Linxia

Chapter 81, Three Times

When the glow of the sky faded and the light dimmed, the family began to eat dinner, which was dumplings stuffed with cabbage and pork.

Fang's mother served the rice. Fang's father had the most, Fang Lin was second, Tian Xuan was third, and she herself had the least.

"Mom, you gave it to the wrong person." Tian Xuan looked at her own bowl, then at Fang's mother's bowl and said.

"That's right, you eat this bowl, and you will eat like this from now on."

Mother Fang paused and said, "Today, when you carried me on your back to the clinic, I saw the sweat on your forehead and wondered if I had been too bad to you in the past. I thought of Old Lady Chen and Grandma Man. They might have been better than them, but not much better. I was wrong. I made things difficult for you in the past."

Obviously, this fall, in which Tian Xuan carried Fang Lin to the clinic, made her reflect, and then she truly accepted and recognized Tian Xuan, and regarded Tian Xuan as a family member more important than herself, just like Fang's father and Fang Lin.

"Mom, no, that's not the case." Tian Xuan said, her voice choking for a moment.

What a smart person she is. When she heard what Fang Lin said, she immediately decided that she was Sister Guihua. However, she has no sense of presence in this family. That's because she has restrained all her brilliance and silently taken on a lot of hard and tiring work, willingly.

But even so, how could she not want to get the approval of her mother-in-law, Fang's mother? Today, she finally got her chance.

"Sister Xuan, this is a happy thing. Okay, stop crying."

Fang Lin also recalled that on the way to Haining County, at the beginning of the fusion of the two lives, Fang's mother was harsh to Tian Xuan, her nose was not a nose, her eyes were not eyes, but later she gradually changed for the better, and today she finally changed completely.

Some things in a person's life are difficult to change, but Fang's mother did it. This may be a kind of self-improvement and redemption.

Tonight, a brilliant full moon is reflected in the dark blue night sky, and there is no wind at all.

Inside the house, the oil lamp burned quietly, emitting a hazy and soft glow that enveloped the family of four, and the small shadows cast by it were gathered together, close and inseparable.

……

After dinner and before going to bed, Tian Xuan suddenly found Fang Lin.

At this moment, she had just washed her hair and body, and she exuded a refreshing fragrance like that of orchid, faint but moving.

"Sister Xuan." Fang Lin took her hand, held her in his arms, put his chin on Tian Xuan's shoulder, and gently stroked it. The tiredness of the day seemed to fade away in such warmth.

"Brother Lin, I'm itchy!" Tian Xuan smiled and shook her body, but when she looked down inadvertently and saw the fatigue on Fang Lin's face, she immediately stopped moving. Instead, she hugged Fang Lin and gently stroked his back.

After snuggling for a while, she finally remembered something and said, "Mom, maybe she didn't fall accidentally today."

"Yesterday, Man Gensheng of the Man family and a few friends were having dinner at home. They were still making noises until late at night, so my mother went up to say a few words... This morning, when my father left, the door was not frozen yet, so everything was fine. But when my mother went to pour out the swill, something happened... And a while ago, I heard Man Gensheng from the Man family get up to wash his face..."

Tian Xuan didn't say it too bluntly, she only talked about what she saw and heard, but the subtext was very obvious. She suspected that Man Gensheng poured the face washing water on the door of Fang's house, and the wind blew it, forming a thin layer of ice, which caused Fang's mother to fall.

"Is that so? Okay, Sister Xuan, I understand." Fang Lin planned to test it out tomorrow.

If not, it would be fine, but if... He narrowed his eyes.

...The next day, because Fang's mother broke her foot, the family did not go to the theater. At the door, Fang's mother, Tian Xuan, Su Xiaoqing, and Sister Guihua were mending clothes and doing chores together.

In the middle of the morning, Fang Lin called Man Gensheng over and started chatting about other topics. At one point, he suddenly asked, "Did you splash the water at my doorstep yesterday?"

"How can you...how can you slander someone like Qingbai out of thin air?" A hint of panic flashed across Man Gensheng's face, but he quickly suppressed it and retorted stubbornly.

'it's him!'

Fang Lin had already confirmed it through his micro-expressions.

In his previous life at university, he took a psychology course as a minor. He might not be able to tell that some powerful people never showed their emotions, but Man Gensheng was obviously not one of them.

After confirming, Fang Lin's expression remained calm, but he was unusually angry in his heart: "You are so naughty. Fortunately, my mother didn't fall too hard this time, but what if it happened? There are cases of people being paralyzed by a fall."

Obviously, Man Gensheng had never considered the consequences at all. Even if something like that happened, he would not admit it, let alone take any responsibility.

"This is the first time that Grandma Man has come to my house to ask for advantage. The last time she whistled at Sister Xuan was the second time. This is the third time." Fang Lin took a deep breath and suddenly smiled: "I'm afraid I misunderstood."

There was no evidence in this matter, and there was no good in making a fuss about it. But he was not a judge, so what evidence did he need? He had to rely on his own convictions.

"Really?" Man Gensheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had hidden it.

The two continued chatting. What could they talk about with a second-rate person like Man Gensheng? They soon talked about eating, drinking and having fun. Fang Lin inadvertently mentioned the Donkey Restaurant: "The chef of the Donkey Restaurant is Sun Erniang's apprentice. The recipe of donkey meat..."

After chatting for a while, when Man Gensheng went out, Fang Lin came back and played with the little girl Chen Ye who came at the door.

Fang's mother, Tian Xuan, Su Xiaoqing, and Sister Guihua were talking about family matters while doing their work.

When talking about the Man family, Fang Lin suddenly said: "Speaking of the Man family, the most pitiful one is Chuntao, just like the donkey of the Man family... Sister Guihua, don't you agree?"

"Linzi is right. Chuntao is pitiful." Sister Guihua was stunned for a moment before she took over the conversation and glanced at Fang Lin, as if thinking about something.

At noon, when Sister Guihua was leaving, she took Chuntao, who was just going out, and said a few words to her. Perhaps it was intentional, or perhaps it was because she looked so fragile and so infectious, the two of them quickly became closer.

Sister Guihua was doing all this, but she was sighing in her heart. She didn't want to meddle in other people's business. The indifference of the world and the hardships of life had long made her lose the ability to sympathize with others. She just wanted to take care of her own family. However, the favors owed to others must be repaid!

——Delivering food once; pulling Chen Ye out of the fire once; Bai Bao pushing Chen Ye into the water to untie his knot once. Three favors, how could I refuse a small favor from someone?

However, she never rushes to do things. She always takes her time, builds up gradually, and exerts influence bit by bit.

At the door, Fang Lin looked at Sister Guihua's back as she left, his expression still as calm as an ancient well: "The core of the Man family, and also the biggest weakness, is Man Gensheng. This person likes some novel things and has no self-control. The Donkey Restaurant is not the focus, the Changlefang across the street is the dagger hidden in the map of Yan State."

'And the other foundation of the Man family is Chuntao. It is because of her that Grandma Man and Man Gensheng can live a good life. Sister Guihua is a woman, and she has some similar experiences to Chuntao. She is also suitable to be a teacher of ideological enlightenment...'

……

(End of this chapter)