RSMFH 05

Chapter 05

What’s That on His Neck? That Seems a Bit Too Much

Jiang Ning’s breath hitched when she saw the sanctimonious Lin Tao. In her past life, the evil he had wrought replayed in her mind like a silent film. She exerted a massive amount of self-control to suppress the urge to walk up and slap him, settling instead for a cold, piercing stare.

Lin Tao wasn’t like his mother, who knew only how to charge in recklessly. He was “genuinely” concerned for Lin Chen.

“Mom, I really must criticize you. Does Xiao Chen truly want to split the household? He’s only doing this because he thinks Auntie has been working too hard and wants everyone to share the burden a little more.”

After dismissing Yu Xiaofeng, he turned and gave Lin Chen a playful smile: “Xiao Chen, you’re confused, too. Is splitting the household really as simple as you think? Auntie’s health isn’t great, she doesn’t earn many work points, and Xiao Qiao is still young and needs to go to school. Your wife is an educated youth, delicate and fragile, and she won’t earn many work points either. If you rely only on that little bit of salary, life won’t be easy. When you have an emergency or someone gets sick, won’t you still need us to help out?”

It sounded like he was looking out for them, but he was actually fighting for his own interests. He had been lazy since he was a child; making him work in the fields every day was like torture, and he barely managed five work points a day on his best days. He was clearly unwilling to lose access to Lin Chen’s salary, yet he painted himself in a noble light.

Lin Chen had loved playing with Lin Tao since he was a child; whenever he was bullied, it was his older cousin who would step in to help, so he had always been obedient to him. Even joining the army had been based on Lin Tao’s suggestion. But this time, he could hear the subtext. Like father, like son. Lin Tao was against the split, too!

“Big Brother, when did you learn to muddy the waters like this? You didn’t study much, so I won’t hold it against you, but primary school taught basic arithmetic. You know how much of my salary you’ve spent—we can still do that math, right?”

“You… when did you become so mercenary?” Lin Tao stuttered, furious. He used to listen to everything he said, but now that he had taken a wife, he had learned to talk back. Regardless, he wouldn’t allow the household to split. Since Lin Chen hadn’t lost his job, he should continue to hand over his earnings for the whole family to use.

Lin Fugui had come to curry favor with Lin Chen, and caught in the middle, he didn’t want to show obvious favoritism in front of everyone, so he tried to play the peacemaker: “How about this? Both sides draw up a proposal for splitting the household. If both agree, we’ll sign and press our fingerprints. If one side disagrees, then we maintain the status quo.”

By saying this, he was already leaning slightly toward Lin Chen. Jiang Ning already had a plan in mind; she had whispered it to Lin Chen moments earlier, and now she voiced it clearly.

“Two options: One is to divide the money Grandma is holding in half, giving half to each family, and then each side pays twenty yuan annually for her elderly support. The second option is that we move out, you all do as you please, and we won’t take a cent of the money—but we also won’t pay for Grandma’s support in the future.”

The first option was the standard way to split a household. However, the thought of the twenty yuan a month potentially becoming twenty yuan a year made Lin Zhou-shi’s heart ache. She currently held over eight hundred yuan; should she choose the second option? But she didn’t want to lose over four hundred! If she only got twenty a year, it would take twenty years to recoup the loss! She was very shrewd when it came to accounting. If they didn’t split the money and she could still receive twenty yuan every year, that would be even better.

Thinking this, Lin Zhou-shi proposed a third option: that they not split the money, but still pay her twenty yuan every year.

Wow. Jiang Ning truly admired the old woman’s shamelessness. Even the onlookers couldn’t stand it, saying she was being far too greedy. Eight hundred yuan—that was enough to marry off several sons! Many felt it was a raw deal for Jiang Ning; she was an educated youth who had married a “mud-legged” peasant, received no dowry, and was saddled with such toxic relatives.

“Impossible. Ningning’s proposal is already a massive concession; Grandma, don’t push your luck.” Lin Chen was resolute. In truth, he hadn’t agreed to the “no money” aspect, but he didn’t understand why his wife was suddenly being so generous. She wasn’t being generous; she simply didn’t want to waste time arguing with people like them. Besides, she knew that given the chance, all that wealth would eventually end up in her space.

The negotiations reached a stalemate. Lin Fugui tried to persuade both sides, sweat pouring down his forehead. Being a village cadre was no easy task; it was all petty, trivial stuff. It’s just a bit of money, why fight over it and ruin all your fortune?

Just as things were a tangled mess, two commune cadres pushed their way through the crowd. One tall and one short, they wore white shirts and green military trousers, with their hair combed back in greasy pompadours.

The shorter cadre asked, “Is this Lin Chen’s home?” His tone was arrogant.

Lin Chen hurried to greet them: “Comrades, I am Lin Chen.”

The taller cadre was much milder in demeanor, his tone less aggressive: “Comrade Lin Chen, we were originally prepared to let you report to the commune today, but we received a report from the masses that you are involved in a ‘chaotic’ relationship between a man and a woman. They claim your wife married you against her will, and the organization has specifically sent us to investigate.”

The crowd erupted into a buzz of discussion. Lin Chen and the educated youth Jiang Ning’s marriage was indeed not very honorable; if he hadn’t saved her from the water, how could he have ever married someone like her? Rumors had it that some brigades deliberately used such methods to keep educated youths from returning to the city. Did Lin Chen orchestrate Jiang Ning falling into the water? Otherwise, why would it be such a coincidence that he saved her the moment she fell in?

Lin Tao stood behind Yu Xiaofeng, wearing a smug smile. His whistleblower letter had worked. Before Lin Chen returned, he had already had his eye on Jiang Ning and had tried to confess his feelings to her, only to be harshly lectured for it. He hadn’t expected Jiang Ning to fall into the water and let Lin Chen pick up the bargain of such a beautiful wife. What made him even angrier was the news that the organization had arranged for him to be a militia company commander with a monthly salary—who could stand that? As long as their marriage didn’t seem upright and honest, his job would be ruined!

Lin Chen clenched his fists. He remained calm on the surface, but he felt a flutter of anxiety in his chest. He wasn’t afraid for his job; he was afraid his wife wouldn’t be able to handle the rumors and slander. It was his fault—his grandmother had suggested waiting until the job was finalized to hold the wedding banquet, so he hadn’t publicized it and had only registered the marriage.

“Wife, I’ve wronged you,” he said apologetically to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning smiled back at him: “A-Chen, it’s fine. Let me explain.”

She walked up to the two cadres and spoke with a firm tone: “I slipped and fell into the water by accident that day, and A-Chen happened to be passing by and saved me. People say I only married him to repay a debt of gratitude, but the truth is the opposite—I liked him the moment I saw him, and marriage was just the natural next step. If you want proof of whether I was ‘unwilling,’ the marks on his neck are all the evidence you need.”

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone looked collectively at Lin Chen. Before this, no one had noticed, but now they saw the red, bruised marks on his neck, peeking out from under his shirt collar.

What on earth is that? That seems a bit too much. Many of the young men showed clear, innocent, and confused expressions, signaling that this was beyond their realm of knowledge.

“Oh my, that’s… a hickey…” a middle-aged woman in her forties blurted out, her face turning bright red as she buried her head.

This kid is having quite the luck! Every man in the vicinity looked on with envy. Lin Chen’s ears turned beet red, and he scratched the back of his head with a silly grin—why does his wife say everything out loud!

Everyone let out ambiguous, knowing laughs. The two cadres were caught off guard, their faces twisting in fury. The shorter cadre tried to press the issue again:

“Comrade Lin Chen, there is one more situation. You were discharged due to a leg injury, which you did not report truthfully. We need to conduct an inspection. If the situation is true, we cannot give the position of militia company commander to someone with a disability!”