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

"How bright it is!"

Chen Xiurong stood at the gate, looking at the brightly lit old house, and was momentarily lost in thought.

As far as I can remember, ever since she married into this family, she always had to do things in the dark by the dim light of a kerosene lamp.

Seeing those bright, almost blinding light bulbs now, she suddenly felt as if she were in another world.

At the same time, Li Chanjuan, Su Meilan, Lin Shuixian, and Zhao Yuzhu clenched their fists excitedly, staring intently at the light bulb under the eaves.

In the past, they were incredibly envious when they saw other people's homes with electric lights on.

Now, they finally have it too.

Just as they were about to go inside to see what was going on, Lin Shuisheng put down the crank, walked up to Lin Chaosheng and Lin Haisheng, and reached out his hand.

Lin Chaosheng and Lin Haisheng exchanged glances, then placed their hands on Lin Shuisheng's hands, forcefully flicked them downwards, and raised their hands high towards the onlookers, shouting loudly:

"Prosperity! Flourishing!"

The sound reverberated through the night sky, and also shook the hearts of everyone present.

Seeing the three brothers' straight backs, Lin Yaoguang's eyes narrowed, and a very complicated expression appeared on his face.

Among them were pride, loneliness, heartache, relief, and a trace of envy.

After a while, the villagers who had been watching left one by one, with some sighs.

In the past, they all thought Lin Shuisheng was just a good-looking but useless braggart. Who would have thought that he would actually make a lot of money one day?

If it's just about making a lot of money, then it's not a big deal.

What alarmed them most was that even after Lin Shuisheng made his fortune, he still thought about helping his brothers, being filial to his parents, and improving his family's living conditions.

Anyone who saw Lin Shuisheng and his two brothers standing together and shouting "Prosperity! Flourishing!" would understand that this time, Lin Shuisheng's family had truly risen to prominence.

Once everyone who had come to watch the spectacle had left, Chen Xiurong straightened her back and led Li Chanjuan and Su Meilan to the kitchen to cook.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuzhu was about to follow and help when Lin Shuixian pulled her to the east room of the hall to make the bed.

Originally, Lin Shuisheng wanted Zhao Yuzhu to sleep with Ye Wanqing, while he would temporarily sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor in the hall.

Before Ye Wanqing could even voice her opinion, Chen Xiurong waved her hand and told Zhao Yuzhu to sleep with Lin Shuixian for now, and they would decide on a different arrangement after her younger sister, Lin Shuiling, finished her middle school entrance exam and returned from the town's junior high school.

Lin Shuixian seemed quite enthusiastic about this, not only washing and drying the sheets and duvet cover but also giving Zhao Yuzhu a relatively new set of pajamas. It's unclear what she was up to.

In comparison, Zhao Yuzhu was not so happy.

She followed Lin Shuixian into the house somewhat reluctantly, glancing back at Lin Shuisheng frequently with a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

However, Lin Shuisheng didn't look at her at all at this moment. His gaze was entirely on Lin Chunjiao, who was running wildly with Lin Mingtao in the front yard.

Before there was electricity, these little guys would have to be called inside and kept cooped up as soon as it got dark.

Now that there are electric lights at the gate, illuminating most of the front yard, and it's cool outside with plenty of things to do, why would they want to go inside?

"Brother, shall we play hopscotch?"

"Okay, I'll go get some firewood to draw!"

Soon, Lin Mingtao ran into the kitchen, grabbed a half-burnt piece of firewood, and used the charcoal to draw squares in the front yard. Then he found a broken tile and started playing with it earnestly.

However, his technique was a bit poor, and he kicked the tile out of the square in no time. He could only pick up the tile somewhat awkwardly, put it on the back of one foot, and hop back to the starting point with the other foot.

"My turn! My turn!"

Before Lin Mingtao's feet even touched the ground, Lin Chunjiao shouted impatiently.

"What's the rush? You definitely can't beat me!"

Lin Mingtao glared at Lin Chunjiao and reluctantly handed over the tile.

Lin Chunjiao ignored him, took the tile and threw it into the first grid, which landed right next to the second grid.

Her eyes lit up, and she immediately lifted one foot and hopped into the first compartment. She carefully adjusted her position, then seized the opportunity and gently kicked the tile into the second compartment.

Seeing this, Lin Mingtao curled his lip and showed a disdainful expression.

However, as Lin Chunjiao kicked the tiles into the third and fourth squares, until the last square...

His expression gradually turned very serious, his fists clenched, and his eyes were fixed on the tile.

When Lin Chunjiao reached the top of the grid, turned around and kicked the tile back to the starting point, accidentally letting it touch the line, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, facing Lin Chunjiao, he slightly raised his chin.

"I told you you couldn't beat me!"

Seeing his shamelessness, Lin Shuisheng was almost laughing in anger, while Lin Chunjiao didn't react much, simply obediently carrying the tile back to its starting point with the back of her foot.

"Brother, it's your turn!"

"Watch me!"

Lin Mingtao took the tile, stood confidently at the starting line, aimed carefully, and threw it into the head square.

As a result, he used a little too much force and threw the tile directly onto the line, his expression instantly freezing.

"Ha ha!"

Seeing his nephew's bewildered expression, Lin Shuisheng couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"That doesn't count, I just accidentally dropped it."

Upon hearing the laughter, Lin Mingtao's face turned bright red, and he immediately wanted to start over.

"Hey, how can you cheat in a game!"

Lin Shuisheng frowned immediately upon seeing his nephew's behavior.

"That's right, brother, you're cheating!"

Upon hearing her father speak, Lin Chunjiao hurriedly joined in the protest.

"I..."

Lin Mingtao opened his mouth, about to retort, when Lin Chaosheng's voice came from not far away.

"You little brat, you even cheat when playing a game with your sister! I think you're just asking for a beating!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he charged at Lin Mingtao with a belt, startling Lin Mingtao so much that he turned and ran.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, my dad's going to hit me again!"

"Stop right there!"

Lin Chaosheng, his face contorted with rage, was about to chase after them when Lin Shuisheng grabbed his arm.

"Alright, second brother, it's just a game, there's no need to make such a big fuss."

"What do you mean 'unnecessary'? You have no idea how infuriating he is. He stole and drank all the leftover soda from yesterday. And not only that, he took the bottles to the store to return them and exchange them for popsicles. Don't you think he deserves to be hit?"

Lin Chaosheng glared at Lin Shuisheng with a look of indignation.

Lin Shuisheng: "..."

His lips twitched, and he silently let go of her hand.

Upon seeing this, Lin Chaosheng grabbed his belt without saying a word and rushed into the gate.

Soon, a commotion of chickens and dogs erupted from inside the house.