Old Li Laoshuan’s real name was Li Tieshuan. He had a younger brother, five years his junior, named Li Tiezhu. Over time, the villagers began to mangle their names, turning Li Tieshuan into Li Laoshuan and Li Tiezhu into Li Erzhu.
According to Li Tieshuan, their grandfather had been a refugee fleeing a drought in the north many years ago, though Li Tieshuan could no longer recall exactly where in the north they had originated. Lin Zezu knew little of the current State of Wu; his only visit to Linjiang County Town had been long ago, when he accompanied Lin Shitong.
The Li family grandfather eventually settled in Linjiang Village. At that time, the village head was the grandfather of the current village head, Lin Wangshui. It was the Lin family grandfather who took Li Tiezhu in. Since the Li grandfather was a northerner—tall, sturdy, and possessed of great strength—he began working as a long-term farmhand for the Lin clan. He scrimped and saved his entire life, eventually buying a house, taking a wife, and acquiring three mu of paddy fields and five mu of dry land.
By the time of the generation of Li Tieshuan and Li Tiezhu, the Li family began to branch out and flourish. Madame Ma bore five sons for Li Tieshuan, and Mrs. Feng gave birth to four sons for Li Tiezhu in quick succession. While a large, thriving family is a blessing, it is also a burden; with many mouths to feed and little land, their lives became increasingly impoverished despite their growing numbers.
Linjiang Village was a large village where people were many and land was scarce. The best paddy fields and dry land were almost entirely concentrated in the hands of the Lin clan. Even when land was bought or sold, it circulated only within the Lin clan; there was no chance for outsiders to get involved. Madam Zhao, the matriarch, had spent nearly twenty years piece by piece acquiring those hundreds of mu of paddy and dry fields.
Consequently, besides the five mu of paddy and ten mu of dry land passed down from their ancestors, the brothers Li Tieshuan and Li Tiezhu had nothing but their work as tenant farmers for the Lin family. However, the superior paddy fields in Linjiang Village were all contracted by clan members, leaving none for outsiders. Thus, the Li family and other families with different surnames could only rent the lower-grade paddy fields, paying thirty percent of the harvest as rent. As for the dry land, it could not be irrigated—or even if it were, the soil would not hold water—leaving them entirely at the mercy of the heavens. Each year, they could only grow minor crops like soybeans and sweet potatoes. While thirty mu of dry land sounds like a lot, in reality, less than twenty mu yielded any harvest, and even that depended on whether the heavens were feeling generous.
Lin Shitong was merciful, adjusting the rent for the dry land based on the year's harvest, so the Li family thanked the heavens just to have enough to eat. Scratching a living from the soil, the Li family lived hand-to-mouth. Li Tieshuan’s eldest son, Li Genfu, was already thirty-five and still hadn't found a wife. His second son, Li Genlu, not wanting to follow in his elder brother’s footsteps, gritted his teeth and joined the border army. The third son, Li Genshou, was twenty; he had been sent to the neighboring Heba Village at ten to apprentice under Master Han the carpenter. In this world, the path of an apprentice was three years of menial labor, three years of learning the craft, three years of following the master, and one year of serving him. Only after ten full years could one be considered a true master of the craft. Once graduated, they could take on work independently; as of the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, the third son had completed his ten years. Li Tieshuan spoke of his third son with a face full of pride. As for the twins, the fourth son Li Genxi and the fifth son Li Gencai, they were eighteen and had no prospects yet. Whenever the topic turned to them, Li Tieshuan’s face clouded with worry.
Looking at the weathered, aged face before him, Lin Zezu felt a pang of sadness.
"Hey! Are you here to see those three dilapidated rooms of yours? Hahaha!"
A booming, energetic voice echoed from the Mao'er Ridge knoll. Moments later, Third Uncle Lin Shisheng, holding a bow and arrow and carrying a bamboo basket, emerged from the pine forest and descended the knoll.
Lin Zezu said his goodbyes to old man Li Tieshuan and turned to greet Lin Shisheng, calling out affectionately, "Third Uncle, out hunting? You’re still as fit as ever."
"Better than a poor scholar like you! With your physique, I could slap you into the Linjiang River to feed the turtles with one hand! Hahahaha!"
Lin Shisheng couldn't have cared less, maintaining his boisterous manner. When he reached Lin Zezu, Lin Zezu quickly stepped back, bowed deeply with both hands held in greeting.
"Zezu is grateful to you, Third Uncle. Thank you for looking out for me yesterday. As long as you don't mind my poor background and tainted reputation, I will honor you with fine wine and meat from now on."
"Hah! You cheeky brat, you think too highly of yourself," Lin Shisheng laughed. "I did that for the sake of the clan's reputation. Don't go patting yourself on the back just because I gave you two taels of silver."
"To hell with reputation!" he continued, laughing. "The most important thing is to be alive. Only by having good wine to drink and good meat to eat can one say they haven't lived this life in vain."
"Third Uncle is right. From now on, I will live well and not demean myself. I will live a good life with wine and meat, and I will honor you properly, Third Uncle."
Lin Zezu respected this boisterous, rough-looking Third Uncle from the bottom of his heart, for underneath that exterior lay a truly sharp mind.