Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

The kitchen was steaming. Zhao Xiuying lifted the pot lid, and white steam billowed up. She squinted and poked the meat in the pot with her chopsticks. The chopsticks sank in; the meat was so tender that she didn't need to use any force.

"Alright."

She muttered something, put the pot lid on the stove, and turned to get a bowl.

The aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen, carried by the wind, and spread throughout the entire yard. It was a very rich and satisfying flavor; the pork belly had been stewing for almost two hours, infusing it with the spiciness of scallions and ginger, the sweetness of star anise, and the savory aroma of soy sauce.

The aroma immediately captivated Lin Ping and Lin An, making them unable to resist.

Two little heads were squeezed together on the door frame, one above the other, their four bright eyes fixed on the bubbling pork belly in the pot. Lin Ping, being short, stood on tiptoe, his fingers gripping the door frame.

Even though Lin An was older, he couldn't resist the fragrance.

"grandmother."

Lin Ping called out softly.

"Second Uncle."

Lin An also called out, his voice a little louder than his younger brother's, but still not very loud.

The two children were never close to him; it was like that in their past life. Later on, they almost never spoke to him.

Although the reason was his own idleness.

Zhao Xiuying turned around and saw the two children clinging to the doorway, and her heart softened instantly. She picked up two pieces of meat with her chopsticks, gave one to each child, carefully blew on it, and handed it to them.

"Be careful, it's hot."

Lin Ping took it, the meat scalding his fingers, and he shoved it back and forth between his hands, stuffing it into his mouth. His cheeks immediately puffed out, and his eyes narrowed into slits.

It only chewed a couple of times and then stopped.

Instead, he kept it in his mouth for a long time, reluctant to swallow. He felt the oily aroma spreading from the tip of his tongue to the back, filling his entire mouth with fragrance. Pingzi mumbled:

"Grandma, the meat melts in your mouth."

Zhao Xiuying's chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

She looked at Lin Ping's chubby cheeks, the oily sheen at the corners of his mouth, and his bright eyes.

A wave of sadness welled up in Zhao Xiuying's chest and choked her throat.

It was already difficult to support the whole family by farming, let alone eat meat. The money owed for the medical treatment and burial of his father-in-law was paid off this year by selling the pigs he raised.

The whole family lived a very frugal life, and the two younger children probably hadn't even tasted meat many times.

Lin Nuo felt a little guilty, after all, the family was struggling to make ends meet, and it was because of him that his father was in such a hurry to raise rabbits in his previous life, actually because it cost too much. Lin Weiguo was afraid that there wouldn't be enough money for his youngest son to get married.

That's why they raised Angora rabbits. If Lin Jian was the principal offender, then he was practically an accomplice.

Feeling guilty, Lin Nuo peeked out from the kitchen doorway and glanced towards the main room.

Inside the main room, Lin Weiguo sat at the table with a small wine cup in front of him. The cup was made of white porcelain and had a chip on it. It contained about half a cup of white wine, but he hadn't drunk any of it.

There was an empty bowl and chopsticks on the corner of the table, with the chopsticks resting neatly on the rim of the bowl, clearly meant for the third son.

However, that set of bowls and chopsticks hadn't been touched since it was placed on the table. Lin Weiguo would check on it from time to time.

Lin Nuo shrank back and remained silent.

He understood. The two elders still cared about their third son. As the old saying goes, the youngest son and the eldest grandson are the old lady's lifeblood.

No matter how wrong Lin Jian was, he was still a piece of their flesh and blood. Even if they said "come back or not, it's up to you," the connection in their hearts had never been broken.

However, in his previous life, Lin Jian never came back to visit his parents after they passed away.

He squatted down and added firewood to the stove.

Once everyone had arrived.

Su Wanqing was dragged here by An Zi. Lin An ran into the west room, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out, saying as he did so:

"Second Aunt, dinner's ready! The meat smells delicious."

Su Wanqing was pulled along by her, too embarrassed to push away again, and followed her into the main room.

That's strange.

Lin An was afraid of Lin Nuo, but not of Su Wanqing; in fact, he clung to her quite a bit.

Lin Nuo thought about it and concluded that it must be because Su Wanqing was beautiful.

At this moment, Su Wanqing was sitting at the table, eating slowly. She didn't like so many people gathering together; if we were to use a modern term in later times, she would be described as socially anxious.

In his previous life, Lin Nuo only truly understood Su Wanqing after working in the south. However, just as their relationship was getting better, Su Wanqing passed away.

Lin An was sitting next to her at that moment. He didn't want to eat the meat in his own bowl, so he picked up a piece and put it in Su Wanqing's bowl.

"Second Aunt, you eat."

Su Wanqing glanced down at the piece of meat in her bowl; it was marbled with fat and lean meat, and the skin glistened with oil. She didn't seem to mind or refuse it, and simply picked it up and ate it. She didn't say anything, but her lips twitched slightly.

Lin Ping, standing on tiptoe, shakily placed a piece of meat into Lin Weiguo's bowl. He could barely hold the chopsticks; the meat wobbled in mid-air, almost falling, before he quickly steadied it with his other hand.

"Grandpa, eat meat."

Lin Weiguo looked down at the piece of meat in his bowl, picked it up and ate it. Lin Ping smiled憨厚ly when he saw his grandfather eat it.

Lin Weiguo also had a smile in his eyes.

Halfway through the meal, Zhao Xiuying put down her chopsticks and said:

"I wonder how the third brother is eating in the county."

There was a moment of silence on the table.

Lin Weiguo didn't reply. He picked up his wine cup and took a sip.

It's time for Lin Nuo to put down his chopsticks.

"Dad, I'm going to the county after the New Year to see our third son."

Lin Weiguo paused for a moment. His fingers hovered above the table, not falling.

"Why are you looking at him? Let him come back or not, it's up to him."

But her voice had already softened.

Dad also had his eye on the third son.

After finishing her meal, Tian Fang sat at the table for a long time.

She would steal glances at Lin An one moment, then at Su Wanqing the next. Her lips moved several times, the words swirling around her lips, but she couldn't utter a single word.

She rubbed her hands on her knees until they turned red.

Su Wanqing stood up and started clearing the dishes.

Tian Fang also stood up and helped stack the bowls. She carried the stacked bowls without leaving.

"Late Qing".

"Um?"

"You're literate..."

Tian Fang's voice grew softer and softer:

"Could you... teach Anzi to read?"

She finished speaking, as if she had used up all her strength. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Su Wanqing or Lin Nuo.

She hadn't been very nice to her brother-in-law before.

I've said it a lot behind his back, but I never thought I'd have to ask him for help one day.

Su Wanqing looked at Tian Fang, then at Lin An.

Lin An was standing by the table, her hands hanging down in front of her, her fingers twisting together. She was looking at Su Wanqing expectantly.

"OK."

Su Wanqing said.

Tian Fang suddenly raised her head, her eyes instantly reddening.

"No need to wait until you have time."

Su Wanqing put down the bowl and wiped her hands on her apron:

"It starts tomorrow. Anzi, come find me after you finish eating, I'll get you a calligraphy practice book."

Tian Fang's lips trembled a few times, as if she wanted to say "okay," but her lips trembled so badly that she couldn't utter the first "okay."

"it is good."

She said "okay." A few tears welled in her eyes, which she quickly wiped away with the back of her hand, and she smiled as she said:

"Look at me, I'm so happy."

Lin Nuo stood at the kitchen door, watching this scene unfold.

He thought of his past life.

In her past life, Tian Fang had also made this request. Anzi was about the same age then, wearing a cotton-padded jacket that was too short, standing by the table, looking at Su Wanqing.

However, this matter ultimately did not come to fruition.

In fact, Lin Nuo had always known that his sister-in-law looked down on him.

It was so obvious. When talking to people in the village, when Lin Nuo was mentioned, she never said "my second son," but rather "the second son of the Lin family," as if she were talking about an outsider.

Lin Nuo was not only muddle-headed in his past life, but also petty. So when Tian Fang came to beg him for help, he retorted:

"My wife, Wanqing, is busy."

Honestly, you can't blame your sister-in-law for this. In his past life, he was lazy and idle, and his older brother always had to clean up his messes for him. It would be strange if your sister-in-law didn't have any complaints.

It's unreasonable for someone to not even be able to afford a schoolbag for their own daughter, yet they're constantly spending money on their brother-in-law.

Lin Nuo's face flushed, so she stopped listening.

In the main room, Lin Jiang and Lin Weiguo talked about their age.

"Dad, we need to get some fertilizer for planting in the spring."

Lin Jiang sat at the table, his hands resting on his knees:

"You know last year's yield; we couldn't do without fertilizer."

Lin Weiguo nodded, picked up the wine cup, and took a sip. The cup was then refilled; it was unclear who had refilled it.

"Fertilizer is hard to get now."

Lin Weiguo said:

"The supply and marketing cooperative has a limited supply; each cooperative only has so much, it's not enough."

Lin Jiang hesitated for a moment, as if he had thought of something.

"Isn't the third brother working at the fertilizer factory?"

Lin Jiang lowered his voice:

"Could you ask him to get some affordable fertilizer? It's from the factory, so it's definitely cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative's."

Lin Weiguo's hand paused on the table for a moment.

He glanced at Lin Jiang, then at the empty bowl and chopsticks on the corner of the table.

"Too."

He said there was a hint of hesitation in his voice:

"The third brother has worked at the fertilizer factory for three years, so he has some connections. Getting some affordable fertilizer shouldn't be too difficult."

As Lin Nuo listened to these words, he thought of his past life.

At that time, Lin Jian made all the promises, patting his chest and saying, "Leave the fertilizer problem to me." But in the end, the "affordable fertilizer" he talked about never even reached his own land.

Instead, rabbit plague nearly destroyed their family.

Lin Nuo straightened up, brushed the dust off his knees, and walked into the main room.

"Father, don't trouble the third son."

Lin Weiguo looked up at him. Lin Jiang also looked up at him.

"After all, this isn't something to be proud of."

Lin Nuo said, not in a loud voice:

"The third son works at the factory. If people find out he's dealing in fertilizer, it won't be good for him."

Lin Weiguo paused for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"The second brother is right."

He picked up the wine cup, then put it down again:

"It's not easy for the third brother at the factory, don't add to his troubles."

Lin Jiang didn't say anything more, just hummed in response.

Lin Nuo turned and walked out, reaching the door of the west room.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, Su Wanqing's voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Lin Nuo was stunned for a moment.

He pushed the door open and went in.

The west room was small. A kerosene lamp sat on the table, and on the table lay a calligraphy copybook. The pages were yellowed and the edges were curled. The cover was printed with the words "Huang Ziyuan's Ninety-Two Methods".

Su Wanqing sat on the edge of the bed, holding a calligraphy book in her hand, flipping through it. Lin An stood beside her, tilting his head to look at the characters in the book.

Su Wanqing pointed to the characters on the calligraphy copybook and read them aloud one by one.

"people."

Lin An repeated, "Person."

"hand."

"hand."

"mouth."

"mouth."

"big."

Anzi's voice suddenly doubled in volume: "Bigger!"

Su Wanqing's lips twitched slightly.

It wasn't a smile—the corners of her mouth were just slightly upturned, barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

Lin Nuo stood silently in the doorway. He leaned against the door frame, his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching the scene unfold.

In her past life, Su Wanqing originally wanted to be a teacher, but that wish was never fulfilled.

Su Wanqing's profile was serene under the lamplight. Her fingers moved slowly across the calligraphy practice sheet, pronouncing each character precisely. As a sent-down youth from the city, her speech differed from that of the villagers; her pronunciation was clear and articulate.

Anzi repeated after her, but when she got to the word "small," her voice became even softer, as soft as a mosquito's hum.

"Small," Su Wanqing repeated.

"Small," Anzi repeated, this time a little bigger.

Su Wanqing turned another page. Anzi's eyes followed her hand, so focused that she didn't even notice Lin Nuo standing at the door.

Lin Nuo only spoke after An Zi finished reading this page.

"I'm going into the mountains tomorrow."

Su Wanqing hummed in agreement, without looking up. Her fingers were still on the calligraphy template, the tip of which was pointing to the character "山" (mountain).

"Catching soft-shelled turtles."

Su Wanqing's fingers paused on the calligraphy copybook for a moment.

"Can you catch it in winter?"

She asked. Her voice was still calm, but the question itself showed her concern.

"able."

Su Wanqing didn't speak again. Her finger continued to move across the calligraphy template, pointing to the next character.

Lin Nuo turned to leave.

"Lin Nuo".

He stopped.

"Your five dollars... when you need it."

Lin Nuo turned to look at her.

She lowered her head, traced a line on the calligraphy template with her finger, and whispered:

"Just tell me."

Lin Nuo stood at the door, watched for a while, and said calmly:

"Keep it for me."

……

The east room was dark, with no lights on. Lin Nuo lay on the bed, his mind racing with calculations.

Two pounds of meat, two yuan and thirty cents. The whole family had a good meal.

This is not enough.

If you want to get rich, you can't just rely on digging sheep.

Ground goats are easy to catch in winter because they don't move much underground. After spring arrives and the ground temperature rises, they start to become active, digging deep burrows with many branching paths, so you might not find one even after digging for a long time.

Moreover, although the bones of the wild sheep are valuable, the quantity is too small. Five wild sheep only sold for thirteen yuan, and after deducting expenses, only ten yuan was left.

He needs a more stable and profitable path.

Soft-shelled turtle.

In the summer, someone caught a soft-shelled turtle in the stream behind the mountain. It weighed over a pound and sold it for eight yuan in town. In winter, the turtles hibernate, burrowing into the mud and remaining motionless until spring. It's easier to catch them then than in summer.

A one-pound turtle costs ten yuan.

Two pounds, twenty yuan.

We'll go into the mountains tomorrow, first we need to find out the location of the streams and gullies. We'll bring a pickaxe and a basket, and then we'll break the ice in the gullies.

A turtle costs ten yuan.

Touching ten of them costs one hundred yuan.

One hundred yuan is enough to buy so many things, and it can also buy Su Wanqing several new outfits so that her parents won't have to work so hard.

He rolled over in the darkness, facing the wall.

Besides these.

There's also the fake fertilizer issue. If they come to his house, his parents will be so angry they'll get seriously injured. He needs to get some money quickly to cover up the mess before Lin Jian ruins the family's reputation.

Now that they have the money, it's time to repair the house on the older brother's side. He also wants to take Su Wanqing out for a walk and see if she still has any relatives alive.

She wouldn't have had the chance to find him in her past life.

And Pingzi and Anzi, we must make sure they both go to school and study hard in this lifetime.