Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 283 - 278: So He Can Still Soothe His Wife
Lin Qiao naturally nodded. Seeing that she was about to say something, she quickly added, "Tingfan is very considerate."
Li Guifen swallowed her words back, "I knew this child was considerate."
"Even though he is considerate, you should also be considerate to him."
Lin Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, "How am I not considerate?"
She almost treated Song Tingfan like an ancestor. If she could, she would worship him like an ancestor.
Li Guifen gave her a playful look, "Then have a few more kids for Tingfan. You know that Song’s second family only has him as a descendant."
Clearly, the consideration Li Guifen was talking about was different from hers. Lin Qiao was getting a headache from the pressure to have children and eventually passed the buck to Song Tingfan, "Well, that’s not something I can decide. Whether we have kids depends on him."
Upon hearing this, Li Guifen’s pupils dilated. She glanced at the two daughters-in-law who were eavesdropping and then asked in a low voice, "Can’t do it?"
Lin Qiao’s mouth twitched. Could it be that Li Guifen had a modern soul?
Just as she was about to say something, Lin Xushi suddenly raised her voice, "Yes, yes, the little wife from the Chang Family can cook very well. Last time I passed by, the smell made me drool."
The others immediately understood someone had arrived. Li Guifen quickly responded, "I had it once, and it was indeed delicious."
Lin Qiao slightly turned her head and saw Song Tingfan coming in. His clothes were obviously wet, and she instinctively stood up to get a dry cloth from the kitchen, "Quick, dry yourself, don’t catch a cold."
Song Tingfan took the cloth, with warmth in his eyes, "Okay."
Lin Han wanted to get clothes for him to change into, but Song Tingfan shook his head, "No need, it’s not that wet."
After talking for a while without changing his clothes, Li Guifen had to urge them to go back. Once home, Lin Qiao handed him a set of clothes to change into, then left the room.
The cat in the main hall lazily sprawled on the bench. Hearing the noise, it glanced over, yawned, and then rubbed against her, "Meow, meow."
Lin Qiao picked it up and put it on her lap, "You’ve gotten fatter, have you been sneaking food?"
The cat rubbed against her hand, then closed its eyes and fell asleep again.
Lin Qiao was used to it, petted it twice, and helped Song Qin and the others with the peanuts and beans. Before dawn today, Song Tingfan brought back three pig trotters, gave two to the Lin Family, and kept one for themselves.
After a while, Song Tingfan came out, glanced at the cat in Lin Qiao’s arms, then went over to pick it up and put it on the chair beside him, "It has fleas."
Rural cats usually have fleas.
An empty spot remained at the square table, but he pretended not to see it, sat next to Lin Qiao, and grabbed a handful of peanuts to shell.
The rain outside gradually stopped, and soon the sun dispelled the gloom, and the village came back to life.
While Lin Qiao was in the kitchen stewing pig trotters, Zhou Tiedan brought a hen over. He didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose, "Tingfan, do you know where there are raspberries in the mountains? My wife craves them a lot during her pregnancy, and I couldn’t find any after searching for half a day."
Although Song Tingfan hadn’t been to the mountains for three years, he still knew where there were raspberries. Thinking about the pig trotters that had just been put on the stove, he said, "I’ll go and find some."
"Thank you, Tingfan. I’ll go with you, so I’ll know where they are next time," Zhou Tiedan said simplistically.
Song Tingfan went back into the house to fetch his bow and arrow, then went to the kitchen and looked at the woman bending over to stoke the fire, "Qiao’er, I’m going out for a while, I’ll be back before dinner."
"Okay, be careful going up the mountain," Lin Qiao heard Zhou Tiedan’s words and didn’t ask further.
Once out of the courtyard, Zhou Tiedan teased Song Tingfan with a smile, "I knew you were always thinking about your sister-in-law, now that you’ve got your wish, are you happy?"
Song Tingfan ignored him, and Zhou Tiedan, who was used to it, added, "When will you have a daughter so we can set up an arranged marriage with mine?"
After those words, Song Tingfan shot him a glance, "If you don’t shut up, I’ll go back now."
"Alright, alright, I’ll shut up," Zhou Tiedan immediately quieted down.
The mountain road was slippery and difficult to walk. Zhou Tiedan stumbled several times, while Song Tingfan walked steadily beside him. Puzzled, he asked, "You’re slipping?"
"If you walk steadily, it’s not slippery. Your body is too weak," Song Tingfan said matter-of-factly, considering this road was already comparatively easy to traverse.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tiedan felt insulted and defended his masculinity with a raised chin, "I’m not weak, my wife is pregnant with our child."
Song Tingfan gave him a look as if he were a fool, then ignored him.
After walking for a while, they came across a patch of raspberry bushes, which seemed to have been washed down by the rain. There were many good raspberries on the ground.
However, Zhou Tiedan didn’t dare to pick the ones on the ground and carefully picked those within reach. Song Tingfan, thinking of something, walked a little further to pick.
Zhou Tiedan glimpsed at him and laughed, "I thought you were a block of wood, but you actually know how to please your wife."
"You have to pamper your wife more; only then will she sweeten things for you."
Song Tingfan pressed his lips, "If you don’t speak, no one would take you for a mute."
He didn’t pick much, just enough to gather a handful, wrapped it in large tree leaves, and put it in his sleeve. Then he helped Zhou Tiedan pick more.
The sun came out, and the mountains became lively. Suddenly, there was a somewhat abrupt sound of a wild pheasant, "Cluck, cluck!!"
Both of them looked over simultaneously. The next moment, Song Tingfan quickly raised his bow and shot in a certain direction, then took big strides towards it.
By the time Zhou Tiedan realized what had happened, Song Tingfan had already gotten the pheasant. With a mix of shock and admiration, he said, "You’re still good at hunting. A few days ago, my dad and a few others caught a pheasant, but even four or five of them couldn’t keep it from flying off."
Song Tingfan handed the pheasant to him, but Zhou Tiedan quickly backed away a few steps, "I appreciate your kindness, but I can’t handle blood. Otherwise, it’ll affect my wife, who’s been feeling nauseous during her pregnancy and can’t stand any fishy smells."
Hearing this, Song Tingfan stepped back a tael or two. He pressed his lips, "Is pregnancy very uncomfortable?"
"It’s really quite uncomfortable. I used to think, what could be so hard about it? But then I saw my wife unable to eat or sleep well," Zhou Tiedan said, full of heartache.
Song Tingfan, with his eyes lowered, seemed to be pondering something, "Should we keep picking?"
"No, it’s enough. I’ll come back after my wife finishes these," Zhou Tiedan replied cheerfully.
After they descended the mountain, they parted ways. Song Tingfan hadn’t reached home when he saw Lin Qiao by the river washing vegetables. Although she was wearing plain clothes like the other women and had her head lowered, he could always tell it was her.
It felt as if it was imprinted in his heart.
Just as he was about to quicken his pace, someone called out to him, "Tingfan."
Upon hearing the voice, Lin Qiao looked over and saw a man and a woman standing together not far away, looking quite compatible at first glance.
She had always thought that Zhou Baoying and Song Tingfan made a good male and female lead.
She watched for a moment and didn’t disturb them, then carried the washed vegetables back home.
Perhaps it never crossed her mind that her "understanding nature" appeared as anger to the antagonist’s eyes.
"I have something to do, I’m leaving first," Song Tingfan said as he saw her going home and quickly followed her.
When he reached the doorstep, the woman had just entered the kitchen. He quickly followed her in.
