CHAPTER 95: CHAPTER 95: UNEXPECTED GUESTS

Zhu Fugen hurriedly put down the things he brought and pulled Li Lan forward, "Uncle, this is my wife Li Lan. She’s never been out of the village before, this is her first time traveling far, she’s quite timid."

Li Lan had neatly braided hair, wore a large cotton jacket, cropped cotton pants with two patches of similar color, clearly not new clothes. The cotton shoes on her feet were also semi-new, looking like they’d been worn for years.

Standing there, she seemed very cautious, her eyes somewhat evasive, and her voice was particularly soft when greeting people.

Lin Yi found it a bit odd, but didn’t think much of it. He nodded with a smile.

Zhu Fugen noticed the door was locked and asked nervously, "Uncle, are you going out?"

Lin Yi chuckled, "No, I don’t live here now. The house is rented out. I came over to wait for my eldest daughter and son-in-law."

Zhu Fugen was quite surprised, "Uncle moved out?"

Lin Yi explained, "Yes, I moved to live with Ah Qin. The couple is busy, and they can’t take care of the two kids, so I went over to help. It’s livelier than staying in the village."

"I see!" Zhu Fugen pursed his lips, visibly disappointed.

Lin Yi looked puzzled, "What’s up? If you need anything, just say it! I’ll help as much as I can."

Back when his wife was still alive, even though the Zhu family was poor, every year when he and his wife returned to her hometown, the Zhu family would warmly entertain them and never slack on etiquette.

Zhu Fugen and Li Lan exchanged a glance, furrowing their brows. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Now that we’re not working together, I want to bring Alan to the city to find some temporary work. We initially planned to stay at your place for a few days until we found a job, but we didn’t know you had rented out the house."

Lin Yi glanced at the silent Li Lan, feeling that Zhu Fugen wasn’t telling the truth. However, he didn’t press the matter and simply pondered, "If it’s just for a few days, you could go to Ah Qin’s place. They’ve just built a house and have an extra room."

Zhu Fugen was overjoyed, and his mood brightened considerably, "I heard that the younger cousin married a high achiever, and she’s really amazing, building a house at such a young age!"

Lin Yi’s smile froze for a moment, replying, "Ah Qin got divorced and is remarried now. She brought her daughter, and my son-in-law brought his son."

Zhu Fugen and Li Lan looked quite taken aback.

Because of the awkwardness, their faces turned crimson.

Just then, Lin Ying and Xu Dahai arrived with their two sons, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

Lin Yi, seeing his two grandsons, couldn’t contain himself and went forward to embrace and kiss them.

Zhu Fugen and Alan watched with envy.

Lin Ying put down her things, panting heavily, "Dad, why is the door closed so tightly? Not welcoming us! Is this cousin? Your wife?"

Zhu Fugen quickly greeted Lin Ying and her husband, "I brought my wife out to find work."

Lin Ying frowned, "Looking for work on the second day of the Lunar New Year? Aren’t you going to visit your wife’s family?"

Zhu Fugen vaguely explained, "Her family is quite far, and there’s no place to stay. Going back and forth takes two or three days, so we just came straight out."

Lin Ying didn’t press further and moved forward to open the door.

Lin Yi quickly stopped her, "No need for that. This house is rented to Jianqiang now. I’m staying with Ah Qin and Wenjun, came here just to wait for you guys."

Lin Ying felt a sinking feeling in her heart, tears welling up, "Dad! If you’re not doing well in the village, why didn’t you tell me! If push comes to shove, you can stay with us! Ah Qin married a member of the Dang people, and the boat’s not big enough for so many people, is it?"

Lin Yi was displeased and snorted, "Wenjun is capable. Last year, he bought land and built a house. We haven’t lived on the boat for a while. Enough chit-chat, hurry up, Ah Jian, Ah Kang, get in the car, Grandpa will take you on the bicycle."

Xu Dahai curiously asked, "Dad, where did the bicycle come from?"

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, everyone’s busy visiting relatives. Who would have an extra bicycle to lend?

Lin Yi boasted, "Wenjun bought it! Specifically for me to take the kids to and from school. I’m quite skilled at riding it now!"

Xu Dahai was a bit worried, but the two little rascals showed no fear, climbing onto the bicycle and urging Lin Yi to hurry up.

The four adults watched from behind, seeing that Lin Yi was indeed riding steadily, so they said nothing.

The bicycle slowly made its way to Nanxi.

Those who hadn’t been there before were all curiously watching the river.

The two children had already run to the water’s edge, ready to play in the water.

Lin Ying shouted loudly, "If you dare get your clothes and shoes wet, I’ll spank you! Try me if you don’t believe it!"

The two children stuck out their tongues and backed away immediately.

Just then, Chen Wenjun arrived piloting the metal boat.

Lin Yi quickly waved for them to get on the boat.

Xu Dahai and the others, riding this kind of boat for the first time, found it very novel.

Li Lan turned pale as soon as she boarded the boat and started retching before reaching Nanyu.

Everyone on the boat was startled.

Chen Wenjun quickly reassured, "It’s probably seasickness, just grit your teeth and bear with it a bit longer, we’re almost there."

"It’s fine, it’s fine, not a big deal," Zhu Fugen said with a forced smile, helping to pat Li Lan’s back.

The metal boat soon arrived at Nanyu. Zhu Fugen hurriedly helped Li Lan ashore.

Lin Ying also led the two children up.

Lin Yi called out at the doorway.

Soon, the large door opened.

Lin Qin saw Lin Ying’s family and beamed, "Big sister, brother-in-law, Ah Jian, Ah Kang! I’ve been waiting for you all!"

Xu Jian and Xu Kang obediently greeted them.

Lin Qin’s smile grew more indulgent.

She then turned to look at Zhu Fugen, exchanging a few pleasantries with them.

The group entered through the big door.

Lin Ying and her husband, along with Zhu Fugen and his wife, were astonished by the large house in front of them.

"Did Wenjun build this?" Lin Ying’s voice trembled with excitement.

Lin Qin nodded with a smile, "It took more than half a year to build, how is it? Not bad, right?"

Lin Ying exaggeratedly teased, "What do you mean ’not bad’? It’s great! We’ve never seen such a big, spacious house back home!"

The group entered the hall, gazing at the exquisite tiles on the floor, unsure where to place their feet.

Compared to the adults’ restraint, the kids were freely enjoying themselves.

Lin Qin called from the staircase, and Yaya and Ping’an came down hand in hand.

The two children were wearing new clothes. Yaya’s hairstyle was a flower bun done by a hairdresser at Lin Qin’s suggestion, cute and delicate.

Lin Ying almost didn’t recognize her at first glance, "Is that Yaya? My goodness! In just over half a year, you’ve become so beautiful, I didn’t even recognize you!"

Yaya, holding Ping’an’s hand, giggled and proudly declared, "Auntie, I’ve changed my name to Chen Xinyue, and this is my brother Chen Ruiyu, nicknamed Ping’an."

Lin Ying was even more astonished, instinctively glancing at Lin Qin, but said nothing, only lavishly praised the two children and gave them red envelopes.

Seeing this, Zhu Fugen quickly handed the red envelopes he brought to the four children.

Lin Qin exchanged a few polite words, then went back to her room to prepare red envelopes for Xu Jian and Xu Kang.