The newly appointed Clan Head, Lin Baozhu, had just finished handling business in the county and was on his way back when he saw a large crowd blocking the entrance to the village from afar. Wondering if something major had happened, he urged his eldest son, Lin Changshu, to drive the ox cart faster.
When they arrived, he could barely squeeze his way through. Seeing that the Clan Head had returned, the people nearby explained the situation from beginning to end, then made way for him.
The Clan Head pushed to the front with a dark expression. “Old Madam Liu, the family has been divided according to your demands. What exactly are you dissatisfied with?”
Old Madam Liu shuddered when she heard the Clan Head’s words. Once she understood what he was asking, she wanted to say that she was extremely dissatisfied. She had not demanded the division of the family so that the land and grain could be divided among everyone. All of those things should have belonged to the Eldest Branch!
But beneath the Clan Head’s dark, heavy gaze, she did not dare say a single word of what she was thinking.
The Clan Head gave a cold hum. “The filial grain is to be delivered at the end of the year. It is all written in the document, so be sure not to get it wrong.”
Old Madam Liu nodded timidly. Seeing from the edge of the crowd that the situation was not looking good, Xiao Liushi quietly fled the scene.
The Clan Head then looked at Lin Changgen. When this nephew had been young, he had run around behind Lin Changsong and seemed clever and lively enough. He had merely grown more and more silent as he got older.
Now, however, it seemed that he had finally stood up for himself and learned how to handle Old Madam Liu.
It was fine to frighten Old Madam Liu a little, but Lin Minghai was a scholar. The Clan Head could not truly stand by and watch the matter escalate to the private school.
“Changgen, I’ve already taken care of the household registrations and land deeds for your separate households. Come with me to find your Second Brother.”
Seeing his mother’s ashen expression, Lin Changgen knew that she would never again dare come snatch their grain. Taking advantage of the step the Clan Head had given him, he said, “Thank you for going to all this trouble for us, Eldest Uncle. My Second Brother and Second Sister-in-Law are at the mill. I’ll trouble you to come there with me.”
The Clan Head nodded, and Lin Changgen pushed a cartload of grain as they left together.
With no more excitement to watch, the villagers dispersed in groups of two or three. They had already been delayed for so long that if they did not start cooking soon, it would be dark.
They continued discussing the matter as they went. After this incident, the Old Lin Residence would probably remain at the top of the trending searches for quite some time.
Old Madam Liu stood where she was, unable to understand how everything had changed so drastically in just a few days. She could not figure out where things had gone wrong.
Only when a cool breeze swept past and she shivered did she finally come back to her senses.
At the mill, Lin Changsong was not worried about his Third Brother. People who had been suppressed for too long were the most formidable when they finally fought back.
Lin Changsong pushed the millstone while Wang Ya and Shen Shi assisted him. Since they had only just started and Wang Ya had not prepared too much, they finished grinding everything before long.
After they had cleaned up the millstone, the Clan Head and Lin Changgen returned.
Shen Shi looked worriedly at her husband. When she saw him nod at her, she understood that everything was fine and finally relaxed.
She had wanted to go with him just now, but Lin Changgen had refused. He said that if she went, Old Madam Liu would claim that she had instigated him. She would then cling to Shen Shi and accuse her of being disrespectful to her mother-in-law.
When Lin Changsong saw the Clan Head arrive, he stepped forward to greet him.
The Clan Head handed the newly issued household registrations and land deeds to the two men. “Live your lives well from now on.”
Lin Changsong took out the two strings of copper coins he had been carrying and handed them to the Clan Head. “Eldest Uncle, this is for the household division and for smoothing things over with the yamen runners.”
The Clan Head was just about to refuse when Lin Changsong said, “Eldest Uncle, there’s no need to refuse. This money should rightfully be paid by the two of us brothers. I used to work as a temporary laborer at the medicinal herb garden outside the county town, and the old master there taught me to recognize some medicinal herbs. I dug these herbs up on the mountain and exchanged them for these copper coins at Renji Hall in the county town. My wife also plans to try making pastries to sell, so Eldest Uncle doesn’t need to worry about us.”
There was indeed a medicinal herb garden outside the county town. Whenever herbs needed to be gathered, it hired temporary laborers to dig them up. The original owner of this body had truly worked there before. Although he had not learned anything about medicinal herbs because of it, that did not prevent Lin Changsong from using the experience to explain how he knew them.
Hearing him say this, the Clan Head nodded in satisfaction. It was good that the young man had a plan. He accepted the 200 wen. He had originally intended to pay the money himself. After all, these two were his collateral nephews, and since their father was incapable, he had to help them to some extent.
However, Mingyuan would soon be taking the county examination, and his own household was under financial strain as well. Since his nephew had found a source of income, he accepted the money, though he still reminded them, “Don’t go deep into the mountains. If your mother comes to cause trouble again, come find me.”
The two brothers nodded. They wanted to see the Clan Head home, but he stopped them. It was not dark yet, so there was no need for them to escort him.
After the Clan Head left, Lin Changgen scratched his head. “Second Brother, we’ll split this money equally between us. I’ll pay you back after I go carry heavy loads at the docks.”
“There’s no rush. Tomorrow, come up the mountain with me to learn how to identify medicinal herbs. We’ll dig them up and sell them to Renji Hall in the county town. It’s easier than carrying heavy loads, and we can earn more.”
“This… This is Second Brother’s livelihood. How could I…” Lin Changgen hurriedly tried to refuse.
“I have other things to attend to and no time to dig for herbs.” Lin Changsong really did have other matters to deal with, and he sincerely intended to help his younger brother.
Shen Shi’s eyes reddened, and she was about to kneel before Lin Changsong when Wang Ya quickly caught and supported her.
“Third Brother’s Wife, absolutely not. The best thing you can do is live your lives well.”
Shen Shi nodded. “Thank you, Second Brother and Second Sister-in-Law!”
Only after Lin Changsong and his wife had left did Lin Changgen open the household registration documents to look at them. He had learned to read from his Great-Granduncle, the Old Clan Head, when he was young, so he recognized his own name.
Si Ya came over. “Dad, are these our new household registration documents?”
Lin Changgen nodded. Wu Ya had fallen asleep, so he called the other two girls over. “Your Second Sister has changed her name to Xiaowei. Your father thought it sounded nice, so I changed the names of all three of you as well.”
The usually composed San Ya’s eyes lit up when she heard that they had been given new names. “Dad, what names did you give us?”
Lin Changgen pointed to the names on the household registration document. “San Ya was born in the sixth month, when the lotus flowers are in full bloom. From now on, your name will be Lin Xiaohe.” (The months in this book are all calculated according to the lunar calendar!)
Si Ya tugged anxiously at her father’s sleeve. “What about me? I was born in the eighth month!”
Lin Changgen stroked Si Ya’s somewhat yellow, dry hair. “When you were born, the hibiscus flowers were blooming beautifully. From now on, your name will be Lin Xiaofu.”
The two sisters looked at each other and asked at the same time, “What about our little sister?”
“Your little sister was born in the ninth month, when lotus seeds ripen. Her name will be Lin Xiaolian.”
The two sisters embraced Shen Shi and cheered together. “Mom, we have names now!”
Infected by the two girls’ joy, Shen Shi also revealed a smile she had not shown in a long time.
Lin Changgen had never seen such a relaxed and happy expression on their faces before. He secretly swore in his heart that he would absolutely give his wife and daughters a good life, so that they would never again be as downtrodden and spineless as they had been in the past!
From this day onward, this family welcomed a new beginning.
Lin Changsong returned home carrying two bags of ground rice flour. The brother and sister were still discussing the matter of their Third Uncle “rising up.”
Although none of the three adults had gone, Lin Changsong had sent his son and daughter to keep watch. If Lin Changgen proved unable to deal with Old Madam Liu, they were to notify him so that he could send reinforcements. He had simply not expected Lin Changgen to remain silent until he struck, nearly angering Old Madam Liu into fainting. They had not needed to do anything at all.
Lin Minghao asked worriedly, “Won’t that old hag come here to steal our grain?”
“She may have come today, but our wall is high and our gate was locked. After what happened today, she won’t dare come again,” Wang Ya guessed.
They did not know that when Han Yanli returned next door, he had also seen the crowd gradually dispersing at the village entrance. As soon as he arrived home, his gossip-loving elder brother, Eldest Brother Han, chattered on and on about what had just happened.
Han Yanli…
He had originally thought that only the Second Branch had changed. It seemed that the Third Branch had changed as well. Yet the changes in these two families were strange, and they had moved near them one after the other…
“Keep an eye on them for the time being. Find out whether their moving here was a coincidence or if…”
“Your subordinate understands!”