Good Man Operation Guide

Chapter 154: Ancient Farmers' Son (11)

The eldest daughter-in-law returned unhappily, but Mother Lin was extremely happy.

She remembered her son’s instructions and deliberately walked towards the women who loved to gossip when she went out today. As she walked, she swung her left hand with the gold bracelet more frequently than her right hand.

Upon arrival, the women quickly noticed the bracelet on Mother Lin’s wrist and their eyes instantly widened.

“Sister Lin, is that a gold bracelet?”

“Oh my heavens, it’s so big! How much silver does it weigh?”

They surrounded Mother Lin, bombarding her with questions, each person asking something different. It was noisy and overwhelming, but she didn’t find it annoying at all. Instead, she proudly touched the gold bracelet on her wrist.

“Yes, it’s a gold bracelet. It was bought for me by my son, Shiheng.”

“Oh my! The scholar! How did he have the money to buy a gold bracelet? Didn’t you say your family didn’t have any money left to support the scholar’s studies?”

“Yes, shouldn’t he be taking medicine and resting well? Where did your family get the money from?”

Mother Lin stood in the midst of them, her heart pounding rapidly.

Since her youth, she had always been a quiet person who didn’t like to talk. After marriage, she focused all her efforts on being filial to her parents-in-law and taking care of her husband and children. Because her husband was the only son, the burden on the family was heavier. Mother Lin didn’t have time to gossip with the women in the village.

Now that she was older and most of her peers had passed away, even unfamiliar villagers would call her ‘auntie’ when they saw her.

But that was just superficial politeness. Being treated with such admiration and respect by others made her feel extremely delighted.

She felt pleased in her heart, and she maintained a dignified appearance. Soon, she recounted the long string of words that Lin Shiheng had taught her.

Earning money by copying books, doing tasks for the government, and even becoming friends with a scribe in the government office. “That scribe even said he would come to visit our family. Oh my, we were so anxious when we heard this news, fearing that the nobleman would come and we wouldn’t have anything good to offer as hospitality...”

She claimed to be anxious, but everyone could hear the pride and satisfaction in her tone.

The women were extremely envious.

Those were people from the government, even Scholar Wang didn’t know anyone from the government!

Although the scholar had a title, he wouldn’t necessarily receive any special treatment. They didn’t have to kneel when meeting officials, he was exempt from taxes, and he received an annual allowance of rice. Those were privileges reserved for those who had passed the imperial examination. Didn’t they see how poor Scholar Wang’s family was?

It must be said that Lin Shiheng, as the village’s only scholar, gained recognition thanks to Scholar Wang’s bad example, which made families with unmarried daughters welcome him.

And now, listening to Mother Lin boasting about her own son, talking about how simply doing some accounting work could earn a large reward, how he could buy a gold bracelet and a pair of gold earrings, and how he had befriended officials in the government. In the future, if there were any difficulties at home, their family could directly seek help from the scribe. The series of good things made the women’s eyes sparkle.

Who in the village could have such abilities? They used to think that one million in wealth could only be achieved by scholars, but they didn’t expect that Lin’s third son had such impressive skills.

Someone looked at Mother Lin’s empty earlobes and asked, “Auntie, didn’t you say that Scholar Lin also bought gold earrings? Why don’t I see you wearing them?”

“Are you afraid that wearing them will attract attention and someone would snatch them?”

The group of women burst into laughter, filled with envy.

Mother Lin proudly raised her chin, “I gave those earrings to Lan Lan. She’s a young girl, she needs to dress up.”

Laughter immediately filled the surroundings.

“Did you really give them away? Those are made of gold, they’re worth a lot of money!”

“Oh, Auntie, having you as a mother-in-law is a blessing!”

This statement was filled with genuine feelings and had no trace of falsehood. The person who said it wished they could go back to their younger days and marry Lin Shiheng.

Standing under the golden sunlight, one handsome and the other beautiful, they exchanged smiles that conveyed an indescribable sense of perfect compatibility.

As they were about to walk hand in hand, they coincidentally met Zhou Daya, whose eyes were red from crying.

When Zhou Daya saw Lin Shiheng looking her way, she looked at him with a heartbroken expression, lowered her head, and started whimpering.

She didn’t run away. She could tell that Lin Shiheng was someone who couldn’t run, what if he couldn’t catch up with her?

She stood there, waiting for Lin Shiheng to ask, and then she would pitifully lift her head.

She learned this trick from theatrical performances. Zhou Daya’s mother doted on her and usually took her to town, where she overheard some lines from the plays. According to the script, if a woman acted like that, the man would feel sorry for her and ask about her feelings.

Lin Shiheng remained silent.

It had to be said that seeing a woman dressed in colorful clothes whimpering like that was quite a shocking sight.

Zhou Daya was considered beautiful in the village, but when she tied a red ribbon in her hair and wore floral clothes, her appearance was a bit...

Li Lanlan, however, didn’t find Zhou Daya’s clothes unattractive. She became wary because she had heard before marrying into the family that many girls in the village liked Lin Shiheng. But at that time, she was filled with despair and didn’t think of anything else. Now, seeing Zhou Daya acting possessive of her husband, a hint of suspicion arose in her heart.

Could it be that Zhou Daya had some previous connection with Husband?

Her heart felt sour, but she didn’t dare ask. Having such a good husband was already a stroke of luck for her, not to mention that Zhou Daya’s family was indeed better off than hers.

The more Li Lanlan thought about it, the more downcast she felt. It had to be said that the villagers’ reluctance to propose to her because of her father, had made her somewhat self-conscious.

Just when she was feeling insecure, disappointed, and worried, Lin Shiheng spoke up.

With a gentle expression and a natural attitude, he asked, “Lan Lan, who is this? Is she your friend?”

Li Lanlan could almost sense the momentary silence in the air.

Even Zhou Daya, who had been whimpering before, stopped and looked at Lin Shiheng in disbelief.

“Don’t you know me?” Zhou Daya asked.

Lin Shiheng looked puzzled, “Should I know you?"

Zhou Daya: “...”

Even Li Lanlan was a bit confused.

After all, they were from the same village. Based on Zhou Daya’s previous behavior, she had actually thought there was something between them.

But upon closer thought, her husband loved studying inside the house and rarely went out. Even she, before marrying into the family, hadn’t met him in person despite being from the same village. It was normal for her husband not to recognize Zhou Daya.

Meanwhile, Zhou Daya looked at Lin Shiheng in a daze for several seconds. When she saw the genuine confusion and unfamiliarity in his eyes, she burst into tears and ran away with a loud cry.

This time she ran quite fast, not caring whether Lin Shiheng could catch up to her or not.

If she had known that Lin Shiheng didn’t recognize her at all, why did she put in so much effort towards Li Lanlan earlier?

Lin Shiheng didn’t even spare a glance at Zhou Daya running far away.

When rejecting someone, it was best to be decisive. If he looked at her for a moment longer, it would only invite trouble.

He decided to focus on his exams and aim to achieve success.