Chapter 28
Chapter 28: Getting a Wife Is as Easy as Buying Cabbage
Chu Tian Tian hopped down from the carriage and stared up at her uncle.
He’d cleaned up, and beneath the exhaustion, his face had recovered a bit of its natural handsomeness.
Her eyes blinked once.
Then she spoke like she was dropping a boulder into a pond. “Wow! I didn’t expect Uncle to be kinda handsome!”
Lin Chong’s step faltered.
“And, Uncle,” she continued brightly, “have you talked marriage yet?”
“Pfft—cough, cough!” Lin Chong choked on his own saliva, face turning red like a boiled shrimp. “N-no! Sweetie, why are you asking that?!”
Chu Tian Tian put on a serious expression and patted his arm like a seasoned elder. “Uncle, a man’s blooming season is short! Like spring flowers—whoosh, and they wither!”
She leaned in, voice solemn as a lecturing grandpa. “You have to hurry and find Tian Tian a pretty aunt. Otherwise you’ll… you’ll expire!”
Lin Chong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Little ancestor, getting a wife isn’t like going to the market to buy cabbage. You can’t just find one because you want to.”
“You can, you can!” Chu Tian Tian puffed her chest out. “If Tian Tian says you can, you can!”
She unhooked her bulging little satchel—embroidered with a Little Duck—and shoved it into Lin Chong’s hands. “Here, Uncle! Startup money! Go big and be bold! Tian Tian believes in you!”
Lin Chong weighed the bag and thought, More snacks?
He unfastened it.
Golden light practically punched him in the face.
It wasn’t pastries.
It wasn’t candy.
It was gold ingots—neatly stacked, bright yellow, enough to make a grown man’s soul wobble.
Lin Chong sucked in a breath so sharp it hurt. “Sweetie… what is this?! Did you rob the treasury?!”
Chu Tian Tian jumped onto a stone stool, slapped her little hand over his mouth, and darted her eyes around like a tiny spy. “Shh! Uncle, keep it down! This is Tian Tian’s private stash! It’s business capital!”
She pulled her hand away just as her stomach growled loudly, perfectly timed.
Her face instantly switched into a pout. “Uncle~ Tian Tian is starving. Tian Tian wants food.”
Still reeling, Lin Chong asked blankly, “W-what do you want to eat?”
Chu Tian Tian pointed outward with absolute conviction. “Cabbage!”
Lin Chong settled Sweetie in the courtyard and went out with his last few copper coins.
Sweetie wanted cabbage, but he wasn’t about to feed a growing little ancestor only cabbage. He bought a strip of pork belly, then two steaming meat buns and tucked them inside his coat to keep warm.
Only then did he head to the vegetable stall.
“Old sir,” he said, squatting down, “give me a good cabbage.”
Picking cabbage had rules: white, firm roots; green leaves wrapped tight; heavy with juice; crisp when tapped.
As he searched, he remembered Sweetie’s declaration—getting a wife is as easy as buying cabbage—and almost laughed.
Silly girl. Picking one good cabbage was already hard enough. How could finding a person who shared warmth and cold be that simple?
He chose a cabbage, grabbed two daikon, paid, and turned to leave.
A sudden cry sounded behind him.
A frail figure stumbled straight into his arms and collapsed like a feather.
“Young lady?” Lin Chong caught her on instinct.
Her face was pale as paper. Her breathing was thin and weak. In his arms, she felt light enough to be blown away.
The old woman nearby clicked her tongue. “Poor thing. Looks like she fainted from hunger. Young man, hurry—take her to a clinic.”
A clinic?
Lin Chong went numb.
His pouch was empty. The copper coins were gone. The gold Sweetie gave him was disaster-relief money—he couldn’t touch it.
He looked down at the unconscious young lady, jaw tightening.
“Fine. I’ll bring her home first.”
He carried her back, arms trembling from the weight. The moment he stepped into the courtyard—
“Wow!” Sweetie clapped and bounced, eyes shining like stars. “Uncle is amazing! You bought cabbage and even brought back a fresh-looking aunt! Tian Tian told you—getting a wife is as easy as buying cabbage!”
“Sweetie!” Lin Chong’s face went crimson. “Stop talking nonsense! Don’t ruin the young lady’s reputation!”
He laid the woman carefully on the bed. “Be good and wait. Uncle is going to fetch the doctor, then I’ll cook.”
He bolted out like his feet were on fire.
The moment he was gone, Sweetie kicked off her little shoes and climbed onto the bed, peering at the woman’s face. Pretty, delicate… just too thin, too pale.
She had A Dai pour a bowl of tea and fetch a spoon. While A Dai’s back was turned, Sweetie slipped a little spirit spring water into the tea.
Then she fed the woman a few careful sips.
Not long after, the woman’s lashes trembled. She slowly woke, eyes unfocused.
Seeing Sweetie—soft and bright like a carved immortal child—she murmured, “I… am I in a fairy realm?”
“Nope!” Sweetie grinned, showing tiny teeth. “This is Uncle’s home. Uncle picked you up—you big ‘cabbage!’ Here, eat a fruit!”
She stuffed a red fruit from the Pocket Space into the woman’s hands. It was fragrant, brimming with spirit energy.
Min Xi Ling ate it, and warmth spread through her limbs. The hunger, exhaustion, and weakness of days vanished like smoke.
By the time Lin Chong returned, he was drenched in sweat, dragging along a barefoot doctor he’d begged to come on credit.
He burst in—then stopped.
The young lady was sitting up, cheeks rosy, chatting calmly with Sweetie and A Dai.
The doctor checked her pulse, then blew up like a kettle. “Pulse stronger than an ox! Are you playing with this old man?”
He stormed out, cursing.
Min Xi Ling watched Lin Chong take the scolding without complaint, then awkwardly escort the doctor away. When he came back scratching his head, embarrassed, she couldn’t help thinking—men this kind still existed?
“Good… good you’re all right,” Lin Chong said, wiping sweat. “Where do you live? How did you faint in the street?”
Min Xi Ling lowered her eyes, voice soft and fragile. “I… Min Xi Ling… I’m an orphan refugee. My travel money was stolen. I… I haven’t eaten for three days…”
She shivered just enough to look pitiful.
Lin Chong believed her at once. His heart softened. “Don’t be afraid. Eat first. We’ll talk after you’re full.”
He hurried into the kitchen.
Soon, the courtyard filled with the smell of food.
Cabbage and pork stewed until glossy and fragrant. Sour-spicy stir-fried cabbage stems. Bright, crisp daikon slices. Cold-mixed cabbage cores. And a milky, savory daikon soup with fried egg.
Min Xi Ling lifted a chopstickful of daikon, tasted it—and her eyes filled.
Big tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Young lady?” Lin Chong panicked, hands flailing. “What’s wrong? Is the food not to your taste?”