Chapter 125: The Lin Family of the Capital (2)

“Grandpa, just tell us already! Everyone’s waiting. You haven’t even said what’s so special about that Zhou Jiao. You just keep saying she’s outstanding—how exactly is she outstanding? She’s a 17-year-old country girl who’s never even seen a big city. How great could she possibly be? Ha, Grandpa, are you just teasing us?” Lin Xuelin, the eldest granddaughter of the Lin family, sneered dismissively.

Hearing this, Li Jianjun, who was sitting nearby, rolled his eyes repeatedly in exasperation. He hated hearing people talk about “country folk” and “city folk,” as if people from the city were somehow superior. Who could claim their ancestors didn’t come from the countryside? He himself was from a rural background—was he any worse than city people? Did they really think coming from the countryside made someone inferior? Not to mention, even his own eldest brother-in-law, Zhou Xiaozheng, was from the countryside. Who would dare claim to be better than Zhou Xiaozheng? The Lin family only had their status because of the old man. That little girl thought she was above everyone else, but even with all her airs, she couldn’t even get into high school and had to rely on connections to get a job.

Old Master Lin glanced at his eldest granddaughter’s unconvinced expression, then at his eldest daughter-in-law, who looked the same. His youngest daughter, though, seemed thoughtful, and as for his youngest son-in-law—well, there was no need to look; even he didn’t like what his granddaughter had just said.

Old Master Lin exchanged a glance with his wife and shook his head in disappointment. The Lin family really was declining with each generation. His eldest granddaughter had grown up by her grandmother’s side—how had she failed to pick up even a little bit of her wisdom?

Madam Lin shot him a glare, as if to say she knew exactly what he was thinking. Wasn’t he just blaming her for not raising the girl well? The granddaughter had a mother—why should she interfere? Besides, some things came down to genetics and perception. With her eldest daughter-in-law’s family background, how could she expect the child to be exceptional?

“You old man, just tell us already! We want to hear about that child too. We’ve never even met her, and you can’t tell much from a photo. Shanshan only has this one daughter—who knows what she’s thinking? Seventeen years, and they’ve never even met once. I just hope the child doesn’t get upset and come back here in tears.”

If Lin Lishan were here, she’d definitely be looking at Madam Lin with a face full of questions and grievance.

Old Master Lin let out a cold chuckle. “Worried about upsetting Shanshan? That girl is fiercely protective. When Shanshan met her, the first thing she asked was whether her father had any other children outside. If he did, she said not to bother coming to see her in the Northeast. Jiaojiao said she could accept her parents not being around, but she couldn’t accept betrayal. Imagine—a 17-year-old girl saying that. Would she really get Shanshan upset?”

Madam Lin pondered this for a moment before saying, “She’s got quite a backbone. Is she hot-tempered? What’s her personality like? Is she as proud and aloof as Zhou Xiaozheng?”

“She takes after Zhou Xiaozheng. She’s smart, strategic, shrewd, and proud to the core—just like him. Outwardly, both father and daughter are different: he always has a cold face, she always greets people with a smile, but in how they handle things, they’re very much alike. She’s truly her father’s daughter.

“She comes across as scholarly and delicate—small, seemingly weak, very quiet. But she’s calm and poised, never rash or impatient.

“She’s also extremely talented. Her only real hobby is reading. She doesn’t have any close friends or sisters—just loves her books. Besides that, she’s skilled at embroidery and has mastered her grandmother’s family medical techniques. I heard she learned the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic by the age of three. What’s even more remarkable is that, apart from her grandmother and Zhang Guoqing, who grew up with her, no one really knows her background. All anyone knows is that Zhou Jiao loves to read.

“She’s very low-key, good at hiding her abilities, and hates trouble—she’ll avoid it whenever she can. She’s gentle by nature, and as long as you don’t cross her bottom line, she’s easy to get along with. But if you do, she’ll strike without hesitation.” Old Master Lin sighed as he finished, feeling regret that such an exceptional child was content to live a quiet, ordinary life.

Madam Lin looked at him in confusion and couldn’t help but ask, “With such a good child, what are you sighing about? Did something happen?”

Old Master Lin sighed again. “Before we even arrived, that young couple had already guessed we’d be visiting around those days, and even predicted Zhou Xiaozheng would return before the end of the year. Do you know how they figured it out? Just because we suddenly sent more packages this year. They picked up on the tiniest clues.

“And there’s something else. The day we arrived, something happened that caused a sensation throughout the county. As for what exactly happened—I’ll tell you about it later.

“It’s not just Jiaojiao. Her fiancé, Zhang Guoqing, is only 18, but he’s polite and well-mannered—no different from the sons of distinguished families. I took him to a meeting, and all those old fellows couldn’t stop praising him. What’s even rarer is that he’s incredibly strong—he can easily lift over 500 pounds with one hand—and he’s smart, too. He just watched Xiao Zhou drive for half an hour, and then he could drive himself. Yet, despite all this, he refuses to join the army and insists on making his own way. He’s an outstanding young man. Such a pity.”

Everyone in the living room had different reactions after hearing this. Old Master Lin glanced at his eldest granddaughter’s disdainful face and sighed inwardly. Thank goodness she was a girl—at least he still had grandsons, so there was hope for the Lin family yet. Genetics really did matter. He’d have to discuss the choice of his grandson’s wife carefully with his wife—a good woman could bring fortune to three generations.

Lin Liying, completely absorbed, hurriedly asked, “Dad, what exactly happened? What could possibly cause such a stir in the whole county?”

Thinking of Zhou Jiao, Old Master Lin burst out laughing. “Jiaojiao is quite famous in the county. If you mention Zhou Jiao, people might not know her, but if you say ‘Golden Baby,’ everyone knows who you mean. That’s the nickname people gave her.

“And what does ‘Golden Baby’ mean? It’s what people call her because she single-handedly supports five families of the Zhou clan. Hold on, I’ll have Xiao Zhou come and tell you about what happened that day. You all should learn something from this. Afterward, I want to hear your thoughts. Xiao Zhou, come to the living room.”

Xiao Zhou was tidying up the study. Hearing the call, he hurried out. “Sir, did you need something? The study is all cleaned up.”

“It’s nothing—just want to talk about Jiaojiao and Xiao Wu. Tell everyone what Jiaojiao said that day. Let them reflect on it.”

Xiao Zhou looked at everyone, a bit embarrassed. “Um, I can’t really capture Zhou Jiao’s presence. Xiao Fei wrote down her speech—how about you read it yourselves?”

Madam Lin nodded—she really didn’t want to make things hard for the boy. “Go on, bring it over and we’ll read it ourselves. Later, tell us what exactly happened that day.”

Old Master Lin shook his head. “No, tell us first, then we’ll read it. Start from when we went to the county and visited her home. Be detailed.”

Xiao Zhou chuckled to himself. The old man had been preparing for this day for a while—he’d even told him earlier to remember to write to the Northwest. Seeing everyone waiting, he cleared his throat, sat down, and began recounting everything from their arrival in the county to their visit to Zhangjia Village. He talked for over an hour, and when he finished, the living room was silent.

Xiao Zhou quietly got up and returned to the study, bringing out the letter and handing it to Old Master Lin. The old man passed it to his wife, signaling for her to read it aloud.

Old Master Lin wanted to hear it again, to relive just how remarkable that child was. Watching them all so cheerful these days, he’d almost forgotten that, even in such an environment, she hadn’t been led astray, but had instead grown even more open-hearted.

Listening to his wife’s voice, Old Master Lin’s mind drifted back to the image of Zhou Jiao standing tall and proud amidst the crowd, and he couldn’t help but sigh."