Chapter 11 Get Out of Lin Family Village At this time, Lin Qing'an had already…
At this moment, Lin Qing'an opened the door, and everyone rushed in.
Lin Pan'er and Lin Tianyou stood there trembling, still holding several bags of pastries in their hands, while Lin Tianci was preparing to climb out of the window at the back of the house, with one leg still dangling on the windowsill.
Chen Gengnian stepped forward and brought him back.
A woman's figure darted into the corner of the back garden ditch, and Chen Gengnian leaped through the window and chased after her.
Chen Yuetao stepped forward and snatched the pastries from the children's hands, exclaiming, "My God, how could you children do such a sneaky thing!"
Zhang Cuiping hurriedly squeezed through the crowd, shielding her two children behind her, and retorted angrily, "What are you saying? My son and daughter are not thieves, they are not!"
"What are they holding in their hands?"
Lin Jing peered out the window, only her head sticking out onto the windowsill, and looked at Zhang Cuiping with a leisurely air as she asked.
Zhang Cuiping hesitated for a while before placing the pastries from the two children's hands on the wooden table, and argued, "The children are just greedy. Which child isn't greedy? It's all Qing-ge's fault for being stingy. He won't even share the pastries with the children!"
Everyone felt helpless about Zhang Cuiping's behavior. Some people tried to wake up Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin, who were completely drunk, but after calling them for a while, they still couldn't get up and went back to sleep mumbling.
Zhang Cuiping fought against many opponents, showing no remorse whatsoever, and even becoming more arrogant.
"Ayan, go find the village chief." Lin Qing'an then winked at Lin Jing, "Sister Jing, take the two of them to the county to report this to the officials. The officials will handle this matter; they won't wrong an innocent person..."
Lin Qing'an glanced at Zhang Cuiping's increasingly pale face and sneered, "We will never let a bad person go!"
Zhang Cuiping's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.
"Mother, we don't want to go to jail—!"
The two children were also quite frightened and burst into tears immediately.
Lin Tianci, who had been alone nearby, was now trembling with fear. He pulled out all the copper coins from his pocket, knelt down with a thud, and cried out, begging Lin Qing'an to let him go.
"Cousin, I was wrong. Please don't arrest me. I'll never do it again. Even if Mom and Auntie ask me to steal again, I won't dare..."
Now everyone clearly understands that these people were all acting under the orders of the second and third wives' families.
In an instant, everyone despised the two families.
Zhang Cuiping was so angry that she wanted to go up and tear Lin Tianci's mouth apart.
But before they could do anything, they were stopped by a voice from outside.
"Lin Tianci! What nonsense are you spouting, you brat?"
Everyone turned to look, and saw that Lin Tianci's mother was being held by Chen Gengnian. The people clinging to the door made way for Chen Gengnian to lead her into the house.
"Aunt Lin ran away from the back garden ditch." Chen Gengnian explained, and everyone understood.
Upon seeing his mother, Lin Tianci was overwhelmed with pent-up grievances. He stumbled to his feet, rushed over, and hugged her, crying, "Mother, I was so scared... Please never let me steal money again! My cousin said he'd report me to the authorities..."
Zhou Caixia was so angry she almost fainted. She slapped Lin Tianci across the face, which stopped him from talking.
"You brat, are you trying to kill me?"
Now that things had come to this, Zhang Cuiping and Zhou Caixia exchanged a glance, both secretly determined to deny it to the death.
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian naturally saw through their true colors. Lin Qingan patted his arm to signal him, and although Chen Gengnian didn't understand what it meant, he obediently nodded.
Lin Qing'an took a deep breath, then suddenly raised her hand to wipe away her tears and cried out, "Dear uncles and aunts, you all saw what happened today. My two aunts have gone to such lengths to try and drive Ayan and me to our deaths!"
Lin Qing'an paused, sniffled, and choked out, "Our parents are gone, and my brother and I are all alone. Even if we report it to the authorities, they will deny everything... Ah Yan and I might as well just jump into the river and join our parents!"
"Qing-ge'er, what nonsense are you talking about!" Chen Yuetao stepped forward and took Lin Qing'an's arm, tears streaming down her face. "We all saw it. Zhang Cuiping and Zhou Caixia can't escape no matter what."
Chen Gengnian glanced at his husband's non-existent tears and chimed in, "Aqing, don't worry, with me here, no one can make this a small matter!"
"That's right! Who said you two brothers have no backers? We both have the surname Lin. Although we're not related by blood, we're still family. How could we let those two families bully us!"
"Yes! Don't worry, Qing-ge, we will definitely testify for you in court."
"Why waste time reporting to the authorities? Let's just tie them up and take them to the government office!"
The villagers were even more excited than Lin Qing'an himself, each saying their own opinion.
The two Lin brothers were cowards who were afraid of women. They allowed their wives to act arrogantly and unreasonably in the village for many years. Many people had suffered at their hands because of them, so they were naturally very uncomfortable.
Zhang Cuiping and Zhou Caixia finally realized the seriousness of the situation and rushed over to pull Lin Qing'an away, but Chen Gengnian pulled them away before they could even touch him.
They cried and begged their fellow villagers and Lin Qing'an.
Zhang Cuiping: "No! Don't send us there!"
Zhou Caixia: "We were wrong, we will never do it again. Everything is here, we didn't take a single penny. You can count it if you don't believe me."
Lin Qing'an naturally knew that he hadn't taken a single coin, because those were the spare change he had deliberately left.
No matter what the two said, Lin Qing'an still looked extremely sad and didn't even spare them a glance.
At this time, the village chief, who had gone home for some business, finally returned.
Lin Yanfeng had already told him what had happened on the way here, and he was so angry that he felt dizzy.
For many years, there has been no theft in Linjia Village, but today it happened, and it was even an inside job!
He stormed into the courtyard and saw a crowd gathered around the new house, with only three drunkards slumped over the table, fast asleep.
The village chief ignored Wang Shu and focused his attention on Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin. He then turned around, scooped up a full ladle of water from the water vat, and returned.
He waved his hand to push Lin Yanfeng aside, then raised his hand and splashed the icy water from the ladle onto the two drunken men.
Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin were so shocked by the cold that they stood up instantly. Before they could even see the double image in front of them, the village chief grabbed one of them by the hand and dragged them toward the house.
Seeing the village chief like this, some people took the initiative to help. Soon, the entire Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin families were dragged to Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian's new house for a public denunciation meeting.
"What's going on? What happened?"
The two, who were still not fully awake, were somewhat bewildered by the scene and looked at their wives with question marks on their faces.
"Hmph!" The village chief stepped forward, pointed at Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin, and angrily shouted, "What's going on? Your wives and children ganged up to steal Qingge'er and Nian's dowry!"
"What?" Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin looked incredulous, and their drunkenness instantly vanished.
When they looked at each other's families, the guilty looks on each other's faces were so obvious that they couldn't even open their mouths to make excuses.
Lin Qingan and the others took two steps back, waiting for the village chief to handle the situation.
The village chief's hands trembled with anger as he said in a heavy voice, "There are two ways to handle this: one is to report it to the authorities and let them decide."
"Please don't report this to the authorities! Please, village chief, we beg you! If you report this to the authorities, how will we survive?"
Both families waved their hands anxiously.
"Secondly, your two families have moved out of Linjia Village. There has never been such a case in our Linjia Village for decades. It is simply a disgrace to our Lin family name!"
Zhang Cuiping and the others were even more unwilling. With a few thuds, both families knelt down, including Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin.
The village chief flicked his sleeve, took two steps back, and said coldly, "I can't accept kneeling like this; I'm afraid it will shorten my lifespan!"
Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin are usually invisible, but seeing the situation today, they could no longer remain hidden and had no choice but to ask Lin Qingan for help.
"Aqing, Ayan, don't hold it against your aunt and the others. How about this, I'll take them back and give them a beating later, that'll be my way of apologizing to you, okay?"
As soon as Lin Yongwu said this, Lin Yongxin nodded in agreement. Zhang Cuiping and Zhou Caixia's hands were held tightly by them, and they dared not say a word.
"Ayan, do you remember when your parents were alive, your second uncle's family borrowed three taels of silver and an old hen from us?"
Lin Qing'an's sudden question made Lin Yanfeng pause for a moment, then he immediately replied, "Yes, not only these, but also thirty catties of rice and fifty catties of millet."
Before the other party could speak, Lin Yanfeng pointed at his third uncle, Lin Yongxin, and said, "And there's also my third uncle. He owes us five taels of silver, thirty catties of rice, eighty catties of corn, and a piece of land."
As Lin Yanfeng spoke, he took out an old notebook from an old box left by his mother.
He flipped through a few pages and handed them to the village chief, saying, "Uncle Village Chief, look, these are all the account books my father kept."
Lin Qing'an looked down and saw that the village chief had flipped through the pages again, and now he realized that it was not just what Lin Yanfeng had mentioned earlier.
The document also records other things the two brothers borrowed, such as eggs and cooking utensils.
Aside from the work schedule, the notebook was filled with debts owed by these two families.
The village chief looked at Lin Qing'an and asked him what he thought.
After all, the fact that this matter was brought up suddenly suggests that someone must have their own plans.
Lin Qingan smiled and said, "Village Chief, my parents always taught us to be kind and tolerant, so now I only have two conditions."
The village chief nodded to signal him to continue, and everyone waited for Lin Qing'an to speak.
Lin Qing'an said, "First, return everything that is owed to our family immediately. Second, Ayan and I will completely sever ties with Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin. From now on, we will not even be considered fellow villagers. We will keep to ourselves and not interfere with each other. If either side commits a transgression first, we can report it to the authorities directly."
"What?"
Lin Yongwu and Lin Yongxin simply couldn't believe that Lin Qing'an would say such outrageous things.
The villagers were also stunned on the spot. They all felt that Lin Qing'an's recent actions were too outrageous, but they couldn't say anything. After all, even a cornered dog will jump over a wall. He had driven him to a dead end. Anyone would be anxious in his situation.
The village chief looked intently at Lin Qing'an and Lin Yanfeng and asked, "Have you two decided on this?"
Lin Yanfeng nodded, "I'll listen to my brother."
Lin Qingan changed the subject and said leisurely, "What we are asking for is what we deserve. If it weren't for the village chief and the villagers, I would definitely have applied for this official position!"
"That's right! It's all thanks to my Qing-ge'er's kind heart, otherwise even if he didn't pursue the matter, I definitely wouldn't let it go!"
Chen Gengnian's voice was strong and clear. Even though he lived alone in Linjia Village, no one dared to openly confront him.
After a moment's thought and weighing the pros and cons, the village chief finally nodded.
He shoved the ledger at them and asked, "Besides what Qing-ge and the others just mentioned, there are still many things on this ledger that haven't been returned. Now, each of your two families is going to pay an extra tael of silver to offset this. Do you agree or not?"
"Where would I get that much money to pay back!"
Zhang Cuiping spoke too quickly; Lin Yongwu had no time to cover it up.
Lin Jing, who hadn't even bothered to report it to the authorities, poked her head out from the crowd and teased with a grin, "If you don't have money, then go to jail. Anyway, they provide food and lodging there and you don't have to do farm work. Isn't that just what you wanted, Auntie?"
As soon as Lin Jing said this, the villagers present also began to speak up for Lin Qing'an.
"That's right, that's right."
“Even if we have to go to jail, we have to pay back the money. That's money that Qingge’s parents risked their lives to earn. We can’t just let it go like this.”
"Everyone's right! Either pay back the money, or report it to the authorities, pay back the money, and get out of Linjia Village!"
A note from the author:
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