Chapter 9 The Compensation of Guilt

"What have your second uncle and I ever done wrong to you that you would humiliate us like this?" Zhao Yulan's eyes were bloodshot as she stared at the laughing Liu Meiqing, "You can rest assured, even if Chuxia gets married and your uncle and I are left with no one to take care of us, we won't take a single thing from you!"

"Get inside!" Lin Chudong gave Liu Meiqing a shove and smiled foolishly at Zhao Yulan, "Auntie, Meiqing is just like that, she doesn't really have a bad heart, don't be angry."

"Don't you play the good guy here!" Liu Meiqing didn't appreciate Lin Chudong's gesture, twisted her body to avoid his hand, and revealed a mocking smile to Chuxia, "You just want to bring in a son-in-law, but I really wonder how you're going to live then. Don't tell me the son-in-law has to squeeze onto the same kang* with his father-in-law and mother-in-law?"

This remark was dripping with malice, and Zhao Yulan trembled violently as if she were sieving chaff, "Liu... Liu Meiqing, say one more word and see if I don't tear your mouth apart!" Lin Baohe, who had been silent all along, twitched at these words, and immediately lunged in front of Liu Meiqing, and before she could react, "Slap!", he struck her across the face with the back of his hand!

Liu Meiqing's sallow face was clearly imprinted with five pale fingerprints, which then slowly turned red... She stared at Lin Baohe in disbelief, and the room fell into deathly silence.

Lin Baohe's personality was that of an extremely nice guy; he wouldn't even curse when others took advantage of him, let alone hit someone. Therefore, his sudden action caught everyone off guard, including Zhao Yulan and Lin Chuxia.

"Ow!" Coming to her senses, Liu Meiqing pounced on Lin Baohe and began to claw at his face. But Lin Baohe, who just moments ago had slapped Liu Meiqing with the ferocity of a tiger, now stood as docile as a lamb, completely motionless as Liu Meiqing made a scene.

Everything happened so fast that by the time people managed to pull Liu Meiqing away, Lin Baohe's face was already covered with bloody scratches.

"Dad..." Lin Chuxia felt a sharp sting in her nose. Since she had arrived in this era, her understanding of Lin Baohe was that he was always silent, always enduring... She could feel his love for his daughter, but she never imagined that his love for his daughter would go this far!

Lin Baohe grinned at his daughter, "Chuxia, don't be angry with your mom." The implication was clear: Your mother hit you because of Liu Meiqing, and I have already returned that slap to Liu Meiqing, so you shouldn't be angry with your mom anymore.

"Dad, I'm not angry with Mom anymore, I really am not..." Chuxia, who wasn't the type to cry in any era, tried hard to hold back her tears and turned her gaze back to Liu Meiqing. Her clear eyes, washed over by water, were free of any impurity, making Liu Meiqing feel uncomfortable under her stare. With a huff, Liu Meiqing looked away.

"Since Grandpa and Grandma have divided this house to us, then it belongs to us, and nobody can take it away! That's what I was trying to say earlier!" With that, Lin Chuxia took Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan by the hand, one on each side, "Dad, Mom, let's go back inside."

The couple let their daughter lead them back into the house. As for the rest of the family outside, the commotion just now had dissuaded them from their habit of eavesdropping.

"Bang!" The door to the east room also closed.

Coming to her senses, Zhao Yulan urgently grabbed her daughter's arm, "Chuxia, how could you say such things? If it gets out, people will laugh you to death, how can you be so rash, child?"

Chuxia smiled calmly, "Mom, get a clean cloth and wipe Dad's face. Dad, really, if you won't fight back, at least dodge, right?"

"Hehe..." Lin Baohe laughed heartily, "It's nothing, it doesn't hurt. With her temper, if she isn't allowed to have her way, she'll definitely bully you when your mom and I aren't home. It doesn't matter if my face is scratched, but Chuxia's face mustn't be hurt; she still has to find a husband's family."

"Dad..." Lin Chuxia opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what to say. In her memory, this was the longest speech Lin Baohe had ever given her. She had always thought that Lin Baohe could only speak in single words or phrases.

"Your dad used to talk a lot..." Zhao Yulan found a clean cloth and, dipping it in water, began to wipe the blood from Lin Baohe's face as she spoke, "But after he was wrongfully accused, he just didn't want to talk anymore."

"Who wrongfully accused dad?" Chuxia looked at Lin Baohe with curiosity.

Lin Baohe's face noticeably turned unnatural: "No one, no one..."

"Baohe, stop hiding it. Tell the child. Now that things have escalated to this point, it's better to speak out, sigh!" Zhao Yulan let out a heavy sigh, "Back then, even Chuchun was called out."

"One by one..." Lin Baohe sighed, rubbing his head, "Ever since they were little, I've always indulged them. Even a stone would get warm if you covered it; how come they... just don't act like a family?"

"Dad, mom, are Chuchun's words true?" Chuxia asked them seriously, "Why have I never heard you mention this? What exactly happened?"

Zhao Yulan let out a long, somber sigh and said, "Chuxia, when you were little, you were closer to Fat Aunt than to your own parents. She sincerely cared for you too. If I tell you what happened, you mustn't harbor any grudges against your Fat Aunt. If you promise me, I'll tell you."

"I promise!" Hearing Zhao Yulan speak like this, Lin Chuxia suddenly realized; she had always felt that Fat Aunt's family was implausibly kind to hers. There was indeed a reason.

After Luo Gangshun's eldest son, Luo Hongqi, was born, he was extremely weak due to insufficient breast milk. Luo Gangshun, feeling sorry for his son, often took advantage of his position at the commune to stealthily take some millet home to improve his wife's milk supply.

One time, Lin Baohe happened to walk in on him. To dissolve the awkwardness between them, Lin Baohe also grabbed some millet and started pocketing it, which took Luo Gangshun by surprise. He quickly reached out to stop him.

But, just at that moment, the village Party Secretary Chen Fenggang barged in and saw what they were doing. His face immediately darkened. Consequently, there was a full village assembly for public criticism, solitary confinement, writing self-criticisms..., and after this ordeal, the jovial Lin Baohe underwent a complete 180-degree change in character. He often wouldn't say a word all day, just burying his head in his work.

Luo Gangshun, who was held up as a positive example by the village, couldn't stand the guilt and thought about stepping forward to share the blame with Lin Baohe. However, he was threatened with her life by Fat Aunt and was stopped.

Later, Fat Aunt went to Zhao Yulan, who was already engaged to Luo Gangshun, and tearfully told her everything, begging her not to divulge the incident and not to leave Lin Baohe because of it.----

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