Chapter 5

Chapter 5

To be fair, Liu Youzong, as the village head, naturally did not want the matter to escalate to the point of reporting it to the authorities.

The villagers, being unsophisticated folk, were terrified at the mere mention of the authorities. In reality, reporting to the authorities was no easy task either. For someone like Zhong Yizhu, who had suffered no real harm and lacked concrete evidence, even taking the case to court might not have yielded a favorable outcome.

Liu Youzong was initially unsure whether Zhong Yizhu was truly acting on impulse to force a desperate fight to the death, or simply using the threat of reporting to scare people.

Now it seemed clear it was the latter.

After all, he was a young man from the prefectural city. Even if he had fallen on hard times, his vision and insight were not something ordinary people could match.

What impressed Liu Youzong even more, however, was Zhong Yizhu’s mental acuity and his ability to handle affairs. Liu Youzong sighed inwardly—if this young man had been a son, he could certainly have made something of himself. Why was he being toyed with to such an extent...

“I can refrain from reporting to the authorities, but Wu Shi nearly cost me my life. She must pay a price.”

Zhong Yizhu’s words snapped Liu Youzong back from his wandering thoughts. He nodded. “Of course. Our village has never seen such an egregious act. Wu Shi has disrupted village discipline and must be punished.”

Wu Cuijuan had never imagined that the knife she had wielded would ultimately turn back on herself. She shook her head, trying to argue, but no one was willing to listen anymore.

Liu Youzong looked at Zhong Yizhu. “Young Master Zhong is the victim. How do you propose to punish her?”

By now, the commotion had drawn an increasing number of villagers. Xiao Li’s family members had turned their anger on Wu Cuijuan, cursing and slapping their hands as they protested Xiao Li’s innocence. Li Siniu had not yet returned from the fields. Wu Cuijuan, isolated and helpless, could no longer muster her usual shrewishness and could only cry incessantly.

Zhong Yizhu knew that although Wu Cuijuan was full of nonsense, one point she had made was valid.

For Liushan Village, he was an outsider through and through. Even if he was in the right, he could not overstep his bounds.

Zhong Yizhu lowered his eyes, no longer watching the farce. “Let the village head decide.”

Liu Youzong thought for a moment, then consulted with the two clan elders present. Finally, he announced, “Wu Shi deliberately caused harm. As punishment, she will kneel in the ancestral hall for two days and compensate Young Master Zhong for the ruined clothing.”

Zhong Yizhu was not surprised by this outcome. Since he had suffered no real injury, the village was unlikely to impose heavy punishment on Wu Cuijuan. Even this result was likely a concession the clan elders had made to appease him, fearing he would insist on going to the authorities.

Zhong Yizhu nodded to Liu Youzong, accepting the verdict. After all, his goal was not revenge against Wu Cuijuan. It was to make an example of her, to establish dignity and leverage for his continued survival here.

The moment Zhong Yizhu nodded, Wu Cuijuan refused to accept it. She wailed, “His clothes were left by the river—I didn’t pick them up! Why should I pay for them? Even if they’re gone, someone else must have taken them. If you don’t believe me, search my house. If you find even one piece, I’ll jump into the river and die right now!”

Compared to kneeling in the ancestral hall, the prospect of paying money was far more unbearable for Wu Cuijuan. She wept miserably, swearing oaths, and for a moment seemed more credible than before.

Before the clan elders or Liu Youzong could speak, Zhong Yizhu said, “I won’t hold you accountable for those. But this one on me was ruined by you—you’ll pay for this one.”

The clothes Zhong Yizhu was wearing were already caked in mud, their original color indistinguishable. It was obvious they could not be salvaged. Everyone could see that he was not making an exorbitant demand, so the clan elders nodded in agreement.

Thus, Wu Cuijuan had no grounds to argue and was forced to accept.

Zhong Yizhu’s clothes had all been brought from home. Although he had left in haste and had not been in the mood to pack carefully, so he hadn’t brought many, the garments made in the prefectural city were hardly cheap.

Since they were old clothes, Zhong Yizhu rounded down and quoted a price of one tael of silver. Wu Cuijuan immediately started shouting again, but this time Liu Youzong firmly suppressed her.

Village households relied on farming for food and self-sufficiency, leaving little surplus. Most families spent only a few taels a year. Having to pay out one tael all at once was like cutting flesh from Wu Cuijuan. She looked at Li Siniu, who had just hurried back from the fields, and for the first time felt too guilty to meet his eyes, simply crying without stop.

Wu Cuijuan’s pitiful cries, combined with the fact that one tael was no small sum for any household, evoked sympathy from some villagers who wanted to speak up for her.

Just then, Zhong Yizhu raised his voice. “Since everyone is here, there’s another matter I’d like to discuss with the village head—concerning my family’s fields.”

Fields were the lifeline of farmers. At the mention of the Zhong family’s land, the murmuring in the crowd immediately subsided. Everyone pricked up their ears, waiting for Zhong Yizhu’s next words.

Everyone in the village knew that the Zhong family still had thirty mu of prime paddy fields in the village, which had been managed for years by Zhong Laosan’s in-laws.

When Zhong Laosan married, the Zhong family was still poor and could not afford to marry a local girl or young man from the village. So he had married into the Wu family from a neighboring village.

At that time, the Wu family was also dirt poor, with many children. They married off their daughters as soon as they came of age to have one less mouth to feed.

Later, when the Zhong family became prosperous—though it was Zhong Laoer who had built the family fortune—Zhong Laosan also enjoyed the fruits. The Wu family, having lucked into such a good marriage, naturally reaped many benefits. They built a large and fine house, found positions for their two younger sons in the prefectural city, and lived a prosperous life.

Since the neighboring village was inconvenient for traveling back and forth, from a few years ago, the Wu family had hired several households from Liushan Village to work the fields, collecting rent every year with ease, living a leisurely life.

They were just ordinary farmers, but by making a good marriage, they had leaped over the dragon’s gate and lived like landlords. Behind their backs, many people envied them, and many in Liushan Village regretted letting such fat profits flow into outsiders’ pockets.

The Wu family had been collecting rents for years. Sometimes villagers couldn’t even tell whether those fields belonged to the Wu or the Zhong family. So when Zhong Yizhu suddenly brought up the fields, everyone was curious about what he intended to do.

“All of the Zhong family’s fields have now been handed over to me. My mother and I have decided to allocate ten mu of them as public fields for the village, in gratitude for everyone’s care over the years.”

“What?!”

The villagers had been watching out of curiosity, never expecting Zhong Yizhu to say something like this. Even Liu Youzong was astonished and couldn’t help asking, “Young Master Zhong, are you serious? Are you joking?”

Zhong Yizhu answered firmly. “I have the land deed. Later today, I can sign a contract with the village. These ten mu will be cultivated by people from the village, and the output will be used for village needs. I will not interfere.”

By now, more villagers had gathered. The announcement caused an uproar.

Public fields in the village were mainly used for building irrigation channels, repairing the ancestral hall, and other communal projects. Zhong Yizhu’s gesture was undoubtedly a boon for the village.

The clan elders’ gazes toward Zhong Yizhu softened and became kinder in just a few moments. Amid the crowd, a buzz of discussion arose, with all sorts of opinions.

Some were grateful, while others thought it mattered little since they didn’t get tangible benefits. There were even those with venomous hearts and shallow thinking, laughing at his foolishness while secretly burning with envy—ten mu of prime paddy fields! How wonderful it would have been for their own families...

Zhou Shaofen was pragmatic and quietly asked Zhong Yizhu if he wanted to reconsider. But Zhong Yizhu knew exactly what he was doing.

No one in the village knew that his father had long ago instructed his third uncle to give these thirty mu of paddy fields to the village for cultivation, as repayment for the kindness Liushan Village had shown when the Zhong family was down on their luck. In addition, his father had sent silver to the village through his third uncle from time to time over the years, never forgetting.

But his father never imagined that none of these things ever reached Liushan Village. All of it had been pocketed by Zhong Laosan, that ungrateful, profit-driven scoundrel.

Without evidence, Zhong Yizhu naturally could not expose this. Besides, it was meaningless to talk about something others had never received. What he could grasp now were only those thirty mu of fields.

Zhong Laotai, having lived in the prefectural city for so many years, had learned to save face like the wealthy families. When she drove them out to Liushan Village, she gave them the land deeds for these thirty mu as a means of livelihood, putting on the appearance of having done her utmost out of kindness.

If these fields had been used by Liushan Village, Zhong Yizhu would have said nothing. Even without a livelihood, he would have accepted it. But now that the land was in the Wu family’s hands, he had to take it back by any means.

Zhong Yizhu knew that he and his mother were isolated in the village. Even if he held the land deeds, if the Wu family delayed and refused to return the fields, he would have to waste time fighting them. Even if he gritted his teeth and took the matter to court, he would likely be skinned alive in the process.

Taking it to court was a last resort. He could choose another path—if the people of Liushan Village were willing to help him, things would become much simpler.

Giving ten mu to the village served two purposes: first, to leverage the village’s strength to reclaim the fields; second, to better secure his and his mother’s footing in the village.

Zhong Yizhu didn’t know how to evaluate this twist of fate. All he knew was that, for now, the most important thing was to survive with his mother.

...

Thanks to the land donation, without Liu Youzong needing to intervene, the Li family’s clan elder forced Wu Cuijuan to pay one tael of silver in compensation to Zhong Yizhu.

Zhong Yizhu didn’t delay. After returning home, bathing, and changing clothes, he went straight to the village head’s house to sign the contract.

Sun Yunniang had been frightened by his fall into the river and wanted him to rest at home to calm his nerves. But Zhong Yizhu knew the matter was not over yet—he still had a battle to fight.

Sure enough, before noon, the Wu family got wind of the news and arrived at Liushan Village with people in tow, imposing and aggressive.

The Wu family, relying on their numbers, thought handling a widow and her orphaned son would be easy, but they never expected to face the entire village of Willow Mountain.

With the land deed in hand and the protection of the Willow Mountain villagers, no matter how domineering the Wu family was, being outsiders meant they had no chance of gaining the upper hand.

Zhong Yizhu didn’t push too hard. In the end, they agreed that the Wu family could harvest the crops currently in the fields before returning the land to him.

The Wu family agreed reluctantly, muttering curses as they left, threatening to go to the prefectural city to seek an explanation from his third uncle.

Zhong Yizhu was already exhausted from handling everything that day. Seeing Liu Youzong’s worried expression, he reassured him, "Village Chief, don't worry. This land deed was given to me by my grandmother. They can’t take it back."

As for Zhong Laosan, this matter was his fault to begin with. If he truly let the land be taken from Zhong Yizhu and his mother to give to the Wu family, cutting off their livelihood, he would surely be condemned by the villagers. He always knew how to put on a show and wouldn’t go that far.

Only then did Liu Youzong feel at ease. "Then on behalf of the villagers, I thank Young Master Zhong for his contribution to the village."

"Thank you, Young Master Zhong." The village chief’s home was packed with villagers who had come to show their support—mostly younger members of Liu Youzong’s family and relatives of a few Clan Elders. Voices of gratitude rose and fell.

Zhong Yizhu felt he didn't deserve all these thanks. This was clearly a gift from his father, yet he couldn’t say a word about it now.

He looked at the unfamiliar faces before him. "Thank you all for your help. There’s no need to call me Young Master Zhong. I’m now a member of Willow Mountain Village too. Just call me by my name."

"Well…" The villagers knew that Zhong Yizhu had been cast aside by the Zhong family, but a sense of distance still lingered. They hesitated for a moment until Zhou Shaofen finally spoke up.

"Alright, then we’ll call you Zhu Ge'er. Zhu Ge'er, don't worry—your land is in Willow Mountain. We won’t let the Wu family take it from you."

Someone chimed in, "That’s right. When the harvest comes, if they try to refuse to return it, we’ll help you chase them out."

"Exactly. Do they think the people of Riverside Village can push us around? I’ll beat the crap out of them…"

By the time everything was settled and Zhong Yizhu headed home, the sun was setting.

Exhausted, his mind cluttered with thoughts of the day’s events, he didn’t even hear when someone called out to him.

A hand touched his arm, startling him. He turned around to see Qiaozhen, the daughter-in-law of Zhao Daniang from next door, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister-in-law, is something the matter?"

Qiaozhen handed him a wooden basin. Looking down, Zhong Yizhu realized it was his own laundry basin, filled with the clothes he had taken to wash that morning—clothes that should have been scattered where he fell into the water.

Qiaozhen hunched her shoulders, a guilty look on her face. "When I went to wash clothes this morning, I saw many garments scattered on the ground. I recognized them as yours, so I picked them all up for you."

Zhong Yizhu took the basin and looked at the clean clothes inside. Softly, he said, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I thought I’d never get them back."

Qiaozhen quickly waved her hands. "No, no…" She couldn’t even finish a full sentence before turning and rushing into her house.

Zhong Yizhu paused for a moment, then carried the basin toward his home.

The evening sunlight fell on his clothes, and his thoughts suddenly drifted back to the morning.

It was only now that the feeling of having survived a disaster began to rise within him. Each step he took was slow. The warmth of the sunlight on his skin felt pleasant, a sharp contrast to the icy cold of the river.

He couldn’t help but think of the man who had saved him. A life-saving favor, yet he didn’t even know the man’s name.

Was he from Willow Mountain Village? Or from a neighboring village?

Lost in thought, Zhong Yizhu came back to reality only to realize he had been standing in front of his house for a long time.

Worried that the Wu family might cause trouble, he had instructed Sun Yunniang to bolt the door before leaving. Sun Yunniang was still recovering from her illness and needed quiet rest.

Zhong Yizhu raised his hand and knocked on the door. Soon, footsteps sounded from inside the yard.

"Mother, it’s me."

He spoke up in time. Sun Yunniang opened the door and quickly looked him over from head to toe. Seeing that he was neatly dressed and his expression was normal—clearly unharmed—she finally let go of the worry that had been weighing on her all afternoon.

Sun Yunniang pulled him inside. "You’ve come back just in time. The steamed egg custard I made for you is perfectly done. Later, I’ll brew a bowl of ginger soup for you to drink while it’s hot. You need to be careful now that you’ve been in the cold water…"

The small yard’s gate was closed again, and the voices of mother and son gradually faded into the distance.

On the rooftops, the last traces of the setting sunlight finally disappeared. The sun had gone down.

Author’s note:

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See you tomorrow at 7 PM.