A Slap

“Why is he back?” Xu Youcai wondered, “Wasn’t he supposed to be chasing after his wife?”

“He said he gave up,” Zhao Xintong replied. “Do you believe that? He loved Xiao Man so much. He said he wouldn’t give up, but now he’s saying he has. Isn’t there something fishy here?”

“What else could it be? He’s not a college graduate, just someone who barely finished elementary school. How could he ever match up to a college student?” Xu Youcai said.

The Xu family and the Lin family had similar attitudes, but the Xu family was better at pretending. Lin Chengshan wasn’t a Xu family member, so they didn’t need to support him.

Previously, many people advised Lin Chengshan not to let Xiao Man take the college entrance examination or return to the city, warning that she would abandon her husband and child. Lin Chengshan didn’t believe it. He thought he treated Xiao Man well enough, and with their daughter, Xiao Man would never leave.

“Everyone told him not to let Xiao Man take the college entrance examination, but he just wouldn’t listen.” Xu Youcai said. “He’s in this situation because of his own choices.”

Xu Youcai and Zhao Xintong stayed in their room, talking.

“Didn’t you let me take the college entrance examination?” Zhao Xintong said.

“You?” Xu Youcai replied. “Do you think getting into college is easy?”

The Xu family allowed Zhao Xintong to take the exam, but Zhao Xintong was pregnant when she took the exam for the first time, and she had to take care of the child during the second time. Her grades were not great to begin with, and with so much time spent on the child, how could she have done well?

The Xu family knew that if they didn’t let Zhao Xintong take the exam, she would resent them, affecting her relationship with them. They were confident she wouldn’t pass, so they allowed her to try. They weren’t fools.

But Xiao Man was different. After the exams were reinstated, she worked hard on her studies and even helped others with their studies. Xiao Man was strong academically and more ruthless than Zhao Xintong. Xiao Man could ignore her child, making her young daughter do chores, whereas Zhao Xintong was much more caring.

“Forget about the college entrance examination. Your cousin is coming over to get the money,” Zhao Xintong said through gritted teeth. “With his temperament, we can’t avoid giving it to him.”

“How much do you have left?” Xu Youcai asked.

“Not much, just over a yuan,” Zhao Xintong replied.

“How did you spend it so fast?” Xu Youcai frowned.

“Didn’t you take two yuan earlier?” Zhao Xintong said. “And your mom, she also took two yuan.”

The Xu family knew Lin Chengshan had given Zhao Xintong money to care for Lin Qingqing. They made her give some of it up. Each person took a bit, and Zhao Xintong also bought things to send to her own family. The money was quickly spent.

As for the fabric, Zhao Xintong hadn’t bought much. She only said that to make Lin Chengshan think she was treating Lin Qingqing well.

“It’s impossible to get money back from your mom,” Zhao Xintong said. “Forget it.”

“Give him four yuan,” Xu Youcai said. “We don’t have any more.”

Xu Youcai didn’t want to put in any extra money. They barely scraped by as it was, living frugally.

After Lin Qingqing finished her meal, Lin Chengshan told her to go to sleep.

“Daddy,” Lin Qingqing didn’t want to sleep. She was afraid her dad wouldn’t be home when she woke up. She feared being taken to another place. She didn’t want to sleep; she wanted to keep her eyes open.

“Sleep peacefully,” Lin Chengshan said. “Daddy won’t leave you.”

Lin Chengshan saw his daughter’s anxiety and fear of abandonment. Seeing her like this made his heart ache.

“If Daddy leaves here, he will take you with him,” Lin Chengshan said. “In a few days, we’ll go to the city together. You can eat whatever you want. Tell me, what do you want to eat?”

“Can I… can I have an egg cake?” Lin Qingqing asked softly. She had seen her mother eat egg cakes before. Her mother only let her have a little, saying children who ate too much would get bad teeth and couldn’t eat other things. “I’ll just eat a little, so my teeth won’t go bad.”

“Yes, tonight, Daddy will make you steamed egg cake,” Lin Chengshan said, patting his daughter’s head.

Even if the flour wasn’t top quality, Lin Chengshan still planned to buy some regular flour to make something delicious for his daughter.

“Okay,” Lin Qingqing replied. Perhaps it was the noodle soup she had just eaten or simply having her father by her side, but Lin Qingqing quickly fell asleep.

Once she was asleep, Lin Chengshan went to Xu Youcai’s house.

In his previous life, Lin Chengshan believed in Xu Youcai and his wife. Xu Youcai was his cousin, and Zhao Xintong and Xiao Man were good friends. He believed they would take good care of Lin Qingqing. He was wrong, terribly wrong. They never had any intention of taking good care of Lin Qingqing. They only wanted his money.

Xu Youcai, who seemed honest and simple on the outside, was actually a cunning man. When Lin Chengshan discovered that the Xu family had hidden the news of Lin Qingqing’s death, Xu Youcai and the others pushed the blame onto Zhao Xintong, saying it was her idea to keep it a secret.

Lin Chengshan clenched his fists so hard that veins bulged. Even though he had already taken his revenge in his past life, he still couldn’t suppress the urge to beat Xu Youcai to a pulp in this life.

However, now the Xu family was helping to take care of Lin Qingqing, and the villagers would only think highly of the Xu family. If Lin Chengshan were to hit Xu Youcai now, people would just think it was his problem. He couldn’t let others misunderstand him like that.

If Lin Qingqing wasn’t alive, Lin Chengshan could disregard his reputation and beat Xu Youcai. But now, with Lin Qingqing alive, he couldn’t commit any crimes or have a criminal record, which would affect his daughter’s future, especially if she wanted to take the civil service exam.

Although Lin Chengshan didn’t necessarily plan for his daughter to take the civil service exam, he didn’t want to block her path if she ever wished to.

When Lin Chengshan arrived at the Xu’s house, Xu Youcai and Zhao Xintong had already laid out the cloth and cotton they bought yesterday on the living room table. The cloth was intended for making clothes for their son, with a dark blue color more suitable for boys rather than girls.

Zhao Xintong had initially wanted to find other cloth, but their family didn’t have much cloth to spare, only buying and using what they needed.

“This cloth, you bought it to make clothes for your son, didn’t you?” Lin Chengshan observed the color and immediately thought of this. He wasn’t blind.

“No, really, it’s not,” Zhao Xintong explained. “Kids play outside a lot and get dirty. Dark-colored cloth hides stains better. This cloth is for making padded jackets. In winter, when padded jackets are hung out to dry, they don’t dry quickly. Using dark clothes is just right.”

After she finished speaking, she looked at Xu Youcai, signaling him to say more.

“Cousin, dark-colored cloth hides dirt better. It’s very suitable for children to wear clothes of this color.” Xu Youcai added.

“Check your conscience, is that really true?” Lin Chengshan asked. “Where’s the money?”

“Here,” Zhao Xintong said, taking out four yuan in small, scattered bills.

Lin Chengshan counted the money carefully. “So just these bits of cloth and cotton cost four yuan? Who are you trying to fool?”

Four yuan could buy quite a lot, but Zhao Xintong and her husband only offered such a small amount.

Smack! 

Xu Youcai slapped Zhao Xintong across the face. She looked at him in disbelief, covering her cheek, clearly not expecting him to hit her. The slap echoed crisply. Xu Youcai had done it on purpose for Lin Chengshan to see.

“You foolish woman, how did you spend the money?” Xu Youcai scolded Zhao Xintong while giving her a covert signal with his eyes.

One slap to save three or four yuan seemed worth it to Xu Youcai.

Xu Youcai didn’t want to give more money, and Zhao Xintong didn’t want to suffer a slap in vain.

Without saying a word, Zhao Xintong ran out of the house to avoid further confrontation, which was the best option.

“Cousin, it’s all because of this woman. She can’t manage money,” Xu Youcai said. “I don’t even know where she spent it. Let me ask her when she comes back.”

Lin Chengshan wasn’t fooled. “You think a slap is worth three or four yuan?”

“No, of course not,” Xu Youcai quickly replied. “She took the money, I…”

“Husband and wife are one!” Lin Chengshan interrupted. “I’ll take the cloth and cotton. You give me another two yuan, and we’ll call it settled.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but we really don’t have any money,” Xu Youcai protested.

“Then write an IOU. Consider this money borrowed from me,” Lin Chengshan suggested.

“But…” Xu Youcai hesitated. “Cousin, we’re family…”

“Brothers should settle accounts clearly.” Lin Chengshan insisted.

Xu Youcai hoped Zhao Xintong hadn’t run far, “Let’s wait for my wife to come back and let her write it.”

“You won’t write it?” Lin Chengshan squinted his eyes, staring at Xu Youcai.

“I’ll write it, I’ll write it right now!” Xu Youcai was afraid Lin Chengshan would come over and even more afraid he might break his arm. He knew Lin Chengshan had great strength, having once kicked a man flying. Feeling the danger, Xu Youcai quickly agreed to write the IOU.

After Xu Youcai wrote the IOU and pressed his fingerprint on it, Lin Chengshan finally left with the items. He didn’t have time to waste arguing with Xu Youcai. He still needed to go to town to buy some rice and flour. Even if they stayed here for a few days, they needed food, and Lin Chengshan wanted to show his daughter his cooking skills.

While Lin Chengshan went to town, Old Lady Lin brought people to Lin Chengshan’s house.

“This child is still very good-looking. She looks a bit weak now, but she’ll be fine after some care,” Old Lady Lin said to her companions. “She’s young and forgetful. Once she’s raised by someone else, she’ll forget her parents.”