Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots-Chapter 1386 - 205. Delivering a Bundle (2 updates)

Maybe I should sign up for the Imperial Merchant competition too?

But as soon as the competition came up, Lin Yuan felt a bit confused. Everyone there had a special skill; she couldn’t just show up with a few dishes to compete, could she? Not to mention the final outcome, the dishes would definitely lose flavor once they cooled off.

It was just a pity that there wasn’t a competition like the "King of Chefs" around; otherwise, she would definitely sign up and ensure she won the title of King of Chefs!

Having left the village chief’s home, she would pass by the Lin Family Old House. After discussing it with Mr. and Mrs. Liu, Lin Yuan decided to take a look there. Gifts could be sent over later by the maids, but with such a long absence, she was really worried about the condition of the place.

After Lin Jiaxiao and Li Feng’e divorced, Lin Jiaxiao sold the few rooms in the house, took the silver, and fled with the woman he had redeemed from the brothel. As for where he went, nobody knew.

Li Feng’e didn’t end up with the old bachelor in the village but went back to her maiden home. Lin Yuan hadn’t inquired further, so she didn’t know Li Feng’e’s current situation.

Now the Lin Family Old House was only half its former size; the grand entrance of before was no longer as imposing. However, after half a year, the gate had been repaired, and the wall had been rebuilt. Weeds that once littered the entrance had been cleared away, with obvious signs of recent work.

The gate was ajar, and through the crack, one could vaguely see inside. The courtyard was small but spotless. Two large urns stood in the corner, covered with lids used for shade, and on top of the lids was a short-handled scoop.

Lin Yuan remembered that before the household was divided, they used to attach a long wooden handle to the water scoops because Lin Jiaxin was the only man who did manual labor at home; yet he was often busy with carpentry and could not spend much time at home.

As for Lin Jiazhong and Lin Jiaxiao, who spent more time at home, neither was the working type; they would lie down or sit around all day, so the urns would often run low before anyone bothered to fill them. If the handle of the scoops was too short, it would be impossible to reach the water at the bottom.

But now, the scoop had a short handle – it seemed that Lin Jiazhong had really changed his ways these days.

Looking further inside, there were two pairs of women’s cloth shoes drying on a stool outside the North Room door, which seemed to be Lady Yang’s size. In front of the side room, there were a few more pairs of shoes, including a man’s with some yellow mud on them, and two much smaller, spotlessly cleaned pairs, likely belonging to children. There were no women’s cloth shoes, but a small basket for needlework was placed on a stool at the side room door.

Lin Yuan understood that the three pairs of shoes belonged to Lin Jiazhong, Lin Yongxi, and Lin Yonghe. As for the small basket, it naturally belonged to Lady Ma.

The family of four waited outside the door for a while, unsure whether to enter. It was already after lunch, and the courtyard was quiet, likely everyone was taking a nap. It didn’t seem right to go in so abruptly.

As she pondered, the door to the side room suddenly opened and a small, three or four-year-old boy ran out barebacked. He held the waist of his pants with one hand and his crotch with the other, muttering "I’m going to burst, I’m going to burst" as he ran towards the latrine.

Little Xiao Yongyan’s mouth twitched slightly, and his face turned away imperceptibly.

Lin Jiaxin, however, was surprised with a "Huh," not expecting a child to come out of the side room. It dawned on him that the little boy who had just headed to the latrine must be one of Lin Jiaxiao’s twin sons. But the two children looked so much alike that it was impossible to tell whether it was Lin Yongxi or Lin Yonghe.

As they guessed, a sleepy voice suddenly called out from the side room, "Daxi, not wearing your robe again! Be careful not to get sunburned bald!"

The sound of urination in the latrine continued without pause, but it was now mixed with a triumphant giggle.

Another child in the side room immediately corrected, "Aunt, that’s Dahe. He purposely wore my shoes to confuse you!"

"What? You little rascal, I’ll spank him when he comes back!"

"Tch! You always say that, but you never have the heart to hit! I’m not talking to you, going back to sleep! I still have to recite the Three Character Classic later!"

Lady Ma grumbled something indistinctly, but the cheeky boy in the latrine only laughed even more joyously. Even Lady Yang from the North Room scolded, "You little rascal, get back to bed! If you can’t recite the Three Character Classic later, I won’t care if your uncle spanks your palms!"

The laugh in the latrine did not cease.

A male voice came from the side room first, "It’s okay, mother. I won’t spank his palms, I’ll spank his bottom this time!"

Thunk!

The laughing rascal suddenly fell silent, the sound of urination stopped immediately, followed by the sound of hurriedly slapped-on slippers running back.

Peering through the crack at Lin Yonghe’s retreating figure dashing into the room as if flying, even Lin Jiaxin and the others couldn’t help but smile, and Xiao Yongyan’s gaze seemed a touch warmer.

"You little scoundrel, hurry up and get on the bed!"

"Oh no, Aunt, he peed on my shoes!"

"Serves you right!"

"Enough, enough, get to sleep. I’ll clean it for you later, Aunt!"

Listening to the noisy chatter inside the house, Lin Jiaxin slowly withdrew his hand from the gate and turned to leave, leading the way.

Mr. and Mrs. Liu exchanged a glance and also closed the gate behind them as they left.

Perhaps it was a good thing that neither Lin Jiaxiao nor Li Feng’e wanted the boys, as the twins were likely better off with Lin Jiazhong and his spouse than with parents like theirs.

Back at the Lin family’s, Xiao Linshuang had already returned home; too tired from playing, she had washed up and gone to bed for a nap. freewёbnoνel.com

Lin Wei had finished preparing the fabric intended as gifts. Upon seeing her parents return, she pointed at a large bundle beside her and said, "These clothes and fabrics in the bundle are for grandma and the others. When should we send them over? Now?"

Naturally, Lin Jiaxin didn’t concern himself with these matters, but Lady Liu thought it over and said, "Let’s send them over now. The gate isn’t bolted, so we can leave it in the courtyard. I guess they wouldn’t accept it if we handed it to them directly."

Lady Liu was thoughtful; though there were no old grievances between the two families anymore, Lin Jiazhong still had his pride and would surely not accept their charity. Even if it were not charity, it would still feel uncomfortable to him.

Lin Yuan and Lin Wei, the sisters, carried the large bundle to the Lin Family Old House together. This time when they entered the courtyard they made no sound, likely because the family was still asleep.

After placing the bundle on a small stool in the courtyard, Lin Yuan and Lin Wei tiptoed out and closed the gate behind them.