Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 193 - 188: Her Little Uncle Is Still the Cutest
"Niu Niu, what did your sister-in-law write?" Song Qin asked at the door.
"Sister-in-law said she’s arrived and told us not to worry about her."
Song Tingfan carefully folded the letter and placed it under the pillow, and then said, "Grandma, let’s have some stir-fried meat for lunch today. I’ll go buy it."
Sister-in-law said we should let Grandpa and Grandma eat better.
They had been eating meat frequently lately, and Song Qin understood that it must have been Lin Qiao’s instructions to Song Tingfan before she left. "Niu Niu, don’t buy it. Your grandpa and I are tired of eating meat."
Song Tingfan thought seriously for a moment. "Then I’ll get some fish. Grandpa seems to really like the fish sister-in-law makes."
"Don’t buy anything. Save the silver for when your sister-in-law comes back. We don’t know what she’s eating by herself out there." Song Qin couldn’t hide her worry.
"I’ve saved it." Song Tingfan took out the money bag from his pocket to show her.
He hadn’t touched the silver in his sister-in-law’s room. What they had been spending lately came from selling the game he’d hunted. The weather had been good, and he’d caught quite a lot.
He added, "Grandma, I’m going to buy it now."
He ran so fast that Song Qin hadn’t finished speaking before he ran out, "Niu Niu..."
She looked at Song Rong, who was fixing the chicken coop in the yard, and couldn’t help but laugh, "You don’t even say anything to him."
Song Rong understood perfectly well and chuckled, "Who else does Niu Niu listen to other than his sister-in-law?"
Song Qin thought for a moment and burst into laughter, "True, Niu Niu only listens to his sister-in-law."
"Have you fed the ducks? If not, I can do it."
"Not yet, but don’t bother, I’m almost done here. Just bring the duck feed over." Song Rong was worried about his wife’s legs.
...
Changzhou, an inn
The weather here grew warm much earlier than in the village, and all the clothes Lin Qiao had brought were long-sleeved, making her sweat even while inside the inn.
Thankfully, there was no one else around, so she took off her outer garment and wore just her inner clothes while reading in the room. It was dull here, and after enjoying the lotus, there was nothing else to do.
Cough, it wasn’t any serious reading; she was reading a storybook.
To her surprise, the storybooks here were quite interesting, the only dissatisfaction being that each time the female protagonist was mistreated by the male lead, she still didn’t leave him.
Right when the male lead brought back a concubine, she couldn’t help but sneer, "Scumbag."
A "dong dong" knocking sounded at the door, causing Lin Qiao to put down the storybook and hurriedly put on her clothes. "Who is it?"
"Miss Lin, it’s me."
It was Manager Li’s voice.
Lin Qiao glanced down at her clothes to ensure they were tidy before opening the door. "Is it out?"
Manager Li couldn’t contain his joy, "Yes, it’s out. The Ruyi Shop’s design won, securing several big deals in Changzhou."
He lowered his voice, "The young master will surely reward you."
Lin Qiao was a bit surprised but didn’t show it. "When will we go back, then?"
"In the next day or two, you should visit the master’s room; he wants to discuss something with you." Manager Li led her to Wei Yun’s room.
Actually, Wei Yun didn’t sleep here; it was said he had a house nearby.
Inside the room with Wei Yun was a young and beautiful woman who had been attending to Wei Yun since the second day they arrived.
Lin Qiao gave a courteous greeting, "Mr. Wei."
Wei Yun saw her arrive and didn’t ask the woman beside him to leave. Instead, he said directly, "What do you want? I can try to satisfy you."
With an air of superiority, Lin Qiao secretly rolled her eyes. She still found her little uncle more endearing, with no ill intentions.
Feigning confusion, she said, "Didn’t you say you’d give me fifty taels of silver if I won? Are you not keeping your word?"
Such a good opportunity, yet she still thought of the insignificant fifty taels. Wei Yun glanced at her, "Of course I’ll keep my word. Besides these fifty taels, you can ask for anything else."
"No need, fifty taels are enough." Lin Qiao dared not ask for more, lest Wei Yun thought otherwise.
Wei Yun nodded and said nothing more, "Manager Li, pay her."
After a pause, he added, "Future designs will be exclusive to Ruyi Shop."
The implication was not to sell the designs to others.
Lin Qiao did not immediately agree because she disliked Wei Yun’s commanding tone, which felt oppressive.
She was not fond of such talk, but her tone remained gentle, "Is the master proposing cooperation with me?"
Upon her words, the room’s atmosphere turned colder. Wei Yun looked at her directly, wondering where a widow found the dare to talk cooperation with him, "How do you want to cooperate?"
Lin Qiao was unafraid. After all, he relied on her to design Xia Heshang’s outfits. "Naturally, Master buys my designs with silver, and whether they are exclusive to Ruyi Shop depends on Master’s sincerity."
Hadn’t he acted so lofty, she would have continued selling to them out of respect for Manager Li.
Wei Yun frowned slightly, appearing displeased, "Heh."
"You have the gall; Manager Li, you discuss it with her."
Manager Li noticed the master’s displeasure, and though his mind spun with ideas, he approached the problem cautiously, "How does Miss Lin want to discuss it?"
"That I don’t know." Lin Qiao didn’t want to circle around with them, adding, "There are matters at home, so I won’t travel back with you."
"Manager Li, please kindly settle the silver with me as soon as possible."
She always appeared gentle and frail, yet here she was, standing up to the master. Manager Li wanted to remind her but couldn’t find the words.
He looked at Wei Yun.
Wei Yun’s expression was already unhappy, but he wouldn’t break his promise, "Give it to her."
Then he focused on Lin Qiao, "You should understand that it’s you who needs me, not the other way around."
If not for his status, Lin Qiao would have shown her anger long ago. She had restrained earlier, but now she no longer wanted to.
Ever since arriving here, she had been "bullied" and couldn’t fight back. It had been pent up for too long. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"Master, I’m grateful for your help, but it doesn’t mean I have to do your bidding. I don’t rely on you for meals nor for living, so honestly, you can’t threaten me."
"Being a widow, I long let go of clinging to life, so trying to use that against me won’t work."
Of course, she did want to live, but she couldn’t lose her edge.
Manager Li was stunned by her fiery demeanor. He quickly stepped in to calm things, "Miss Lin, don’t be upset; my master didn’t mean that."
"Let her speak." Wei Yun eyed the suddenly assertive widow.
Lin Qiao showed no fear, her face stern, "I have nothing more to say; I merely request you let Manager Li settle the silver with me."
The room fell silent for another moment, then Wei Yun motioned for Manager Li to give her the silver. Lin Qiao took the silver and packed up to leave.
She didn’t depart immediately but checked into another room at a different inn. After a brief rest, she went out to buy things for Song Tingfan and the others.
She’d promised to buy clothes for Song Tingfan, and she was determined to fulfill that promise.
Sigh, she found herself missing him a bit.
