After the Scholar Rejected Me, I Married the Rogue and Got Rich - Chapter 6

He came home early today, his heart pounding like a rabbit’s. He wanted to ask, but dared not, afraid of hearing the expected yet still disappointing result. He could only use the act of chopping wood to hide his nervousness and that little bit of unwarranted expectation.

Seeing her son like this, how could Aunt Zhou not understand what he was thinking? Her heart ached, and she cursed herself for being useless and failing to bring good news to her son.

She put down her things, sighed, and couldn’t hold back her words, so she spoke first: “Han’er… Mother… Mother is back.”

Zhou Han then slowly turned around, his face expressionless, only humming in response, but his gaze was fixed on his mother’s face.

Avoiding his gaze, Aunt Zhou walked into the house and said in a low voice, “I saw Miss Lin Sang. She is a very good girl, with a decent appearance and a steady voice… but… alas, her mother is very firm. As soon as she heard that it was our family, she immediately refused. Miss Lin Sang… she didn’t budge either, only saying… marriage is a serious matter and we should come back first.”

Despite being prepared, Zhou Han’s heart still sank when he heard the result with his own ears.

His fingers gripped the axe with unconscious force, his knuckles turning slightly white, before he slowly loosened his grip, leaving only a hollow sense of powerlessness.

He knew it.

With his tarnished reputation, what good girl would be willing to step into this home that outsiders consider a “pit of fire”?

In the end, it was nothing but his mother’s wishful thinking, a secret expectation that shouldn’t have been in his heart—just a fool’s dream.

He lowered his eyes, concealing the fleeting sadness within them. When he looked up again, his face had returned to its usual nonchalant and cold expression. He said in a gruff voice, “I told you a long time ago, don’t go. Don’t cause any more trouble. I’m fine on my own.”

After saying that, he raised the axe again and chopped at the firewood with even more force, as if he wanted to shatter the little thought in his heart that had just sprouted and been nipped in the bud. The “bang bang” sound was particularly dull in the quiet courtyard.

———

As dusk settled, wisps of smoke rose from the Lin family’s courtyard.

Lin Sang was in charge of cooking dinner as usual. For ordinary families in the village, dinner was usually simple, just enough to fill their stomachs.

Lin Sang worked quickly and efficiently, cooking a large pot of thick corn and wild vegetable porridge, adding a ring of mixed flour pancakes, and stir-frying a large plate of cabbage picked from her own garden, with a few slices of salted meat left over from the New Year added for extra flavor.

The food was served, and its aroma filled the air.

The family sat down around the table. The two younger brothers—fourteen-year-old Lin Bo and eleven-year-old Lin Song—were at the age where they were just getting on in years and could eat their fathers out of house and home. Their eyes lit up when they saw the food. They picked up their bowls and ate without even looking up, not caring that they were hot, with the salty and fragrant stir-fried cabbage.

Eight-year-old Lin Miao didn’t need anyone to call her; she was already sitting steadily on the stool, holding her own bowl. She ate very properly and didn’t make a mess of the table.

“Sister, the pancakes you made are so delicious.” Lin Miao took a bite of the pancake, her eyes crinkling as she said to her sister. She was now able to express her thoughts very well.

Lin Sang looked at her younger sister with a smile in her eyes and casually picked up a piece of food for her: “Eat more if you like it, there’s more in the pot.”

Xiao Lin Miao nodded, then said with concern, “Sister, you’ve been busy all afternoon, eat quickly.”

“Okay,” Lin Sang said to her younger sister as they were eating, remembering something. “Miao Miao, I’ll go to town to sell herbs in a couple of days and buy you a new pair of red ribbons, okay? Your old pair has loosened.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Miao’s face immediately lit up with joy, but she first glanced at her mother, Wang Shi’s, expression before whispering, “Thank you, sister! I… I just want a pair of ordinary ones, so I can save money to buy salt for the family.”

Her sensible words warmed and softened Lin Sang’s heart.

She reached out and gently smoothed her younger sister’s slightly frizzy braids, saying softly, “It’s alright, I can afford a pair of hair ties. Miaomiao will look beautiful wearing the new ones.”

At this moment, Lin Song, the second younger brother, whose mouth was stuffed full, shouted indistinctly, “Sister! I want one too! I want a present too!”

Wang tapped the rim of his bowl lightly with her chopsticks, annoyed. “What do you want! Do you want a red ribbon to tie your hair in a braid too?”

Lin Song quickly swallowed his food and loudly protested, “I don’t want a hair tie! Sister, I want a little wooden sword! Tie Dan’s dad made one for him, it’s so cool! With a wooden sword, I can practice martial arts, and then we’ll see who dares to bully our family!” As he spoke, he even made a chopping motion.

“Let’s see who dares to bully our family again!”

These words, like a small pebble, unexpectedly struck Lin Sang’s heart, creating ripples that spread outwards. Almost instantly, Aunt Zhou’s tearful voice echoed in her mind:

“…He has to be fierce and ruthless to protect this family and me…”

The younger brother’s childish boastful words and the lonely figure described by Aunt Zhou, who was forced to pick up a wood-chopping knife to protect his mother, strangely overlapped at this moment.

Both were trying to “protect the family,” but one was still living in carefree dreams, while the other had already donned an indelible, fierce exterior in the harsh reality.

Lin Sang paused slightly in her chopsticks, a complex and indescribable emotion flashing through her mind!

Before she could speak, Wang glared at Lin Song: “I think you’re trying to slack off! Tomorrow you’d better come with me to the fields and pull weeds! Want a wooden sword? You can talk about that after you’ve cleared all the weeds out of the field!”

Lin Song immediately wilted like a frostbitten eggplant, and listlessly shoveled the porridge into his bowl.

Wang turned to her eldest daughter and said, “Sangsang, don’t let them have their way. It’s better to save your hard-earned money or buy yourself a new dress.”

Lin Sang also put some food on her mother’s plate, her tone calm but firm: “Mom, I know what I’m doing. Miao Miao is sensible and won’t ask for things randomly. As for Xiao Song, we’ll talk about rewarding him after he actually helps with the housework.”

Her words both comforted her mother and educated her younger brother, demonstrating excellent judgment. Upon hearing this, Madam Wang said no more.

Under the oil lamp, the family continued to eat their simple dinner. Lin Miao quietly tugged at her sister’s sleeve and whispered, “Sister, I’ll help you wash the dishes later.”

Looking at her younger sister, who was already able to share household chores and knew how to be considerate, Lin Sang’s smile deepened.

This kind of ordinary daily life where family members rely on and comfort each other is what she truly wants to protect.