Ger, So Proud

Chapter 67

“Cough, cough—”

At the sound of coughing, Lin Yu’s face flushed red. He pushed He Ze away hastily. “Mom…”

Behind them, Zhang Su stood holding a wooden bucket in one hand and a ladle of stove ash in the other, his eyes averted. He then crouched down to clean the dirt on the ground.

Lin Yu glared at He Ze, who for once looked a bit embarrassed and immediately sat up straight.

The courtyard fell silent until Zhang Su finished cleaning and returned to the kitchen.

“It’s all your fault!”

“My fault, my fault,” He Ze nodded very naturally. “Are you… embarrassed?”

“Embarrassed about what…”

Seeing Zhang Su come out of the kitchen, Lin Yu instantly quieted down.

“Bullying Xiao Ze again?” Zhang Su asked reproachfully as he approached with a porcelain bowl. “I noticed it’s cold outside, so I brought you something warm to try.”

“Dad—” I wasn’t!

Lin Yu pinched He Ze’s arm hard. He Ze endured the pain but kept smiling.

Lin Yu gradually eased his grip.

Zhang Su saw all their little actions and smiled, shaking his head. He placed the porcelain bowl on the table. Inside, the golden-brown fried cakes were steaming hot.

“These are made of glutinous rice. Xiao Yu likes sweets, so I added some sugar. Xiao Ze, you try it too and see how Uncle’s cooking is.”

“Thank you, Uncle Zhang.”

He Ze first handed one to Lin Yu, then picked up one for himself and took a bite. It was sweet and sticky, with a crispy outer layer—truly delicious.

“Do you like sweets?”

“…It’s alright,” Lin Yu swallowed and then added, “I like tasty food.”

“Glutton,” He Ze chuckled, picking up another cake and breaking off a small piece to feed Lin Yu. “This one’s fried a bit darker; doesn’t it taste better?”

Zhang Su’s smile deepened. “That was fried yesterday. I reheated the leftovers today. You two enjoy, and if Xiao Ze likes the taste, I’ll make more next time and you can take some back for An-g.”

“Thank you, Uncle Zhang. Xiao An also likes these snacks.”

They chatted for a while. When Lin Yu had almost finished eating, He Ze fed him the last piece of cake and then got up to leave.

Zhang Su saw him out of the courtyard. When he returned, Lin Yu was gulping down a cup of tea.

“What’s wrong?”

“I choked…”

Lin Yu cleared his throat and instinctively touched his stomach. “He Ze kept stuffing food into my mouth; I won’t be able to eat dinner later.”

“You!” Zhang Su glared at him playfully. “Xiao Ze is being kind to you, and you don’t appreciate it? You’re getting married soon; you need to be more gentle. I saw you; who pinches their own husband like that?”

“Dad…” Lin Yu bit his lip, a smile spreading across his face.

“Still smiling! It’s lucky for you that it’s Xiao Ze!” Zhang Su sat at the table, then suddenly remembered something. “Oh, and you two need to be careful. The wedding isn’t until next year. What will people think if they see you like that?”

“…”

“But I trust Xiao Ze. He wouldn’t do anything inappropriate,” Zhang Su smiled again. “He’s younger than you, so you need to take care of him and be gentle. Don’t scare him off!”

“Dad, if he were that easily scared, he would’ve run away a long time ago.” Seeing Zhang Su like this, Lin Yu suddenly felt a bit neglected.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Pah, pah, pah!” Zhang Su spat on the ground and stomped a few times. When he looked up, he sighed. “Actually, seeing you two so happy makes me very glad. If only your father could see this…”

“Dad, Father can see it. He’s watching from above.”

“Yes, he can see.” Zhang Su patted Lin Yu’s hand, his eyes unfocused. “Your father and I waited so long for this day. We can’t let anyone ruin it.”

“Dad!”

Lin Yu grasped Zhang Su’s hand tightly. He snapped out of his thoughts and smiled gently at him.

The howling cold wind carried away the last bit of light as the sky grew completely dark.

…

Meanwhile, after leaving Lin Yu’s house, He Ze went to see Liu San and didn’t return home until after the hour of Xu.

By then, the family had already finished dinner, and Dad Li had reheated a meal for him.

When he finished eating, He An had already coaxed Dad Li to bed. He Ze pulled He Youcai into the room and took the silver from his money pouch, placing it on the table.

The silver glinted brightly, totaling eighty-two taels.

He Youcai nearly fainted from shock. “Where did this come from?”

“The gambling house,” He Ze answered honestly.

The room fell silent for a good half-minute before a flurry of noise erupted.

“Father, take it easy, or you’ll wake up Dad!” He Ze leaned against the wooden cabinet, facing off with He Youcai, who was brandishing a stool.

He had anticipated this scene; there was no way to lie about taking out eighty taels at once.

“Don’t bring up your dad; it’s useless! You little brat, how long have you been behaving yourself? Are you saying all the words I told you on the day of your engagement meant nothing?”

He Youcai’s beard trembled with rage. Before he finished speaking, he charged at He Ze with the stool.

“Father, this time was just an accident, the last time, I promise!”

“Accident? Every time you screw up, you call it an accident! You’ve never been this bold before. Now you think you can do whatever you want!”

The stool fell over, cups shattered, and the father and son chased each other around, the conflict dragging on.

“Father, believe me. I met a fortune-teller in town today. He said I was in for some good luck, so I thought I’d give it a try. Look, I won, didn’t I?”

“Won? Lucky for you. If you’d lost, I wouldn’t just be using a stool!” He Youcai, panting and half-bent over with one hand on the table, looked at him with a mix of sorrow and anger. “You’ve learned nothing good, only how to follow in your grandfather’s footsteps. Your dad and I spent over ten years paying off his gambling debts. What, you think life is too easy now and want me to spend my old age paying off your debts too?”

At the mention of “grandfather,” He Ze’s expression suddenly changed.

He had forgotten something important!

“Father, it’s my fault. Go ahead, hit me.”

Seeing He Youcai’s rage, He Ze lowered his head and walked up to him.

“You…”

He Youcai raised and lowered the stool repeatedly, but after a while, he still hadn’t hit He Ze.

“Father?”

“…Do you know what you did wrong?” He Youcai kept a stern face and let out a cold snort.

“I know.”

For the next quarter of an hour, He Ze racked his brains to make a series of deep reflections and promises, which finally softened He Youcai’s expression.

“Father, please calm down. This is the last time, and it won’t happen again!”

He Youcai cast a sidelong glance at him.

“Then calm down for now. I have something serious to discuss with you.”

Seeing that He Youcai ignored him, He Ze sat at the table and explained in detail his plan to open a shop in town.

“Father, I was just worried about not having enough capital, so I went to try my luck. I only brought a few taels with me, and if I had lost, I would have left immediately.”

“…If you had the idea, why didn’t you discuss it with me or your dad? Our family could have come up with a solution together. Why did you have to go to a gambling house!”

“Father—”

“Enough. I was just too angry earlier. Ultimately, it’s my fault as your father for not being capable enough! If I were more capable, you wouldn’t feel the need to take everything upon yourself.”

He Youcai glanced at He Ze and suddenly sighed. Before He Ze could speak, he continued in a heartfelt tone, “The gambling house is not a good place. You may have won today, but there will always be a day when you lose. Eventually, you’ll gamble everything away! If you know you were wrong, remember it well and never go there again. Understand?”

“I’ll remember.”

“Good. You were lucky this time and really won a lot of silver. But what’s this about selling flowers? No one in our family has ever dealt with that. If you lose…”

“Father, when we started growing Bai Zhi, we had no experience either, but the plants grew well, didn’t they? Besides, do you remember the last flower I sold? One plant was worth twenty taels.”

He Ze’s words were full of temptation.

“This…”

“Father, let’s just try it. After all, this money was won, so we won’t feel bad if we lose it. Moreover, growing flowers doesn’t cost much, and there are flowers in bloom all year round. The main expense is the shop, but Flower Bird Alley is much cheaper than other markets. If we stop later, we can always transfer the shop to someone else without losing much.”

After hearing He Ze’s words, He Youcai remained silent for a long time. “I’ll think about it. This needs to be discussed with your dad. Opening a shop in town is no small matter…”

“Of course, take your time to discuss it,” He Ze said, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to He Youcai. “That’s just one thing. There’s another matter I need your opinion on.”

“What is it?”

“I went to Lin Yu’s house on my way back and saw the Lin family causing trouble. I scared them off, but this can’t go on.”

He Ze then mentioned how the Lin family wanted to arrange a new marriage for Lin Yu. He Youcai immediately slammed the table. “The Lin family is too much! Do they think this is their territory?”

He Ze didn’t respond. He poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. “Father, I want to visit the clan leader tomorrow.”

“The clan leader?” He Youcai pondered for a moment. “Yes, you should go. We can’t let outsiders trample on us. If the clan doesn’t speak up, we need to address this seriously!”

The father and son reached an agreement and discussed the details. After about half an hour, the oil lamp that had been burning all evening was finally extinguished.

The outside was pitch black, with the moon completely hidden by thick clouds, and only the sound of the cold wind howling could be faintly heard.

It seemed like the weather was about to change again.

…

He Ze went to the clan leader’s house in the afternoon the next day.

In the morning, he made a trip to town, postponed his appointment with Cai Xing by a few days, and bought some meat, food, and two taels of high-quality tea. Then he hurried back.

As a junior visiting an elder’s house, he had to bring something, especially when he had a request.

He Youcai had originally planned to come along, but He Ze declined. With He Youcai present, it would have been difficult to discuss certain matters.

The current clan leader of the He family village was named He Hong. It was said that he had passed the imperial examination as a scholar when he was young, and he had changed his name himself. He Ze should formally address him as Third Grandfather.

He Hong had been in his position for over ten years, elected by the clan. Whatever else, his character was above reproach; after all, the villagers weren’t blind.

His house was in the center of the village, not far from the ancestral hall.

He Ze recalled what he knew about the clan leader as he walked, but just as he looked up, he saw Lin Yu and Zhang Su coming out of the courtyard gate.

The author has something to say: Lin Yu: I feel neglected qaq—Haha, there’s a saying that a mother-in-law grows more satisfied with her son-in-law over time 233333