1990, Reborn as a Beachcomber, From Rascal to Brilliant Guy

"Don't cry, Dad believes in you."

Lin Shuisheng looked at his eldest son's red and swollen eyes, his heart clenched, and then he squatted down and wiped away her tears with his fingers.

"Yes! I really didn't steal it!"

Lin Chunjiao nodded, repeating the words with a slight sob in her voice.

"It's okay, Dad's here!"

Lin Shuisheng gently rubbed his eldest son's head, stood up, looked at Zhang Chunmei, and his face instantly turned cold.

"Sister Chunmei, you say you saw my son steal your son's crabs with your own eyes, then dare you swear to the Goddess Mazu in front of everyone that if you're lying, your whole family will die?"

"Why...why should I swear? It was clearly your son who stole the crab. It wasn't just me; many people saw it."

Zhang Chunmei's pupils contracted, and then she shouted excitedly.

"Who? Who else saw it?"

Lin Shuisheng stepped forward and questioned him in a deep voice.

"How...how would I know? I saw Ah Guang being beaten by Ah Tao, I didn't care about anything else at the time!"

Zhang Chunmei glanced at the crowd of onlookers, hesitated for a moment, and then began to shout in a somewhat unreasonable manner.

But we're not three-year-olds, how could we not hear that there was something wrong with what she said?

"That's not right. You said you saw Ah Guang being beaten by Ah Tao, but didn't see anyone else around. How could you have seen my son steal your son's crab?"

Lin Shuisheng stared at Zhang Chunmei's face, his voice somewhat deep.

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze towards Zhang Chunmei changed. Even her husband, Lin Xuewen, and her two brothers-in-law, Lin Xuewu and Lin Xuefu, looked at her with a hint of suspicion.

"Is there even a need to look? Our Guang is only 4 years old. They're all older than him. They must have stolen it."

Zhang Chunmei's expression froze, then she stood up abruptly, put her hands on her hips, shouted loudly, and widened her eyes.

"Then why did you keep saying before that my son stole it?"

Lin Shuisheng looked directly into Zhang Chunmei's eyes and questioned her, word by word.

"I..."

Zhang Chunmei opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

She couldn't very well say that she was easier to deal with because Lin Chunjiao was a girl and relatively young!

By this point, everyone could see that Zhang Chunmei was just being unreasonable, and their gazes towards her revealed a hint of disdain.

"Excuse me, everyone make way, Uncle Dong is here!"

Suddenly, a shout came from outside the crowd, and everyone quickly made way for it.

Not long after, Lin Yaodong, the village secretary and village head of Liurong Village, the head of the Lin family's main branch, and the owner of the largest and most numerous fishing boats in the village, walked in step by step through the crowd with a sullen face and his hands behind his back.

He wasn't very tall; in fact, he could be described as somewhat thin.

However, he had a straight back, slightly prominent cheekbones, a high nose bridge, thick eyebrows, a full forehead, and eyes that shone with a sharp light as they opened and closed. His whole face exuded an air of authority without being angry.

Upon seeing him arrive, everyone slightly restrained their expressions and lowered their gazes, with Zhang Chunmei's face turning somewhat pale.

"What's wrong with you guys? You're all family, are you trying to make a fool of yourselves in front of outsiders?"

Lin Yaodong walked to the middle of the crowd, his gaze slowly sweeping over Lin Shuisheng and Lin Xuewen, a slight look of anger appearing on his face.

"Uncle Dong, I'm not making a scene. I'm just seeking justice for my son."

Lin Shuisheng stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Yaodong, looking directly at him.

"justice?"

Lin Yaodong looked at Lin Shuisheng's composed demeanor, his eyes narrowed, and he muttered something to himself.

If he remembered correctly, the night before last, Lin Shuisheng stood in front of him in the same way, asking to borrow his boat. Moreover, he immediately offered to donate this year's share dividends from the boat, leaving him speechless with a word of refusal.

"Uncle Dong, don't listen to his nonsense. Look at my Ah Wen, look what he's done to him!"

When Zhang Chunmei saw Lin Shuisheng rush to complain, she became anxious and immediately pointed at Lin Xuewen, shouting loudly.

"Aimin, come here and tell me what happened?"

Lin Yaodong glanced at Zhang Chunmei and Lin Xuewen, then waved to Lin Aimin in the crowd.

Lin Aimin, who just turned 38 this year, is the eldest brother of Lin Shuisheng and Lin Xuewen's generation. He is usually the most honest and kind-hearted person and is recognized by everyone as a good guy, so no one would feel it's unfair for him to speak for them.

"Uncle Dong!"

Lin Aimin stepped out from the crowd, without looking at Lin Shuisheng and Lin Xuewen, but just chuckled and called out to Lin Yaodong. Then, in front of everyone, he recounted the whole story from beginning to end.

When he mentioned that Zhang Chunmei only saw Lin Mingtao hit Lin Jiguang and didn't see Lin Chunjiao snatching the crab, Lin Yaodong glanced at Zhang Chunmei, whose face instantly turned pale.

"Uncle Dong, there's no need to ask anymore. We were in the wrong. I admit to Ah Shui's kick just now."

Before Lin Aimin could finish speaking, Lin Xuewen forcefully shook off the hands of his second brother Lin Xuewu and third brother Lin Xuefu, covered his stomach with his hand, and slowly walked out.

"Awen, you..."

Upon seeing this, Zhang Chunmei's expression changed, and she hurriedly tried to stop Lin Xuewen from admitting his mistake.

"Shut up! Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"

Lin Xuewen's eyes widened, and his face turned somewhat pale.

Now that the whole story has been told, the cause and effect of the matter are very clear. If they continue to resist, it will only make their reputation worse.

Once their reputation is ruined, no one will dare to get close to their family anymore.

"Ah Shui, what do you think?"

Lin Yaodong looked at Lin Shuisheng with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

This relative has been acting differently since the night before last.

He wanted to see what this brat would do in this situation.

"It's very simple. I'll have you, Sister Chunmei, and your son apologize to my son and nephew in front of everyone."

Lin Shuisheng raised an eyebrow and pointed at Zhang Chunmei and Lin Jiguang hiding behind her.

"Forehead..."

Lin Yaodong was momentarily stunned when he heard Lin Shuisheng's request.

At the same time, the onlookers all showed expressions of surprise.

They originally thought that Lin Shuisheng would ask Lin Xuewen to take the blue crab back and then curse at him to vent his anger!

To everyone's surprise, Lin Shuisheng actually asked Lin Xuewen to take his wife and son to apologize to his adopted son and nephew.

Is this reasonable?

That makes perfect sense!

It made so much sense to them that they couldn't understand why Lin Shuisheng would do this.

It's just a four-year-old toddler.

So what if someone stole a blue crab?

Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?

At this moment, Lin Shuisheng ignored what others thought. He called over his eldest son, Lin Chunjiao, and his nephew, Lin Mingtao, took their hands, and stood in front of Lin Xuewen, calmly reminding him:

"Your turn!"