CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35: WIDOW SONG’S PILE OF MESSES

Suddenly, a few curses broke the silence of the night, "Damn it!"

The voice sounded familiar, probably those scoundrels like Niu Er.

Worried about being discovered, they quickly shut up, followed by the sound of footsteps, moving from near to far, and eventually disappearing into silence.

Song Tingfan was very angry, his lips nearly bitten through, but he didn’t want to scare his sister-in-law, so he forced himself to calm down and comforted, "Sister-in-law, it’s all right now, go to sleep."

He added, "Sister-in-law, don’t be afraid."

"With you here, little brother-in-law, I’m not afraid."

Lin Qiao wanted to say she was more afraid of him, cough, compared to the cowards who climbed walls and a villain tormenting people, the difference was immense.

A simple sentence, yet it made Song Tingfan feel a bit relied upon, as if he mattered a little, and he firmly said, "Sister-in-law, I will protect you."

Fearing she might not believe it, he added, "Really."

"I believe you, little brother-in-law."

Lin Qiao’s unwavering trust brought a bit of joy to Song Tingfan, dissipating some of his inner anger.

Judging by the softness of their voices earlier, a sleeping person shouldn’t have heard it. Lin Qiao asked, "Little brother-in-law, you haven’t slept yet? What are you doing?"

The young man stammered, "I... I... was in the restroom."

He didn’t want his sister-in-law to know he was involved in these things at night too.

The villain always stammered when lying, and if it were daytime, he’d definitely blush too. Lin Qiao couldn’t bear to expose him, so she reminded him, "Sleep early, you have to study tomorrow."

"Okay." Song Tingfan obediently replied.

...

At 5:15 AM, the sky was still dim, with a slight breeze carrying a hint of chill.

The woman rubbed her arms as she headed towards the kitchen. It wasn’t long before the kitchen was lit up, her shadow flickering as she busied herself.

About half an hour later, the courtyard door was pushed open from the outside.

Hearing the sound, Lin Qiao came out holding a spatula. By now the sky was much brighter, and the boy came into view carrying a water bucket, with wild chrysanthemums tucked in his waist, causing her to pause for a moment.

"Little brother-in-law, when did you get up?"

"Not long ago."

Song Tingfan had gotten up very early, had watered the field, and when the sky got slightly brighter, he went to check the hunting trap in the back mountain.

He put down the bucket and cautiously asked, "Sister-in-law, shall I help you put these in?"

"Sure, little brother-in-law, help me change the water too."

The pot sizzled, Lin Qiao didn’t say much, hurried back to the kitchen with the spatula.

"Okay."

As Song Tingfan was about to step into his sister-in-law’s room, he stepped back out, scraped the mud off his shoes on the doorstep, and then entered.

Perhaps it was because of the flowers, but the room carried a faint fragrance.

He didn’t dare look around indiscriminately due to his shyness, he took the clay pot to change the water and arranged the flowers, finally sprinkling a little water on the wild chrysanthemums’ surface.

"Little brother-in-law, time to eat."

Lin Qiao came out carrying dishes from the kitchen, Song Tingfan glanced over, immediately put down the clay pot, and rushed over to help.

He sniffed eagerly, resembling an excited child, "Sister-in-law, it smells so good."

"Eat more if it smells good, I made a lot." Lin Qiao smiled and turned to get chopsticks.

Song Tingfan set down the dishes and brought the flowers into the sister-in-law’s room, then returned to the main room, "Sister-in-law."

Lin Qiao saw he was only calling without saying anything else, she didn’t answer, just smiled and handed the chopsticks to him, "Little brother-in-law, eat quickly, you have to study later."

By now it was not early, just two minutes past 5:15 AM.

"Okay."

Song Tingfan looked at her, then lifted his hand to pick a piece of meat for her, probably afraid she’d dislike it, his eyes carried a hint of caution.

Lin Qiao pretended not to notice, lifted her hand to pick a piece for him too, then took a bite of food.

Song Tingfan grinned slightly, and started eating. While chewing, he said, "Sister-in-law, I watered the field."

"From now on, don’t water it, sister-in-law will water it after eating."

Lin Qiao took a sip of porridge, glanced at him, and half-jokingly said, "Little brother-in-law, you should sleep more to grow taller."

Though naive, Song Tingfan understood many things, knowing his sister-in-law was teasing him, but he still obediently nodded.

The sky outside had brightened, the temperature rose slightly, and the noisy cicadas chirped from somewhere, along with crowing roosters and barking dogs, bringing the village alive.

Sounds from next door came as usual, "Wife of the eldest son, you’re still asleep! The pigs are calling!"

On this side, Lin Qiao gathered the bowls and chopsticks into the pot, glanced sideways seeing Song Tingfan about to head out, and quickly said, "Little brother-in-law, I’ll walk you."

It’s the first day of school, surely a bit unfamiliar, as the villain’s "mother", she must walk the child.

"Sister-in-law, no need, I can go myself." Song Tingfan didn’t want her to walk back later, so he shook his head to refuse.

"Afraid sister-in-law will embarrass you?" Lin Qiao teased warmly.

Song Tingfan quickly waved his hands, hurriedly saying, "Sister-in-law, no, I don’t find sister-in-law embarrassing."

"I’m just afraid sister-in-law will get hot."

"Not hot." Lin Qiao patted his head for comfort.

The village school was probably nearby, not many adults brought their children, the Lin Family had Mrs. Lin Wu bringing two children.

Lin Ping and Lin An saw Lin Qiao, greeting cheerfully, "Little Aunt."

Lin Qiao responded with a smile, then looked at Mrs. Lin Wu, "Second sister-in-law."

Recently, Mrs. Lin Wu’s attitude towards her had improved, she wasn’t as cold as before. She glanced at Song Tingfan, "Tingfan is also going to study?"

She thought Song Tingfan was already twelve, and could go out for labor, studying seemed unnecessary.

Besides, the Song Family was already very poor, continuing to study would make them even poorer.

If she didn’t know that Lin Qiao owed tuition fees, she would have thought it was mother-in-law who gave the silver coin.

Lin Qiao understood her meaning, and so did Song Tingfan. He lowered his head, fidgeting with the corner of his clothes.

Suddenly someone patted his head, he looked up to see the charming face of his sister-in-law, her gaze seemed full of doting affection.

Sister-in-law.

She said, "Yes, Tingfan is still young."

After saying that, Lin Qiao motioned Song Tingfan to enter the school, "Little brother-in-law, study well."

Song Tingfan felt a warmth rising in his heart, he released the corner of his clothes, obediently nodded, waved his hand, "Sister-in-law, you go home."

He went in, and Lin Qiao didn’t leave either, along with some women and men who stayed behind, probably wanting to see how the kids studied.

Almost at 7 AM, Cheng Sheng arrived with book and cane, he nodded slightly as a greeting, then entered the school, "Last time we learned Thousand Character Classic, recite it now. I’ll start, Heaven and Earth are mysterious and yellow, the universe is vast and desolate..."

Suddenly, uneven recitation followed, "Heaven and Earth are mysterious and yellow, the universe is vast and desolate..."

Lin Qiao looked at the boy in the last row, he managed the first two lines, but couldn’t keep up after that, looking a bit flustered and helpless.

Perhaps unintentionally, he glanced outside, their gazes met, she gently waved her hand, indicating not to worry, it’s okay.

After a while, seeing his initial panic subsided, she finally turned to leave.

She checked the vegetable plot, pulled out a few straggling weeds, stayed for almost fifteen minutes, then returned home.

Passing by the courtyard wall, she saw the pigswill residue dumped by Song Tingfan last night, she paused for a moment, then looked up at the courtyard wall.

The wall wasn’t low for the village, but it couldn’t stop these scoundrels from climbing.

The troubles in front of a widow’s door, probably emerged this way.

Alas, this Widow Song had a mess on her hands.