Chapter 8: The Eloquent One

The ox cart wobbled and shook as they traveled for another whole day.

“Hey! Stop the cart!”

Gou Dan suddenly shouted.

Zhou Jia Dalang looked back and said cheerfully, “Do you need to pee? Just do it outside the cart!”

“No! We’ve arrived.”

“Rubbish, it’s still more than an hour to Shitai County!”

Gou Dan shook his head. “This is where we live, Mayang!”

“Ah!” Zhou Jia Dalang tugged the ox’s rope, and the ox slowly came to a halt.

Gou Dan jumped down from the cart. “Sister-in-law, little sister, be careful.”

Lin Yue stepped down and looked toward Mayang Village.

Compared to the endless green hills they had passed before,

here, nestled among the hills, was a large flat area.

Beyond the flat land, more hills enclosed the area.

But the living conditions were already much better.

In the distance, large patches of rice paddies could be seen, with clusters of houses nearby.

Usually, three or four households would be grouped together, with a small distance to the next group.

The population density was much higher than the villages they had passed before.

Looking further, there were other nearby villages as well.

“We need to hurry, it’s going to get dark,” Gou Dan ran ahead.

By the time they reached a house, darkness had fully settled.

Gou Dan pushed open the courtyard gate.

Four houses—or rather, three and a half houses—came into view.

The house in the center was very large, made of brick and tile, with several rooms.

It looked quite spacious.

Strangely, the house on the left appeared to be half a house.

What happened?

The earthen house had been roughly cut in half.

The side leaning against the big house wasn’t fully supported—it was held up by a few wooden beams.

On the left and right, two more houses had been built.

Four households, three and a half houses.

Lin Yue looked at the largest house and couldn’t help twitching her mouth.

So ruthless!

Not to be trifled with!

It was dark and raining, and the courtyard was empty.

“Grandma! Uncle! We’re back!”

Gou Dan shouted. “What’s going on with this house?”

When he left, only this intact earthen house stood in front.

How did a few days pass and it became half a house?

Still, Gou Dan was familiar with the old house and walked toward the half-earthen house.

The door was open.

Gou Dan met the eyes of a man. “Uncle?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m the son of the Si’an family,” Gou Dan replied timidly. “Are you Fifth Uncle?”

At that moment, two women, one older and one younger, came out of the kitchen.

“Grandma!”

Seeing familiar faces, Gou Dan felt a bit relieved.

“Gou Dan!”

Grandma ran up excitedly, patting his back, cursing through her tears:

“You foolish child! Where have you been all this time? You actually came back!”

“Do you know how worried I was, fearing you couldn’t survive outside and might die?”

“Your parents were unfortunate and passed away early! My poor children!”

Her voice carried a plaintive tone, almost singing as she spoke.

Her words immediately made Gou Dan and Da Ya burst into tears, shrinking against her, looking utterly pitiful.

“Where’s Gou Ya? Why don’t I see your brother?”

“Waaah! Brother is dead!”

At this, Lin Yue saw Grandma Guo step back a few paces. “How could he be dead? He was so young!”

“He joined the army… died in battle!”

The three of them fell into grief again.

“Mom! Stop crying!”

Another woman, frowning, came out of the room holding a wailing baby. “You’re waking your grandson!”

Grandma Guo finally picked up a cloth from her clothes and wiped her tears.

“You haven’t eaten yet, right? I was just about to make food…”

“Ahem!” Fifth Uncle cleared his throat. “Mom, we’ve all split the family! Besides, they’re not eating from our bowls!”

“Exactly!”

The woman frowned. “Your grandson was just born. Don’t let him be influenced by bad luck!”

At these words, Gou Dan and Da Ya shrank back, their emotions held in check, staring at Grandma Guo.

They silently begged for her pity.

“This…” Grandma Guo hesitated, looking between the two sides.

Although they had only been together a few days, Lin Yue could tell these were good kids.

Seeing them so pitiful and being told they were unlucky, Lin Yue felt a pang of sympathy.

“Everyone has their fate. Life and death are in heaven’s hands. The emperor and empress have both passed away—what do you mean by this? Should I report this to the village head?”

“You girl, sharp-tongued! I can’t argue with you. Who are you anyway?” Fifth Uncle Guo glared.

“I am Gu Cai’s wife.”

“Hmph,” Fifth Uncle said impatiently, “In this world, we cannot support three more people. Get lost! Get out!”

“Our village was washed away by the flood. We have nowhere to live,” Gou Dan stepped back behind Lin Yue, clutching her clothes, tears streaming down.

“And the other villagers?”

“They all died.”

At this, the three Guo’s all gasped.

Fifth Uncle’s attitude worsened. Like chasing away a plague, he even grabbed a broom to drive them off. “Go! Get out!”

Grandma Guo’s hesitation vanished; she collapsed onto the ground, wailing, “Stubborn! You’re too stubborn! Don’t blame us—we’re all afraid!”

“Wait! We’re here to claim the land and houses from the family division!”

Lin Yue stepped forward, firmly looking at Grandma Guo. “Before discussing whether our fate is hard or not, my parents-in-law also worked for the Guo family for many years. Are you planning to send us away without giving anything? Do you have any conscience toward your son and daughter-in-law?”

Fifth Uncle’s face darkened with anger. He waved dismissively. “What do you want from me? I didn’t take much! Go ask the other three families!”

Lin Yue glanced toward the door. At the doorsteps of the other three households, people were standing, obviously eavesdropping.

Of course, matters of property division should involve all families.

“Stop watching the drama. Let’s talk about the division properly! Otherwise, I’ll call the clan elder to preside over this!”

Fortunately, unlike Da Huangya’s family, these people had some sense of shame and would fear being gossiped about if the clan elder got involved.

Soon, men from the other three households arrived.

All of them looked displeased, except Guo Da Fu, who smiled.

Rich and composed.

The five Guos were: Guo Da Fu, Guo Xiang Gui, Guo San Shu, Guo Si An, and Gu Wushun.

Guo Da Fu had a dark, sunburnt, gaunt face, square jaw wrinkled from years of farming.

Although smiling, he didn’t seem very pleasant.

Guo Xiang Gui was unusually plump for a rural family, frowning. “Let me speak first. When I split from the family, I took the least. That’s not my fault.”

“Hmph,” Guo San Shu, wearing a long gown and carrying the scent of herbs, said, “Big brother, back then you said you were close with Fourth Uncle, and you’d take care of their children. You even left our mother to Fifth Uncle, and got the largest share of the property yourself.”

“That’s not true,” Guo Da Fu said, still smiling. “Fourth Uncle learned carpentry and barely did any farm work. And you? Don’t even mention it. You not only didn’t work, every year you had to pay Zhu the scholar a big gift, year after year, and still never became a scholar. Didn’t even pass the first exam. Later, you went to study medicine—still never helped the family.”

“As for Fifth Uncle, I raised him from diapers. Was it him being filial to Mother? In a household with an elder, they are a treasure. Even just having Mother around, Fifth Uncle benefited a lot. Every day, Mother washed clothes and cooked for Fifth Uncle’s family, putting in so much effort. The property? I took it in good conscience.”

Guo Da Fu spoke fluently and convincingly.