Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 67 - 62: All Right, I’ll Take Care of Sister-in-law

Chapter 67: Chapter 62: All Right, I’ll Take Care of Sister-in-law

"Grandpa, if you’re tired, go inside and rest. Don’t push yourself," Lin Qiao said as she scooped up some water, washed the scallions off her hands, then finely chopped them and mixed them into the meat filling.

Song Qin glanced at the meat filling, "Qiao’er, isn’t that too much?"

"If there’s more, we can make meat pies. They won’t spoil easily when dry, and can be used for breakfast," Lin Qiao replied with a smile.

Fresh meat in the water jar lasts only a day.

"Qiao’er, don’t buy so much meat next time." Song Qin knew it was because of them, and felt a bit guilty.

Buying chickens and medicine must have cost quite a bit of silver coin.

Seeing Song Tingfan finish kneading, Lin Qiao took out the cutting board and started to roll out the dough, "Granny, I’m really craving them."

"Granny, help us wrap some dumplings."

"Alright." Song Qin, knowing she was fibbing, didn’t say more.

The kitchen was too cramped, so Lin Qiao moved to the hall to wrap dumplings. Song Tingfan went to close the courtyard gate.

Seeing the three of them wrapping dumplings, Song Rong stood nearby, hesitating to help. Lin Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, "Grandpa, if you’re free, join us. No rush, we have all afternoon."

Song Rong nodded repeatedly, washed his hands, and sat beside Song Qin to wrap dumplings. Though his hands no longer shook as much, they still trembled a bit.

Song Tingfan was swift and rolled out dough faster than the three of them could wrap.

As the sun gradually set, the cicadas sang for a while before flying away to other places.

The dumplings were wrapped, filling two bamboo sieves. Lin Qiao stretched, "Finally, we’re done."

As she spoke, she glanced at Song Tingfan, and perhaps accidentally touched his nose tip, leaving a small patch of flour. She reached out to wipe it off.

Song Tingfan froze, not moving, his gaze lingering on her face. His cheeks flushed slightly, his almond eyes were not the conventional kind, with slightly upturned corners and a delicate nose.

He felt his heart skip a beat, a certain emotion brewing.

He lowered his eyes, his ears turning red, "Sister-in-law, I’ll go hunting later, and also check the hunting traps."

"It’s getting late, just check the traps," Lin Qiao withdrew her hand and began wiping the table with a cloth.

Song Tingfan obediently nodded, "Alright."

...

Meanwhile, in town

At Song Ming’s home.

Song Ming came back from work, took off his shoes and carelessly tossed them aside, then sat on a chair and said to Song Liu, "Bring me some wine."

Song Liu wasn’t happy with him leaving his shoes around, but didn’t dare to say anything, so she got him some wine. After he drank a couple of sips, she said, "Today, I saw Song Tingfan selling vegetables."

"Selling vegetables is just selling vegetables," Song Ming didn’t quite grasp it.

"Think about it, Second Brother’s family sold all their land. Where would they have land to grow vegetables?" Song Liu only realized this point after returning home.

Even a small plot of land is worth at least three taels. Song Ming sat up straight, "You mean he still has land? We just don’t know about it."

"Most likely," Song Qin nodded.

Song Ming had a cunning thought, "I happen to have the day off tomorrow. I’ll check it out."

...

Several days had passed without checking the traps, and a rabbit had died and begun to rot. Song Tingfan inspected it multiple times and found it too foul to eat, so he discarded it.

He felt a bit down; one rabbit could sell for dozens of cents.

The first few traps had nothing, but the next three or four had pheasants or rabbits. In one trap, a rice snake was swallowing a pheasant.

He picked up his bow and arrow, aimed at the snake’s head, and pierced it accurately. Joyfully, he lifted it with a stick, and although half the pheasant was eaten, it hadn’t been digested.

The rice snake was about the size of a woman’s wrist, weighing three to four pounds, and could be sold to someone who brews medicinal wine.

Grandpa Fan at the Fan Family loved brewing snake wine for health benefits.

He cleaned the arrow, then headed down the mountain with his catch. Passing by the Fan Family, he asked Mrs. Fan, who was selling goods, "Granny Fan, does Grandpa Fan want a snake? I caught one."

Mrs. Fan looked at the snake in his hand, "Wait here, I’ll ask."

Shortly after, she returned with Old Man Fan, who eyed the fresh rice snake, perfect for brewing wine, "How much silver coin?"

"Grandpa Fan, just give me thirty cents," Song Tingfan said earnestly.

Snake meat was quite expensive, typically twenty cents per pound.

Old Man Fan chuckled, "I’ll give you fifty cents, Tingfan, you’re taking a loss, huh?"

"Grandpa Fan, not a loss," Song Tingfan was pleased to hear fifty cents, his eyes lit up with joy.

"Wife, fetch fifty cents," Old Man Fan glanced at the pheasant and rabbit in his hand, "Caught quite a bit, huh? Will you sell the rabbit? If so, let’s weigh it." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Sure, Grandpa Fan, ten cents per pound for the rabbit," Song Tingfan said. Seeing his nod, he handed the rabbit to Mrs. Fan to weigh. Mrs. Fan didn’t skimp on the silver coin, even accounting for each tael.

The rabbit meat weighed four pounds one tael, forty-one cents total, plus the snake meat made ninety-one cents altogether. Mrs. Fan strung up the coins for him, "Tingfan, keep it safe, don’t let it fall."

"Thank you, Granny Fan. I won’t disturb you and Grandpa anymore," Song Tingfan counted and tucked it into his chest, then left.

Behind him, Mrs. Fan remarked to Old Man Fan, "Tingfan is becoming more accomplished, catching so much."

"I heard he’s good at studying too, the teacher has praised him several times."

"Considering how the Song Family used to be, if not for the mishap in Song’s second family, they’d have built a brick house by now," Old Man Fan mused while looking at the snake, thinking about getting good wine for brewing.

"Do you think our granddaughter matches well with him?" Mrs. Fan favored Song Tingfan.

"Let’s wait a year or two and see. Don’t mention this to the second family, the second son’s wife might think you’re looking down on our granddaughter," Old Man Fan cautioned.

Mentioning the second son’s wife, Mrs. Fan showed some dislike, "I know, I wouldn’t dare."

...

Song Tingfan hadn’t returned for a while, so Lin Qiao cooked the leftover filling into palm-sized meat pies.

The two little puppies were whining hungrily, so Lin Qiao broke off small pieces for them to eat. Song Qin kindly said, "Qiao’er, don’t feed them too well, feeding them too much won’t be good for raising them."

"Alright," Lin Qiao nodded, then said, "Granny, take some to eat."

"We know," Song Qin replied, as the baking was nearly done, and removed a piece of firewood.

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside, followed by a young voice, "Sister-in-law."

Song Qin couldn’t help but laugh, "Niu Niu calls you as soon as he comes home."

She meant to say Lin Qiao treats Song Tingfan well.

Niu Niu was simple-minded and rarely clingy.

Lin Qiao naturally understood her words, "Young uncle is still small and affectionate."

Then she called out, "Young uncle, I’m in the kitchen."

As soon as she finished speaking, the young man entered carrying a rabbit and pheasant, happily announcing, "Sister-in-law, Granny, Grandpa."

"Niu Niu caught a rabbit and a pheasant," Song Qin said, looking at the catch in his hands, smiling happily and gratefully.

Song Tingfan nodded, "From the hunting pits," glancing at Lin Qiao, hoping for her praise.

Though Lin Qiao didn’t see it, she instinctively praised, "Young uncle is really amazing, I’ll let young uncle take care of sister-in-law in the future."

"Sure, I’ll take care of sister-in-law," Song Tingfan said earnestly, his eyes smiling.