Chapter 6: Third Uncle

Ever since the day Li Yuzhu rented an ox and laborers from the neighboring village to plow the fields, her third paternal uncle, Li Wencai, had been wearing a permanent frown.

Those damn girls—renting oxen and laborers alike—where on earth did they get all that copper cash?

Last autumn, when that girl Jinzhu went to deliver the grain herself, he had asked the county grain registrar. By his calculations, she would have only made about one string of cash in profit. That one string would have been used to pay Xue Dong's tuition, leaving nothing left over. So, renting oxen and laborers now—where was she getting the money?

Yuzhu and Yinzhu were busy in the fields, but Jinzhu, Xue Dong, and that little girl were nowhere to be seen! Where had they gone?

From the day he discovered the three Jinzhu siblings were missing, the third uncle had been eating his meals while squatting at the village entrance, just to see where that girl Jinzhu had gone.

As Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan rounded the bend, the third uncle spotted them. He looked left and right, but seeing no sign of Li Xue Dong, his frown deepened.

Hiding behind a tree, the third uncle watched Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan pass by, then continued squatting at the village entrance to wait for Li Xue Dong.

He waited until dark, but Li Xue Dong never appeared.

With his hands behind his back, the third uncle walked slowly toward home.

That nest of girls was definitely hiding something from him; he had to go digging for information.

But where to dig?

Gaocun Market was out of the question. Back when he was still studying at the schoolhouse, he had never gotten along with the Gaos. So where else?

The third uncle stopped, looking left and right. After thinking for a long time, he couldn't figure out where to go to ask around.

After standing dazed for a while, he quickened his pace and headed home.

Tomorrow, he would make a trip to Lijia Village to ask his eldest brother. That brother of his was extremely shrewd; even if he didn't know the truth, he could at least point him in the right direction or offer some advice.

The next morning, Li Wencai set out clutching a few dried long beans. Around noon, he arrived at his eldest brother's house.

His sister-in-law took the long beans and tossed them onto the stove without so much as a glance.

His eldest brother, Li Wenxi, had just returned from the fields. Seeing the long beans and then seeing his third brother's face, his brow furrowed. "It's the busy season in the fields; why do you have the time to come over?"

"It's not like he's ever worked the fields," his sister-in-law chimed in from the kitchen.

"Haven't eaten yet? Serve your third uncle a bowl of rice," Li Wenxi shouted toward the kitchen, his brow still knit.

The sister-in-law brought out a bowl of rice and shoved it into Li Wencai's hands.

Li Wencai didn't mind. His sister-in-law had a fiery temper, but she was kind-hearted underneath her sharp tongue.

Li Wenxi was a frugal man. The rice was hearty, but the dishes were overly simple—one dish of braised dried bamboo shoots and one dish of stir-fried eggplant. Li Wencai picked through the two dishes back and forth.

After the meal, watching his eldest daughter-in-law clear the bowls and chopsticks, Li Wenxi looked at his brother and asked, "What's happened?"

"Nothing major, just a small matter. I missed my brother, so I came to visit," Li Wencai said. Being a man of letters, he insisted on being indirect and maintaining appearances.

"I'm busy here. If you have nothing important to say, I have to go," his brother said, standing up to leave.

The fields were busy, and he had no time to waste on idle chatter with this useless brother.

"Brother, why such a temper? You're getting older; you need to cultivate your character," Li Wencai said, reaching out to stop him.

"If you have something to say, just say it!" Li Wenxi's voice grew coarse.

He had disliked this brother since they were children.

"In our village, that Li Wenshan who died a few years ago left behind four daughters and a sickly son. Lately, it's as if they've struck it rich. It's a bit strange. Where is their money coming from?" Li Wencai finally abandoned his civility and spoke plainly.

"Struck it rich? What kind of wealth?" Li Wenxi frowned.

"Last autumn..." Li Wencai paused, swallowing the fact that Li Jinzhu had delivered the grain herself.

His eldest brother had strongly disapproved of the way he, as the village head, distributed the grain tax among the households and then collected a little "hardship money" from each family based on their wealth. But as the village head, he couldn't work for nothing; even the county grain registrar received a portion of the grain!

"What I'm saying is, last autumn, that sickly boy went back to school in Gaocun Market. Schooling costs money, doesn't it? It's not cheap!

"At the beginning of the month, their family rented a strong ox from Zhaozhuang, along with an ox driver, and used them for several days. Their eldest daughter and her younger siblings were gone for seven or eight days and only just returned yesterday.

"I'm worried. Their family is full of unmarried girls. Tell me, could they have done something scandalous? If so, the reputation of our Li family will be ruined by them!"

"That only son of Li Wenshan is named Li Xue Dong, right? That Li Xue Dong ranked third in the county this February. You didn't know about that? He was away for seven or eight days—wasn't he likely off to take the prefectural exam in Pingjiang Prefecture? You didn't know that either?" Li Wenxi looked at his brother with an unreadable expression.

"Xue Dong is incredibly dim-witted!" Li Wencai blurted out. "Him ranking third in the county? Impossible!"

"He did rank third. His eldest sister used a small cart to push him all the way to Lijia Village, hoping the clan would provide funds for his studies, but the clan didn't have the money," Li Wenxi said, glancing sideways at his brother.

"If the clan didn't provide it, where did he get the money? Renting an ox and being gone for seven or eight days?" Li Wencai glared at his brother.

"You live in the same village as them and you don't know, so how would I know?" Li Wenxi snapped back rudely. "What does it matter where their money comes from? What are you plotting?

"I've told you many times: stop always looking for ways to take advantage of people. You are the village head; you must be fair!

"I have to get back to the fields. Go home." Li Wenxi didn't want to look at his brother for another second. He stood up and walked out with his hands behind his back.

Li Wencai followed him out. When they reached the courtyard gate, he turned back and shouted from inside, "Sister-in-law, did you make any salted duck eggs this year? Give me a few. Yours are the best—so oily, you can't find them anywhere else."

"Give him some!" his sister-in-law shouted, her voice dripping with disgust.

A moment later, the eldest daughter-in-law came out and handed Li Wencai a lotus leaf wrap containing four or five salted duck eggs.

Li Wenxi walked halfway down the street, turned around, and entered the ancestral hall.

Having just finished a meal, the clan leader was sitting under the porch of the ancestral hall, talking with several clan elders.

Li Wenxi nodded to each of them in greeting, pulled up a bamboo chair, and leaned in. "I heard that one of the 'Xue' generation from Little Li Village went to take the prefectural exam. With the busy farming season upon them, they're renting oxen and laborers. It seems they are quite well-off. Yet they still came to the clan to beg for money. Truly!"

"Did he pass?" the clan leader asked with concern.

"Look at how you ask! If he had passed, there would have been drums and gongs celebrating it right in front of our faces! It's common to get lucky and rank high in the county exam, but the prefectural exam isn't that easy," Li Wenxi said with a curl of his lip.

The clan leader leaned back in his chair, disappointed.

An elder named Li Shikuan, who was sitting against the wall, had leaned over to whisper to another elder the moment Li Wenxi mentioned the "Xue" generation from Little Li Village, acting as if he hadn't heard a word.

Yesterday, around dinner time, he had received a letter from Mr. Gao. Li Xue Dong had ranked eighteenth in the prefectural exam. He had passed and was now preparing to take the provincial exam in Hangzhou this July.

"My third brother just came by. He mentioned that 'Xue' generation family, saying they shouldn't have this much money. He's worried that with four girls and no elders to supervise them, they might do something scandalous for the sake of money and disgrace our Li family. Shouldn't we be on guard?" Li Wenxi said, his brow furrowed with feigned anxiety.

"I recall that during the clan's grand sacrifice four years ago, every branch was entitled to a certain share of funds. There are only two households in Little Li Village. One is your third brother's, and the other is that 'Xue' generation family you're talking about, isn't it?" Li Shikuan asked with a smile.

"I remember it was their house," the elder next to Li Shikuan confirmed.

"There aren't many families in our clan entitled to a full share of funds. A family like that can certainly afford to go to Pingjiang City to take an exam, don't you think?" Li Shikuan looked at the clan leader and smiled.

"Greedy!" the clan leader spat. "They clearly aren't short on money, yet they come here playing the pauper!"

"Exactly, that's what I meant," Li Wenxi said, quickly changing his tune.

"Let's not talk about that. It looks like the harvest will be good this year," the clan leader said, changing the subject.

The group chatted for a while longer before everyone departed.