were gossiping, and there was no reason for the younger one to wash the sister-in-law’s clothes.

This really wasn’t Lin Qiao’s fault. Song Tingfan wanted to wash them himself, and he was stubborn, so Lin Qiao just let him be.

Cough, the inner garments were still washed by her.

The two were curious for a bit, then busied themselves with their laundry, discussing household harvests as they washed.

This year was good; the village’s harvest was abundant, and there would be surplus grain by this time next year.

There really weren’t many clothes to wash; Song Tingfan’s inner clothes and socks were not for her to wash, likely out of shyness.

It took less than half an hour to wash them all. She gently shook the water off her hands, then wiped them on her clothes.

She took out twenty cents from her pocket and placed it beside Mrs. Lin Wu, "Second Sister-in-law, this is the labor payment for Second Brother making a crutch for me."

She paused for a moment, sincerely saying, "I know Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law care for me, but what’s owed should be given. An’er’s schooling costs a lot."

Mrs. Lin Wu looked at the silver note she handed over, hesitating with a complicated look, before returning it, "We’re family, no need to talk about money, keep it and use it."

The little sister-in-law now spoke much better than before; she used to always have a tone as if the family owed her, making it uncomfortable for anyone to hear.

Also, they couldn’t accept the silver; if Lin Shan found out, he would definitely get angry with her.

"Second Sister-in-law, please take it. If you don’t, I won’t feel right asking Second Brother for help again."

Lin Qiao didn’t take it back, carried her basket and said, "Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, I’m heading home, take your time washing."

Watching her walk away, Mrs. Lin Wu looked at the copper coins in her hand and said to Mrs. Lin Xu, "Why does it feel like the little sister-in-law has changed?"

Mrs. Lin Xu nodded, and the two exchanged a glance, unable to put it into words, and continued washing clothes.

There were chickens to feed at home too.

In a short while, Lin Shan and Lin Sheng came to help carry the clothes, making the other women envious.

A slightly younger woman said, "It’s nice to have someone to carry your laundry for you after washing."

The Lin Family indeed treated their daughters-in-law well. Mrs. Lin Xu handed the basket to Lin Sheng with a smile, "It’s too heavy, I can’t carry it."