Chapter 31: New Year, New Atmosphere (1)

  After the third day of the new year, Lin Tianliang called the village elders, including Seventh Uncle Gong, to his home to discuss a plan regarding the matters of Lin Lao and Liu Erniang's families. As for Lin Lao and Lin Erlang, Lin Daban, it goes without saying that they would be removed from the Lin family tree and expelled from the village. Liu Erniang and Lin Laotai were not originally from Linjia Village, so they could simply be asked to leave. At this moment, everyone in the village hoped for this outcome, otherwise the reputation of Linjia Village would be tarnished, affecting future interactions with other villages, weddings, and other matters. Eliminating these pests was also a way to cleanse the stains from Linjia Village.

  The villagers were very satisfied and agreed with the decision of the village head, etc. Lin Lao Tai had nowhere to go, so she went to Lin Xiao Hua's house. Lin Xiao Hua was afraid that people from Chen Jia Village would point fingers at her and Chen Xing, and she didn't want Lin Lao Tai to stay in her home. However, Chen Xing had no parents since childhood, and his marriage was arranged by Lin Lao Tou and Lin Lao Tai. Although their behavior before the wedding made a joke of both villages and damaged Lin Xiao Hua's reputation, Chen Xing eventually married Lin Xiao Hua. So he persuaded Lin Xiao Hua to let Lin Lao Tai stay, but they only had a thatched hut with one room and a kitchen. They had no choice but to set up a bed for Lin Lao Tai in the corner of the kitchen. Fortunately, Lin Lao Tai brought her own bedding and some property, which slightly improved Lin Xiao Hua's mood. However, after Lin Xiao Hua gave birth to a child, Lin Lao Tai directly became a servant...

  When they arrived at Liu Erniang's home, neither Liu Erniang nor Lin Daban were there. Liu Erniang's husband had died early, and the only ones left in the house were Lin Daban's wife, Lin Zhao, and their young grandson, Lin Shi. This Lin Zhao was from Zhaojia Village in Qingxi Town and was also brought back by Liu Erniang as a proper bride for Lin Daban. At that time, Liu Erniang had put in a lot of effort to marry off Lin Daban to this woman, saying all sorts of good things to Lin Zhao's parents, and with the guarantee of the matchmaker, they finally brought Lin Zhao back home. In the beginning, for several months, Liu Erniang treated Lin Zhao very well, doing everything according to her wishes. When Lin Zhao's family came to visit, three or five times, they also put their minds at ease. This Lin Zhao also gradually treated Liu Erniang with a true heart. However, good times didn't last long. As the number of visits from Lin Zhao's family decreased, this Liu Erniang grasped Lin Zhao's temperament and revealed her own nature, starting to make things difficult for Lin Zhao everywhere. Lin Zhao returned to her mother's home to cry and complain, but the people in the Zhao family didn't believe her, thinking that she wasn't a good daughter-in-law, which was why Liu Erniang treated her this way. After several times of returning to her mother's home, the people there turned around and scolded her instead, leaving Lin Zhao heartbroken. Only when Liu Erniang gradually became more tolerant, knowing that she had a son left for Lin Daban, did their life slightly improve, but only slightly.

  Lin Tianliang knew that Lin Zhao was a good person, and Lin Shi was still young. If they were to drive the widow and her child out of Linjia Village, it would be somewhat inappropriate. So he discussed with the village elders and decided to let Lin Shi inherit Liu Erniang's property and land, with Lin Zhao acting as guardian. Only after Lin Zhao's natal family learned about Liu Erniang's affair with Lao Tou did they realize their mistake - they had been deceived by Liu Erniang's superficial kindness. They went to Linjia Village to find Lin Zhao, offering comfort and apologies, but Lin Zhao was unmoved. For years, her family had not inquired after her well-being, and now that the truth was out, they came to find her, but she had a child of her own now, and her heart was no longer with them. No matter how much they tried to explain, Lin Zhao's expression remained unchanged, and the crowd knew that they had truly hurt their daughter's heart in the past. They could only hang their heads in shame and return to Zhaojia Village.

  Shi Wen took Ruhua to the Cuihong Building in town, and the madam of Cuihong Building understood his intention as soon as she saw Shi Wen. Without beating around the bush, "Sir, I've already kicked Ruhua out of Cuihong Building, and I've also burned her contract. From now on, she has nothing to do with Cuihong Building!"

  Shi Wen was naturally satisfied with this, but he was still dissatisfied with the old procuress of Cuì Hóng Lóu who had initially conspired with Lin Er Lang to sell Lin Chun to Cuì Hóng Lóu. However, it wasn't the time to thoroughly investigate Cuì Hóng Lóu yet, so Shi Wen took Ruò Huā back to the county government office and wrote a document to be sent to the Magistrate, but before the document arrived, Cuì Hóng Lóu had already ceased to exist.

  "Master, the matter between Old Lin and Liu Erniang's families has been settled, but this Yu Hua..."

  "Let Hu Zhifu send the prostitutes to the border as military prostitutes, and from now on, the Cuihong Building can cease to exist. It can be renamed Embroidery Building, where young girls from each village can go to learn embroidery. I will arrange for a few experienced and childless old women and embroiderers from Qianfuyuan Embroidery House to go there to teach them, all for free." Qianye said lazily, as if the Cuihong Building, which had existed in Qingxi Town for over a decade, was worth nothing.

  "Yes, I understand, but...I heard Miss Lin say that she wants Master Qian to find a teacher for her younger brother and sister, I don't know if the master..."

  "I have an idea under consideration, I don't know if it's suitable to mention?"

  "Say what you want to say..." Qian Ye Li raised an eyebrow and said.

  "We were among the eleven dark guards protecting the Lin family, and I was Yuexin Le, originally the only child of the Yu family in Yuecheng. At that time, he was also a talented young man who had passed the imperial examination and obtained a good name, but due to unexpected changes at home, he... let him go, and he can openly protect the three siblings of the Lin family, but this dark guard has turned from darkness to light, I don't know who is the master?"

  "Since that's the case, let him go then. You arrange everything and make sure it's done properly. Once the Lin family's wall is repaired and the house is built, we'll probably need to hire a nanny too. Make all the arrangements carefully, without any mistakes, to ensure the safety of the three Lin siblings. These three siblings will have great use in the future!" Qian Ye's eyes shone with anticipation.

  Lin Chun San and his siblings were delighted to learn of the final outcome for both the Lin and Liu families. Uncle Da Shan and Aunt Cui Hua finally put their minds at ease. On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Shi Wen sent a horse-drawn carriage to pick up Lin Chun San and his siblings from the county. Lin Chun thought back to his promise to Madam Shi and packed his belongings, bringing Da Tou and Er Ya along as they boarded the carriage headed for the Shi residence. Ge Ge and Du Du were left in the care of Uncle Da Shan's family, keeping company with Xiao Shan's Bei Bei.

  Lin Chun originally planned to return home on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, but coincidentally, it was Mrs. Shi's 42nd birthday, so Lin Chun had no choice but to stay behind. However, Da Tou and Er Ya missed Gou Gou and Du Du terribly and felt a bit downhearted and lost. Since the two dogs arrived at Lin Chun's house, except for the time they stayed at Da Shan Bo Bo's house during the ancestor worship ceremony, they had hardly been apart from Da Tou and Er Ya. Now that they were leaving for so many days, both of them missed each other terribly.

  Lin Chun didn't know that since the three siblings arrived in the county, the two dogs, Gege and Dudu, from Lin's family would run back home as soon as they were left at their uncle's house. When they saw no one was home, they would lie down in the yard and wait, refusing to eat or drink anything. Now, with a lifeless look in their eyes, they still lay there motionless, occasionally rolling their eyeballs, staring in the direction of San Cha Kou. The whole family was worried and anxious, but nothing seemed to work on the two dogs. Lin's uncle was afraid something would happen to them, so he drove his ox cart with Cuifang and Xiaoshan holding the two dogs, taking Beibei into the county town.

  Dà Tóu and èr Yā heard that Dà Shān Bó Bó brought Qiào Qiào and Dū Dū, and they ran towards the county government gate in a gust of wind. The third young master of the Shī family had been playing with Dà Tóu and èr Yā for two days and also followed them to run over. Lín Chún heard this and hastily went to the gate as well. The yamen led Dà Shān Bó Bó's family into the back courtyard of the county government, Qiào Qiào and Dū Dū were motionless in Cuì Huā Dà Niáng and Dà Shān Bó Bó's arms, but when they saw Dà Tóu and èr Yā running towards them, they suddenly jumped out of their arms and rolled on the ground twice before rushing towards Dà Tóu and èr Yā. Dà Tóu and èr Yā squatted down and hugged Qiào Qiào and Dū Dū who were running over, Qiào Qiào and Dū Dū made whimpering sounds with their mouths and kept licking Dà Tóu and èr Yā...