"Hey, you little brat, you’re acting strange today. I heard you were a dullard who couldn’t even grunt if you were kicked eighteen times."
"How come your mouth is as sweet as honey now? Stand up straight! I’m not dead yet—what kind of show are you putting on?"
Lin Zezu felt a jolt of alarm. He dared not play any mind games with this seasoned old traveler who had traversed every county and prefecture; sincerity and honesty were his only options. Lin Zezu stood straight and replied, neither humble nor pushy:
"Third Uncle, I was ignorant in the past. I only knew how to eat and sleep, and I never dared to think too much. But now that I have to set up my own household, I find myself thinking a bit more."
Lin Shisheng caught the drift.
"Haha..."
"You little brat, you’re becoming interesting. At least your brain isn’t as soft as your body. Go on now, I won’t dawdle with you. I still have to go back and stew some rabbit meat."
"Third Uncle, walk slowly! Third Uncle, do you know anyone in our village who knows how to build houses?"
Seeing Lin Shisheng turn to leave so decisively, Lin Zezu hurried to keep up.
"How would I know about such trivial matters? All I know is that this place is crawling with wild boars and 'Yellow Immortals.' For everything else, go find your Great-Grandfather."
"Go, go, go..."
"Stop following me. Don't even think about getting a free meal off me."
Lin Shisheng waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away a fly.
"Many thanks, Third Uncle!"
Lin Zezu did not follow him further. He understood what Lin Shisheng meant.
In truth, the patriarch and the village elders knew the situation with those three rooms perfectly well. The reason they hadn’t pointed it out yesterday was to preserve the dignity of Lin Zeguang and the ancestral home. Yet, that had made things difficult for him. To build a house in the village, he had to have the permission of Lin Wangshui, who served as both the village patriarch and the headman.
Lin Zezu couldn't help but ponder.
First, asking the patriarch for help with building the house would ensure everything went smoothly.
Second, this location was suitable for building, but he would need to watch out for beasts, large and small.
Third, when he mentioned that Lin Zezu wasn't stupid but was physically weak, he was telling him to take things slowly and be mindful of the ancestral home's reputation in his speech and conduct; he shouldn't think that just because he was setting up his own house, everything was settled.
Fourth, although the Third Uncle had helped him yesterday, he was warning him not to speak of it in front of others, so as not to cause the ancestral home to lose face. After all, two students from the ancestral home were preparing for the autumn examinations.
Yesterday, the patriarch Lin Wangshui had used this very point to pressure Lin Zeguang, which was why Lin Zeguang had so readily agreed to the succession arrangements. The separation of the family had turned into a formal succession; the ancestral home could have chosen to give him nothing, or at least not fifty taels of silver, but Lin Zeguang had to maintain the reputation of a scholar. Lin Zezu understood this well—after all, in this world, the status of a scholar was transcendent.
Thinking of his Third Uncle's reminders, Lin Zezu felt a tightness in his chest. Furthermore, he had to spend that silver from the family succession as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he would be like a child walking down the street clutching a gold brick, with everyone around him watching like wolves and tigers.
Fugui had witnessed his master's transformation since this morning, which filled him with joy and excitement; he finally saw hope. Seeing his master standing there lost in thought for so long, he felt a bit nervous.
"Master, Master, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about a few things. Fugui, you need to learn to read and write from now on. I will have many things to entrust to you later, and you won't be able to manage them if you’re illiterate."
"I’ll listen to whatever you say, Master. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. I’m just a bit dull and afraid I won't be able to learn," Fugui said with a serious expression.
"Let’s go. We can talk about reading and writing later. Let’s look around here first."
After saying this, Lin Zezu walked toward the small hill behind the house. The terrain of Linjiang Village was high in the northwest and gradually leveled off toward the east and south. The village was about seven or eight miles from the Linjiang River to the west. To facilitate irrigation, the villagers had long ago spontaneously dug and built a main water canal.
It channeled water from the Linjiang River to irrigate the paddy fields of the Lin family village. As long as the Linjiang River didn't dry up, the South Main Canal would flow continuously; it was no exaggeration to call it the lifeline of Linjiang Village.
Lin Zezu was currently on higher ground. The paddy fields here couldn't retain water well, making these twenty acres low-grade. Standing at the foot of the hill and looking south, the view was wide open. Beyond the twenty acres of low-grade paddy fields to the east lay the village's high-grade paddies. To the north of the high-grade fields, on the ridges, households were scattered like stars in the sky.
The slope south of the South Main Canal was the village's dry farmland. Because the terrain was lower and retained moisture well, the slopes were now full of lush green crop seedlings. The long South Main Canal ran from west to east, clearly dividing the village's wet and dry fields.
To the west of where Lin Zezu was standing lay the thirty acres of dry land that had been allotted to him. Beyond the edge of the dry land to the west was a vast stretch of green bamboo, and further west was a forest of moso bamboo. As the wind blew across the undulating terrain, it produced a soft, rustling sound.
This spot, backed by the small hill of Mao'er Ridge and facing south, offered a broad view. Although it was far from the village, it was quiet and an ideal place to build a home. Not far to the east were the households of Li Tieshuan and Li Tiezhu. Further east, through the hazy woods, one could vaguely see another small farmhouse.
"Fugui, do you know whose house that is?"
"Master, that is the home of Lin Zewen, the eldest son of the village elder, Master Sheng."
"Lin Zewen is away on escort duty year-round, and his family lives in the Linjiang County Town, so they rarely return to the village."
When the name Lin Zewen was mentioned, Lin Zezu had some impression of him. It was strange—Lin Shisheng had spent his whole life wielding weapons, but he had hoped his descendants would trade the sword for the pen. As it turned out, things went against his wishes, and his eldest son followed in his footsteps. Eventually, Lin Shisheng had simply accepted his fate.
His youngest son, Lin Zewu, was born strong and capable, and had followed in his brother Lin Zewen's footsteps in the world of martial arts since he was a child. Lin Shisheng also had two daughters; the eldest, Lin Chunlan, and the second, Lin Xiahe, had both married into the Linjiang County Town. The eldest son-in-law, Yang Shouxue, ran a medicine shop, and the second son-in-law, Chen Jinyin, ran a decent-sized restaurant. After the two daughters married, they had become businesswomen.