At noon.
After cleaning up the small stall together with Sister-in-law Zhao, Gu Lin picked up Zheng Hao from Wuliu Academy and headed to the medical clinic. Seeing that Zhao Dagen’s injuries had not yet fully healed but that he was already able to walk out of bed, Gu Lin felt somewhat relieved.
On the way back to Lower River Village, because they had an injured person who could not be crammed together with others, Gu Lin and Sister-in-law Zhao discussed skipping Uncle Zhang’s ox cart and instead hiring a donkey cart in the county town to carry them back.
The moment the donkey cart arrived at the village entrance, upon seeing the young ge’er on the cart, an auntie who lived next door to the Zheng family stretched out her neck and called out, “Lin ge’er, your parents are here.”
“My parents?” Gu Lin looked toward the auntie who had spoken, pausing in his motion of getting off the cart as a trace of confusion flickered through his eyes.
Gu Lin was not unfamiliar with this auntie; recently, the firewood and water at his home were things he paid her to help carry back.
Yet regarding the parents the auntie spoke of, Gu Lin felt quite bewildered. Having been in this world for so long, he did not hold a single shred of memory regarding the original owner’s parents in his mind.
He had actually assumed they were both dead, never expecting them to still be alive.
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have come. My old back feels like it is about to break. Old woman, are you certain you didn’t hear wrong? Did Lin ge’er really make money in the county town?” Gu Father, who had crossed two mountains since early morning to reach Lower River Village, rubbed his lower back and asked.
Although Gu Mother was also exhausted to the point of collapse, her momentum remained entirely unabated. “Your old man’s ears are simply decorations! Did you forget what those people told us when we entered the village? When Hunter Zheng was alive, Zheng Hao never went to study. If Lin ge’er hadn’t made money in the county town, could Zheng Hao possibly go to the county academy?”
With that, Gu Mother let out a heavy snort. “He truly is a cheap-skinned ge’er! Just a few years after marrying out, his elbows are already turning outward. He never once thought of his own brother with anything good. Erzhu is his only real younger brother after all! He would rather spend money on an outsider than help Erzhu. He is truly an ungrateful wolf eating from both sides!”
Gu Father looked aged, his face carved with deep ravines. Frowning, he glanced at Gu Mother and said, “Do not say things like that in front of Lin ge’er later.”
Gu Mother rolled her eyes, a sharp gleam flashing in them. “As if I wouldn’t know? We have something we need to ask of him now, so naturally we have to coax him along.”
Seeing that the other understood his intent, Gu Father said nothing further.
As they drew close to the Zheng household, Gu Lin spotted a man and a woman sitting by the entrance. At that exact moment, Gu Mother turned her head and caught sight of the young ge’er standing not far away.
Her eyes lit up. She hurriedly stood up from the ground, dusted off her backside, and rushed over with her face plastered in a chrysanthemum-like smile. “My dear Lin ge’er, you are finally back.”
All the way here, Gu Lin’s memories regarding the original owner’s parents had gradually revived. Therefore, facing the seemingly amiable Gu Mother, he was not fooled by her honeyed words.
Thinking of how they had ruthlessly squeezed the original owner, sucking his blood to subsidize Gu Erzhu and raising him until he was stout and sturdy, Gu Lin couldn’t help but sneer inwardly, though a joyful smile bloomed across his face. “Mother, why have you come? I haven’t seen you and Father for a long time. Have you eaten yet? I haven’t eaten myself. What delicious food did you and Father bring to see me?”
Upon hearing the first half of Gu Lin’s words, a smile still hung on Gu Mother’s face. But when she heard the latter half, her smile stiffened, and her triangular eyes rolled upward uncontrollably. Yet she quickly recovered her expression, looking at the ge’er before her with full maternal concern. “Your father and I haven’t eaten yet either. We missed you so much that we rushed over early this morning, without even having time for breakfast, let alone lunch. But it is already so late; why haven’t you eaten yet, child? You are going to starve yourself.”
Watching Gu Mother’s expression of deep solicitude, Gu Lin figured that if it were the original owner, he would likely be moved once again to carve off his own flesh and drain his blood to support the Gu family.
Yet, acting as though he failed to understand the underlying meaning of Gu Mother’s words, he showed no expression of heartache for her and Gu Father. “It is fortunate that you and Father came. Ever since the master of the house passed away, I have prayed day and night for you and Father to visit. But waiting and waiting, months passed without seeing you, and I almost thought you didn’t acknowledge me as your child anymore.”
With that, he cast a resentful glance toward Gu Mother.
Gu Mother’s eyelid twitched. Her previous expression was nearly impossible to maintain. Letting out a mournful wail, she wiped at the corner of her eye. “Lin ge’er, are you trying to carve out your parents’ hearts? Ever since your father and I heard that the son-in-law passed away, we have worried constantly, afraid you would be bullied. Don’t blame your parents for not coming when he passed; the family was right in the middle of sowing seeds at the time. You know our family’s situation; we only have your father and younger brother as men. If we delayed our work in the fields, the family wouldn’t have grain to eat for the entire year! We wanted to come, but we simply lacked the strength!”
Looking at the woman performing her fluent crying routine, Gu Lin understood why the original owner, knowing full well that Gu Father and Gu Mother treated him poorly, would always forgive them in the end. Their routine was simply too difficult for ordinary people to resist.
“I know you and Father had it hard; I don’t blame you.” Facing Gu Mother, who was howling dryly and fake-crying, Gu Lin did not soften in the least. “However, I have been a bit tight on cash lately. Mother, could you lend me some silver to use?”
Upon hearing the first part, a triumphant smile twitched at the corner of Gu Mother’s mouth. Could she not understand the child she birthed? Lin ge’er was the softest-hearted of all; as long as she shed a few tears, he couldn’t bear to see her distressed.
Yet upon hearing Gu Lin’s subsequent words, Gu Mother instantly failed to maintain her previous composure. She nearly leaped into the air. “Lend you silver? Weren’t you making a lot of money in the county town? Why are you coming to me to borrow silver?”
A dark shade crossed Gu Lin’s light-colored eyes. He finally understood why, in the original owner’s memories, Gu Father and Gu Mother rarely visited during holidays or festivals, yet showed up precisely now; they had caught wind of him doing business in the county town.
His smile gradually faded, replaced by a bleak and worried expression. “Mother, you don’t understand. My business in the county town looked bustling, but actually I owe others dozens of taels of silver, and I haven’t even paid it back yet!”
“Dozens of taels?!”
At this, not only Gu Mother, but also Gu Father, who had remained silent the entire time, cried out.
The pleasant facades the two of them had faked gradually dissolved.
Observing their reactions, a trace of sarcasm flashed through Gu Lin’s eyes. He could step into the original owner’s shoes to fulfill filial duties toward his parents, but if Gu Father and Gu Mother wanted to treat him like a blood bag, they could forget about it.
Hearing that not only did he have no money on hand, but he was also in debt by dozens of taels of silver, Gu Mother could no longer keep up her pretense of a loving mother. She glared at Gu Lin, her malice and pettiness exposed between her brows. “Lin ge’er, you mustn’t lie to your parents! We are true mother and child. Are you starting to guard against your parents now?”
“What kind of conditions does the Zheng family have? How could they possibly owe dozens of taels? You just made money and don’t want to show filial piety to your parents, don’t you? You used to be so filial, but now you aren’t even willing to take care of your parents.”
She refused to believe the Zheng family owed dozens of taels. She had calculated carefully; Hunter Zheng must have saved at least dozens of taels from years of hunting.
Gu Father also chimed in, “Lin ge’er, a person cannot be this devoid of conscience.”
Faced with their righteous yet greedy and covetous reprimands, Gu Lin was almost laughed to anger, but constrained by the filial piety of this era, he could not break completely with Gu Father and Gu Mother. “Father, Mother, don’t you know what kind of person I am? Even if the Zheng family had a solid foundation, it was hollowed out after the master of the house was injured. At the time, we had to borrow dozens of taels externally to treat his illness, but who could have expected we still couldn’t save his life. Zheng Hao and I could barely survive, which is why we went to the county town to do business. Working from dawn till dusk every day only earns enough for daily expenses.”
“Enough!”
Gu Father roared furiously.
He ripped away his honest and wooden exterior, his aged eyes staring at Gu Lin like a hyena locking onto its prey, greedy and covetous. “When we first entered the village, the villagers told us you sent Zheng Hao to study at the county academy. Do you know how much studying costs? Yet here you are crying poverty to us?”
Gu Lin remained silent. Gu Mother stood beside him with her hands on her hips. “Lin ge’er, how can you be so muddle-headed? That Zheng brat is an outsider; why would you spend money on him? Your own real brother is still suffering at home!”
Gu Lin’s gaze turned cold. He finally figured it out; seeing that playing the emotional card wasn’t working, the two opposite him had changed tactics, with Gu Father playing the bad cop and Gu Mother playing the good cop.
Yet Gu Lin was not someone easily frightened. Looking at Gu Father and Gu Mother, he put on a helpless expression. “Father, Mother, you shouldn’t say that. Since I have married into the Zheng family, I am a person of the Zheng family. Even if my heart remains with my maiden family, I can only do my utmost. But right now, I can’t even feed myself; even if I wanted to show filial piety, I lack the capacity. Zheng Hao was able to go to the academy only because the master of the house left behind a sum of money specifically for his schooling. That sum of money was witnessed by the village chief and elders; I am completely unable to touch it.”
When dealing with such vampiric parents, Gu Lin had no intention of reasoning with them; he simply out-feudalized them. As for whether they would go verify it with the village chief, unless they were entirely shameless and wanted to be pointed at by the spines of people across ten miles and eight villages, they would never throw away all their dignity to swallow up a son-in-law’s estate.
Indeed, Gu Lin guessed correctly. Greedy though Gu Father and Gu Mother were for the Zheng family’s silver, resenting the fact that the money was spent on Zheng Hao, they did not dare openly swallow up the Zheng family’s estate.
However, what he didn’t expect was that Gu Mother and Gu Father actually believed his words.
Exchanging a glance, Gu Father and Gu Mother concluded that Gu Lin likely wasn’t lying to them. Although Lin ge’er didn’t look like a settled sort, he was timid; whenever an issue arose, he lacked any backbone of his own, and with no reliable elders around him, having his silver swindled away by others was entirely possible.
Fortunately, their purpose in coming to Lower River Village this time wasn’t for this matter; they had another goal entirely.
Gu Mother pointed at Gu Lin in exasperation. “You fool! Hunter Zheng is already gone, and you are still going to stay a widow for him? The people of Lower River Village bully you like this, but your father and I won’t stand for it. I have found you a new match in Taohua Village. That family’s surname is Peng, and they are wealthy landowners in the neighboring village. They only have one son who has never been married, and after hearing that you are honest and capable, they specially sent a matchmaker over. Your father and I took a look and both agreed this match is wonderful. If you marry over there, you can become a young mistress immediately without having to do any work, and you can eat white flour steamed buns to your heart’s content!”
Having witnessed the absurdity of Gu Father and Gu Mother, Gu Lin’s first reaction upon hearing them suddenly propose a match for him was not anger, but rather a feeling that the storm had finally arrived.
He had found it strange that Gu Mother and Gu Father were usually so hot-tempered; why was it that from the moment they met him, even though they several times nearly lost their tempers, they held it in? So they had been waiting right here for him.
Seeing that Gu Mother didn’t even dare meet his eyes directly when speaking of this match, Gu Lin figured this marriage arrangement was likely not as simple as it sounded.
And indeed, facing the young ge’er’s clear and bright eyes, Gu Mother’s gaze flickered. This marriage was nowhere near as good as she claimed.
Although the Peng family were wealthy landowners and their son had never been married, that did not mean their family was upright or their son was chaste and self-disciplined. Rather, it was because their son was an idiot; though twenty years old, his mental capacity was like that of a three- or four-year-old child, and he had a habit of hitting people.
Logically speaking, even if the Peng family son was an idiot, plenty of impoverished families’ daughters would be willing to marry over. But the Peng family couple felt their son was flawless in every way; how could ordinary peasant women be worthy of him? They were fixated on finding a woman of both talent and beauty for their son.
Yet such women were always sought after by hundreds of suitors; families better off than the Pengs looked down on them, while families worse off were unwilling to marry their daughters to an idiot.
Dragging it out like this, seeing that their son was in his early twenties with his marriage still unsettled while peers had already become parents, the Peng family couple began to panic.
At that moment, a matchmaker on good terms with the Peng family came over and told them that in Taohua Village, the Gu family had a ge’er eighteen years of age who was diligent, capable, tall, and well-built for childbearing, a perfect match for the Peng young master.
When the Peng family couple heard the matchmaker introduce a ge’er, though somewhat dissatisfied, they were still quite happy knowing their son wouldn’t end up an isolated bachelor. However, they quickly came to their senses: women and ge’ers were supposed to be married off by fifteen at the latest, yet this Gu family ge’er was still unmarried at eighteen; surely he had some hidden affliction or defect.
At this thought, misgivings arose in the hearts of the Peng family couple; they had no desire to take home some damaged goods.
Sensing this, the matchmaker stutteringly explained to the Peng family couple that the Gu family ge’er had already been married once, though he was a fresh widower this year.
She patted her chest and swore, “But the Gu family ge’er is top-notch in both looks and temperament, and his ge’er mole is bright red; he is definitely guaranteed to bear children easily.”
Hearing the matchmaker’s explanation, the Peng family couple didn’t mind at all that she was introducing a widower to their son.
They knew the matchmaker wouldn’t dare lie to them; this Gu family ge’er was not only good in appearance and character but also easy to manipulate. Aside from not being a virgin, every other aspect made him an ideal candidate for a daughter-in-law.
The very next day, they sent a matchmaker to the Gu household to state clearly that they were willing to offer a bridal gift of fifty taels of silver to betrothal-marry Gu Lin. Gu Father and Gu Mother had spent their entire lives facing the dirt with their backs to the sky; when had they ever laid eyes on so much gleaming white silver?
A full fifty taels!
They couldn’t earn fifty taels in a lifetime. With this silver, they could afford a bride and build a new house for their own son.
The mere thought of it kept them awake all night, terrified that the Peng family might renege and find someone else, causing the fifty taels to vanish into thin air.
Therefore, as soon as dawn broke, Gu Father and Gu Mother opened their red-rimmed eyes and climbed two mountains to reach Lower River Village.
The moment they entered the village entrance, they asked about Gu Lin. They had expected him to be living in absolute misery following Hunter Zheng’s death, but instead, Gu Lin’s life seemed quite prosperous, to the point where he could even earn money to send Zheng Hao to study at the academy.
In the eyes of Gu Father and Gu Mother, after Hunter Zheng died, everything belonging to the Zheng family belonged to them. Hearing that Gu Lin was using their money to send Zheng Hao to study, Gu Father and Gu Mother felt a surge of fury; what a cheap ge’er! If anyone was going to be sent to study, it should be their own family’s Erzhu. How could he spend money on an outside bastard?