Wow, Black Tower.
Wow, Twin Swords Black Tower.
This was Lin Fang’s first time meeting her eldest aunt’s son and daughter-in-law. The first to enter was her eldest cousin, Zhang Xiangfa. Lin Fang estimated that he was about 1.95 meters tall—dark-skinned, robust, and bearing some resemblance to their grandfather, though he was definitely a dozen centimeters taller. It was a shame he didn’t play basketball. Before she could finish marveling, her cousin’s wife followed closely behind, just two steps away. Compared to Zhang Xiangfa, she was a bit shorter, but still easily 1.8 meters tall, equally dark and sturdy.
“Wow, cousin, you’re so tall!”
While Lin Fang was silently amazed, Lin Wu blurted it out directly.
“Hehehe,” Zhang Fa chuckled warmly, scooping Lin Wu up and tossing him into the air. He controlled the height perfectly—each throw came just shy of the ceiling before Lin Wu descended, only to be caught and tossed again. Lin Wu found it thrilling, alternating between giggles and shrieks. Li Cuimei and Dalang didn’t react much, but Liu Ma and the maids were terrified, their faces tense as their heads bobbed up and down in perfect sync with Lin Wu’s movements, as if someone were commanding them.
“Xiangfa, put your cousin down! You’ll scare him!” Li Cuilan and Li Cuilian entered one after the other, scolding at the sight. Cuilan also shot a reproachful glance at her daughter-in-law. “Xiaohua, why didn’t you stop him?”
Xiaohua just smiled sheepishly without a word, making Li Cuilan sigh and shake her head.
Lin Fang felt a chill run down her spine. That hulk of a woman was called *Xiaohua*?
Last winter, Li Cuilan had set up a small greenhouse. Though she didn’t grow much, everyone who saw it praised it. Wealthier families were willing to pay several times the usual price for her vegetables. Li Cuihong, in particular, saw potential—selling them in her restaurant at meat prices, or even higher, given her culinary skills. She made a deal with her eldest sister to grow more vegetables this winter, which she’d buy in bulk.
Today, Zhang Faxiang and his wife had come to deliver vegetables to Li Cuihong. Li Cuilan hadn’t seen her third sister since the New Year and missed her dearly, so she tagged along to town. Li Cuilian, who had recently divorced Zhou Xiaosuo, also happened to be in town to clear her mind. The two sisters ran into each other at the restaurant and decided to visit Li Cuimei together.
“Fang’er, this is your eldest aunt. Say hello.”
“Eldest Aunt.”
Li Cuilan walked in, and Lin Fang recognized her immediately. But she didn’t dare greet her right away—the last time they’d met, she hadn’t even been a year old. If she’d called out unprompted after nearly a year apart, she wouldn’t just be the “little prodigy” everyone joked about—she’d be an actual supernatural creature. No child under one could have *that* good a memory.
Her sweet, soft voice melted Li Cuilan’s heart. She took her niece from her sister’s arms, kissed her cheek affectionately, and asked Li Cuimei, “Third Sister, is there really no way to remove this mark on Fang’er’s face? Your mother-in-law has been giving her medicine, but why hasn’t it worked?”
At the question, Li Cuimei’s smile faded. “Since the New Year, Fang’er has refused to take the medicine. My mother-in-law also said it might not help, and since Fang’er resisted so much, we stopped. But—”
“Oh, Eldest Sister, Third Sister, look at the bright side,” Li Cuilian comforted. “If Fang’er kept taking medicine, Second Aunt says her health might be worse than it is now. A tiny stomach full of medicine leaves little room for food.”
Even after divorcing Zhou Xiaosuo, Li Cuilian still referred to Tong Shi as “Second Aunt.”
“You’re right, you’re right. Shame on me for not realizing it sooner as the eldest sister.”
Li Cuilan regretted her question immediately, scolding herself for upsetting her sister. She quickly followed Cuilian’s lead to lighten the mood.
Lin Fang also blamed her aunt for making her mother sad. Seeing her mother on the verge of tears again, she quickly changed the subject. “Mama, new clothes! New clothes!”
Liu Ma hurried over. “Here they are! Look, Third Miss made these for Eldest Miss, Eldest Brother-in-law, Cousin, and Cousin’s wife. Try them on and see if they fit.”
Lin Fang had heard from her mother that Li Cuilan, despite being a woman, had no talent for needlework, disliked reading, and couldn’t memorize poetry. But she excelled in martial arts—Zhang Xiangfa’s skills were all taught by her.
Given her looks and the Li family’s status, Li Cuilan could have easily married into wealth. Instead, she chose Zhang Tieshuan, a simple, illiterate farmer with little land, no parents, and a year younger than her. Unable to dissuade her, Li Qingyun and his wife gave her a generous dowry, hoping life would be easier. But Cuilan refused everything except a few plots of land. The couple worked hard, lived frugally, and while not rich, they were content.
The only regret? No matter how hard she tried, Li Cuilan’s sewing was hopeless—and her daughter-in-law was no better. So, their family’s clothes were either bought or made by relatives. Li Cuimei made at least one set for each of them every year.
“Haha, Liu Ma, the older you get, the sharper your tongue. Why not just say ‘your family’ instead of listing everyone? Lucky there’s only four of us—if it were a big family, you’d pass out from exhaustion!”
Li Cuilan laughed at her own joke, then turned to Li Cuimei. “Third Sister, you’ve always liked peace and quiet. How do you stand Liu Ma’s chattering?”
“Eldest Sister, if Liu Ma’s noisy, then I must be unbearable—I talk plenty every time I visit.”
“See? Even you admit it. That means you’re *extra* annoying.”
“Liu Ma noisy. Eldest Aunt noisy. Fifth Aunt noisy. Mama not noisy.”
“HAHAHAHA!”
Li Cuilan and Li Cuilian’s banter was just to distract Li Cuimei. Lin Fang decided to join in, counting each one off with a grin before nestling back into her aunt’s arms, tiny fingers tracing the wrinkles on her face. In her forties, Li Cuilan looked older than Tong Shi—her skin rough, crow’s feet pronounced, forehead deeply lined, likely from years of sun and wind.
The room erupted in laughter at Lin Fang’s childish honesty. Li Cuilan caught her mischievous hand, kissed it, and teased, “You little imp, what about you? Are *you* noisy?”
“Fang’er not noisy. Fang’er good. Fang’er wanna play with Fourth Sister.”
Figuring her role here was done, Lin Fang shamelessly praised herself before wriggling out of Li Cuilan’s arms. She toddled unsteadily toward Lin Xia, Liu Ma trailing closely behind.
Since her last return from the Zhou family, Lin Xia had changed. She spoke less, no longer ran wild with Lin Wu, refused to share a room with Lin Juan, and insisted on sleeping alone—no maids allowed. She spent her days secluded, permitting only Lin Fang to enter.
“Fourth Sister, Fourth Sister! Fang’er’s here to learn words again! What will you teach today?”
Lin Fang had grown accustomed to the local speech patterns and even found them refreshingly concise. Leaving Liu Ma outside, she tried—and failed—to climb over the high threshold. “Fourth Sister, Fang’er can’t get in!”
“Ah, you little dummy. When will you grow taller?” Lin Xia set down her brush, hauled Lin Fang inside with a mix of pulling and carrying, giving Liu Ma a minor heart attack in the process.
Once in, Lin Fang scrambled toward the stool Lin Xia had been using, babbling, “What did Fourth Sister write today? Fang’er wants to learn!”
“Slow down, you’ll fall.”
Lin Xia helped her onto the stool, moving her freshly inked practice sheet aside to avoid stains.
“Fourth Sister’s writing is so pretty! Fang’er wants to write like that!”
Honestly, for a five-year-old, Lin Xia’s calligraphy was impressive—far better than kindergarteners in Lin Fang’s past life, who needed expensive lessons and parental coaxing just to pick up a brush. Then again, those kids had packed schedules—weekends meant extracurriculars, not rest. No wonder they resisted.
Lin Xia stood by the stool, steadying Lin Fang as she pointed to the characters on the table. “Zhào, Qián, Sūn, Lǐ.”
Lin Fang struggled with traditional characters but recognized this as the opening line of *The Hundred Family Surnames*. She knew her mother had started teaching it to Lin Xia—she just wanted to coax more words out of her sister.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage