freenovelworld Chapter 158 Whether you come in or not is up to you.
Chapter 158 Whether you come in or not is up to you.
When Lin Chang'er returned home, the yamen runners who had come on official business were sitting in the courtyard eating.
A makeshift table was set up using stools and wooden planks, and five or six constables sat around it.
The kitchen was bustling with people, and every now and then, a woman would bring out dishes to help.
This was a tough job, but now that they were able to eat hot food, the constables all had smiles on their faces and were very polite to the Gu family.
Liu Zi, who was sitting alone by the sandy field talking to the children with a bowl in his hand, was the first to come out when he heard the noise. "Miss Lin is back!"
After shouting that, he hurriedly shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, turned around and ran into the yard, almost tripping over the threshold.
Fortunately, he was agile and didn't stop after regaining his footing. He ran and shouted, "Third Master, the young lady is back!"
When he came out again, he was with Wu Qingfeng. He had already put down his chopsticks and bowl, and there were still grains of rice stuck to the corners of his mouth.
Wu Qingfeng wasn't wearing his official hat at the moment, but rather his official robes, as he came with Bai Shaoan to help unload the goods, showing no regard for formalities whatsoever.
The constables who were originally eating in the courtyard saw that the county magistrate had gone to help, so they hurriedly put down their bowls and chopsticks to help as well.
It was as if missing this wave would lead to being punished, which made Lin Chang'er both amused and exasperated.
The constables, however, were quite self-aware, saying, "Miss Lin is so generous, treating us to such good rice and dishes. We only contributed so little; it's not even enough to cover the cost of the meal!"
Liu Zi joked, "That's easy. We can just have the officers come and help our girls with some chores when they're on their day off."
The constables burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"If the county magistrate approves, we'd be willing to come every day."
Although the cart was full of supplies, there were so many people that they could carry the loads in small groups, and they quickly finished moving everything. The constables then went to eat.
Lin Chang'er glanced at Liu Zi, who clearly hadn't eaten enough, and abandoned her plan to have him run an errand.
He summoned Gu Silang, Zhou Li, Xu Gun'er, and Xiao Jinyu, saying, "Li-ge'er, run an errand for me and invite your father over. Silang will accompany Li-ge'er."
"Go with Stick and Little Goldfish and invite Grandpa Huo over."
Without asking what was going on, the four children grabbed their self-defense sticks and ran out.
Wu Qingfeng walked over. "What's up?"
Lin Chang'er looked at him, "I was just about to tell you."
Bai Shaoan immediately leaned over, "You can't leave me out."
"I'll take you, I'll take you," Lin Chang'er said with a smile, and immediately told her about being stopped by Yang Cuihua at the village entrance.
Wu Qingfeng frowned, "These heartless scoundrels."
Bai Shaoan chimed in, "If we don't deal with him, are we going to keep him around for the New Year?"
Lin Chang'er beckoned, and the two of them came over together. Lin Chang'er whispered a few words to him.
Both of them nodded.
When Yang Cuihua and several clan elders arrived, the constables had already finished their meal and spontaneously helped remove the makeshift tables and chairs.
The women were all helping out in the backyard, leaving only a few children squatting and playing by the sandy field in the front yard.
Yang Cuihua stood at the courtyard gate and shouted loudly, "Chang'er, the great-grandfathers have arrived."
The tone made it sound like some very important person had arrived.
Lin Chang'er was sitting in the main room drinking tea when she heard such a shout. She frowned and thought, "Just come in, why are you putting on airs and expecting me to greet you?"
Even when asking for help, you should have the right attitude, even though in this game, her character is a naive and innocent fool.
But there's no need to force yourself. He said, "Hey, the door's open!" Take it or leave it.
At the courtyard gate, Yang Cuihua froze, thinking, "That brat is putting on airs with them."
The clan elders arrived, but no one came out to greet them personally.
Several clan elders also glanced at Yang Cuihua with displeasure.
Things weren't settled yet, so Yang Cuihua didn't dare to upset Lin Chang'er.
He could only force a smile and say, "Didn't Chang'er stay up all night last night? She went to do her work early this morning. It's understandable that she's taking a break."
While he said this outwardly, what he was really thinking was, "You brat, just you wait. Once the Lin family takes control of the coastal defense force, we'll come back and deal with her."
The elders inwardly agreed, but outwardly refused to admit it, saying, "It's not proper."
They were glaring and defiant, clearly not wanting to step through that door so easily.
After waiting for a long time, Lin Chang'er still showed no intention of coming out to greet him, so he couldn't hold back and went in with a dark face.
Upon reaching the corridor of the main hall, they saw Lin Chang'er sitting at the head of the hall. "I reckon it'll be a while, the elders are walking quite fast."
"Come in and sit down to rest for a while."
The old men exchanged glances and gave a soft snort, which was a way of putting them in their place.
After entering, they didn't rush to sit down. Instead, they all looked at Lin Chang'er with questioning eyes, as if to say, "How can you be the seat of honor when your elders are here?"
Lin Chang'er pretended not to understand and said, "Are the elders' legs still in good shape? Aren't they tired? Or are they just used to sitting?"
"Then it's fine to talk standing up."
The elders felt like they'd punched cotton; their faces turned green with embarrassment. But what could they do? They'd been invited to sit down, but the elders refused.
Lin Er Taigong, with his fiery temper, immediately retorted, "Lin, do you know that such disrespect for elders is enough to warrant punishment in my Lin family?"
Lin Chang'er didn't hold back and raised her eyes. "Oh? Is that so? The Lin family's rules are really strange. They can persecute orphans, come to your door to smash and rob people, and nothing happens. But when I politely invite you to sit down and talk, I'm punished by the family rules?"
"Your Lin family's rules, are they different for different people? Or do they depend on whether there's something to gain?"
Doesn't this imply that they are protecting and condoning Lin Houde's family's exploitation of the family's wealth, and that they are getting benefits from causing trouble for the Gu family?
Lin Er Taigong's fingers trembled. "You, unfilial descendant."
Lin Chang'er curled her lips and said, "I have already severed ties with the Lin family. The letter of severance has been sent to the yamen and stamped. So don't pretend to be an elder in front of me."
Yang Cuihua was also very upset, but she still had to speak up for him, saying, "Second Grandfather, calm down. The child is just being ignorant. We'll teach him a lesson later."
This implies that there will be plenty of opportunities to vent this anger if we turn back.
Lin Er Taigong understood the implication in the words, then gave a cold "humph," found a seat for himself, and the other elders followed suit.
Yang Cuihua breathed a sigh of relief and pretended to scold Lin Chang'er, saying, "Chang'er, you're such a troublemaker. It's all ancient history, why do you keep bringing it up?"
These words disgusted Lin Chang'er. She curled her lip and said, "Not going to talk about serious matters? Then I won't keep you company."
As she was about to get up, Yang Cuihua quickly pressed her hand down, saying, "Let's talk, what's the rush, you silly girl?"
"Then let's talk." Being with this group of people made Lin Chang'er feel extremely uncomfortable.
Grandpa Lin cleared his throat and said, "Hai Zi didn't say it explicitly, but we all know that the coastal defense team was proposed by you, Chang Yatou, and you also supported it behind the scenes."
"This was originally a good thing, but, as they say, 'fertile water is not good for you'..."
"Get to the point." Lin Chang'er was thoroughly annoyed by the constant chatter.
Grandfather Lin was taken aback, and his expression darkened further, but he continued, "The key point is that we can't write two Lin characters with the same stroke. After our Lin family joins the coastal defense force, the coastal defense force must prioritize the Lin family and follow our Lin family's orders."