Chapter 42 - A Combined Lawsuit, Officials Arrive at the Door
"Isn't the village slaughtering sheep tomorrow? I won't buy anything else, I might as well buy two more pounds of mutton."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I was thinking three catties would be enough, how about six catties?"
Pei Ying smiled and nodded, giving a soft "hmm".
"Okay, let's go straight to Grandpa's house when we get back, place the order for the meat first, and then go back."
Pei Ying nodded slightly and said to Lin Chuntao, "Give me the basket."
What did you buy?
Lin Chuntao counted the things she had bought, then handed over the basket. Since the basket wasn't full, she also stuffed a small bamboo basket into it and had Pei Ying carry it.
By the time they returned to the village, it was past lunchtime.
Lin Chuntao was already a little hungry, so she told Pei Ying to go back and prepare food while she went to the village head's house.
By this time, the families who had eaten early had finished lunch and gathered in the village head's courtyard.
When Lin Chuntao entered, the courtyard was bustling with activity. Men, women, and children were standing or sitting. As soon as Lin Chuntao entered the courtyard, it was as if she had entered a vegetable market, and everyone there was someone she knew. They were all talking at once, greeting each other.
Hearing their voices, Madam Sun peeked out from inside the house and saw Lin Chuntao alone.
"Chuntao, you're here. Have you had lunch yet?" Sun asked.
“Grandma,” Lin Chuntao replied to Madam Sun, “I haven’t eaten yet. I just came back from the county town.”
Mrs. Sun said, "My family just finished eating too. Would you like some reheated so we can eat some together?"
Lin Chuntao waved her hand: "Grandma, there's no need to trouble yourself. I've already asked Pei Ying to go back and prepare the meal. Chunxing and the others are still waiting for us to eat."
"Aunt Guizhi told me yesterday that she would slaughter a sheep for dinner on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, and that I should come in advance to place my order. I came here as soon as I got back, in case I'm late."
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun led Lin Chuntao to the next room. "Tell your great-grandfather how many kilograms you want. You can also tell him in advance if you want anything special so he can save it for you."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Grandpa, we need at least six jin."
As soon as she finished speaking, both Mrs. Sun and Village Chief Lin were startled. Looking at their expressions, Lin Chuntao said, "I bought enough for two meals. In all my life, I've only ever drunk soup that was diluted with a lot of water and smelled it. Now that we can buy our own food, we're thinking of buying more."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun sighed softly and then said, "That's fine too. It's much cheaper to slaughter sheep in our village than to buy them in the county town."
After Lin Cunzheng made a note of it, Lin Chuntao asked, "What are you going to do with the sheep's blood and tripe tomorrow? Will you sell them too?"
"They do sell it, but they usually sell cooked meat. They'll slaughter someone's sheep and cook it in the drying yard. You can buy some then; it's much cheaper than regular meat."
Lin Chuntao nodded, indicating that she understood. Sun said from the side, "The money will be given tomorrow. Just bring it when you come to pick up the meat."
After receiving the message, Lin Chuntao thanked her softly and followed Madam Sun out of the house to go home.
As soon as she stepped out of the house, people in the courtyard looked at her and teased, "Chuntao, I heard you've been digging for wild vegetables to eat lately. Do you still have money to buy mutton?"
Lin Chuntao looked up at the person who asked the question. She didn't answer directly, but just smiled and said, "Uncle, I don't have any money. I'm going to borrow some later. Uncle, do you have some on hand? Lend me thirty coins."
The man who was asked to lend money smiled awkwardly and waved his hand.
"We have no money, where would we get any money?"
Lin Chuntao looked at them with a smile and said, "Uncle, you all come to Grandpa's house to order meat. If you eat one less pound tomorrow, you can lend me thirty coins to buy one pound."
“If all else fails, fifteen coins will do. You lend me fifteen coins, and she lends me fifteen coins, and we’ll have thirty.”
Looking at her serious expression, it seemed she wasn't joking at all, but rather genuinely intended to borrow money to buy mutton.
Before the man could speak with an awkward smile, Lin Lin Chuntao continued, "Uncle, how many pounds of meat did you order? Otherwise, I'll bring the pot over tomorrow, and you can share some with me. It doesn't have to be much; I'll ask the other uncles to scoop some out, and that'll be enough for one meal."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the courtyard nearly lost their composure. They were thinking, how could Lin Chuntao act like this? It was as if everyone was obligated to lend her money. Did she think she wouldn't eat if she didn't have money? And she even asked for meat? Where did she get the nerve?
But seeing that Lin Chuntao didn't move an inch, just stood in the yard looking them over, no one dared to speak rashly, as if they were afraid that Lin Chuntao would really stick to them.
Seeing them like this, Lin Chuntao suddenly smiled and looked at Madam Sun: "Grandma, look, I was just joking, and now my uncles and aunts are ignoring me?"
Sun said, "Ignore them and hurry back."
She smiled, waved to Chen Dongniang, and said, "Grandma, Aunt, I'll head back now."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law said in unison, "Go ahead, come over to our house when you're done with your work."
Lin Chuntao responded and left the courtyard.
As soon as they left, Madam Sun's face darkened slightly. She looked at the man who had spoken earlier and said, "Changli, why did you make fun of Chuntao like that? Has your family never dug up wild vegetables to eat?"
Lin Changli blushed slightly and explained, "Auntie, I wasn't making fun of her, I was just asking casually."
Seeing his continued reaction, Madam Sun said calmly, "Why did you ask? Did you want to hear her say she couldn't afford it so you gave her some? Or did you want to invite the sisters over to eat?"
"They don't act like elders at all."
"She's a grown woman now that she's married, and her household registration is separate from Lin Laosan's. If there's anything in the family that requires the village elders to have a meal, she'll come to your door to invite you. Let's see if you're ashamed."
Lin Changli looked at the angry Sun Shi, lowered his head, and said nothing more.
A bystander exclaimed, "The household registration system has been separated?"
Mrs. Sun replied, "Yes, it was already divided up."
"Oh dear, why are they separating households now?"
"I was wondering why Qiao'er kept separate accounts for money when she got married."
Sun said, "Even though they've separated, they're still one family. And you're all in your fifties and sixties, don't be so short-sighted. Who knows if you'll ever need someone's help in the future!"
After Sun said this much, everyone was secretly wondering what kind of trouble a few young girls could possibly need their help with.
Chen Dongniang just smiled and didn't say anything.
Someone asked curiously, "Auntie, what's going on with Chun Tao and the others? Are they really starving and having to eat wild vegetables?"
Madam Sun glanced at her indifferently and sighed deeply.
"Are you really that curious? Chun Tao picks mushrooms to sell herself, and her husband works in the county town. Do you really think they're surviving on wild vegetables?"
Upon hearing this, they suddenly realized that they didn't seem to know what this person was doing in the county town.
Thinking it over, she asked, and Madam Sun smiled and said, "I don't know either, you can ask them yourselves."
*
On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the sky was clear.
The system didn't announce anything, and Lin Chuntao slept until the sun shone into the yard.
As soon as she got up, the three sisters looked at her expectantly.
Lin Chuntao stretched and asked, "The sheep hasn't been slaughtered yet, has it?"
The three shook their heads in unison, "Not yet, but the sheep have already been led to the drying ground. The village head and the others are burning incense and praying for blessings. They will slaughter the sheep after they finish burning the incense."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "That's alright. I thought I overslept. Has everyone already gone to the drying ground?"
Lin Chunhe nodded, "Yes, I just went to check, and a lot of people have gone."
"Bring those two clean earthenware basins and the small bamboo basket. Let me wash my face and then we'll go."
Lin Chuntao quickly washed her face, chewed a willow twig, rinsed her mouth, and then went back to the house to get the money. She then took Lin Chunxing and the others to the drying ground.
The threshing ground was crowded with people. Lin Cunzheng and his group were burning incense and making offerings in front of an octagonal table, and four sheep were tied to the table.
Lin Chuntao and the others stood outside with earthenware basins, watching Lin Cun lead several elderly people in a prayer ceremony. After they finished, they called out, "Alright, get ready to slaughter the sheep."
As soon as he finished speaking, several adult men brought out a table from behind. They tied up the sheep, lifted them onto the table, and began to slaughter them, collecting the blood. They slaughtered sheep every year, and their movements were skilled and efficient. The four sheep were slaughtered in no time.
The person on this side called out, "Is the water boiled yet?"
"It'll open soon!"
Pei Ying watched them, not peeling the sheepskins, as if they were waiting for boiling water. He frowned slightly and looked at Lin Chuntao with a puzzled expression: "Why aren't they peeling the sheepskins?"
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "We don't skin the goats here. We'll scald them to remove the hair in a bit, and then we'll boil them with the skin on and eat them."
Pei Ying nodded slightly, and Lin Chuntao continued, "In the North, sheep are slaughtered to make coats, right?"
"Hmm," Pei Ying responded, "It's probably because the sheep wool in the north is thicker and more useful."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "That's right. Besides, it's not particularly cold here in winter, so we eat everything we can find."
Pei Ying smiled slightly, as if it were indeed the case; he observed that the village was quite poor.
But looking at the people carrying basins on the drying ground, it seems that every household has come. It feels like the people here have saved up some money and put it all into their stomachs.
By the time the mutton was ready, it was already 9:45 AM.
The village headman called out to the villagers, instructing those who wanted meat to line up, with two people per family, and the rest to stand aside. Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying went to line up to buy meat, while Lin Chunxing and her sisters waited on the side.
The sheep slaughtered today belonged to Uncle Shi. Lin Chuntao saw them taking the sheep's head and feet to cook, and then arranged for someone to clean the intestines. The offal from four sheep was cooked in one pot.
Uncle Stone, standing to the side, said, "This year, the price of meat is thirty coins per catty. The price of intestines, tripe, and sheep's blood is the same as in previous years. Everyone can bring their pots to serve in an hour. The price will still be fifteen coins per catty."
When Lin Chuntao was photographed, there happened to be a lamb leg.
Lin Changzong was also standing by, announcing the numbers to Uncle Shi. Lin Chuntao called out to someone and said, "Chuntao and the others want six jin."
Uncle Stone weighed the lamb leg in his hand and muttered to himself, "This leg probably weighs six pounds. Let's weigh it and see."
As he spoke, he picked up the scale and weighed it.
"Oh dear, it weighs six and a half pounds." Uncle Shi said, looking at Lin Chuntao, "I'll cut off some."
Lin Chuntao thought that there was just one leg of lamb, so it wouldn't matter if it wasn't cut off. She asked, "Uncle, if we don't cut it off, will there be enough for the people behind us? If there's enough for everyone, then we won't cut it off. Give me the whole leg."
Uncle Stone laughed and said, "That's enough. Then I won't cut any more; I'll give it all to you."
Lin Chuntao smiled and agreed. She had brought two hundred copper coins, counted out five, and handed the rest to Uncle Shi.
"One hundred and ninety-five, Uncle, please count them."
After Uncle Shi counted and confirmed that he had the correct number of legs, he accepted the money. The people behind him and those next to him were all shocked to see that Lin Chuntao had taken a leg away, and they all exclaimed in surprise.
"Chuntao, can you finish all of this in one meal?"
Lin Chuntao smiled upon hearing this, but before she could speak, the person next to her laughed and said, "If you can't finish it in one meal, you can continue eating it at the next meal. Your question is as good as not asking at all."
When Lin Chunxing and the others saw Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao bringing out the meat, they happily surrounded them. Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Don't look anymore, let's go home and check." Since it was still early, they should go back and cook the meat first; it would probably take more than an hour to cook.
After saying that, he hurriedly left with his sisters.
As soon as they left the threshing ground, they encountered Zhang carrying a basin, with Lin's children following beside her.
Upon seeing Pei Ying carrying a leg of lamb, the children stared wide-eyed and stood frozen in place.
Zhang was also stunned for a moment, and looked up at Lin Chuntao, but Lin Chuntao didn't look at them and walked forward on her own.
Seeing Zhang's expression, the children didn't dare to speak, and could only wink and make faces at each other.
As soon as they entered the drying ground, they heard people laughing and talking: "Oh my, just yesterday and the day before, everyone was laughing at Chun Tao and the others for eating wild vegetables, but today they've taken away a whole leg of lamb."
"This year, the most purchased fruit in our village is probably spring peaches."
Zhang Qiuniang was also standing among the group of women. When she saw Zhang Shi arrive, she smiled and said, "Qiuzhen, why are you only arriving now? Did you run into Chuntao? I don't know where that girl makes so much money. She just took a whole leg of lamb."
Zhang was displeased, but replied with a forced smile, "I didn't encounter her."
Zhang Qiuniang sighed and came to her side to queue up with her, chattering away.
"I really didn't expect that just two days ago they were saying they couldn't even afford to eat, and now they have money to dig for wild vegetables."
Zhang twitched the corner of her mouth but did not reply.
These days, the Lin family members are too embarrassed to show their faces in public.
It seemed like one misfortune after another was happening. First, Lin Jiabao was accused of stealing eggs, then Miao Feng was exposed for gossiping in public, which led to a fight and arguments at home. This time, Qian's child was lost, and Qian went back to her parents' home.
All these unfortunate events were caused by Lin Chuntao.
Zhang is now finding it hard to suppress her anger even at the mention of Lin Chuntao's name.
Unfortunately, what she feared most came to pass. A woman at the front of the line peeked out, saw Zhang, and asked with a smile, "Sister-in-law, has Qian returned?"
Zhang tried to turn her head away as if she hadn't heard, but it was too late; many people in front of her turned around to look.
She could only reply, "Not yet, probably later, I don't know."
"Didn't Lin Laosan go to pick him up?"
Zhang's lips twitched. She was too embarrassed to say that she had gone to pick it up, but she didn't.
Fortunately, someone picked up the conversation and started saying that Lin Laosan might have acted foolishly again, which relieved Zhang.
After Lin Chuntao and the others brought the meat home, they divided the work: Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er started the fire, Lin Chunxing soaked the rice, and Lin Chuntao washed the lamb leg and had Pei Ying chop it into two pieces and put it into the iron pot.
The meat should be cooked first, then cut and used in hot pot. The goat meat has a very authentic flavor and is raised on pure grass, so the meat quality is excellent.
Lin Chuntao washed two pieces of ginger, smashed them, and threw them in, along with a small amount of fennel seeds. She added water to cover the mutton, covered it with a straw lid, and started cooking.
The mutton takes quite a while to cook, so Lin Chuntao and Lin Chunxing washed all the vegetables they would be eating and put them in a bamboo sieve to drain.
Seeing that the bucket was empty, Pei Ying brought over a carrying pole.
"The water's gone. Give me the bucket, I'll go get some."
Lin Chuntao came out carrying a bucket of water and handed it to Pei Ying.
“I’ll go with you. I told Aunt Guizhi before that we were going to pick a couple of radishes. You can’t eat mutton without radishes.”
There are still plenty of vegetables at home, including cabbage, potatoes, eggplant, and cucumbers. Since everyone is mainly eating meat for the first meal, she won't prepare any other vegetables, except for two radishes.
Before leaving, Lin Chuntao reminded Lin Chunxing not to lift the lid while watching the fire.
Stepping out of the courtyard, Lin Chuntao saw that the entire village was filled with smoke rising from the chimneys of every household; it was noon today, and everything was so neat and orderly.
The vegetable garden was outside the village, while the well was inside. Pei Yingxian carried buckets and followed Lin Chuntao to the vegetable garden to pull up radishes.
When the two came out of the vegetable garden, they saw a group of people in the distance who seemed to be walking towards the village. There were probably seven or eight of them, and they seemed to be carrying knives.
Lin Chuntao's mind went blank for a moment. Pei Ying saw it too, and his face darkened slightly. He quickly said, "Let's go, let's go home first."
She nodded, quickened her pace, and the two of them entered the village, quickly fetched two buckets of water, and carried them home.
Pei Ying's expression was not good, and Lin Chuntao asked, "Did you see the person clearly?"
"No."
"He looks like he's carrying a knife, and his clothes seem similar too. Is he a government official?"
Pei Ying shook his head slightly: "I also saw the knife, but I'm not sure if it was an official."
Pei Ying had encountered many bandits disguised as government officials, who would kill him with a single blow when he thought they were officials and let his guard down.
Therefore, regardless of whether they are officials or not, it's best to keep your distance.
Seeing Pei Ying's expression, Lin Chuntao tentatively asked, "Are there bandits pretending to be government officials?"
"Um."
Lin Chuntao was a little nervous, but Pei Ying gently comforted her, "Don't be too nervous, just wait and see if they're here to arrest people."
"Arrest them?" Lin Chuntao asked, puzzled. Pei Ying replied, "Have you forgotten? Didn't they get into a fight a few days ago and cause the child to miscarry?"
Lin Chuntao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, "According to the current laws, what crime is this?"
Pei Ying shook her head slightly, "I'm not sure, but since it was the mother-in-law who hit her daughter-in-law, the punishment might be much lighter."
Lin Chuntao frowned slightly, and Pei Ying said, "You all stay at home and don't come out. I'm going to the drying ground to find the village head and see what's going on."
After Pei Ying left, Lin Chunxing and the others looked bewildered. "Sister, what's wrong?"
"It's okay. We just saw some strangers enter the village. Let's not go out and wait for your brother-in-law to come back."
After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, the sisters nodded, and the courtyard instantly fell silent.
Pei Ying returned shortly afterward.
Lin Chuntao hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"
Pei Ying said, "The village head took the old lady to the courtyard over there."
"It really is the Qian family filing a lawsuit."
Pei Ying nodded.
At this moment, in the Lin family's courtyard, Zhang had just brought the mutton back, and a group of children were gathered around the kitchen door, preparing to cook the meat.
The old woman had just returned from feeding the pigs in the backyard when she bumped into the village officials who led the villagers straight into the courtyard.
Tian glanced at the men behind the village chief, each carrying a sword. Her expression changed slightly. Before she could ask the village chief what was wrong, she heard the leading officer, holding an iron chain, call out, "Where is Tian Xiaomei?"
The man's voice was loud and serious, which frightened Tian so much that she trembled and knelt down.
"That's me, a commoner."
"By order of the magistrate, arrest the suspect Tian Xiaomei and bring her to court for interrogation." The leader took out a piece of paper with an official seal. Almost none of the family members could read, so they didn't know what was written on it, but they understood what the official was saying.
Suspect? Lin Changhai stepped forward shakily, "Sir, are you sure you're not mistaken? My mother works at home every day, she couldn't possibly have committed a crime."
The officer looked at Lin Changhai and said sternly, "Qian Dingxiang went to the yamen to accuse Tian of maliciously hitting her stomach, causing her to miscarry. Is this true?"
Lin Changhai swallowed hard, not daring to lie, and remained silent.
The man narrowed his eyes and ordered, "Take him away."
As soon as she finished speaking, the officers behind her took out iron chains, chained the old woman's hands and feet, and dragged her to her feet.
The old woman was trembling and couldn't stand up straight.
Seeing his mother like this, Lin Changhai glanced timidly at the officer, then mustered his courage and said, "Mother, don't be afraid. It was that Qian who insulted you first."
Tian looked at Lin Changhai with some panic. The officer frowned slightly and then said, "Everyone who was present at the time, please step forward."
Lin Changhe was also stunned. He thought that what Qian said about parting ways was over and done with, but he didn't expect her to take it to the yamen!
By this time, the old woman had already been chained up, and the officers were still questioning those who were present that day.
He stammered, "I...I was at home that day."
The officer glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "Then take them all away!"
The villagers, who should have been at home cooking mutton, all came out of their courtyards to watch from afar as the officials took away Lin Laowu's family.
"What happened? The whole family has been arrested?"
"Is it because of the fight a few days ago?"
"That can't be right. It was just a fight. The authorities wouldn't know about it."
"Hasn't Madam Qian returned yet? Did she go to the government office to file a complaint?"
Upon hearing this, those around immediately realized and exclaimed, "It must be!"
Standing outside the courtyard, Lin Chuntao saw that all the members of the Lin family had been taken away.
"How could they have taken everyone with them?"
Pei Ying said, "They should all have been present when the fight happened, so they should all go to court together."
The whole family was taken away. Old Man Lin was, after all, the younger brother of the village head, so he didn't even have time to eat lunch. He hurriedly went to find the village head and then went to the yamen together.
After they left, the villagers talked about it for a long time, and finally went back to their houses to prepare food.
At this moment, Lin Chunxing and the others were all glad that they had been kicked out, otherwise they would have been taken away today as well.
Lin Chuntao didn't care whether the old lady lived or died, but she kept thinking about what Pei Ying had said: if a mother-in-law beats her daughter-in-law, the punishment might be much lighter. She then began to reconsider whether she had left any evidence against the Lin family while leading her sisters out.
She didn't understand the current laws, so she wanted to see how things would end up.
The mutton was cooked after boiling for more than an hour. Lin Chuntao added salt to the pot, covered it again, and continued to cook it before taking it out to cool and then slicing it.
Lin Chuntao prefers to eat lamb blood when she eats lamb hot pot. Lamb offal costs fifteen yuan a pound. Since she has already bought so much meat, she won't skimp on the lamb blood. Lin Chuntao went back to the house to get the money and asked Pei Ying and Lin Chunxing, "Do you want to eat any lamb offal? Lamb tripe, lamb blood, or lamb intestines or something?"
The younger sisters shook their heads, and Pei Ying asked, "Do you want to buy some lamb offal?"
"Um."
"Then I'll have some tripe."
Lin Chuntao nodded, picked up the earthenware basin, and went out of the yard towards the drying ground.
When she arrived, the lamb offal, lamb blood, and lamb meat had just been cooked, and several people were carrying pots to buy them. When they saw Lin Chuntao, they asked, "Chuntao, why were your grandparents taken away? Did your stepmother take them to the authorities?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head. "I don't know either."
The man sighed to himself, "Oh dear, this person is really heartless. Every family has its little quarrels, how did it escalate to the authorities?"
Lin Chuntao remained silent and did not respond. Being beaten and miscarrying was not a trivial matter for her. Moreover, Tian Shi did it on purpose. With such a vicious heart, why couldn't Qian Shi take it to the authorities?
But that's how the villagers are. If Qian hadn't reported it to the authorities, they would have thought that Tian was a vicious mother-in-law. But once Qian filed a complaint and Tian was taken away, they would have thought that Qian was vicious.
In their minds, whoever is weak occupies the moral high ground.
Lin Chuntao frowned slightly. The people in front of her had finished buying, so she gave Uncle Shi fifteen coins and asked for a pound of sheep's blood and tripe. Uncle Shi ladled half a basin of soup for her and gave her two small sheep's trotters.
"Thank you, Uncle."
Uncle Stone smiled and waved to her, "Go back and get something to eat, I have to go home for dinner too."
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