Poisonous Peasant 'Concubine' Ch 37 - Hyacinth in Bloom

Chapter 37 — A visitor from Old Ling’s family

“Daddy, do I look good?”

Back home, the Ling brothers were busy putting away everything they had bought that day. At Ling Jingxuan’s instruction, Ling Wen and Ling Wu went back to their room to try on their new clothes. Before long, the little bun Ling Wu came rushing excitedly into the kitchen, finding Ling Jingxuan kneading dough and preparing something to eat. The dark blue robe he wore was inevitably a bit too big on him, making his already thin frame look even scrawnier. Still, Ling Jingxuan smiled and said, “Hehe… my son is handsome. How could he not look good?”

As he spoke, he freed one hand to gently pinch the boy’s cheek, his smiling gaze shifting toward Ling Wen, who had followed behind. For both children, he had chosen dark blue long robes. Though the color didn’t really suit their age—looking rather mature—and their slender builds couldn’t quite carry it, the children were still young. Dark blue didn’t show dirt easily, and looking a bit old-fashioned wasn’t a big deal.

“Daddy!”

Never having been praised before, the two little buns flushed almost at the same time at their father’s unreserved compliment. The younger one stomped his foot shyly and turned to run out.

“Hehe… the kid’s embarrassed. But he really is quite handsome.”

Ling Jingpeng chimed in at just the right moment. Ling Wen, who had been trying to hold himself together, couldn’t stay either. Blushing, he muttered, “I’ll go check on Xiao Wu,” and hurried off.

The two brothers exchanged a smile. The richer and more varied the children’s reactions became, the happier they were—because it meant the children were slowly emerging from the shadow of their former hard lives.

“Brother, why are you using so much oil? Xiao Wen’s going to nag you again later.”

After helping finish tidying up, Ling Jingpeng turned back only to see Ling Jingxuan scoop a large spoonful of freshly rendered lard into the pan. Pain was written plainly in his phoenix-shaped eyes. Not just in this household—even in the old Ling family, people used only a few drops of cooking oil at most. Who cooked like this? No wonder Xiao Wen was always lecturing him—he truly didn’t know how to live frugally.

“Hehe… it’s fine, just this once. We’ve made some money, haven’t we? A little indulgence won’t hurt. It’s not like we eat this way every day.”

Compared to his brother’s distress, Ling Jingxuan was completely unconcerned. He skillfully flipped the scallion flatbread in the pan, dark with a hint of green. Don’t ask why it was dark—it was because his little bun thought white flour was too expensive and refused to buy it no matter what, so he could only use coarse black flour to make scallion pancakes.

“…You’re frying all this meat too?”

Ling Jingpeng sighed helplessly, his gaze drifting to the slices of pork belly left over from rendering the lard. Nearby, in a bamboo tray, were washed wild greens, clearly meant to go into the pot as well.

“Yeah. We still have to go up the mountain later to do hard labor. How can we manage without eating something good?”

“Save it for tonight with the kids. I’ll just have some wild greens porridge—it’ll be enough.”

He truly cherished food, and he truly cherished the children. He wanted to save it for them. But Ling Jingxuan turned and said seriously, “What do you mean, save it for tonight? We’re all eating it. Is there really a difference between lunch and dinner? Jingpeng, you’re my little brother—my only brother. Do we really need to draw lines between you and me? Your big brother earned some money and wants to treat you to meat—what’s wrong with that? If you insist on calculating everything so clearly, then when you help me sell fish, shouldn’t I be paying you wages too?”

“That’s not what I meant, brother. I didn’t mean that, I—”

Hearing this, Ling Jingpeng waved his hands nervously, trying to explain, but Ling Jingxuan didn’t give him a chance to finish. He cut in, his tone firm and slightly forceful:

“I know what you want to say, Jingpeng. I know our family is poor. But a person’s fate is held in their own hands. As long as we stay sharp-minded, are willing to learn, and work hard enough, we’ll eventually escape poverty and become prosperous. One day, I want our whole family to eat white rice every day, drink wine and eat meat at every meal.”

Looking at his elder brother’s slender profile, Ling Jingpeng quietly clenched his fists. He was right. As long as they were willing to put in the effort, how could they not live a good life?

Knowing that his younger brother was also quick-witted, Ling Jingxuan didn’t continue. A loud drum didn’t need a heavy mallet—he would understand what he meant.

“Alright, Jingpeng. Go call the kids to wash their hands and eat. After their afternoon nap, we’ll head into the mountains…”

Bang—! Bang—!

About two quarters of an hour later, Ling Jingxuan—sweating profusely—finally finished frying ten scallion pancakes, and the twice-cooked pork with wood ear mushrooms was ready as well. But before he could finish speaking, a rough pounding sounded from outside. Calling it knocking was generous—it was more like kicking the door. The two brothers glanced over through the crude kitchen doorway. The already flimsy wooden door looked like it might collapse at any moment.

“You go call the kids to wash their hands first. No matter what happens outside, don’t come out. I’ll go take a look.”

Trouble never came without reason. Judging by the commotion, someone was clearly here to stir things up. Ling Jingxuan gave a cold instruction, wiped his hands, and walked out. Ling Jingpeng watched his back worriedly. Thinking about how his brother’s temperament had changed—no longer someone who would let others bully him—he didn’t follow, instead turning to lead the two little buns into the back courtyard.

“Hey! Are you dead or what? I’ve practically beaten my hands raw before you finally opened the door! Do you even have any respect for me, your Third Aunt?”

As soon as Ling Jingxuan pulled the door open, before he could even see clearly what was outside, a coarse female voice nearly burst his eardrums. The woman cursed as she pushed forward, trying to force her way into the courtyard. Ling Jingxuan rolled his eyes helplessly and shifted his body to block her path.

“Well, well, I was wondering who it was—turns out it’s Third Aunt Ling from the old scholar’s household. Sister Ying, too. What wind blew today, to bring the two of you here?”