**
Lin Ya glanced at his eyes and felt a mixture of emotions; his expression softened even more as he gently patted his head, reassuringly saying, “Dad will never hit you or scold you again.”
With this promise, Ren Zhao’s eyes brightened slightly. Although he wasn’t sleepy, he obediently closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Before dawn, Lin Zhao opened his eyes and got out of bed to dress. He glanced at the two figures lying on the bed next to him, and his gaze became slightly stern.
A barely audible sob was heard.
Lin Zhao pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose not to go comfort them. That child must be very afraid of him right now; perhaps it would be better to let her be alone for a while.
There were still many things to do today.
It was roughly around 4 a.m. now, and breakfast could wait a little longer. Lin Zhao rolled up his sleeves and separated the lean and fatty meat he bought yesterday. He cut a large piece of fat meat into small chunks and added water to slowly stew it, gradually rendering out the lard.
He poured the lard into a jar to let it solidify into a snowy white color and glanced towards the door, noticing a faint shadow standing outside.
“Dad… I’m here to help with the fire…” The trembling, hoarse voice of a young girl echoed outside.
Lin Zhao looked at the small girl who barely reached his waist, paused for a moment, and organized his words before saying, “Okay, don’t let the fire get too big.”
Ren Lin nervously clutched the hem of her clothes as she sat on a small wooden stool in front of the stove, focusing intently on the burning wood in the furnace, pondering why she wasn’t sold to a brothel and had woken up at home instead.
Was it just a terrible nightmare?
While rolling out noodles, Lin Zhao contemplated how to address the issue. He had brought her home, but what about the psychological scars that remained?
Once he finished rolling out the noodles, the water in the pot was almost boiling. Lin Zhao added two bowls of noodles, dropped in a chicken egg, sprinkled some spring onions that had sprouted outside, and added the leftover pork, sending an enticing aroma wafting throughout the house.
Ren Lin swallowed hard, lowering her head, too afraid to look.
Until their fearsome father casually said, “Come eat.”
Like a puppet, she walked clumsily to the table and stared blankly at the fragrant noodles.
Lin Zhao sat across from her, reaching out to gently touch her frazzled hair. Even when he saw her flinch and try to hide away, he didn’t withdraw his hand.
“Just a few nights ago, I dreamed about your mother. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been a terrible person over the years, so she came specifically to scold me, waking me up with her words. I know I haven’t been good to you two; in the future, I will compensate you both double. Dad wants to apologize.”
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore; Dad will never hit or scold you again. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I do hope for a chance to show I’ve changed.”
Ren Lin, at just seven years old—the child of poor parents who had to shoulder responsibilities early—was like a little adult. She remembered the kinder figure of her father when her mother was still alive. Perhaps she held onto some hope for him, or maybe it was the influence of her yearnings and wishes.
In any case, as Lin Zhao finished saying his apologies, the rising steam from the noodles fogged her eyes, and tears began to flow from her thin, slightly sunken face.
Her cries evolved from soft whimpers reminiscent of a kitten to loud wails, as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances and fears of the past few years, eventually ending with her voice hoarse.
Lin Zhao picked her up and held her in his arms, gently stroking her hair. Wait until she calmed down before softly coaxing her, “Alright, alright, look, the noodles are getting cold…”
Upon hearing that the noodles might get cold, Ren Lin finally began to calm down, occasionally hiccuping as she held her bowl and ate the noodles.
Lin Zhao glanced outside at the brightening sky and quickly finished the last few bites. Since it was still early, he decided to take a stroll up the nearby mountain to see if he could catch some game.
“Be good; Dad will be back soon, probably in an hour and a half. If your brother wakes up later, give him some noodles from the pot. I’ll wash the bowl when I return, and afterward, we’ll go to your maternal grandfather’s house.” Seeing her nod in agreement, Lin Zhao felt reassured as he took the hatchet and the backpack out the door.
In the small yet empty kitchen, only the frail Ren Lin remained, with little flesh on her limbs. Clenching her fists, she rubbed her swollen eyes and felt the sting in her nose as tears threatened to spill.
After taking a bite of noodles, she was stunned to see a broken egg at the bottom of her bowl, the yolk flowing out. It felt as though a heavy weight was lifted from her heart, which had previously been restless, now gradually finding stability.
Would Dad really change? She didn’t dare to wish for too much, merely hoping in her heart not to be sold away again. Being beaten or scolded was still better than being bought to that place.
Lin Zhao stepped outside, took a deep breath, and truthfully, it took him a long while to concoct that bit of rhetoric. Being naturally cold in demeanor, he wasn’t fond of overly sentimental scenarios.
But he couldn’t deny that these two children were far too understanding and forgiving; if it were him, he would have never forgiven their father. After all, he was someone who harbored grudges and sought retribution for even the slightest offense.
There were many dry and withered plants in the forest, and no animal tracks could be seen in the outermost areas of the mountain; even birds were rarely spotted.
Animals were acutely sensitive, and after some time, they would likely retreat deep into the mountains.
After searching for a while and finally catching a wild rabbit and a roe deer, Lin Zhao paused his steps and collected some herbs to place in his backpack. As he passed through a bamboo forest, he cut a piece of bamboo.
Following the stream down the mountain, he caught a few plump carp, stringing them together with vines and hanging them from the hooks on the back of his backpack before hurrying down the mountain with the roe deer he couldn’t fit inside.
When Lin Zhao returned to the dilapidated little courtyard, the siblings had already tidied up, sitting in the yard sharing a now melted candy hawthorn stick.
“Dad! You’re back!” Ren Zhao revealed her little tiger teeth, her mouth still smeared with a faint red syrup, holding a spit-covered hawthorn stick that she wanted to hand to him.
Seeing the roe deer and the heavy backpack he was carrying, Ren Lin rushed over, extending her hands to help him out.