Lin Dabao and Lin Xiaoya were scurrying around the yard, beaten until they were truly terrified, crying as if their hearts would break.
Just as the chaos reached its peak, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.
Gu Jianfeng, along with his parents and a visibly resentful, red-eyed Gu Xiuxiu, stood at the entrance, holding eye-catching mesh bags filled with gifts.
Wang Shufen paused mid-swing, still gripping the back of Lin Dabao’s collar, her eyes instantly glued to those fine items.
In the blink of an eye, she had assessed the value of the gifts.
Her face immediately lit up with an eager smile, revealing a row of yellowed teeth. “Oh, dear in-laws, you’re here! And look at you, bringing such things!” Her hand instinctively reached out.
Lin Jianguo coughed a couple of times, squinting as he sized up the offerings.
Seizing the chance, Lin Dabao and Lin Xiaoya scrambled behind the water vat, trembling with fear.
“Uncle Lin, Aunt Wang,” Gu Jianfeng said solemnly, “I’ve brought Xiuxiu to apologize.”
Gu Xiuxiu, reluctant to let go, was pulled forward as the gifts were taken from her hands.
Under the pressure of everyone’s gaze, she lowered her head unwillingly and muttered in a faint, barely audible voice, “…S-sorry.”
It wasn’t that she genuinely regretted her actions—she was terrified that if she didn’t perform this act of remorse, she might not be allowed to return to school.
Wang Shufen and Lin Jianguo’s faces lit up with delight as they took hold of the precious jar of malted milk powder, the fragrant egg cakes wrapped in oiled paper, and the thick, brand-new piece of dark blue polyester fabric.
“Aiyo, we’re all family! No need for this! It’s fine, we’ve already scolded them thoroughly. Come in, come sit!”
Wang Shufen beamed with joy, already thinking that she could make a new outfit from that fabric! The laborer’s cloth she had cut earlier wasn’t very pretty, so it could be used for Lin Jianguo’s new clothes.
When they wore them at Lin Wanxing’s wedding, they’d be the envy of everyone.
But just then, a firm and righteous voice rang out from inside the house:
Lin Wanxing had unexpectedly emerged, striding quickly into the yard.
Everyone outside was stunned. Lin Wanxing glanced around, then walked briskly toward them.
“We can’t accept these gifts!”
She stepped forward and snatched the gifts from Wang Shufen’s hands.
Her voice was clear as her gaze swept over her parents’ frozen expressions, then turned to Gu Jianfeng and the neighbors who had been drawn by the commotion.
Wang Shufen’s face stiffened—what was this wretched girl up to now?
Though Gu Jianfeng’s parents were difficult people, Lin Wanxing disliked the idea of her parents, who had essentially sold their daughter, gaining any advantage even more. If these gifts ended up with Lin Dabao and Lin Xiaoya, they’d just be delighted again, having learned nothing from the lesson.
Righteously, she declared:
“Elder Brother Jianbin was a martyr, and Jianfeng is a soldier. As family members of a martyr, we should hold ourselves to higher standards and uphold their honor!”
She straightened her back as if taking an oath, her tone solemn and forceful: “How can we accept compensation from the Gu family? What would that make us? Are we the kind of family that takes advantage of a martyr’s household and needs others to make amends?”
“We may be poor, but our spirits must remain unbroken! We must not only remain honest and upright but also take the initiative to help others, bringing honor to Elder Brother Jianbin and Jianfeng! Only then can we live up to the title ‘family of a martyr’!”
“We absolutely cannot accept these gifts! Not only should we refuse them, but we should also actively lend a hand whenever our neighbors are in need! That’s the awareness and responsibility a martyr’s family should have!”
Lin Wanxing gripped the gifts firmly, her expression resolute.
With such high-minded principles being laid out, Wang Shufen’s smile froze completely on her face.
This wretched girl! What is she even saying?! Do you really want to be a living Lei Feng?!
Giving away all their benefits, letting neighbors come to them for help—are we out of our minds? We can’t even manage our own lives properly!
Yet these words struck a chord with Gu Jianfeng. He was visibly moved, his eyes lingering on her for a long time, unable to look away.
The neighbors gathered outside broke into applause.
“Wanxing is right! This is how a martyr’s family should act!”
“Look at her level of awareness! Brother Lin, Sister Wang, you’ve raised a fine daughter!”
“Exactly! It’s people like Wanxing who will set the tone for our Red Star Production Brigade!”
Wang Shufen and Lin Jianguo’s faces turned beet red, the words to accept the gifts lingering on the tips of their tongues. But under their daughter’s righteous demeanor and the neighbors’ approving gazes, they didn’t dare utter them.
Lin Wanxing turned to Lin Jianguo. “Dad, do you still want these gifts?”
Lin Jianguo clenched the mesh bag tightly, biting down on his cigarette holder as he forced the words out through gritted teeth: “Wanxing… is right! These gifts… we can’t accept them! Good son-in-law, take them back!”
Wang Shufen’s lips twitched, her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all aching in agony.
Those fine things—the malted milk powder, the egg cakes, the polyester fabric… which of them wasn’t utterly tempting?
Lin Wanxing nearly burst out laughing at the sight of her parents’ miserable, conflicted expressions—clearly wanting the gifts but too afraid to take them.
Gu Jianfeng’s parents exchanged a glance, clenching their teeth in frustration.
If the Lin family was making such a grand gesture, what else could they do? Were they supposed to show less awareness than the Lins?
Gu Jianfeng’s mother suddenly spoke up, her voice stiff and reluctant, as if she were being forced into this:
“Wanxing’s mother, Brother Jianguo, these gifts… you must accept them!”
Her words left not only Lin Wanxing’s parents stunned but even Gu Jianfeng and Gu Xiuxiu looking at her in surprise.
She forced an unnatural smile onto her face. “The leaders have repeatedly emphasized that our Xiuxiu was in the wrong, that she nearly caused a huge mistake. They told us to correct our attitude and make proper amends. If we don’t give these… the leaders might think our Gu family has a problem with the Party’s guidance or that we don’t value Wanxing enough.”
Her statement was half-truth, half-excuse. The commune leaders had indeed criticized them and mentioned making amends, but they hadn’t specified such extravagant gifts.
Yet, after Lin Wanxing’s earlier speech about martyr families holding themselves to high standards, if the Gu family didn’t make a gesture, it would make them seem even more at fault and lacking in awareness.
Now, the Gu family had no choice but to give these gifts—and they had to beg the Lin family to accept them!
Gu Jianfeng’s father chimed in gruffly, trying to sound magnanimous: “Take them! Consider it for the children’s peace of mind.”
Now, the pressure shifted back to the Lin family.
Wang Shufen and Lin Jianguo were dumbfounded again.
Were they supposed to accept the gifts or not?
If either side backed down now, it would look bad!
Lin Wanxing took in both families’ reactions with an inward sneer.
At just the right moment, she lowered her eyelashes, putting on a conflicted yet understanding expression. Softly, she said to her parents, “Dad, Mom, Aunt Gu and Uncle Gu mean well, and this is also what the leaders expect. If we stubbornly refuse, it’ll only put Uncle and Aunt Gu in a difficult position and make the leaders think our family is being unreasonable despite being in the right…”
She then shifted her tone: “Since I’m going to marry into their family anyway, why don’t I… accept these on behalf of our family for now? I can take them with me when I move over later. That way, neither family is put in a difficult spot, and we can honor both the Gu family’s goodwill and the leaders’ instructions.”
Her words were perfectly crafted!
Not only did she highlight the leaders’ expectations and the Gu family’s predicament, but she also positioned herself as acting for the greater good, as if accepting the gifts was a selfless compromise.
The neighbors watching nodded in approval: “Wanxing really thinks things through! This way, no one loses out.”
“Ah, that’s more like it!” Gu Jianfeng’s mother gritted her teeth, relieved as if she had completed a task, though watching those fine items end up in Lin Wanxing’s hands still left a sick feeling in her stomach.
She hadn’t wanted to part with these things either!
But then she remembered that once Lin Wanxing married into their family, she could bring them back, which eased her discomfort a little.
Lin Wanxing was frugal by nature—she wouldn’t use up all these fine things.
Gu Xiuxiu’s face flushed red with anger as she glared at the bundle in Lin Wanxing’s arms.
Why? This jinx had caused all this—she was the one who got scolded, she was the one humiliated, yet now all the benefits ended up in Lin Wanxing’s hands!
Something felt off to her. Lin Wanxing kept talking about sacrifice and contribution, but in the end, they were the ones sacrificing, while the Lin family didn’t seem to gain anything—it all went straight into Lin Wanxing’s own hands!
Gu Jianfeng watched as Lin Wanxing finally accepted the gifts, a weight lifting from his heart.
“Wanxing, we’ll head back now,” he said quietly, not lingering any longer. He led his family, all wearing different expressions, out of the Lin family courtyard.
The moment the gate closed, an eerie silence fell over the Lin family’s main room.
Lin Wanxing held the heavy bundle and sighed, speaking with profound righteousness:
“Dad, Mom, I’ll keep these things in my room for now.”
“Sigh.”
She still seemed conflicted.
Wang Shufen nearly choked on her breath before turning sharply and storming into the inner room, probably pounding the kang in agony.
Lin Jianguo, sullen, lit his pipe and took a deep, resentful drag.
They watched as Lin Wanxing calmly carried all those fine things they had dreamed of but had been forced to reject back to her own small room, closing the door behind her. They ended up with nothing.
At that moment, the heartache Lin Wanxing’s parents felt was a hundred times more intense than the humiliation and scolding they had endured earlier at the supply and marketing cooperative.
From that day on, Lin Wanxing seemed to truly engrave “martyr families must selflessly contribute” onto her forehead.
One day, she would bring Lin Jianguo along to help an aunt from the east carry water; the next, she would take Wang Shufen to help a granny from the west mend clothes. She even gave away the eggs their family had saved to households in greater need…
Every time, she would invoke the noble cause: “We are honored to be a martyr’s family—we can’t let Elder Brother Jianbin and Jianfeng be disgraced,” holding Lin Jianguo and Wang Shufen to impossibly high standards.
Others in the production brigade praised them endlessly.
“The Lin family truly has high awareness!”
“That Wanxing girl is really leading her whole family to do good!”
Wang Shufen and Lin Jianguo forced smiles on their faces while inwardly bleeding!
Those were real eggs and real labor they were giving away!
They gained nothing in return—only lost!
Behind closed doors, the more they thought about it, the more they felt cheated and angry.
“It’s all that wretched girl’s fault! Why did she have to play the saint?” Wang Shufen seethed through gritted teeth. “So many fine things, and she wouldn’t let us take them! Now look—we even have to give away our own!”
Though Lin Jianguo considered himself an honest man, he had never suffered such a loss in his life.
Suddenly, he slammed his pipe down on the ground.
“No, we can’t just take this loss! If Gu Jianfeng wants to marry my daughter, it won’t be that easy. I’ll make him dig into his family’s savings.”
Otherwise, all they had spent lately would just be a heart-wrenching waste.
“You’re right!” Wang Shufen’s eyes suddenly lit up as she remembered something. “Hey, we haven’t discussed the bride price yet! Since the Gu family’s two brothers are marrying the same bride, that means they should pay two bride prices. If the Gu family doesn’t give it, don’t expect a smooth wedding!”