Chapter 11

Auntie Wang was notorious in the village for being a shrew. Anyone who dared provoke her could expect her to show up at their doorstep every day, right on time, wailing like she was mourning the dead. She wouldn’t stop until she’d stripped a pound of flesh from you.

But just because other people feared her didn’t mean Lin Xi did. She simply crossed her arms over her chest and leisurely watched the old woman rolling and howling on the ground.

“You’re shouting too quietly out here. People can’t hear you. Wait for me to finish eating—I’ll go get the police to make sure you get justice,” Lin Xi said.

Ignoring the old hag, she went back inside to cook. Tomato scrambled eggs, stir-fried cabbage, and a pot of sweet pumpkin soup that Tian Yufen had made—within no time, dinner was ready.

From the yard, Auntie Wang kept yelling while sneakily peeking into the kitchen with her beady triangular eyes. Realizing Lin Xi and the others truly weren’t paying her any attention, she raised her voice even more.

But in the end, she got up awkwardly, patted the dust off herself, and kept muttering curses under her breath:

“What’s there to be so smug about? Didn’t you just trade your daughter and son-in-law’s lives for a bit of money! That’s capitalism! You should be put on trial…”

The smell of Lin Xi’s cooking wafted out from the kitchen, making her mouth water so much she could hardly keep scolding. She cursed between swallows, then thought it over—better to wait until they finished eating before coming back to give them another earful.

Having made up her mind, she turned to leave. But then Lin Xi’s voice floated out, slow and steady:

“If you’re tired, go home and have some water. Don’t go dying in my yard from anger. I’ve remembered every word you’ve shouted—later, when I go into town, I’ll shout them ten times louder at your son and daughter-in-law’s workplace. Thanks for providing me with such a rich vocabulary. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know how to make a scene.”

Lin Xi and Tian Yufen sat down at the little kitchen table to eat. Lin Xi stood by the door with a bowl of rice, spoke her piece, and took a bite of food, which made the old woman’s hand tremble as she pointed at her.

“You… you…”

She “you-you-you’d” for quite a while, but to her own shock, she couldn’t find any new words to call Lin Xi. Maybe it was because she’d already spent all her vocabulary in the earlier tirade.

Truth be told, the real reason was that she didn’t dare anymore. For years she’d only made scenes in the village, but Lin Xi kept talking about “finding the authorities” and “making trouble in the city.” She was just a simple farmer—those words made her uneasy.

Not that she was scared of that little tramp. Absolutely not!

She stared at Lin Xi for a moment, saw no hint of a joke in her face, and got flustered.

“You shameless little… If you dare go to my eldest or third son, I’ll kill myself right here in your house and make sure you get put on trial!”

She didn’t dare say anything too vicious, but she couldn’t lose momentum either.

Lin Xi kept eating, savoring the fragrant rice steamed over firewood and the pesticide-free vegetables. After another bite, she turned back and said,

“Mom, you stay here and watch the kids later. I can go alone. I’ll remember to have them pay me back for the travel expenses too.”

“You—you believe I won’t kill myself right now in your house!”

“If you dare, I’ll dare to call the police. Then your son and daughter-in-law will not only have to repay everything they owe us, they’ll have to compensate us for emotional damages, environmental cleanup, maybe dozens—maybe even over a hundred yuan.

After all, I have two children here. If you scare them and something happens, my whole family will be living off your son and daughter-in-law.”

“Pah! You’re the one who drove me to death—why should I pay you? And what’s with all those mental-something-or-other damages? Is it made of gold to be that expensive? Trying to scam me! If I die in your house, you’ll go to jail! You’ll pay with your life!”

“Did I put a knife to your throat?”

“…No… but—”

“Did I tell you to die here?”

“You didn’t say it, but—”

“Then that’s fine. No ‘buts.’ ‘But’ means sophistry, sophistry means it’s unreasonable, and if it’s unreasonable, it’s useless. So why are you still saying it?”

“We’re all neighbors—I don’t want to ruin that. How about this:

Option one—you return everything you borrowed from my mother-in-law. We won’t charge interest, and we’ll still be good neighbors. You’ll still be Auntie Wang to me, and if you need anything, just say so.

Option two—you don’t return it, and we widows and orphans will go hungry. To survive, I’ll have no choice but to go into the city and ask your son and daughter-in-law for help. That won’t be good for their jobs, and then we really won’t be able to be neighbors anymore. Not worth it, is it?”

Auntie Wang’s head buzzed. She’d only borrowed a few things—how had it turned into owing so much?

And if not paying back meant affecting her son and daughter-in-law’s jobs, that wouldn’t do. Absolutely not. Together they made over a hundred yuan a month!

As for dying here, she wasn’t done living yet—and especially not if it meant paying that much money.

She tilted her head, thought for a while, then finally gritted her teeth and asked,

“You mean it? If I pay you back, you won’t go into the city to make trouble?”

“I mean it. If I take your things and still go, that’s breaking the law.”

“Fine, I’ll go get them now!”

“Good.”

She trotted off home. Only a few kids were there—her husband and second son and daughter-in-law were out in the fields. She got a basket, gathered everything she’d borrowed, and brought it all back to Lin Xi.

“Your auntie here—this is everything I borrowed before. Don’t let your daughter-in-law go into the city to look for my eldest and third sons.”

Tian Yufen was stunned. When she’d lent those things, she’d never expected to get them back. She’d only lent them to keep the old woman from making a scene. She hadn’t imagined Lin Xi could actually reclaim them!

After Auntie Wang left, Lin Xi said to her,

“The ones who’ve passed are worth keeping in our hearts forever, but we mustn’t let them become weapons for others to hurt us with. Otherwise, their souls won’t rest in peace.

If others choose to speak without kindness, that’s their karma. But we ourselves must learn to let go and find peace—only then can they be at ease too.”

Tian Yufen wiped her eyes and nodded.

“I know, I know, but…”

But her daughter and son-in-law had been so young, with their best days still ahead. And the children—so young to be orphans…

Lin Xi hesitated, then stepped forward and hugged her. She understood that kind of pain well. It was like when she’d lost her grandfather and her closest friend—living every day carrying their unfulfilled dreams.

Since then, she had been alone. Her tired heart no longer had a safe harbor.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to embrace life again, or make new friends. But a friendship that grows from youth into maturity—having even one like that is already rare. How could she expect more?

The few times she’d tried again, human nature had proven disappointing, leaving her humiliated. Even at the end of her life, she’d felt a trace of relief—thank goodness no one cared for her. Otherwise… it would have hurt so much more.

In Auntie Tian’s arms, Tian Yufen was momentarily stunned—then she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. At that moment, the wall she’d kept up against Lin Xi completely crumbled.