Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander-Chapter 545 - 371: Affinity

Don’t wait up, folks—I’ve updated just once today.

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Sensing the annoyance and regret in Old Master Zhang and Old Lady Zhang’s hearts, and fearing that they might harbor any hard feelings or lose face, Li Suxin, Zhang Dongfang’s wife, gently repeated, "Dad, Mom, let’s go home."

"Grandpa, Grandma, my parents heated up a kang bed in the south room last night, it’s very warm now, so from now on, you won’t have to worry about sleeping on a cold kang anymore," Zhang Zexiang, their grandson, also said with a laugh, trying to put the old couple’s minds at ease.

"Ah, ah..." The old couple responded repeatedly, their faces showing indescribable satisfaction. They took a few steps but then hesitated, turning to look at Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan, "Kids, we’ve been confused and did such a thing; we truly owe you an apology."

"Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhang, please don’t say that..." Zhao Yulan quickly stepped forward, smiling as she interjected, "You two are kind-hearted, we know that."

"Exactly, exactly," Lin Baohe habitually echoed his wife.

"Haha..."

The onlookers burst into laughter.

Old Master Lin and Old Lady Lin, who had quickly retreated to their room without anyone noticing, heard the conversation and laughter outside, and their faces turned white with anger. Wasn’t this an overt statement that they were unkind?

The Zhangs live in a city apartment and even made a special warm kang for the old couple, but what about them? They couldn’t even take part in their granddaughter’s wedding! Was it that they were unkind, or was it their son and daughter-in-law who were unkind?

If it weren’t for the sake of the Lin family’s future, would they have needed to act like this?

The more they thought about it, the angrier they became. Old Lady Lin, who had not yet climbed onto the kang was huffing with anger and turned to walk out. Old Man Lin was frightened and quickly grabbed her: "What are you doing?"

"I’m going to argue, is there no justice at all?"

"How are you going to argue this? What did we and the Old Zhang couple say about our son and daughter-in-law? And what’s the reality of how we treat them? How do the Old Zhang couple treat their son and daughter-in-law? Do you think you have a case for arguing out there?"

"Isn’t every case different? With four children, how can each be treated exactly the same?"

"Alright, you know what’s going on with your own affairs, and bystanders aren’t fools either. Let’s just leave it at this for today," Old Master Lin sighed, waving his hand in resignation. "In a few days, when things have calmed down, we’ll think of something else."

"Are you implying that we really are in the wrong?" Old Lady Lin snorted, "They only have one blasted brat, so what do they expect? If they had two grandsons, I’d treat them just like I do Baohai."

Old Master Lin suddenly straightened his ears, motioning for Old Lady Lin to be silent.

"... My dad was the youngest of three brothers, and my mom, from the same village as my dad, became an orphan at ten. My mom’s grandparents and uncles didn’t care for her, but my paternal grandparents took pity on her and brought her home to raise as their own daughter.

With four children and dire poverty, my mother, grateful for my grandparents’ kindness, insisted on marrying my father. She genuinely liked my father, and it also meant saving on the bride price.

At first, my grandparents feared gossip that they had adopted my mother only to make her their son’s wife, so they disagreed. In the end, it was the persistence of my parents that won their consent.

After they married, they continued to live with my grandparents. My two uncles and aunts lived in the same courtyard as well. Despite the poverty, our large family was happy.

The great flood of ’65 submerged the whole village. My grandparents and my uncles’ families were all at home and got trapped, while my parents, taking my sister and me to the mountains for wild fruit to stave off hunger, were spared.

Relief can only do so much; rebuilding is something one must do oneself. My parents saved what little food we had for my sister and me, sustaining themselves on wild herbs and elm bark.

In the winter, my sister and I wore cotton-padded clothes, while my parents made do with coats and trousers thinly lined with the old cotton from our old clothes. Ever since I can remember, my parents’ hands and feet never went through a winter without chapping and bleeding.

From childhood, my sister and I got the best food and clothes. My parents lived for us, their children. They might have been slightly biased towards me, but they were genuinely good to my sister as well.

When my sister reached marriageable age, my parents’ main condition for the matchmaker was that she had to like the suitor. If my sister didn’t like him, no matter how good the terms were, they wouldn’t go against her will.

My sister married the man she liked, not one who could bring benefits to our family. Now that they choose to stay with me, they’re considering that my sister’s situation isn’t as good as mine; they don’t want to add to her burden.

Because of the kindness they received in their life, kindness from their own relatives, they treat their children with genuine love, so they assume others treat their children the same.

When my sister was considering her future husband, the only advice my parents gave her was to make sure he was filial because the younger generations are watching. If you show filial piety, then the younger generations will do the same, and it will pass down through generations, never ending.

Today, I’m saying all this to express that since ancient times, filial piety has been valued. But if someone hides behind a veneer of filiality to manipulate their descendants, does such an elder truly deserve to be treated with filial respect?"

It was a slap in the face, a blatant slap in the face!

Deputy County Chief Zhang was clearly backing up the couple, Lin Baohe!

But what he said was also true—the elder Lins’ attitude towards Lin Baohe and his wife was well known in the village, and many even suspected that Lin Baohe was not their biological child; otherwise, how could they be so indifferent to their own son?

Telling all this was at the behest of Old Master Zhang and Old Lady Zhang, who signaled Zhang Dongfang to do so. Although it seemed a bit self-congratulatory, they did cause a disturbance and owed it to the couple to set things right.

And this way was the simplest and most effective.

The fear of gossip, even more so the fear of envy.

The opportunity that Lin Baohe’s family got would definitely make many people feel genuinely upset deep down; even if they said congratulations on the surface, inside they felt otherwise.

Today’s ordeal, everyone knew who was at fault, and now, they probably all felt the same. But, if the Zhang family hadn’t made their stance clear, Lin Baohe and his wife might have indeed ended up being wrongfully labeled as ungrateful.

With the situation now resolved satisfactorily, Dagang’s Grandpa waved his hand at the crowd, "Let’s disperse, everyone disperse," he said, standing up and walking out with Luo Gangshun quickly following behind.

Widow Li and Second Scabby, who thought they had been forgotten, tried to sneak out unnoticed but were caught by the young men who had brought them and were escorted out.

"Why are you arresting us? It was Lin Baojiang who came up with the idea, why are you arresting us?" Second Scabby wailed unceasingly, struggling to break free, only to receive a slap on the neck from the strapping young man escorting him. His head leaned to one side, and he went silent.

Chuxia, following behind, couldn’t help but click her tongue, "Nice move."

The two young men who had been walking normally stumbled, dragging Second Scabby forward with a limp...

"What does this mean?" Luo Xiaoqiong touched her forehead in confusion. "Xiao Hei always complained about your looks before, now has your ugliness scared him?"

"Probably," Chuxia agreed with a nod. "Either that or he heard I became the wife of a high official and got scared."

"Meiying, you’re looking stronger, and so is Chuxia, good going," Village Chief Lin Youbao chuckled as he passed by the two women, "complimenting" each of them in turn.

Under the influence of Chuxia’s sense of beauty, Xiaoqiong didn’t think being strong was something to be proud of anymore; her face immediately twisted into a bitter melon expression, "Am I really getting stronger?"

"No," Chuxia sized her up, gave her a pinch, and concluded, "In Grandpa Youbao’s eyes, being strong is a good thing. He said it to make us happy."

"Xiaoqiong, Chuxia, you’ve gotten tanner."

Watching Lin Youbao’s son, Lin Zhonghua, breeze past them, Luo Xiaoqiong angrily pointed and shouted, "Stand still if you dare, you rascal—you dare say I got darker, I’ll beat you to death."

"I’m your little uncle, you dare talk about beating me, I’ll go tell your father!" Lin Zhonghua made a face at her and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"You little twerp, just you wait... Ah, Mom, why did you hit me?"

Fat Auntie glared at her daughter who was holding her head in protest, "Zhonghua is your little uncle, how can you be so disrespectful?"

"Rules..." Luo Xiaoqiong, wanting to talk back, saw the smiling face of Lin Youbao’s wife and quickly swallowed her retort, smiling at Lin Youbao’s wife, "Sixth Grandma."

"Ah, Meiying is growing more and more handsome."

Calling a woman in her forties ’grandma’ was somewhat of a psychological hurdle for Chuxia, but face to face with the smiling woman, she politely greeted, "Hello, Sixth Grandma."

"Ah, Chuxia is growing more and more like a little fairy."

Luo Xiaoqiong gave Lin Youbao’s wife a thumbs up, "Sixth Grandma, even though we are all family, the way Sixth Grandpa and Little Uncle compliment others compared to you is just beyond compare."

"Both father and son say whatever they think sounds nice, but when others hear it..." Lin Youbao’s wife laughed and shook her head, expressing her helplessness with her husband’s and son’s flattery.

At this moment, Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan joined by Jing Zhe and the rest of the Zhang family caught up, and the group headed to Chuxia’s new house, chatting and laughing.

With a change in mindset, Old Master and Old Lady Zhang became exceptionally gentle and kind compared to the night before. They had packed up their belongings in advance, but now they had to unpack everything again to move out.

Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan were hardworking, and without needing the Zhangs to say anything, they started helping with the packing, with Zhao Yulan jokingly saying, "Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhang, we didn’t pack these things because we couldn’t wait for you to leave, we just wanted to help.

When you leave, take the keys with you. Whenever you want to come back to check on the crops or listen to the chickens, you can stay here for a while."

The old couple’s faces lit up with happiness, but then dimmed again. After this incident, if they ever came back to the village, they would feel unsure about whom to socialize with. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, or to award it a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om