Chapter 109: The Winters Back Then Were So Cold!
Having obtained two hundred taels of silver and dealt with the He Clan Leader and the Old Daoist Priest who came to cause trouble, Lin Xin’s mood was extremely pleasant. That same day, she prepared a table of delicious dishes, satisfying everyone.
Back home, Gao Yong was still savoring the taste of the last piece of sweet and sour ribs, his eyes turning as he looked at Mo Ziyuan: “Hey Zi Yuan, Miss Lin was bullied like that, and you just stood there watching without doing anything?”
Mo Ziyuan turned his head, staring at him intently with his dark eyes, and asked: “What ideas do you have?”
Gao Yong slapped his thigh, “That old bastard was dealt with by Miss Lin last time, but he turned around and found a Daoist priest to exorcise her. After suffering such a big loss this time, what do you think he’ll do? He’s probably plotting something bad again! I say Miss Lin is too soft-hearted and didn’t hit hard enough. People like that need to be properly taught a harsh lesson so he can’t bounce back!”
Chu Yu also chimed in: “This time I’m on Brother Yong’s side. Those Daoists probably won’t come again, but that He Clan Leader lives in the village. Who knows when he’ll cause trouble again. Miss Lin isn’t afraid of him, but it’s just annoying!”
“See, I told you! I’m not the only one who can’t stand it.” Gao Yong draped his arm over Chu Yu’s shoulder, chatting like close brothers.
“What do you plan to do? We just had this commotion today, and if something happens at the He Clan Leader’s house tomorrow, anyone would suspect Miss Lin! Do you want to help her vent or bring trouble to her?” Mo Ziyuan said irritably.
“Well······” Gao Yong thought about it and realized he was right, shrinking his neck and muttering unhappily: “So we’re just letting this go?”
“Of course not,” Mo Ziyuan coughed dryly to clear his throat and said: “We’ll keep a close eye on his family. If he starts brewing any bad ideas, we’ll nip it in the bud as soon as we see the signs.”
“That’s all we can do,” Gao Yong sighed, “Staying cooped up here all day is really too boring. We do need something to do.”
So, unbeknownst to Lin Xin, Mo Ziyuan and the others began watching the He Clan Leader’s family. Whenever he came up with an idea to deal with Lin Xin, something would happen at his home the next day—sometimes the pigs they raised would mysteriously die, sometimes someone would break a leg falling while going up the mountain. Everyone said it was because they bullied someone’s daughter, angering Lin Lao Er and suffering retribution.
Eventually, the He Clan Leader settled down. He had no choice—his two sons gave him a stern warning. If he provoked Lin Xin again, they would move out of the village. Who could endure getting injured every few days!
With this, Lin Xin finally had complete peace.
Time passed bit by bit, and soon it was New Year.
Lin Xin had long prepared plenty of peanuts, melon seeds, candies, preserves, and the like. In the apocalypse, days were uncertain, and even eating enough was hard—who had the mood for New Year? Now in this zombie-free space with clean air, she naturally wanted to make up for what she had missed. Anyway, she wasn’t short on money.
Mo Ziyuan also brought her many pastries unavailable here, all from the capital city. Lin Xin particularly liked one kind, lotus seed crisps, and sometimes even replaced dinner with them at night.
Lin Nan lodged a serious protest against this, and Lin Tao waved his little hands, shouting: “Rice rice, eat rice rice.”
Helpless, Lin Xin gave up her favorite and returned to normal three meals a day.
This New Year, Lin Xin spent at Mo Ziyuan’s home with Lin Nan and Lin Tao. Since the apocalypse began, she had never had such a lively New Year!
Moreover, even before the apocalypse, modern people didn’t have as many customs for New Year as ancient people. She had gained some knowledge this time.
The New Year’s Eve dinner was eaten at separate tables. Lin Xin, Lin Nan, Lin Tao, Cui Shi, and Meng Yichen at one table; Gao Yong and the others at another. As Cui Shi put it, if they ate together, they probably wouldn’t get a few bites before crawling under the table.
At first, Lin Xin didn’t understand, but when they actually started eating, she got it. Gao Yong and the others weren’t eating—they were treating wine like food. They emptied seven or eight wine jars, barely touching the dishes on the table with their chopsticks. If you weren’t a good drinker, you’d indeed crawl under the table after a few bites.
Lin Xin and the others didn’t eat much and didn’t drink much, finishing quickly. After clearing the table, they set out fruits, pastries, candies, and preserves, waiting to boil dumplings and stay up for the New Year. Figuring the others wouldn’t finish soon, the academic god Lin Nan dragged Meng Yichen off to review homework.
Cui Shi, not to be outdone, trotted after them happily.
Lin Tao, full, was drowsy, nestling in Lin Xin’s arms with half-closed eyes. He occasionally glanced at the drinking noise from the other side but stayed well-behaved.
The drinking over there continued until after the dumplings were eaten before breaking up. No matter how good their tolerance, they couldn’t handle that much—everyone was staggering drunk, unable to walk straight. In the end, Lin Xin carried them one by one, with Meng Yichen supporting from the side, delivering them back to their rooms.
“Miss Lin, thanks for the hard work. Go back and rest early!” After sending off the last one, Mo Ziyuan, Meng Yichen stood at the door and said to Lin Xin.
“Got it,” Lin Xin smiled at him, “Mister Meng, Happy New Year!”
Meng Yichen’s body shook. He looked up at Lin Xin’s bright smiling face, his heart a mix of emotions. He nodded, cupped his hands, and said: “Miss Lin, Happy New Year!”
The two parted at Mo Ziyuan’s room door, one going left, the other right.
They didn’t know that behind the room door right beside them, Mo Ziyuan had been peeking. Only after they separated and returned to their rooms did he heave a heavy sigh, stumble dizzily back onto the kang, and after a while, bury his face in the quilt, chuckling foolishly “hehe.”
In the middle of the night, the biting north wind howled, snowflakes began falling from heaven, turning into large clumps like cotton wads. By dawn, the snow in the courtyard was a foot thick, reaching Lin Xin’s calves.
“Miss Lin, the snow is too heavy, and the roads outside are bad. Just stay here for a few days!” Mo Ziyuan walked over and said to Lin Xin, who was reaching out to catch the snow.
Lin Xin thought about it. Before coming, she had stored everything important in her space; what remained was just rice, flour, and such. So she nodded in agreement.
A gust of north wind blew, snow clumps mixed with flakes covering their heads and faces. The icy chill made Lin Xin shudder involuntarily.
At the start of the apocalypse, there had been a period of extreme cold weather. Her supernatural ability was still weak then, insufficient against the harsh conditions. Fortunately, she was at a resort village and barely survived by burning everything flammable.
“Miss Lin?” Her arm was touched, snapping her out of her daze. She wiped the snow melting into water on her face and looked at Mo Ziyuan: “What’s up?”
“What were you just thinking about?” Mo Ziyuan asked uneasily. In that instant, he felt Lin Xin seemed especially ethereal, as if she no longer belonged to this world and could be blown away by the wind.
“Nothing,” Lin Xin smiled, “Just thinking about old times. The winters back then were really cold!” She glanced at the gray-blue sky again and murmured.
