Lin Changgen: The Honest Man Strikes Back
Half an hour later, the four of them finally arrived home. They had not been walking for very long, but their shoes were no good, and the soles of their feet hurt terribly whenever they stepped on ground scattered with gravel.
As they opened the courtyard gate, they happened to see a young man coming down the mountain, carrying a great many game animals back to the neighboring courtyard.
Wang Ya said that she had forgotten to buy something. They had forgotten to buy meat, so Lin Changsong went to Han Yanxiao’s place and bought a wild chicken.
He himself had not had time to go into the mountains and set traps either, but the bodies of this entire family really needed to be nourished properly.
The wild chickens were sold by the bird, and Han Yanxiao had picked out the largest one for him.
Wang Ya was eager to start making money. She took out several jin of glutinous rice and ordinary rice and headed toward the mill.
But when she entered the mill, she saw that the room the Third Branch had tidied up yesterday was now in complete disarray. Shen Shi and the three girls all had red-rimmed eyes.
Si Ya was still clutching the earthenware jar Wang Ya had brought over that morning, huddled in a corner.
“What happened here?”
Shen Shi came back to herself at the sound of her voice. She wiped away her tears and smoothed her hair. “Second Sister-in-Law, you’re here.”
Wang Ya asked in confusion, “Was this place robbed by bandits?” The Third Branch had practically nothing. Who would even bother robbing them?
Shen Shi’s eyes were red, but she did not speak.
Wang Ya noticed that Wu Ya was somewhat dirty and gently patted the dust from her clothes. When Wu Ya saw her gentle Second Aunt, she threw herself into Wang Ya’s arms with a loud sob.
“Grandmother and… Eldest Sister-in-Law, they came… came to steal the grain! They turned everything over, sob…” Wu Ya spoke haltingly, but Wang Ya understood.
She gently patted and comforted Wu Ya before asking Shen Shi, “Was the grain stolen?”
Shen Shi shook her head, then nodded. “Second Brother warned Changgen yesterday. He dug a hole in the room inside the mill overnight and hid all the grain there. The two jin of grain left outside were… taken by Eldest Sister-in-Law.”
Old Madam Liu and her daughter-in-law had found only two jin of grain, so they had turned the room upside down searching for more. They had nearly smashed the earthenware jar, but Si Ya had held it in her arms to protect it.
Wu Ya had been frightened earlier. After being gently patted and comforted, she soon fell asleep, still sniffling.
Wang Ya called San Ya over. “San Ya, go find your Second Uncle. Tell him what happened at home, and have him go to the fields to find your father.”
San Ya answered and left, while Shen Shi and Si Ya began tidying the room.
A quarter of an hour later, Lin Changgen came stumbling back. When he saw his wife’s and daughters’ swollen, reddened eyes, as well as the home that had not yet been completely put back in order, the hand gripping his hoe tightened again and again.
“We’ve already separated from the family. Why won’t Mother and Eldest Sister-in-Law leave us alone?” Lin Changgen’s eyes reddened. It was only the beginning of spring, and the grain they had would barely last until the autumn harvest. They were already struggling to get by, yet those two had still come to steal from them. Did they truly intend to leave the Third Branch with no way to live?
Yesterday, Second Brother had told him that Mother would come to steal his grain. He had not believed it then, thinking Second Brother was exaggerating. Still, he had followed Second Brother’s instructions and dug a hole to hide the grain. He had never expected that…
Lin Changsong entered behind him and lightly patted his Third Brother’s shoulder. “Do you dare make a scene?”
Lin Changgen raised his head, his eyes filled with resolve. “Mother and Eldest Sister-in-Law won’t let me live, so I’ll risk everything too. At worst, we’ll all die together!”
Lin Changgen practically roared the words.
Lin Changsong smiled. “It’s not that serious. What do Mother and Eldest Sister-in-Law care about most?”
“Lin Minghai,” Lin Changgen blurted out.
He was not stupid after all. He had simply been suppressed too harshly by Old Madam Liu. Lin Changsong gave him some advice. “Then make an issue out of the person they care about most.”
Lin Changgen understood. He pushed out the old, dilapidated flatbed cart from the mill, then dug up the grain they had hidden the day before and placed it on the cart.
Then he made his way toward the outskirts of the village with great “fanfare.”
He was still on Kaoshan Village’s “hot search rankings,” so the moment he appeared, he attracted plenty of attention.
“Changgen, where are you taking all that grain?” a nosy villager immediately asked.
As he walked, Lin Changgen answered loudly, “My mother and Eldest Sister-in-Law just came to my house and rummaged through everything looking for grain. I suppose Minghai must not have enough grain, so I’m taking this to town to deliver to him.”
“Whoa!”
The villagers erupted in an uproar. They all understood what he meant. They had only separated from the family yesterday, and today his mother and sister-in-law had already come to his home to “steal” grain. Everyone had something to say about it.
Under the “concerned” questions of the villagers, Lin Changgen continued all the way toward the village entrance.
Hearing the bustling commotion outside, Lin Daya wanted to go out and watch the excitement, but Old Madam Liu’s thin bamboo switch had already snapped across her. Her clothes were thick now, so the blow would not leave a mark on her arm, but it still hurt.
Lin Daya immediately lost all interest in watching the spectacle and obediently went back to preparing dinner.
But she continued cursing Second Aunt, Third Aunt, and Second Ya through Fifth Ya in her heart. This kind of work should be done by those dirt-legged peasants. She was a xiucai’s younger sister—how could she do such things every day?
She had only endured it for one day, and she could no longer stand it.
Old Madam Liu supervised with an air of complete composure. Whenever Daya moved too slowly, she gave her a quick lash with the bamboo switch.
Just then, Xiao Liushi came running back from outside, shouting, “Mother! Mother! This is bad!”
Old Madam Liu remained perfectly calm. “Why are you rushing about? Speak slowly.”
How could Xiao Liushi dare speak slowly? She shrieked, “Third Brother… Third Brother! He’s pushing grain toward town! He said he’s going to deliver it to Minghai!”
Old Madam Liu wondered whether something was wrong with her ears. “What? Say that again!”
“Mother! Third Brother is taking grain to Minghai. He’s almost out of the village!” Xiao Liushi repeated.
“That unfilial son! They’re all unfilial sons!” The county examination was about to begin. If anything happened and caused trouble, the consequences…
Old Madam Liu felt her vision go black. Her feet seemed to have wheels of wind and fire beneath them as she ran straight toward the edge of the village.
By then, quite a few villagers had gathered around Lin Changgen, and he had already reached the village entrance. Some particularly nosy ones even wanted to follow him to town to watch the excitement.
“Third Son! Third Son! Stop right there!” Old Madam Liu’s shrill, cracking voice rang out.
When Lin Changgen heard her, he obediently stopped. Once Old Madam Liu ran up to him, he even calmly called out, “Mother.”
Old Madam Liu could not stop herself in time and crashed into Lin Changgen.
Lin Changgen stepped back twice and reached out to support her.
“You… What are you trying to do? Are you planning to harm Minghai? You murderous wretch! How dare you!” Old Madam Liu’s hands were held firmly in Lin Changgen’s grasp, leaving her unable to move them, so she resorted to kicking him.
Lin Changgen had learned his lesson. He did not foolishly stand there and take the kicks. “Mother, what are you talking about? You and Eldest Sister-in-Law came to my house to ask for grain. I assumed Minghai must be short of food. I was worried it might affect his studies, so I decided to deliver it directly to the private school. How does that count as harming him?”
“You are not going! Whoever dares disturb Minghai, I’ll fight them to the death!” Old Madam Liu’s eyes reddened.
“Isn’t Minghai short of grain?” Lin Changgen asked with an innocent expression.
“No!” Old Madam Liu declared decisively.
“Then why did you come to ask me for grain? Don’t worry, Mother. I’m not afraid of the trouble. If Minghai is short of grain, just say so, and I’ll make the trip to deliver it. It’s no trouble. Even if everyone in the Third Branch starves to death, we absolutely won’t let Minghai go without a single mouthful of grain.”
Old Madam Liu’s lips trembled. She said, “You, you, you…” for a long while, but could not get out a single complete sentence.
Ever since Lin Changgen had “rebelled” against Old Madam Liu once the previous day and left her speechless, the rebelliousness in his heart had been awakened. He had set down the burden of being a “son” and the restraints imposed by “filial piety.” Once he stepped outside that cage, he discovered that his mother was nothing special after all.
The feeling of rebelling was absolutely exhilarating!