"The eldest will inherit my job and support me in my old age. Don't say I'm playing favorites; after all, he’s the one among you who has learned my craft the best."
"Now, there is one opportunity for schooling and one for marriage. For the schooling, I will support you until you graduate from university. Once you are working, half of your monthly salary must be handed over to the household, and your mother will save it for you."
"As for the one getting married, he will receive the family’s old house. Furthermore, he will be given two mu of fertile land and two mu of dry land. We will provide all the daily necessities—the pots, bowls, basins, quilts, and mattresses."
"Your mother and I are still capable of working, so we don't need you to support us yet. We can talk about old-age support later."
"Schooling has its benefits, and marriage has its own, but for the sake of fairness, I have decided to let the second and third sons draw lots to decide."
Hearing his father Lin Zhensheng’s earnest voice, Lin Moyang, who had been in a daze, instantly snapped back to reality.
He looked around. He was in a dimly lit mud-brick house.
A few yellowing New Year prints were pasted on the walls, and strings of dried chili peppers and corn hung from the ceiling beams.
In the center of the room sat an old Eight Immortals table. On it rested a chipped earthenware bowl containing two crumpled balls of paper.
Director Wang, the village head, sat to the side, a worn notebook in his hand, recording the proceedings with a solemn expression as a witness to this division of the family estate.
His father, Lin Zhensheng, held a pipe, his face grave amidst the swirling smoke. Beside him sat his mother, Liu Huiru, who kept glancing at the door, looking anxious.
Taking in the situation, Lin Moyang felt a shock run through him—he had returned to the day of the family division.
Of the three brothers, the eldest was held in high regard, and the youngest was the spoiled baby of the family.
Only the second son, Lin Moyang, was an outsider. His biological parents had perished in a factory accident, and on their deathbeds, they had entrusted him to Lin Zhensheng.
Lin Zhensheng and his wife had collected his parents' pension and taken over the estate his parents had spent their lives building, yet they had never treated him well.
Since childhood, new clothes and good food always went to the eldest and youngest first; only the scraps they left behind fell to him.
The eldest had poor grades, but he had a job waiting for him. The youngest also had poor grades, yet he could sleep until the school bell rang and spend his afternoons reading or doing homework at home.
Lin Moyang had the top grades in his class, but he had to get up before dawn to cut pig feed and graze the cows after school to earn work points for the family.
Now that their village, Qingshuitang, had been selected as a pilot for rural reform, work points were no longer needed, and his adoptive parents were desperate to divide the family assets.
Looking at the two paper balls in the bowl, he sneered inwardly.
In his previous life, Lin Moyang had inadvertently overheard his adoptive parents saying that both notes were marked for "schooling."
They were waiting for the youngest to return and draw first, so that Lin Moyang wouldn't even have to draw—he would simply be left with the marriage.
But back then, he had wanted to study.
So he had asked the village director to be fair, insisting that as the elder, he should draw first, and he had secured the opportunity for schooling.
Relying on his intelligence and diligence, he had finished high school and been admitted to university.
However, his admission letter was given to Lin Changming by Liu Huiru, who claimed that Lin Moyang owed it to him.
The stutterer who was married off to the family was a match Lin Zhensheng’s family had arranged for Lin Moyang.
On the wedding night, the stutterer discovered the groom wasn't Lin Moyang; she had slashed Lin Changming’s thigh with a pair of scissors and divorced him, turning Lin Changming into a laughingstock in the village.
Thinking that if he hadn't insisted on that opportunity to study, his third brother wouldn't have suffered such a fate, Lin Moyang had felt guilty and agreed to yield his university spot to Lin Changming.
Later, Lin Changming took Lin Moyang’s admission letter to university, while Lin Moyang stayed in the village digging coal to pay for his brother's education.
Lin Changming graduated, got a job, married a beautiful wife, and rose to prominence, eventually moving the entire Old Lin Family to a big city.
Only Lin Moyang was abandoned in the countryside, left to fend for himself.
Later, having no other options, Lin Moyang left the village to work in the city, eventually becoming a business tycoon through his own efforts. He taught himself and broke through layer after layer of barriers to earn dual master’s degrees in social economics and financial management.
Just as he was at the height of his success, his adoptive parents, along with his elder and younger brothers, found him again, kneeling before him to beg for forgiveness.
Seeing their apparent sincerity and longing for the family affection he had missed, he chose to take them in.
At first, they treated him well, and he truly felt a warmth he had never known, which made him work even harder.
However, due to years of exhaustion, Lin Moyang suddenly became paralyzed and bedridden.
His adoptive parents consulted with him and had him sign an agreement to let his older and younger brothers manage his company while he recovered at home.
The agreement was signed one day, and the next, Lin Moyang was sent to the crematorium to be burned to ashes.
His adoptive parents, his brother, and his younger brother had abandoned him once again.
But this time, the abandonment cost him his life.
Opening his eyes again, he was back at that moment.
Lin Changming hadn't returned from sleeping with Widow Wang in the village, and the eldest, Lin Changsheng, had been sent by Liu Huiru to find him.
At that moment, Liu Huiru looked at Lin Moyang with a smile. "Second son, as the older brother, you should yield to the third. Let him draw first when he gets back."
Hearing this, Lin Moyang let out a soft, involuntary chuckle.
"No! Dividing the family is a major event. I cannot yield!" Lin Moyang said firmly, not planning to take a single step back.
In truth, whether he drew first or last didn't matter anymore.
On the contrary, he would much rather have the marriage!
Don't let that little bride's stutter fool you; she was actually the secret daughter of a high-ranking official, raised in the civilian world.
In his past life, when Lin Moyang moved in high society, he had met her many times; she had been radiant and dazzling. Even her stutter had been completely cured.
Reborn, Lin Moyang already had the knowledge to succeed in this prosperous, red-hot era of reform.
So, in this lifetime, he chose to hold tight to this hidden pearl.
The reason he pretended to want to draw first was, naturally, to collect some interest from the Lin Zhensheng family.
Hearing Lin Moyang’s words, Liu Huiru’s eyes widened, and her voice rose an octave. "You little brat, I’ve raised you all these years, and this is the attitude you give me? It’s a virtue passed down from our ancestors for the big to yield to the small. Why can't you just give way to the third?"
Lin Moyang ignored her and looked at the village director, his tone calm and composed. "Director Wang, you have the most authority in the village, and we all listen to you. I would like to ask: when it comes to drawing lots for a family division in our village, hasn't it always been the tradition for the elder to draw before the younger?"
Hearing this, Wang Shunyou pondered for a moment and nodded. "That’s right, it is."
Lin Moyang smiled slightly. "Then I should draw first. That is only natural, isn't it?"
"Yes, if you insist on going first, it is indeed your right," Wang Shunyou said, adjusting his glasses.
As soon as these words were out, Lin Zhensheng and his wife were stunned. They looked at each other, clearly scrambling for a countermeasure.
Ignoring them, Lin Moyang raised his right hand and slowly reached toward the chipped bowl.
Seeing this, Liu Huiru was frantic, feigning a more heart-wrenching sob. "You heartless wretch! If I had known you were such an unfilial son, I never would have raised you..."
Both notes in that bowl were for schooling. If Lin Moyang took one, what would happen to her third son?
Lin Zhensheng exhaled a puff of smoke, tapped his pipe against the table, and stopped Lin Moyang. "Second son, your mother isn't well. Why can't you just listen to her? Do you have to drive her to ruin?"
"Besides, drawing lots is a matter of luck. Going first doesn't guarantee a better result. Just wait for the third to draw first. Don't upset your mother."
Hearing this, Lin Moyang’s hand paused in mid-air. He turned and stared at Lin Zhensheng with interest.
Seeing him stop, Liu Huiru ceased her crying, a glimmer of excitement flashing in her eyes. "That’s right, now that’s a good boy."
Lin Moyang, however, wore a faint smile. "Dad, Mom, it’s not impossible for me to let the third brother go first, but I have one condition."
Liu Huiru refused without a second thought. "You heartless brat, I just complimented you and you start acting up! Being filial and yielding to your brother is only natural. Why should you get to set conditions with us?"
"You won't agree?" The corners of Lin Moyang’s mouth curled upward. "Then I’ll just have to go first."
Having said that, Lin Moyang raised his hand once more toward the two paper balls.
Seeing this, the heart that had just settled in Liu Huiru's chest jumped back into her throat.
Lin Zhensheng also frowned, his face tight with anxiety, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes. "Tell us what it is first!"
Lin Moyang stopped his hand again and turned to look at Lin Zhensheng meaningfully. "Don't worry, my condition isn't excessive. It’s something you can both fulfill."