Dinner ended on a cheerful note for everyone.
“Xiwei, go upstairs to prepare the proper documentation for the background check. Nancheng will take it back for submission. It’s a necessary step for a military marriage.”
Lin Xiwei rose lightly. “Yes, Grandpa.”
She went upstairs to gather the required materials.
Though it sounded official, the old master had already prepared everything in advance, hoping his granddaughter would marry Qin Nancheng soon and secure a reliable husband.
In an era without ID cards, the documents included the family household registry.
Lin Xiwei’s no-criminal-record certificate had already been obtained from the local police station.
Lin Haojie, not being listed in the family registry, naturally wasn’t considered a close relative of Lin Xiwei.
After this matter, the old master, for the sake of Lin Xiwei’s future, would certainly never allow Lin Haojie to be officially recognized as part of the family.
Moreover, Lin Haojie wasn’t even a true Lin by blood.
If the old master ever found out, Lin Chengyou’s lapdog leg would be broken.
All other relevant materials had also been prepared in advance; Lin Xiwei only needed to fetch them from the study.
The only thing she needed to accompany Qin Nancheng for was the premarital medical examination at the designated military hospital.
Taking advantage of a moment alone, Lin Xiwei touched the Conch Pearl hanging around her neck and activated her portable space.
“Wow… it’s so barren. There’s literally nothing here.”
A wide stretch of fertile land lay empty, with nothing planted.
Rivers and fish ponds existed, but they held no aquatic life or boats.
A wooden countryside building stood by the shore, empty inside, without even a bare bed.
Lin Xiwei thought to herself, No worries, I’ll plant, fill, and raise everything in here~
She glanced at the well in the courtyard and thought, “Could this be the Spirit Spring? The water level is so high, I don’t even need to lower a bucket—just a ladle will do.”
With that in mind, she squatted, grabbed the gourd ladle, and bent down to scoop water, bringing it close to her nose to sniff.
“Wow! Such a fragrant smell… can’t really describe it, but it’s so pleasant~”
Then she tasted it carefully, and it was wonderfully sweet.
“So good! I’ll have a bit more.”
Lin Xiwei drank several mouthfuls, and instantly felt refreshed, senses sharpened.
“Huh? Did it cure my nearsightedness?”
She had mild myopia, less than 200 degrees, so she usually didn’t wear glasses.
Drinking the Spirit Spring water actually cured her eyesight.
“Amazing! This is incredible—definitely something good!”
Lin Xiwei happily exited the space, planning to come back later in the evening when she had more time to move some of her favorite books from the study.
Qin Nancheng was still downstairs waiting to collect the documents, so Lin Xiwei didn’t dare delay. She grabbed the kraft paper bag and gracefully walked out of the study to go downstairs.
…
As she reached the Y-shaped stair landing, she heard Lin Yulan downstairs whining and complaining:
“Grandpa, you have to stand up for me! Wang-ma hit me… boohoohoo!”
Lin Xiwei was surprised—Wang-ma hit Lin Yulan? Why?
Regardless of the reason, Lin Yulan, the little green tea, had been hit, and Lin Xiwei couldn’t help but be pleased.
Her gossip-loving heart flared, and she quickened her pace.
“Grandpa, look at my face—it’s all swollen from Wang-ma’s hitting, my eyes are all panda-like! She’s so mean!”
Lin Yulan sobbed pitifully, sneaking glances at Qin Nancheng, putting on a pitiful, delicate act.
Whether Qin Nancheng was moved or not, the other brothers felt sympathetic—how pitiful the little girl was, what great enmity could have warranted such a beating?
Lin Xiwei silently approached and sat down, eyes sparkling with anticipation at the unfolding drama.
Tsk, Wang-ma really hit hard; Lin Yulan was almost beaten into a pig’s head. Still, she was pretending to be a pitiful little green tea.
Across from her, Qin Nancheng shifted his gaze slightly, catching sight of Lin Xiwei’s excited little expression. Even he couldn’t completely hide the corner of his mouth twitching.
The old master, mindful of appearances, had to uphold justice: “Wang-ma, come over here.”
Wang-ma had already expected this. She walked over while wiping her hands on her apron, her voice loud and commanding:
“Listen to both sides and you’ll see clearly; listen to only one side and you’ll be in the dark. You can’t just take her word for it.”
The old master still wanted to downplay the matter, after all, there were guests in the house.
But Wang-ma took it up a notch:
“This girl lacks proper upbringing. Her parents didn’t teach her, so I have no choice but to do it myself.”
Lin Yulan immediately retorted:
“Grandpa, look at her—she looks down on me for coming from the countryside. But we laboring people are the most honorable, aren’t we?”
Wang-ma panicked, eyes darting between the old master, the esteemed guest Qin Nancheng, and the several soldiers present. She was utterly speechless:
“I-I… that’s not what I meant! I didn’t mean she looked down on you for being from the countryside—I just meant she lacks manners.”
…
Just as Lin Yulan thought she had gotten away with it, a cold, sharp voice cut in:
“Yulan, don’t twist the meaning. Dragging laboring people into this? Creating class conflicts is not a good idea.”
Lin Xiwei, always one to make a scene when the drama was good, chimed in:
“Even Wang-ma has given up on educating you, so clearly the fault is yours. She doesn’t look down on your background.”
Lin Yulan had planned to muddy the waters, but Lin Xiwei untangled it neatly.
“You! Even you gang up against me? Boohoo! You all look down on me for being from the countryside!”
Lin Yulan’s grievance spiraled:
“Sister, we’re supposed to be real sisters! We both have the surname Lin. Just because I’m from the countryside, you’ve joined forces with the household staff to isolate and bully me…”
“Enough!” Lin Xiwei cut her off sharply, her mind calm and logical:
“First, we are not real sisters—my mother never gave birth to a younger sister for me. Second, I am Lin, and as for you… who’s to say you’re actually Lin? Third, in our Lin family, there is no hierarchy of servants anymore. After liberation, that whole master-servant mindset is long gone. Finally, I don’t like you, Wang-ma doesn’t like you, and Zhang Bo doesn’t like you either. Reflect on your character!”
Qin Nancheng’s corner of the mouth twitched in silent amusement, thinking:
“Good, good! Sharp-tongued, quick-witted, logic smooth and airtight—what a promising young diplomat.”
Lin Yulan stomped her foot in anger and hurriedly objected:
“I am Lin! You can’t doubt my mother’s chastity!”
“Hehe, chastity? Does she even have it?” Lin Xiwei sounded like she’d just heard the funniest joke of the century:
“What exactly was your mother’s profession… everyone in the Fu family village knows.”
Fu Cuilian had been a brothel woman in the old society. After liberation, she was officially freed and assigned to work at an aquaculture factory.
But she despised the hard work, the dirt, the exhaustion, and the lack of pretty clothes.
Fu Cuilian, ever greedy for gain without labor, secretly resumed her old trade as a “hidden courtesan.”
From factory director to minor section chiefs, any man she could, she exploited for money.
Later, when Lin Chengyou was sent for re-education in the countryside, he and Fu Cuilian hit it off.
Don’t be fooled—they ended up together, but Fu Cuilian still repeatedly ran her secret side business behind him.
None of the three children were Lin Chengyou’s by blood!
Throughout Lin Yulan’s upbringing, villagers whispered behind her back that she might not be Lin Chengyou’s biological child.
Lin Yulan was extremely sensitive to anyone suggesting this.
Now, Lin Xiwei directly confronted her, getting in her face—it made Lin Yulan tremble with fury:
“You… you’re slandering me!”
Lin Xiwei sneered in disdain:
“The First People’s Hospital in the city has imported high-tech equipment that can do paternity tests between father and daughter, and can also test sibling or grandparent-grandchild relationships.”
She deliberately paused, enjoying Lin Yulan’s expression changing from rage to fear, her face turning pale in an instant.
Lin Xiwei then looked at her grandfather, speaking deliberately so he could hear:
“Since you claim she’s your biological daughter and say she’s my real sister, Lin Yulan, let’s go get a DNA test to settle this!”