Chapter 56 - 46: Visitors from the Lin Family (Part 2)

Lin Lishan and Xiao Zhou took a breath. "Dad, isn’t it just your overthinking? She’s still a child, only 17, how could she think of that? From what I see, the Zhang Family behind her is also simple and honest." "Don’t jump to conclusions first. Think about your husband Zhou Xiaocun, and then think about how she is Zhou Xiaozheng’s child. You’ll realize that the excellence of some people is innate. Zhou Xiaocun, a farmer’s boy, single-handedly rose from Northeast to Beijing at the age of 16, establishing numerous accomplishments. At 18, everyone called him the Northeast Tiger, becoming the pride of the Northern Military District. Even now, old and young still respectfully call him Brother Zheng. Was he nurtured by someone, or what? And do you think with Old Man Zhou’s foolishness he could have trained a talent like Zhou Xiaozheng? Zhou Xiaozheng is an unfathomable person, always with a serious face, nobody knows what he’s thinking, and he likes to keep things to himself. He became the Soldier King, not only because of his skills but more importantly because of his intellect and strategy. He never relied on our Lin Family to make his fortune. As for Zhou Jiao, at 17, being excellent like her father is not surprising at all. Apart from being smart from a young age, skilled in strategy and means, she mastered embroidery and learned all of her grandmother’s medical skills in the environment of the Zhou Family. Isn’t that unexpected? She’s very low-key, very good at hiding her own strengths. Just look at the partner she chose, Zhang Guoqing, and her in-laws. You’ll know she has a great set of interpersonal skills; she’s insightful and can read people well. Moreover, it’s not surprising she grows up well in such an environment. She’s on her own, without using her mind and means, there might not even be her bones left, can Zhang Guoqing alone protect her safely? Didn’t you see Zhang Guoqing didn’t say a word today, always attentive to Jiao Jiao’s safety?" Lin Lishan listened and didn’t respond for a long time, fell into deep thought. After a while, she looked at him with tears in her eyes, speechless, deeply sighed, and then said in a low voice: "Dad, do you think she would bear a grudge against me for not visiting her in 17 years? Now that she knows her dad is alive, I rushed over, would she think I’m using her? From what you said, how could someone as smart as her not think of that? If Brother Zheng comes back and knows I hadn’t visited her all these years, will they hate me, the father and daughter together?" Lin Xinsheng saw the pain in his daughter’s eyes and sighed inwardly. Those years, they shouldn’t have sent the child back home with her grandparents. Later on, they should have at least met her. It’s been too long; how would feelings form without interaction? He doesn’t know what will happen, whether clever or foolish, they should remember their parents, as for how to get along, it depends on fate. If Jiao Jiao is a calculating child, then simply be as dull as water, she won’t regard you, she’ll look at her father’s attitude to adjust her own. If she has a generous heart, she would also protectively support her mother. Looking at her protective nature, see if she regards Shanshan, regards her in her heart. That’s why he’s anxious to come along. His daughter is too simple-minded, thinking too simplistically, some things cannot be solved just with money or seen through a few letters of affection. Mother-daughter nature—hopefully, everything turns out well. Lin Xinsheng also felt reluctant seeing his daughter troubled, and comforted: "I can’t guarantee about other children, but Jiao Jiao wouldn’t do that. Look, if she didn’t know her dad is alive and coming back, she wouldn’t have cut ties with the elder branch of the Zhou Family. Her attitude towards an unseen father indicates she’d care about you too. There’s no such thing as a faultless parent in the world. You’re her mother, she’s someone who protects her family fiercely. Those who are protective care deeply. Rest assured." Seeing Lin Lishan’s eyes light up after hearing this, Lin Xinsheng amusingly patted her and said to Xiao Zhou who was driving, "Xiao Zhou, you’re a scout by training. Analyze today’s events, tell your elder sister so she can better understand her daughter and son-in-law." Xiao Zhou, driving the car, pondered and then said with a smile: "Chief, I’m not very educated, but I just feel Jiao Jiao is very outstanding. Her expression, tone, demeanor, and poise are much like Brother Zheng, seems just like those leaders, methodical and very imposing. Why do I say that? Watching the whole process, she never showed the slightest fear from start to finish, commanded the scene. Her speaking tone is very clean and crisp, acts with a plan, you might not have noticed some small moves, but as a scout, I’m especially attentive to details. She continuously used a sarcastic look to provoke the other side into losing their calm and gradually led to important topics. From the start, she stated Huang’s family was so poor that husband, wife, son, and daughter-in-law shared one pair of pants to their current wealth. When people around repeated this, an insider exposed the Huang family’s matters. Following that, a statement that the other’s mother entered the Zhou Family’s door by using her belly—this line was powerful. It gathered the attention of everyone present, and when she remarked these two sentences, the scene was in her hands. Afterward, she detailed these years’ experiences and particularly raised some very sharp questions that no one dared to answer, which blocked some elders and village officials who initially wanted to persuade, no one dared to step forward to mediate. Every step was calculated. From gathering everyone’s attention to afterwards, from beginning to end, from light to heavy, if she had started talking about the years of suffering, there were too many people present, making it hard to quiet down. Speaking later would provoke a lot of discussion, and several village officials might intervene to prevent the issue from escalating, which would have had a different effect. When she spoke, she seemed to direct at that Zhou Xue, but her attention was on the whole scene. At the end, she squeezed her husband twice, especially the second squeeze was heavy, probably even her husband was shocked, and only reacted to support her after the second squeeze. In the dense crowd, she could accurately find Old Sir Zhou, her steps were particularly fast, indicating she didn’t need her husband to support her, then directly knelt and recounted, the speed was exceptionally fast, that old man wanted to faint but it was too late, already being thrust onto Liang Mountain. She again squeezed with her right hand, her husband quickly lifted her, then the right hand moved again, prompting her husband to urgently carry her away. The two of them coordinated very well, getting away within a short time. Initially, she squeezed her husband to support her, the steps were quick, I was puzzled, she could completely walk herself, no need to be supported, then I understood seeing the small actions—it was to conceal their later escape. Quite an interesting couple, if you didn’t notice, it was like the wife was weak after childbirth, and her husband hurriedly carried her after seeing her collapse with a pale face. I see the Zhang Family didn’t notice at all, their concern was sincere, all ran into the house. It was too amusing, haha... wait for Xiao Fei to come back and ask, if another family came out, clinging to guard the doorway." After finishing, Xiao Zhou laughed heartily.