Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 101 - 96: This Ya Po Isn’t Following the Script
Lin Qiao really brought misery to Zhou Tiedan’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Xue. Although she gets beaten every day, she’s still a little tyrant.
When she came home from school, she insisted on getting a pair of gloves from her. Thinking they weren’t expensive, she agreed to buy them, but he insisted she make them, saying that Song Tingfan’s sister-in-law makes them herself.
This was tough for Mrs. Xue, who disliked embroidery and would rather dig a couple of plots of land.
Zhou Tiedan started making a fuss when she didn’t comply and accused her of only knowing how to snatch his food and nothing else.
Finally, after getting a few beatings from his mother, Zhou Tiedan calmed down.
The family was in an "uproar," and soon the whole village was "in uproar."
The next morning, the women by the river, washing clothes, were gossiping as usual, occasionally bursting into laughter, making the riverside very lively.
When Lin Qiao came to the river carrying clothes, a woman in a brown-yellow dress was loudly talking to other women, "Zhou Tiedan said his sister-in-law only knows how to snatch food and nothing else, it really cracked me up. I heard it at the door yesterday and laughed till my back hurt."
"Did Zhou Tiedan really say that?"
"He really did, I heard it with my own ears, how could it be fake?"
"Was Zhou Tiedan’s sister-in-law angry?"
"Angry about what, during dinner, I even heard Zhou Tiedan yelling, ’Sister-in-law, can you let me eat more?’"
The women by the river laughed until they couldn’t sit straight. Lin Qiao’s mouth twitched slightly as she quietly took out her clothes, listening to them continue to gossip.
The conversation shifted from the Zhou family’s matters to the Li family’s, and finally to the Lin family’s, but probably noticing her presence, they only said a few words before changing the topic.
As Lin Qiao was about to finish her washing, one woman suddenly said, "How come the fog hasn’t cleared yet, it’s freezing."
Hearing this, Lin Qiao looked up, it wasn’t very noticeable nearby, but there was a misty fog in the distance.
She continued to scrub her clothes, but suddenly paused—fog.
The foggy days were when the villain would be sold.
The selling plot might be about to come.
If this major turning point were gone, at least most of her small life would be spared.
As long as the selling event didn’t happen, the brothel incident wouldn’t occur, and what came next wouldn’t follow.
Thinking of this, her spirit lifted, she silently made a decision in her heart that unless she died, no one would take the villain away.
...
At noon, smoke rose from every house’s roof as meals were being prepared.
Lin Qiao was in the kitchen making pancakes when she heard footsteps. She turned her head and saw a young boy in a crescent-colored coat with his hair tied up high and a few stray hairs on his forehead.
She glanced at the top of his head, only two or three fingers away from the kitchen door threshold.
"Little uncle."
"Sister-in-law."
They both spoke at the same time.
Song Tingfan sniffed and looked at the pot, "Smells good."
"If it smells good, go quickly to wash your hands and put the cloth bag down." Lin Qiao flipped the pancake with a spatula, then suddenly remembered something and added, "Little uncle, go call Grandpa Wang and Granny Wang back for lunch."
"Alright."
Song Tingfan ran out, and soon Song Qin and Song Rong came into the kitchen. Lin Qiao glanced at them, noting that their spirits were high, looking like they were doing well at the Wang family.
"Granny, has Granny Wang’s tofu been made yet?"
"Not yet, still grinding. Qiao’er, do you like tofu? If you do, I’ll go buy a few pounds of beans and make some." Song Qin handed a bowl and chopsticks to Song Rong, who took them out.
Lin Qiao didn’t want to burden her, so she declined, "Not particularly fond of it."
Song Qin didn’t think much of it and dropped the tofu topic.
After a little while, Lin Qiao took the dishes to the main room, looked around, and didn’t see Song Tingfan, so she asked Song Rong, "Grandpa, where did Tingfan go?"
"He went to fetch water." Song Rong was setting up stools.
Lin Qiao acknowledged with an "oh," and soon Song Tingfan came back with water, pouring it into the kitchen vat.
When he came in, Lin Qiao handed him a bowl and chopsticks, "Eat the pancakes quickly, they’ll get cold."
After giving each one of them a pancake, just as the four of them had taken a bite or two, they heard a "thunk thunk" knock on the door.
All four turned to look; it was a woman in an emerald green dress with two golden hairpins in her hair.
Lin Qiao was a bit stunned; she recognized this person as the brothel madam from her dream who bought Song Tingfan.
Something wasn’t right; in the dream, it was the foggy time slot in the morning, why had it turned to noon when the fog had completely dissipated?
She wasn’t aware that her actions had disrupted many things, and the plot had already deviated.
The boy’s previously upturned lips dropped down, and he stared blankly at the person at the door, seemingly in disbelief.
She looked exactly like the brothel madam from the nightmare.
A hint of terror and unease flashed in his eyes.
The woman in emerald green initially thought she was lucky seeing the boy, but upon spotting the pretty young woman next to him, her eyes shone even brighter—definitely worth a lot.
Polished and sent to a wealthy family as a concubine, she’d fetch five or six hundred taels for sure.
She looked at Song Rong and Song Qin, attempting to bargain, "Madam, sir, let’s make a deal." She finished, smiling broadly.
Song Rong and Song Qin looked puzzled, and Song Qin put down the pancake in her hand, sounding a bit wary, "What kind of deal?"
"Sell these two to me, I’ll give you a hundred taels of silver, we can sign the contract immediately, and I’ll pay the silver right away."
Fearing they might not believe her, she immediately took out her money bag, opening it for them to see.
Silver gleamed brightly.
Lin Qiao was briefly stunned, "..."
Was she hearing wrong, or was this brothel madam not following the script?
Was she buying her too?
When did the plot change?
Song Qin and Song Rong finally realized she was a brothel madam. Song Qin, her face turning red with anger, shouted, "Not for sale, get out!"
Selling kids in winter wasn’t unheard of. A few years ago, a family sold their daughter, and later it was heard she ended up in that kind of place.
"Madam, if you think the price is not right, we can negotiate. Or selling just one is fine, like this young woman." The madam could read faces, seeing Song Qin’s reaction, she knew this family wouldn’t sell their people easily.
But she didn’t want to let such a good opportunity slip away.
Whatever the case, she had to buy one person.
With this in mind, she clenched her teeth, "Selling just her is still one hundred taels."
A hundred taels of silver for a young woman was unheard of; usually, once tarnished, they’re not worth much, but this woman’s face was truly rare, looking enticing like a vixen.
Lin Qiao: "..."
The original story wasn’t like this; how did it end up buying her?
With the brothel madam talking about buying her, she wasn’t merchandise!
Also, the perverted plot in the dream was due to her presence creating irreversible scenes later on.
If it wasn’t for this brothel madam, she wouldn’t have ended up here.
Her anger bubbled over, losing her temper, "Two thousand taels, if you can give two thousand taels, I’ll sell myself to you."
The brothel madam’s face changed, raising her voice, "You’re asking too much! You’re not worth two thousand taels, even untouched, and certainly not touched."
"Not selling! Sister-in-law is not for sale."
Song Tingfan, who was still immersed in the fear from the dream, subconsciously held her arm tightly upon hearing Lin Qiao’s words, fearing that someone might take her away.
His sudden action startled Lin Qiao, turning to meet his anxious gaze, her heart softened slightly.
A hundred taels of silver was quite a sum; it could ensure a life free from worries about food and clothing.
But he wasn’t swayed a bit.
She softly reassured, "Don’t worry, sister-in-law won’t leave."
Then she looked at the brothel madam, retorting, "If you can’t even produce two thousand taels, you’re really stingy."
It was the first time the madam had been called stingy; the gold pins on her head were enough to buy their house, she exclaimed angrily, "The hairpins on my head could buy your house!"
Lin Qiao smiled knowingly, mercilessly mocking, "Auntie, you’ve probably sold many of your children."
