Lin Qiao: "..."
Just when she was about to say she couldn’t finish, Song Tingfan went to serve food for others.
People in the countryside usually don’t leave food unfinished. After all, it’s already fortunate to have food to eat these days. In the end, she was stuffed,
and just as she leaned on the table to get up, she heard one of the won sitting in a group nearby say, "Is Widow Song pregnant? Look at her belly."
Lin Qiao: "..."
Do these people feel like they’d die if they didn’t talk for a day?
Too lazy to argue with these people, it would just be a waste of breath.
She turned around and saw Zhang Dong supporting his wife, who was obviously pregnant. As their eyes t, Zhang Dong’s wife snorted, "Da Dong, my stomach doesn’t feel too good,"
Zhang Dong withdrew his gaze from Lin Qiao, then gently rubbed his wife’s belly, "Does it feel better now?"
"A bit," Zhang Dong’s wife said provocatively, looking at Lin Qiao, as if declaring her territory.
Lin Qiao secretly rolled her eyes. She couldn’t care less about a mama’s boy. Whoever wants one can have him for all she cares. She averted her gaze, scanned around, and didn’t see Song Tingfan.
Later, she went to the kitchen where Song Tingfan was washing dishes. There was a huge pile of dishes beside him, but he wasn’t the only one washing, there were other won helping too.
Lin Qiao walked over, squatted down next to him, and helped wash, "Have you eaten?"
Upon hearing her voice, Song Tingfan turned his head but didn’t answer her question, "Sister-in-law, are you full?"
"I’m full. Have you not eaten?"
Lin Qiao took the bowl from his hand and said, "Go have so. You’ve been busy all morning; don’t faint in a bit."
Song Tingfan foolishly said, "I won’t faint."
The woman helping nearby echoed Lin Qiao’s words, "Tingfan, go eat sothing. We’ve all eaten, and you’re the only one who hasn’t."
Mrs. Song couldn’t just command outsiders to work, so she kept ordering Song Tingfan around, which left him no ti to eat.
At that mont, Mrs. Song happened to co in and heard this. With righteous authority, she ordered, "What are you eating for? Quickly go collect the dishes from outside."
Song Tingfan didn’t like his aunt’s tone, but since today was his cousin’s wedding, he nodded in agreent, "Okay."
Just as he was about to stand up, soone grabbed his hand. He looked down to see his sister-in-law holding onto him.
Originally, Lin Qiao didn’t want to argue with Mrs. Song today, but it seed like she didn’t consider Song Tingfan a person, "Aunt, find soone else to collect them. Little brother has been busy all morning and hasn’t eaten yet."
"Who hasn’t been busy all morning, and he’s the only one being pretentious?" Mrs. Song rolled her eyes.
"It’s not little brother being pretentious; it’s Aunt being too harsh. You’ve eaten, but you won’t let little brother eat. Even a stone heart wouldn’t act like this, right?" Lin Qiao didn’t back down and retorted, then added, "We’re here to help out because of uncle, not you. Aunt, you’ve been back at your mother’s place for ten or twenty days; haven’t you reflected on anything?"
Mrs. Song couldn’t save face when her visit ho was brought up, "You as a widow talk to like this?"
Her voice was not loud, probably because she was afraid people outside would hear.
"I treat the elders how they treat others."
Lin Qiao didn’t care about her annoyance and dragged Song Tingfan out of Song An’s house. After walking a bit further, she let go of him.
"Little brother, why can’t you be a little clever? Whatever they tell you, you just do it."
Being "scolded" by his sister-in-law didn’t make Song Tingfan feel afraid, in fact, he felt warm inside; only his sister-in-law cared about his feelings.
He obediently said, "I won’t do it next ti."
Over the years, he’d gotten used to his aunt’s temperant. Even if he felt wronged or upset, he wouldn’t speak up.
If he spoke out, his aunt would scold him more.
With his parents gone, even if his uncle wanted to protect him, he couldn’t do much.
And he didn’t want to create a rift in his uncle’s family because of him.
Lin Qiao knew he was kind-hearted; she sighed heavily inside, deciding to teach him slowly.
She pretended to be angry, "If this happens again next ti, I’ll hit you."
Back ho, she cooked a big bowl of noodles for Song Tingfan. Clearly starving, he finished it all. Worried he still wasn’t full, she asked, "Do you want more? If you do, I’ll cook more, no lying."
Song Tingfan was indeed still a bit hungry, but not wanting to trouble his sister-in-law, he was about to say no when he heard her last words and quietly said, "I’d like more."
This kid is really honest.
Lin Qiao smiled, "Alright."
She then cooked another half-bowl. Song Tingfan even drank the soup clean. eting his sister-in-law’s gaze, he felt a bit embarrassed and went to wash the dishes.
These days he had been busy working and hadn’t read or written. In the afternoon, having so free ti, Song Tingfan took out pen and ink to write.
Lin Qiao watched for a while before getting up to teach him, "That’s not how you write it, start with a stroke, from light to heavy."
Seeing that he still couldn’t get it, she didn’t think twice and held his hand to guide the pen, "Relax, follow and write."
Song Tingfan didn’t expect his sister-in-law to hold his hand, and he froze, slling a faint fragrance. His peripheral vision caught a quick glimpse of her side profile, which was soft, with slightly curled eyelashes.
His face got hotter, and his heart started to race.
After a while with no relaxation, Lin Qiao looked at him, bemused, seeing his reddened face and knowing he was shy again.
She blinked, "What are you shy about? I’m not going to eat you."
"I-I’m not not not not shy," Song Tingfan stamred to deny it.
Trying to cover it up only made it more obvious.
Lin Qiao didn’t expose him and continued teaching him to write, "Now, watch the pen, follow my movents, focus, or I’ll smack your palm if you can’t write it later."
After instructing him for a while, Song Tingfan gradually focused on the writing. His sister-in-law’s writing was beautiful, delicate, yet slightly flowing.
Lin Qiao didn’t teach him too much, just a couplet from a book. She released his hand, "Write a few pages following what I taught you."
Song Tingfan glanced at the slightly warm back of his hand, then earnestly started writing, stroke by stroke, following Lin Qiao’s style.
He was indeed quite smart; after a few tries, his writing was not far off from Lin Qiao’s style.
After praising him for a few sentences, Lin Qiao said, "Handwriting doesn’t need to be exactly the sa. Little brother, just follow the stroke order."
"Sister-in-law’s writing is pretty," Song Tingfan said earnestly.
"If you find it pretty, practice more."
Lin Qiao looked at the sky outside, estimating that there would be four or five monts until dusk, "Little brother, I’m going to the mountains to gather mushrooms."
Mushrooms have started sprouting recently; the Wang Family picked over a pound yesterday.
"I’ll go with you, and check on the hunting pit," Song Tingfan didn’t feel at ease letting his sister-in-law go to the mountains alone.
Considering he’d been practicing writing for a while, Lin Qiao nodded, "Take the straw hat."
Everyone was probably still busy at the Song’s house, so there weren’t many people going up the mountain today.
The mushrooms outside the mountain had been picked by others, and she couldn’t find a single one. As they walked deeper, Song Tingfan found two gray mushrooms.
After searching for a long ti, they eventually found about a dozen mushrooms, enough to stir-fry a bowl.
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