Little Yellow Village, the sun setting in the west, smoke curling up from the kitchens, a beautiful rural scene indeed.
Xu Yang, carrying a basket on his back, returned to the village, guided by memory.
"This..."
"Qinshan?"
"Is that Li Laoda's boy?"
"Gone for so many days, and he didn't die?"
"Really has a big life..."
"Things are heating up now!"
Upon entering the village, he was met with many astonished gazes and peculiar stares.
A tall, sturdy-looking youth came quickly towards him: "Qinshan, where did you go?"
Xu Yang glanced at him and made up an excuse on the spot: "I got lost in the mountains, it took me a long time to find my way out, what's going on?"
"Well, you have no idea, Green River and Red Jade were almost out of their minds with worry, and..."
Remembering something, the youth's expression changed again, and he grabbed Xu Yang's hand: "You'd better hurry home and see for yourself. A big group of people are at your place, preparing a feast, and they're talking about dividing up your family's land..."
"Hmm!"
Xu Yang's eyes narrowed, and he quickly left the youth behind and headed for home.
There's a saying that fits well, "A poor mountain and bad water produce a crafty people." The peasants between the fields and the wilds were actually not as simple and kind as romantic poets imagined, but more often than not, they were driven to sly and ugly acts by a life of hardship and dire poverty, calculating cruelly.
Such as devouring a family's last resources!
The so-called devouring of a family's last resources refers to when the head of a household dies, relatives and friends come to help with the funeral arrangements, disposing of the deceased's land, houses, and other assets, either by dividing or selling them. Then, they lay out banquet tables and feast for days or even weeks, until they have consumed all of the household's savings.
As for the bereaved wife and children, ancient customs never considered women to count as much, and if there was no reliable in-law family or a son old enough to shoulder responsibilities, they would have no choice but to be at the mercy of others. Not to mention the family's savings, even their own safety was not guaranteed; being sold off and remarried was a common occurrence.
Only a few lucky widows, with their fierce personalities and clan protection, could establish themselves in the village, but that was contingent on having a male heir. Without one, and without clan protection, no matter how tough a woman was, she could not withstand the crafty harassment of local hooligans.
The parents of Xu Yang's incarnation had died early, and he had not yet had time to marry and have children. The household consisted only of a pair of young siblings. How could they stand against those with evil intentions, like tigers, leopards, and wolves?
Therefore...
Xu Yang hurried home, and from afar, he saw his dilapidated courtyard alive with the sound of gongs and drums, and bustle all around.
Xu Yang's expression unchanged, he strode ahead, arriving at his own door to see several tables set up for a feast in the courtyard, with a crowd of people toasting and engrossed in eating and drinking.
Most of them were men, but there were also many women, with children in tow, sitting in the yard, nimbly scraping bowls and snatching food.
In the crowd, two stood out – a boy and a girl, both half-grown children, huddled at the inner room's doorway, looking helplessly at the people eating and drinking in the yard.
When Xu Yang caught sight of them, they too saw him, and tears welled up in their swollen eyes.
"Brother!"
"You're back!"
The siblings ran to the door in their surprise and joy, the slightly younger girl throwing herself into Xu Yang's arms, sobbing: "Brother, they, they took all the rice from home, the vegetables from the fields, and the meat too, I tried to stop them, but they hit me..."
The little girl cried in Xu Yang's arms, recounting her grievances, while the slightly taller boy stood by, red-eyed and gritting his teeth, barely holding back his tears.
This scene brought a sudden stiffness to the atmosphere in the yard; those gathered around the wine tables looked at Xu Yang and his siblings, their expressions shifting from shock to strangeness, from strangeness to awkwardness, until they found themselves without a place to hide.
"Well..."
"Qinshan, you're back?"
"Where have you been all these days?"
"Everyone thought something had happened to you."
A few individuals attempted to justify themselves, but upon encountering Xu Yang's icy gaze, their words choked in their throats. Caught between sitting and standing, they were utterly embarrassed.
Just then...
"Hey!"
"Isn't that Qinshan?"
At that moment, a loud laughter rang out. Everyone turned to look, and there, at the central and largest table, sat a man with a bare chest, thick with hair, holding a wine bowl and laughing loudly: "We haven't seen you for many days, everyone thought you were dead. Here they are, at your house, helping to arrange the funeral."
"Brother!"
Seeing this, before Xu Yang could react, the young boy at his side tugged at him and whispered: "He, he took our land deeds!"
Xu Yang looked at the boy, then turned his gaze back to the burly man.
This man was Li Laojiu. In terms of kinship, he was an uncle to the Xu Yang siblings. In Little Yellow Village, he was a well-known layabout, always idling, sneaking about, and never doing honest work.
Confronted with Xu Yang's frosty stare, Li Laojiu appeared unconcerned, tossing a meaty bone on the ground—a black dog immediately sprung to it, gnawing vigorously.
Only then did Li Laojiu scoff: "Qinshan, although we are relatives, even brothers must settle their debts clearly. Everyone has been helping out at your place, and I've covered all these expenses. Now that you're back, shouldn't we settle this properly, clear and square?"
"This..."
Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned, shocked by Li Laojiu's shameless bullying but also feeling a sense of relieved justification for their discomfort.
Just as Li Laojiu had said, with regards to the banquet arrangements to handle everything inside and out, how could Xu Yang and his siblings afford it? It was Li Laojiu who had stepped forward, advanced the money, enabling everyone to enjoy such a feast.