Chapter 119 - 118: Drawing a Tiger
"Captain Zhao, how does your eagle know we’re looking for a tiger?"
Chen Baoguo couldn’t help but ask the question on his mind.
"You just have to show it."
Zhao Wendong replied casually.
"Huh?"
Chen Baoguo was stunned. ’Show it? Doesn’t that mean you’ve already found it? What’s the point of showing it then?’
"Hahaha, if you don’t have the real thing, you can use a photo. If you don’t have a photo, you can always draw one!"
Seeing his expression, Zhao Wendong couldn’t help but laugh. ’This security platoon leader has a pretty amusing personality.’
"Oh, oh, oh! Right, right, right!"
Chen Baoguo had a sudden realization and scratched his head in embarrassment.
"We definitely don’t have a photo, but we could draw one. Who should we get to do it?"
After saying this, Chen Baoguo exchanged a look with Liu Haisheng, and both of them turned to look at Zhao Wendong.
"Hey, what are you looking at me for? I can’t draw!"
"You can’t, but your mother-in-law can! Didn’t you know?"
"Huh?"
Now it was Zhao Wendong’s turn to be stunned. ’My future mother-in-law is that multi-talented? I thought she was just some rich man’s wife.’
Lin Zhiyin didn’t know what was happening over there. She had followed Chen Baoguo out of Liu Haisheng’s office and was taken to a reception room. A moment later, the sound of several footsteps came from outside.
"Lin Huaimin, Wang Lulu, you have a visitor. Mind your discipline!"
"Yes, yes!"
A man’s voice sounded, and then with a CREAK, the door was opened. Two stooped figures slowly walked in from outside.
Lin Zhiyin looked at the two people who entered, already trembling with emotion, her face a mask of tears.
Her father, Lin Huaimin—the businessman who used to wear woolen long gowns, always had a cigar between his fingers, and spoke with gentle refinement—was now hunched over. He was dressed in a tattered piece of clothing with cotton wadding poking out, the collar worn shiny. Most of his hair had turned gray and white, plastered messily to his forehead. His face was a web of deep lines, his cheekbones jutted out sharply, and not a trace of his former elegance remained.
Her mother, Wang Lulu, stood beside him. She was the painter who once wore her hair in a bun, dressed in a qipao, held a paintbrush, and possessed an extraordinary aura. Now, her hair was disheveled and hung over her shoulders, with bits of grass stuck in it. The simple qipao was long gone, replaced by the same kind of tattered cotton-padded jacket. Her face was sallow, and her once-sparkling eyes were sunken, devoid of the spirit they held when she wielded a paintbrush.
"Dad! Mom!!"
How could Lin Zhiyin hold back any longer? Sobbing, she threw herself at them.
Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu were equally incredulous. They had thought someone was coming to interrogate them again, never imagining it would be their daughter!
"Yinyin?!"
Lin Huaimin’s voice was terribly hoarse. He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but started coughing instead, his body shaking violently.
Wang Lulu’s lips trembled. She reached out to touch her daughter’s face, but her fingertips recoiled as if shocked the moment they brushed against Lin Zhiyin’s cheek. She was afraid the chilblains on her hands would hurt her daughter. She spoke slowly, her voice soft and choked with tears.
"Yinyin, why are you here? It’s so cold, how did you get here? Oh, my daughter, are you alright?"
"I’m fine, I’m fine! Dad, Mom, I’ve missed you so much!"
Lin Zhiyin’s sobs moved Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu to tears as well. The family of three clung to each other and wept, their cries filled with endless sorrow and grievance. They cried for a long time before finally calming down. Lin Zhiyin helped her parents to a long wooden bench and sat them down. Seeing their hands covered in chilblains and bloody cuts, she quickly took out the cold cream Zhao Wendong had given her, cradled her parents’ hands, and began to gently apply it.
Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu looked relieved. Seeing that their daughter was taking good care of herself, they could finally relax. Their biggest fear had been that their daughter would end up living the same kind of life as them.
"Yinyin, how did you get here?"
"Yinyin, has anyone been bullying you?"
Lin Zhiyin didn’t answer directly. She knew her parents must have many questions, so she recounted everything that had happened since they were taken away: how she used what little was left of the family’s assets to find out where they were, how she followed them to the countryside, and everything that occurred after arriving.
When she spoke of being assigned to Dragon King Pond, of the other educated youth who ostracized her, and of how she deliberately made herself look ugly to hide her abilities, the couple wept silently. They could only imagine the immense grievances and hardships their daughter had suffered. But when Lin Zhiyin finally began to talk about Zhao Wendong’s appearance and the series of events that followed, they could clearly feel a change in her emotions, a lift in her tone.
The couple, who had been feeling utterly heartbroken, started to sense that something was off as they listened. They exchanged a look. Judging by their daughter’s current attitude, they were afraid she had truly fallen for this Zhao Wendong fellow. An inkling of hostility toward the yet-unseen Zhao Wendong immediately sprouted in Lin Huaimin’s heart.
However, when he heard about all the things Zhao Wendong had done for his daughter—feeding her, rescuing her from trouble, protecting her, and bringing her to see them—he had to admit, such dedication could wear away a stone or grind an iron pestle into a needle. Lin Huaimin nodded. ’Just for all the things he’s done for my daughter,’ he thought, ’he’s more than worthy of her.’
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"
Lin Huaimin was about to speak, but another coughing fit seized him as soon as he opened his mouth. Lin Zhiyin quickly went to pat his back.
"Dad, what’s wrong?"
’Her dad used to be in great health.’ In less than two years, he had become like this. Wang Lulu also patted his back a few times before letting out a sigh.
"Your father’s family has been in business for three generations; when has he ever done hard labor? Since coming here, he has to do strenuous work every day, and the nutrition can’t keep up. Plus, your father is stubborn and always gets punished. His health has been getting worse by the day these past two years!"
"Cough, cough... I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Seeing that you have someone to take care of you now, Yinyin, I can rest easy. Yinyin, could you bring that young man here? Let us meet him, alright?"
"Okay, yes!"
Looking at her father’s frail, aged appearance, Lin Zhiyin felt the urge to cry again. She quickly bit her lip to hold back the tears and stood up to go find Zhao Wendong.
Just then, a series of footsteps sounded from outside. Zhao Wendong, Liu Haisheng, and the others pushed the door open and walked in. Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu immediately got to their feet, trembling as they tried to stand straight.
"Huh? Why are you here? I was just about to look for you!"
Lin Zhiyin wiped her tears and made the introductions to Zhao Wendong.
"This is my dad, and this is my mom!"
"Uncle, Auntie, hello. I’m Zhao Wendong!"
Lin Huaimin and Wang Lulu exchanged a look, both with a hint of surprise in their eyes. They had heard from Lin Zhiyin that Zhao Wendong was a farmer and a Civilian Militia Captain, so they had subconsciously expected a big, burly man with the unkempt appearance of a peasant. They never thought that in person, Zhao Wendong would strike them as surprisingly clean and polite.
And how could he not be clean? Zhao Wendong used to be a street loafer who hated working in the fields, slacking off whenever he could. On top of that, since his rebirth, he paid extra attention to his personal image and hygiene, making him look more like an official than a common farmer. Chen Yanmei had often called him a spendthrift for using up soap so quickly.
"Hello, Wendong. Thank you for taking care of Yinyin."
"It’s what I ought to do!"
"Ahem!"
Seeing Zhao Wendong and the others exchanging pleasantries while he was being ignored, Liu Haisheng cleared his throat. Zhao Wendong shot him a look. ’Can’t he wait? I’m in the middle of getting friendly with my future in-laws.’
He might be able to wait, but the farm couldn’t. Chen Baoguo stepped forward and got straight to the point.
"Comrade Wang Lulu, you’re a painter, aren’t you?"
Wang Lulu’s body trembled. "Yes, I am a painter. But I don’t paint anymore. I work hard every day now and am actively reforming myself."