Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 92 - 87: He Seems Not to Like Mr. Cheng

"We dug them from the mountains, and there’s more. Your grandma and I are planning to go up the mountain again," Song Rong explained.

Lin Qiao’s eyes lit up, and she praised, "Grandpa, you’re so amazing!"

They had been to the mountains dozens of times, but they hadn’t seen any wild yams.

"I learned while hunting in the past," Song Rong, a bit embarrassed by his granddaughter-in-law’s praise, said.

It seemed that Song Tingfan’s shyness was inherited, causing Lin Qiao to hold back a laugh. "Then I’ll go to the mountain with you, Grandpa."

After grabbing hoes and baskets, they headed to the mountain. The spot for wild yams was a bit remote, no wonder no one knew about it.

But even if Lin Qiao got there, she doubted she could recognize the wild yams.

Song Rong clearly had a knack for digging wild yams. The roots ran deep; the one they were digging was already as high as a calf but hadn’t reached the bottom yet.

After a while, they excavated a whole yam, which was as long as Song Rong’s torso.

Song Rong shook off the dirt, placed it in the basket, and cheerfully said to Lin Qiao, "That’s how you dig it."

Then Song Qin and Lin Qiao also started digging.

The sky grew increasingly dark, and the surroundings began to fall silent.

It was already past dusk, and the three wanted to dig everything up while they could still see.

After another two or three quarters of an hour, they finally finished digging all the yams in the area. Song Rong was exhausted and couldn’t help but cough once or twice.

"Grandpa, let’s rest a while before heading back." Lin Qiao suggested as she packed the yams.

Song Rong didn’t put up a brave front; he sat down on the ground to rest and didn’t forget to help Song Qin sit down as well.

After a while, the three of them went down the mountain. Before they reached the door, two dogs, smelling the scent, ran out, followed by a young man, "Sister-in-law, Grandpa, Grandma."

Seeing his sister-in-law carrying the basket, he quickly took it from her. With the weight lifted from her shoulders, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but stretch her aching back.

They had dug about twenty pounds of wild yams. It wasn’t too heavy, but digging for more than an hour really wore out her back.

However, it was impossible for the elderly couple to carry it; they were likely in worse shape than her.

Song Tingfan had already prepared dinner, but Lin Qiao and the other two were so tired they barely ate before putting down their chopsticks and bowls.

After everything was tidied up, Lin Qiao went back to her room and lay on the bed, muttering to herself because of the soreness in her waist, "This is deadly."

Suddenly, there was a "knock knock" on the door, followed by the young man’s voice, "Sister-in-law." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Hearing this, Lin Qiao quickly got up; she moved too quickly and strained her back, letting out a hiss before opening the door. "What is it, young uncle?"

"Sister-in-law, let me massage you for a while," Song Tingfan said as he held a fire in his hand, looking at her with concern. When he had taken the basket from her earlier, he noticed her rubbing her back.

This wasn’t the first time, and Lin Qiao accepted it without protest, lying on the bed to let him massage her.

She suspected she had injured her back. As soon as Song Tingfan started to rub, she felt pain and couldn’t help but whisper, "Young uncle, it hurts, be gentle."

The soft moan of the woman in the dark room carried a hint of coquettishness.

Lin Qiao herself wasn’t aware of it; she just felt her back was unbearably sore.

Song Tingfan paused for a moment, then lightened his touch considerably, with a barely perceptible coaxing tone, "Sister-in-law, does it still hurt?"

"It’s okay," Lin Qiao mumbled into the pillow.

No one knew how much time passed, but Song Tingfan noticed she was asleep, her head turned sideways. Under the faint light of the fire, her face was indistinct but still showed a bit of allure.

Compared to her daytime appearance, she seemed much gentler at night.

Song Tingfan stared for a bit longer, then suddenly realized what he was doing and instinctively covered his chest.

It was strange.

His heart was racing.

This odd feeling left him a little at a loss, yet strangely elated.

"Young uncle, you have to take care of yourself," the woman murmured in her sleep, and then the room fell silent again.

She was talking in her sleep.

Even in her sleep, his sister-in-law was thinking of him, and Song Tingfan felt a huge wave of emotion swell in his chest. He let out a small smile and softly replied, "Okay."

After a while, the soft sound of a creaking door filled the room as it closed, and Song Tingfan stepped out.

The woman, who seemed to be asleep earlier, opened her eyes, glanced toward the door, and then gently turned over. Her back felt much better than before.

The villain indeed had a knack for massages.

Cough, of course, Lin Qiao hadn’t been asleep; she just closed her eyes to rest and took the chance to perform her "good sister-in-law" act.

...

It was already the fourth quarter of the hour, and mist enveloped the entire village.

Today was market day, and the village was "awake" earlier than usual.

Fortunately, Lin Qiao and Song Tingfan left earlier, taking the last two seats on the donkey cart. The cart wobbled until they reached the town by the third quarter of the hour.

Once off the cart, everyone scattered to secure their stalls, and this time, Lin Qiao and Song Tingfan managed to get a good spot on the busiest street.

Song Tingfan laid out bamboo baskets, spicy dried fish, yams, and vegetables, then took a small stool and placed it behind Lin Qiao, saying obediently, "Sister-in-law, you sit."

Lin Qiao was surprised he brought a stool, "Why did you bring a stool, young uncle?"

"There’s a lot to sell today, and I’m afraid we’ll be selling for a long time," Song Tingfan didn’t mention that he was worried her back would hurt if she had to stand.

"Young uncle, you’re thorough in your thinking."

Lin Qiao handed him the stool, motioning for him to sit. Song Tingfan gave it back to her, insisting she sit, leaving her with no choice but to comply with a smile.

Initially, there weren’t many people, but soon the crowd grew.

The first thing to sell were Song Tingfan’s woven baskets, going for ten cents each; one person bought two right away.

Song Tingfan happily accepted the silver coins and promptly handed them to Lin Qiao, who smiled and placed them into the money bag.

Afterward, they sold some yams and vegetables, earning seventy or eighty cents.

The spicy dried fish hadn’t attracted anyone’s interest, causing Lin Qiao to feel it might not sell.

Just as she thought this, someone approached and asked, "How much for the dried fish?"

Lin Qiao looked up to see a young man’s face; he was handsome and well-dressed, suggesting his family was well-off.

"Young master, it’s ten cents a catty. These dried fish are marinated and taste better than salted dried fish. They can be steamed or boiled, or if you prefer, eaten as is," she replied.

"Young master, my sister-in-law makes excellent spicy dried fish," added Song Tingfan from the side with genuine sincerity, making him seem trustworthy.

Jiang Xiaozhou glanced at her first; the woman was exceedingly lovely, prompting him to quickly avert his gaze. He picked up a piece of dried fish and smelled it; it was rather fragrant. Without much thought, he said, "Weigh these two for me."

Lin Qiao’s eyes brightened, and she swiftly weighed them. The two pieces of spicy dried fish were a total of five catties and two taels. She smiled kindly, "Fifty-two cents, but young master, you can give fifty cents."

Jiang Xiaozhou nodded, and just as he was about to pay, his friend arrived.

"Xiaozhou, have you decided?"

"Yes, I bought two pieces of spicy dried fish."

Recognizing the voice, Lin Qiao looked over and saw Cheng Sheng dressed in a crescent robe approaching. She greeted politely, "Mr. Cheng."

Song Tingfan echoed, "Mr. Cheng."

At the same time, Cheng Sheng noticed them, nodding in acknowledgment, "Madam Tingfan, Tingfan."

Surprised, Jiang Xiaozhou asked with a smile, "Is he your student?" while handing fifty cents to Lin Qiao.

Cheng Sheng nodded, then looked at the stall in front of him, full of yams and vegetables, and said, "Weigh five catties of yams."

Lin Qiao glanced at him, knowing he didn’t ask the price to help them out.

Beside her, Song Tingfan noticed her staring at Mr. Cheng, and he couldn’t help pressing his lips together tightly.

He seemed to dislike Mr. Cheng.