Shui Ling and Shui Xi were completely enchanted by the beautiful flowers. After finishing their meal, they rushed outside to play, filled with joy.
“Today, I am the boss! Those who recognize me as the boss, I’ll treat you to Big White Rabbit milk candies! Those who don’t, I won’t share!” A chubby little boy suddenly declared while playing energetically with the group.
“Boss!”
“Boss!”
The children, with no sense of propriety, showed their loyalty to the one with the candy; it was genuine enthusiasm.
Among the children, Shui Ling was the oldest, but her small stature made her look only seven or eight years old. Although there were snacks at home, the ones they earned were irresistible.
Thus, she and Shui Xi each got a piece of Big White Rabbit milk candy.
“Sis! I want to save mine for Mom!” Shui Xi carefully tucked her candy into her pocket and happily mixed back into the group of kids.
Shui Ling thought for a moment, looking at the milk candy, and decided to tuck hers into her pocket too.
After making a phone call, Lin Ya grabbed some talismans and headed out.
Outside the market, he met two clumsy teenagers and exchanged money for goods, politely declining their offer to treat him to a meal before entering the market.
Lin Yuemei was used to frugality; even with money, she wouldn’t spend extravagantly. Thus, meals at home were still quite plain.
Lin Ya could tolerate this, but the two children were growing, especially Shui Ling, who was exceedingly thin, and Shui Xi, who was also undernourished, along with Lin Yuemei herself displaying signs of severe malnutrition.
From now on, every meal had to include meat.
Lin Ya bought a lot of meat and vegetables to bring home, personally cooking several dishes. The table was filled mostly with meat dishes, aside from a couple of vegetable dishes.
When Shui Ling and Shui Xi returned home at Lin Yuemei’s call, the delicious aroma nearly made their mouths water; even the neighbor next door had eaten several bowls of rice due to the enticing smell.
“Wow! So much meat!” Shui Xi exclaimed, holding her rice bowl and gazing at the feast in front of her, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Eat more; your dad specially went to the market to buy this and made it himself,” Lin Yuemei said, aware that her eldest daughter had some distance from her father, making an effort to say nice things.
“Dad’s cooking is so delicious!”
Shui Ling didn’t speak but began to use her chopsticks more frequently.
After eating their fill, the whole family sat at the table, unable to move, while the dishes were nearly cleared.
Lin Ya pulled out some change from his pocket and handed each child 10 yuan. “This money is for you to buy snacks. You can also treat your good friends; if it’s not enough, just ask Dad for more.”
He still had about 2000 yuan left in his pocket and planned to buy two houses in the names of his daughters in a few days, waiting for future reconstruction to appreciate in value.
If possible, he could also buy two traditional courtyard homes in the capital, but prices there were currently high; he needed to save up first.
In 20 years, they would be worth a lot.
“Remember to keep the money your dad gave you safe and don’t spend it recklessly.”
“From now on, every meal at home needs some meat; they are too thin.” Lin Ya gently patted Shui Ling’s head.
Shui Ling tucked away her pocket money and felt a feeling she had never experienced before, her heart stirred.
“Mom, I’ll give you some candy!” Lin Yuemei was clearing the table when suddenly a piece of candy was pushed into her pocket.
“Why are you giving this to me? You should eat it yourself; Mom doesn’t like candy.”
“Mom, you’re lying. Who doesn’t like candy? This is the candy I earned today; I want you to have it.” Shui Xi, clever for her age, understood that her mother wanted to keep it for her.
“Hey…you child…” Watching her run off, Lin Yuemei felt both helpless and greatly comforted.
Lin Ya was lying in his room, using his mental energy to command the system to tidy up items in the system space when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and in came Shui Ling, looking a bit shy. With her hands behind her back, she walked up to Lin Ya and handed him a piece of Big White Rabbit milk candy.
“…Dad, this is for you.”
Lin Ya’s gaze softened instantly as he gently accepted the candy. “Thank you, Ling Ling.”
“Mm…” Shui Ling suddenly felt a sense of relief. Although she didn’t fully understand the feeling at that moment, she felt a lightness in her heart.
After she left, the system suddenly spoke.
[Host! Be prepared; the next world is not one I can control. That bad guy might block me, and you might not be able to use the system space then.]
“Got it.” Lin Ya raised his eyebrows, not reacting any further.
Whenever he entered a new world, his body would revert to its original form, and any special powers would be lost, but the knowledge in his mind would not.
At the very least, he had firmly remembered the techniques of fortune-telling and talisman-making.
It seemed that it was essential to quickly commit this book of talismans to memory; it would be very useful in a lower martial world.
Early the next morning, an old acquaintance arrived at the house.
“Shui Cheng, can I ask you for a favor?”
……
In the past two days, Zhou Ying had been experiencing an extremely tough time.
Having not returned home for two days, whenever he felt tired, he would just sleep in the office for a bit and then get back to work as soon as he woke up. His mentor, Li Ping’an, was close to collapsing as well, busy working on two cases within three days, one of which was a long-standing serial murder case from three years prior.
These past two days had been all work; whether it was interrogation or writing reports, he went through two pens that ran out of ink.
The newly captured suspect was clearly hiding something but wouldn’t confess. Unfortunately, the previous case had too few clues, making it impossible to secure definitive evidence, which troubled them greatly.
Li Ping’an could only ask Zhou Ying to consult Lin Ya for help.
If they couldn’t get him to confess or find decisive evidence, that guy would only be sentenced for intentional injury.
There was indeed decisive evidence, but due to the technical limitations of that era, implementing it would pose difficulties; otherwise, Zhou Ying wouldn’t have come looking for him.
“Let’s go.”
Lin Ya changed his shoes and walked out with him.
“Wait until we drive your car to take that guy back to his hometown.”
“Does his hometown have evidence?” Zhou Ying walked beside him, glancing at his empty hands, and couldn’t help but hesitate, asking, “You…don’t you need to bring some talismans or something?”