Chapter 194: The Wayward Son and His Rebellious Daughter-in-Law

Carrying snacks on his shoulder, a water pot in his left hand, and a candleholder in his right, he returned to the dormitory building. The door was not closed. After Xiao Fengliang entered the room, Lin Dong followed in. Seeing Xiao Fengliang take the package from Lin Dong’s hands and quickly open it, Feng Changzhai couldn’t help but exclaim, “So much?”
“Grandpa, uncle, here are some apples,” Xiao Fengliang knew how to return kindness. He took two apples, handed one to Feng Changzhai and the other to Lin Dong, his open hands showing great generosity.
“Th-this… isn’t that a bit too much? How can I accept this?” Feng Changzhai looked at Lin Dong, visibly anxious. These snacks must have cost at least a hundred or eighty coins; he didn’t even have thirty coins for the whole night. It was simply unacceptable.
“It’s just food for children. There’s no need for you to be polite, Old Feng,” Lin Dong took the apple from Xiao Fengliang, wiped it on his sleeve, and took a big bite.
“But… but…” Feng Changzhai was still uneasy. Taking so much food from others meant he’d have to pay seven or eight coins for a meal the next day—too embarrassing.
“Old Feng, from Xiao Liang, I heard that you and your grandson were driven out of your home?” Lin Dong understood Feng Changzhai’s thoughts and, not caring about his pride, asked directly. Otherwise, if Old Feng, who valued face, realized he was short on money the next day and felt too ashamed to leave, he’d be in a difficult situation.
Feng Changzhai’s face darkened as he shook his head repeatedly. “What does a child know? We just got tired of living at home, so I’m taking him back to our hometown for a few days.”
Lin Dong smiled calmly, sat down at the desk, and said, “Since you also live in the north of the city, you must have heard of the reputation of our Lin’s Inn. Whenever guests encounter any difficulties, we try our best to help. Xiao Liang is still young and should be studying martial arts at an academy. You’re not young either. Life back in your hometown probably won’t be easy for you two. Even if you don’t think of yourself, you should consider Xiao Liang.”
“Well…” Feng Changzhai hesitated. “I brought quite a bit of silver before leaving…”
Lin Dong shook his head, disappointed. “If that’s the case, I won’t disturb your rest anymore.”
Seeing Lin Dong turn away seemingly displeased, Feng Changzhai gritted his teeth and rushed to the door. “Shopkeeper Lin, it’s not that I deliberately reject your kindness. It’s just that…” With a deep sigh, as Lin Dong turned around, Feng Changzhai said helplessly, “It’s because of misfortunes at home. I have no face to complain to others!”

Using the tactic of pretending to retreat as a way to advance worked; Lin Dong hurriedly said, “Old Feng, if you don’t mind, please tell me! For our Lin’s Inn, every visitor is a guest. We’ll do whatever we can to help, and even if we can’t, we certainly won’t think of mocking them.”
“Please sit down, Manager Lin,” Feng Changzhai nodded and asked Lin Dong to sit by the desk. After sitting down across from him, he sighed and said, “I, Feng Changzhai, have spent my whole life working as an accountant for officials. Although I’ve done some falsifying of accounts, even if I didn’t, others would still do it.”
Though somewhat disagreeing with this, Lin Dong still nodded.
“As I get older, I want to return to my hometown,” Feng Changzhai sighed heavily again. After Lin Dong refilled his tea cup, he accepted it with some trepidation before slowly starting to talk: “It just so happens that my son can’t stand rural life and insists on moving to Qiufeng City. It’s one thing to come here, but once drunk, he acts wildly and scares away his wife. Last summer he remarryed, and I don’t know what misfortune befell me, but out of all possible wives, he chose a wicked one. She speaks to me harshly and beats and scolds Xiao Liang as well. Tonight, just because Xiao Liang was hungry and ate before she could serve, she drove both of us, grandfather and grandson, out.”
Lin Dong remained silent—what a cruel stepmother.
After offering some comfort, Lin Dong asked, “Does Old Feng plan to return to his hometown first and then wait for them to come and pick you and Xiao Liang up?”
Feng Changzhai smiled bitterly. “That’s what I thought. I told my son to stay at the inn for a few days first, but… given that wicked woman’s temper, I’m afraid she won’t let us back in.”
Lin Dong was speechless. From what he heard, it seemed the man who drove away his ex-wife was also present, and he just left his father and son to be driven out, expecting that man to come and pick them up—something that would only happen if the sun rose in the west.
Of course, if he gave Feng Changzhai a thousand or eight hundred taels of silver, that man and his wife would probably rush to the inn to pick them up. But that would only be a temporary solution.
Regardless of whether the inn system approved it or not, Lin Dong definitely wouldn’t do that. The grandfather and grandson were related to his upgrade task, and they also indirectly helped the inn a great deal. Since he wanted to help them, he would surely see them through to the end.
After pondering for a moment, Lin Dong stood up and called out to Xiao Feng Liang, “Xiao Liang, do you want to go home?”
Xiao Feng Liang hesitated for a moment before shaking his head vigorously. “I won’t go back. The wicked woman and dad will beat me.”
“Then… shall I help you drive them away?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
Xiao Feng Liang nodded eagerly. “Yes, uncle, drive them away.”

“That’s not possible…” Feng Changzhai was startled and quickly waved his hands.
“Why?” Lin Dong frowned. “What use are such sons and daughters-in-law?”
Feng Changzhai sighed. “That scoundrel already had a bunch of worthless friends. I don’t know what kind of outrageous things he’s been up to lately, but he makes quite a bit of silver every month, and his circle of friends grows even larger. I know Manager Lin is acquainted with Lord Li, but even if we drive them away, it’s hard to guarantee they won’t return in a few days. We might scare them for a few days or weeks, but not for months, let alone longer. Besides, that wicked wife is now pregnant. Driving them away…”
“Pregnant?” Lin Dong was surprised.
Feng Changzhai nodded. “She’s been pregnant for seven months already. If we drive them away, the rough journey could harm the baby.”
“Even with silver, their life at home might not be any better than outside, right?” Lin Dong said indifferently.
“But after all, the child in her womb is blood of our Feng family. As we grow old, all we hope for is harmony within the family and many descendants,” Feng Changzhai said with a sad face. “I just hope those two will truly repent.”
Lin Dong felt helpless. To make such a wicked son and daughter-in-law truly repent would take even the help of gods, not just a day or two.
But… Feng Changzhai probably didn’t really think those two would repent, right? For him, if they agreed to let them back, that would already count as repentance.
Either way, it wasn’t worth trying? Otherwise, it would be even more difficult than getting that stubborn Wang Shuangxi to accept Yi Yi. If completing an upgrade task was so hard, the system owner wouldn’t be so unkind as to throw another extremely difficult task right after.
After thinking about how to achieve the result Feng Changzhai hoped for, Lin Dong said, “Old Feng, let’s go! Take me to the Feng family. I’ll have a good talk with them. There’s no reason to drive one’s own father and son out of the house.”
“Go now?” Feng Changzhai was surprised.
Lin Dong nodded.
“No, no,” Feng Changzhai shook his head repeatedly. “It’s so late. How can I trouble Manager Lin? Besides, that scoundrel has many drunk and violent friends—thugs who run amok in the streets. If Manager Lin disturbs Lord Li because of me in the middle of the night, it would be a grave mistake.”
“It’s fine. I’ve trained in martial arts and am quite skilled. There’s no need to disturb Lord Li at night,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly.
“But…” Feng Changzhai said helplessly, “that wicked wife gets angry easily when awakened. If disturbed, she might fly into a rage, and I’m afraid it could harm the baby.”

Lin Dong was speechless; he had nothing left to say. He couldn’t just carry someone along.
“Elder Feng, I give up arguing with you,” Lin Dong said with a bitter smile. “How about we go after breakfast tomorrow morning?”
Feng Changzhai nodded apologetically. “Shopkeeper Lin, as an old man, I ask for little. I hope you can understand my ignorance.”
Lin Dong nodded. At this point, there was no choice but to go early the next day.
After chatting a bit more with Feng Changzhai, Lin Dong returned to the main hall. Two more groups of guests came to stay for the night. Considering accommodation and meals, the cost was even higher than that of Feng Changzhai and his grandson.
Early the next morning, Ma Chun opened the shop with his assistants. After estimating the time, Lin Dong went to the back yard to wash up before heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
He made buns, congee, and some pickles. Once everything was on the tray, he carried it out of the kitchen just as Yun Lan slowly walked over to the stone table and sat down.
Lin Dong smiled, placed the tray down, and said, “I notice we’re getting more in sync. Every day, as soon as I finish cooking, you show up right away.”
“I’ll come later at noon,” Yun Lan replied calmly.
“That’s not a funny joke,” Lin Dong said, shaking his head as he sat down. He grabbed a bun and ate while continuing, “And, would you like to go out with me later? We might eat outside at noon.”
Yun Lan nodded and then asked, “Where?”
“You haven’t seen me do a good deed yet!” Lin Dong laughed. “I’ll take you to see it later.”
Yun Lan couldn’t help but laugh. It had been over a month, yet he still remembered it.
After breakfast, the two went to the lodging building, where Feng Changzhai and his grandson had been waiting for a long time.
The Feng family’s house wasn’t far from the inn—only about ten to twenty minutes’ walk. The yard was quite spacious, indicating that Feng Changzhai must have accumulated quite a bit of wealth in the past.
The main gate was bright red and brand new, clearly more grand than ordinary homes. Feng Changzhai gently pulled away from Xiao Feng Liang’s hand and stepped forward to knock on the door.
Xiao Feng Liang seemed fearful and grabbed Lin Dong’s sleeve again.
“Who is it?” a girl’s voice asked from inside.
“Xiao Cui, it’s me!” Feng Changzhai replied.
Suddenly, a sharp voice came from inside, “You old wretch, why have you come back? Get lost! Xiao Cui, don’t open the door!”
Feng Changzhai looked embarrassed and muttered something before turning to look at Lin Dong.
“It’s okay!” Lin Dong patted Xiao Feng Liang’s head and stepped forward. “Elder Feng, step aside.”
Not understanding what he meant, Feng Changzhai still stepped back a little.
Lin Dong stretched his muscles, channeled spiritual energy into his right leg, and kicked out suddenly.
Boom…

Half of the huge courtyard gate flew open in an instant, dust billowing up. Feng Changzhai and Xiao Feng Liang were stunned, unable to react for a long time.
Yun Lan couldn’t help but laugh—it wasn’t doing a good deed at all; they had come to tear down the house.