The fortune teller said that Li Cuimei had a strong fate, but it was actually a noble one. In the future, she would either never run out of gold and silver or receive an imperial title. Her nobility originated from the character “Cui” in her name. The head of the family, Lin Fang’s grandfather Lin Bosi, heard the fortune teller’s words and decided to include the character “Cui” in the names of his daughters. He believed that a wife joining the family would only use her surname “Li” in the family genealogy, rendering her given name useless. Therefore, he decided to use the “Cui” for his daughters.
However, of the five daughters born, only the third daughter Lin Cuiping and the youngest daughter Lin Cuie survived. Lin Bosi believed the fortune teller had lied to him for money, so he confronted him. The fortune teller defended himself, saying, “Different people have different fates. This ‘Cui’ character is suitable for your daughter-in-law, bringing wealth and blessings to descendants. However, it is unsuitable for your daughters, who were born with weak fortunes. Using this character would suppress their luck, leading to even worse misfortune.”
The fortune teller’s random explanation frightened Lin Bosi, who asked if there was any solution. The fortune teller, eager to move to the capital to join his son and end his life of deception, had no intention of scheming further. He casually replied to Lin Bosi, “Since the ‘Cui’ character has been connected to your daughters for some time, changing it recklessly might cause harm and misfortune. Instead, you should visit a temple and burn incense on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month. The Bodhisattva will recognize your sincerity and naturally relieve your worries. Remember, do not be lazy or stingy.”
Lin Bosi was famously stingy, and the fortune teller had no goodwill towards him. This advice was intended to make him spend some money. Believing the fortune teller’s words, Lin Bosi truly went to the temple every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. However, since the nearest temple was mostly visited by women, making it inconvenient for him to go, he instructed his elderly wife, Lady Dong, to burn incense regularly. Each time, he gave her fifteen coins for temple donations.
Lady Dong had bound feet, and Lin Bosi refused to let her use the family’s ox cart. Fifteen coins were barely enough for anything, so walking there was naturally very strenuous for her. She decided to be cunning and, on incense-burning days, would go out but not always to the temple. Most of the time, she would go to the nearby market, using the saved temple donation money to buy fabric and jewelry she fancied. She dared not use them herself, instead secretly giving them to Lin Cuiping as dowry.
Lin Cuiping was very attractive, with big eyes, a delicate face, long curved eyelashes, porcelain-like skin, and glossy black hair as smooth as satin. She was petite and well-proportioned, considered a rare beauty in the village. Because of her beauty, her standards were naturally high. Many had proposed to her in the past, but she had rejected them all. When asked about her preferences, she always hesitated and gave no clear answer.
As one of the few surviving daughters, Lin Cuiping was not pressured by Lin Bosi. She kept rejecting suitors until she became an old maid without finding a satisfactory match. Later, those who proposed were mostly men seeking to remarry or acquire a beautiful concubine. Lin Cuiping angrily drove every matchmaker out of her house, and now even matchmakers no longer dared to visit. Her naturally spoiled personality became increasingly irritable.
Lin Bosi was the eldest son, with one younger brother and one sister. Before the family divided their property, their courtyard was relatively large for the village, consisting of three sections, each with many rooms. Lin Bosi received the first courtyard after the main gate.
The main gate faced a screen wall directly opposite, leading to Lin Bosi’s five main rooms. These were divided into eastern and western wings. The eastern wing had three rooms, where Lin Bosi and his wife lived, while the western wing had two rooms occupied by Lin Cuiping and Lin Cuie. On either side of the main house, there were three side rooms each. The eastern side rooms included two rooms at both ends where Lin Liulang and Lin Shilang slept. The western side rooms housed the Li Cuimei family. A small door connected the eastern side rooms to a small courtyard behind them, where the family ate meals.
Beside the eastern and western side rooms, there were small wing rooms. The eastern wing stored grain, unused furniture, and other items. The northern wing room of the western side housed Lin Wen, while the southern wing room stored farming tools. A small door next to it led to a small courtyard behind the western side room, where there were a dozen chickens, three pigs, and two oxen.
In the southeast corner of the courtyard, an open-air toilet was built, divided into male and female sections.
“So noisy, several women chattering early in the morning, keeping people from sleeping. Later at school, I’ll have no energy to focus, and the teacher will punish me. Who among you will take responsibility for that?”
The impudent, rude, and unreasonable speaker could only be Lin Shilang, the ten-year-old uncle of this body, as no one else in the family spoke this way.
“Shilang, how can you speak to your mother, elder sister-in-law, and Seventh Sister like this? You never take the teachings of propriety to heart.”
The voice was full of vigor and authority, clearly Lin Liu Lang, the body’s sixth uncle, scolding his son.
“Sixth Brother, I was wrong.”
“Hmph, if you dare to speak this way again, you will come back to work on the farm. Anyway, your education is just a waste of money. We desperately need laborers, and it would save your eldest brother some expenses.”
Liu Lang’s words carried hidden meaning. Lin Dalang worked as a steward for someone else, and every year he paid for Lin Shilang and Lin Wen’s tuition first. Lin Wen entered the private school at six years old. Because of his diligence, he received rewards from his teacher, including collections of literary treasures and classical texts. Although not original editions, these collections sometimes cost more than the tuition. In contrast, Lin Shilang was the opposite: uneducated and troublemaking. Every year, Lin Dalang paid compensation to others several or even dozens of times the tuition fee due to Lin Shilang’s behavior.
“Sixth Brother, I am a senior relative. If I were to return to work, it should be Wen who comes back, not me.”
“Fine, I will find one of Wen’s old essays. If you can read it fluently today, I will no longer mention making you return home.”
As long as Lin Liu Lang was at home, he would scold Lin Shilang dozens of times a day. Lin Fang would only think something was wrong with Lin Liu Lang or that Lin Shilang had caused trouble and hidden himself.
Lin Shilang was truly quite dull. He entered the private school at eight years old and had studied for four years. He couldn’t write essays and barely recognized any characters, yet he refused to work hard, only knowing how to cheat and slack off. However, Lin Bosi still had high hopes for his only son still in school. He stubbornly wished for Lin Shilang to become an official so that people could call him Old Master Lin when Lin Shilang became a government official.
“Brother Lang, I am still alive. When did it become your place to take charge of the household?”
Alright, the head of the family had spoken. All the family members, except for Lin Fang’s unknown and unseen biological father, had made appearances. Lin Fang wanted to continue her silent complaints, but unfortunately, the effort of feeding had exhausted all her energy, and she unknowingly fell asleep.
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