Chapter 1: Buying an Ancestral Tomb

  My name is Mu Lin, I'm 25 years old. For some reason, I became a university student village official. My parents died early, and I've always been alone. So wherever I go, it's absolutely free.

  The village I went to is called Huai Shu Village, a village in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. When I went there, I really didn't expect the conditions to be so harsh.

  Most of the village is still using oil lamps, and water is fetched from a well. Most of the young men in the village have gone out to work, leaving behind only the elderly, women and children. Most people in the village are surnamed Chen.

  The village chief's name is Chen Qiang, around 50 years old. I usually call him Uncle Qiang. After I arrived, they were still quite polite to me. They gave me a house in the village with electricity and even helped me fetch water every day, which was the best help for me as a university-educated village official. To be honest, I am grateful to them.

  After I arrived at the village, I also thought of some ways to make them rich. Every household contracted fish ponds, which also achieved some results. I finally got along with everyone.

  "Kobayashi, where are you going?"

  "There's no more water, I have to go fetch some."

  "Oh dear, let's just take care of this ourselves! You don't have to go!"

  "It's okay, I can handle it myself."

  As I walk on the small roads in the countryside, I often hear villagers enthusiastically greeting me, and I naturally smile back. However, every time I turn my back to the villagers, my smile disappears instantly.

  I don't believe they're genuinely smiling at me.

  In the village of Huai Shu, there was a well with two thick iron chains that went straight down to the bottom. I asked the elderly people what the reason was, and they all said that there was a dragon at the bottom of the well, and it had to be locked up with iron chains so it wouldn't run away. After hearing this reason, I smiled in surprise and didn't argue with them too much.

  When I was still fetching water, I saw Uncle Qiang hastily running towards me, shouting my name while he ran. I responded and put down the bucket in my hand.

  "Ah-yo Little Lin, I've finally found you! Come quickly, come quickly!" Uncle Qiang didn't say another word after seeing me and pulled me towards his home.

  Before I could ask why, Uncle Qiang had already dragged me into a sprint. I didn't bother asking either, just following behind him as he ran.

  When I arrived at Qiang Shu's home, I saw that the house was packed with people. They were all dressed in suits and looked very neat and tidy. The leader was a man in his fifties, sitting on a chair slowly sipping tea. I found it strange, why would this kind of person come to Huai Shu Village.

  "Uncle Qiang, this is..." I saw those people and my eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. I always felt that something was off about them.

  "Is that Mr. Huang? Oh, this is our university student village officer, you can talk to him about whatever you need." Uncle Qiang said as he pulled me in front of the middle-aged man.

  The middle-aged man raised his head and looked at me, smiled at me, pointed to the chair and said: Sit down.

  The middle-aged man's movements were very casual, as if this was his home. I didn't speak up, and after sitting down, I poured myself a cup of tea, waiting for the middle-aged man to break the silence.

  "We're both adults, no need to beat around the bush. I've found something in your village that I'd like to buy, so don't worry about the money. As soon as you agree, the cash will be delivered immediately." The middle-aged man said, putting down his teacup and crossing his legs.

  "What did you find?" I thought this man was a bit strange, Huai Tree Village is just a small place, what could he have found here? Could it be the fish pond?

  "This I'd rather not tell you." The middle-aged man furrowed his brow, clearly displeased with my question.

  "You don't tell me what it is, how can I agree to your request?" I was also somewhat dissatisfied with the middle-aged man's response, isn't this obvious exploitation?

  A middle-aged man saw me and reacted with a slight smile, saying in a voice that was neither loud nor soft: "That piece of land at the ancestral tomb of Huai Tree Village. I'll give you 5 million, how about it?"

  When I heard what he said, I was stunned. I looked up at Uncle Qiang and couldn't understand for a moment why he had brought me here. What's the point of calling me to come to my ancestor's tomb? It's not mine anyway.

  It seemed like he had seen through my problem, and Uncle Qiang cleared his throat and whispered in my ear: I just let you come to estimate the price, see if this price is worth it.

  I was left speechless by Uncle Qiang's response for a moment! But now with so many people in the house, there are some things I couldn't say out loud, so I had to force myself to ask the middle-aged man: Can you come back tomorrow? I need to discuss it with the villagers.

  The middle-aged man smiled again, nodded, and got up to leave with a group of people.

  As soon as the middle-aged man left, I asked Qiang Shu to immediately convene a villagers' meeting, and everyone had to come. It was held in the courtyard in front of Qiang Shu's house. I moved a bench to sit on one side and let Qiang Shu preside over the meeting himself.

  After all the villagers had arrived, Uncle Qiang cleared his throat and said loudly: Fellow villagers! Now we have a chance to make money! Do you want it or not?!

  When the villagers heard Uncle Qiang's words, they were like a pot that had been opened! They started chattering and arguing nonstop! Uncle Qiang saw the situation and let everyone calm down before continuing: "Someone wants to come and buy our land! They offered 50 million! If everyone agrees, we can sign the contract tomorrow! The money will definitely be divided among us! At that time, we'll divide it according to the area of the land! Does anyone have any opinions?

  Everyone heard that each household would get a share of the money, so they naturally agreed happily. Some people also asked: Village head! Xiao Lin! Which piece of land is it?

  Alright, the main issue has finally arrived. I sat on one side, trimming my fingernails, and let Uncle Qiang continue speaking.

  "Hmm... those people, want us to move our ancestral graves from those places..."

  Qiang Shu's words once again set off a commotion among all the villagers! Many elderly people had already stood up, pointing at Qiang Shu and scolding him angrily. The young people began to calculate how much land they had and how much money they could get. The scene suddenly fell into chaos, and Qiang Shu looked at me with some distress, not knowing what to do.

  "Kobayashi... what are you going to do about this..." Uncle Qiang looked at me, as if seeking help.

  I raised my head and looked at Uncle Qiang, thinking that he also knew the severity of the situation. I walked to the front of the villagers and said: Fellow villagers, listen to me for a moment.

  After I spoke, all the villagers also quieted down.

  "Everyone's opinions are naturally not uniform, but let's still follow the minority obeying the majority. Everyone starts voting now, each household can only vote once, whoever has more people will be heard. Everyone go back and discuss with their family members, I don't have the power to make a decision on this matter either. This is just my proposal..."

  "Alright! Let's do it as Kobayashi said! Others are university graduates!" As soon as I made the proposal, a villager started speaking in favor. Soon, many residents also agreed.

  Since they agreed, I let them hold another village meeting tomorrow morning, and each household will write down their decision on paper. When I let everyone leave, Uncle Qiang looked at me with a bitter smile and said thank you.

  "Uncle Qiang, Xi'an is a city with a rich history, I think you know that too. They must have set their sights on the cemetery in Huai Shu Village because there's probably something buried there. I won't interfere with the village's decisions, but I'll just advise you one thing: be careful what you do."

  Uncle nodded and said a few more words to me before I left. Now the sky is already dark, and I haven't even eaten dinner yet. After returning home, I hastily ate something, habitually took out my diary to write down today's events, and then turned off the lights and went to sleep.

  The next morning, I was almost awakened by the villagers. They knocked hard on my door and finally woke me up.

  "Coming! Coming!" I exclaimed as I jumped out of bed and ran to open the door.

  As soon as the door opened, Uncle Qiang grabbed me and said excitedly: Xiao Lin! Go take a look! Something's happened to your Uncle Chen! Hurry up!

  When I heard Uncle Qiang's words, I immediately lost all sleepiness! I asked them to wait for a moment, tidied up my appearance, changed into another set of clothes and followed Uncle Qiang in a rush.

  Uncle Qiang took me to the ancestral tomb of Huai Tree Village. There is an ancestral hall there, and now many people are also surrounding it, chattering about something. Also, I heard a woman's crying voice.

  I pushed through the crowd to take a look, and Uncle Chen San was lying straight on the ground of the ancestral hall, his face pale. Next to Uncle Chen San was Third Aunt, who was crying so hard that she was almost fainting. Third Aunt's daughter-in-law, Hua Jie, was also standing by, at a loss for what to do.

  My first reaction was to take out my phone and dial 110. After finishing the call, I walked over to Third Aunt's side, supported her and asked: "Third Aunt, don't cry for now. Tell me what happened."

  Third Aunt heard my words, pointing at Hua Jie and scolding: If you hadn't said you wanted to sell the ancestral grave! How could our old master have died?! Why did my son bring this unlucky star back home?! Get out! Get out!

  From what San Aunt said, I almost understood that there was a small conflict at San Aunt's house after the meeting yesterday. The two elderly people are definitely unwilling to sell, but Hua Sister may not be. I guess she agreed and had a quarrel with San Uncle.

  "What is Third Uncle doing here?" I asked with some urgency.

  "My old man won't sell! He said that if anyone dares to come and collect the land tomorrow, he'll kill them! What's going on in this temple at midnight?! How did you die suddenly?!"

  I think I understand what's going on. I raised my head and saw a face mask placed on the table where the offerings were laid out. The face mask was purple, and it was standing upright on the table. How could there be a face mask in the ancestral hall? The more I looked at it, the more uncomfortable I felt, and I thought the face mask looked familiar. I pointed to the face mask and asked Third Aunt: "Third Aunt, did Third Uncle bring that thing?"

  Third Aunt looked at that face and continued to cry out: What is that thing! How could our family's Old Three possibly have that thing!

  Third Aunt's words undoubtedly stimulated me, I didn't care about that much, and in front of Third Aunt, I unbuttoned Third Uncle's clothes. Just as Third Aunt was muttering to herself, I saw that Third Uncle had sunk down at the heart.

  I secretly thought I was done for! Then I turned over my Third Uncle's body! When I saw that there was a hollowed-out spot on his back, my face suddenly changed color!

  Everyone present was shocked and lost their color! San Shu and Hua Jie were also frightened and screamed loudly! It seemed that among all the people, only I remained calm.

  They have arrived.