“My heart was pounding—I hurried back to my room right away.
At the time, I still didn’t know whose name was on the spirit tablet. About half a year later, I happened to see it again.
I can’t read, so I memorized what the characters looked like and sketched them in the dirt for an educated youth when we were working the same field.
They told me it said ‘Beloved Wife—Chen Qiu.’ Piecing that together with what the old man had said before, I more or less figured it out.
I was terrified of the chaos it would cause at home—even more afraid that if it all blew up, the blame would fall on me for being the one who spoke up.
So I kept it to myself and never dared to say a word. Now that things have already gotten so ugly, I’m not afraid anymore.”
Lin Cai understood everything now. That old bastard had been so generous with grain and money because he knew my sister-in-law had leverage over him.
He closed his eyes in pain, processing all this tangled mess.
Wu Xiang’s eyes were practically bulging out of her head. Wait—had she heard that right?
Old Man Lin had killed his own wife?!
That was terrifying!
“At first, I was afraid I’d gotten it wrong. But yesterday when we split up, I used it as leverage and he caved immediately—that’s how I knew it was true.”
Huang Hong didn’t know how she felt. The weight that had been pressing on her heart was finally lifted—but now she felt ashamed.
Third Brother and his wife had always looked out for them.
She’d known such a huge secret all this time but never dared to speak up, afraid that if the household fell apart and it traced back to her, she’d never have peace again.
She was timid and scared—she felt she’d let her third brother and sister-in-law down.
“Sister-in-law, get up. This has nothing to do with you. I’m already grateful that you’re telling me now.”
Lin Cai didn’t know how he felt either—his emotions were a mess.
But he felt no resentment toward his sister-in-law. Telling him was a kindness; not telling was her right.
If she told, you should remember her kindness; if she didn’t, you shouldn’t hold it against her.
Lin Xiaohe wasn’t a naive child. Because she was mature beyond her years, she understood everything.
She looked at her father with concern.
“I’m okay. It’s been so many years—I’ve imagined what happened a thousand times, considered every possibility.
It’s just that finally knowing the truth has left my head spinning. Give me a moment.”
Wu Xiang frowned. “This whole thing is odd. I was too young then to remember, but I’ve heard the older generation talk about it.
They said Old Man Lin went out to work, and when he came back, the house was empty.
That much was true—several villagers went out to work together as hired hands for the landlord.
But… did something else happen back then?”
Everyone shook their heads blankly. They were of the younger generation—most of what they knew of the previous generation came from old folks’ stories.
“If you can’t figure it out, don’t force it for now. Once you’re better, Dad, you can ask around among the village elders—someone’s bound to know something.
For now, don’t dwell on it. There’s nothing we can do about it anyway.”
Lin Xiaohe had always believed that living came first.
If you couldn’t do something right now, set it aside and stop thinking about it.
When the time came that you could act, then you’d act.
“Then Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law—I’ll be going now.” Huang Hong rubbed her hands nervously, her eyes darting away. The more they didn’t blame her, the more ashamed she felt.
“Auntie, let me walk you out.” Lin Xiaohe carried a small basket and saw her to the door, then handed it over.
“Auntie, don’t worry—my parents don’t blame you, and they have no right to. Not telling was your right; telling was a kindness.
Here—take this. It’s for Da Ya and Er Ya Jie.”
Huang Hong’s eyes reddened instantly. “I can’t take this—we’re still getting by.”
“Take it. I said it’s for Da Ya and Er Ya Jie, so just take it.”
Lin Xiaohe wouldn’t take no for an answer. She pressed the basket into her hands. “Da Ya Jie must have told you—we’re doing much better now. Don’t worry.”
Huang Hong looked at her niece and felt like she wasn’t looking at a child of just a few years old, but a girl of ten or more.
In the end, it was the adults who were useless—forcing the children to grow up and take charge at such a young age. Her own Da Ya was the same.
She didn’t know any big principles, but she knew this wasn’t the time for politeness.
“Alright, I’ll take it. Thank you so much.”
Huang Hong left wiping her tears.
Wu Xiang was still mulling over the matter. “Since you two can’t move around much, leave this to me.
I’ll find time to chat with the older villagers, drop some hints, ask around. Someone’s bound to know something.”
“Aunt Xiang, we’re putting you to so much trouble!” Liu Yuexiu felt terrible.
“What trouble? What are you saying? What kind of relationship do we have? All these years as neighbors—you’re being too formal.”
Wu Xiang waved dismissively. “I’ll head off now—there’s a pack of little monsters at home waiting for me to feed them.”
As she picked up the basket by the door, she noticed something was off. There was weight in it. She was pretty sure she’d seen Xiaohe take everything out.
She lifted the cloth covering the basket.
Her eyes went wide!!
A piece of pork with white, glistening fat was lying inside. It made her dizzy just looking at it. How long had it been since she’d seen meat? Not just the kids—even she, as an adult, felt her eyes turn green at the sight.
The smell of raw meat already had her salivating.
She stuttered, unable to get a full sentence out. “Th-this!!!”
“Auntie, keep it quiet—this was hard to get. Don’t let people know.”
Lin Xiaohe raised a finger to her lips and grinned.
“Meat’s so hard to come by this year—why aren’t you keeping it for yourselves? Why are you giving it to me?”
“Auntie, don’t worry—we kept some for ourselves.”
Lin Xiaohe chuckled. “Big Bear and the others are waiting at home—you should get going.”
“Then I’ll shamelessly take it. I really haven’t seen meat in so long. Here’s 2 yuan, Xiaohe—take it.”
With that, Wu Xiang pulled a crumpled 2-yuan note from her inner pocket.
Lin Xiaohe glanced at her mother, who nodded, and she accepted it.
Basket in hand, Wu Xiang couldn’t wait another moment—she hurried home.
It’d been over half a year since they’d had meat. She was craving it badly!
When she got home, she lifted the cloth and set the basket on the table.
“Meat?! Where did you get meat!” Lin Deshan’s voice went shrill with shock. “You went to the black market alone?”
“No—do I seem that reckless? It’s from Yuexiu’s place. Their connections are solid—they can still get meat even in times like these.
This piece is about a jin, more fat than lean. I’ll cut off the fat and render it into lard—we can make it last. The lean part we’ll eat at noon—we all need the nourishment.”
Wu Xiang hadn’t stopped smiling. Times were hard this year—she barely used any oil in cooking.
Just a quick dip of the chopsticks and that was it.
With this piece of meat, their cooking oil situation would be much better.
Lin Deshan said, “The neighbors are all around—don’t let anyone catch the smell. If people find out we can eat meat, there’ll be no peace.”
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