Chapter 359: Chapter 356: Studying is Too Tiring

Lin Guozhu and Wu Shufen returned from Lexing, bringing back a quilt cover and a jar of sweet wine.

Lin Guozhu placed the wine jar in front of Lin Lan and teased with a smile, "Our little wine connoisseur, look! Your aunt made this sweet wine especially for you."

"Hee hee!" Lin Lan grinned at him, looking pleased.

Wu Shufen, delighted to see her niece after several days, smiled and handed over the quilt cover. "This is from your aunt."

"Thank you, Aunt!" Lin Lan said with a smile, taking it and thanking Wu Shufang again.

Lin Changyou said cheerfully, "Guodong and Shi Tou are out back cleaning fish. Go on, start cooking the dishes and the fish so we can eat."

The women went to the backyard to help prepare the vegetables and cook, while the men played cards in the shop.

When Wu Shufen got to the backyard, she noticed the old woman was gone and asked in surprise, "Where did Grandaunt go?"

Zhao Xiaohui glanced at Lin Lan, who was preparing vegetables with Wu Shufang, and whispered, "The old lady asked Little Lan to help her buy a television... Mom, have you ever heard of an old woman like that? If it weren’t for her age, I’d have spat in her face."

Wu Shufen was glad to hear Zhao Xiaohui standing up for Lin Lan. Still, the thought of what the old woman had said displeased her.

She sighed. "Forget it. Your granduncle was good to your father’s family when he was alive. As they say, financial debts are easy to repay, but a debt of gratitude is much harder."

"Oh," Zhao Xiaohui replied.

Wu Shufang told Lin Lan about Shi Song’s situation, then explained the advice Wu Shufen had given her and what she was planning to do.

After listening, Lin Lan thought, ’Even though the Li family matriarch doesn’t care for Shi Song and his wife, they are still the ones responsible for taking care of her in her old age. Getting her to agree to let Shi Song leave the Li family with his wife and child will be difficult!’

’The only way is if Shi Song’s wife is completely on his side, willing to take their child and break free from her mother’s control to start their own household.’

"Auntie, how does my cousin’s wife feel about her mother giving things to her two younger sisters?"

"Little Feng has argued with her about it. The last time she came to visit, she cried while talking about it. She asked why, if her mother thinks her two sisters are so wonderful, she didn’t keep one of them at home and find her a live-in husband, instead of making her stay."

"In the countryside, are there cases where a man marries into the wife’s family, but then later leaves and takes his wife and children back to his own family’s home?"

"It’s rare." Wu Shufang frowned. "There are some who don’t get along with the wife’s parents and go back home, but it’s very rare for the entire family to go back with him."

"Since the Li family matriarch is such a difficult person, I think it will be very hard for you to get them to move back to Shishanling, even if the brigade leader agrees to accept their household registration."

Lin Lan paused for a moment. "Auntie, I think when you go back, you should first find out what my cousin and his wife want to do. If they’re also willing to establish their own household, then you can tell them about the situation here and let them make their own decision."

Wu Shufang felt she understood Lin Lan’s meaning. "Right. Little Feng has to be completely willing to leave the Li family with Shi Song and return to Shishanling."

Lin Lan glanced at her. "Auntie, you’ve misunderstood me. I think instead of having them recklessly leave the Li family and return to Shishanling, it would be better for them to simply split from the main household and live independently. They can just provide for the elders on a regular basis as agreed upon."

After hearing this, Wu Shufang lowered her head in thought for a moment, then looked up. "I’ll think about it carefully. I’ll discuss it with your uncle when I get back."

"Okay," Lin Lan replied.

Outside, Lin Guoliang returned to the shop with a young man and said quietly to Lin Changyou, "Dad, she says she wants Little Lan’s television."

Lin Changyou glanced at Little Heng. "You want the television? Does your grandaunt know?"

Little Heng looked at Lin Changyou sheepishly. "She knows! Uncle, my grandmother... she doesn’t speak very pleasantly. Please don’t take it to heart."

Lin Changyou looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then said to Li Xiangyang, "Xiangyang, go with your brother-in-law and bring the television over. And while you’re at it, bring Grandaunt over for the meal." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Little Heng quickly interjected, "Uncle, there’s no need! You know what my grandmother’s temper is like. She won’t come. How about this? I’ll go get it with my cousin-in-law."

Lin Changyou had no choice but to nod. "Alright. It’s fine for you and Xiangyang to go."

Li Xiangyang nodded, and left with Little Heng.

Lin Guozhu looked at Lin Jun and the others, who were gathered around a game of Gomoku. "Little Jun, you’ve been at the city’s top primary school for a few months now. Any thoughts?"

Lin Jun shot him a look. "Whatever you felt when Grandpa forced you to marry Third Aunt, that’s how I feel."

Lin Guozhu stared at him, speechless. "..."

Seeing the exchange between the uncle and nephew, everyone burst out laughing.

Seeing that he had stumped the most formidable person in the family, his third uncle, Lin Jun proudly held his head high and looked at the crowd.

Lin Guoliang glared and rapped Lin Jun on the forehead. "So you feel like we’re forcing you, is that it? Fine. No school for you tomorrow. You can come with me to the paddies to pull weeds."

Lin Jun thought of leeches in the rice paddies clinging to his legs and sucking his blood, and he shivered in disgust. He shook his head so hard it was a blur. "Never mind! I’ll just grit my teeth and endure it for half a year. Besides, my aunt has a reward for me after the final exams!"

He then sighed and added, "Ah, if I’d known it would be like this, I would have just stayed at Shilian Primary School. At least there I could rank in the top twenty."

Lin Guoliang’s face darkened with anger. But since it was the day of Lin Lan’s homecoming visit, he decided to let him off the hook for now. He made a mental note to "treat him to a meal of bamboo shoots and sliced pork" tomorrow.

As soon as Lin Jun finished, Lin Gang chimed in, "If it weren’t for the watch I was promised, I wouldn’t want to study at First City Primary either. Those kids are crazy smart. They can recite all the Tang poems from the textbook. I can’t even remember half of them. I’m reciting Tang poems in my sleep."

Lin Hong looked at the two of them with disdain. "Whose fault is it that you don’t do your homework when you get home? You always wait until bedtime, and then you start to panic."

Lin Qing nodded. "Exactly. How come Little Hong and I aren’t like you two?"

Lin Jun and Lin Gang looked at their fathers, the Lin brothers, who were glaring at them with dark faces. Their butts clenched, and they shrank back. "We’ll do our homework earlier next time."

Lin Changyou looked at the two brothers. "Remember what you just said. And think hard. If it weren’t for your aunt and uncle, how would we have the means to send you to the city’s top primary school?"

Lin Guozhu nodded. "Exactly. You have such a good opportunity and you don’t cherish it. Back in our day, we didn’t even have the chance to study."

Lin Jun and his brother glanced at their third uncle, who had just twisted the knife, and obediently answered their grandfather, "Yes, Grandpa."

Lin Changyou ruffled each of the boys’ hair, then walked to the backyard with his hands clasped behind his back.

Lin Jun and Lin Gang stopped playing. They went to the backyard, got their schoolbags, and obediently started on their homework.

Little Douzi, Lin Hong, and Lin Qing took the Gomoku board to the backyard.

By the time Li Xiangyang returned, the meal in the backyard was ready.

Lin Guoliang and the other men brought out the large round table, while Zhang Xiuqing and the other women served the food and wine.

Zhou Shitou asked Lin Lan about the Jin family’s drying barn, and then told her he was thinking of building one himself to make cellophane noodles.

Lin Lan thought it was a viable way to make a living. After all, most people were unwilling to leave Shishanling to find work elsewhere.