Chapter 47: System Upgrade

Lin Dahai stood there completely bewildered, rubbing his head with an innocent expression.

He had no idea how he had offended his wife, and she was glaring at him with fury. "That little brat is drinking inside, why are you pointing at my nose and yelling at me?"

With that, he made a move to walk into the house.

Rather than arguing with his wife and suffering unprovoked misfortune, he felt a strong urge to go in and thrash that little rascal.

However, the moment he took a step, Zhao Guixiang grabbed him and held him back.

Zhao Guixiang batted her eyes and cast frantic, meaningful glances at him, trying to hint at something.

"What's wrong with you? Did sand get in your eyes?!" Lin Dahai asked, utterly confused.

Furious, Zhao Guixiang gave him a sharp kick and scolded him, "You old fool, can't you tell I was winking at you?!"

Lin Dahai remained blank and completely failed to catch on.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Li Xiaowan looked like a startled little rabbit as she leaped straight out of Lin Yang's embrace.

Her face burned all the way to the tips of her ears, and she was too flustered to even raise her head before hurrying out the door.

Lin Yang felt a pang of deep regret; such a wonderful opportunity had been ruined just like that by his mother.

Resigned, he got up from the bed.

Lin Dahai watched as Li Xiaowan rushed out in a panic, glanced at the elderly couple, and then bolted straight out the front gate. He turned a puzzled gaze toward his wife, seemingly asking what on earth had just happened.

Zhao Guixiang raised her hand, wanting to smack Lin Dahai, but he dodged nimbly out of the way.

"Mom, I'm hungry!"

At that moment, Lin Yang walked out looking weak and frail, calling out to his mother.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Zhao Guixiang asked pointedly, "Tell your mom the truth, did you really take a fancy to Xiaowan? If you dare lie to me, I'll break your dog legs today!"

Meeting his mother's fierce yet deeply caring gaze, Lin Yang nodded frantically like a pecking chick.

"Of course I did! Mom, if I hadn't taken a fancy to Xiaowan, how could I possibly have been holding the girl? Your son is a romantic at heart, not some good-for-nothing scoundrel!"

Zhao Guixiang couldn't help but burst into a chuckle. Her silly son had finally figured things out and mended his ways.

She even blurted out without thinking, "If you put all your heart into Xiaowan, your old mom gives you both hands in approval. Even if it cleans out our family savings, we'll marry this girl into our family."

"We've watched that girl grow up, we know everything about her background, and she's both filial and hardworking. Anyone can see she's a wonderful girl for building a life with."

Hearing this, Lin Dahai seemed to understand what was going on, and a sudden ache hit his teeth.

Had he inadvertently ruined his son's good moment?

Nevertheless, a second later, he glared fiercely at Lin Yang and warned him, "If you like the girl, get her married into our family as soon as possible. You're not even married yet—if you dare pull any reckless stunts, I'll snap your hands off!"

Knowing his father's straightforward and blunt temperament, Lin Yang didn't mind at all.

Just then, his eyes lit up when he spotted a rice bowl sitting on the stone table in the courtyard. He picked it up and cried out in delight, "Dough-drop soup!"

He looked at his mother with eager anticipation and began gulping it down in large mouthfuls.

Having drunk quite a bit of alcohol and eaten some meat at Uncle Ba's place the day before, he wasn't exceptionally hungry.

Still, having just woken up, he desperately wanted something hot in his stomach.

Once the dough-drop soup went down, his stomach felt wonderfully warm and comfortable.

Unbeknownst to him, however, his mother had already started signaling his father again.

This time, Lin Dahai finally grasped the meaning.

He quietly walked over, shut the front gate, and bolted it securely from the inside.

Finally, he picked up a sturdy piece of firewood from the pile—roughly the size of a rolling pin and extremely well-suited for the task—and weighed it in his hand a few times.

Suddenly, Lin Yang felt an oppressive wave of murderous intent wash over him, and he instinctively looked toward his parents.

That was when he spotted the gleaming piece of firewood in his father's hand.

His heart instantly turned ice-cold, and he asked with a trace of terror, "Dad, what are you trying to do? Are you planning to beat your own son to death?"

"Beating you to death would be getting off easy. Eat up fast, and once you're done, you're getting a beating!" Lin Dahai said with a dark expression, glaring at him irritably.

Lin Yang knew in his heart that his antics yesterday truly must have worried his parents sick. In the dead of winter, far too many people froze to death after getting drunk outside; taking a couple of whacks was a fair lesson, and he had nothing to complain about.

Besides, judging by the setup, this was clearly going to be a joint disciplinary session from both parents!

In their household, his parents had an unwritten rule: they never hit the children while eating.

"You little rascal, you can't run away from today's beating. Dilly-dallying like this, can't you even finish a bowl of dough-drop soup? Don't make your mom break our family rule!"

Zhao Guixiang also chimed in aggressively from the side.

Feeling the "heavy" weight of maternal love, Lin Yang sighed helplessly, his eyes darting instinctively toward the fence as he pondered whether he could find an opportunity to slip away.

That sneaky glance toward the fence and the calculating look in Lin Yang's eyes as he figured out an escape route were instantly caught by Zhao Guixiang's sharp gaze.

Like a hawk swooping down on a chick, she lunged forward in a few strides, grabbed Lin Yang by the ear, and chided, "Hmph, you little slickster, thinking of greasing your feet and running away? No way!"

"Ouch, Mom, go easy, you're going to tear my ear right off!" Lin Yang cried out in an exaggerated plea for mercy as his facial features scrunched up in pain.

With his current limping and wretched state, there was zero chance of escaping his mother's "demonic claws," so he had no choice but to resign himself to his fate.

This heavy parental love left him feeling utterly helpless and on the verge of tears.

He still had things to take care of today. He needed to go see the old village chief; ever since the previous matter, the old village chief hadn't given a definitive reply yet. Asking someone for a favor meant he had to bring some gifts along, so he planned to make another trip into the mountains.

He had been so happy drinking yesterday that he completely threw the system to the back of his mind.

Now, sitting on the edge of the bed and calming his mind, he finally remembered to check the system.

He recalled that his transaction points had accumulated to 2,297.

It was time to upgrade!