Chapter 018 Chapter 18 Returning Home on the Third Day of the New Year
The third day of the Lunar New Year is the day for visiting relatives. In the eyes of others, Lin Yue’s adoptive parents had passed away, so no one would say anything if she didn’t go back. However, she still brought two kilograms of peanuts back to Donglinjia Village.
When Lin Yue stepped into Uncle Lin's house, the whole family was there, warming themselves around a brazier with her stepbrother.
Uncle Lin and his family were all surprised that she could come here today. They had heard that Lin Yue was not doing well in her husband's family, and they didn't want to help him. Originally, Lin Yue's life was not good before she got married. Second Uncle Lin collected half a bag of grain and forced her to marry her off. It was just enough to say that she had a grudge, let alone any feelings.
My cousin Lin Mei is the only daughter of my second uncle. She is also one of the few college students in the nearby villages. She is naturally proud.
Since she was a child, she couldn't stand this cousin who was prettier than herself and always wanted to put her ahead of him. If anyone in the village praised her sister, she would bully her behind her back to vent her anger.
Now seeing Lin Yue going out to visit relatives during the New Year, still wearing patched clothes, a gray fluffy headscarf on her head, and holding two babies in her arms, looking so poor, she pouted and didn't want to pay any attention to her.
Lin Yue didn't care. Although her cousin also liked to bully the original owner, in the original owner's heart he still remembered that she had shared a piece of candy with him and the red cotton shirt she wore when she got married.
As long as this person doesn't cause trouble, Lin Yue won't go out of her way to make things difficult for her. She didn't come here for Lin Mei in the first place.
She came here with a mission today. There were some things that the original owner didn't dare to ask because of her personality. After she had the original owner's memory, she felt something was wrong. She planned to test it today. If she could get some clues, she wouldn't have to get involved with this family anymore.
Lin Yue sat on the edge of the kang, staring at Second Uncle Lin and said, "Second Uncle, I came here today to wish you and Second Aunt a happy new year. Secondly, I heard some rumors. I thought that my parents raised me, and I couldn't let them down, so I had to come and ask for clarification."
The original owner was weak in character. Although she looked quite intimidating, Uncle Lin was not afraid. He sneered and said, "What are you talking about, niece? I haven't seen you come back since you got married. Now that you finally come back, you don't even ask about your uncle and aunt's health, whether there is enough food at home, or whether your brother is doing well. You just say things that I can't understand."
Lin Mei also said: "That's right, you've already said it's a rumor, but you're still so aggressive, who are you questioning?"
Lin Yue: ...
Uncle Lin knew what Lin Yue wanted to ask, but Lin Mei was used to bullying the original owner, so she deliberately tried to stop Lin Yue from speaking.
Lin Yue knew that it wouldn't be so easy to get what he wanted to know, so he deliberately provoked him, "A few years ago, I met a couple in their 40s. They talked to me and said that they had evidence and were going to call the police. I saw that they were not dressed like ordinary people, so I came here today out of kindness to remind them. Seeing how Second Uncle is, I think I have made a wasted trip today." As he spoke, he was about to stand up.
Uncle Lin's face suddenly changed. He quickly stepped forward, grabbed Lin Yue's sleeve, and pulled her into the inner room: "Xiao Yue'er finally came back. Don't be in a hurry to leave. Let your aunt cook two dishes for lunch. Eat at home before leaving. Come on, come into the inner room and talk to your uncle. You have been married for more than half a year and there is no news. The two villages are not far away, but you don't even come back to visit. How are you doing in your husband's family?"
He was so attentive that he seemed like the same person as before.
When Xu's father found Lin Yue, it was not long after the land reform, and the peasants' hostility towards the landlord class was still the strongest. Although Xu's father was not a landlord, in the eyes of the rural people, there was not much difference between him and the landlord.
He knew this very well, and did not dare to publicize it. At first, he only allowed an old servant to secretly contact Lin Lao Da and his wife. However, the couple was afraid that he would report them to the authorities, so they never admitted it and insisted that their daughter was theirs.
Lin Yue recalled the original owner's memory. During that period, the adoptive parents were particularly nervous. Sometimes they were very nice to Lin Yue, but the next moment their attitude changed drastically. They looked at Lin Yue as if she were an enemy. They also kept emphasizing to Lin Yue that she was their biological child. If someone came to claim her as their biological child, it must be a big landlord who came to trick the little girl and bring her back to cause harm.
The original owner was old enough to remember things when she fought against the landlords. She was so frightened when her adoptive parents said that that it was useless for anyone to talk to her. Later, Lin Yue finally believed that he was her biological father, but she was afraid of being labeled as the "young lady of a capitalist family" and still refused to recognize Xu's father.
The death of Lin Yue’s adoptive parents was also related to this. The old servant lied that Lin Yue’s parents were heroes who participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan. The couple was afraid of retaliation and lived in fear all day long. Within two years, they both died.
During this time, Xu's father had always wanted to get close to her, and he told Lin Yue a lot of details about what happened, such as contacting the seller, and the person who acted as the middleman was Second Uncle Lin.
The previous generation of the Lin family had only these two brothers. Uncle Lin had only one daughter, and no more children were born. The eldest brother, Lin, was nearly 40 years old and still had no children. In order to have an heir, Uncle Lin asked people everywhere to adopt a child for the eldest brother. Originally, both families wanted a boy, but by mistake, they brought back a girl.
Boss Lin felt that the money had been spent, so he did not abandon the child.
It was also because Second Uncle Lin asked people around at that time that Father Xu was able to find him by following the thread lock.
Lin Yue came here just to ask a question: "Second Uncle, do you remember who sent me here? Do you know him?"
Upon hearing this, Uncle Lin's smile froze on his face.
The two brothers of the Lin family never knew who the original owner's biological father was. They thought he was really a high-ranking official. After the eldest brother Lin died, the second brother saw that no one had come to claim his father for such a long time, and thought he had found the wrong person. However, he was still uneasy in his heart. Just then, Sun Hongmei came to propose marriage, and the second brother Lin took the opportunity to send the original owner away.
Hearing Lin Yue say he was going to report the case, he dared not hide anything and told her everything: "I don't know who it was, I just know it was a woman. She heard that I was asking about that, so she came to me and asked for 200 kilograms of wheat, saying that she had a two-year-old boy at home. But on the appointed day, she brought me a baby who hadn't been weaned yet. She said the eldest child cried too much and she couldn't take care of him, but the second child was easier to raise. Your father... no, my eldest brother heard that it was a newborn and thought it was better this way. He could go out and live for a few months and then come back and say that the child was his own."
He lowered his head, rubbed his face with his hands and continued, "Who knew that when we lifted the quilt, we found it was a girl. The woman's accomplice had already left with the food, and the two of us wanted to stop the woman, but we failed and she ran away. Her head and face were tightly wrapped, so I couldn't see her face clearly, but when I grabbed her, I pulled the woman's sleeve. I remember that there were three red moles lined up on the inside of her left arm, and they were quite large."
Nowadays, many women still wear long-sleeved clothes in the summer, and their arms are completely invisible. This news is completely useless.
Uncle Lin wanted to plead, "Yue'er, we really thought you were that woman's child. We knew you were a girl, but we didn't throw you away. After all, we raised you to this age, so we still owe you a debt of gratitude. You can't just ignore your uncle..."
Lin Yue didn't answer. He walked out of the inner room, took the two pounds of peanuts he brought when he came, and left without looking back.
Uncle Lin chased after her and shouted, "Xiao Yue, stay for lunch. Where are you going?"
Lin Yue did not hesitate to reply, "Go to Uncle Xu!"
When Uncle Lin heard that she was willing to answer him, he chased her to the door and said loudly, "Teacher Xu saved your life. You should go and see him. You should go and see him!"
Lin Yue walked through the wide street and came to a group of low and dilapidated houses at the west end of the village.
This area is the old village territory. New houses were built at the east end of the village. As the number of people living here decreased, a large area of houses gradually became vacant. Later, the village chose to build a school here.
She walked into a slightly tidier courtyard. There was a jujube tree planted outside the courtyard wall and two rose trees on both sides of the gate. Because of the cold weather, their branches had been cut off, leaving only a bare trunk in the soil.
The gate was open, and Lin Yue went straight into the yard without calling anyone. A path was paved with gravel in the yard, and the snow was swept into a pile next to the ditch. The area near the wall was cleared for growing vegetables, and now only some yellowed leeks and winter spinach were left half buried in the snow.
The main house was very low, with several long icicles hanging on the eaves, dripping water from them.
Hearing the sound, Father Xu walked out of the house quickly. Seeing Lin Yue coming with two children in his arms, surprise appeared in his eyes. He stepped forward, took the two children from Lin Yue's arms, and pulled Lin Yue into the house.
The house was as shabby and old as Lin Yue's house, but it was very clean and there was a fire in the kitchen, so the house was very warm.
Father Xu put the two little guys on the warm kang, and they looked around with their big round eyes.
He handed Lin Yue a cup of hot water and said, "I didn't know you could come today. We didn't prepare anything at home... Drink some hot water to warm your hands. Children grow up so fast. In the blink of an eye, they have grown so big!"
Lin Yue smiled and watched Father Xu concentrating on entertaining the two children.
Xu Enyuan caressed the two children over and over again through the blanket, murmuring, "You were this big when you got lost. These two children look exactly like you back then."
How can a child tell whether they are the same? It's just a psychological effect.
Lin Yue said softly: "Please hug them again."
Xu Enyuan's heart was filled with emotions as he thought of the past. Although it was not the first time he saw two children and he had just held them in his arms, he was still very excited. He wiped his hands on his clothes again and again before gently picking up his sister and walking around in the narrow room. He then picked up his brother with his other hand, put his face on the quilt, and secretly wiped away his tears.
Lin Yue didn't dare to go forward to disturb them, so he had to sit aside and wait quietly.