Chapter 35 - 13: "Lin Heling

Chapter 35: Chapter 13: "Lin Heling

Mrs. Lin said with a smile, "Spare the rod, spoil the child."

Er Zai, his head freshly shaved, was busy wolfing down his food. He nodded along, seeming to agree wholeheartedly with his grandma’s words.

Lin Zhao placed a dumpling in his bowl, then another in the bowl of the bald-headed Da Zai, and said with a laugh, "What are you nodding for? You want me to give you a few spankings too?"

SPLAT—!

The dumpling on Er Zai’s chopsticks fell into his bowl. The little boy looked horrified. "Mom hits people too?"

Da Zai grew a little nervous too, his small, thin face wrinkling with worry.

’When Mom hits me, can she do it away from Er Zai? I don’t want to lose face.’

Lin Zhao was dying of laughter inside, but she feigned a serious expression. "If you two behave, you won’t get hit. But if you’re naughty, just you wait. I’ll have your dad spank you when he gets back. Comrade Gu Chenghuai is all muscle and strength. His spankings hurt the most."

Da Zai and Er Zai’s faces filled with shock. "!!!"

In a matter of seconds, the savory meat dumplings in their white wrappers suddenly lost all their appeal.

"Pfft..." Lin Shisheng couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Zhaozhao, look how you’ve scared the little ones. You even scare your own kids. Are you really their mother?"

"Yes, their one and only mother," Lin Zhao said, unable to stifle her own grin.

Mrs. Lin shot a look at the mischievous siblings and comforted her grandsons. "Your mom is just joking with you. Your dad is a great hero who protects our country. He only hits bad guys, not children. Now, eat up."

Er Zai, relieved, started gobbling down his dumplings again, trying to save face. "I knew Mom was just teasing us! Mom says we’re her little treasures. If Dad tried to spank us, Mom would definitely protect us. She’d never let us get hit."

"Er Zai is so smart." Mrs. Lin thought her grandson was truly clever. "Da Zai is smart too."

Lin Zhao had made plenty of dumplings, and Lin Shisheng ate the fine-flour food until he was stuffed. He’d never felt so satisfied in his life.

Sipping the dumpling broth, he sighed with a rather complicated tone, "Zhaozhao, your cooking skills are getting better and better. My brother-in-law is a lucky man to have married you."

Lin Zhao’s eyes flickered as she subtly tried to probe. "Are you and Second Sister-in-law fighting again, Second Brother?"

Not wanting to talk about his troublesome wife, Lin Shisheng changed the subject. "Did your husband say when he might have time to come home for a visit?"

"No." Lin Zhao thought of the letter she had sent. ’The children’s father should be receiving it soon.’

’I can’t wait for his reply.’

Mrs. Lin understood that her son-in-law’s life wasn’t easy and tried to comfort her daughter. "Chenghuai’s job is dangerous and hard. You should send him a few more letters when you have time."

"Mm-hm," Lin Zhao nodded.

Mrs. Lin knew her daughter well. Although she was delicate and couldn’t endure hardship, she never made empty promises. Her agreement meant she had taken the matter to heart.

’Seeing her this time, Zhaozhao’s personality has really changed a lot.’

Mrs. Lin used the cloth bib tied around the Fourth Child’s neck to wipe her face, then said casually, as if it were an afterthought, "It seems Zhaozhao has finally grown up. Remember back in your first year of middle school when you refused to live at your uncle’s house? You insisted on coming home, so your big brother and second brother had to escort you to and from school every day..."

Lin Shisheng glanced at his mother, about to say something, but was silenced by a sharp look from her.

"You remembered it wrong, Mom." Lin Zhao, holding the Third Child in her lap, wiped his hands. "It wasn’t middle school, it was my first year of high school. And I only stayed at home for two days. I couldn’t stand the cold, so I went back to live at my uncle’s house after all."

A smile spread across Mrs. Lin’s eyes, and the heavy feeling in her heart finally settled.

’It’s really her daughter.’

’She must have finally come to her senses.’

"So you do remember. I thought you’d forgotten. You should go visit your uncle when you have time."

Little did Lin Zhao know that her recent changes had made her mother wonder if she’d been possessed by something malicious.

Thinking of her uncle, Lin Zhao was overcome with guilt.

"Mom, is Uncle..."

She couldn’t bring herself to say the last two words. ’I really was an ungrateful wretch,’ she thought. ’I deserve it if Uncle blames me.’

"Zhaozhao, don’t overthink it. Uncle doesn’t blame you. He misses you a lot, though he is a little hurt. If you go see him, everything will be fine. Our uncle has always been so good to you, paying for your schooling, saving all the best food for you. When has he ever truly been angry with you?" Lin Shisheng said, trying to console her.

He then gathered the bowls on his own and went to the kitchen to wash them.

Mrs. Lin never spoiled her boys. Second Brother Lin and his brothers all knew how to do housework. Before Lin Zhao got married, she had probably washed the dishes fewer than ten times in her life.

"I’ll go see my uncle," Lin Zhao said. Even if her uncle scolded her, she would accept it. She really had been heartless.

"Good. Go take a look at the vegetable garden and see if you’re pleased with it. While your second brother is here, feel free to put him to work," Mrs. Lin said, changing the subject to keep her daughter from feeling down.

Lin Zhao went to see the backyard. The vegetable garden was enclosed by a low fence made of bamboo strips that only came up to her calf. A wooden trellis was set up against the wall, convenient for growing things like green beans and loofahs. The small plot of land was neatly organized into tidy rows.

The sight of the garden was immensely satisfying to Er Zai’s sense of order. He exclaimed in amazement, "Second Uncle is amazing! Mom, our vegetable garden looks just like Grandma’s now!"