Linxia

Chapter 16, Outbreak

The four branches of the Fang family gathered together again, and after learning the whole story, they fell silent.

On the eldest wife's side, Fang Liu secretly sighed in her heart. The third son had indeed suffered a great loss because of his soft-heartedness and his concern for reputation. She had sympathy for him, but she could not help him much.

On the second house side, Fang Zhonggui and Fang Wangshi were more in a mood to watch the fun. The third house took advantage of the food dispute; yesterday, their son fell like that and they were blocked back. They were humiliated twice, and today, seeing the third house suffer such a big loss, it is inevitable for them to have this mentality.

"Grandpa, grandma, eldest aunt, eldest uncle, second aunt, second uncle, youngest uncle, youngest aunt."

Fang Lin called all the elders, but did not talk about today's incident. Instead, he talked about the time before the families separated: "Before they separated, because my father was thin-skinned, I don't know how much I suffered, either by calculation or by accident. Yes, I know, my father is honest! So, honest people deserve to be bullied?"

This attitude seems to have been pushed to a point where it exploded into hysteria.

"Linzi, you..." Aunt Fang Liu wanted to say something to comfort her.

"Auntie, I know you are a good person. You don't take advantage of others, nor do you let others take advantage of you. I'm just asking, my family has never taken advantage of others like the second and fourth wives, right?"

Fang Liu was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Yes."

This is a fact.

The second and fourth rooms, who were mentioned, blushed slightly.

"Second uncle, second aunt, usually, one of you plays the good cop and the other plays the bad cop, one acts reasonable and the other acts fierce and difficult to deal with. I understand. This is life. Even if you bring this set of rules home and use it on us, have I ever told you?" Fang Lin shifted his gaze to the second wife.

On the second side, Fang Zhonggui and Fang Wangshi's faces changed. They were enjoying the melon when they were suddenly named and their secrets were exposed, making them feel a little at a loss as to what to do.

The first and fourth wives all looked over, pondering what the second wife had done in the past. It was as if a flash of lightning flashed through their minds, and they suddenly understood.

Fang Lin looked at the fourth room and said, "My mother always said that among the four rooms of the Fang family, my father and my uncle are the most honest. But everyone knows what happened today, and they are not stupid."

This time, it was Fang Jiping's turn to be embarrassed - indeed, he was harsh on himself, but he had done things a little roughly today. Although each room had their doubts, at this moment, Fang Lin peeled off the whole thing and told it, which was a slap in the face.

"Linwa!" Grandma Fang spoke, trying to defend her youngest son.

"Milk!"

Fang Lin interrupted: "I know that you favor your younger uncle, because he is your youngest son. I also understand that there are people with different strengths, just like the grandfather favors the eldest son because of the elderly care. I know all this, and my heart is as clear as a mirror. But, I just want to say, grandpa and grandma, my father is also your son, and I am also your grandson. Without saying anything else, I just want to say... give my family a way out, okay?"

This time, even Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang were embarrassed, and the last question was an outburst of emotions that had been brewing to the extreme, which made those who heard it feel distressed.

No matter whether it was Grandpa Fang, Grandma Fang, or the first, second, or fourth wife, they were all moved and lowered their heads, some reflecting, some surprised, some ashamed.

There was silence.

After a while, Mr. Fang said, "Linwa, what do you want to do?"

"Since we have decided to go to the capital, then let's do it. This time, our third branch has to swallow its anger and accept it. After we go to the capital, we plan to stay. I believe that my grandfather, grandmother, first branch, second branch, and fourth branch will not let us suffer any loss in the house and land in the village."

What has happened is irreversible, and we can only try to make up for it elsewhere. At least at this time, after the shock of what they just said, the Fang family will not compromise on this point.

"Linwa, I know you are unhappy, but there is no need to be angry." Grandma Fang hurriedly advised.

Staying in the capital city is simply shocking. So far, I have never heard of any family wanting to stay in the capital city. Those who go there just go to eat and then come back.

"I've thought it through." Fang Lin insisted.

Since this is the case and we have to go to the provincial capital, we might as well take this opportunity to stay in the provincial capital and let Fang's father and mother accept it.

Out of guilt, Fang's father left all this to his son and remained silent; Fang's mother trusted her son even more, and even if she had any doubts, she would not ask at this time; Tian Xuan wanted to support him, but she had no say in the family, so she could be ignored for the time being.

After what happened before, Mr. Fang, Mrs. Fang, and the other three wives subconsciously regarded Fang Lin as the one who could be in charge of the third wife, and were also thinking about his decision.

"In this way, the house and two acres of top-quality paddy fields can be kept as a way out. The three acres of medium-quality thin land have a market value of 18 taels of silver. I'll make the decision and add two taels to make it a total of twenty taels. The other three families will each pay one acre for the three acres of land, and the payment ratio will be 334," Old Man Fang made the decision.

This is already compensation. The fields have been flooded, so the value should have depreciated. There is no such thing as a market price of 18 taels, let alone 20 taels.

As for the proportion of money to be contributed, the fourth room alone contributed 40%, and this was because the matter was caused by the fourth room and it could be considered a warning.

The first, second, and fourth wives did not object, saying that this was the market price, but there were too many people and too little land, so it was difficult to buy. A slightly higher price would be considered compensation. "Well, leaving the house and two acres of paddy fields would be a way out, and at the same time, it would leave something for my parents to remember."

Fang Lin thought to himself and nodded: "Master, you have considered everything. This is good."

The matter was settled, and the four branches of the Fang family separated and went back to get their money.

……

Large room.

"The third brother is honest, and the third branch has indeed suffered the most. It's hard for the third branch." Fang Boxian is a taciturn person, but he is not blind and can see things clearly.

"Here!" Fang Liu took out six taels of silver and a small bag of dried black fungus.

"What is this?" Fang Boxian knew his wife well. He would not take advantage of others, but he would also never allow anyone to take advantage of him.

"It's just like you said."

Fang Liu sighed: "If he hadn't been forced into a corner, how could Linzi have said that? This is just a small token of my appreciation as a lady."

……

Second bedroom.

"Linzi is a smart guy." Fang Zhonggui sighed.

In fact, in this world, their way of survival cannot be said to be right or wrong. Not to mention to outsiders, even to the first and fourth wives, they feel at ease. It's just that the third wife is indeed an honest person, which makes them feel that they have gone too far in the past.

"Here!" Fang Wang took out six taels of silver for buying the land and a bag of dried beans.

"Dried beans?" Fang Zhonggui looked at his wife in disbelief.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Fang Wang said unhappily, "People are all made of flesh and blood. It's not easy for the Third House to be forced to that point. Alas, even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. After all, we are all relatives. I am not a cold-blooded person."

Fang Zhonggui listened to these words, as if he had known his wife all over again. At this time, he heard Fang Wangshi say: "Besides, I saw Linzi's performance today. He seems to have a promising future. He may be able to achieve something when he goes to the capital. Maybe he can help our son in the future."

"Is this normal? It's you after all!" Fang Zhonggui breathed a sigh of relief.

……

Four rooms.

"Alas, I, as your uncle, am sorry to Linzi." Fang Jiping sighed.

Having said that, if he were given another chance, he would still do it.

Fang Qin also said: "Our family owes the third branch, head of the family, otherwise, that wild ginseng..."

Fang Jiping was silent for a long time before he said, "Okay, take it out!"

……

At the same time, Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang were also talking about what happened today.

"I think Lin Wa from the third room has gone to the capital. Who knows, he might be a capable person."

Mr. Fang sighed, "Of my four sons, the third son's temperament worries me the most. He is honest, thin-skinned, and cares about reputation. For a family like ours, we have to be like digging for food in the ground, bending over, burying our heads, kneeling in the soil and mud to make a living. It's not okay to be too shameless. But every time he suffers, the third son doesn't make a fuss, and I can't help him even if I want to. Now that the third room's baby has come to his senses, I can rest assured."

"I feel better now that you say that. This time, I went too far and made the third family feel heartbroken." Grandma Fang favors her youngest son, but she is not a stone and has no feelings for the other three families.

Apparently, Fang Lin's words had an effect, and made Grandma Fang start to reflect. She hesitated for a moment, then took out a jade bracelet wrapped in red cloth from the bottom of her treasure box: "Alas, I am sorry to the Third Old Family. You can take this later."

……

(End of this chapter)