Chapter 5: Separation of the Family (Part 1)

  "Yiya, are you here to play with Xiaoshan again? Yesterday, your uncle Dashan caught a rabbit on the mountain and now he's feeding it in our yard with Xiaoshan!" Dashan's wife, Cuihua, greeted Yiya warmly as she ran towards their home.

  "Old lady, I'm looking for Uncle Dashan. My little uncle and grandfather want to sell my older sister to a brothel. I've come to ask Uncle Dashan to save my sister." Er Ya was very scared and anxious, stuttering as she spoke the words Lin Chun had given her.

  "What's wrong, Second Aunt? Don't worry, I'll go call your Uncle Dashan right away." Cuihua quickly put down her work and entered the courtyard. In an instant, she saw Uncle Dashan rush out of the courtyard with a look of urgency on his face.

  "Second Aunt, is what you said true? Quickly take me to see the village head."

  Er Ya saw that Da Shan was in a hurry and felt very happy, "Big Head Ge Ge has gone to find the village chief, Da Shan, you quickly go to my home to save my sister!"

  "Big Mountain, you take Er Ya back first, I'll lock the door and come over." Cui Hua began to lock the gate of the courtyard, and Qi Shu's wife from next door asked a question as she saw Big Mountain's family rushing around.

  Cuīhuā dà niáng shuō le qíng kuàng, gāng hǎo bèi chī guò fàn chū mén de qī shū gōng tīng dào, qī shū gōng hè le yī shēng: "qǐ yǒu cǐ lǐ, zhè lín lǎotóu hé lín èr láng jiǎn zhí bù shì rén, zhè dà niáng jiǔ suì, méi le bà, yòu gāng méi le mā, tīng shuō qián jǐ gè yuè hái bèi dǎ duàn le tuǐ, zhè lín lǎotóu, ǎi......"

  "Isn't that right? Lin Er Lang doesn't understand, and this old Lin is also a fool. If Big Ya really gets sold to the brothel, our Lin family village's reputation will be ruined. Which family in our village would dare to marry their daughter off then? Ah, Seventh Uncle, your Jhen Jhen seems to be approaching 15 too, it's time for her to get engaged." Cuihua added fuel to the fire, seeing Seventh Uncle's expression, she couldn't take care of Wu Shuang's sister before, but now she had to protect Big Ya no matter what.

  Seventh Uncle was an elderly man in the village and a senior, with great authority in the village, and his words carried weight. Zhenzhen was his only granddaughter, and she was the precious gem that his two wives had obtained after giving birth to four small sons. Usually, Seventh Uncle treated her like a treasure, holding her in his mouth as if afraid of dropping her, and cradling her in his hands as if afraid of her getting cold, spoiling her terribly. If Seventh Uncle could intervene on behalf of Old Man Lin's family, Big Ya would definitely be able to keep her job.

  Can't help but say that Cuihua's words hit Qi Shu's weakness, and Qi Shu's wife also agreed. She called out to her son, Da Yu, and the three of them followed Cuihua to Lin Lao's house.

  Lin Chuan did not expect that his plan would bring about a heavyweight figure in the village, and this character also played a big role in this plan.

  Lin Chuan was waiting in the house, hearing the loud voice of Da Tou and Er Ya urging Village Chief and Da Shan Bo Bo outside the house. He quickly got up from bed, this is the signal sent by Da Tou and Er Ya to him. Hearing footsteps entering the yard, Lin Chuan put his head into the rope tied with a sheet on the bed and kicked the small stool on the bed.

  Dà Tóu and èr Yā heard the sound, rushed into the house like crazy, although they knew their sister was acting, but didn't want her to suffer too much.

  Cuihua's wife took one look and also felt that something was wrong, so she ran inside too. Dashan Bo and Qi Shu Gong followed them in as well.

  "Big Ya, Big Ya, Dashan, come quickly, Big Ya has hung herself, hurry, hurry and save her!" Cuihua saw Lin Chuan hanging from the rope, his face turned blue, eyes bulging out, and was so frightened that she changed color, and loudly shouted for Dashan to rescue him.

  Dashan took a step forward into the house, carefully picking up Dabao and putting him on the bed. The village chief and Seventh Uncle also entered the house, and suddenly the small room was crowded. Dahou and Erbao were scared by Linchun's appearance and rushed to Linchun's side, crying loudly. The elders in the house heard the two children's painful cries and felt heartbroken.

  Lin Chuyu slowly came to, although she hadn't been hanging for even three minutes, but still a faint red mark was left on her slender neck, which stood out against her pale skin.

  "Big sister, second aunt, don't cry...don't cry...sister is going to find mother now, sister's leg is broken, it's all right, from now on she'll be a cripple. Now little uncle wants to sell sister to the brothel, cough...cough..." Lin Chun coughed out loud, and Cuihua hastened to the kitchen to fetch a bowl of water for Lin Chun, and also brought a wooden basin with the remaining warm water from lunch that Old Lady Lin had cooked.

  Lin Chun drank some water and felt a bit more comfortable. "If sister is really sold into a brothel, her reputation will be ruined, and in the future, Er Ya won't be able to find a good husband, and Da Tou won't be able to marry a good wife. Sister can't delay Er Ya and Da Tou's future, it's better for sister to die cleanly." Wuuu... Lin Chun said, crying along with it, 30% acting, 30% real heartache, 40% sympathizing with the fate of Da Ya and her three siblings.

  Old Lin saw the village chief and Seventh Uncle leading a large group of villagers to his home, feeling very uneasy. Originally thinking that his second son would send Da Yu away tonight, he was already anxious in his heart, but more exciting for the five taels of silver. However, when he suddenly heard Lin Chun's words and looked at the faces of the village chief and Seventh Uncle, the first thing that came to mind was that the five taels of silver had flown away. But then he thought about the reputation of the village, so he didn't dare say anything more, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. Old Lady Lin understood the situation and hid in the main room, not daring to come out.

  Lin Er Lang went to town early and won't be back until evening. Lin Xiao Hua got up at noon, had lunch, and went back to sleep. With so many people in the house making a racket, she put on her clothes and came out of her room. Seeing all these people at home, she heard constant crying sounds from Lin Chun's brother's room, so she turned around and went back into her room, shutting the door tight.

  Seventh Uncle and the village head walked out of Linchun's house with gloomy faces, and Dashan also left with a face full of anger. Cuifang and Seventh Aunt stayed in the house to take care of the three children. The villagers were all waiting in the yard, seeing Seventh Uncle and the village head come out, and learning that Dabao was safe, they all let out a sigh of relief.

  Lin pulled the sleeve of Da Tou's clothes, and Da Tou understood, wiping away her tears with her sleeve. She chased after him with red eyes. In the courtyard, Old Man Lin was about to invite Village Chief and Seventh Uncle into the main house. After all, the two "big shots" in the village knew about the family's affairs, so he carefully accompanied them on the side.

  The big head saw the village chief, and with a loud thud, he knelt down in front of the village chief: "Village chief grandfather, my father is gone, my mother is also gone, my older sister's leg is broken and hasn't healed yet, the old doctor said that even if it heals, she will still be lame. My second sister is young, since our mother passed away, our grandparents haven't given us three siblings a single meal or grain of rice. This afternoon when they called us to eat, I thought our grandparents were going to treat us well, but then I heard my grandmother say that they want to sell my older sister into prostitution... Village chief grandfather, although I'm young, I can support my family, I can go up the mountain to pick wild fruits, I can gather wild vegetables, and I know how to plant rice. My father is gone, and I am the only male in our household, representing my father, can you please ask the village chief to divide our households? Once we're divided, my uncle will no longer be able to sell my sister, and my aunt won't be able to either..."

  The villagers were amazed by what Dahou said, such a young child already knew about division of the family property. But it was also understandable, in a household where there wasn't even enough food to eat, and they had to work, and get beaten, and face the threat of being sold at any moment, children, although young, were also aware of what's good and bad.

  "Big Head, you get up first. Today the village head and Seventh Uncle are here. We will be in charge of your sister and brothers' affairs. You just need to clearly explain what happened." The village head and Seventh Uncle exchanged a glance, nodded at each other, planning to uphold justice for Lin Chun's three siblings.

  Lin Chuan was in the house, sitting on the bed with his head down, pretending to cry. He felt relieved when he heard Da Tou's words and understood the village chief's intention. He struggled to get out of the house immediately.