Chapter 16: The One Who Died Wasn’t That Little Baby—it Was Old Uncle Lin’s Own Son
The Lin Family Old House was even more chaotic than Lin Xin had imagined.
Lin Laoda stood whimpering in one corner of the courtyard, the cloth wrapped around his hand soaked and still faintly steaming with heat. Lin Laosan stood on the other side of the courtyard with a large purple bruise on his forehead, his clothes clearly torn and frayed in places.
Xu Shi and Zhou Shi were nowhere to be seen, but muffled voices could occasionally be heard from the kitchen.
Old Man Lin was not outside, but his voice could be heard throughout the entire courtyard.
“Lin Lao Er, you debt-collecting ghost, I raised you with good food and drink, yet not only did you not repay me properly, you even dared to complain to the King of Hell and have him send little ghosts to catch me. Hmph! What can those little ghosts do to me? They still got beaten half to death by me. I tell you, even if you claim the heavens themselves, you were raised by me, you are my son. You even dare to sever ties with me? I’ll make sure your brat doesn’t survive!”
“Come on then! If you dare, come over here! I wasn’t even afraid of you when you were alive, so why would I fear a dead ghost like you?”
“Nonsense! Who said I was afraid?”
“You dare! If you dare touch a single hair on my son, I’ll throw your daughter and son into the mountains to feed the wolves. Hmph hmph, doesn’t it feel great to be surrounded by the wolf pack? Soon I’ll let your children taste it too!”
“So what? Back then, who in the whole village believed you? They all said you got playful and wandered into the deep mountains where the wolves surrounded you. It’s just a pity they didn’t bite you to death and let you live until the clan leader that old thing found you. I really regret not killing you directly.”
“That’s right, you truly are not my son. Your real father died long ago, not even leaving bones behind. It was I who personally sent him on his way and buried him.”
“Why should I tell you the location? I just won’t say it, so you’ll die without peace.”
From what he was saying, he seemed to be talking to the ghost of “Lin Lao Er.” Those heart-piercing words made the villagers nearby feel he had gone too far. Seeing Lin Xin and Lin Nan the siblings standing expressionless at the courtyard entrance listening, their eyes were filled with sympathy.
The Old Clan Leader must have been called over long ago. He was sitting on a long bench now, with his eldest son Lin Jing standing behind him. Both their faces showed exhaustion after shock and anger, along with a trace of dejection. Clearly, before Lin Xin and the others arrived, Old Man Lin had said more.
“Xin Yatou, bring Nan Xiaozi over to Clan Leader Grandfather’s side.” Seeing the Lin Xin siblings, the Old Clan Leader’s eyes were somewhat red, and his bark-like old hand trembled as it reached out.
“Clan Leader Grandfather,” Lin Xin quickly took two steps forward and placed one hand into the Old Clan Leader’s hand.
“Yatou, Grandfather is sorry to you all! Grandfather doesn’t deserve to be this clan leader!” This elderly master with red eye rims whimpered as he looked at you. Lin Xin didn’t know how to comfort him and could only say dryly in the end: “Clan Leader Grandfather, this isn’t your fault.”
“It is this old man’s fault. Back then, I clearly felt your father didn’t seem like your grandfather’s child, but I didn’t investigate properly. If I had been a bit more cautious then, perhaps your father could have met a good family and not passed away so early. You siblings wouldn’t have suffered so much.” The Old Clan Leader took all the blame upon himself, full of guilt as he said this to her.
“Clan Leader Grandfather, that’s not entirely true. If Father hadn’t entered the Old Lin Family back then, he might not have met Mother, and then there wouldn’t be me and Nan Nan. Compared to suffering, I think I still prefer being human a bit more.” Lin Xin really didn’t know how to comfort people and had no idea what exactly had happened, so she racked her brains for half a day before coming up with these consoling words.
If not for Old Man Lin still cursing the invisible “Lin Lao Er” from inside the room, the people in the courtyard would have been amused by her. What does it even mean to prefer being human a bit more?
The Old Clan Leader was also torn between laughter and tears. He raised his hand to rub Lin Xin’s head and sighed: “You’re a good child. If your father knows how good you are, his spirit in heaven can rest easy. Your younger brother is good too. Raise him well, and in the future, he’ll be good to you.”
“Clan Leader Grandfather, rest assured. I will definitely raise Nan Nan well. In a few more days, once the family conditions improve a bit, I’ll send him to study. In the future, he’ll take the top scholar exam and come back to bring glory to Clan Leader Grandfather’s face.”
“Good, good, good. Clan Leader Grandfather is waiting.” The Old Clan Leader felt much better after Lin Xin’s few words.
It was at this moment that Lin Nan groggily woke up. Though not on the usual kang where he woke up, since he was in his most familiar older sister’s arms, he wasn’t scared. He rubbed his eyes with his little hand and coquettishly called out in a milky voice: “Sis~”, then without even opening his eyes fully, he flopped onto Lin Xin’s shoulder and started his waking daze.
“Nan Nan, wake up. If you’re still sleepy, we’ll go home and sleep more later, okay?” Lin Xin gently rocked her arm.
“Hm?” Lin Nan wasn’t fully awake yet, but obedient as he was to his sister, he instinctively did as told. He blearily opened his eyes and suddenly noticed so many people around, startling him awake completely—his sleepiness was entirely scared away this time.
“Sis, what are we doing here?” He had already recognized this as the Lin Family Old House. He didn’t like it here, nor the people here.
“This······” Lin Xin couldn’t answer this question either; she herself was still confused!
“Let me explain!” Lin Jing stepped out from behind the Old Clan Leader.
“Mm, Uncle Jing, you speak. Nan Nan and I are listening.” Lin Xin could feel his inner unrest and thought, what on earth did Old Man Lin say to leave the Old Clan Leader and the successor clan leader like this.
“Thirty-six years ago, villagers from our village went up the mountain to chop wood and ended up rescuing a scholar carrying an infant in the mountains. The scholar was injured, and the infant wasn’t doing well either, so they had no choice but to bring them back to the village.
That little infant was not even a full month old and cried from hunger nonstop. At the time, only your grandmother had just given birth in the whole village. My father helped the scholar discuss with Old Uncle Lin whether they could help feed the little infant, and he was willing to pay.
Your grandmother agreed immediately for the sake of the money, so the scholar and infant were taken to his home. While feeding her own child, she also helped look after them a bit.
Later, the scholar’s injuries worsened, and he didn’t make it. The whole village helped bury him on the back mountain.
Not sure if it was father-son connection or what, but after the scholar passed, the little infant soon followed. But none of us expected that the one who died wasn’t actually that little infant, but Old Uncle Lin’s own son.”
At this point, Lin Xin understood. No wonder there was a plot in the original story about a noble person coming to find relatives. But at that time, both Old Man Lin’s own son and the scholar’s child were gone, and the Old Lin Family had no child of suitable age to substitute the plum tree for the peach tree, so they pushed out the eldest son of the main house, Lin Yang. Everything matched up.
Looking at Lin Xin’s calm gaze and the bewildered Lin Nan in her arms, Lin Jing hesitated before asking: “Xin Yatou, that’s how things are. Your plan is······”
“Clan Leader Grandfather, Uncle Jing, we’ve already severed ties with the Old Lin Family, and now it’s confirmed we truly have no relation, so we’re actually not Lin clan members. Will Clan Leader Grandfather drive us away?” Lin Xin asked.
“Of course not. Your father grew up in the village from childhood, and his name is still written in the clan records!” The Old Clan Leader stroked his beard and said.
“In that case, Nan Nan and I have always been Lin clan members, and that won’t change.”
“Good, good, good. In the future, if there are difficulties, just come to Clan Leader Grandfather, or you can find your Uncle Jing.”
“Okay, Clan Leader Grandfather. We’ll definitely have to trouble you and Uncle Jing in the future.” Lin Xin’s response was very formal, but the Old Clan Leader and Lin Jing were both satisfied.
