Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 136 - 131: The Villain Is Impervious to Reason
Lin Qiao held the silver coin, feeling relieved; finally, there was some money again. She waved to Song Tingfan, and when he came over, she said, "Uncle, how many taels did you borrow from Big Brother?"
She hadn’t seen Song Tingfan enter the room to fetch medicine money these days.
The only person he could borrow money from was Song An; no one else would lend him money.
Song Tingfan didn’t want her to know, so he shook his head, "Didn’t borrow." He spoke nervously, clutching the hem of his clothes.
"Why are you nervous if you didn’t borrow?" Lin Qiao chuckled and then said, "The Boss settled quite a bit of money earlier, enough for the family for a while."
"Elder brother is getting married; there are many places needing money."
"I know you’re kind, Uncle, not wanting me to worry, but I have extra money on hand."
Song Tingfan pursed his lips and finally said, "Borrowed two taels of silver, and there’s one tael left."
He paused for a moment, "Uncle Lin gave one tael to the doctor."
Lin Qiao nodded, took out two taels of silver, and handed it to him, "Go and return it to Big Brother, once I’m better, I’ll buy something for him."
"Okay."
Song Tingfan took the silver to the Song Family. Mrs. Song saw him and glared at him, though Song An was home, so she dared not say anything.
Song An was chopping wood in the yard. Seeing him come, his instinct was to think the money wasn’t enough, so he said, "Follow me inside."
"Why do we need to go inside to talk?"
Mrs. Song found the house recently missing two taels of silver and asked Song An where it went. He just said it was used but wouldn’t say what for. He hadn’t brought anything home recently; she suspected it was definitely used for treating Lin Qiao, the widow.
Song An ignored her, led Song Tingfan inside the house, and closed the wooden door.
Mrs. Song hurriedly crouched by the door and peered through the gap; Song Mei couldn’t stand it anymore, came over and pulled her, "Mom, help me look at my embroidery."
"Wait a moment."
Mrs. Song wasn’t willing to leave. At this moment, the door opened, and Song An looked at her with a calm face, "Not going back to your maternal home?"
The maternal home refers to Mrs. Song’s family. They had agreed to go celebrate a birthday.
Mrs. Song snorted, "Song An, I know all the money in the house. If there’s a shortfall later, then we won’t go." She said and turned around to leave.
Inside, Song Tingfan felt a bit guilty and said to Song An as he came in, "Big Brother, sorry for causing you to argue with Big Sister-in-law."
Song An comforted, "It’s not because of you. You know your Big Sister-in-law’s temperament."
With that, he opened the box and took out two taels of silver.
Seeing this, Song Tingfan quickly waved his hand and shook his head, "Big Brother, I’m here to return your silver."
Song An was stunned for a moment, then reacted and frowned, "Where did the money come from?"
"Sister-in-law saved from drawing designs." Song Tingfan handed him the silver.
Song An couldn’t believe Lin Qiao could earn two taels of silver in such a short time and subconsciously thought this was Song Tingfan’s excuse. He said solemnly, "Tingfan, I said the money is for you all to use, so use it. Don’t need to return."
"Must return, Sister-in-law said to return." Seeing him not accepting, Song Tingfan directly placed it on the table and added, "Thanks, Big Brother. I’m off, need to study." With that, he ran off.
Before Song An could say anything, he saw no trace of him. He took the two taels of silver to Song Hao’s room, "Take these to Tingfan, he came to return it just now."
Song Hao nodded, "Dad, I won’t go to Grandma’s tomorrow. There’s something in town."
"Can it be postponed? Your Grandma’s having her birthday. If you don’t go, your Mother will be upset." Song An advised.
Song Hao thought for a moment, "Alright, I’ll go tell the Boss later and see if it can wait a day."
...
Regarding the county trip, Lin Qiao pondered for a long time and told Song Tingfan in the evening.
Unexpectedly, Song Tingfan firmly refused to let her go, saying that she hadn’t recovered enough to walk.
After much persuasion, he still didn’t agree, so Lin Qiao had to temporarily "yield" and said she wouldn’t go.
Next morning
When Song Tingfan was about to leave with his cloth bag, he earnestly said to Lin Qiao, "Sister-in-law, you mustn’t go to the county."
"Grandpa, Grandma, keep an eye on Sister-in-law."
Lin Qiao felt amused, "Not going, not going, staying home, not going anywhere."
Only after her guarantee did Song Tingfan feel reassured to go study.
As soon as he left, Lin Qiao changed clothes and went out, telling Song Qin and Song Rong, "Grandpa, Grandma, I must go to the county. The Boss introduced a good business opportunity that should earn quite some money."
Song Qin and Song Rong glanced at each other, both disapproving. Song Rong said, "Qiao’er, your leg hasn’t recovered."
"It’s okay, I’ll sit in the Boss’s carriage." Lin Qiao smiled, reassuring them not to worry.
Song Qin sighed several times inwardly, "I’ll go with you."
"No need, I’ll be back soon, don’t worry, Grandpa, Grandma." Lin Qiao said quite a bit before persuading the old couple, much easier than convincing Song Tingfan.
Obstinate as he is.
If he found out she went to the county, he’d likely be upset, cough, and a bit guilty.
Taking a donkey cart to the cloth store, the Boss packed some things, and the two took the horse carriage to the county.
After sitting for a while, Lin Qiao found her leg aching a bit, so she slightly shifted her foot, feeling it out.
Once at the county, she clearly felt her calf was somewhat swollen and red, but she endured without showing it.
The Boss, smiling, said to her, "Is this your first time in the county? It’s bustling, isn’t it?"
The county was many times larger than the town; Lin Qiao glanced around, "It is quite bustling."
"Sure is, later if there’s time, I’ll take you around."
"Okay."
The carriage went straight to the cloth store, which was at least twice the size of Song Tingfan’s home; in the pricey county, it was quite impressive.
Several carriages queued at the door to load goods, presumably bringing in stock.
The Boss, knowing her leg was inconvenient, helped her down the carriage and entered the cloth store, asking the waiter to find the shopkeeper.
The waiter obviously knew her, nodded, quickly went to the inner room to call for the shopkeeper, soon inviting them in.
Though the outside was spacious, the inner room wasn’t small either; the shopkeeper was sitting at the desk calculating recent sales. Hearing noise, he amiably said, "Wait a moment, I’ll finish this work, find a seat."
The shopkeeper was around forty, with a moderately grown beard.
The two nodded and then found seats to sit.
After a moment, the shopkeeper put down his work, glanced at Lin Qiao, though knowing she was the designer, but feeling she didn’t quite fit, "Are you the lady who draws the designs?"
"Returning to the shopkeeper, I am the one who draws the designs." Lin Qiao stood and gave a slight bow.
"I’ve seen your designs, they’re nice. Did you create them yourself or with help?" The shopkeeper asked.
Lin Qiao replied, "They’re my own creations."
The Boss nearby spoke up to vouch, "Manager Zhang, rest assured, they’re all her own work. I’ve seen them several times."
The shopkeeper nodded, "Let me outline the design requirements for this time: the client wants it for flower appreciation, desires it dignified yet not overly so, colors shouldn’t be too bright nor too dull."
The requirements were quite numerous, not an easy "task." Lin Qiao thoughtfully replied, "Alright."
