Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 374 - 369: His Father Isn’t Like Him

After stepping out of the house, she saw Xu Dagui weaving a bamboo basket in the courtyard. "Da Gui, if your hand isn’t well, you shouldn’t be making these."

"It’s fine, it’s almost healed," Xu Dagui said sincerely, shaking his head. He added, "Let Ling’er go and watch, I’ll take him, he won’t get lost."

"I’ve already agreed to it, don’t spoil him," Lin Qiao said earnestly.

Hearing her reply, Xu Dagui grinned, "We’re not spoiling him, he listens."

She found it hard to believe they weren’t spoiling him, but Lin Qiao didn’t say anything further. She turned and went to the kitchen to prepare things for tomorrow’s stall at the dock.

She was busy all afternoon, and after dinner, Lin Qiao had Lin Ling take a bath before bringing him inside to sleep. Xu Dagui slept in another room.

The next day, before dawn.

Lin Ling had already gotten up and dressed himself. Beside him, Lin Qiao yawned and glanced at him, feeling somewhat content seeing him already dressed. Ah, being his mother really saved her some worries.

Seeing her yawn, Lin Ling leaned over and kissed her, promising in his childish voice, "Mom, when I grow up, I’ll take care of you and Mr. Xu, so you can sleep every day."

Children’s words always make one laugh and cry at the same time. Sleeping every day, isn’t that almost like being dead?

Lin Qiao hugged him on her lap, tying his hair, "Then you should study well, or you’ll end up like Jiang Ergou, lifting stones every day."

"I won’t lift stones. I want to be like Dad."

Lin Ling looked at her simple yet beautiful face and added, "Mom, why are you so pretty? No wonder I’m pretty too."

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, "I don’t know who taught you to say that."

"I’m not lying, Mom looks good, so I look good too."

"Your dad is the one who looks good."

"Does Daddy look good too?"

"If your dad didn’t look good, how would you?"

"Am I like Daddy?"

"More or less."

Apart from knowing that her father was "gone," Lin Qiao hadn’t kept anything else from him about his father. Children are sensitive, and avoiding the topic might not be good.

Lin Ling stared at her, thought for a moment, and whispered, "Mom, do you not like Mr. Xu because Daddy was too good-looking?"

These words from a five-year-old caught Lin Qiao off guard and she choked, "Don’t talk nonsense. I’ve told you, Mr. Xu and I are siblings."

Lin Ling felt a bit disappointed. His eyes shifted, and he naively said, "Then Mom should find another one, no, two then you won’t have to work." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"..."

Lin Qiao’s mouth twitched, choosing not to respond to avoid not being able to sell things today.

They reached the dock just as the sky began to lighten.

Xu Dagui efficiently set up the stall, while Lin Qiao arranged the vegetables. Lin Ling sat on a small bench, mimicking the vendors opposite him, "Come and eat, big and tasty steamed buns, three cents for two, with free rice soup."

His shout attracted a strong man preparing for work who came over, "Ling’er is calling out again, here, get two buns for Uncle." He handed three cents to Lin Ling.

Lin Ling counted the coins, then jumped off the bench to get a paper bag and grabbed two buns for him, moving skillfully like a little adult.

"Uncle, come back at noon for noodles. I’ll ask Mom to add more meat for you."

"Alright, make sure there’s extra meat." The man took a big bite of the bun, and Xu Dagui handed him a bowl of rice soup.

A while later, after finishing one bun, the man said cheerfully, "Your buns are the best, so soft."

"Everything my mom makes is delicious. Uncle, would you like to try a meat bun? It’s stuffed with a lot of meat." Lin Ling took the chance to promote.

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but chuckle, "Enough, let Uncle eat. He still has work to do."

The man glanced at the buns in the steamer. He knew how delicious the meat buns were, but they were a bit expensive, costing three cents each.

He hesitated for a moment, "Wrap two for me, I’ll take them home for my daughter."

"Uncle, I’ll charge you five cents. Come back again next time." Lin Ling happily wrapped two meat buns for him.

The man, naturally pleased, glanced at the two adults, who had no objections. He quickly paid the five cents and praised, "You’re so young and already doing business, you’ll make big money in the future."

"It’s all taught by my parents." Lin Ling addressed Xu Dagui as Dad publicly; his mom said it would reduce a lot of troubles.

He knew people would bully them if they thought he didn’t have a dad.

The man, smiling, rubbed his head, "If I had a child like you, that would be great."

"You definitely can," Lin Ling seriously nodded.

So young yet able to flatter, Lin Qiao was puzzled since she hadn’t taught him these things.

His father wasn’t like this either.

They had been setting up their stall here for three to four months. Many people knew them, and gradually more people came by. Before long, all their buns and bread were sold out.

Xu Dagui went to wash the rice soup bowls, and Lin Qiao prepared the lunch dishes.

Lin Ling was busy counting the money beside them, counting it over and over. Finally, he threaded the coins on a string and handed them to Lin Qiao, "Mom, a hundred and thirty-six cents."

"Good boy."

Lin Qiao looked up and saw his cheeks were flushed. She quickly put down the vegetables, then took a clean cloth, dampened it, and wiped his face, "Sit and rest a bit."

"I’m not tired. Mom, you rest, I can sort the vegetables. I’ve learned from Mr. Xu." Lin Ling smiled, his cheeks puffing with baby fat, looking so much like someone.

Lin Qiao was momentarily lost in thought. After a moment, she came back to her senses and gently tapped his nose, "Go play, Xiaoya is waiting for you," she said and glanced towards a nearby biscuit stall, mischievously winking.

"No, I don’t want to play. The teacher said boys and girls shouldn’t be too close."

Lin Ling leaned in and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Xiaoya has a runny nose, not pretty."

Lin Qiao: "..."

She couldn’t help but laugh, lightly poking his forehead, "Don’t be like that. You can’t judge friends by looks, you need to look at their heart," she said, feeling a bit guilty.

"But if they’re not pretty, I don’t want to make friends." Lin Ling’s little face wrinkled with difficulty.

Lin Qiao: "..."

Forget it, he’s just like her.

By noon, it was much busier than earlier. Lin Qiao and the others were so busy they couldn’t keep up. Once noon passed, it quieted down, and the three of them started packing up to head home.

They basically never ate outside.

...

Meanwhile, in Qing’an Village

A group of soldiers entered the village, going door to door with a notification, "Everyone, come out. Adults and children must come out, assess the household, not a single person missing."

The village chief assisted with the announcement, and soon many people gathered at the village entrance.

A man in a black tunic, with deep eyes, carefully scanned the crowd but didn’t find the person he was looking for. His gaze darkened.

He pressed his lips together, his voice cold and devoid of warmth, "Check the people."

The man in a deep blue garment next to him quickly said to the village chief, "Check the people, see if anyone’s missing. Check carefully, if one person is missing, you’ll be held accountable!"

The village chief nodded fearfully. By now, those who had gone to the market were mostly back. After counting each one several times, there were a hundred and thirty-four people. The village had a hundred and thirty-seven people in total, so three were missing.

Perhaps scared out of his wits, he counted repeatedly but couldn’t tell which families hadn’t come. "Who hasn’t arrived? Hurry and speak up."