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    Chapter 27 A new friend


    By the time Su Wan and Lin Yan finished setting the dishes upon the dining table that Lin Chen andLinRuicarried outside LinJingandmother Lin joined them as well. Lin Yu who was wiping the uneven dining table legs that croaked like a bull frog looked up at his eldest brother then turned his head at Su Wan before lowering his head once again.


    Just like others Su Wantoo saw Lin Jining to the diningarea but she didn''tsay anything insteadshe just raised a brow andhelped mother Lin settle down on a stool .


    " will it be fine ?"tryingto ease the awkwardness Lin Ruiasked Lin Yu pointing at the tablelegs that were shaking underneath the weight of the dishes


    " no " shaking his head Lin Yu stood up with the help of Lin Chen before limpingto theside" I..it can''tbe u..used f...for evena ye..ye..year , the woo..woodwas lon..long eate..eaten by the term..termites. At m..most we canus..use it f..for this win..win..winter "


    Lin Chen was the one who found thisso called diningtableof their family in the junk left by the old Ling family in the broken downshed .Currentlythey didn''thave much money andcould only make do with junk like this , in the old Lin familythey hada dining tablein the old residence of the Lin familybut when they separated Grandma Linsobbed like they were looting her family''s treasurewhen they asked for their dining table . Thus , in the end they hadno other choice butto leave it there most probablytheir uncle''sfamilymight be using it now .


    " its fine " said Lin Yanwaving a hand as he sat downon the stool next to mother Lin" we just need to use it until for a little while . Once we haveenough money we will buya new one "


    " I''mafraid it won''st long " said Su Wan tappingon the wooden surface of the table" Lin Yu is rightwe can use it until this winter is over but that''s on the premisethat nothing goes wrong .I don''tthink we should take it lightly, if the tablebroke while we were eating then won''twe have to purchase a new set of crockery?"


    Lin Yan pursed his lips , he rubbed his hand on the uneven surface lightly and felt the table tremble under its impact " I think you are right why don''tone of us go to the mountain and bring some lumber to builda dining tablefrom the scratch? "


    " Iwillgo " said Lin Jingafter a short pause . Amongthe five brothershe was the only onewho could identify which tree wood was good enoughto makefurniture and the one with the best wood were found at the verybackof theforeston the mountain.Only he alone could navigate in that thick forest not to mention , he furtivelyncedat Su Wanwho was frowningat the shakingtableand swallowedhe too wanted to coax his wife and receivpliments from him .Since , he cannotcoax her with words , he might as well coax her with his actions .


    " will you be alright ?" asked Su Wanlooking up at Lin Jing , thoughshe knew that he was used to hunting in the mountain.She was still a bit worried about him , after all he was her eldest husband.


    " En " said Lin Jing simply his face as stoic as ever in faceof her worry but what shedidn''tknow was that Lin Jing ''s insides weredancing conga .


    " I see -" a sudden knock at their entrance door interruptedSu Wanbecause of what happened this morning, Lin Chenclosed their entrancedoor . Usuallythe vigers never closed theirfront door in the morning but thenagain the vigers don''thavertiveslike the old Lin family.


    " Who might be at the door ? " asked mother Lin staringat the entrancedoor , this morning incident left such a big scareon her heartthat she was even afraidto open the front door .


    " It won''tbe the old Lin familyright ?" said Lin Rui frowning


    " no " lips pressed in thin line , Lin Yan refuted at once" The old Lin familyjust left, I don''tthey will rush back to troubleus again so soon ? " though he said that he sounded a bithesistant .


    " There is no point in siting here and discussing " said Su Wanas she strode towardsthe door , she wasn''tsomeone who procrastinateddealing with their trouble. If the Old Lin familywas here to trouble them , then she might as well deal with them again .


    The Lin brothersexchanged a look with eachother and rushed after Su Wanwho opened the front door .


    " Hello what do you want ?"seeing that it wasn''tthe old Lin family, Su Wanhurriedly changed her fierce expression to a cordial one .


    " hello , good day Mrs . Lin ." greeted their guest , the other girlwas a bit chubby and round but her face was kind and when she smiledat her , Su Wanthoughtthat the girl looked cute like a littledoll " My name is Fang Xiaolin, you can call me madam Fangor Mrs Fang, the house next to yours belongs to me and my husbands.Since , we are neighbours I thoughtthat I should introducemyself " then with a little embarrassment on her face she asked " did Ie at a wrong time ? Umm , I''msorry .. I just returned from my natal home and heard from Eldest Fang that we have new neighbours- did I disturb you ?"


    " no , no " waving a hand Su Wanhurriedly invited Madam Fang inside their house " you didn''tdisturbus " Su Wanthougha bit distracted at first caught the words''husbands''in Fang Xiaolin ''s introduction.It seemed that just like her Fang Xiaolinwas a shared wife as well if that''sthe casewouldn''tshe be the only woman in the vige who will willingly befriendswith her ?


    " Oh its you MadamFang" Lin Ruigreeted Fang Xiaolinwhen he saw hering " you are back?"


    " Ah yes, I''m" answeredFang Xiaolin soundinga bit ufortablethen as if she wanted to change the topic , she hurriedlyshoved the basket filled with chicken eggs in Su Wan ''s hands " My family don''tearn much but our chickenid quiet some eggs this week , so I brought yousome ..Please don''trefuseor I will thinkyou don''twant to befriend me "


    " Aiya so much eggs " gaspedmother Lin who just arrivedwithLin Yan" youshouldn''thave brought so much , Ah fang" she said to Fang Xiaolinkindly


    " itsfine auntie..I alreadysaid that our chickenid quieta few eggsthis weekso its not a big problem " Fang Xiaolinshook her head and assured mother Lin who''s smile turnedeven more kinder" then I should be leaving -"


    " Hey wait , We cannot just ept yoursincerityand not repay " said Su Wanwho shoved the egg filled basket at Lin Chen who hurriedly caught it and rushedinside and returningwith a big bowl that was filled withSainsbury fish balls/ steak ( whatever youwant to call it )


    " There is no need " Fang Xiaolin hurriedly refusedbut just as she shoved the egg basket in Su Wan ''s hands , Su Wanshoved the bowl in her hands " of coursethere is sincerityshould berepaidby sincerity "


    It was Fang Xiaolin ''s first time when she wastreated so kindly by someone. In her natal houseshe was treated as a ve, her family not only sold her as a sharedwife but theydidn''teven cut off their rtionshipwith her , every now and thenthey willcall her and ask for money .For example this week , her brothers endedup gambling all the living expensesthatshe had somehow managed saveandsent it back to her natal familybut her mother didn''tscold them instead she scolded hersaying that it was her who was useless and couldn''tsend more money to her brothersso that they can enjoy their life. Fang Xiaolinwho was alreadyfed up because ofbeing isted by the vigewomen for so many years finally blew up and determinedlycut off her rtionshipwith her natal family. Her husbandswere kind to her but they were too oldfashioned , apart from eating and sleeping they hardly spent time with her , that was why Fang Xiaolinrushedto befriendSu Wanwho was a shared wife just like her . In reality Fang Xiaolincame here with some hiddenmotives but when she saw Su Wan ''s sincerity she was so moved that tears came to her eyes " I understandthank you very much "Fang Xiaolindidn''twantSu Wanto see her tears thusshe hurriedly bidgoodbyeto the the Lin familyandleft.