Chapter 21 The Dilemma Under the Contract
# Chapter 21 The Dilemma Under the Contract
Seven days after the successful proposal, the air in Qingxi Village was filled with joy. Grandma Zhang sat beneath an old pear tree, sewing a wedding handkerchief embroidered with tiny pear leaves and tomato patterns, a task she'd completed overnight. Uncle Li led a group of young people to repair the path beside the shared farmland, smoothing out the potholes and saying, "There will be many visitors on the wedding day, so we need to make it comfortable for everyone." Chen Wang and Lin Xiaoman were selecting wedding candy in the workshop. Glass jars held strawberry jam marshmallows, made by Aunt Wang according to an old recipe, each one imprinted with a small pear dimple.
"This gummy candy is just the right sweetness, not too cloying." Lin Xiaoman picked up one and put it in her mouth, her eyes curved into crescents, and her fingers gently touched the back of Chen Wang's hand - since the day of the proposal, she has become more and more daring to touch his hand, but the tips of her ears will still turn red when their fingertips touch.
Chen Wang smiled and pushed the candy jar toward her. "If you like, fill it up. We'll share some with tourists and villagers on the wedding day. By the way, I've discussed with the village director that we'll have the wedding under the old pear tree. We'll put up a flower stand and wrap it with grape vines. It's sure to look great."
Lin Xiaoman's smile paused, and she clenched the candy in her hand, without answering. Chen Wang was about to ask what was wrong when the phone in her pocket suddenly rang. When the words "distant uncle" popped up on the screen, her face instantly paled.
"I'm going to answer a call." Lin Xiaoman walked out of the yard, clutching her phone, with her back to the workshop. Her voice was low, but scattered words still drifted into Chen Wang's ears - "contract", "can't marry outside", "guard the orchard". Chen Wang's heart sank inexplicably. He knew that Lin Xiaoman's great-uncle was the most senior elder in the Lin family and the "guardian" of the old orchard. They rarely contacted each other, and this sudden call made him feel that something bad was wrong.
Ten minutes later, Lin Xiaoman returned, her eyes red and a faded brocade box clutched in her hand. She placed the box on the table and opened it, revealing a yellowed piece of paper with curled edges – an old contract.
"My great-uncle said... he won't let me marry you." Lin Xiaoman's voice was choked with sobs, and her fingertips gently traced the words on the contract. "This is the contract signed by my great-grandfather's generation. It says that every generation of the Lin family must have someone to guard the old orchard. We can't marry outsiders, and we can't leave Qingxi Village. Otherwise... otherwise the crops in the orchard won't grow well."
Chen Wang picked up the contract and examined it carefully. The ink was almost faint, but he could make out the words "protect the orchard" and "bloodline inheritance." A faint red seal, the Lin family seal, adorned the end. He remembered Lin Xiaoman's earlier remark that "Grandpa never left the orchard." It turned out to be more than just a casual remark; it was a hidden promise.
"What's the difference between a foreign surname and a foreign surname?" Chen Wang put the contract back into the brocade box, his tone as calm as possible, but his impatience could not be hidden. "I have long considered Qingxi Village my home, and the orchard is also my home. I can marry into your family and transfer my household registration here. From now on, I can guard the orchard and manage the workshop together with you. Isn't that enough?"
"It's useless," Lin Xiaoman shook her head, tears falling. "My great uncle said that the 'bloodline' in the contract refers to the Lin family remaining alone. If you marry someone with a different surname, even if you move your household registration, it doesn't count as 'pure bloodline'. He also said that a great aunt once secretly married a foreigner. As a result, all the pears in the orchard fell that year, and the tomatoes didn't bear fruit either. In the end, the great aunt had no choice but to separate, and only then did the orchard slowly recover."
Just as she finished speaking, there was a crashing sound outside the yard—a thin branch from the old pear tree fell, hitting the bamboo basket where Grandma Zhang was sewing wedding handkerchiefs, and the handkerchiefs scattered all over the floor. Grandma Zhang picked up the branch, frowned, and said, "This old pear tree hasn't lost a branch in years. What's wrong this year?"
Even more worrying was the next morning, when Chen Wang inspected the shared farm, he discovered that several tomato plants had mostly yellowed leaves and the fruit was smaller than usual. In the old orchard, many small, green pears had fallen to the ground, smashed to pieces. This wasn't some magical "withering" phenomenon, but rather a genuine sign of "poor growth," echoing his uncle's words: "The crops aren't growing well."
"Look..." Lin Xiaoman squatted beside the tomato vines, her fingertips touching the yellowing leaves, tears falling again. "What my uncle said is true. I can't hurt you, and I can't let the hard work of the whole village go to waste." She raised her hand, slowly took off the pear wood ring on her ring finger, and placed it in Chen Wang's palm. "Let's... just forget it."
Chen Wang clenched his ring, feeling the warmth of the wood at his fingertips. Something seemed to be blocking his heart. A science and engineering man, he didn't believe in "contract curses." But looking at the poorly growing crops before him, at Lin Xiaoman's reddened eyes, he didn't know how to respond. He couldn't let Lin Xiaoman be accused of "destroying the orchard," and he couldn't let the villagers' hard work go to waste.
"Don't jump to conclusions." Chen Wang took a deep breath and put the ring back on Lin Xiaoman's hand. "Let's find evidence to prove that the 'protection' in the contract doesn't refer to blood, but to sincerity. Grandma Zhang said that Grandpa used to help many outsiders manage orchards, and the crops didn't grow poorly back then."
He turned to look for Grandma Zhang. Uncle Li, having heard about this, also took the initiative to go to the village office to look through the old documents. "I don't believe there's no way around this contract. Maybe the 'outsider' back then referred to someone who wasn't truly committed to the orchard, not someone with a different surname!"
The villagers also got busy: Grandma Zhang dug out Grandpa's old account book, which recorded "In the 23rd year of the Republic of China, we helped a foreigner named Ma to repair the branches of the pear tree, and the pear production increased by 20% that year"; the village accountant found the village annals, which said "The Lin family has been guarding the orchard for generations, and anyone who sincerely helps the orchard is regarded as a family member."
Lin Xiaoman sat at the orchard entrance, watching everyone bustling about. She glanced at the pearwood ring in her hand—it was carved by Chen Wang, who'd worked up all night, with the small characters "Qingxi" engraved on the inside. She recalled the day he proposed, Chen Wang leaning against the old pear tree, his voice trembling with nervousness but his eyes determined. She remembered him running through the fields with a sprayer on his back when they'd been fighting root rot together. She remembered him scouting through five towns looking for logistics when the supply chain was broken. This man had long since planted his heart in Qingxi Village and in the orchard.
In the evening, Uncle Li came running over with a yellowed copy of "The Lin Family Orchard." Inside was a note from Grandpa Lin's youth: "Those who guard an orchard guard the soil and the heart, not their blood. If you meet someone who truly loves you and you share their care and protection, the orchard will endure."
"Look!" Chen Wang handed the notebook to Lin Xiaoman, his voice filled with hope. "Grandpa said a long time ago that sincerity is more important than blood! Let's go find my uncle now and bring the account book, the village history, and Grandpa's notes. Let him see that we are not violating the contract, but are protecting the orchard!"
Lin Xiaoman looked at her grandfather's handwriting in the notebook, then at the villagers who had gathered around her—Grandma Zhang holding her wedding scarf, Uncle Li holding the old clerk, each with a gleam of support in their eyes. She wiped her tears and nodded vigorously: "Okay, let's go together."
Wangfu ran over with Chen Wang's coat in his mouth, placing it at his feet, his tail wagging gently. Chen Wang picked up his coat and put it on Lin Xiaoman, and the two walked side by side towards the village entrance. The setting sun stretched their shadows long, casting them across the newly repaired path. Behind them followed a group of villagers holding "evidence," like a small team, carrying hope and facing the final obstacle.
The story of Qingxi Village is not over yet, and the battle between contract and sincerity has just begun - but they all know that as long as their hearts are together and as long as they keep their love for the land, there will be no hurdle that cannot be overcome.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
