Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Double Update in One
At first, Lin Xinghuo really thought that this family was scheming, but the more he listened, the more he felt that it was not the case: as large landowners, this family was able to survive the movement and the whole family was safe and sound. Looking at the vigorous appearance of Mr. Tang, it did not seem like he had suffered much, so why would he express his greed so blatantly?
Moreover, even if an elderly man who could protect his family in this day and age had a drastically changed temperament, he wouldn't be so naive. Furthermore, the fact that the aunt had been eavesdropping for quite some time before entering the room, and that a middle-aged man hadn't emerged from the inner hall, led Lin Xinghuo to suspect this was Uncle Tang, the "good guy" in the aunt's mouth.
As if she was afraid that she couldn't scare Lin Xinghuo away, Aunt Tang called back her fourth son, who was about her age, and kept bringing the two of them together, looking at this and that, with so much fondness on her face that it was fake.
But this 'cousin' didn't understand the situation and actually thought that it was his aunt's younger sister who came back home. It was obvious that he was indeed the youngest son who was very much loved in the family. He took snacks and candies from the cupboard to entertain his cousin. After realizing what his mother meant, the young man was shocked and angry and didn't know what to do. What era is this? How can the cousin thing still be popular?
Lin Xinghuo was not angry yet. He ran out with a red face like a girl.
Aunt Tang said, "Well, what's the big deal? It's better to be close relatives! There have been many such incidents in Tangwang Village before, but they were never as shocking as the publicity."
"It was a bit troublesome, but your household registration is not with our family, so it won't cause any trouble." Aunt Tang looked at the whole bag of snacks that the brat had opened with just one hand, took a deep breath, and hurriedly persuaded Lin Xinghuo to eat more, and then tried to hold Lin Xinghuo's hand affectionately.
"Your aunts all have many sons. Our family background is not good, so it is difficult to find a wife. You have to help with this!" While saying this, Aunt Tang deliberately glanced at the brocade bag that Lin Xinghuo was holding in his arms again.
Lin Xinghuo pulled his hand back and looked at Mr. Tang: "What about my parents returning home for burial?"
Old Master Tang, who had been silent since Aunt Tang entered the room, raised his drooping eyelids. "The Tang family has never married off daughters from outside the family and brought them back for burial. Besides, your parents died suddenly, so there's something taboo about that in the clan... If you're willing to marry your fourth cousin, there's room for negotiation."
"But if you don't want to." Old Man Tang was silent for a moment. "Nowadays, there's no such thing as returning home customs. You can take him back to Snow Province. Maybe your parents would rather be with you."
"It's difficult to get a Beijing household registration. The only way for the educated youth who grew up here to come back is to find a job. If you want, you can only settle in Tangwangzhuang, which is the same countryside as in Xue Province, and you can't eat commercial grain." Old Man Tang's meaning was very clear. The only way was to marry her cousin, but even if she married, she couldn't expect to get commercial grain. She still had to work honestly in the brigade to earn work points.
"Think carefully about the pros and cons. If you feel closer to your adoptive parents, then go back. I never raised you here, and you don't have to fulfill your filial duties on your parents' behalf. Just keep things the same." Old Man Tang felt a little soft-hearted, and his tone wasn't as utilitarian as before. "If you're willing to stay, after you get your marriage certificate with your cousin, when you visit your grandmother's grave, you can bury your parents in her grave away from others."
Lin Xinghuo was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Then I won't bother you anymore." After that, he picked up the wooden box wrapped in silk cloth and left the same way he came.
Aunt Tang glanced at her father-in-law and reluctantly sent her out of the village. Outside, she was not as enthusiastic as before and didn't even say a few words. She just showed an annoying face as if "the duck in the mouth flew away".
After Lin Xinghuo left, the man in the room came out and sneered several times. Seeing the gloomy face of Mr. Tang, he suddenly changed his tone and said sarcastically, "Please find out about this from now on. If this child is in trouble, we can help him secretly."
Elder Tang ignored this and looked at his eldest son with dim eyes: "Are you sure our family's problems can be solved soon?"
Uncle Tang is not even fifty yet, but his hair is gray and his back is hunched. He looks up quickly, glances at someone, and then quickly avoids looking into their eyes, as if he is afraid to see them.
Whenever Mr. Tang saw his eldest son's cowardly look, he felt extremely uncomfortable. Dongting was destroyed alive by the fight. It was indeed he who took most of the hardships for his parents and siblings. He was beaten and suffered countless hardships during the three years when he was captured... As the eldest son of him and his original wife, Dongting was proud and could not tolerate Lin Qingyi, but his pride was bent alive. When he gritted his teeth and returned home, he saw that his family used the evidence that could save him early to protect his stepmother's nephew. His younger sister, who he loved very much even though she was his half-sister, married Lin Qingyi and completely stood on Lin Qingyi's side... How could Tang Dongting not hate him? He hated him so much that he didn't know what to do.
Tang Dongting not only hated it, but the three years of torture that was worse than death also made him petty.
However, the Tang family actually relied heavily on the Lin family for most of its assets. Tang Dongting's biological mother also bore the surname Lin, but she was merely a branch of the family. It was precisely because he married the original wife that Old Man Tang secured the Lin family's support and prospered. The Tang family possessed a large family, as the village's name, "Tangwangzhuang," attests. The Lin family's business was large and lucrative, while the Tang family's ancestral roots were deep, and the ties between the two families grew increasingly complex. Consequently, after Tang Dongting's biological mother passed away, the Lin family married a prominent young lady from the main branch. At the time, the situation was difficult, and the Lin family, seeking to diversify their risks, provided an incredibly generous dowry. It can be said that, aside from the vast tracts of land, all of the Tang family's assets—factories, shops, real estate, and most of the gold and silver—came to the Tang family through the second wife. After the land reform, the Tang family's land was nationalized, and the remaining property should have been divided between Mrs. Lin and her two children. Without this, Old Man Tang wouldn't have been persuaded by Mrs. Lin to protect his nephew.
By then, Tang Dongting had returned home, viewing his brother-in-law and cousin, Lin Qingyi, almost as an enemy. Amidst the ongoing turmoil outside, the family was in turmoil. Feeling guilty about his eldest son, Old Man Tang arranged for his youngest daughter's family to work in the distant province of Selangor. Unexpectedly, within six months, the youngest daughter and her husband died there. Mrs. Lin fell ill after receiving the telegram. Knowing her granddaughter was still alive, she sent all the family's available funds, desperately urging Old Man Tang to bring the child back. However, the Tang family had just donated all its factories and real estate, and their situation was in tatters, ravaged by internal and external troubles. Mrs. Lin's behavior made Tang Dongting very dissatisfied, and the relationship that had been cultivated was torn apart, especially when Tang Dongting found that Mrs. Lin had secretly distributed most of the gold and silver properties she had hidden to Lin Qingyi and took them away... Not long after the two sides argued, the devastated Mrs. Lin died. The resentful Tang Dongting did not even allow Mrs. Lin to be buried in the Tang family's ancestral tomb. It was only because Mr. Tang refused to take back his granddaughter who was living outside that he reluctantly agreed to bury his stepmother in the lower right corner of his biological mother's tomb. This was the position for concubines in the pre-liberation period.
Over the years, with Elder Tang watching over him, Tang Dongting wasn't close to his stepmother's sixth brother, but he wasn't harsh either. Tang Dongting had become less approachable since returning home, and Elder Tang was quite satisfied, figuring the tangled grudges could be smoothed over. But unexpectedly, his stepwife, on her deathbed, rigged them. She had already transferred the donated factories and properties to her biological children, and most infuriatingly, the majority was still in the name of the youngest daughter. Elder Tang understood she was trying to curry favor with the higher-ups, hoping to gain preferential treatment in recognition of Lin Qingyi and Tang Liu's voluntary donations.
Originally, no matter how tempting these things were, they had nothing to do with them after they were donated. Especially after the movement started, this title was not a good thing. For example, Tang Liu, who used the title, could not even keep his job with the amulet of Grandpa Tang. Instead, his five older brothers were better off. Tang Dongting even got a job in the donated woolen mill because he had drawn a clear line with his stepmother... But since the working group sent to lead the anti-Confucius work in 1973 returned in failure and caused a big disturbance, the attitude of the leader has changed. The most crazy supporters of the movement have been seriously injured, and some people who have been defeated have resumed their jobs. Especially after a leader who advocated comprehensive rectification returned to preside over the affairs of the Central Committee in 1975, some people's problems were solved, and there were even enlightened gentry like the Tang family who had contributed to the cause of democracy. The most important thing is that the old man had part of his property returned!
As soon as this incident came out, Tang Dongting, who was poor and afraid of suffering, and Old Man Tang became anxious. Tang Dongting was looking forward to the day when the verdict could be overturned.
Putting aside the fact that the portion of property under Tang Liu's name couldn't be reconciled with the old man, the majority of the property under the names of Lin Qingyi and his wife would be returned to Old Man Tang first, provided they had no other direct relatives. Tang Dongting had repeatedly confirmed that his sister's child had been adopted and was not registered under her name. He still remembered that during the anti-Confucius campaign in 1973, investigators had come to Tangwangzhuang to investigate. Tang Dongting had even secretly hoped that his niece, whom he had never met, would be implicated by her parents. However, a phone call from Selangor Province later revealed that the child's class status had been inherited from her adoptive grandmother.
Tang Dongting had been indignant before, but ultimately hadn't done anything. But then this niece suddenly appeared and wanted to rebury her parents back at the Tang family's ancestral tomb. It was as disgusting as swallowing a fly. Even more unacceptable was the thought of the large sum of property that was supposed to be returned falling into someone else's hands. So, after Lin Xinghuo sent the letter a few days ago, Tang Dongting took a long leave of absence from work.
Tang Dongting thought of many ways to deal with it, from fierce and brutal to filthy ones. Especially when he thought of his stepmother marrying his younger sister to his nephew, an idea suddenly came to his mind... If this "niece" is sensible, she will go back to Xue Province obediently after being scared away and never be involved with her again in her life. At most, he will teach her a lesson; if she is a stubborn person like her mother, he will really dare to force his son to marry her back. Once she enters Tangwangzhuang, she can't do what she wants. Xiao Si may suffer a little, but he can also learn from his grandfather and marry a "better" one after his wife died... These are all trivial matters. Anyway, if she wants to transfer her household registration back to the name of her biological parents, she will inevitably have to go through Tangwangzhuang. Tang Dongting has asked about it. Since she is now under the name of her adoptive parents in the countryside, the procedures for transferring her household registration back to the city are very troublesome, even more difficult than the educated youth who went to the countryside to return to the city. Not only does the other side have to be willing to release her and there must be a unit in Beijing to accept her, but she also has to have supporting documents provided by other relatives.
"..." After spending two days in Tangwangzhuang, Lin Xinghuo had heard this somewhat bewildered 'uncle' scheme, complain, and rage with his father and wife, sometimes even mumbling to himself. Finally, after finally figuring out the whole story, he remained silent: She wasn't actually from the countryside, but a legitimate educated youth from Beijing. Director Zhang had tried to change her name, but that hadn't been approved. Furthermore, her class background followed her adoptive grandmother's because He Qing and others had helped her. In fact, the records still showed that her biological parents were Lin Qingyi and Tang Lin.
But Lin Xinghuo wasn't the daughter of those two, and she had no desire to compete for inheritance. Her dilemma now lay in burying the three of them in Tangwang Manor, which seemed like a bad idea. They clearly had a deep grudge against Tang Dongting. Lin Xinghuo planned to find out where the Lin family's ancestral tomb was and, if possible, relocate it there.
"So it's the Silk Lin family," Fang Tongjian sighed. "I remember his ancestral home should be in Su Province, around Jing City... I'll help you find out later."
Lin Xinghuo hadn't concealed her search for the Tang family from Fang Tongjian, but she hadn't mentioned Tang Dongting's more sinister plot. Tang Er's attempts to follow her and inquire about her that day had failed. She hadn't even taken the bus, so unless they happened to run into each other, Tang Dongting's promise to find her wouldn't work. But the Tang family's bizarre method of "driving them away" had disgusted Old Man Fang. He couldn't bring himself to say anything in front of Lin Xinghuo, his daughter, but he cursed his old friend who had come to visit him for two quarters of an hour.
Not only Mr. Fang, but also the anger of the caracal in the letter brought back by Qingji almost burst the paper. Poor Qingji had to change his shoes this time. It was said that when the caracal used the earth dragon technique to turn the soil, he accidentally turned the earth dragon into a thunder dragon.
Qingji was even showing off to her, "Anian is amazing, he can run even faster!"
"What did you say to him?" Lin Xinghuo was helpless. She had not spent much time with Qingji in the past, and only recently discovered that this crying little guy had a small problem of forgetting things when speaking.
"You're amazing!" Qingji said sincerely and simply, "You're welcome!"
Having lived in Buxian Village for so long, even Qingji, who didn't dare show his affection in public, had attended several weddings, often with his arms around a leopard's leg. He'd often heard villagers boast that Buxian Village girls were "the daughters of a hundred families." But when it came to finding a mate, Qingji, who didn't even have a companion pony, envied the Golden Ring Queen Bee the most. Whenever the Golden Ring Queen Bee emerged from the nest, escorted by her kin, Qingji would watch for a long time. Ever since he'd been delivering letters, Qingji had discovered that Lin Xinghuo was more popular than the humans in Buxian Village. And because Lin Xinghuo always treated him with such kindness and prepared spiritual food for him, Qingji, ever grateful for the favor, automatically saw Lin Xinghuo in a more favorable light, believing her to be only slightly inferior to the Golden Ring Queen Bee.
Just like Qingji always praises Anian in front of Lin Xinghuo, he always praises Lin Xinghuo's abilities in front of Anian - he also happily shares his metaphors with Anian, and Qingji feels that he has some culture.
Lin Xinghuo shook the scorched letter paper. How could she be popular? Not to mention those idle scoundrels, just the repeated mention of Tang Lao Si in Ah Nian's letter was purely a trick by Tang Dongting to disgust people.
The last time Qingji followed it from beginning to end, he came to this conclusion?
Well, you can't expect a goblin to understand all the twists and turns of human nature. Qingji certainly hadn't understood what was happening when she used her spiritual sense to eavesdrop. Lin Xinghuo tried to remain calm, considering whether to simply return to the village. Master Fang was relatively safe here, and he had already written most of his script.
But on New Year's Day in 1976, at the turn of the old and the new, the calm suddenly surged, shattering the tranquil situation. A film called "Breakup" broke free from the constraints of the model opera and was suddenly released. The film was a good one, but it also became the clarion call for a new round of attacks.
The head of the Education Department who had strongly recommended Fang Tongjian return to Beijing to take over the tribute work was suddenly stripped of his authority and then forced to accept criticism. The entrance to the small courtyard house immediately became deserted, and the guards were suddenly replaced by personnel from the Cultural Group's Security Section.
Although Fang Tongjian's assignment hadn't been revoked, Lin Qiyun had even visited him again, hoping Fang Tongjian could complete it as soon as possible without any delay. But Old Fang was in a terrible mood, and he shelved his mostly completed script and began writing from scratch. His new work was so intense that even Lin Xinghuo could tell he was using history to satirize the present.
Fang Tongjian did not hide his disagreement at all, and even made his opposition and denial clear. He knew that this time the matter would probably not end well, so one day a week after New Year's Day, he asked his apprentice to carry the table to the backyard with great interest, saying that he wanted to paint plum blossoms.
There were three precious plum trees planted in the backyard in the past, but no one took care of them for many years. Some of them died, while others withered. It was windy and snowy outside, and Lin Xinghuo couldn't help but try to persuade them, but Fang Tongjian said that the withered plum trees in the snow were more poetic.
The ink had just been ground, but it froze before he could even start writing. Lin Xinghuo calmly shook his wrist and offered Fang Tongjian another brush: "You use this one."
"What a good pen!" Fang Tongjian looked at the tip of the pen, which was extremely sharp, but the brush hairs were extremely elastic when writing. He couldn't help but praise it, and then he wrote with ease, and a rugged and desolate picture of a withered plum blossom appeared on the paper.
"Girl," Fang Tongjian continued painting without raising his head, but he spoke rapidly, "Take this painting to your Uncle Ning and have him find someone to frame it later. And by the way, please tell him that I've repaid him for the painting I owed him, and please light up the cigarette he owed me when we meet again."
This was ominous. Fang Tongjian didn't have a smoking habit, but he still wanted Old Ning to light one for him when they met later? Lin Xinghuo instantly thought of how Old Ning would always light up two of his precious cigarettes during festivals at Hetan Farm, not smoking them, but sticking them in the soil as a memorial to his deceased comrades and relatives.
"You..." Lin Xinghuo wanted to say that she could protect Fang Tongjian, but Fang Tongjian didn't give her a chance to speak. "Don't make a sound, just listen to me. Girl, your great-grandfather and great-grandmother both hid some gifts for the younger generation in the lotus pond. This is also our family tradition. When the mood strikes, they will leave some memories for the family. I also left some for you. When I was young, I often dug a two or three meter area under the old plum tree in the yard, but those calligraphy and ancient books are useless now... 'Antiques in prosperous times, gold in troubled times', your great-grandmother is still very knowledgeable."
Fang Tongjian tilted his neck back as if he was tired from painting, not letting the water droplets ruin the ink. "Master knows your ability, but you have to be careful when you take these things out, don't let anyone find out... Good boy, the situation will slowly get better, you have to believe it! When the weather clears up, these things will ensure that you can live a happy life like Master did when he was young. Master has no other requirements for giving you these things, only one: don't let yourself down!"
"I, your master, have been willful all my life, but I'll finally follow my heart. This might implicate you and Buxiantun, so you have to go back as soon as possible." Fang Tongjian's voice was soft and slow. "Fortunately, those people's minions don't have deep roots in Xue Province, so they will probably send a working group. So you have to remember one word: delay! As long as we can drag it out until this year, the clouds should clear and the rain will stop..."
Lin Xinghuo felt bitter and helpless. The old man knew that the dawn was coming, but he still wanted to be a martyr? She suddenly felt that even though she was a cultivator with abilities that ordinary people could not achieve, when she was in the tide of the times, she was still as powerless as a child.
"I've checked on Uncle Rong for you. He'll be fine." The words were stuck in his throat for a while, but Lin Xinghuo still chose to tell him about the old leader of the Ministry of Education first.
Fang Tongjian paused. Hadn't Lin Qiyun, when he'd come the other day, said that Old Rong was ill? Those who had taken away his authority wouldn't let him rest, and he had to self-criticize every day? Fang Tongjian understood exactly what Lin Qiyun meant. Wasn't he implying that those people were going to wear Old Rong down to death? Only a 'good' script he'd completed could save Old Rong's life.
At that time, Fang Tongjian sneered and reached out to Lin Qiyun for the "outline", saying that he didn't know whether the script he created was suitable. He asked Lin Qiyun to personally set some rules and regulations for him, and he was willing to write it according to them. Lin Qiyun, a speculator who was riding on the fence, didn't dare to leave any handle, and he left in disgrace within ten minutes.
Lin Qiyun didn't call him "teacher" that day. After they left, Fang Tongjian knew that Lao Rong wouldn't live long. Lao Rong's position was high and cautious, and he hadn't fallen all these years. Those people didn't dare torture him, but they could torture his spirit. Lao Rong was several years older than himself, so how could he endure it? He was afraid that it wouldn't take long before he became ill and would soon be exhausted to death.
It was precisely because of this news that Fang Tongjian decided to burn his boats and make one last charge with the pen in his hand - according to those old words that could not be mentioned in the past, Lao Rong should be his senior brother from the same school. He had been taken care of by this senior brother since he was a teenager, which led to his free and easy life. Once he fell into trouble, it was still this senior brother who used all his connections to send him to Snow Province... Of all the old acquaintances of Fang Tongjian who were exiled to the uninhabited Gobi Desert for hundreds of miles, only one in ten survived.
Fang Tongjian could not bear to leave his young disciple Lin Xinghuo behind, but he could not let old man Rong die alone and silently.
This time it was Fang Tongjian's turn to have his throat blocked, "You..." He wanted to say, "Why are you getting involved in this, kid?" But when he heard those words, the great joy that surged in his heart made him laugh at his hypocrisy.
"Is everything really going to be okay?" Fang Tongjian rubbed his face, and only then realized that none of the snowflakes blown by the wind fell on them, the master and disciple. Even a small piece of paper was quietly spread on the table. The old man was speechless, and once again realized that his young disciple was not an ordinary person.
Seeing that he was not as depressed as before, Lin Xinghuo hurriedly explained in a little more detail: "...They didn't let Mr. Rong sleep at night. They would wake him up every half an hour. During the day, they also made him stand and do self-criticism... I lit some incense, the same incense pills you used. I also gave Mr. Rong two pills." Lin Xinghuo pointed at Fang Tongjian's sallow hands, and old man Fang suddenly chuckled.
The girl had given him that incense, and it was even more potent than the "drunk drug" in the unreliable notebooks from before the Liberation. Fang Tongjian, who was avoiding her housekeeper and burning the midnight oil to write a note, fell asleep instantly and slept for a full eight hours. When he woke up, he felt incredibly refreshed, even his dim eyesight had improved a lot. It was a "magic drug" that replenished his energy!
"If I eat two at the same time, will it make the yellow worse?"
"The medicine will be more potent, and people will have slightly different symptoms." For example, they may not be able to eat or drink, and they may have a persistent feeling of fullness.
Unlike him, who has been casual and unrestrained all his life, Old Man Rong is extremely serious. One doesn’t know how surprised and confused he was when he woke up, especially when he felt energetic but looked like a sickly person... Fang Tongjian suddenly wanted to see it very much.
He casually sketched a few layers of rock beneath the withered plum tree, his ink brush haphazardly outlining a few black dots, a blur of indistinct blackness, yet they held long tentacles. "Let's go back to the house. We're freezing!" Fang Tongjian said, nonchalantly handing the drawing paper to the 'security' officer who had craned his head to see what he was drawing. "Here, comrade."
The man unfolded the paper and saw a picture of a plum blossom in the snow. Perhaps because it was too cold, the painting became increasingly sloppy, and finally even smudges of ink were scattered. The man curled his lips and didn't take it seriously, not noticing the artistic conception of Fang Tongjian's last few strokes: "Grasshoppers after autumn—they can't jump anymore!"
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The author has something to say: There are a lot of things to do on the weekend, sorry, it’s even later~
A two-part allegorical saying: Grasshoppers after autumn - they can't jump long
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