Chapter Seventeen: Offering a Solution

Of course, it wasn’t that Chen Xin looked down on the old Zhang family village; rather, in her impression, this area truly hadn’t begun development yet, and was still labeled as a region of untouched agriculture. Moreover, from the conversations she remembered between her brother-in-law and sister, it was clear that this village was very closed off. The people were honest and simple, but the problem was, honesty didn’t put food on the table. Life required money, regardless of whether one was self-sufficient—unless you never needed anything from the outside world, made everything yourself, and produced every condiment by your own hand. But that was obviously impossible.

In Chen Xin’s view, poverty always came hand in hand with sorrow and despair. Yet, the people here were different. They truly had little money; looking around, the tallest houses were two-story buildings built from locally fired bricks, rough and unadorned, without gleaming tiles or any elegant Roman-style architecture. Simple brick houses, with timber columns propping up second-floor balconies, all revealed the hardship of their circumstances.

Lei Bang got out of the car just as the village chief approached. He didn’t recognize the chief, but the chief seemed to know him.

“Comrade Lei, what brings you here? And this young lady?”

“Oh, this is the sister-in-law and son of your villager Zhang Degang. I’m bringing them here for the New Year, and I’ll come pick them up after the seventh day.”

After introducing Chen Xin, Lei Bang followed the village chief’s lead and parked the car outside her brother-in-law’s house.

The elderly were still busy inside, while Zhang Degang’s eldest brother, Zhang Debing, was splitting firewood in the yard—they needed to stock up before the New Year for heating at night.

When the elderly saw Chen Xin and the chubby Zhang Zhang, tears streamed down their faces. They held the little boy, unable to stop crying.

“Auntie, auntie, the child’s return is a joyful event, don’t cry,” the neighbor’s wife coaxed the elders gently, while the village chief wiped tears from his eyes at the scene.

Chen Xin stood awkwardly to the side, uncertain what to do. After all, she had only been reborn into the shell of a sister-in-law, and when she was only with Zhang Zhang, it felt fine, but being among relatives made her sense her own alienation all the more.

Luckily, there were young people in the village who had returned from working outside. After helping to comfort the elders, the young women pulled Chen Xin aside to chat, easing the sadness that had settled over the Zhang family.

Lei Bang was in a hurry to return, so after unloading the New Year’s goods from the car and placing them in the Zhang family’s courtyard, he drove off without even stopping for a meal.

It was Chen Xin’s first visit to her brother-in-law’s hometown, so she didn’t know what to buy. She had purchased all the popular items she saw in the market, as well as many local specialties. As for chicken, duck, fish, and meat, she didn’t buy much, figuring the countryside would surely have fresh pork and lamb to choose from at the right time.

Once the elderly had calmed down, and Zhang Zhang started to grow restless and wanted her to hold him, Chen Xin went over, picked up the little boy, patted his back, and took a bottle of Wahaha from her bag to put in his mouth.

“Aunt, my brother-in-law often spoke of wanting to bring us back to visit you, but work kept him too busy. We only found the chance to return now. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s all right, Aunt knows you’re a good girl. If it weren’t for you, Zhang Zhang would have…”

The child would have survived, but to grow up into this healthy golden boy was impossible. They’d regretted their decisions in the past, but Zhang Zhang’s grandfather finally decided to leave the child and all the money to Chen Xin, hoping she could raise him well and not be too harsh. Now, it seemed Chen Xin had not only cared for him, but raised him so well that even if he were her own son, he couldn’t have been better.

As noon approached, the feast for the pig slaughter was laid out. There weren’t many people in the village, so aside from the central table where the elders and village committee sat, the other tables were freely arranged, without any rule forbidding women from joining.

Chen Xin, holding Zhang Zhang, followed his grandmother to the open yard, and only then realized she was seated among women, likely chosen so she would not feel uncomfortable.

Chen Xin loved good food and was picky about what she ate, but this authentic country banquet, though not as refined as what she was used to, outshone any “country nine-dish feast” she’d ever had in terms of flavor.

After the meal, the village women tidied up, while Chen Xin returned home with the elders.

The goods from the yard had been moved inside, piled up across half a bed.

“I didn’t know what the family might need, so I bought a bit of everything. These two sets of clothes are for Grandpa and Grandma, this bottle of wine and cigarettes are for Big Brother. I don’t know if my sister will come back, so I only bought her a scarf and a pair of gloves.”

Chen Xin sorted through the pile, picking out the special gifts she had prepared and placing them on the table in the main room.

“Some of these are gifts from the military district. Originally meant for my house, but since I was bringing Zhang Zhang back, the military district converted them into cash and had me bring it home. Then, when we were in the county, Brother Lei said they were also sending condolences to the families of martyrs this year, so he brought our share along.”

Condolences were extended every year, but with so many families, the county’s armed forces couldn’t visit each one. For remote villages like Zhang’s, the town staff would collect the goods and deliver them before the New Year; the armed forces themselves couldn’t handle it all.

With Zhang Debing’s help, they set aside the gifts from the armed forces, leaving at least two-thirds of the New Year’s goods.

“Grandpa, please help divide these among the elders and the village chief and secretary. When brother-in-law left, the village helped a lot; he always said we mustn’t forget their kindness. We don’t have enough to repay everyone yet, so I brought ten thousand yuan this time and would like the village chief and secretary to distribute it, to help families in real need.”

The Zhang elders nodded repeatedly at Chen Xin’s words. Zhang Debing, listening by the door, felt a pang of sadness. If his brother were still alive, life would be better, but good people rarely live long.

“Debing, go with Xin to see the village chief…”

“No, Grandpa, you should go,” Chen Xin politely declined. “This money is part of the compensation left by brother-in-law and the profits from its investment. It was his, so your family should make the arrangements.”

The old patriarch thought for a moment, tapped his pipe against his shoe, and nodded. “All right, Debing, go fetch the village chief, secretary, and your Third Grandpa.”

He turned to explain to Chen Xin that Third Grandpa was a highly respected elder and the village committee’s accountant; other elders were either too old and frail or illiterate, so Third Grandpa’s standing was equal to the chief’s.

Soon enough, the village chief arrived with the secretary, accompanying Third Grandpa, along with the chief’s youngest son and eldest niece.