“Lin Chunhua, what are you making a fuss about at the crack of dawn?”
Village Chief Song Xingjian’s stern voice came from the crowd, interrupting Lin Chunhua’s shrewish scene.
Hearing Song Xingjian’s voice, Lin Chunhua immediately stood up from the ground.
Her expression changed accordingly; just a moment ago she had acted as though she were supreme, but now she shrank back like a mouse seeing a cat.
Song Xingjian cast an exasperated glance at the people gathered around to watch the commotion. “Are you all clustered here because you’ve finished all your chores at home? The New Rice Festival is right around the corner, and if you don’t hurry up and make preparations, you’ll be drinking the northwest wind when the time comes.”
“Or do you really have the nerve to eat other people’s food while contributing nothing from your own homes?”
“Let me tell you, if anyone dares to pull that stunt, get lost right away. Don’t expect me to let you take advantage of this on account of the New Rice Festival.”
“It’s not our fault; Lin Chunhua came over to cause trouble early in the morning.”
Hearing this, Lin Chunhua protested, “Village Chief, you’ve come just in time. You have to seek justice for my son!”
Reaching the saddest part, Lin Chunhua began to wail again. “I don’t know which thousand-cut monster dragged him out of the house and beat him up near the outhouse. He’s been beaten until he doesn’t even look human anymore!”
Song Xingjian gave a cold snort. He knew very well what kind of person Scar-face Zhang was.
“What justice can I seek? Why don’t you go ask what your son has been up to?”
“Most of the people in the village have been offended by your family!”
“Is your vision so narrow that you only see your useless son, and fail to see how much the villagers despise the two of you?”
“Stealing chickens, catching dogs, playing dirty tricks, and committing every kind of evil—only someone with lard blinding her heart would treat such scum like a treasure!”
“I won’t meddle in him getting his comeuppance. If you’ve got the ability, go find the township magistrate, report it to the officials, and let the yamen handle it.”
“When the time comes, we’ll see whether your son gets arrested or the person who beat him gets arrested.”
Lin Chunhua’s expression turned pitiful.
Her eyes welled with tears as grievance, humiliation, lingering resentment, and anger swirled across her face.
She hadn’t expected Song Xingjian to speak so harshly.
Of course she knew her son was a rotten seed.
Yet what else could she do? Having this son was the only way she could hold her head up high in the village and prove that she, too, had the capability to pass down the family line for her man.
If that proof were taken away, what meaning would there be left in her life?
Lin Chunhua muttered under her breath, “I just want to know who beat my son.”
“If someone beat him up, there has to be compensation.”
She finally exposed her true motive.
The surrounding people collectively took steps backward, worried about being extorted by Lin Chunhua.
“Then go find them!”
Song Xingjian suddenly raised his voice, his patience wearing thin as he looked at Lin Chunhua.
The people present were startled by his sudden roar.
Frightened into a shiver and knowing she wouldn’t get the upper hand if she continued to pester him here, Lin Chunhua dared not say anything more and scurried away in disgrace.
“Still watching? If you want to watch, go chase after her!”
“If you’ve got nothing better to do, go tidy up your fields. What, are you planning to *biao* during the winter?” (*Note: “Biao” is a dialect term meaning to eat.*)
“What’s wrong with the village chief today? Could it be that his wife kicked him off the bed last night?”
Wang Yuanchuan, who had been woken up by the commotion outside, watched the village chief throw a tantrum, immediately pulled his door shut, patted his chest, and said to his family inside.
Only after saying it did he notice that everyone’s expressions looked rather strange.
Wang Yuanchuan felt a sudden bad premonition.
Slowly turning his head, he saw half of Song Xingjian’s figure blocking the door crack.
“What? Did you sleep under my bed last night?”
Song Xingjian dropped a sarcastic remark.
Wang Yuanchuan left behind a single sentence: “I’m going to wash my face.”
And he bolted straight for the back courtyard.
Wen Caimei opened the courtyard gate with a somewhat embarrassed expression. “We were just joking around, no other meaning intended.”
“Come on in and sit down.”
She was merely offering a polite courtesy, but who would have thought Song Xingjian would actually walk in?
Since he had already stepped inside, they couldn’t very well chase him out and could only entertain him.
Zhao Guizhi went to the kitchen to boil water, while Zheng Duowei took the children to the back courtyard to wash up.
Wen Caimei and Wang Chinzheng stayed behind to deal with Song Xingjian.
She even flashed a look at Wang Zhaoming, signaling her to go back to her room.
Instead, Wang Zhaoming directly sat down right opposite the village chief.
“Village Chief, is there something you came for?”
Under normal circumstances, Song Xingjian wouldn’t visit other people’s homes casually.
She felt a bit worried that perhaps last night, her two older brothers had been too careless while dealing with Scar-face Zhang and had been seen by someone, which was why Song Xingjian had come knocking.
Wen Caimei quickly added, “The master of the house went to town. Take a look—if what you need him for isn’t urgent, come back tonight; if it is urgent, I’ll send my second son to invite him back.”
Song Xingjian waved his hand, noticing Wang Zhaoming sitting across from him. “No need, I’m not looking for Chengye. Is your Zhaozhao better now?”
“Yes, ever since she fell ill last time, the child has recovered, though she was left with a weak constitution and needs careful nurturing.”
Wen Caimei’s heart skipped a beat as she weighed her words against Song Xingjian’s true intentions.
“As long as she’s recovered, that’s what matters. Your family has plenty of strong laborers, and Chengye is a bookkeeper in town with a steady income; things will slowly get better and better.”
Both Wang Chinzheng and Wen Caimei were afraid Song Xingjian would keep probing into Wang Zhaoming, worrying that he might discover her peculiarities. Just as they were wondering how to brush this topic past, Song Xingjian withdrew his attention from Wang Zhaoming.
He seemed to have just picked a random topic to start with, because his very next sentence laid out the real purpose of his visit.
“Qi Chunchun came looking for you yesterday evening.”
“It must have been Chengye who gave her the idea to come find me.”
Song Xingjian stated with absolute certainty.
Wang Chinzheng looked blankly bewildered. “Village Chief, we don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“You don’t need to rush to deny it or worry. I’m not here to cause trouble for you because of this.”
Song Xingjian smiled.
“On the contrary, I’m here today to properly thank Chengye.”
“If he hadn’t had Qi Chunchun come find me to handle the matter, once Song Jiangshui and Zhang Daju sold the child and the news leaked out through people with ulterior motives, it would have undoubtedly affected the clan’s younger generation participating in the upcoming provincial examinations.”
“It’s not easy for the children to study hard by the window for years; no one wants their future ruined by a couple of rotten scoundrels.”
After dealing with that mother and son and returning home, the more Song Xingjian chewed on it, the more he felt that Qi Chunchun’s affair reeked of strangeness everywhere.
Based on his understanding of Qi Chunchun, her very first reaction upon learning her child had been sold would definitely have been to rush over and snatch the child back.
Yet she had come to ask him for help instead, resulting in catching the culprits red-handed.
He realized someone must have guided Qi Chunchun.
Thus, he had someone keep an eye on Qi Chunchun to see who she would visit after the affair concluded.
That was why he came over bright and early today to express his gratitude.
“However, this sort of matter isn’t suited to be spread widely, but I’ve kept this favor in mind.”
His youngest son was also among those listed to take this year’s provincial examinations.
Having witnessed firsthand the hardships his son endured in studying, coupled with his own obsession with elevating his family’s standing, he thanked the person who offered Qi Chunchun advice from the bottom of his heart.
The only person in the Wang family capable of considering the bigger picture was Wang Chengye, who couldn’t participate in the imperial examinations due to a leg injury.
Song Xingjian had never imagined there could be another possibility behind this event.
And that very possibility was sitting right across from him.
Hearing the village chief’s purpose for coming, Wen Caimei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
A smile broke across her face. “What favor or no favor? You’re being far too polite.”
“The master of the house has always said that when he fled the famine and settled here, after the yamen assigned him to Songjiacun, the Song clan members always took care of him.”
“Yet he has always been an outsider, and whenever he wanted to repay this kindness in the past, he could never find a suitable opportunity.”
“Since the situation happened to arise, he just lent a hand.”
“Please don’t take this matter to heart anymore. The villains have already received their due punishment, and the affair has passed; let’s not speak of it again.”
Hearing Wen Caimei’s sensible and tactful reply, Song Xingjian felt a surge of satisfaction while simultaneously solidifying his thought to keep in closer contact with the Wang family moving forward.
Truth be told, he hadn’t actually shown all that much special care to the outsiders placed in Songjiacun; everything had simply followed the procedures provided by the yamen.
Yet now, someone remembered that kindness and repaid it at such an opportune time.
It made Song Xingjian feel that his hard work hadn’t gone to waste.
His impression of the Wang family grew even better.
He even entertained the fleeting thought of arranging a marriage alliance with the Wang family.
But running through the family members in his mind, he found no suitable match and regretfully dismissed the notion.
“Regardless of how you look at it, I must thank you. My youngest son is coming back today; the lot of you don’t need to cook. Come over to my place for dinner tonight, and I’ll share a couple of cups of wine with Chengye.”