CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 46: DOES SISTER-IN-LAW LIKE HIM FOR HIS LOOKS?

The wild pheasants in the yard were still not used to the environment, clucking nonstop in the coop. Lin Qiao didn’t notice his stutter and naturally helped him roll up his other sleeve.

Looking at his arm, hmm, surprisingly, despite being young, the little villain’s arm was muscular with defined lines.

Moreover, his fingers were long and well-defined.

Seeing her staring at his arm without moving, Song Tingfan panicked a bit, fearing she had seen through his lie and stuttered, "Sister-in-law, I..."

Lin Qiao snapped back to reality, meeting the boy’s pure, clear eyes, and gave a guilty little cough.

She quickly finished rolling the sleeve, pulled back her hand, and lied with a straight face, "Little uncle, you’re too skinny. Your arms have no meat. You need to eat more."

So that’s why sister-in-law was looking at him, Song Tingfan obediently nodded, "Sister-in-law, I’ll eat more in the future."

Eat well to protect sister-in-law, also grandpa and grandma.

He’s so easy to trick; Lin Qiao felt a pang of conscience and changed the topic, "I’ll go cook in the kitchen."

After a short while, the scent of rabbit meat stewing with radish wafted out. Lin Qiao lifted the wooden lid and picked a piece of rabbit meat, handing it to Song Tingfan, who was standing nearby watching her cook, "Little uncle, try a bite. See if it’s cooked?" She blew on it a few times as she spoke.

Song Tingfan was taken aback, then awkwardly opened his mouth to eat it under her gaze. He chewed once or twice before swallowing in a slight panic, "Sister-in-law, it’s done."

It was a bit hot, and he took a breath, but still didn’t forget to praise her, "It’s delicious, really delicious."

Lin Qiao giggled, her eyes forming crescents, "Then eat more later."

Sister-in-law’s smile is so nice. Embarrassed, the young boy scratched his head and quietly explained, "Sister-in-law, one piece is enough for me."

After saying that, his head was gently patted, lightly and comfortably, as a female voice said, "Little uncle can eat a lot."

Lin Qiao retracted her hand, picked up the chopsticks, and fed a piece to Song Qin, "Grandma, have a taste. Be careful, it’s hot."

She hadn’t eaten even one piece despite being busy for so long; Song Qin politely urged her to eat, "Qiao’er, you eat."

"Grandma, there’s still plenty in the pot."

After she finished eating, Lin Qiao filled a large bowl.

Seeing she hadn’t eaten, Song Tingfan hesitated for a moment and picked up the chopsticks, offering a piece to her lips timidly, "Sister-in-law, you eat."

Lin Qiao was surprised, reacted with a bit of amusement, then lowered her head to eat it. It was a little hot, so she blew a few breaths before chewing.

"Little uncle, scoop a bowl to feed grandpa. Pick the rabbit leg, it doesn’t have many bones."

"Okay." Song Tingfan picked out the rabbit leg, added some soup, and went outside to feed Song Rong.

Song Qin couldn’t help but feel her eyes welling up again, but didn’t want Lin Qiao to see, fearing she’d think she was bringing bad luck by crying and whining.

She lowered her head, wiping at the corners of her eyes.

...

For the first time, the square table was full of people. Lin Qiao felt an unexplainable joy; maybe because it was lively with so many people.

"Grandpa, grandma, eat while it’s hot. Eat more." As she spoke, she picked several servings of vegetables into their bowls.

"Little uncle, you yourself..."

The word "pick" hadn’t even left her mouth before she held back, realizing she couldn’t expect the villain to serve himself.

So she picked several servings of vegetables into his bowl, smiling, "Little uncle, eat more."

"Sister-in-law, you eat more too." Song Tingfan glanced at her, bravely picked a piece of rabbit meat for her, then quickly lowered his head to shovel food into his mouth.

After dinner, they boiled a large pot of water for bathing. All four needed to wash, so Lin Qiao let Song Qin go first.

Song Tingfan was in the yard collecting clothes. Seeing him reminded Lin Qiao of the clothes, so she went to the main room, found a basket, took out the clothes, and handed them to him, "Little uncle, wear these after washing."

Song Tingfan’s gaze fell on the brand-new light blue clothes. He paused, then looked up cautiously, "Sister-in-law, you bought clothes for me?"

Lin Qiao gave a slight "hmm," eyeing him. He looked a bit touched, as if on the verge of tears.

Her eyes flickered, speaking slightly guiltily, "It’s nothing fancy; once sister-in-law has saved enough, I’ll buy nice clothes for you and grandpa and grandma." She mimed patting the dust off his clothes as she spoke.

"Sister-in-law, I don’t need them. I have clothes to wear. Return them." Song Tingfan sensibly shook his head.

The family wasn’t wealthy to begin with, and now with grandpa and grandma here, they needed to be more frugal.

Glancing at sister-in-law’s clothing, he even more didn’t want new clothes.

"They can’t be returned."

Lin Qiao gently patted his arm, smiling, "Little uncle looks handsome. He’ll surely look good in these clothes. Go wear them for sister-in-law to see."

Complimented by sister-in-law, Song Tingfan felt a bit embarrassed, hesitated, "Sister-in-law, I..."

"Go on, be good."

Every time Lin Qiao spoke, the villain was powerless to resist. Holding the clothes, he obediently went to bathe.

She raised an eyebrow slightly. Could this be her "golden finger?"

Ahem, hopefully, the golden finger could be bigger, ideally making the villain unable to leave her, obedient.

After a day of hustle and bustle, the faces of the Old Song couple were visibly weary. Seeing this, Lin Qiao urged them to rest inside.

"Qiao’er, where will you sleep? Your grandpa and I can sleep in the main room," Song Qin knew there was only one bed at home and had felt sorry for a long time when Niu Niu had no bed to sleep in before.

Lin Qiao lifted the quilt and helped Song Rong into bed first, "Grandma, don’t worry about me. I’ll squeeze into Little Uncle’s room later."

Song Qin quickly shook her head, "Qiao’er, you shouldn’t sleep with Niu Niu; he’s already twelve."

Traditionally, boys and girls over three didn’t share the same bed. In the countryside, it wasn’t uncommon for teens to share a bed, but it wasn’t really appropriate for an uncle and nephew’s wife to share a room.

Worried she might misunderstand and think she was concerned about Niu Niu, she explained, "It’s not good for your reputation."

In truth, Lin Qiao’s actual age was twenty-seven or twenty-eight. To her, twelve-year-old Song Tingfan was like a little bunny.

She wasn’t concerned, "Grandma, it’s fine. As long as no one mentions it outside, who would know?"

"Have grandpa sleep with Niu Niu..."

"Grandma, have a rest. I’ll manage myself."

Seeing them settled, Lin Qiao quietly exited the room, pulling the door closed, then tidied the items drying in the yard.

After a while, the wooden door of the latrine squeaked open. She turned her head to look; the young boy was dressed in light blue clothes, the pants slightly long, rolled up once, body tall but not thin.

He’d grown a little taller.

Her gaze moved up; his cheeks were slightly chubby with youthful innocence.

Meeting her gaze, Song Tingfan shyly tugged at his clothes, timidly but eagerly asking, "Sister-in-law, does it look good?"

Sister-in-law liked him looking nice.

Lin Qiao naturally responded with what the little villain wanted to hear. She blinked, "In the village, little uncle is the most handsome."

It wasn’t a lie, as the little villain’s appearance was indeed outstanding.

Song Tingfan’s ears turned red, awkwardly pinching his clothes, and he softly asked, "Sister-in-law, really?"

"Sister-in-law wouldn’t lie to little uncle." Lin Qiao raised her hand to pinch his cheek, a completely instinctual move. After doing it, she paused briefly but then dismissed it as nothing.

The kid was good, so it was normal to pinch him.