Chapter 48, First Update

Before Lin Xuexia and the other two reached the village entrance, the Lin family’s doorstep was already bustling with excitement. Many villagers had gathered, drawn by the news that the Lin family’s future second daughter-in-law was officially coming to pay a formal visit.

After selling a batch of grain, Lin Fu’s family, with Lin Fu and his wife Zheng Qiaoli gritting their teeth, managed to scrape together the customary eight hundred yuan bride price for their second son. The bride’s family was satisfied, and the two families arranged the engagement and marriage. Today at noon, the bride herself would come to the groom’s home, first to formally meet important relatives from the groom’s side, accept red envelopes and bride price adjustment fees, and then wait for an auspicious day to hold the wedding banquet and the bride’s procession.

To gain face, the Lin Fu family put on quite a show. From dawn, fireworks were set off at the gate at intervals, crackling loudly. Soon, the ground outside looked as if it had been carpeted in red—a scene full of joy and festivity.

In stark contrast, while one courtyard was lively, the other was desolate and silent.

“Why hasn’t a single person from the child’s uncle’s family come to help?”

“The only real uncle doesn’t show up—how is that going to work?”

Among the many disorganized relatives of the Lin family who had arrived were aunts, uncles, grandmothers, and great-aunts, all tangled in a confusing hierarchy that even the younger generation couldn’t fully remember. The women called the elders grandmother or aunt, the men grandpa or uncle.

Li Yinhua’s eldest brother, Li Xianchen, was among them. He was the most ostentatious of the relatives. Previously, when Lin Yongfu and his brother held their father’s funeral, this uncle had demanded that their entire family kneel three miles from the village to greet the procession.

Today, seeing Lin Yongfu absent, Li Xianchen began to scold loudly: “This is against tradition, totally improper.”

“The nephew brings his new bride home, and his own uncle isn’t here?”

Zheng Qiaoli added fuel to the fire beside him: “Not only is he absent, but my poor son has landed a heartless uncle. When the nephew needs a bride price, the whole family barely manages to gather eight hundred yuan, and that hateful Lin Yongfu immediately demands a family split—he just wants to ruin his own nephew’s marriage!”

“How malicious!”

“Such an uncle, do you still want him to come?”

Li Xianchen’s hair had turned white from anger as he cursed alongside: “This worthless coward can’t even produce a son, yet dares to be so heartless to his nephew. If he doesn’t become extinct, who will? Bring him here—I'll personally scold him as his uncle!”

Outside, the commotion grew louder, while Lin Yongfu and his wife, along with their daughter Lin Yuexia, locked themselves inside their courtyard. Since the first string of firecrackers exploded that morning, it had been torture for them.

Zhang Yuqin worked silently at the sewing machine, pretending not to hear the occasional loud curses from next door. Lin Yongfu hung his head in despair, painfully pondering how to face the decades ahead.

Lin Yuexia stroked the heads of two small dogs, silently hoping her eldest sister Lin Xuexia would not return today.

They kept the door shut to block out the noise; if they could not hear it, then perhaps the eldest sister would not come back and they could avoid more scolding.

The eldest uncle’s family knew Lin Xuexia had called to say she would return in a few days, but they deliberately created such a spectacle to make the two families look bad by comparison. Their family’s new bride arrived with a grand celebration, fireworks everywhere; yet her sister’s homecoming was cold and lonely, marked by a broken engagement and expulsion from the factory—she had no idea how many harsh words she would have to endure.

Lin Yuexia covered her ears, desperate to escape this accursed place, never wanting to see those repulsive relatives again.

They deserved to die! Why wouldn’t they just die?

“Lin Yongfu, come out here!”

“Don’t, don’t—it's a good day, let’s go back inside.”

Amidst the shouting and curses, the repeated calls to “come out” pierced the ears of the three inside. Something was even thrown into the courtyard, frightening the chickens and dogs, making hearts race.

Lin Yongfu’s mood darkened as if he had made a resolute decision. Eventually, he opened the door and stepped out.

Li Xianchen cursed, “You filthy dog, finally came out. Your nephew is getting married and you don’t show any respect?”

“…In a couple of days, I’ll sell the bicycle at home,” Lin Yongfu said, head lowered and eyes red, resigned to compromise.

Li Xianchen cursed again, “Your elder brother’s son can’t afford a wife, and you’re busy buying cars and sewing machines—shameless! What a joke!”

“Don’t sell it! If you sell it, I’ll die right before you!” Zhang Yuqin, who had been hiding indoors, could no longer hold back after years of endurance.

Li Yinhua and Li Xianchen—the mother-in-law and uncle—this pair of siblings acted as if they owned the place, shameless and arrogant!

Today, Zhang Yuqin was determined to stand her ground.

Tears stained her face as she said, “What does their family have? What do we have? I’ve worked myself to death all these years, and our family doesn’t even have a single valuable item. Their son’s bride price is eight hundred yuan—who spends that much on a bride?”

The villagers watching the commotion whispered and pointed. What Zhang Yuqin said was reasonable. The eldest uncle’s family had gone too far, but as the saying goes, “Even the best magistrate can’t judge family affairs.” No outsider had the right to arbitrate who was right or wrong.

Besides, today was the joyous day when Lin Fu’s son brought home his new bride. No one dared speak ill of that family for fear of enmity.

“Let’s not dredge up old grudges today. The nephew’s wedding is in a few days; you’ve already made a mistake.”

Li Xianchen said, “A couple like you two, no wonder you can’t have a son. You deserve to be poor and miserable, not even understanding the basic principles of being human.”

“In life, two things are most important: weddings and funerals. You can cause trouble anytime, but you’ve chosen to disrupt your nephew’s marriage and made it impossible for him to gather the bride price. Such malice!”

His words were especially harsh, his aged voice scraping like nails on a chalkboard, making one instinctively recoil.

Lin Yongfu, who had kept his head bowed, having endured countless scoldings, suddenly shouted with red eyes, “Yes! I’m malicious! I’ve cut ties with that family!”

“My nephew doesn’t recognize me as his uncle. What use are a few worthless nephews? Is he going to serve me like a servant?”

Lin Fu’s family seized the opportunity to threaten: “Neighbors, listen to what he says. Their family is heartless first; don’t blame ours for being unkind. If they ever need help, we won’t send a single person.”

“When your daughter gets married and brings her new husband home, wanting to see the eldest uncle—sorry,” Lin Fu’s family waved dismissively, “I won’t meet him. I don’t have those three nieces.”

“Your three daughters got bullied outside, and that has nothing to do with my son. Don’t treat us like your own family.”

“With parents like you two, your daughters wouldn’t be able to marry out even if I cut my head off and kicked it like a ball.”

These words from Lin Fu’s family chilled Lin Yongfu’s face. Reputation was everything in the countryside. No one cared about the truth, only that their family was divided. Who would marry into such a family?

Li Xianchen said, “I don’t even want such a nephew. Your family is too ‘unique.’ Live your own lives—I want to see how you’ll manage.”

“Don’t come to see me anymore.”

Lin Yongfu, weak and hesitant, said, “...I spoke wrongly just now.”

“Fine!” Lin Yuexia suddenly burst out and shouted, jumping up, “From now on, our family has nothing to do with the eldest uncle’s family. We’re severed—no more visiting relatives!”

She pointed at Lin Fu’s family and Zheng Qiaoli, shouting with all her might, “If your family dares to touch a single penny of our bride price again, may your whole family perish!”

Lin Fu’s family and Zheng Qiaoli’s faces turned grim. Lin Yongfu and Zhang Yuqin also stiffened. None of them expected the usually lazy and sly Lin Yuexia to speak up, much less say such fierce words.

Lin Yuexia was throwing caution to the wind. The death of Qin Yanyan had deeply affected her; she had been thinking about it constantly and feared her parents might sell her off for the bride price.

Especially since the eldest uncle’s son was about to marry and build a house—where would that money come from?

Zheng Qiaoli laughed bitterly, “Who would dare marry a daughter raised like this? What a disgrace!”

Lin Yongfu turned and slapped Lin Yuexia hard. Her left cheek instantly swelled. Holding her face, stars danced before her eyes, and she felt a deep despair, even contemplating death.

She felt life was meaningless. Why was her fate so cruel? Why was life so full of misfortune? She longed to leave this hateful place and wished she could burn these people all to ashes.

Or if she were forced to die someday, she vowed to drag them down with her into the underworld.

Lin Yuexia’s eyes were glazed, tears streaming down her burning cheeks, the pain sharp as if cut by knives.

Lin Yongfu raised his hand again to strike her, but she closed her eyes. At that moment, she faintly heard a familiar voice calling her name.

“Yuexia.”

Lin Yongfu’s hand froze in mid-air. All eyes were drawn to three newcomers who had just arrived—Lin Xuexia and Lin Yuxia running toward them. Lin Yuexia opened her eyes and, seeing Lin Xuexia, cried out as she rushed forward.

“Sis…”

Lin Xuexia embraced her distraught sister, both helpless and heartbroken. As the eldest sister, she had raised her two younger siblings, acting both as sister and mother.

“Don’t cry anymore. Tell me what’s wrong,” Lin Xuexia gently patted her back.

“Sis, they always bully our family.”

Lin Xuexia sneered, “From now on, we’ll fight fire with fire, blood for blood.”

She glanced at the red fireworks debris drifting down, then pulled out several hundred-yuan bills and handed them to Lin Yuxia. “Yuxia, go buy plenty of firecrackers. Our family will set them off all day. Today is our big day—your sister brings her partner home.”

Lin Xuexia had long understood that no one cared about right or wrong or the truth of the matter. Outsiders only wanted to watch the spectacle and delight in elevating one side while putting down the other.

She intended to trample the eldest uncle’s family’s pride into the dirt.

“Sis…” Lin Yuxia hesitated, holding the money.

“Go,” Lin Xuexia urged. “Take some village sisters with you. I’ll give red envelopes to those who help.”

The onlookers were stunned to see Lin Xuexia casually hand over several hundred-yuan bills to her sister to buy firecrackers.

Even the previously self-important Li Xianchen was shocked. Lin Fu’s family and Zheng Qiaoli stared at Lin Xuexia in disbelief. Now, looking carefully, Lin Xuexia was dressed fashionably and elegantly, with bright, beautiful fabrics. Her fair skin, dark hair, red lips, and white teeth showed no trace of rustic country girl; she looked more like a pampered young lady from the city.

Lin Xuexia had truly made something of herself outside.

“Wait—” Fu Wei called out to Lin Yuxia, holding out his hand. “Give me your sister’s money.”

Lin Yuxia froze, and everyone else present was stunned. The tall, strong stranger who came back with Lin Xuexia stood like a great bell, impossible to ignore. Was he Lin Xuexia’s new boyfriend?

Zheng Qiaoli, still suspicious, was secretly amused, wondering if Lin Xuexia was using her man’s money to bluff.

In front of everyone, Fu Wei counted out several hundred-yuan bills from his clothes and exchanged them for Lin Xuexia’s money.

He handed the money back to Lin Xuexia: “This money shouldn’t be yours to pay. I’m your partner; I’ll pay.”

“Your cousin is a loser who still has to ask his uncle for money to marry.”

“I’m not a loser. This is my first time visiting your home today. Tonight, I’ll set off fireworks worth three thousand six hundred yuan for you. I hope our future will be happy and prosperous.”