Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 227 - 222: Everything I Have, I’ll Give to Sister-in-law

Chapter 227: Chapter 222: Everything I Have, I’ll Give to Sister-in-law

He made a nonsensical comment, which Lin Qiao couldn’t understand. She raised her eyebrows slightly, "What do you mean by how much do I want?"

Recently, Song Tingfan, who hadn’t been stuttering, started to stutter again, "Betrothal... gift."

As soon as he finished speaking, the woman burst into laughter and teased, "Who’s giving me a betrothal gift?"

The young man blurted out, "I am." After saying that, his face turned bright red, almost as if it could bleed.

If anyone else had said this, Lin Qiao might have thought more about it, but since it was Song Tingfan, she didn’t overthink at all.

After all, she had gone through the entire script.

Although she didn’t know who the female lead was, she had nothing to do with her.

She thought he was just afraid she wouldn’t have a proper send-off if she were to leave, so he mentioned the betrothal gift. She blinked, "How much is Uncle willing to give?"

"Everything I have, I’ll give to Sister-in-law." Song Tingfan, although blushing, looked very earnest, not like he was just saying it casually.

Lin Qiao looked at him with the eyes of a mother looking at her good son, indeed it’s right to raise a child to protect oneself in old age.

She shook her head, "No need, Uncle should save it for his wife..." Before she finished her sentence, she heard footsteps and turned around to see Lin Xushi.

Lin Xushi walked in carrying a basket, "Why did Aunt Zhang come over, and she was so angry?"

"She came to arrange a marriage for Uncle, with Aunt Zhang’s eldest daughter. I didn’t agree." Lin Qiao handed her a stool.

"I was wondering why the stingy old rooster came by, Aunt Zhang’s eldest daughter isn’t good, too lazy." Lin Xushi glanced at Song Tingfan, moved a bit closer, and said quietly, "Tingfan, what do you think of Sanhua? I often see that she’s the one who does all the laundry at home, very capable."

Song Tingfan shook his head.

Lin Qiao had long secretly inquired about all the village girls, but none of them had Song Tingfan’s approval, making her almost suspect he liked... ahem, a man.

Seeing Song Tingfan shake his head, Lin Xushi didn’t continue the conversation. After all, his marriage wasn’t her business, and talking too much might be annoying.

She unfolded the cloth on her basket, "I brought a few pounds of dried cowpeas from my parents’ house for you guys. They are delicious boiled in hot water and stir-fried with cured meat."

These days, Lin Xushi and Mrs. Lin Wu occasionally brought some things over, and Lin Qiao understood they were trying to ease the previous tension, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

"No need to thank, it’s not anything special." Lin Xushi waved her hand.

The two hadn’t talked long before Song Rong, Song Qin, and Mrs. Fan returned. The three couldn’t sit still and went to the mountains to pick mushrooms with their baskets.

Song Tingfan got up, ran over to Song Rong, and took the basket from him. Seeing it full of dry branches, he was slightly annoyed, "Grandpa, didn’t I tell you not to carry these! Why don’t you ever listen?"

The young man’s temper was gradually maturing; he no longer spoke to people timidly and cautiously.

Seeing his grandson getting "angry," Song Rong chuckled and changed the topic, "The mushrooms today are big, can make quite a meal." While speaking, he glanced at Song Qin for help, signaling her to say a few words.

"They’re not heavy, it’s fine, your grandpa can still carry this much," Song Qin chimed in.

On the way down the mountain, they took turns carrying; Song Rong carried for a longer time.

Seeing Song Tingfan’s half-angry look, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but smile and then helped change the topic, "The mushrooms are quite big, let me see."

Though she helped change the topic on the surface, she later privately advised the three elders not to do heavy work.

...

The next day, the village started repairing the roads early. The workers were men from the village, and they were paid according to the town’s wage rates.

Rumor had it that Zhou Ping had given specific instructions, and some men made sure to fill the uneven areas around their house and even widened the path to the vegetable garden.

Some people in the village understood gratitude, realizing that things like road repairs were for the greater good of everyone.

Regarding their own home, Song Tingfan helped out. Despite being young, his work was meticulous, and when hammering the road, his strength was impressive.

A man in a gray tunic wiped his sweat and said with a smile, "Tingfan is very strong, he’ll be a pillar of the family in the future."

"You don’t realize it until you compare. When I was Tingfan’s age, I could carry over two hundred pounds of grain, but not anymore," another man of similar age joined in with a laugh.

"Hahaha, probably can’t carry it because of a bad back. Take it easy in the evenings."

"Get out of here! Saying such things in front of kids!"

"Tingfan isn’t a kid anymore, he’s old enough to talk about marriage, hahaha. We uncles should teach him a thing or two ahead of time."

When Lin Qiao came out with a bowl of mung bean soup, she overheard them making crude jokes. As soon as they saw her, they stopped immediately. She pretended not to hear and said, "It’s hot out, made some mung bean soup. Help yourself if you’re thirsty. Uncle, come inside for a moment, I have something to tell you."

The men didn’t stand on ceremony, nodding and smiling, "Madam Tingfan is really considerate, thank you."

Song Tingfan still felt a bit embarrassed, guessing that Sister-in-law must have heard earlier. He nodded, put down his hammer, and followed her inside.

In the kitchen,

Lin Qiao picked up the bowl of mung bean soup from the stove and handed it to him, "Added two spoons of sugar, it’s already cooled down. Drink up."

White sugar is expensive, and even if the family wasn’t short on money to buy it, they wouldn’t put that much in soup for others.

After working for an hour or two, Song Tingfan was naturally tired. But now that he saw Sister-in-law had specially saved sugar-sweetened mung bean soup for him, he didn’t feel tired at all. Instead, he grinned sheepishly, "Thank you, Sister-in-law."

"No need to thank me. There’s more to drink. So, do you feel like having some braised pork? I can go buy some meat and make it." Seeing the sweat on his forehead, Lin Qiao fetched a cloth, wet it, wrung it out, and handed it to him after he finished the mung bean soup.

Song Tingfan licked his lips, took the cloth, and wiped his face twice, "If Sister-in-law wants to eat, I’ll go buy it. It’s too hot out."

"I’ll take an umbrella and go out for a bit. In the afternoon, don’t bother working, just go back to town tomorrow and continue studying," Lin Qiao watched as he washed the cloth.

Even if it was just fixing the home’s land, it would take two or three days. If he wasn’t at home, Sister-in-law would have to watch over it, and it would be tiring for her.

He used a tone of negotiation, "Sister-in-law, I’ll finish the housework and leave, I’ll ask for one more day off, then I’ll rest the day after tomorrow."

"I’ll catch up with the missed schoolwork, is that okay?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

It’s a wonder he’s so tall because he’s worried about so many things. Lin Qiao felt a little distressed for his sensibleness, "I’ll make sure everything’s done at home, don’t worry about it."

The young man didn’t respond, but his meaning was clear. He wanted to stay home for a few more days.

Lin Qiao: "..."

Eventually, she agreed.

Even if she didn’t, there wasn’t much she could do. She couldn’t chase him with a stick to make him study like Zhou Tiedan’s mother, could she?

After he left, Lin Qiao took an umbrella, grabbed a basket, informed Song Qin and the others, and went out to buy meat.

The outside weather was very hot, and after only a few steps, she started sweating. Holding the umbrella, Lin Qiao noticed Mrs. Song. The two looked at each other, and Mrs. Song, who usually exchanged at least a word or two, walked past without saying anything.

Lin Qiao didn’t pay much attention to it, but soon after, she realized what she had intended.