After the Scholar Rejected Me, I Married the Rogue and Got Rich - Chapter 24

Lin, the eldest brother, sat down to catch his breath and waved his hand. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I was just in a hurry to get back and report the good news, so I left in a bit of a rush.”

Then he repeated Zhou Han’s words verbatim, and everyone was naturally overjoyed, as if they could see money beckoning to them.

After the initial excitement, Madam Wang keenly sensed something was amiss. She glanced at Lin Sang with a hint of worry and said, “Zhou Han is helping so diligently, but his true intentions are probably still…” She didn’t say it explicitly, but everyone understood her meaning, and their eyes all focused on Lin Sang.

Lin Sang remained silent and did not speak.

Unable to contain herself, Wang pressed on, “Sangsang, say something! Didn’t you say you had your own reasons? How come you’re getting closer and closer to Zhou Han now?”

At this point, Lin Sang suddenly looked up, her eyes clear as she looked at her mother: “Mother, do you think Zhou Han is not good?”

“Of course he’s no good!” Wang blurted out.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Sang asked calmly.

“He has a bad reputation!” said Madam Wang.

“Anything else?”

“And…” Wang paused, then couldn’t speak after thinking for a while, because apart from hearsay, she couldn’t seem to come up with any other specific “bad” things about Zhou Han.

At this moment, Boss Lin spoke up, sharing his observations of Zhou Han at the dock over the past few days: “Wife, I’ve seen things clearly during my time at the dock. Hanzi isn’t talkative, but he’s methodical, loyal, and responsible. His care for me wasn’t feigned. Even those scoundrels at the dock behave themselves around him. I think… he’s not the good kid that people say he is.”

After hearing this, Wang said irritably, “You’re just easily swayed; you’re bought off by the slightest kindness! If he were really that good, would his reputation in the village have remained unchanged all these years?”

Lin Bai then chimed in, “But Mother, I saw it today too. Brother Zhou is very respected at the dock. All the managers give him face. It’s clear he’s a real talent. It must be the villagers who are just being jealous and making things up.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Sang slowly recounted what Aunt Zhou had told her about how Zhou Han had become the way he was today: “…His father died early, and the clan bullied them, a widow and her orphan, trying to seize their land. He was only twelve or thirteen years old at the time, and he was forced to pick up a wood-chopping knife. With his injuries and sheer ferocity, he protected his home and his mother. The scar on his brow bone is from when he shielded his mother from a stone…”

The room fell silent instantly, with only the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire remaining. Even Wang Shi fell silent, a hint of emotion flashing across her face.

Lin Sang looked at her family, her voice clear and firm: “Our family are just people born and raised in the land, we have no roots. In this world, women are destined to get married, otherwise they will have no way to survive. The last time I got engaged to Zhang Xiucai, it was because he might have a future. I broke off the engagement because I saw his selfishness and despicable nature. Mother, I don’t want to just find an ordinary villager and live a life where I can see the end from the beginning.”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the faces of each of her relatives, and continued, “I, Lin Sang, am an ambitious person. Since I come from such a background and have few choices, I must find someone who is different from others in this village. I think Zhou Han is very good. He is capable, intelligent, and courageous. He can protect the people he wants to protect. Being with such a person is not like jumping into a fire pit, but rather finding a home and a sense of security.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an undeniable power: “If Brother Zhou proposes again, I think I will accept.”

After she finished speaking, the room fell silent. The crowd looked at her with a mixture of shock, complicated emotions, and admiration.

The three younger siblings were the first to react and expressed their opinions:

“Big sister! We support you!”

“Brother Zhou is great! He’s amazing!”

“We need to surround ourselves with capable people so that no one will dare to bully us!”

Wang patted Lin Song and looked at Lin Sang with a complicated expression: “Sang Sang, are you… serious?”

“I couldn’t be more serious,” Lin Sang met her mother’s gaze without flinching.

Wang remained silent for a long time, finally letting out a long sigh.

Boss Lin said, “Why are you sighing? Things haven’t come to that point yet, and you’ll be setting up a stall at the docks with us in the future, so there will be plenty of opportunities to observe. However…” He changed the subject, adding a touch of teasing, “You can’t observe a good son-in-law for too long. I’m afraid someone else will beat me to it. There are people at the docks who have been trying to marry their nieces to Hanzi, but Hanzi always refuses because of his bad reputation.”

Wang immediately glared: “He’s afraid of ruining a good girl’s life, so he has to come and mess with her…” She looked at her daughter’s calm eyes and immediately shut up, ultimately not saying the rest of her words.

“Alright, it’s not easy for Dad to come back, let’s get down to business.”

“Well, now that things are settled, we need to set up the stall as soon as possible,” Wang Shi chimed in at the opportune moment.

“Tomorrow morning, Sangsang, you and your father should go find Old Man Li and rent his oxcart. Remember to pay him a generous amount and help him take the two pots and bowls to the dock first. That way, we won’t have to bother with big and small pots when we go to town later. Also, buy some lamb offal, lamb bones, and seasonings while you’re at it. We’ll start making the first batch of soup at home and get it ready.” After Wang finished speaking, Lin Sang nodded.

“Brother Bai and Brother Song can continue to go up the mountain to chop firewood tomorrow if they have nothing else to do. Miao Miao will stay home to look after the family and prepare the dough.” After saying this, Wang Shi saw that no one had any objections, so she quickly told them to get some rest, as they would be busy starting tomorrow.

Everyone quickly returned to their rooms, and that night, everyone slept very soundly.