Chapter 94: Trouble at the Entrance of the Village
By the end of the argument, those few troublemakers knew they hadn’t a leg to stand on.
To put it bluntly, this mountain peak belonged to Jian Xingxia. In the past, Jian Xingxia’s grandmother had let them gather mountain goods because she was a kind person. Now that Jian Xingxia was refusing to let them, they had no other choice but to be angry.
“Sigh, Xiaxia isn’t as generous as her grandmother…” someone in the village lamented.
“You miserable cur! How dare you speak ill of Xiaxia! I’ll beat you to death!” A trembling voice echoed from behind.
Everyone turned around and was utterly stunned. A crowd of elderly men and women, leaning on their canes, had actually walked all the way from the village to the gate barrier.
Leading the charge was Grandma Hu Ming, who immediately whacked the man who had just spoken with her cane. “Xiaxia has done so many good things since she returned to the village. Don’t you have any damn sense? You haven’t come back in a century, and I haven’t seen you take care of your own parents once. But the moment you hear the village is paving a road, you rush back the very next day. What kind of shady intentions do you have?!”
This man wasn’t Grandma Hu Ming’s son, but she scolded him relentlessly anyway.
The other elderly folks immediately joined in.
“You wicked wretches! When you couldn’t even fill your bellies as children, if it hadn’t been for Xiaxia’s grandmother, you would have starved to death long ago!”
“Now that her grandmother is gone, you bully her descendant. You’ve truly lost your conscience!”
“She let you into the mountains to gather goods back then because you were starving. Are you still starving now? You ungrateful dog!”
The older generation harbored far deeper feelings for Jian Xingxia’s grandmother, likely because they were the ones who had truly lived through those hardships. The few men who had started the trouble were thoroughly scolded until they looked like drowned rats.
Fangfang and Little Hu Liu arrived in a frantic rush, bringing Auntie Lu and Uncle Lu with them.
After Jian Xingxia spoke with Auntie Lu yesterday, Uncle Lu had gone straight to the lumber yard today to look at timber, and he had only just rushed back upon receiving the news. Auntie Lu felt deeply guilt-ridden. “I should have informed everyone beforehand.”
Uncle Lu sighed repeatedly, glaring at the younger men who shared his surname, absolutely furious. “Every single one of you never comes back when there’s work to be done, but you return just to cause chaos! Why don’t you ask around carefully? In just the few days since Xiaxia returned, haven’t the grandpas, grandmas, and elderly parents in your homes all benefited from her?!”
The elderly folks raised their canes one after another.
“Xiaxia bought me toilet paper.” “She bought me sesame oil.” “She brought me walnut pastries.” “She bought the eggs I collected.” “She bought the mushrooms I dried.” “She bought the radishes and cowpeas I pickled.”
Unable to withstand the mounting pressure, the troublemakers could only hang their heads and admit their wrongs.
Uncle Lu looked at Jian Xingxia. Seeing her nod, he finally spoke up. “Xiaxia is paving this road because she plans to open a homestay in the mountains. Don’t you all know what young people like nowadays? It hasn’t cost you a single cent. Xiaxia took on debt to pave this road herself. If her homestay takes off in the future, won’t the village benefit from it?”
“To give an immediate example, Xiaxia needs to buy timber right now to build furniture. Hu Lin, the lumber yard I visited just now belongs to your family.”
“Huh?” The middle-aged man named Hu Lin blanked. “My family’s?”
“If you don’t believe me, call your dad and ask. He’s probably loading the timber for me as we speak.”
Since it was put that way, it couldn’t possibly be a lie. Hu Lin retreated to the side awkwardly.
Hearing this, the other troublemakers began to feel a wave of regret. They didn’t actually have anything against Jian Xingxia; they just felt that although the villagers used to fear the monsters in the mountains, they would still occasionally go in to gather mountain goods. Did they not know the land belonged to Jian Xingxia? They knew. They just wanted to cause a scene to see if they could throw a tantrum and get a piece of the pie.
Now, looking at it, not only were their interests unharmed, but they might even benefit.
Upon hearing this, Hu Lin’s grandmother called out to Uncle Lu, “Little San’er, call Hu Lin’s dad!”
“Huh?” Uncle Lu was startled. Although he was sixty, he was still a junior in front of Hu Lin’s grandmother. “Right away, Auntie, I’ll call right now.”
The moment the call connected, Hu Lin’s grandmother launched into a furious tirade against Hu Lin’s dad. Hu Lin was already in his thirties or forties, but hearing his grandmother scold his father, he didn’t dare utter a single peep.
On the other end, Hu Lin’s dad listened for a long time, only piecing together the truth through the stream of profanity blaring from Hu Lin’s grandmother. “What? Old Lu said someone in the village was causing trouble and blocking the road construction, and it’s Hu Lin?!”
Hu Lin looked even more embarrassed.
Hu Lin’s grandmother delivered a classic ultimatum: “Are you going to handle him? If you won’t, I’ll handle him for you!”
Hu Lin’s dad was thoroughly enraged. “This worthless brat has had enough to eat for two years and now he’s forgotten how to act like a human being! Hu Lin—get your ass back home and wait for me! See if I don’t give you a thrashing tonight!”
Hu Lin thoroughly regretted his actions.
The other troublemakers were currently looking at their own elders in deep trepidation. None of the elders carried a good expression on their faces. Many younger folks had run back to the village upon hearing about the road construction, but others were happily watching the excitement and helping out, while you few only knew how to cause trouble! You’ve truly disgraced the entire family!
Over on the phone, Hu Lin’s dad gave Hu Lin another severe tongue-lashing, cursing him until Hu Lin discarded all pride and wailed for mercy. Only then did Hu Lin’s dad stop, asking Hu Lin’s grandmother, “Mom, is that good enough?”
Hu Lin’s grandmother scoffed, “Hmph.” By the looks of it, she was still quite dissatisfied.
Hu Lin’s dad pondered for a moment and said, “How about this, Mom? Old Lu came over today to buy timber to build furniture for Xiaxia. I’ll provide the timber for free. Will that do?”
Only then did Hu Lin’s grandmother feel a bit mollified. “The son you raised is useless, not half as sensible as the son I raised.”
Hu Lin’s dad felt incredibly awkward, but seeing that his mother had relented, he also let out a breath of relief. He immediately spoke to Uncle Lu over the phone. “Old Lu, I’ll deliver the timber you looked at today to your house later, and I’ll refund your deposit.”
Uncle Lu looked toward Jian Xingxia. Before Jian Xingxia could even gesture, Hu Lin’s grandmother slapped Hu Lin right across the back.
“Little San’er, don’t look at Xiaxia. Xiaxia is thin-skinned; if you ask her, she’ll definitely refuse. You just take it. Whatever furniture Xiaxia says she wants to build, you go ahead and build it for her! If it’s not enough, go find Hu Lin’s dad again!”
“Right!” Uncle Lu accepted.
One does not refuse a gift from an elder. Besides, Hu Lin had led the trouble today, so he deserved it!
The families of the other troublemakers gradually caught on. One by one, they grabbed their sons by the ears and hauled them by the necks over to Jian Xingxia to apologize, promising compensation one after the other.
“Xiaxia, you’re opening a homestay? Does the homestay need mutton? My family raised over twenty sheep this year; you pick one! No charge! Just take it as compensation for this worthless brat’s mistake.”
“Xiaxia, we’re hauling the fish ponds soon, I’ll save two hundred catties for you! When we harvest crabs in October, I’ll save a whole basket for you too.”
“Xiaxia, I’m truly sorry. I’ll beat him the moment we get back tonight! I’ll save fifty catties of my family’s tea oil for you this year.”
“Xiaxia, I’ll deliver ten free-range chickens in a bit…”
The five families took turns offering their goods. Standing before the entire village, none of them showed the slightest reluctance—they felt only shame because of their unfilial descendants.
Jian Xingxia did not refuse. People ought to take responsibility for their mistakes. The compensation these elders offered wasn’t because of her, but because of her grandmother. Jian Xingxia had no reason to decline.
Furthermore… she really was very poor! With the homestay opening drawing near, which aspect of daily supplies didn’t require money? Being able to collect some resources was quite nice. Once these troublemakers left, she would still look after the village elders anyway.
She would just treat this as collecting money from these unfilial descendants in advance to honor the elderly on their behalf!
