Chapter 124 - 123: Father Lin’s Gift
Zhao Wendong was overjoyed. He could clearly feel that the couple’s attitude toward him was much warmer than before. A great weight was lifted from his heart; he knew that things between him and Lin Zhiyin were as good as settled.
He deliberately put on a pitiful expression as he looked at them.
"Uncle, Auntie, please don’t be so hard on her. Even though she’s always bullying me and being mean, what can I do? I’m in love with her!"
"She even tricked me, spending all day with her face painted up with those awful scribbles. I really thought that’s what she looked like! But then, on this trip, she suddenly became so beautiful. I feel like I’m dreaming. No, not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined she was deliberately making herself look ugly. Now I’m worried she’ll sell me one of these days and I’ll be the one helping her count the cash!"
"Hahaha!"
Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu found his words and his expression so amusing that they couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
"Don’t worry, Wendong! If she dares to trick you, just tell us. We’ll sort her out for you!"
"That’s right!"
The two of them both encouraged Zhao Wendong, showing that they were on his side.
Hearing her parents’ words, Lin Zhiyin rolled her eyes. She looked at Zhao Wendong’s smug, triumphant expression—the face of a petty man who had gotten his way—and wished she could pin him to the ground and flatten him into a photograph.
"By the way, Wendong, this is our first real meeting, and I don’t have much of a gift, but I’d like you to have this!"
Lin Huaimin pulled something from an inner pocket of his tattered cotton-padded jacket and held it out to Zhao Wendong.
Zhao Wendong took a closer look and was so surprised he immediately started waving his hands in refusal.
"No, no, this is far too valuable! Uncle, I can’t accept this!"
It was a pocket watch that looked quite old. Considering Lin Huaimin’s circumstances, the fact that he’d kept it in such good condition showed just how much care he had invested in it. In this era, the only other person Zhao Wendong had seen with such an item was Jiang Weimin and his old wristwatch, so he knew just how valuable these things were.
"Wendong, your uncle is giving it to you, so just take it!"
Wang Lulu chimed in to persuade him. She hadn’t expected her husband to give this watch to Zhao Wendong. It was his most prized possession, the only personal item he had managed to keep. He polished it every day, saying that time was the most precious thing and that he needed to always be aware of it so as not to waste it.
"This pocket watch was passed down to me by my father. After the trouble with our family, we lost everything. This watch was all that was left. I check it every day; it’s very accurate. This is a token of my regard, Wendong. Don’t refuse it. Take it."
"No, no, Uncle. I can’t take away what you cherish. I really can’t accept it. Besides, I’m always out in the woods. I just tell time by the sun—I go out when it rises and come home when it sets. I wouldn’t have any use for it. And what’s more, it’s a family heirloom passed down from your elders. I can’t take away something so dear to you!"
"Uncle, I really can’t take it!"
Seeing Zhao Wendong’s persistent refusal, Lin Huaimin stroked the watch and smiled with gratification. It was hard to say whether he was pleased with Zhao Wendong’s lack of greed or happy that the young man was so considerate of him, an elder.
"Wendong, you’ve already taken what I hold most dear. This watch is for you two to keep track of your time, for you and Yinyin to live a good life together. Just treat my daughter well, and we’ll be content. From now on, I’m entrusting Yinyin to you."
"Yinyin is our only child, and we have no sons. It’s only right that this watch, passed from my father to me, should now be passed to you."
Zhao Wendong looked at the pocket watch, then at Lin Zhiyin, at a loss for what to do.
Lin Zhiyin reached out, took the pocket watch, rubbed it in her palm a couple of times, and then held it out to Zhao Wendong.
"Since my dad is giving it to you, just take it."
Seeing Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu both giving him encouraging smiles, Zhao Wendong was touched. He stopped refusing, nodded, and carefully placed the jar on the ground. He took the pocket watch, tucked it safely inside his clothes, and then picked up the ceramic jar again.
"Oh, right. Uncle, Auntie, look!"
Zhao Wendong opened the lid of the jar, gave them a quick look inside, and lowered his voice.
"Uncle, Auntie, inside here is a wild mountain ginseng over a hundred years old. We’re not around to take care of you, so you must first take good care of your own health."
"You should eat a little bit of the ginseng in this jar every day. Uncle, I can see you’re not in the best health, with that constant cough. And Auntie, you’re far too thin. You’ve both nearly run your bodies into the ground, and that just won’t do. This ginseng will help protect your health and keep you strong. After that, just wait for Zhiyin and me to bring you home!"
The couple had already been startled by the sight of the ginseng, and now they were stunned by Zhao Wendong’s words.
"Home? Is that really possible? Will we really have a chance to get out of here?"
Wang Lulu asked, her voice trembling and her eyes full of disbelief.
"It is, Auntie. Believe me. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Before this, you surely never imagined we would suddenly show up to visit, did you? Or that we’d help you get a more comfortable work assignment. So you have to believe us. We’ll definitely find a chance to take you home in the future!"
"Yes, yes, yes! We’ll wait! Old Lin, did you hear that? Wendong said he can get us out of here!"
Wang Lulu excitedly grasped Lin Huaimin’s hand.
"Yes, I heard!"
Lin Huaimin squeezed his wife’s hand back, giving her support. He glanced at Zhao Wendong with gratification, his gaze finally settling on the jar in the young man’s hands. Being knowledgeable and experienced, he naturally understood the value of this ginseng.
"Wendong, we believe you. We’ll wait for you to help us get out of here. But this ginseng is too valuable; we can’t accept it. You should keep it for your parents or the elders in your family. This is a life-saving treasure!"
But Zhao Wendong wouldn’t listen, continuing to offer the jar to them as he tried to persuade them.
"Uncle, Auntie, you know my feelings for Lin Zhiyin are genuine, and you know how much I love her. If she accepts me, and you accept me, then you’ll be my parents and my elders, won’t you? So giving this to you is the same as giving it to my own family elders. Right?"
"Besides, we have more than just this one at home, so please, eat it without any worries!"
"Really?"
Lin Huaimin looked at Zhao Wendong doubtfully. A single stalk of something like this was incredibly rare. ’Did Zhao Wendong really dig up more than one?’
"Yes, really! We have more at home!"
"As the old saying goes, ’Health is the foundation of everything.’ Without good health, everything else is pointless. You have to take care of yourselves, not just for your own sake, but for Zhiyin and me. No matter how good or how precious this ginseng is, it’s not worth one ten-thousandth of your well-being!"
Wang Lulu was so moved by Zhao Wendong’s words that her eyes turned red. She looked to Lin Huaimin, and only after he nodded did she carefully take the jar.
"Yes, yes, of course. Good boy. Of course we accept you. How could we not accept such a wonderful young man? And you don’t need to worry about Yinyin. If she didn’t accept you, why would she have shown you her true face? Even if she’s unwilling, it doesn’t matter. I know this is the ’new society’ and not the old days, but a parent’s word should still mean something!"
"If she won’t accept you, we’ll disown her as our daughter!"
Lin Zhiyin had been smiling at first, but the more she listened, the more something felt off. But it was her mother speaking, so what could she do? Pouting, she could only vent her frustration by giving Zhao Wendong a couple of kicks to the shin.
Zhao Wendong didn’t mind at all; his face bloomed into a wide grin. Lin Zhiyin was just putting on a show and hadn’t kicked hard. To him, it felt more like a tickle.
Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu watched the two of them horse around, both smiling.
"Wendong, the little tiger cub keeps calling out!"
Zhou Mancang, who was watching the four of them from a distance, suddenly shouted.
With that, the four of them ended their conversation and walked back over to Zhou Mancang, Liu Haisheng, and the others.