Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 223 - 218: Only 3 Years Older, A Woman Three Years Senior Is a Treasure
"The rough ones, for sewing shoes."
Li Guifen urged her to hurry out, but at that moment, Fan Er suddenly called out to him, "Widow Song, can I have a word with you?"
Li Guifen was stunned for a moment, then reacted enthusiastically, "Talk to me, she’s going out to buy thread for me." As she spoke, she gave Lin Qiao a look.
Worried that Fan Er would get involved with her daughter.
Lin Qiao couldn’t help but smile, then looked at Fan Er, "You guys mind your words, and I’ll do the same."
Fan Er understood the meaning, and a joyous look flashed across his face, "I won’t, I won’t talk nonsense anymore." After speaking, he paid for the porridge and left.
Seeing them speaking in riddles, Li Guifen pulled Lin Qiao over and asked, "What’s all this about minding words? When did you two start talking?"
If she didn’t say it, Li Guifen probably wouldn’t be at ease, so Lin Qiao briefly told about Fan Er and Little Wife Zhu, cough, of course, she didn’t say how she found out.
Li Guifen couldn’t believe it and muttered, "Impossible, Fan Er seems quite honest."
Just now, she was worried about Fan Er getting involved with her; now, it seems impossible. Lin Qiao couldn’t help but smile wryly, "Honest men are still men, it’s normal to stray."
There are plenty of men like Fan Er.
Just as she finished speaking, Li Guifen gave her a look that said, "How do you know?"
Lin Qiao: "..."
Could she say she read it online?
Li Guifen, afraid she might not want to marry in the future, disagreed, saying, "Nonsense, your father never strays, neither do your elder and second brothers, and Tingfan certainly wouldn’t."
When she mentioned Lin Han, Lin Shan, and Lin Sheng, Lin Qiao could understand, but why add Song Tingfan?
But she also felt that Song Tingfan wouldn’t stray; after all, he had a thin skin.
She didn’t think much of it, "Mom, don’t go spreading this around."
It wasn’t that she was scared; it was just that women in this era didn’t really have the power to divorce. Even if they knew their husbands cheated, they had no choice but to endure, fearing that the mistress would replace them.
It’s better not to know—at least on the surface, things are bearable.
"I’m not a gossip," Li Guifen nodded in agreement.
Not long after, Mrs. Liu Xu from the fabric store arrived. After greeting Li Guifen, she headed to the attic with Lin Qiao.
Lin Qiao had installed a door in the attic, and after closing it slightly, Mrs. Liu Xu spoke up, "Your third uncle’s situation is settled; the house is gone. I heard they almost sold their daughter, so be careful. Now that they’ve run out of money, they’ll surely look for you guys."
Hearing they almost sold their daughter, Lin Qiao thought Song Ming’s death in his past life wasn’t undeserved. She nodded, "Thanks for the heads up, Boss."
"No need to thank me, just pack me some cake to take back."
Mrs. Liu Xu laughed and continued, "Manager Li wants me to ask if you’re going to the expo in late June, and he wants to ask your uncle as well. Manager Li is offering three taels this time."
Lin Qiao was definitely going to go, "I’ll go, but my uncle won’t."
After all, making public appearances wasn’t considered respectable here.
"If you can go, you should. Consider it practice to build courage. Speaking of which, your uncle is getting more and more handsome."
Mrs. Liu Xu gave her a meaningful glance and jokingly asked, "Any thoughts on that?"
Lin Qiao couldn’t help but smile wryly, "What could I be thinking? I’m much older than him."
In her haste, she let slip what she was thinking.
Mrs. Liu Xu didn’t know that by "much older," Lin Qiao meant a whole cycle. "How much older can you be? Just three years. It’s said that marrying three years older brings prosperity."
"Well, I’m not quite as prosperous as gold bricks."
"You match up. Looking like this, who wouldn’t be smitten?"
Perhaps because Lin Qiao hadn’t been out much lately, her skin was noticeably fairer, and her cheeks had a natural blush like rouge.
Mrs. Liu Xu glanced at her a few more times, then lowered her voice and mischievously asked, "Do you think your uncle might have any thoughts about you?"
Lin Qiao knew what "thoughts" she was referring to, but her first instinct was about murder, "..."
She waved her hand, chuckling wryly, "Boss, please don’t joke about that."
She was anxious.
They chatted for a while before Mrs. Liu Xu left. Upon leaving, Lin Qiao packed her with plenty of cake.
...
Lin Qiao anticipated that Song Ming’s family would come to visit, but she didn’t expect them to cause a scene in the village the very next day.
It was Grandpa Zhou who brought the news. Upon receiving it, Lin Qiao and Li Guifen rushed home.
By the time they got back, Song Ming’s family had already been driven out of the village by Song An; they didn’t see them in person.
The fact that Song Ming’s family almost sold Lin Qiao to a brothel was initially kept from Song Qin and Song Rong.
This time, the commotion made both of them aware, and now the two elders were sitting in the main room, wiping tears, while Mrs. Fan was comforting Song Qin.
Although Lin Qiao didn’t completely consider the old couple her family, they held a significant place in her heart. Seeing them like this, she naturally felt a bit upset, "Gramps, Granny."
At the sound, everyone looked towards the door. Seeing her, Song Qin cried even more, her voice choked and broken, "Qiao...er, it’s me...who...wronged you."
"No, Granny, it’s not your fault," Lin Qiao felt a bit of a lump in her throat and gently patted her back, indicating her not to cry.
Lin Han, standing nearby, nodded, "It’s all in the past; she’s okay now."
Although his words were light, he had spared no effort in beating up Song Ming. If no one had stopped him, he might have seriously injured Song Ming.
No matter how many words were spoken, Song Qin and Song Rong couldn’t be comforted easily. It was Lin Qiao who brought them out of the third household, tending to their illnesses, caring for them with much thought.
Now, that ungrateful thing almost pushed Lin Qiao into such a filthy place; how could they come to terms with that?
After much persuasion, Lin Qiao managed to calm the old couple, although Song Rong began to cough a little.
Feeling uneasy, Song An went to fetch a doctor, who diagnosed it as pent-up stress and advised Song Rong to relax; otherwise, it could become life-threatening.
The diagnosis wasn’t exaggerated at all. Song Rong’s body had long been worn out; although it seemed recovered now, the root issue was still there and could flare up with any slight trigger.
After the doctor left, Song An pursed his lips, "Dad, Mom, come live with me."
He didn’t mean that Lin Qiao couldn’t take care of them; it was just that their lives were already not easy, and expecting them to give all their attention to caring for their parents wasn’t fair.
Hearing this, Mrs. Song immediately wanted to speak up, but Song Mei pulled her back.
Kind-hearted Song Hao’s wife, Song Wushi, chimed in to help, "Granny, Grandpa, come stay with us. I usually have nothing to do and can look after you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Song scolded her impatiently, "This is not your turn to speak when elders are talking."
It wasn’t the first time Song Wushi was rebuked by her mother-in-law, but being reprimanded in front of so many people made her feel somewhat aggrieved, so she lowered her head and dared not make a sound.
Though Song Hao felt a bit dissatisfied, he couldn’t really speak against his mother in public, he could only pat Song Wushi’s hand to reassure her not to take it to heart.
Lin Qiao, on the side, felt that Mrs. Song didn’t know good from bad; if she were a bit kinder, Song An’s family’s days would definitely be prosperous.
She shook her head, "I will still take care of Gramps and Granny. Once I go to town, I will hire someone to look after them."
She thought that Song Qin and Song Rong, being old, probably preferred the countryside. It was more relaxing; they could collect things from the mountains and pull weeds in the fields, instead of staying home staring at the sky day after day.
