The father of that girl Qing'er is Uncle Lin's distant cousin.
Uncle Lin said, "My family and his family were brothers for generations, but we don't have much contact with each other anymore. No, it should be that his family doesn't have much contact with the villagers."
"I've heard about his family. The boy went to work in the capital city in his early years. He brought back a wife when he was almost 30. But his wife was weak and died a few years after giving birth. Since then, he has never remarried. He only has Lin Qing'er as an only child. Fortunately, his daughter is sensible..."
"If you want to find his house, walk along the road at the east end of the village. It's the courtyard at the end."
Qin Zhao thanked Uncle Lin and took Jing Li to the east of the village.
"What are you going to do?" Halfway through the journey, Jing Li finally couldn't resist his curiosity.
Qin Zhao said: "Explain it with reason and move it with emotion."
Jing Li: “…”
Is it that simple
Jing Li said angrily: "But I think that Miss Qing'er's father is not so easy to get rid of."
From what the village chief and Uncle Lin said, it can be seen that he is most likely a very stubborn person.
"There is no parent in this world who doesn't love their children. It's just the difference in the way they do things. And..." Qin Zhao glanced at Jing Li, paused, and didn't continue.
Qin Zhao has been with Jing Li for such a long time that he knows his physique better than this confused little fish.
Those who he truly wants to help will usually receive the help of good fortune. The stronger the intention, the more help good fortune can bring.
This can be proved by the Astragalus membranaceus that is still growing wildly in my home.
But Qin Zhao always felt that that kind of help was not without a price.
The scriptures say that fortune and misfortune are interdependent and that cause and effect are cyclical. Qin Zhao never thought that fortune was a gift from heaven. On the contrary, he always felt that if he wanted to get the help of fortune, he had to pay something else.
That's why Xiaoyu often encountered bad luck in the past.
But the little guy has no awareness of his own physical condition and always wants to help others improve their predicament, not knowing that this is actually overdrawing his own luck.
In order to prevent him from abusing Fuyun's ability again, Qin Zhao had no choice but to help him solve the problem first.
They soon came to a fenced yard.
The yard was not big. There were two houses, one big and one small, in it. Both were shabby but very clean.
The flowers and plants in the courtyard are growing very well, obviously because the owner takes good care of them.
A middle-aged man with gray hair was sitting in the yard. It was only morning, but there were already several small wine jugs scattered around his feet.
This should be Lin Qing'er's father.
Qin Zhao knocked on the door, and Father Lin raised his drunken eyes and asked, "Who?"
"My name is Qin Zhao."
"If you want to talk about the academy, please go back." Father Lin retracted his gaze, raised his head and took a sip of wine, "What's the point of studying for a little girl? It's better for you to get married soon."
Jing Li frowned and said unhappily: "Why can women only get married and not study? How can you-"
Qin Zhao gently pulled his finger.
Father Lin laughed when he heard this and stood up shakily: "Why do you ask? Because I'm his father."
"I won't give her money to go to the academy. If the little girl still doesn't obey, I'll find a matchmaker to find her a husband tomorrow!"
After saying that, he ignored the two of them and turned into the house.
Jing Li: “…”
Qin Zhao: “…”
Forget about reasoning with him, this guy doesn't even give me a chance to reason.
Jing Li asked: "What should we do?"
Qin Zhao tilted his head and looked at the path beside the yard: "Over there..."
"What's wrong?"
Jing Li looked in the direction he pointed and saw a forest with dense trees behind the house.
Qin Zhao didn't answer. He pulled Jing Li over. When they got closer, he heard soft sobbing.
A woman was sitting on her knees under a tree with her head buried in her arms. From their angle, they could only see her thin and trembling shoulders.
Jing Li was a little surprised.
He didn't notice that there was someone here just now. When did Qin Zhao's hearing become so good
"Is it Miss Qing'er?" Qin Zhao called out.
The woman didn't hear anyone coming, and she was so scared that she trembled all over and raised her head: "Who?"
"My name is Qin Zhao."
"You..." Lin Qing'er wiped her eyes and asked in a crying voice, "Are you here to return my things?"
Qin Zhao didn't rush to answer.
Jing Li noticed that there were several red marks on one side of Lin Qing'er's cheek. He frowned and asked in a low voice: "Did you have a conflict with your father?"
Lin Qing'er immediately understood that Jing Li was talking about the scars on her face, and quickly covered them with her hands: "It's nothing, my father, he was just anxious..."
In ancient times, there was a saying that family disgrace should not be made public. Even if there was a conflict among family members, they would not easily tell outsiders.
Jing Li did not press the issue, and continued: "We are not here to return things, we are here to help you."
Lin Qing'er was stunned for a moment: "Help me?"
She looked up at the two of them, tears welling up in her eyes again: "But my father... he won't agree..."
As she said this, she covered her face and started crying again.
Jing Li couldn't stand seeing people cry, so he was in a panic: "Qin Zhao, what should we do?"
"Let her cry." Qin Zhao said coldly, "We'll think of a solution after she's cried enough."
Jing Li: “…”
How come this guy has no sympathy for women
Jing Li glared at him and walked over to comfort him. Qin Zhao breathed a sigh of relief silently, and then he looked around and found something else.
I couldn't see it on the path just now, but after I walked over, I found that there was a tomb behind the tree.
There are a few big characters engraved on the tomb: "Tomb of Lin Yu Niang".
Qin Zhao asked: "Yu Niang... is your mother?"
Hearing what he said, Lin Qing'er finally stopped crying. She raised her red eyes and nodded gently.
Only then did Jing Li notice that she was holding a wooden hairpin in her hand.
The wooden hairpin was made of ebony. The wood was of good quality and the workmanship was very fine. It looked very valuable.
It's not like something that ordinary mountain villagers can afford.
Jing Li felt that the wooden hairpin looked familiar, and it took him a while to remember that this was the hairpin he helped fish out of the water at the stream last time.
"It's you." Jing Li blurted out.
Lin Qing'er looked at him in confusion: "What?"
"No, it's okay." Jing Li said, "This hairpin was left to you by your mother, right? It's really beautiful."
Speaking of her mother, Lin Qing'er seemed to be in a better mood, with a slight smile on her lips: "Yes... This is the only thing my mother left me."
Jing Li gently patted Lin Qing'er's back, and the latter's emotions finally calmed down. But he was too focused and didn't notice that Qin Zhao's eyes became deeper.
Naturally, he didn't know that Qin Zhao had secretly added another amount to the payment he had to make tonight.
Qin Zhao coughed and interrupted, "Since you're done crying, let's talk business. Why do you want to study at the Elementary School?"
Qin Zhao did not think that women should not study, but he had to admit that there were very few precedents of women studying in this era. So, what made Lin Qing'er, a farmer's daughter who grew up in a mountain village, want to study
This is what Qin Zhao wanted to know.
Lin Qing'er hesitated: "I..."
"This is your secret. You can choose not to tell me, but if you don't, I'm afraid I don't know how to convince your father." Qin Zhao said.
Lin Qing'er was a little surprised: "Why...why are you helping me?"
"If you really enter the academy, you have to respect me as a teacher, and I should help you. As for now..." Qin Zhao glanced at Jing Li and said calmly, "It's because my husband likes to meddle in other people's affairs."
Jing Li's ears turned red: "How could I like to meddle in other people's business?"
Qin Zhao pursed his lips into a slight arc and did not answer.
Lin Qing'er looked at the two of them thoughtfully, wiped her eyes and said, "Okay, I'll tell you."
Just as Qin Zhao guessed, Lin Qing'er had another reason for wanting to study.
Lin Qing'er's mother lived in the city. She was originally the daughter of an official in the city. Her father was just a servant in the mansion. Later, Lin Qing'er's grandfather was wrongly imprisoned. In order to avoid disaster, her father took her mother to the village and called each other husband and wife to hide from others.
The unmarried man and woman lived under the same roof and soon fell in love with each other, and the fake couple became real couple.
However, because of the misfortunes suffered by her family, Yu Niang's health was always poor. Her condition worsened after giving birth to the child. She passed away not long after, leaving the father and daughter to depend on each other.
"… My mother loved my father very much, but she also had regrets in her heart. Before she died, she told me that she didn't want me to be like her, trapped in this place forever."
Lin Qing'er stroked the wooden hairpin in her hand and whispered, "Many girls my age in the village help with housework, cooking and washing clothes every day. When they get older, they marry into a good family, serve their husband's family, have children, and spend their lives like this. Recently, people in the village have been saying that they want to send their children to school so that their lives will be different when they grow up. I... I also want to give it a try."
"I want to go out and see where my mother lived. I want to change the way I live."
Qin Zhao: "But your father doesn't agree."
"Yeah." Lin Qing'er replied softly, "He actually doesn't want me to get married, he just doesn't want me to go to school. He... he might be afraid that I will leave."
"When my mother was alive, my father was worried about his identity being exposed, so he deliberately didn't associate with anyone in the village. But she has been dead for so many years, and my father is still like this. He even started drinking." Lin Qing'er said, "I know he can't accept my mother's departure. He is worried that I will leave him too."
After Lin Qing'er finished speaking, Jing Li remained silent for a long time.
Qin Zhao was right, it was indeed very troublesome to solve other people's problems.
Everyone has their own standpoints, burdens, and involuntary decisions, which are difficult for outsiders to understand. But... should we just ignore them
Jing Li frowned in distress, but heard Qin Zhao suddenly ask: "If you really change your current life, will you abandon him?"
"Of course not." Lin Qing'er said seriously, "In fact, I have told Dad several times that we can move to the county town. I can help those rich families with sewing and laundry, and I will definitely be able to earn enough money to survive, but Dad didn't agree..."
Qin Zhao nodded: "I understand."
Jing Li asked: "Qin Zhao, do you have an idea?"
Qin Zhao: "Well, I'll go now..."
"Qing'er, what are you doing here?" Father Lin's voice suddenly came from behind the few people. He stood by the path and picked up a hoe leaning against the side of the road. "What are you still doing here? Get out of here and don't force me to do anything!"
He was still drunk and could not even walk steadily, and the hoe on his shoulder was wobbling.
Qin Zhao quickly took a half step forward, snatched the hoe from his hand, and held his wrist: "Uncle Lin, don't misunderstand, we have no ill intentions."
Father Lin struggled but couldn't get free, and said angrily: "Get out, or I'll tell the village chief!"
Qin Zhao did not back down and said calmly, "We just came out of the village chief's house, and he knew I was coming to see you. If Uncle Lin doesn't mind, can you talk to me alone?"
The village chief is quite prestigious in the village, and even Lin's father has to give him some face.
After hearing this, Father Lin relaxed his grip and said, "Okay, let me hear what you have to say."
Jing Li didn't know what Qin Zhao wanted to talk about with Lin's father. The two grown men were silent after they closed the door. An incense stick of time had passed but they still didn't come out. Jing Li and Lin Qing'er waited in the yard. Lin Qing'er poured him a cup of tea made from flowers and herbs. The two of them drank tea while waiting.
Compared to Jing Li, Lin Qing'er seemed very absent-minded and looked into the house from time to time.
"Don't worry, there will be absolutely no problem leaving it to Qin Zhao. There is nothing he can't do." Jing Li took a sip of the freshly brewed tea, and the fragrance of osmanthus filled his lips and teeth. "Is this osmanthus tea?"
"right."
Perhaps because she thought Jing Li was Shuang'er, Lin Qing'er was much more relaxed in front of him and explained, "The sweet-scented osmanthus flowers in the mountains are in full bloom recently. Every year at this time, I pick them and dry them to make tea. My father likes them very much. If you like them, I can give you some."
Jing Li had never drunk osmanthus tea, let alone this kind of pure natural tea with no additives.
However, Lin Qing'er's family was not so well off, and she had worked hard to pick these osmanthus flowers. Jing Li didn't want to take advantage of her, so he said, "Please teach me how to make osmanthus tea. I will go back and make it for Qin Zhao."
Many villagers knew this method, and Lin Qing'er did not hide it and explained it to Jing Li generously.
Jing Li took out a small notebook from his arms and wrote down every step in detail.
He had no experience of rural life before coming here, and had no idea about many things. Therefore, after learning the characters of this era, Jing Li carried a small notebook with him and wrote down some life tips he heard. This not only prevented him from forgetting, but also helped him train his mastery of characters.
Before I knew it, I had memorized half of the book.
After Lin Qing'er finished speaking, she also gave Jing Li a small bag of dried osmanthus flowers for him to use as a reference.
Jing Li carefully put away the notebook and dried osmanthus flowers. Lin Qing'er watched his actions and asked with a smile: "Qin Zhao must have treated you well, right?"
Jing Li paused, then suddenly thought of something and shook his head: "No, he always bullies me."
Lin Qing'er blinked in confusion: "But I think he treats you very well. When he looks at you, his eyes are very focused. My father is like that when he occasionally goes to talk to my mother's grave."
Jing Li hummed.
Being nice is good, but you should also never be soft-hearted when it comes to bullying.
And it's getting more and more excessive.
Thinking of how he was bullied every day, Jing Li felt so angry that he said seriously, "Qing'er, I'm telling you, you can't easily believe a man's sweet talk. They are two-faced in front of people and behind their backs. They are not good people."
Lin Qing'er was confused and asked, "Is Qin Zhao like this too?"
"Of course, you don't know that he likes to bully people in private-"
Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly heard a slight cat's meow coming from somewhere.
Jing Li's face changed.
The sense of crisis that came to him instinctively made him jump up, and the next second, an orange cat fell from the sky and landed on the stone table. The orange cat opened its eyes wide and stared at Jing Li without blinking.
"It's Xiaohua." Lin Qing'er touched the orange cat's head and said to Jing Li, "Don't be afraid, Xiaohua often comes to my house to ask for food. It's very well behaved and never bites anyone."
It doesn't bite people, but it bites fish!
Jing Li felt like crying but had no tears. The man and the cat were in a stalemate in the yard.
Sure enough, the little orange cat who was praised for never biting people licked its paws, arched its back, and suddenly rushed towards Jing Li!
"Ahhh—" Jing Li stepped back in fear. Just at this moment, the door opened and Qin Zhao walked out.
Jing Li was in a panic and rushed behind Qin Zhao like lightning. He hugged Qin Zhao's waist tightly with both hands, and his voice was trembling: "There is a cat, there is a cat!!!"
Qin Zhao: “…”
Lin Qing'er, who had just heard Jing Li say bad things about her husband, said: "..."
You said you were not a good person and like to bully people
And holding me so tightly.