Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander-Chapter 52 - Longing for Someone’s Return
52: Chapter 52 Longing for Someone’s Return
52 -52 Longing for Someone’s Return
“…Big Brother, our parents raised us with great difficulty, and no matter if they were partial or not, we can’t just abandon them now, Big Brother…”
In Chuxia’s family, a woman who looked to be about forty with ear-length short hair, bearing a six or seven points resemblance to Lin Baohe, sat at the edge of the heated brick bed, earnestly persuading Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan with all the patience of a kind mother.
She was Chuxia’s only aunt, Lin Baojuan.
Lin Baojuan was the youngest child of the Lin Family and had the closest relationship with Lin Baohe.
Without her, Lin Baohe might not even have had a room when he got married.
Having her try to persuade Lin Baohe was considered Old Master Lin and Old Lady Lin’s trump card.
If even she couldn’t make Lin Baohe yield, then they would truly be out of options.
From eight o’clock in the morning, Lin Baojuan sat on the edge of the brick bed in Chuxia’s home, repeatedly talking about the hardships Old Master Lin and Old Lady Lin went through in the past, hoping to convince her brother and sister-in-law to bring their niece and comply with their parents’ arrangements.
Glancing at the wall clock, Lin Baojuan’s face turned ugly.
The guests for the betrothal had arrived, but the principals were absent—what kind of situation was this?
She had said everything she could think of, but Big Brother and Sister-in-law just wouldn’t respond, and as for the niece with the usually capricious temperament, she sat on the brick bed reading a book, as if what she said had nothing to do with her.
“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, do you want me to kneel and beg you?” Lin Baojuan’s voice held a sob, “Even if you’re reluctant, at least show up to give our parents a way out, can you do that?”
Lin Baohe let out a long sigh, “Baojuan, I remember all your kindness, but this matter, it’s about my daughter, please don’t make it hard for your Big Brother.”
“How have we made it difficult for you?” Lin Baojuan looked utterly confused, “The Xue family is like lighting a lantern in the dark—hard to find.
If Chuxia marries there, she’ll become an Official Lady.
What exactly are you two resisting?
I’m not lying to you, if the Xue family had taken a liking to our Susu, I’d be so happy I couldn’t sleep at night.”
“Uncle, Aunt, Chuxia…” The door was suddenly pushed open, and Luo Xiaoqiong entered with a flushed face.
She was startled to see Lin Baojuan sitting at the edge of the brick bed and said, “Auntie is here.”
“She’s grown into a young woman, I almost can’t recognize her anymore.” Lin Baojuan said cheerfully as she pulled Luo Xiaoqiong closer, “Has Meiying found a husband’s family yet?”
Luo Xiaoqiong felt awkward.
Zhao Qiliang’s reply hadn’t arrived so how could she know his intentions?
And it was too embarrassing to talk about such things in front of Zhao Yulan, so she forced a calm smile and changed the subject, “Auntie, come over to our place when you have the time, my mom often talks about you.”
Though Lin Baojuan was anxious, she couldn’t very well drive Luo Xiaoqiong away, so she responded lackadaisically, “Alright, I’ll make time to visit your mom today.
Is she home?”
“She is, you should go now, Auntie.”
Lin Baojuan’s expression stiffened, “I can’t right now, maybe in the afternoon.” She then pleaded with Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan, “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, when shall we leave?”
It wasn’t appropriate for her to say anything, so Zhao Yulan nudged Lin Baohe.
With a slight sigh, Lin Baohe finally looked up, “Baojuan, Meiying is not an outsider, and there’s no harm in speaking in front of her.
You should know how our parents treat our family.”
Second Brother is so foolish, not favored by our parents, I can tolerate whatever they do to me, but they should not have set their sights on Chuxia.
First they agreed to the Xue family’s marriage proposal without my consent, then they spread rumors everywhere that Xue Ligang had taken a fancy to Liu Meifeng, making the entire village laugh at Chuxia for being rejected by the Luo family and despised by the Xue family.
Their purpose in doing this was to make me take the initiative to plead with them.
No outsider would ever kick someone when they’re down like this.
Could a parent really be so cruel as to kick their own child when they’re down?
Baojuan, now you want Second Brother to use his own daughter’s lifetime of happiness to save face for our parents.
If it were Susu our parents were treating this way today, would you agree?
Oh, there’s something you might not know…” Then Lin Baohe recounted the past entanglement between Zhao Yulan and Xue Ligang.
“Second Brother, Sister-in-law, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Lin Baojuan’s face was full of regret, “If I had known about all these complications, I would never have agreed to persuade you on behalf of our parents!”
Lin Baojuan was only eighteen when she got married.
By the time Lin Baohe married, she had been out of the house for several years, so she really didn’t know about the affairs between the Xue family and Zhao Yulan.
Lin Baohe gave a bitter smile, “We both know the place our parents hold in your heart.
We wouldn’t have said these things unless it was absolutely necessary.”
Alas!
Lin Baojuan sighed deeply, unsure of what to say.
Maybe because she was the only girl, she really was quite cherished by our parents.
If she hadn’t known Second Brother’s temperament, she wouldn’t have believed that our parents could do such a thing.
The Luo Gangshun couple were willing to give up everything for Second Brother’s family, yet as parents, they only thought of trading their granddaughter for the benefits of their youngest son and grandson.
In her eyes, this was simply not right.
Perhaps in our parents’ minds, trading a granddaughter for the prosperity of a family was a most economical deal.
But did they ever consider whether they were qualified to make such a trade?
At this moment, the atmosphere in the Lin Baohai household was growing tenser by the minute.
After Wang Meihua raised her objections, Old Master Lin explained that his second son’s family did value this matter; it was just that Chuxia, the child, was shy and embarrassed to come over, so the couple was at home persuading her.
He said this, of course, with his own ulterior motives in mind.
As for the ultimate outcome of sending his youngest daughter to persuade his second son, he wasn’t certain.
So, he might as well make his granddaughter seem a bit petty for now—perhaps the Xue family would find her less appealing because of it, and the blame would naturally not fall on him.
He was cornered into taking this step, but admitting that he had no control over his second son’s family was something he couldn’t do.
Therefore, he was willing to take his chances.
If he succeeded, he would achieve his heart’s desire.
Failure wouldn’t be much different from admitting his lack of authority.
If one must find a difference, it would just be between losing face and losing even more face—he was already embarrassed, so what was the big deal about adding a little more to it?
For the sake of his youngest son’s family, he was all in!
After two pots of tea had been refilled and there was still no sign of Lin Baohe’s family, Xue Ligang and Wang Meihua’s expressions were getting increasingly unsightly.
Old Master Lin was also anxious, hesitating whether to make a trip himself, to swallow his pride and ask his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter to save him some face, when he saw his youngest daughter Lin Baojuan enter the courtyard, followed by the family of his second son.
He happily clapped his hands: “They’re here, they’re here, Director, Baohe and the others have arrived.”
—-
Special thanks to the patron from Paris Fashion Week for their rewarding support, and for supporting both books, thank you so much~
