Children often treat trivial matters as major events, but Lin Weimu gently patted his niece’s head. “What is it?”
Lin Qionghua smiled. “Our village is going to be demolished soon.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Weimu’s expression didn’t change at all. This wasn’t exactly rare news; rumors of the village’s demolition had been circulating for a decade. Town government officials had come to measure the land four times, but nothing ever came of it.
Seeing his disbelief, Lin Qionghua didn’t get discouraged. “Uncle, such a big thing happened at our house today, and Second Uncle was standing right there watching, but he didn’t help. If the village really is demolished in the future, do you think the demolition compensation for your plot of land will still be yours?”
The land deed for the eldest uncle’s plot was in the second uncle’s name.
When their grandfather went to apply for the land certificates, both the eldest and second uncles’ plots were registered under the second uncle’s name. The reason was simple: the eldest uncle had no sons, only three daughters. Since the daughters would eventually marry out, the land would belong to the second son sooner or later. It didn’t matter when it was registered, so they decided to just put it in the second uncle’s name from the start.
Lin Weimu was aware of this, but he hadn’t given it much thought.
However, in her past life, when the demolition occurred, the second uncle used the excuse that the land certificate was in his name to claim the vast majority of the compensation money for himself.
Naturally, the eldest aunt wouldn’t stand for that, and the two families eventually fell out completely, becoming bitter enemies.
Lin Weisen had gone to catch a chicken. Song Lanfang, thinking well of her eldest brother-in-law, didn’t want to see him suffer a loss. “She’s right. You should really change the name on the land certificate back. If the demolition really happens, given Second Brother’s character, you probably won’t get a fair deal.”
Lin Weimu sighed, a look of distress on his face. “Do you think I don’t want to change it back? Second Brother is too unreasonable—he insists that I give him 200 yuan before he’ll agree to it.”
When the family property was initially divided, Lin Weisen was the first to move out; the family built him a house and gave him three acres of land—none of which was high-quality soil. Lin Weisen just wanted to separate from the family quickly, so he didn’t mind the minor loss.
Later, when the eldest and second brothers divided the family property, both were given newly built houses. However, the elderly parents were assigned to live with the second brother, meaning the parents’ homestead and land would eventually belong to him as well.
The second uncle felt cheated, wondering why he should be the one to provide for the parents in their old age after they spent their younger years helping the eldest brother raise his children. He thought it was unfair.
When the eldest brother wanted to put his homestead back into his own name, the second uncle demanded 200 yuan.
The eldest aunt was unwilling to spend the money, and the two families had been at a stalemate ever since.
Lin Qionghua felt that persuading her eldest aunt was too difficult, especially since her aunt and mother were only polite to each other on the surface. It would be better if their family just lent the money to her uncle so he could take the second uncle to the town government to transfer the land title the very next day.
There was a reason Lin Qionghua was so kind to her uncle. After her father died in her past life, she and her mother had to leave their hometown to survive, but the family’s demolition money had been wiped out by her father’s failed investment. To earn more money, he had even borrowed from Dong Liang. When her mother refused Dong Liang’s confession after the father’s death, Dong Liang demanded repayment. They had to give him every cent of their remaining savings.
Penniless and with no support from her mother’s side of the family, it was her eldest uncle and aunt who, out of respect for their deceased brother, gave them 200 yuan to help them get through that difficult time. If not for that money, she and her mother likely would have ended up homeless.
Lin Qionghua remembered that grace, and given the chance in this life, she wanted to return the favor.
Song Lanfang’s brow furrowed at her daughter’s suggestion. Lending the money was a small matter, but if the eldest aunt found out, she would surely blame them for meddling in their business. They had all agreed that each brother would have one plot of land; the idea that one had to pay to get his own land back made no sense.
Song Lanfang didn’t want to get involved in the disputes between the two families. Similarly, Lin Weimu didn’t want to borrow the money because his family lived off their farming, and every cent had to pass through his wife’s hands. If he suddenly owed 200 yuan, he wouldn’t know how to pay it back. Not paying it back wasn’t in his nature either.
With one unwilling to lend and the other unwilling to get involved, the matter remained at a standstill.
Song Lanfang went to call the eldest aunt over for dinner.
Lin Qionghua went to find her father. Lin Weisen had the same opinion as Song Lanfang: “Don’t get involved in the affairs between your eldest uncle and second uncle. It has nothing to do with our family.”
Lin Qionghua was speechless. “Dad, didn’t you say it yourself? Demolition is coming soon! Uncle’s land is in Second Uncle’s name, so he’ll definitely get less money.”
Lin Weisen had indeed mentioned the demolition earlier, but he hadn’t taken it to heart—or perhaps he thought it might happen, but only in the distant future. He brushed it off. “By the time demolition actually comes, your three older cousins will probably be married off already. Why worry so much?”
Lin Qionghua realized that the hardest people to persuade in this world were not customers, but family—especially elders who were older than her. They loved her and were good to her, but they saw her only as an ignorant child and didn’t believe a word she said.
Actually, when she thought about it, she couldn’t blame her parents. When she was eight, she was running around the village like a wild child; how could her parents take her words seriously?
Power and credibility only come to those who are seen as capable. Unless she told her parents the truth about being reborn… but Lin Qionghua didn’t want to do that. Right now, her parents were all hers, but once they had the demolition money, would they still be her parents? Would they give her a younger brother? Even though there was a family planning policy, her parents were rural residents, so they were permitted to have a second child. They hadn’t wanted one before because they were poor. With money, they might decide to have another. If they had a son, would she stop being their precious pearl? She didn’t dare gamble with human nature.
Seeing the Daling Village demolition turn people rich and then seeing so many families fall apart, she knew human nature was the most difficult thing to test. She would do her best to keep her parents from falling into traps, but she couldn’t decide whether or not they would have another child.
Since she couldn’t take that shortcut, Lin Qionghua planned to take the long road: gradually seizing the family’s decision-making power and making her parents listen to her.
Of course, she wouldn’t mention that yet. For now, she had to handle the immediate problem. She pondered how to make her eldest uncle listen to her.
Her eldest uncle was an honest, hardworking man. If there was one person he listened to, it wasn’t his wife or his parents, but someone who was educated. In other words, he had an “academic worship” complex. He had always wanted his children to become university students, though unfortunately, his three daughters’ grades were average at best.
She searched her mind for a talented individual, and she finally thought of a suitable candidate: her uncle (her mother’s younger brother). He was a college student who had just returned for summer break.
A plan formed in Lin Qionghua’s mind. She ran to the main room and poured her uncle a glass of water.
Lin Weimu took the water and asked how her studies were going.
Lin Qionghua proudly puffed out her little chest. “My grades are great! I can score a hundred in both Chinese and Math. My little uncle says my grades are even better than his, and I’ll definitely get into university in the future.”
This wasn’t bragging, because in her past life, she had indeed been accepted. It just wasn’t true at this moment.
Lin Weimu was delighted. “Good, good, good! Our Lin family will finally have a college student.”
He suddenly changed the subject. “By the way, your little uncle is back? When?”
“A few days ago, his university started summer break.” Lin Qionghua said with a smile, “Uncle, I heard from my little uncle that they’re about to demolish this area to build a port.”
Lin Weisen was slightly surprised. “Our village is separated from the coast by several villages; how could they build a port? How big would that port have to be!”
“A port for storing cargo, not for fishing. Of course, the bigger, the better.” Lin Qionghua continued to press. “At first, I thought it was fake, but I asked my classmate. His father’s distant relative works for the demolition team and said it’s happening soon. He spoke about it so convincingly, I think it must be true.”
Lin Weimu nodded repeatedly. “Your little uncle is a college student; he’s well-informed. Maybe it’s true.”
Seeing that he still hadn’t connected the dots to himself, Lin Qionghua became anxious. “Uncle, if it’s true, you should hurry up and change the name on your land deed! If Second Uncle finds out, he’ll definitely be greedy and demand more than two hundred.”
Lin Weimu was finally partially convinced, and he began to discuss countermeasures. “But what money do I have to pay back your family?”
“Uncle, the demolition is coming! Aren’t you afraid you won’t have the money to pay us back? When the time comes, Aunt will only praise you.” Lin Qionghua was sweating from anxiety.
Lin Weimu thought it over; he felt that what the college student said had some merit, so he got up, went to the kitchen to help Lin Weisen with the fire, and proposed borrowing the two hundred yuan.
Since it was his own brother asking, Lin Weisen didn’t hesitate at all and agreed immediately.
Song Lanfang called the eldest aunt, Mu Xiaocao, and her cousin, Lihua, over.
Mu Xiaocao saw Lin Weisen cooking and her eyelids twitched. Although she had seen it many times, she still wasn’t used to it. She wondered how her sister-in-law could be so fond of having her husband cook, and wasn’t she afraid he would divorce her if he got unhappy? But she had learned her lesson: it was their family’s business, and no matter how much she disapproved, she wouldn’t meddle.
Once Lin Weisen brought the dishes to the table, they all sat down to eat.
Lin Weisen had originally wanted to have a few drinks with his eldest brother, but Lin Qionghua stopped him, afraid her uncle would get drunk and delay the land transfer the next day.
Mu Xiaocao also chimed in, “We have to pull weeds in the fields tomorrow; don’t drink.”
Lin Weisen didn’t insist.
Once they were full, Lin Weimu left with his wife and daughter. Lin Weisen was responsible for the cooking, and Song Lanfang was responsible for cleaning the bowls, chopsticks, and pots.
Everyone slept very soundly that night.
Lin Qionghua didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky. Her parents hadn’t called her; in their words, children needed to sleep more to grow taller.
She glanced at the clock; it was already 9:30 AM. In half an hour, the demolition office would arrive. Her eldest uncle still hadn’t transferred the title.
She hurriedly got dressed and shouted to her mother, who was sewing under the eaves, “Mom, why didn’t you call me?”
Song Lanfang was stunned by her complaint for a few seconds. Seeing her daughter so flustered, she smiled. “Did you forget? It’s summer break now; you don’t have to go to class.”
Lin Qionghua knew that, of course, but she peered outside. “Where’s Eldest Uncle? Is he in the fields?”
Song Lanfang shook her head. “No. Early this morning, your uncle came to borrow money, then went to call your second uncle, and the two of them went to town. Did you put them up to this?!”
Lin Qionghua hadn’t expected that using her little uncle’s status as a college student would work so well—her eldest uncle had been so easily persuaded and acted so quickly.
She giggled twice, went to the well to brush her teeth and wash her face, and then took her breakfast from the kitchen to eat.
In their hometown, if someone walked around at their doorway eating from a bowl, that person was usually a beggar. Song Lanfang thought it looked terrible when her daughter did it. “Go back inside, or get a stool to sit down. Eating while standing—what does that look like?”
Lin Qionghua peered outside, but she hadn’t seen anyone from the demolition office yet. She was still puzzled when she heard her mother’s words, so she returned to the main room.
She didn’t have to wait long. A noisy commotion came from outside. Song Lanfang got up to look, and Lin Qionghua ran from the main room like a gust of wind. “Mom? What happened?”
“I don’t know!” Song Lanfang looked at these strangers, completely at a loss.
Mu Xiaocao guessed, “Are they here to measure the land again? Look, that one in the blue shirt seems to be the town government clerk; he’s been to our village several times.”
Song Lanfang had an impression of the man. “I think so!”
Someone began to complain, “Talking about demolition every day for ten years. They aren’t tired of saying it, but I’m tired of hearing it.”
Hearing the crowd, the town government worker took a megaphone out of his bag. “Someone go and get all the village officials; we’re holding a meeting to discuss the demolition. The official document from above has arrived.”
The villagers were like chickens with their throats caught—they were dead silent, all staring at him with wide eyes.
What? It was actually happening? It wasn’t just thunder without rain, or another empty promise?