Lin Yuming was completely unaware of the Lin family's movements. Tonight, she had stir-fried a plate of meat with loofah. Since there was no oil left at home, she exchanged two large buckets from the System, which caused the System to whine and complain again.
The two little ones gathered around the transparent jelly. Dabao was the first to tear open the packaging, reaching out a finger to poke it!
It was transparent, soft, and sweet!
"Brother! Hurry up and eat it," Xiaoya urged, watching eagerly.
"Then I'll try it!" Dabao cautiously took a small bite! It was refreshing and delicious. He closed his eyes, waiting for any pain in his body, but after a while, he felt nothing. Only then did he hand the jelly to Xiaoya.
Xiaoya gobbled it down in one bite!
"So yummy!"
Dabao's expression was complicated. Just then, Lin Yuming walked out carrying a plate of food, with fragrant white rice in the bowls. She glanced at Dabao and Xiaoya, and Xiaoya immediately put down the jelly.
"Mother! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have eaten it without permission…" Xiaoya instinctively tried to step back, but Lin Yuming chuckled softly.
"I brought it out for you to eat, but it's almost dinner time," she paused. "Although snacks are delicious, you shouldn't eat them before a meal, or you'll lose your appetite."
Looking at the golden stir-fried meat on the table, Xiaoya licked her lips. "I'll listen to Mother."
"Good girl."
Lin Yuming had intentionally made extra. The man had gone into the mountains late at night to find food for the children, and he would likely be starving when he came down early the next morning. Following what she had once read in a book, she kept the food warm in the pot.
After helping Xiaoya onto the stool and watching Dabao slowly climb up, Lin Yuming finally sat down to eat.
"Will you ever go back to how you were before?" Dabao suddenly asked.
If she had truly changed and would never revert, even if things stayed as they were now… he could try to see her as his mother.
"How about you watch my performance, Dabao?" Lin Yuming smiled and ruffled his hair.
Feeling the gentle touch on his head, Dabao's eyes grew moist, and his nose tingled. He immediately buried his face in his rice, trying to hide his vulnerability by eating.
This made Lin Yuming feel another pang of sorrow.
How young these children were, yet they had already learned to conceal their emotions. When she was seven or eight years old, she had understood nothing at all.
Although she had never given birth, she had raised pets. She had heard that children were like pets—they needed plenty of affection and hugs to feel loved.
Just as Lin Yuming was pondering parenting theories, the front door was suddenly pushed open from outside. From a distance, she saw a woman dressed in a pink padded jacket, her hair styled in an elegant bun, gracefully walking in.
"Yu'er! Are you here?"
As soon as Lin Mengting entered the yard, she caught the scent of meat!
She instinctively swallowed her saliva! Although the Lin family had some savings in earlier years, they had spent a lot recently to support the education of the uncles and brothers from various branches. Many things were borrowed!
They couldn't afford meat at all!
Lin Yu'er had actually stir-fried the meat so fragrantly—how much oil must she have used!
Lin Mengting instinctively rushed toward the kitchen. As soon as she entered, she saw this woman sitting at the shabby table, sharing a large plate of meat with two children, one big and one small!
And there was even white rice!
"What are you doing here?" Lin Yuming frowned tightly at Lin Mengting's uninvited intrusion, displeasure evident in her eyes.
"Yu'er! How could you sell your child!" Lin Mengting pointed an accusing finger, righteous and stern. "The whole village is talking about it, saying you plan to sell Xiaoya to a brothel while Tieniu is up in the mountains! Our Lin family ancestors were respectable people—whose face are you trying to disgrace now?"
"This meat must have been bought with the money from selling your child too!"
At the mention of "selling your child," Dabao's pupils instantly contracted, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Yuming.
"What business is it of yours if I have money?" Lin Yuming, seeing Dabao's reaction, felt anger surge within her. She had just managed to calm him down a little, and now this woman showed up to cause trouble?
"How is it not my business? You're still a member of the Lin family, after all. As for your husband, with all the natural disasters and misfortunes these years, even if he hunts, he couldn't possibly earn this much silver." Lin Mengting sneered. "You haven't returned home in seven years, and now that you have silver, you don't even think of honoring your parents! Hurry up and hand over the meat and the silver."
Lin Yuming found this laughable.
Ever since Lin Yu'er married into this family, aside from her birth mother, Liu Shuang, who occasionally visited, the rest of the family had treated her as if she were dead!
Back in the Lin family, Lin Yu'er had lived a hard life, constantly serving tea, water, and doing menial chores. This Lin Mengting had treated her like a maid! Now that she knew Lin Yu'er was doing well, she came knocking.
"So that's why you're here—to demand silver," she said coldly, staring at Lin Mengting. "On what grounds?"
"On what grounds? On the grounds that you haven't honored your elders or thought of the Lin family in seven years."
Lin Mengting lifted her chin haughtily. "A woman like you, who slept with a man before marriage—shameless, filthy, and lowly—even the children you bore are so base, willing to eat anything."
"Hurry up and hand it over!"
Before she could finish, a sharp slap rang out!
Lin Mengting's face jerked to the side, a red mark quickly appearing on her fair cheek, followed by swelling that made her look even more pitiable.
But Lin Yuming showed no mercy. She reached out and grabbed Lin Mengting's hair. "Who are you calling base?"
"You dare hit me!" Lin Mengting gritted her teeth, struggling fiercely. "Let go of me!"
"Why should I let go?" Lin Yuming's voice was calm, her expression unreadable. "Apologize to my children!"
"Apologize? Pah! Lin Yu'er, don't you dare dream of it!" Lin Mengting clenched her jaw. "Don't your children even know what kind of person their mother is? You and Tieniu were disgraceful from the start—are you afraid of people talking?"
Lin Yuming's gaze grew colder. With a sudden release, she shoved Lin Mengting to the ground.
Xiaoya and Dabao, standing nearby, were stunned, staring blankly at Lin Yuming.
"You… what did you say?" Dabao trembled with rage. Being called a bastard was clearly not the first time for him.
"I said, your mother was already fooling around with your father before they were marr—"
Before Lin Mengting could finish, Lin Yuming slapped her again.
This time, the blow split Lin Mengting's lip, blood staining her mouth. At that moment, Lin Mengting wished she could tear Lin Yu'er apart limb by limb.
"Tieniu and I are now properly married, and our children are legitimate." Lin Yuming slowly curved her lips into a smile, looking down at Lin Yu'er from above. "But you, six years have passed and you still haven't married. You're almost twenty-one this year, aren't you?"
"Women your age have already become mothers." Lin Yuming's tone was light, yet it drifted through the cold night air.
"So what! Zhou Huaisheng took the exam this year and has already passed as a Xiucai! We are already engaged!" Lin Mengting pushed Lin Yuming aside. "The Zhou Huaisheng you longed for is finally marrying me!"
"I am a Xiucai's wife, but you! You can only live in this rural thatched cottage with a hunter, guarding orphans and widows!"
After saying this, Lin Mengting seemed to have found Lin Yu'er's sore spot, filled with arrogance and pride. But the woman before her showed not a trace of heartache; instead, she looked at her with increasingly calm indifference.
"It took six years for him to agree to marry you. It seems the Lin family must have spent a fortune on you." Lin Yuming blinked. "But why are your clothes so old?"
"At least you're a future Xiucai's wife, yet you come to your already-married sister's house to ask for money. Lin Mengting, aren't you ashamed!"
"You!"
Lin Mengting glared at Lin Yuming with furious eyes. "Say that again!"
"I should thank you for drugging me six years ago." Lin Yuming slightly curved her lips. "Otherwise, how would I have such lovely children? And such a caring husband?"
"You! You!" Lin Mengting trembled with rage but couldn't utter another word!
Her Lin Yu'er only married a hunter—what was there to boast about!
What!
"What are you still lingering here for? Get as far away from me as possible and don't disturb me having dinner with my children."
With Lin Yuming's light, dismissive words, Lin Mengting could no longer hold back. Covering her face, she burst into tears and ran away.
The courtyard fell silent once more. Lin Yuming turned her head and saw the two little ones quietly watching her.