After having dinner at the Lu family, Lu Dingyuan and Lin Huihui rode their bicycles back to the county town and went to the Lin family.
Lin Shan and Chen Fengmei had already finished dinner and had just come back from a walk.
“I’ve been feeling really nauseous lately, and I’ve been dizzy all day. I went for a walk today and feel a lot better,” Chen Fengmei said to Lin Shan.
“Then you shouldn’t stay at home all the time. Go out for walks more often,” Lin Shan said.
“But I don’t really want to go out alone,” Chen Fengmei looked at Lin Shan, with a clear implication in her voice.
Lin Shan’s expression didn’t change: “Why can’t you go alone? Didn’t you often go for walks alone before? Doesn’t Huihui come back often? If she’s back, you can ask her to accompany you.”
Chen Fengmei choked. After she became pregnant, Lin Shan had become much more gentle and considerate towards her. He would basically satisfy any request she made.
But after Lin Xiangyi had a fight with him, saying that she could only choose between him and the child in her belly, or else she would cut off ties with him, Lin Shan’s enthusiasm for the child in her belly had clearly diminished.
He had been frowning a lot lately, as if something was weighing heavily on his mind. He was working harder than before and often had to work overtime or go on business trips.
She didn’t know if he was really busy with work or if he was bothered by Lin Xiangyi’s words.
Chen Fengmei was filled with resentment.
At this time, there was a sound at the door: “Mom and Dad, open the door, Dingyuan and I are back.”
“Coming,” Chen Fengmei went to open the door and let Lu Dingyuan and Lin Huihui in.
Lu Dingyuan and Lin Huihui came back often, and sometimes even stayed overnight, so Lin Shan was used to it and didn’t go to greet them.
He turned around to pour himself a glass of water. Seeing Lu Dingyuan and Lin Huihui come in, looking tired from their journey, he asked, “Didn’t you say you were going back to the Lu family today? Why are you back again?”
“Dingyuan and I went back to have dinner, but thinking about Mom’s health not being very good recently, we were worried and wanted to come back and check on her,” Lin Huihui said with a smile.
Lin Shan smiled and nodded in praise: “You’re so thoughtful. Your mother and I are both very happy.”
Chen Fengmei also smiled faintly.
“Don’t think about that rebellious daughter,” Lin Shan thought of Lin Xiangyi and his face darkened.
“That’s what I was saying,” Lin Huihui took the opportunity to shift the topic to Lin Xiangyi: “Dad, you really should have told us about your sister and brother-in-law opening a workshop.”
“What?” Lin Shan paused, looking at Lin Huihui seriously: “Your sister opened a workshop?”
“Dad, you don’t know?” Lin Huihui was surprised: “We saw it when we went back today. The workshop is not small, and I heard they hired more than twenty people to work there. It seems like their business is getting more and more prosperous.”
Lin Shan’s brows furrowed. After he had a conflict with Lin Xiangyi a few days ago, he often went to see Xie Qingxiao, but Xie Qingxiao was also rebellious and often made him half-dead with anger.
Plus, he had been really busy with work lately, so he didn’t pay attention to them. He planned to wait until both sides calmed down before talking to them.
So he had no idea about their current situation. He didn’t expect them to open a workshop without telling him?
They were really audacious! It was fine for them to do business on a small scale, but they didn’t consult him before making such a big decision about opening a workshop.
What if they lost money and all the money they made from doing business in the past few months went down the drain?
Or what if the authorities found out and accused them of engaging in illegal activities?
The more Lin Shan thought about it, the angrier he became. His face visibly darkened.
Lin Huihui looked at Lin Shan’s expression and secretly rejoiced.
She knew that Lin Shan would be very angry when he heard that Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi had done such a big thing without telling him.
She pretended to comfort him: “But Dad, don’t be angry. Your sister and brother-in-law wanted to give you a surprise.”
“I’ll go ask them tomorrow,” Lin Shan didn’t explode as Lin Huihui had expected. He frowned, put down his teacup, and said wearily, “I’m tired. I’m going to rest. You guys should rest early too.”
“…” Lin Huihui and the other two watched Lin Shan’s slightly hunched back as he left.
“Is Dad angry or not?” Lin Huihui asked Chen Fengmei.
“He’s definitely angry,” Chen Fengmei said sarcastically: “But he’s not angry that Lin Xiangyi didn’t consult him, but angry that she made such a big decision so rashly. He’s worried about Lin Xiangyi.”
Lin Huihui: “…” If Lin Shan didn’t go scold Lin Xiangyi, then why was she in such a hurry to come back and tell him?
She asked Lu Dingyuan to wash up and stay at the Lin family for the night, then lowered her voice and said to Chen Fengmei: “Mom, you’re pregnant, and he’s still so concerned about Lin Xiangyi?”
Speaking of this, Chen Fengmei was also filled with resentment: “In Lin Shan’s eyes, the child in my belly is not as important as Lin Xiangyi.”
She began to list all the ways Lin Shan had ignored her since Lin Xiangyi said she would cut off ties with him.
The mother and daughter talked and talked, filled with indignation.
“Mom, it’s okay. Your baby hasn’t been born yet, so Dad doesn’t have a real feeling for it,” Lin Huihui comforted Chen Fengmei: “Once your baby is born, Dad’s attention will definitely be on your little brother or sister.”
Chen Fengmei looked outside, leaned closer to Lin Huihui, and hesitated: “Huihui, what if the child in my belly doesn’t look like Lin Shan…”
“Mom, what are you worried about?” Lin Huihui laughed: “Even if it doesn’t look like him, it’s still Dad’s child. What does it matter if it looks like him or not…”
She suddenly realized and looked at Chen Fengmei in horror: “Mom, what do you mean? The child in your belly isn’t Dad’s…”
“How is that possible? Of course it’s your Dad’s child!” Chen Fengmei interrupted Lin Huihui, a little flustered, and explained: “I’m just afraid that Lin Xiangyi, that little bitch, once told your Dad that the child in my belly wasn’t his. I’m afraid that if the child doesn’t look like your Dad when it’s born, your Dad will suspect…”
Lin Huihui breathed a sigh of relief: “Mom, you don’t have to worry about that. There are many children who don’t look like their father. As long as it’s Dad’s child, it’s fine. If Dad suspects, you can go to the hospital for a check-up. With the current level of medical technology, it should be possible to determine if the child is biologically his.”
Chen Fengmei’s eyes flashed. Facing Lin Huihui’s probing gaze, she forced a smile and said, “Hmm.”
The next day.
Lin Shan wanted to go to work early and find Xie Qingxiao, who had come to pick up the goods, to ask about the workshop. However, he couldn’t find Xie Qingxiao.
The workshop had hired people to transport the goods. Xie Qingxiao had brought them there once yesterday, and they were already familiar with the process. This morning, Xie Qingxiao didn’t accompany them, but let them come to the county town to find Zhang Pengfei to go together to buy goods.
Lin Shan couldn’t find Xie Qingxiao, so he went to ask Zhang Pengfei.
Zhang Pengfei didn’t know that Lin Xiangyi had fallen out with Lin Shan. Of course, he was very respectful to Lin Xiangyi’s father and Xie Qingxiao’s father-in-law, and he told Lin Shan everything he knew about Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi’s situation.
Lin Shan heard that they had gone from wholesale to building a workshop in such a short time and felt that they were really too reckless. They hadn’t considered the consequences at all. So he said to Zhang Pengfei:
“Tell them to come see me this afternoon. If they don’t come…”
Lin Shan’s tone gradually became fierce: “Let them carefully consider their cooperation with the meat processing factory!”