Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 73 - 68: The Bed Is Important
The Zhu family looked at it, adjusted it properly, and then put it down. They didn’t stay long, and as they left, Old Man Zhu smiled and advised, "Just brush a coat of tung oil on it and it’ll be as good as new. Tung oil is indeed expensive, but once applied, this bed can last a long time."
"The wood of this bed is very sturdy. Your father-in-law previously bought a large piece of wood for one tael of silver."
Lin Qiao nodded, "Grandpa Zhu, where can I buy tung oil?"
"We have it at home. If you don’t mind me taking advantage of you, I’ll sell it to you. I originally bought it for twenty-eight cents per jin, but you can give me twenty-five cents." Old Man Zhu said with a smile.
"Thank you, Grandpa." Lin Qiao expressed her gratitude.
Probably seeing her as a lone woman, Old Man Zhu kindly helped her brush the tung oil, for which Lin Qiao gratefully gave him a few meat pies.
Not long after, the Zhu family "returned" her two jin of dried peanuts.
The paint wasn’t dry, so Lin Qiao took the grass mat and pillows out to sun them, then went inside with a broom to sweep from the inside out.
She suddenly thought of something, looked over at the head of the bed, and the images of a few people were still there, which put her mind at ease about another big thing.
The antagonist’s bed was redeemed, and next, it should be the human trader coming to the village entrance to buy people.
She couldn’t remember when exactly, but it was before the end of the year.
A quarter of an hour later, she finished tidying up and went to the main hall. Seeing the dried peanuts on the table, she thought about frying them as a snack for Song Tingfan.
She went outside to gather some sand, poured it into the pan to heat it, then added the peanuts and salt.
She first stir-fried on high heat for a while, then on low heat, her arms growing tired, shaking them several times.
At this moment, there was a "thud" in the courtyard as something heavy fell to the ground. She instinctively thought it was the wood in the corner falling over and went out with the spatula.
In her sight was a young man panting, his face flushed, sweat visibly on his forehead, standing over a large log.
The adult man was generally as thick as this, with the length stretching from within the yard to beyond the entrance.
"Little uncle, what are you chopping a tree for?"
Song Tingfan, seemingly exhausted, took a moment to catch his breath before replying, "Sister-in-law, I want to make you a bed."
Lin Qiao was taken aback. Her goodwill towards the antagonist had some "ulterior motives," but the antagonist had none; he simply wanted to be good to his sister-in-law.
She felt a bit complicated for a moment, though unable to articulate why. "Little uncle, can you do it?"
"Not really, but I’ve seen it done." Song Tingfan smiled broadly, then sniffed, "Sister-in-law, what are you frying? It smells burnt."
"Peanuts." Lin Qiao snapped back and hurried to the kitchen. Thankfully, only a few peanuts stuck to the pan were burnt.
Song Tingfan followed her in, saw her stir-frying, washed his hands, wiped them dry, and rolled up his sleeves, "Sister-in-law, let me do it."
His stir-frying was much more vigorous than Lin Qiao’s.
A little later, Lin Qiao picked out a peanut, let it cool a bit, and fed it to Song Tingfan, "Is it done?"
Her fingertip unintentionally brushed his lips, and Song Tingfan’s lips moved slightly as he shyly opened his mouth to eat it, "There’s still a bit to go."
Lin Qiao popped the remaining peanut in her mouth, chewed a few times, "There is still a bit, let’s fry a little longer."
Song Tingfan’s gaze shifted from her fingers to her lips, his cheeks reddening further, as he lowered his head to continue stirring peanuts.
Lin Qiao didn’t notice and added some more salt. After about one more quarter of an hour, the fried peanuts were done, placed in a winnowing basket, left on the table in the main hall to cool.
As she washed the pan, Song Tingfan went out to busy himself, going back and forth from the main hall several times. Upon discovering there were no wooden pegs, he went back inside, searching the main hall thoroughly and, finding none, went into his room to look.
The door wasn’t locked; his sister-in-law had been in his room. As he pushed open the door, he froze, seeing a large bed.
Niu Niu, dad is making you a big bed to sleep in for a lifetime.
Dad is so nice.
Hahaha, Niu Niu, give dad a kiss.
Dad, can I draw a few figures, with dad, mom, brother, and me?
Let’s see how good Niu Niu’s drawing is, is this big, tall one dad?
Yes, dad is so tall, next to him is mom, she’s very pretty, this one is brother, and this is me.
My Niu Niu is amazing, tonight dad will reward you with a drumstick.
Dad is so nice...
His eyes stung, he lowered his head, struggling to hold back tears.
When mom left, she said Niu Niu had to be strong, can’t cry, and live well with sister-in-law.
Suddenly, he abruptly left the room.
Lin Qiao, having just finished cleaning the pan, was about to undo her apron when everything went dark, and she was enveloped in a tight hug.
She stood there dumbfounded, but quickly regained her composure, and raised her hand to pat the young man’s back, "Little uncle, what’s the matter with you?"
She already guessed it; he had seen the wooden bed.
Indeed, this wooden bed was very important.
She silently praised her own wise decision.
The young man remained silent for a long time, while the young woman continued to gently pat his back.
After a while, the young man released her, his handsome face faintly marked by tears, "Sister-in-law, did you redeem the bed?"
"Yes, the family had some spare money, so we got it back. I’ve always felt guilty and indebted for selling your bed back then."
Lin Qiao held his face in her hands, gently wiping away the tear marks with her fingers, and continued to deceive the antagonist with a straight face, "Little uncle, I’m sorry, I just had no other way back then, you know there was no silver..."
Her voice choked up, becoming unable to continue as she spoke from the heart.
Song Tingfan never blamed her. At that time, the family indeed had no money; even if his sister-in-law hadn’t suggested selling it, he would have.
He just cherished the bed his dad made for him, as it was the last thing his father left him, "Sister-in-law, I don’t blame you; it was the family’s hardship."
...
After dusk, Song An finally brought Song Qin and Song Rong back, seeing Song Tingfan working with timber, cutting it into long thick strips, "Tingfan, what are you making?"
"Uncle, I’m making a bed for sister-in-law." Song Tingfan stood up, grabbed a few stools for them to sit, then asked, "Grandpa and Grandma, have you eaten?"
"We have; have you and sister-in-law eaten?" replied Song Rong affectionately.
"Not yet, sister-in-law went to the vegetable garden to get some vegetables."
After Song Tingfan said this, he went to the main hall, grabbed a bowl of salted peanuts, and added, "Uncle, you all have some." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
Song An had just eaten and couldn’t stomach any more, so he waved his hand, "No, thanks, I’ll help you."
He was more skilled in woodworking than Song Tingfan. Picking up the long thick strip, he quickly began assembling, securing them with wooden pegs.
In no time, the basic shape of the bed was assembled.
To ensure the bed didn’t wobble or collapse, he stood on it and jumped lightly; there was no problem. Then he started working on the wooden boards, which didn’t need to be polished, getting them done quickly.
Song An and Song Tingfan each lifted an end of the bed frame, carrying it into the room, finally placing the boards inside, covering them with a grass mat, and then laying down the bedsheet.
Finally, it was completed.
At this time, Lin Qiao was already cooking in the kitchen. Although Song An and the others had eaten, she still made a little extra.
The aroma of the dishes led Song An, somewhat shyly, to grab some chopsticks and nibble a bit. Sister-in-law Tingfan’s cooking was quite delicious.
