Lin Yaozu's words quickly spread throughout Linxi Village. Old Master Lin was stunned for a moment upon hearing them, then sighed. In this world, good is always rewarded and evil is always punished. Lin Fu and his family broke off the engagement and arranged a replacement; now they've finally received their retribution.
The villagers didn't say anything in front of Old Master Lin, but behind his back they were utterly disgusted with Lin Fu's family.
Five years ago, Lin Fu was still a peasant from the countryside, and Wang Shi did laundry, cooked, raised pigs and chickens every day. Everyone was a native of Linxi Village. Who was more noble than whom?
In other words, Lin Fu somehow found a brewing recipe, used it as a signboard, and opened a tavern in town. The townspeople might not know, but how could the villagers not? Lin Fu was able to establish himself in town and open his shop so quickly entirely thanks to the Xu family's support; even their new clothes were a gift from the Xu family.
As it turned out, the Lin family's tavern became very successful, and after making some money, they looked down on the Xu family and insisted on arranging a marriage between them. If he had simply broken off the engagement, he would have been called a snob and treated like an ingrate. But he insisted on arranging a marriage; if it weren't for the Xu family's kindness, Lin Ruonan would have been ruined by them.
This time, when Lin Yaozu made his remark, they finally understood. It turned out that it was all Lin Ruoshan's doing. Now that she had the skill to brew wine, she looked down on the Xu family for being poor and forgot about how she used to brag to the village girls about marrying the heir to the town's cloth workshop.
The most crucial point is that she said Xu Zifan was dying and didn't want to be a widow, so what were they thinking when they switched the marriage to Lin Ruonan?
Lin Ruoshan looks delicate and pretty, but she's full of wicked schemes. Lin Yaozu is the same; he's both stupid and vicious. He publicly insulted her at his elder sister's homecoming banquet. If it weren't for everyone's understanding, Lin Ruonan would have been utterly humiliated.
That family is no good. Lin Ruonan's good nature is definitely inherited from her mother. Now that she has been adopted, it's like she's been reborn. That kind of family shouldn't have acknowledged them!
The whole village was talking about this, and after everyone had figured out the whole story, the fig leaf that Lin Ruoshan had painstakingly pulled off was completely torn off, and no one in Linxi Village had any goodwill towards her anymore.
Lin Yaozu stormed home in a huff, and Lin Ruoshan rushed up to him, asking in confusion, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a bad mood?"
Lin Yaozu felt a little guilty, so he took the initiative and shouted, "What did you say? It's all your fault for forcing me to go to the village. Grandpa doesn't like me, and Xu Zifan even threw me out of Grandpa's house and had those bastards in the village drive me out. They beat me so badly that my whole body aches. Are you deliberately trying to hurt me?"
Hearing this, Wang rushed over and grabbed him, asking, "Who hit you? What happened? Shanshan, why did you ask Yaozu to go to the village?"
Lin Yaozu snorted, "She asked me to find out if Lin Ruonan and Xu Zifan were doing well, saying she was going to take over the cloth shop. Bah, I actually believed her, it turns out you were just kidding me. What's wrong with Xu Zifan? He could pick me up with one hand and throw me out the door, and he even said you made it up that he was sick. Lin Ruonan is doing great too, she keeps laughing, saying that these past two days at the Xu family have been the happiest days of her life, and the Xu family hasn't mistreated her at all."
"Lin Ruoshan, don't make me do this kind of thing again. Nothing you say is accurate, and you're always scheming about something!"
Madam Wang exclaimed in surprise, "Shanshan, why are you asking about their affairs? Didn't you look down on the Xu family? Lin Ruonan has already been adopted, and they have nothing to do with our family anymore. What are you doing? You've even harmed your brother. You really have nothing better to do. Yaozu, let your mother see where you're hurt. I'll get you some medicine."
Lin Yaozu lifted his shirt and pointed, "Here, here, and here, it all hurts so much. Xu Zifan gave them coins to bully me, Mother, you have to avenge me!"
Lin Ruoshan was inexplicably scolded by her younger brother and then by her mother, which made her furious. Seeing Wang Shi's doting attitude towards Lin Yaozu only fueled her anger. What good was this idiot, being pampered like a precious treasure? He couldn't support the family business, was unfilial to his parents, and didn't provide any support for his sister. Was it only because he was a boy that they favored him?
Lin Ruoshan suddenly realized something was off about Lin Yaozu's words and frowned, asking, "Xu Zifan said I was making things up? How did he know I said he was sick?" Her eyes widened. "You told everyone what I said at home?!"
Lin Yaozu's momentum weakened, and he turned to Wang Shi and groaned, "Mother, I'm in so much pain, I'm in so much pain! It's all my sister's fault for making me go to the village."
Wang, her face stern, pushed Lin Ruoshan aside and scolded, "Get out of the way! Can't you see I'm applying medicine to your brother? What's more important than your brother? How can you be such a good sister? You don't care about him at all."
Lin Ruoshan relentlessly grabbed Lin Yaozu and questioned him, "Tell me quickly, who did you say these things to? What did you say?"
"Ouch, that hurts!" Lin Yaozu cried out and slapped his hand away.
Wang immediately retorted angrily, "Enough! What are you thinking about all day? What does other people's business have to do with you? You should use your time to brew more wine. The wine in the shop is not enough to sell. Hurry up and brew some more wine."
So they only see her as a winemaker, and are they going to save the money she earns for Lin Yaozu to spend?
Lin Ruoshan laughed in anger and slapped Lin Yaozu on the back. "Where is he hurt? I didn't see it. There's not a bruise or a red mark. He's obviously just pretending because he caused trouble. You actually believe him?"
Lin Yaozu cried out in pain and jumped up instantly. He turned around angrily and shoved Lin Ruoshan, "So you've become so good at brewing wine that you don't even care about your own brother anymore? Are you going to ride roughshod over our parents in the future?"
Lin Ruoshan was suddenly pushed.
She lost her balance and fell to the ground, scraping her palms. Looking up, she saw Wang looking at Lin Yaozu's back with concern, not even glancing at her.
She was so angry that her chest heaved violently. She got up, rushed into the brewing room, and smashed all the wine jars inside!
Wang exclaimed in surprise and rushed over. Lin Ruoshan stared at her coldly and said, "I work myself to the bone to brew wine for the family and you still scold me? If you love your son so much, let him brew wine. I'm quitting!"
Lin Ruoshan slammed the door and ran back to her room. She could still hear Wang Shi and Lin Yaozu cursing inside, which made her so angry that she kicked over a stool.
She understood this in her past life. Outsiders always said her parents loved her more than they loved Lin Ruonan. But that wasn't compared to Lin Yaozu. In her past life, she was divorced by the Xu family because Lin Yaozu disliked her and thought she would make it difficult for him to find a spouse. So her parents hastily married her off.
She had thought that having the Spirit Spring to brew wine would change something in this lifetime, but who knew that no matter how well she did, she couldn't compare to Lin Yaozu, who was a male heir. So why should she help them? Help them run the shop well and pass it on to Lin Yaozu? Dream on!
After calming down, Lin Ruoshan recalled Lin Yaozu's words and felt uneasy no matter how she thought about it. She deeply regretted entrusting this matter to Lin Yaozu. That good-for-nothing fool, she just hoped he hadn't gone around telling everyone. She wasn't afraid of Xu Zifan, as long as he hadn't told her.
However, she frowned again, thinking about how Xu Zifan could lift Lin Yaozu with one hand. Lin Yaozu must be making this up, right? Even if Xu Zifan seemed better, how could he possibly lift someone? But what if Xu Zifan really was better? Did Lin Ruonan really bring him good fortune?
Lin Ruoshan felt extremely uncomfortable. If this was the result of Lin Ruonan bringing good fortune to her husband, then wouldn't that mean she was a jinx to her husband in her past life? She absolutely refused to accept that.
But regardless, Xu Zifan didn't die, and his health even improved. The Xu family will definitely think Lin Ruonan is a lucky star, and even outsiders will see her as one. Wouldn't Lin Ruonan then be destined for a good life?
Lin Ruoshan became anxious. Lin Ruonan had already married and been adopted out. Lin Ruonan and the Xu family had no connection with her anymore. How could she take revenge on them?
While she was deep in thought, Lin Yaozu ran in and kicked the door, startling her. Wang Shi also scolded her from outside the door, but she became angrier and angrier, losing all interest in thinking. She locked the doors and windows, lay down on the bed, and decided to ignore them.
Lin Fu ignored her when he returned. The events of the past few days had made him find his daughter rather troublesome, so naturally he wouldn't care about her. With his wife and son adding fuel to the fire with their complaints, he became even more dissatisfied with Lin Ruoshan.
The next day, however, he rushed home from the shop in a panic to find Lin Ruoshan. Lin Ruoshan didn't brew wine, and the shop was out of stock of that kind of wine. Many customers who came to buy wine went to other shops, and the tavern was deserted. To make matters worse, the steward of the county magistrate's family came to place an order, saying that he needed to order fifty jars of wine for a banquet at home.
How could he dare delay the county magistrate's business? He hurriedly called Lin Ruoshan to brew wine. Lin Ruoshan's eyes darted around, and she felt she had seized a good opportunity. She sat down unhurriedly and said, "The wine I brew is already the signature wine of our family's tavern. It ranks first in the whole town and has earned our family a lot of money, right? But my mother scolded me like that yesterday and ordered me around. She treated me like a laborer. I was very unhappy."
Lin Fu frowned, glared at Wang Shi, and said, "What's wrong with you? Your daughter is tired, so you just ask her a few words of concern. Why do you have to scold her just because you're unhappy?"
"I..." Wang's words of rebuttal were swallowed back under Lin Fu's glare.
Lin Ruoshan took a sip of water and said with a smile, "I thought about it for a long time last night. Since my mother doesn't love me, I have to love myself more. It's all thanks to me that this wine was sold to the county magistrate. It will definitely sell better and better in the future. I'll take 50% of the profit from this wine. That's not much. Even the remaining 50% profit is more than what I used to make at the tavern."
Seeing that Lin Fu and Wang Shi's faces had darkened, she stood up and said, "Father, please take your time to think it over before making a decision. I'm not in a hurry."
She went back to her room after speaking. Of course, she wasn't in a hurry, because Lin Fu was. Lin Fu wouldn't dare delay the county magistrate's business and would definitely agree. She took this opportunity to firmly grasp the money in her own hands.
She waved her hand, revealing the magic spring, and laughed heartily. Even the county magistrate had come to order her wine; she was sure to make connections with influential people in the future, and what good days wouldn't she have then? Let these foolish family members fend for themselves; since they favor Lin Yaozu, they shouldn't even think about basking in her glory.
Lin Fu stared darkly at Lin Ruoshan's door, then suddenly overturned the table, shattering the tea set on the floor.
Madam Wang advised in a low voice, "Don't be angry. She's just a little girl. She thinks she's all that and can do whatever she wants, trying to ride on our heads. What does she know about accounts? Just agree to her request for now. As for how much to give her, isn't that up to you? We still need to run a restaurant. The money from the restaurant has other uses. Where would we get any profit?"
Lin Fu snorted coldly, "Tell her that's how it's going to be done."