Chapter 14: A New Home

Lin Qinghuan had no idea what was going through Erniu’s mind. If she did, she would have laughed out loud. Erniu was just too cute.

The gates of the Xiao residence were wide open. Da Bao and Xiao Bao waited at the entrance, their eyes fixed on the road, as if they could bore a hole through the horizon.

“Pretty sister!”

“Pretty sister!”

They shouted at the same time. Lin Qinghuan scooped up one child in each arm. “Let’s go inside.”

The first time she came here, she had been nervous, focused only on saving her brother. She hadn’t taken a good look around.

Now she saw that Xiao Hanting was truly a good catch for marriage. He hadn’t given up on life just because of his crippled leg. Instead, he had struggled through the mud to carve out his own path.

He had also raised the two children well. The house was spotless, and the care showed in every small detail.

Erniu helped her put away the things and then left. She had only come back to the village temporarily and learned about what happened to the Lin family. Now she had to go to the county to pick up her parents’ medicine receipt.

“Come to me if anything happens. If those people from the Lin family try to call you back, don’t be soft-hearted.” Erniu warned again, worried that Lin Qinghuan would repeat her mistakes.

“Don’t worry, I’m determined to cut ties with them this time.” Lin Qinghuan saw her to the door, then turned back.

She looked over the house’s layout inside and out. Besides the room where Xiao Hanting slept, there was only a firewood room piled with杂物.

She would have to clean that out for Qingyu to stay in for now.

But she believed Qingyu wouldn’t mind. After all, the room they had in the Lin family wasn’t much better. Here, at least, they had much more freedom.

“Qingyu, move everything in here to the kitchen. I’ll go fetch water to scrub it down.”

Lin Qingyu rolled up his sleeves and started hauling things with great energy.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao clamored to help, trailing behind Lin Qingyu like tails.

This would be their new home from now on. They had to work together to make it the best it could be.

Lin Qinghuan stepped into Xiao Hanting’s room. Since she was moving in, she had to say hello.

“Did everything go well? The Lin family didn’t give you trouble?” Xiao Hanting put down his book and looked at her with concern.

His attitude was completely different from the last time she came.

Now that Lin Qinghuan had publicly severed ties with the Lin family in front of the whole village and declared she would marry him, of course he had to show his stance and care for her properly.

“No, when I went to find Qingyu, I happened to run into Magistrate Ma inspecting the area. He came with me to Peach Blossom Village to settle things.”

Hearing the name “Magistrate Ma,” Xiao Hanting frowned slightly. The previous magistrate had been a useless drunkard. He hadn’t expected the new one to be upright and impartial. It seemed the county would be peaceful for a while.

“That’s good. For now, Qingyu will have to make do with the firewood room. Once the weather warms up, I’ll hire a craftsman to repair the house.”

Xiao Hanting’s expression carried a hint of guilt. In the past, it was just him and the children, three people living in one room, so he hadn’t thought much about it.

But now he had to. There were two more people in the house, and it was his responsibility.

“It’s fine. I’ll go find a craftsman myself when the time comes.” Lin Qinghuan waved her hand dismissively.

In her eyes, her marriage to Xiao Hanting was a transaction. If she could avoid troubling others, she would.

“Also, I can’t accept this golden lock. I know you had the children bring it to give me face so the Lin family wouldn’t look down on me. But this lock is clearly precious and important to you. Now I’m returning it to its rightful owner.”

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