80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 215 - 211: Ordinary Relatives

Lin Yuezhen watched him with a mocking expression. ’How did I never realize it before?’ she thought. ’Guohui is a better actor than anyone in the movies. All that talk about blood being thicker than water... It’s a bond of money, isn’t it!’

When Lin Guohui saw Lin Yuezhen staring at him silently, he turned to Brother Yong standing beside her. "Brother-in-law, I’m Guohui. Please, talk to my sister. Tell her not to hold a grudge against me. Things were just so difficult at home, and my Chunlan only..."

"Sigh! My sister is just so lucky. If Chunlan hadn’t fought with her, she never would have gone to Lin Lan’s to learn a trade, and she wouldn’t have found me such a fine brother-in-law like you."

Brother Yong looked at Lin Guohui and thought it was a real shame the man wasn’t an actor.

Zhao Xiaohui could no longer hold back a snort of laughter. "Yuezhen, you really ought to thank Guohui and his wife. I mean, look at you! You don’t look like a girl from the mountains at all anymore!"

"Your skin is so fair and soft. You’re wearing a wool sweater under a gabardine blazer, with straight-leg pants and velvet wedge heels. You look just like a city dweller! If they hadn’t mistreated you, you’d still be in the mountains digging up dirt!"

Hearing this, Lin Yuezhen lowered her head, looking pained. Lin Guohui’s face flushed red then turned deathly pale by turns.

Wu Shufen came out of the house and gave Zhao Xiaohui a light smack. "You and your big mouth! Now get inside and help your sister-in-law with the cooking!"

"Oh!" Zhao Xiaohui muttered as she turned to leave, "I was just telling the truth!"

Lin Yuezhen tugged on Brother Yong’s hand, gesturing for him to convey her thoughts to Lin Guohui.

Brother Yong nodded and said to Lin Guohui, "I’ve heard a bit about what happened between you from Yuezhen. What she means is, you’ve already severed ties, and she has her own household registration now. Once we’re married, our families can interact as distant relatives, but let’s not bring up the past again."

"Distant relatives!" The words sent a chill through Lin Guohui. His face darkened, and he was about to start cursing, but then he saw the scar on Brother Yong’s face and Lin Guoliang standing by the door to the main hall. With a grim expression, he spun around and left.

Seeing his dark expression, Lin Yuezhen worried that a fight would cause trouble for Lin Changyou’s family. She tugged on Brother Yong’s arm, and they both turned and headed into the main hall.

Lin Guohui watched Lin Yuezhen leave. When no one from Lin Changyou’s household came out to invite him in, he stalked home, his face grim.

Zhou Chunlan was surprised to see him return alone. "Where’s your sister and her man?"

"Let the chicken go, don’t kill it!" Lin Guohui said, fuming. "The mute is at Lin Changyou’s house. She refuses to come over, and she said from now on, we’re just distant relatives."

"You blockhead!" Zhou Chunlan jabbed a finger at his nose. "You should have called them out here to talk! Why would you say anything at Lin Changyou’s place? They’d be thrilled if the mute cut ties with us and became Lin Lan’s free, year-round laborer instead."

At that thought, she suddenly remembered that when the mute lived with them, she had been *their* free, year-round laborer. Every year, she helped them raise four fat pigs and over a dozen chickens, all while eating little and working hard.

Zhou Chunlan was consumed by regret. ’Why was I so possessed back then,’ she wondered, ’so dead set on driving the mute away?’

’But this is even better. She’s found a man from the city and learned a trade...’

Lin Guohui slapped her pointing finger away, interrupting Zhou Chunlan’s reverie.

"She wouldn’t come out, what was I supposed to do!" Lin Guohui traced a line on his own cheek. "That man of hers has a scar this long. He looks like a bandit from the movies—not someone you want to mess with."

Zhou Chunlan remembered seeing Lin Yuezhen and her fiancé returning to the village carrying several bags. The thought gnawed at her. "So you’re just going to let Lin Yuezhen stay at Lin Changyou’s with her man and not come to our house? You might be able to stand the humiliation, but I can’t."

Lin Guohui scoffed. "So what if you can’t stand it? She already said we’re not brother and sister anymore, just distant relatives. Are you going to shamelessly suck up to them now?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Zhou Chunlan’s eyes darted back and forth as a plan formed. She looked at Lin Guohui. "I call you a blockhead, and you still don’t admit it. Distant relatives are still relatives. Go ask them where the wedding banquet is. We’ll go, give a one-yuan gift, and learn the way to her new home."

"Think about it. City people have to buy everything. We can bring her a few eggs or some extra vegetables from our garden when we visit. Slowly, we can mend the relationship. Then, when we need a favor, it’ll be hard for them to say no!"

"You’re the one with the brains!" Lin Guohui said, looking at Zhou Chunlan with admiration. "Okay! I’ll go to Lin Changyou’s house right now!"

"Hey!" Zhou Chunlan pulled him back. "What’s the rush? After they finish their meal, they’ll definitely go to your parents’ graves to pay respects. We’ll wait for them there. We can give the mute a proper apology. Even if we have to grovel a bit, no one else will see it."

’Once her brother and sister-in-law have humbled themselves and sucked up to them, if that mute still refuses to help them in the future, then she can just forget about ever coming back here to visit the graves!’

"Exactly!" Lin Guohui was completely in awe of his wife.

After lunch at Lin Changyou’s house, Lin Yuezhen and Brother Yong set out, carrying a basket of wine, meat, and fruit that Wu Shufen had prepared for them.

Lin Yuezhen noticed that villagers who used to ignore her would now offer a polite smile and a friendly greeting. They stopped by the Wang family’s place to buy incense, candles, and joss paper, then headed to the Lin family cemetery on the mountainside.

Just as Lin Yuezhen and Brother Yong finished arranging the offerings and lighting the incense and joss paper, they saw Lin Guohui and Zhou Chunlan approaching with a bamboo basket. Yuezhen and Yong exchanged a surprised look.

Lin Yuezhen suddenly recalled Lin Changyou’s warning: if she didn’t invite Guohui’s family to the wedding banquet, they wouldn’t let her visit the graves again. She watched them with a guarded expression, afraid they were about to throw their offerings on the ground.

Lin Guohui stepped forward and smiled. "Sister, Brother-in-law, today, in front of our parents’ graves, Chunlan and I have come to apologize to you."

Zhou Chunlan stepped up as well, and the couple bowed to Lin Yuezhen. "Sister, we were wrong in the past. Thank you for being the bigger person and not holding it against us. And thank you for inviting us to the wedding banquet. We’ll definitely be there on the eighth of the twelfth lunar month. Congratulations."

Lin Yuezhen let out a silent sigh of relief.

Brother Yong’s mouth twitched. He nodded. "Good." ’This couple is quick-witted,’ he thought. ’They have a certain low cunning. It’s a shame they don’t use their brains for anything good—only for scheming and taking advantage of others.’

Zhou Chunlan added, "Sister, I was wrong before. Please don’t hold a grudge. I promise I’ll change!"

A wave of sadness washed over Lin Yuezhen as she watched them. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded.

Zhou Chunlan’s heart leaped with joy. "Sister, Brother-in-law, where do you live? And where are you holding the banquet? We’ll need to get our introduction letters ahead of time!"

Brother Yong glanced at Lin Yuezhen. "Lin Lan offered to have Yuezhen marry from her home, but we’re worried the Yang family wouldn’t be happy with that. So, we’re planning to host two tables at the Red Star Restaurant across from the vehicle factory. You can just come there on the eighth."

"Shilian is too far from East Market, otherwise it would be best for her to be married off from her own family’s home," Zhou Chunlan sighed.

"We appreciate the sentiment," Brother Yong said politely.