TATLC Chapter 23

Chen Xiao Mi felt much closer to Lu Lin after they shared the secret of the convenience store. And he wasn’t in a hurry to find money since they had a decent amount of money now, he spent a lot of time collecting firewood instead of hunting. Now that he valued Lu Lin’s opinion more than anything, he collected firewood because Lu Lin told him that the kang needed more firewood at night.

Lu Lin had once again seen how mighty Chen Xiao Mi was, Chen Xiao Mi would hold a sword like it was a feather, and he was able to run carrying a basket of firewood. It took Lu Lin five times as much time to collect a comparable amount of firewood as Chen Xiao Mi.

However, knowing Lu Lin was a ‘rich kid’ from a different time and space, Chen Xiao Mi truly appreciated the effort he had put in for the house. He accepted Lu Lin’s ‘incompetence’ without complaint.

The villagers still dreamed about hunting after seeing how rich Chen Xiao Mi’s family was. But not many of them actually had the guts to venture into the mountains.

Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin spent about ten days collecting firewood, Lu Lin also stored some mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and Chinese yam in the convenience store during the winter.

Mushrooms were not easy to keep, neither were Chinese yams, they would go moldy within a few days. But Lu Lin didn’t have to worry about that because time didn’t exist in the department store.

Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin had even built a kang for Old Hunter Zhou who had taught Chen Xiao Mi to hunt.  Old Hunter Zhou would suffer from severe joint stiffness and pain on cold days, Lu Lin had once said that a kang would help, so Chen Xiao Mi asked Lu Lin if he wanted to build a kang with him for Old Hunter Zhou, Lu Lin was touched by Chen Xiao Mi’s gratitude and he agreed readily.

Old Hunter Zhou was not happy with the kang until he tried it himself, he would spend hours in the kang after Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi built it for him. The warmth greatly reduced his pain, his joints were less swollen.

Chen Xiao Mi had also collected a decent amount of firewood for Old Hunter Zhou before he left.

Old Hunter Zhou was very grateful to the young couple as there was an outbreak of cold air that very night, and before long Old Hunter Zhou’s kang had attracted the attention of the villagers.

Old Hunter Zhou had been crippled for many years, but luckily he had savings from hunting and selling mountain products, villagers would visit him and sell him grain in exchange for money. Old Hunter Zhou would sometimes be so anxious that one day all of his savings would run out and he would meet his end then.

Soon the villagers who had been to Old Hunter Zhou’s house began to talk about the miraculous kang, they would give vivid descriptions of how warm it was and how great it was for an old man’s joints.

Villagers would flock to Old Hunter Zhou’s house and take a look at this magical bed that would keep the whole house warm. Some villagers were polite, they knew they shouldn’t visit Old Hunter Zhou empty-handed, they would bring a little food or firewood or a bunch of vegetables.

Although everything was a small amount, Old Hunter Zhou still felt very grateful and he would ask them to sit on the kang and feel how warm it was. It had been a long time since so many people had visited Old Hunter Zhou, Old Hunter Zhou was beaming with smiles all day long.

But the villagers showed a different reaction after learning that it was Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin who built the kang for Old Hunter Zhou. Many of them were shocked to learn that such a cold-hearted and ferocious monster would do such a kind thing to an old man, and some of them would simply snort and leave Old Hunter Zhou’s house.

The Chen Family, however, were furious when they heard that. Especially Grandma Chen, she stomped her foot angrily and cursed at Chen Xiao Mi, accusing him of being unfilial. It puzzled her why Chen Xiao Mi took the trouble to build a kang for Old Hunter Zhou instead of her, Chen Xiao Mi’s grandmother!

To make matters worse, Lu Lin’s grandfather also visited Old Hunter Zhou and he started to miss Lu Lin’s favor. Grandpa Lu asked Lu Tong to visit Lu Lin again, demanding that Lu Lin return home and build a kang for him.

And of course Lu Lin had refused Lu Tong, Lu Tong returned home feeling dejected.

“Where is that brat?” Grandma Lu looked very upset as Lu Tong returned home alone.

Grandma Lu had long been waiting for a chance to get back at Lu Lin for not helping her.

Grandma Lu had long been waiting for a chance to get back at Lu Lin for not helping the Autumn Harvest, how she wished she could lash out at Lu Lin while Lu Lin was building kang for them.

“He has rejected you again?”

Lu Tong nodded: “That’s right, grandmother.  He said he doesn’t know how to build a kang, that Chen Xiao Mi is in charge and he’s just an assistant.”

Grandma Lu snorted: ” He doesn’t know how to build a kang, I say he’s just being lazy!  He never even visited us after marrying Chen Xiao Mi, he’s too good for us now!”

Grandma Lu became increasingly angry as she thought of Lu Lin, she decided to talk to Lu Lin directly.

Lu Lin was sleeping when Grandma Lu knocked on Chen Xiao Mi’s door.

Lu Lin was basically a relaxed person, plus it was very cold outside and there was no air conditioning, so he had slept for quite a while.

Chen Xiao Mi was very tolerant of Lu Lin, he never uttered a word of complaint even though he was still in bed in the morning, he felt he should try to understand Lu Lin more, Lu Lin was a ‘rich kid’ who was used to an extravagant lifestyle, so he appreciated the sacrifices Lu Lin had made to fit in with his family.

Lu Lin heard a loud noise when he was half asleep in the morning, he walked out of the room only to see Grandma Lu confronting Chen Xiao Mi near the gate.

Suddenly, Grandma Lu slumped to the ground and wailed: “Why are you beating up an old woman like me?”

Lu Lin walked over to Chen Xiao Mi and asked: “What happened?”

Chen Xiao Mi frowned and said: “This foul-mouthed old lady was banging on our gate like crazy, I tried to push her away, but suddenly she fell to the ground and insisted that I beat her up!”

‘It looks like this cruel old lady is staging an incident and pretending to be a victim!’ Lu Lin rolled his eyes.

Surprisingly, a crowd began to gather in front of their house.  Chen Xiao Mi’s house was very far away, Lu Lin wondered why they could gather here so quickly.

“Heavens, why are you punishing me like this!”

“What have I done to deserve this!”

“My own grandson has absolutely no respect for me and our entire family!”

Grandma Lu’s cries grew louder as she saw people begin to gather.

Lu Lin whispered into Chen Xiao Mi’s ear that she had earned this, and he told Chen Xiao Mi to hide inside, otherwise the old lady would start attacking her.

Chen Xiao Mi believed Lu Lin and returned to the room.

Soon the village chief arrived, he asked Lu Lin what was going on.

Lu Lin said calmly: “Xiao Cai caught grandma stealing, that’s all.”

Grandma Lu who was lying on the ground pretending to be weak and sickly almost jumped to her feet in anger.

The crowd immediately started talking.

“You stupid kid, what are you talking about?” Grandma Lu gritted her teeth and glared at Lu Lin.

Lu Lin said in a soft voice: “Grandma, Xiao Mi has given you ten taels of silver to marry me, how can you be jealous of Xiao Mi’s hunting and sneak into our house to steal! My cousin Lu Cheng Yu is an educated man, he is determined to pass the imperial examination at the county level, you also ruined his reputation!”

The solemnity in Lu Lin’s tone had moved everyone except Chen Xiao Cai who was looking at Lu Lin in a funny way.

Chen Xiao Mai also heard that, he started repeating: “Thief, Thief…”

Lu Lin sneered: ‘Good timing, Mai! People will definitely believe an innocent little kid like you!  I’ll make your favorite Steamed Egg Pudding!’

The village chief took a glance at Grandma Lu who was still lying on the ground, and the villagers were furious, they couldn’t believe this greedy woman wasn’t satisfied with ten taels of silver as an engagement gift and she was caught sneaking into Chen Xiao Mi’s house and stealing!

Grandma Lu stopped crying, she just glared at Lu Lin, her cheeks flushed. While Lu Lin just looked at her sincerely.

“You brat, what nonsense are you talking! I’ll strangle you to death!” Grandma Lu was really uncomfortable.

“Grandma! My father died on the battlefield, my mother has devoted her life to the entire Lu Family, and you have married me into Chen Xiao Mi’s family! Me and Xiao Mi’s future children will be surnamed Chen, not Lu! And now that you are here stealing from Chen Xiao Mi, do you want me to die? Is that what you are looking for?”

The villagers had now completely sided with Lu Lin, Lu Lin’s children would be surnamed Chen, they all felt sorry for Lu Lin, the family line was the top priority in this time and space.  Plus Grandma Lu had left Lu Lin in a difficult position by stealing from him and Chen Xiao Mi, it wasn’t something a grandmother should even think of doing.

The village chief was annoyed with Grandma Lu: “Are you done?  Get up!”

“That’s not right! This unfilial grandson of mine is making up stories!” Grandma Lu shouted.

Lu Lin just looked at her making a fool of herself, and didn’t say anything.

The village chief looked at Lu Lin meaningfully: “Lin, you married into Chen Xiao Mi’s family, but she is your grandmother after all.”

Lu Lin nodded and replied slyly: “Uncle Zhang, you’re right, grandma spent a tael of silver to take care of me after I committed suicide, I think she loves me.”

The villagers looked at each other in wordless despair: ‘Poor Lu Lin, this old lady spent money on you to exchange you for Chen Xiao Mi’s engagement gift!’

The village chief nodded and said: “You are a sensible child, Lin.”

The village chief asked two people to take Grandma Lu away, and he asked everyone to leave.

Grandpa Lu slapped Grandma Lu hard across the face when she returned home, no one in the family believed that she wasn’t trying to steal from Chen Xiao Mi no matter how hard she defended herself.

Many villagers had heard Chen Xiao Mi made ten taels of silver selling alcohol, and so had Grandma Lu. But Grandma Lu had bragged about the matter, saying that Chen Xiao Mi was stupid for not asking for fifteen taels of silver and how she wished she could have that much money. So now even her own family members were convinced that Granny Lu was jealous of Chen Xiao Mi’s success and she was trying to steal from him.

 

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T/N: I love a good face slapping and in this chapter Grandma Lu got it in quite the literal sense HAHAHAHA.
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