Chapter 37: Second Update

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Lin Yongfu sat at home, dejected for most of the day, feeling as though the rest of his life had lost all meaning. He had no idea that Lin Yuxia had taken Zhang Yuqin to town to mail some money. He assumed the two women had merely gone to buy a few pots, bowls, and other household necessities.

Four hundred yuan was an enormous sum for their family. How much could those two women possibly spend?

He was not the only one who thought so. His elder brother, Lin Fuji, thought the same way. In the afternoon, he came rushing over to have a talk with his younger brother. He paid lip service to the idea that, even after dividing the household, they were still brothers and should not be as short-sighted as women, staring only at their little patch of land instead of looking to the future. His brother had only three daughters, after all. Once they were married off, he would still have to rely on the elder branch, and so on and so forth.

“We really are in a difficult situation. Your own nephew is getting married, and the bride’s family wants eight hundred yuan in bride-price. Where are we supposed to get that kind of money all at once?” Lin Fuji began manipulating his younger brother, trying to squeeze money out of him. He and his wife, Zheng Qiaoli, had always played good cop and bad cop.

Lin Yongfu smoked as his elder brother talked, his face burning with shame. But the money was not in his hands, and he could not promise Lin Fuji anything.

Lin Fuji knew nothing about how the two daughters had frightened their father the day before. Lin Yuxia’s outburst alone would not have amounted to much, but Lin Yongfu did not dare provoke Lin Xuexia, far away in Guangdong. If this eldest daughter lost her temper and left, she would truly leave.

Lin Fuji wasted his breath for most of the afternoon. When he saw that Lin Yongfu still would not open his mouth and promise him the money, he hardened his heart and said several extremely ugly things.

“If my son can’t get married, don’t blame your own nephew for doing something drastic.”

After throwing out that threat, Lin Fuji turned and left.

“You decide what to do. I only care about seeing the money.”

After Lin Fuji departed, Lin Yongfu sat on the threshold and said in despair, “My life is hopeless.”

Forget what his own nephew might do. His daughters were preparing to go even further.

Lin Fuji had only walked a few steps when he realized, to his surprise, that Lin Yongfu had no intention of running after him. What was going on?

With a strange expression on his face, he returned home. Zheng Qiaoli and Li Yinhua were both staring at him. Zheng Qiaoli smiled broadly.

“Well? Did you get the money?”

“Let her divide the household if she wants to,” Zheng Qiaoli said smugly. “This must all be Lin Yuxia’s doing. We never should have let her study in the first place. Education is a man’s business. What good does it do a girl to read so much? It only muddles her brain. I’m certainly not going to let my daughters study any further.”

Neither she nor Lin Fuji had ever taken their children’s education seriously. They believed schooling made people foolish. Since they cared so little about education, most of their children had stopped studying after junior high. In the entire Lin family, Lin Yuxia alone had finished high school.

Lin Yuxia’s younger sister, Lin Yuexia, had originally been attending high school in town. But partway through, she had been unable to continue either. She now idled at home, though for the past couple of days she had gone with several village girls to pick fruit at a relative’s orchard.

Zheng Qiaoli’s elder daughter had married into town, while her younger daughter had gone to Guangdong to work. She still sent home one hundred yuan a month, so Zheng Qiaoli considered herself secure.

Lin Xuexia had been expelled from school, and judging by the state of her younger uncle’s household, how could they possibly afford to support a university student?

Now that the household had been divided, there was no chance of making them pay for a university education. At the same time, her own family could demand money from her younger brother’s household. It was the best of both worlds.

“At least he knows he ought to pay up. He has a little backbone after all, that worthless wretch.” Li Yinhua grew angry whenever the younger son’s family was mentioned.

She believed that her younger son’s household was always embarrassing her in the village. Li Yinhua had given birth to only two children, but both were boys. She was proud of having borne sons.

Zhang Yuqin, on the other hand, had nothing but daughters. She had disgraced her completely.

In the village, whenever people heard that someone had given birth to three girls in a row, they would look at her with a suggestive, mocking expression. It was enough to sour anyone’s mood.

Li Yinhua wanted to stay as far away from the second son’s family as possible, lest she be tainted by their bad luck.

“He didn’t give me the money,” Lin Fuji said hesitantly. “Maybe he just can’t see reason yet.”

Li Yinhua snorted. “Once he comes to his senses, he’d better bring the money over obediently.”

Zheng Qiaoli sat there, perfectly at ease. “Your second brother will fall into line after a couple of days.”

Li Yinhua nodded. “You from the eldest branch, go get to work. From now on, you’ll bring your daughter-in-law along to do all the housework.”

Zheng Qiaoli’s expression stiffened. Her elder son’s wife had been causing trouble these past few days. The second son was getting married, and the bride’s family wanted eight hundred yuan in bride-price. The second son was determined to marry her, and the family had agreed. But when the elder daughter-in-law learned of it, she had become dissatisfied and started making a fuss. After all, she had not received that much when she married in.

In the past, all the dirty and exhausting work in the household had been done by Zhang Yuqin. With no maternal family to return to, Zhang Yuqin had worked in the Lin household like an old ox, laboring quietly and obediently. She had been wonderfully useful.

But if her elder daughter-in-law disagreed with something, she truly dared to return to her parents’ home. She also had several brothers to support her, so they did not dare treat her too harshly.

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That was precisely why Zhang Yuqin feared that her daughters would one day end up like her, without maternal brothers to stand behind them, meekly allowing their husbands’ family to control them.

The second son’s household had been under their thumb before, and it would remain under their thumb in the future. Who was to blame for their inability to produce a son? They deserved to have their property swallowed by the relatives.

Just then, the second son, Lin Baoqiang, hurried in.

“Mother, why has Uncle’s family moved so many things?”

Lin Baoqiang was frantic. That was his bride-price money!

“What?” Zheng Qiaoli and Lin Fuji cried out together.

They went to the courtyard gate and found several villagers gathered next door to watch the spectacle. Even though darkness had fallen, it could not suppress the crowd’s lively chatter.

“Zhang Yuqin, you’ve divided the household and bought so many fine things!”

“Congratulations, congratulations!”

…

Zhang Yuqin’s face flushed as she faced the blessings of so many villagers. She had once been afraid to leave the house, always worried that the villagers would mock her for failing to bear a son. In truth, aside from her own relatives, outsiders would not constantly ridicule her over it unless they happened to quarrel with her.

Some kindhearted people even felt sorry for her. Seeing that she had finally separated and begun living on her own, they offered their congratulations.

In those days, nobody would envy a family merely for acquiring a bicycle or a sewing machine.

“Thank you, thank you, everyone.” Lin Yuxia parked the bicycle, carried the other purchases inside, then brought out some sunflower seeds, fruit, and hard candy to distribute among the onlookers.

Once people accepted something, they were naturally reluctant to criticize the giver. After receiving the seeds and candy, the villagers did not mind offering a few flattering words.

“Zhang Yuqin, you’re blessed. You raised your daughter so well. Once she gets into university and earns a living through the state, you’ll enjoy a comfortable life!”

“You’ve divided the household. You’re the one in charge now.”

“You have to stand tall!”

…

Zhang Yuqin’s face grew scarlet beneath their praise. She did not even want to return indoors. She wished they would say more.

In all her twenty-odd years, she had scarcely heard a kind word. Before this, people had envied her only because Lin Xuexia could send money home and had found herself a university-educated fiancé. Once they had money, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law had become somewhat more courteous toward her.

But now, even though she was no longer spending money on her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, she was being congratulated for buying things for her own family!

Their household had a bicycle now! Their household had a sewing machine!

At the thought of the secondhand sewing machine they had just bought, Zhang Yuqin’s heart began to beat rapidly.

In the end, she and her daughter Lin Yuxia had bought the sewing machine from a widow. The widow had used it for five or six years and owned two machines. Recently, short of money, she had decided to sell one.

The two of them had gone to the widow’s home to inspect it and learned that she had only two daughters. She lived in a rented house in town with the girls and supported them by making burial clothes for people.

The discovery had shocked Zhang Yuqin.

While shopping with her daughter, she had learned the current prices. A room in town cost only three to eight yuan a month to rent. Rice cost sixteen fen per pound, pork one yuan and seventy fen, and other green vegetables cost only a few fen or a few mao.

Her daughter had given her ten yuan to hide away. Now she had a sewing machine as well. If the Lin family ever drove her out, she could go to town, rent a room, and earn money doing sewing and mending. She did not mind making burial clothes, nor did she consider anything associated with the dead unlucky. As long as the work was simple and she could support herself, that was enough.

She had asked Lin Yuxia to calculate how much rice and vegetables she would need each month, then compared it with what the widow earned. Zhang Yuqin now had a clear idea of the figures.

When it came down to it, a sewing machine was more dependable than Lin Yongfu as a lifelong companion.

She had to protect that sewing machine.

In the past, Zhang Yuqin’s greatest fear had been that Lin Yongfu would grow tired of her, divorce her, and drive her out of the house. A woman without land had no way to survive.

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In reality, she could rent a small room in town and earn money with the sewing machine. Besides, she had three daughters. Even after they married, if each of them sent her three yuan a month for living expenses, and arranged her funeral after she died, would that not be enough?

Zhang Yuqin decided to listen to her daughter, raise the dogs properly, and keep them well fed. Dogs were loyal and protective.

A dog would not look down on her or mock her. Whoever fed it was the one it obeyed.

The Lin Fuji household came outside to see what was happening. Lin Yongfu, who had been slumped helplessly inside for half the day, was startled by the commotion and came out to look.

He was utterly stunned.

Someone was holding a flashlight in the courtyard. Lin Yuxia, unconcerned about wasting candles, had lit two cheerful lanterns made from newspapers. Another commotion arose as people arrived to deliver the sewing machine. With the villagers’ help, they carried it into the courtyard.

Lin Yongfu stood gaping. He pointed at the bicycle in the corner, his right hand trembling wildly as though he were having a seizure.

“This, this, this, this…”

Lin Yuxia smiled brightly.

“Dad, Mom and I spent all four hundred yuan from the household division today. We bought a new bicycle, a new radio, and a sewing machine. It’s a fresh beginning for our new household.”

“Woof, woof.”

Two little puppies, one yellow and one black, poked their heads out beside Lin Yuxia’s legs.

“Mom, this is Big Yellow, and this is Big Black. They may be hungry.”

Zhang Yuqin hurriedly said, “We can’t let the dogs go hungry. I’ll make something right away.”

Lin Yuxia said, “Boil four eggs first. One for each person, and half an egg for each dog.”

“All right.”

Zhang Yuqin quickly went to get to work.

Lin Yongfu stood rigid as stone. Someone beside him remarked, “You treat those puppies so well. You’re even giving them eggs.”

Lin Yuxia smiled. “My eldest sister said the puppies are being raised to guard the house. If they eat well, they’ll grow faster.”

“That makes sense.”

…

Once the sewing machine had been carried inside, the onlookers dispersed. Lin Fuji and his wife had seen so many villagers gathered around that they had been too embarrassed to approach. After all, the households had been divided. How the other family spent its money was their own affair, and they had no grounds to interfere.

“They’ve gone crazy, completely crazy. The second branch really has lost its mind.” Zheng Qiaoli’s eyes widened in disbelief. The neighboring family had spent all its money and bought all three outdated major household items: a bicycle, a radio, and a sewing machine.

Even if they sold them to a junk dealer, they would have to accept a steep discount.

She had taken a quick glance earlier. Of the three items, only the bicycle might fetch a little money, perhaps a hundred and some yuan.

When Li Yinhua learned that her second son’s wife had spent all four hundred yuan in a single day, she nearly suffered a heart attack.

She grabbed a feather duster and charged toward the neighboring house. The courtyard gate was tightly shut, and in the darkness she failed to see the bamboo fence that had been erected around it that very day.

She ran straight into it.

With a sharp smack, she fell heavily to the ground.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Lin Yongfu heard the old woman’s voice outside but did not dare make a sound. His heart had turned to ashes. If Li Yinhua saw him, she would surely beat him to death.

Seeing him like that, Zhang Yuqin could not help repeating one of her daughter’s words.

“Good-for-nothing.”

She had also been badly frightened when she heard Li Yinhua outside. After thinking it over, Zhang Yuqin picked up a feather duster as well. Tomorrow, she would keep both dogs with her at all times. They would give her courage.

“Lin Yongfu, if even one thing in this house goes missing, I will never live with you again, not even if I die. I’ll run away with my daughters!”

Zhang Yuqin waved the feather duster in her hand. It sliced through the air with a vigorous whoosh as she brandished it with impressive force.

She might have been timid, but years of hard work had given her considerable strength.

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