Chapter 32: Chapter 23: Relatives
It was a happy time, but she couldn’t completely relax just yet.
Gossip about whether Liu Fengying and Mo Xiaoman were truly mother and daughter inevitably spread to the other villages. Now that Mo Xiaoman had been given to Grandpa and Grandma, she was essentially their heir.
The Mo family’s relatives and everyone in Gongdao Village knew Grandpa was an unassuming man. He spent his years in shabby clothes, quietly slipping into the mountain forests to gather medicinal herbs. He rarely said more than a few words, but the herbs he gathered could be exchanged for money!
The argument at the Mo Family Courtyard a couple of days ago had revealed a written IOU: Grandpa had lent Mo Guoqiang and his wife over two hundred yuan! People had also seen Grandpa take Grandma and Xiao Man to the market fair, returning with a cart full of new things. On the day of the housewarming banquet, some of the village women had toured their home and seen with their own eyes that Xiao Man’s room was decorated in a novel and beautiful style, and everything on her bed was brand new!
Everyone began to see Grandpa in a new light. It seemed the old man had significant hidden wealth! Grandma was blind and didn’t spend money, so wouldn’t it all be left to Xiao Man in the future? That child’s suffering had finally come to an end!
Mo Laoer and Second Aunt Mo were green with regret. They blamed each other and even had a noisy fight. Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying were also filled with regret. If they had known the old man was so rich, they should have just given Mo Xiao Zhi to him. Then all the old man’s money would one day belong to Xiao Zhi, and by extension, to them!
Then, relatives who rarely visited began to show up one by one. In her past life, Xiao Man never knew Grandpa had any sisters. In this life, not only did she meet his biological older sister, but there was also... the wife from Grandpa’s childhood betrothal and wedding ceremony!
Xiao Man was completely stunned!
The appearance of such an unexpected person surely wasn’t a side effect of her rebirth!
Thinking back, she realized the reason she hadn’t known about these things in her past life was that she never had time to listen to village gossip or see anything for herself. She worked every single day, and if she didn’t do enough, Liu Fengying would beat and scold her. How could she have possibly had any free time?
She did, however, vaguely recall that in her past life, Grandpa and Grandma had a falling out with Mo Guoqiang and his brothers. Because they couldn’t produce the IOU, Mo Guoqiang and his wife denied the debt. Grandpa couldn’t win back his half of the house. Dejected and disgraced, he had moved out of the Mo Family Courtyard with Grandma and into the Knowledge Youth House. For a time after that, there had been some commotion at the old courtyard. But after an enraged Grandpa had taken a club to the gate a few times, it remained shut day in and day out. It was clear Grandpa and Grandma wanted little contact with the outside world, and things stayed that way until, two years later, they both passed away.
The change in this life was that she had obtained Liu Fengying’s notebook. Inside was an IOU in Liu Fengying’s own handwriting, proving that she and Mo Guoqiang owed Grandpa over two hundred yuan. The evidence was irrefutable! Grandpa’s hard-earned money wasn’t lost for nothing. Instead, it was used as leverage, forcing Liu Fengying and Mo Guoqiang to give Xiao Man up for adoption to Grandpa and Grandma.
Mo Xiaoman needed Grandpa and Grandma’s protection, and Grandpa had always yearned to give Grandma a little girl to raise as her own. The old couple had finally gotten their wish and were content. Free from the resentment and gloom of their previous life, the Grandpa and Grandma Xiao Man saw now were cheerful and relaxed, not somber and brooding like before.
Their little family of three was happy and warm, so they were naturally in the mood to open their doors to neighbors and relatives for a housewarming banquet. This also gave Xiao Man the chance to meet people and learn about events she had never encountered in her past life.
Of course, these people hadn’t come simply to reminisce with Grandpa about old times and family ties. Take Grandpa’s biological sister, for example—an old woman Xiao Man had to call "Great-Aunt." She brought a teenage boy and girl with her, who looked a year or two older than Mo Xiaoman. They were her own grandson and granddaughter. The great-aunt said to Grandpa:
"I’ve heard about this Xiao Man. We don’t even know if she’s of our Mo family’s blood. You can’t let her inherit your legacy! I’ve brought my two grandchildren for you. Just give their parents a little money, a token gesture, as compensation. From now on, they’ll be your grandchildren. Raise them well, and they can care for you in your old age and see to your funeral arrangements!"
Xiao Man rolled her eyes. ’Here we go again,’ she thought. ’Grandpa has plenty of life left to live, and they’re already this eager to plan his funeral!’
Sure enough, Grandpa was furious. He roared at his sister, "Take your grandchildren and get back to wherever you came from! Don’t be an eyesore in my house! Not seeing you will add another ten or twenty years to my life!"
His sister was about sixty, with salt-and-pepper hair tied in a bun at the back of her head. She wore a dark blue, homespun tunic with a side fastening and wide-legged trousers—the spitting image of a typical old village woman. She was thin and wiry but brimming with energy and surprisingly strong. She hollered back, "You’re my only living brother! I’m worrying about you, don’t you get it? Don’t be so ungrateful!"
Grandpa went right up, grabbed her sleeve, and started pushing her toward the gate. "Go on, get out! Stop making a racket here! I don’t have a sister like you!"
The great-aunt was dragged out the gate, cursing and grumbling. The boy hurried after her, but for some reason, the girl dawdled, just wandering around the courtyard instead of leaving. Strangely, her grandmother and brother seemed to have forgotten all about her. By the time Grandpa pulled the girl out of the main gate, they were gone.
The great-aunt’s home wasn’t far, just seven or eight li away in Shangling Village. Grandpa tried to take the girl home, but she dodged and weaved, refusing to leave the courtyard. With no other choice, he had to let her stay for the time being.
The wife from Grandpa’s childhood ceremony arrived about half an hour after the great-aunt left. This woman had a chin-length bob and was a few years younger than the great-aunt. Her clothes were much neater; you could tell she had taken care to tidy herself up before leaving home. She had a kind face, a gentle temperament, and was quite chatty. Grandpa and Grandma treated her politely.
She hadn’t come to offer Grandpa any children, but to borrow money. She was tactful, approaching Grandma instead of Grandpa directly. Grandma, of course, knew Grandpa had little money left, but she didn’t say so outright. Instead, she called Grandpa over to discuss the loan. Grandpa said to his former wife:
"Zhiyuan’s mother, you know I’ve always wanted to take Ayue to the city to get her eyes treated, but I’m always just a little short. This time... sigh! Never mind. We don’t have much money right now, only about a hundred yuan. I can’t give you all of it. The most I can give you is half; I need to keep the other half for emergencies. If a few dozen yuan is too little, then I can’t help you. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until next month. I might be able to lend you more then."
His former wife quickly said, "Then I’ll wait until next month! I’ll come back then! To be honest, my youngest son is courting a girl. Young people can be so reckless... one thing led to another, and... now the girl is pregnant! Sigh! And her family has a lot of brothers, all of them tough customers. They’re demanding a six-hundred-yuan bride price, and we’ve barely managed to scrape together half of that... It’s worrying me to death!"
"I see. That really is a major problem!" Even though he knew Grandma was blind, Grandpa still glanced in her direction.
Grandma smiled. "You decide, old man. If we have it, lend it to Sister Hua to help with her emergency. When you were young and away from home, Sister Hua often came by to help look after our parents. When your mother passed away, it was Sister Hua who helped prepare her for burial... She raised four children all on her own, and now she has to find wives for her sons. It’s not easy! But don’t forget about Xiao Man’s school fees!"
"I know, I know!"
Grandpa walked his former wife to the gate, and Xiao Man secretly tagged along behind them. She heard Grandpa say, "Mrs. Zhiping, it’s the twenty-ninth of the seventh lunar month today. I probably won’t have the money until after the tenth of next month. When the time comes, send someone over to pick it up. After we set aside money for the child’s tuition, I think we can give you about two hundred yuan."
Mrs. Zhiping was delighted, and her voice grew sweeter. "Brother Amu, you’ve always been the kindest to me! This lifetime... sigh. Back then, I truly regretted my choice."
"Don’t say that! You made the right choice back then. Otherwise, where would you be today? Look at you now, with a house full of children and grandchildren. That’s wonderful!"
"Brother Amu, I’ve told you before, if you were willing, my children and grandchildren could be yours, too... Ayue’s constitution is so weak, she was never able to give you a child. I feel so awful for you, I lose sleep over it at night!"
"Ayue and I had a child once. Her weak health and failing eyesight are because of that child... Just focus on living your own life well. You don’t need to feel sorry for us. We have Xiao Man now. Ayue is very happy, and I’m at peace. Things will only get better for us! It’s getting late, Mrs. Zhiping, you should head back."
"Brother Amu..."
Grandpa said, "Go on now. The road is hard to walk at night."
Inside the surrounding wall, Xiao Man hid between two holly bushes. She heard the courtyard gate give a CREAK. Peeking through a gap in the leaves, she saw that it was Grandpa who had come back inside. He pulled the gate closed but didn’t latch it, then strode toward the main house.
Xiao Man cocked her ear and heard a sigh from outside the wall, followed by the sound of footsteps fading into the distance. She slipped out from behind the holly bushes and brushed off her clothes. Just as she was about to head back to the house, she heard a RUSTLE. Turning around, she saw the great-aunt’s granddaughter emerging from behind another holly bush, smiling as she patted the dust from her clothes.
Xiao Man froze for a second. "What are you doing here?"
"Why shouldn’t I be here?" the girl asked, tilting her head with a fawning smile. "This courtyard is so big and fun, it’s perfect for hide-and-seek! And look, there are so many peonies over there. We can cut them every day to put in a vase or wear in our hair. They’ll be so fragrant and beautiful!"
Xiao Man was speechless. ’Those are roses, okay? Not peonies! Definitely not peonies!’
