Lin Shengmiao rolled her eyes; this so-called 'next time' was probably a long way off.
Xu Xingyan smiled and said, "Not at all. It is only right and proper for me to visit you formally with gifts first. My parents have also prepared some local specialties for you, Uncle. There are not many things, just a small token of our family's appreciation. Please do not refuse them, Uncle."
Lin Yuan paused in his chin-touching motion, a hint of suspicion appearing in his eyes.
That tone...
Hmm, could it be that he guessed wrong, and the person in front of him isn't a "daughter-in-law" but a "son-in-law"? That doesn't seem likely...
After thinking for a while and still not figuring it out, he didn't dwell on it and simply skipped over it. He stretched and said, "The rooms at home are full of your Aunt Tong's relatives. I've already talked to your aunt, so you can go stay at her house later. Don't come over."
Lin Shengmiao gritted her teeth: "You..."
Lin Yuan shut her up with one sentence: "Your Aunt Tong paid for the new house, and she also runs the agritainment business. I still rely on her to support me..."
"Can't you have any shame?" Lin Shengmiao asked, feeling both aggrieved and confused.
“Don’t be upset,” Lin Yuan clicked his tongue. “If you were willing to give me a few thousand yuan of pocket money every month and empty my shopping cart from time to time, I would kick Tong Ai and her bunch of relatives out right now.”
Lin Shengmiao's head was buzzing. She rubbed her forehead and said, "How about I find you a job..."
"Get lost! You unfilial daughter!" Lin Yuan looked at her with disgust. "I'm living a comfortable life, and you insist on making your father suffer!"
Lin Shengmiao was even more disgusted than him, and shouted loudly, "Can't you be a little more independent and self-reliant?"
"I could easily live off my looks for the rest of my life, why would I bother working? Isn't it all just for a living? What? You discriminate against stay-at-home dads?"
Lin Yuan looked at him with a "you're crazy" expression. "Didn't God create me like this so that I could have an easier life? Why should I let Him down?"
"There are so many rich women out there, why do you insist on going to Tong Ai?" Lin Shengmiao was so angry that she blurted out without thinking, but this was also a source of worry for her.
Lin Yuan's tone softened a bit, "Daughter, you don't understand. Your old man isn't the kind of person with ambitions. As long as we can make a living, that's enough. Besides, the competition outside is so fierce. You'd have to work out and stuff, which is exhausting. But your Aunt Tong is different. She's so easy to please. Just one flower is enough to make her dote on me for a week. She won't even blink at a purchase under three thousand. Your old man isn't greedy. This is enough for us..."
So you actually considered finding a rich woman?
Lin Shengmiao's face turned pale with anger.
Xu Xingyan listened in stunned silence, and a reasonable guess popped into her mind—
Could it be that her daughter Miaomiao's excessively independent and self-reliant ambition was stimulated by her own father?
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Author's Note:
There should be two more chapters until the end.
Chapter 44 The Future is About Looking Forward
"Xiao Yan is almost twenty this year, right? Does he have a girlfriend yet?"
"No, there's no rush."
"You'd better hurry up. I heard from them that there are a lot of pretty girls at your university. You have to make the most of them. Girls in school are the easiest to fool. They won't be so innocent once they enter society."
"Haha, I didn't intend to look for someone at school. Uncle, think about it, if you date someone from the same school, you'll have to take her out to eat, buy her flowers, and so on... It's so expensive. It's better to date someone local. You only need to send a message or make a phone call. And you can even ask her to come and help my mom out when you have time..."
"That's different. Listen to your uncle. Local people are good, but they still can't compare to those only daughters in the city. If you marry her, won't her parents' house and car all be yours? You'll save yourself so many years of hard work!"
"Wow, you're saying the same thing as my dad!"
"Hehehe, I have to say you're still green as a kid. Back when your dad and I were out there making a living, you were still in your dad's... well, you know..."
The topic then gradually became rather vulgar.
...
Perhaps she was mentally prepared after being angered by her father yesterday, or perhaps Xu Xingyan's comprehensive psychological counseling last night had an effect. In any case, when she heard this conversation, Lin Shengmiao was surprisingly calm and detached from worldly affairs. Even if one of them was her half-brother, oh well, who cares? Let them be destroyed!
The ritual of smashing the mourning basin is one of the most important ceremonies in local funerals. It is said that this basin represents the basin used by the deceased to eat in life. Smashing it means that the deceased is completely cut off from the world of the living. Another interpretation is that the basin is to be taken by the deceased to the underworld to continue using it, so it must be smashed as broken as possible, and the more broken it is, the more intact it will be in the underworld.
But regardless of which version it is, one thing is certain: the person who can break the mourning basin on behalf of the deceased must be the eldest son or grandson of the family.
Lin Yuan always tries to shirk responsibility, even when it comes to breaking a basin for his own mother. He leaves everything to his son while he hides in the crowd to relax.
To be fair, Lin Yan resembled his father in appearance. Regardless of his inner cultivation, his appearance as a filial son, dressed in plain white and standing upright before the altar, was quite respectable. At the command of the village elder in charge, Lin Yan raised the ceramic basin containing the incense and paper money above his head and smashed it to the ground with great force, shattering it instantly...
The uncle next to him responded by playing the suona horn, and the coffin bearers shouted in unison as they carried the coffin slowly toward the chosen location, with one person scattering yellow paper to clear the way.
It is said that customs vary from place to place. Nancheng City and Luyang County are far apart, and their funeral customs are also very different. Nancheng has practiced cremation for decades, but Luyang County is different. They pay great attention to what happens after death and have a feeling of viewing death as life in ancient times. They feel that cremation is too cruel and does not even leave a complete body, so they still practice the burial system.
Xu Xingyan was attending this kind of funeral for the first time and was unaware of any taboos. Not daring to wander off, she followed Lin Shengmiao and mingled in the middle of the procession. Lin Xin, who was supposed to be in the front row mourning, also stood with them, ignoring the gossiping and accusing voices of the aunts and uncles. There was no sadness in her eyes, only a hint of indifference.
Xu Xingyan stole a glance at her, remembering the news she had sent Ah Jin and the others to inquire about yesterday—
According to the village elders, Lin Xin, the younger sister, actually has an older sister named Lin Su, who is beautiful, hardworking, and a well-regarded girl in the neighborhood.
She had always been unwilling to discuss marriage, which aroused her family's suspicion. They noticed that she was sending and receiving several letters to the provincial capital every month, and they suspected that she had a lover in secret. They secretly intercepted her letters, which stirred up a hornet's nest, because the other party in the letters was also a girl.
What followed was a chaotic uproar, with fighting, insults, and resistance taking place simultaneously. The family was never at peace, and eventually the whole village found out.
Grandpa and Grandma Lin, feeling ashamed, hastily arranged a marriage for her, locked her at home, and cut off all her contact with the outside world. After several failed attempts to escape, the strong-willed girl hanged herself in despair on the eve of her wedding.
After not receiving any letters for several days, Lin Su's lover had a bad feeling and rushed over with several people that night. They arrived too late, and later heard that the girl had been in a car accident due to mental confusion and died tragically.
At the time, Lin Xin was working in another city. When she heard the news and rushed back, her once vibrant sister had become a patch of yellowed new earth in the wilderness. She couldn't accept it at all and refused to believe that her sister had committed suicide. She even held a kitchen knife to Lin Yuan's neck to force Lin's grandfather to call the police. Anyone who dared to spread rumors about Lin Su was attacked by her relentlessly, and she was almost sent to a mental hospital as a result.
...
As she pondered this, the procession gradually came to a stop. The elderly man in charge would occasionally shout something, presumably farewells to the deceased. However, the old man's accent was too strong, and he had a strange singing style. Despite the solemnity, Xu Xingyan couldn't understand a single word.
"Are you tired?" Noticing her distraction, Lin Shengmiao supported her and asked softly.
"No," Xu Xingyan shook her head, then suddenly realized that Lin Xin, who had been there just moments before, was nowhere to be found. She looked around but couldn't find her, and asked, "Hey, where's Auntie?"
Lin Shengmiao pointed into the distance, "She's over there, going to see her aunt."
Xu Xingyan looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Lin Xin had already left the group and was standing in a secluded, lush patch of grass, gazing silently at an old tombstone for a long time.
The oppressive and melancholic aura emanating from him was enough to evoke a sense of heartbreak and sorrow even from a distance.
Seeing that she was stunned and didn't speak, Lin Shengmiao said, "My eldest aunt and my youngest aunt were twins and had a very good relationship, but... my eldest aunt passed away a long time ago."
"Twins?!" Ah Jin's inquiries had missed this detail, and Xu Xingyan was hearing about it for the first time.
She felt increasingly sorry for Lin Xin. How heartbreaking this was! What are twins? They are people who have been accompanying each other since before they were even born. They share the warmth of the womb, share breast milk, grow up together, and explore the world together... This is not just losing a sister, but losing half of oneself. It is like peeling away flesh and blood and forcibly digging out one's other half. There is no pain more excruciating than this.
...
Lin Xin gently wiped the dust off the tombstone, tracing Lin Su's name with her fingers again and again until her fingers were frozen stiff by the cold stone.
"...Mom is gone too," Lin Xin took a deep breath and said softly, "Her last days weren't very pleasant, but of course, they weren't as bitter as yours."
"In your next life, open your eyes wider before reincarnating, or... come and be my daughter."
...
During the banquet, Xu Xingyan happened to sit next to Zheng Xing, Lin Shengmiao's elementary school classmate. She peeled shrimp while listening to their conversation with great interest.
Zheng Xing took a swig of baijiu and asked with a smile, "Do you still remember Li Guangtou? The one who always looked down on us, always making us stand as punishment and copy things. Back then, I even swore that I would definitely become a teacher in the future, and that I would make his son suffer the same way he did to me today."
"Hey, guess what?" Zheng Xing chuckled, chewing on peanuts. "The first year I became a primary school teacher, his son actually showed up! Isn't that a coincidence?"
Lin Shengmiao thought for a long time before digging out these old stories from the corners of her memory. To be honest, this matter was really insignificant compared to the malice she had experienced in her life.
So she smiled and casually said, "Fate is truly wondrous."
“Yes…” Zheng Xing sighed with emotion: “In those years, I hated him so much that my teeth itched, and I thought of a million ways to get revenge on him. But when God actually handed me the opportunity, I felt it was meaningless. My wife and children, my job and title, aren’t they more important than these?”
"When did you get married?" Lin Shengmiao asked as he placed a peeled shrimp into Xu Xingyan's bowl.
"That's way too early. My eldest daughter is already five years old, and my son is three. Xiao Miao, it's not that I'm being unfair as your childhood friend, but I really wanted to send you a wedding invitation, but I just couldn't find you anywhere!"
Judging from this timeline, Lin Shengmiao was still studying abroad at the time, and... after she left with Pei Wei and his wife, her contact with this place gradually ceased.
Lin Shengmiao accepted the punishment by raising his glass and downing the liquor in one gulp. He laughed and said, "It was my fault. I'll make up for the three times I had to give you money for these gifts later!"
Zheng Xing shook his head, held up four fingers, and said with a hint of smugness, "Four times!"
"Now that the three-child policy has been implemented, my wife is pregnant again. You absolutely have to come and have a couple of drinks at my son's one-month celebration!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Xingyan, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but swallow hard, a hint of awe appearing in her eyes. Back when Chen Yue gave birth in Luoyang, she only had one baby, and it still drove them all crazy. This... she could only say that all mothers who dare to have three children are warriors!
Lin Shengmiao was clearly surprised as well. She choked for a moment before asking, "How many months pregnant are you?"
“I’m due in two months,” Zheng Xing said, rubbing his palms together with a smug look on his face. “My wife and I were hoping that this baby would be another son, so we’d have two sons and a daughter. When we die, we’ll have mourners and coffin bearers, one in front and one behind.”
"..." Lin Shengmiao thought to himself: You're thinking quite far ahead.
However, everyone has their own outlook on life. Although Lin Shengmiao could not fully agree with it, he could still understand and respect it, and immediately congratulated him with a smile.
This also reminded her of her biological father, Lin Yuan. He also had many ideas and practices that she couldn't agree with. Should she try to understand him? Lin Shengmiao thought for two seconds and quickly concluded—Get lost, I can't do it!
Everyone understands the logic, but Lin Shengmiao's gloomy childhood was directly linked to her father's inaction. When facing Lin Yuan, she always felt like she was facing a nemesis.
Oh, how many terrible debts must she have owed in her past life to end up with a father like this in this life!
She could never forgive him, and Lin Yuan didn't need her forgiveness. For the father and daughter, the best outcome was for them to leave each other alone and live their own lives.
Just as Zheng Xing said, nowadays, there are more important things in their lives. Even if the resentment from the past has not subsided, it cannot be compared with the beauty of the present. They may still hold grudges, but there is no need to dwell on them anymore. They should look forward to the future.
We stumble and fall into this world, and we should spend more time in the sunshine with our loved ones. It would be such a waste to be trapped in the darkness of the past.
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Author's Note:
It's all finished!
Chapter 45 (End)
Spring has not yet turned green, but my temples are already gray. Long separations in this world do not necessarily bring sorrow.
After entering university, her favorite major, the caring and favored teachers, and like-minded classmates filled Xu Xingyan's life overnight, occupying all her energy and leaving her no time to think about Lin Shengmiao. Time passed slowly, but she never slowed down for love.
As time went on, sometimes when she saw couples confessing their love with white roses downstairs in the teaching building, besides feeling a little melancholy, she was mostly thinking about when she could submit her artwork.
But whenever Luo Jing tried to introduce her to some men and women, she would refuse again and again, coming up with all sorts of reasons, some serious, some perfunctory, but she just wouldn't meet them.
"My heart is still crowded, and I don't want anyone else to come in."