"I understand, Uncle. Thank you for your guidance."
Lin You'an wasn't an ungrateful person, especially as his uncle had helped him give Zhou Chengguang a good thrashing when he went to the Zhou Family’s house today.
"It's a shame, though, that the money we've reclaimed is limited."
Lin Yuanshan sighed in disappointment as Lin You'an lowered his eyes with a gloomy look.
Remembering how the Zhou family insisted that most of the money had been taken away by Zhou Yuhe, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
So his mother was even worse than he had imagined.
Lin You'an suddenly realized something. It's no wonder Zhou Yuhe, a remarried woman, was able to marry into a wealthy family to fill a vacant spot.
Turns out, she used the Lin Family's assets as her dowry.
When he saw her in his dreams, she was living such a good life. But all that goodness exchanged with their, brothers', blood and tears.
Thinking of this cruel fact, he clenched his fist tightly.
Why?!
He wanted to confront her and ask why she treated them like this.
They were her own children, born from her own body after ten months of pregnancy. Why did she change like this after their father died?
In this world today, even a biological mother can treat her children so ruthlessly, then who can he trust?
"You’an!"
A hoarse shout pulled him back from the swirl of hatred.
"I'm coming!"
He quickly replied, lifting his head.
"Uncle, my mother is calling me, I must go check on her."
"Mm, go ahead."
Lin Yuanshan nodded, as he continued to gaze towards the fork in the road leading to the village, muttering under his breath.
"I'll wait here for a moment; your older brothers were searching at the foot of the eastern mountain. You'song went to send them a message just now, they should be back soon."
Lin You'an extinguished his torch at the entrance, running into the courtyard in a fast pace.
"Mom, what do you need?"
"I'm hungry. Go roast some meat."
Chu Chi wiped her petite face, pointing at the meat on the ground, then at the frightened women of the Lin family huddled against the wall.
"They don't know how to."
And that's the advantage of having your wits about you, you can easily understand other people's struggles. Chu Chi was quite satisfied with her cleverness.
The women of the Lin family shook their heads violently.
No, you don't understand!
Are we unable to? No, we're terrified!
Ever since she dragged these things into the house, Zhang Xuanniang had become unusually well-behaved. She was thankful that she held back during the day, otherwise she might be lying among those on the floor right now!
Is that meat lying on the ground?
No, that's awe!
That is the admiration they held for their Aunt, like a river that kept flowing, and the respectful hearts, as obedient as children.
These were not only the thoughts of Zhang Xuanniang and the Lin daughters, but also the most genuine thoughts of the two brothers when they stepped into the house and understood the ins and outs of the matter.
Lin Yousheng tugged his wife's sleeve subtly giving her a meaningful glance.
Did you see what happened, my dear?
Zhang Xuanniang nodded her head hemely.
I saw it!
If ever again, someone can't control their words, she would most certainly make them remember the brutal death of the men lying on the ground.
Phew, good thing you learn from advice, Lin Yousheng heaved a sigh of relief.
He really feared that his naive wife wouldn't understand the gravity of the situation. If she were to provoke Chu Chi, she wouldn't even know why she died.
Fortunately, his wife wasn't that naive.
Lin Youwen no longer had any admiration for this beautiful girl. Compared to liking her, he valued his life even more.
If he were really forced to stay beside such a monster, he would be on constant high alert, fearing that she might strangle him in his sleep.
The mere thought of it made him shudder.
He was grateful his uncle was dead. Or else, in recognition of his filial piety, he would have personally chosen this woman to be his wife. Then his life would not be worth living and he'd probably die young. Alas!
On the other hand, Lin Fen'er, shivering, sheltered her two younger sisters behind her and hugged her mother tightly. She stole glances at the giant beasts on the ground then at her aunt who was barely older than her.
The young girl couldn't wrap her head around it. How could such a small body possess such enormous strength? She found it fascinating to see her dragging in so many prey.
Lin Fang'er and Lin Fei'er, the twin sisters, were still quite young and about the same age as Lin You’an. They had been well protected by their family, so they still had their innocence.
They didn't, like their elder sister, have such strong fear. Instead, they were excited because they would have meat to eat.
Another thing they realized was that their aunt was really formidable, even more than their father and elder brother! They had never been able to capture such a large prey.
Seeing the excitement flickering in the eyes of the two little girls, they loved their aunt. Compared with their previous aunt who was always crying and complaining, they preferred their new aunt who brought them meat to eat.
Lin You'an looked up at the sky, realizing it was getting late. Even if they cleaned up the prey and cooked it, they wouldn't know when they could eat. He suggested in frustration,
"Mother, it's very late now and we haven't even cleaned the prey. It's going to take time to prepare.
How about we have some simple dinner for now and when it's light out in the morning, I'll cook the meat for you?
At that time, not only will I make you grilled meat, but also stewed meat, fried meat, any way you like, alright?"
He glanced up at the moon. For Chu Chi, the darkness was not a problem. Whether as a human now, or as a zombie in the past, night vision was one of her fundamental abilities.
But seeing how adamant An An was, she felt obliged, as a good, doting mother, to meet her children's requirements.
So she nodded, turning her gaze towards Little Wanwan in Lady Liu's arms. She wanted to poke Wanwan's face with her finger, but looking at the dirt on her hands, she frowned and opened her mouth to say something.
"Elder Sister-in-law, I want to…"
"Oh, I get it."
Interrupting the sentence mid-way, Lady Liu, assuming that she has got the message, promptly nodded affirmatively. While holding her niece in one arm, she pointed towards the kitchen with the other.
"The rice has been cooked in the kitchen. Call the children to serve it, so we can eat in the courtyard. Is that okay, younger brother and sister?"
Lady Liu did her best to sound firm without letting her voice tremble. After all, this younger sister-in-law had not done anything too outrageous to her.
"I need to bathe. I'm dirty," she protested.
"Alright, alright. Let's go take a bath first."
Handing the child to her husband, Lady Liu led Chu Chi to clean up.
After everyone was done eating and with their chores, they locked the main door and went to bed for some rest.
They had been busy running around all day, and were exhausted beyond words. Regardless of what needed to be done, it all could wait until daylight.
