Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

After Lin Nuo said those words in Cantonese, the air between the two seemed to freeze.

"What are you and that woman planning? Do you think I don't know?"

Lin Ming's hand, which was holding a cigarette, froze in mid-air, the cigarette butt almost falling. He slowly turned his head, looked at Lin Nuo, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth:

"Nuozi, when did you learn Cantonese?"

Lin Nuo didn't respond to him, but looked him in the eye:

"Brother Mingzi, I'll just ask you one question: are you planning to start a pyramid scheme in the village?"

Lin Ming's smile completely vanished, and his face turned bright red.

"What pyramid scheme? I'm running a legitimate business! What do you know?"

Lin Nuo looked at him, her gaze unwavering:

"A legitimate business? Turning tens of dollars into hundreds, making over five thousand dollars in profit from five hundred pairs of jeans? I've seen this kind of trick too many times. First, you make empty promises, then you gather the money, and once you have the money, you run away. You dare say that's not true?"

Lin Ming's lips trembled slightly, and he whispered:

"Nuozi, if this gets out, it will ruin my plans, and you won't be able to explain it to my father."

Lin Nuo took a step forward, stopping just an arm's length away from Lin Ming, and stared at him:

"Your business? What business of yours? You've lied to your own family and then to the whole village? Your uncle has built up his reputation his whole life. Do you want him to be unable to hold his head up in the village from now on?"

Lin Ming was forced to take a half step back, like a trapped beast cornered against a wall.

Lin Nuo's tone softened:

"Mingzi, if you want to live an honest life, no one will stop you. But if you want to do crooked things in this village, I can't allow it. We still need to live in this village. Do you want your uncle to be talked about behind his back? You should leave before your uncle finds out."

Lin Ming clenched his fists, as if he were meeting this cousin for the first time. He had originally planned to come back and make some money, but unexpectedly, this cousin had ruined everything.

"Nuozi, you're ruthless."

After saying that, he walked away quickly.

Lin Nuo watched his retreating figure, his eyes filled with anger. He used to wonder why those pyramid schemes always deceived his own family.

Now I understand, because it's the easiest thing to fool your own family.

Lin Ming is like that.

……

Lin Ming returned to his uncle's house and was absent-minded all day.

After dinner, he pulled Yao Jingjing back to the west room, closed the door, and bolted it. He spoke in a very low voice, in Cantonese:

"Lin Nuo understands Cantonese. He knows everything."

Yao Jingjing was combing her hair when she paused, her face turning pale.

"How did he know?"

"I don't know. He confronted me by the river tonight and told me to leave immediately."

Yao Jingjing put down the comb, stood up and walked around the room twice. Suddenly she stopped, turned around, and looked annoyed.

"I told you before, don't come back and do this kind of thing. You said your family was easy to fool, and look at you now?"

Lin Ming lowered his head and took out a wad of cash from his pocket:

"I only have a little over a hundred yuan on me. Is that enough to get back south?"

Yao Jingjing snatched the money away, flicked her finger across the banknotes, and sneered:

"Over a hundred? Are you kidding me? What's the point of going back?"

Lin Ming raised his head, his lips trembling, his eyes a little red:

"What should we do then?"

Yao Jingjing had already stuffed the comb into her handbag and said without turning her head:

"Let's go first and talk about it later."

Lin Ming paused for a moment, then jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) and stuffed his clothes into his canvas bag. Yao Jingjing stood at the door urging him:

"Hurry up, what are you waiting for?"

He grunted in agreement, tied the bundle tightly, and zipped it up. He saw the new cotton-padded jacket Liu Guixiang had made for him on the kang (heated brick bed), dark blue with tight stitches. He picked it up, folded it neatly, and stuffed it inside as well.

Lin Weidong was not asleep.

He heard a noise from the west room, sat up quietly, put on his cotton-padded coat, and went out of the main room. The moon was bright, and the courtyard was brightly lit. The windows of the west room were lit, and the door was ajar, with a yellowish light shining through the crack.

He walked over, stood at the door, but didn't go in.

Lin Ming was packing his things with his back to the door. Yao Jingjing saw him first, paused for a moment, and nudged him with her elbow. Lin Ming turned around and saw his father standing in the doorway, his hand frozen in mid-air.

"father……"

Lin Weidong didn't speak. He looked at his son, then glanced at the packed luggage.

He came in and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). The kang was still warm.

"Are you leaving?"

Lin Ming asked Yao Jingjing to pour some water. Yao Jingjing glanced at Lin Weidong, then at Lin Ming, moved her lips slightly, and took the enamel mug out.

"Why don't you stay a few more days? Your mom even made you some sauerkraut dumplings; the dough's all ready."

Lin Ming shook his head:

"Something came up at the Southern Company. I can't get away."

Lin Weidong didn't press further. He remained silent for a moment, then nodded and stood up:

"Let's leave tomorrow morning. The roads are difficult to travel at night; the snow hasn't completely melted yet, and it's slippery."

He turned and left after saying that.

After Lin Ming and Yao Jingjing finished tidying up, Lin Ming pushed open the door to the west room and peeked into the east room. The windows of the east room were dark, and nothing could be seen.

Yao Jingjing lowered her voice:

"Alright, let's go."

The two left the courtyard, and Lin Ming glanced back at them. He didn't say anything.

They walked along the village road towards the village entrance. The moonlight shone on the snow, making it shine brightly white, like a layer of broken silver.

Reaching the old locust tree at the village entrance, Lin Ming switched the bundle to his left shoulder. The bundle was too heavy, and his left shoulder ached terribly. Suddenly, he felt a hard, bulging object in his side pocket.

He stopped, unzipped the zipper, and reached in to touch a metal box.

It was red, with the words "Shanghai" printed on it. The edges were worn smooth and shiny, and several pieces of paint had been chipped off, revealing the black iron underneath.

Lin Ming's hands began to tremble as he looked at the metal box.

He recognized the metal box.

He used to keep his money in the top shelf of the cabinet, and when he couldn't reach it, he would stand on a stool to get it. Once, he knocked the box over, and the money was scattered all over the floor. His father slapped him, which was the only time he remembered his father hitting him.

He slowly opened the box.

Inside was a stack of money. There were ten-yuan notes, five-yuan notes, and one-yuan notes, probably several hundred yuan. On top of the money was a slip of paper with a line of text written on it:

"When you're traveling, don't skimp on yourself."

Lin Ming's tears fell instantly.

This iron box... He remembered his father sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) earlier. It turned out that his father understood everything at that time, but he just didn't say anything.

He held the tin box in his hands, slowly squatted down, covered his face with both hands, his shoulders trembling, and remained silent.

After a while, he raised his hand and slapped himself twice hard. The sound of "slap, slap" was particularly crisp in the quiet night.

Yao Jingjing was startled and took a step back.

What are you doing?

Lin Ming ignored her. He turned around, facing the direction of the village, bent his knees and knelt down, pressing his forehead against the snow, and kowtowed three times.

Snow clung to his forehead, and blood seeped through, mingling with the snowmelt as it trickled down.

Yao Jingjing stood to the side, arms crossed, watching coldly. She clicked her tongue impatiently, took the tin box from Lin Ming, stuffed it into her bundle, and zipped it up.

"Alright, stop pretending to be filial. Are you leaving or not? If you're not leaving, I'll leave myself."

Lin Ming remained kneeling on the ground without moving. After a while, he slowly stood up and said in a hoarse voice:

"Let's go."

The two people disappeared into the night, one after the other.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Liu Guixiang got up to start a fire and cook. She squatted in front of the stove adding firewood, the firelight making her face red. She ladled water into the pot, put the lid on, and then went to the west room to call her son for dinner.

The door was open, the blankets were neatly folded, but the person was gone.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly went to check the yard. The gate was not bolted and was ajar. There were two sets of footprints on the snow, one large and one small, heading towards the village entrance.

She turned and went into the main room, calling out to Lin Weidong. Lin Weidong was already up, his cotton-padded coat draped over his shoulders, sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) tying his shoelaces. He looked up at Liu Guixiang but didn't say anything.

Liu Guixiang stood at the door, her hand still gripping the door frame:

"Akiko...is gone?"

Lin Weidong didn't answer. He gently patted Liu Guixiang's arm.

"They're gone, that's all. Don't cry, it's no use crying."

Liu Guixiang's tears still fell, and her voice was choked with emotion:

"I've already kneaded the dough... for sauerkraut filling... Akiko's favorite."

Lin Weidong stood in the courtyard, looking at the door of the west room, without saying a word.

Mingzi probably won't come back.

Lin Nuo was polishing his flintlock pistol in the yard.

Lin Weiguo returned from outside, his cotton-padded coat open, his face flushed red from the wind:

"Your brother Mingzi is gone. He left overnight. Your uncle wants you to go over there."

Lin Nuo paused for a moment. He pulled the strip of cloth out of the musket barrel, put it aside, stood up, and leaned the musket against the wall.

"Understood, Father."

When he arrived at Lin Weidong's house, Lin Weidong was sitting in the main room, staring blankly at the bowl of porridge in front of him.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and waved:

"Nuozi, come and sit down."

Linno sat down opposite him.

Lin Weidong was silent for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Noko, tell me the truth. Has Akiko gone astray?"

Lin Nuo was silent for a few seconds:

"Grandpa, Mingzi just wanted to make quick money, but he didn't take the right approach. He didn't do anything outrageous."

Lin Weidong looked at him:

"You don't need to hide it for him. How could I not know about my own son?"

He put the bowl down, and the bottom of the bowl hit the table with a dull thud.

"Nuozi, you've preserved the reputation your uncle has built up over his entire life."

Lin Nuo's nose stung with tears, and he lowered his head. He stared at the wood grain on the table, feeling as if something was stuck in his throat, unable to speak.

Lin Weidong stood up and walked to the door.

"Noko, thank you."

In the afternoon, the sun was beginning to set. Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, several men squatted, basking in the sun. The sunlight was lazy, casting long shadows.

Wang Lao Er, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, flicked off some ash that fell onto the front of his cotton-padded jacket.

"Lin Ming is gone? Oh dear, why did he leave so suddenly? I wanted to talk to him and ask if he still needed people for his jeans business."

Yang Sanshun squatted to the side, his face full of frustration, tracing lines on the ground with his finger:

"I wanted to invest with him last time. Five hundred dollars, and I could have made several thousand. It's all because I was too timid and unlucky."

The young man, squatting on the far side, interjected:

"My husband even said that if it were true, he would take out the two hundred yuan he had saved. Who knew he would leave in such a hurry, without even saying goodbye. This opportunity, once missed, will be gone forever."

The old man squatted against the wall, a pipe dangling from his mouth, slowly taking a puff, his eyes squinting.

"Mingzi has seen the world and has connections. He's only willing to tell us because we're from the same village. You didn't seize the opportunity, so who's to blame?"

Wang Lao Er nodded, stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe, and then rubbed it on the sole.

"That's true. If Mingzi were a fraud, would he have run away? He really had something important to do. The fact that he left in a hurry means he's busy with business."

Yang Sanshun sighed, put his hands in his sleeves, and hunched his neck.

"Oh, what a pity. I'll be the first to sign up next time he comes back."

The group chatted amongst themselves, their voices filled with regret and remorse. Liu Jianguo, squatting at the very edge, twisting a straw rope in his hand, listened for a while, then stood up, dusted off his knees, and left.

Wang Lao Er watched his retreating figure and curled his lip.

"Jianguo is too timid; he dares not do anything."

The old man tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe, scattering ashes all over the ground.

"You can't get rich by being timid. These days, the bold get rich."

Lin Nuo was passing by the village entrance when he heard these words.

He shook his head and didn't say anything.

Evening, in the east room.

The kerosene lamp was placed on the table, and the flame flickered.

Lin Nuo took off his cotton-padded coat and hung it behind the door. He sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), very close to her.

"Mingzi is gone. He left overnight."

Su Wanqing looked at him:

"Are you feeling bad?"

"I feel so bad for my uncle. The son he raised ran away in the middle of the night. My uncle said 'He's gone, he's gone,' but I don't know how much pain he was in inside."

Su Wanqing reached out and took his hand.

"You're protecting this family. Your uncle's reputation, your father's reputation, and... our family."

Lin Nuo felt a warmth in his heart and pulled her closer into his arms. Her back pressed against his chest.

"From now on, what's meant to come will come, and what's meant to leave will leave. Let's live our lives in peace."

Su Wanqing leaned on his shoulder without saying a word, but tightened her grip on his hand.

The next morning, sunlight streamed in from the eastern ridge, illuminating the courtyard.

Lin Nuo was oiling a musket in the yard, slowly wiping the barrel with a cloth soaked in oil. A bicycle bell rang from outside the gate, "Ding-a-ling."

Cheng Youtian pushed the cart in. He was wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket and a Lei Feng hat, his face was red from the cold, and clear snot hung from his nose as he sniffed. He propped the cart against the wall and rubbed his hands together.

"Nuozi! That merchant from the south is leaving the day after tomorrow. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Brother Cheng, it's a date, I'll definitely go, no need to rush me."

Lin Nuo put down the musket, stood up, and wiped the oil off his hands on his trouser leg:

"I'll go to Chengjiatun to find you tomorrow."

Cheng Youtian grinned, revealing his slightly crooked teeth:

"Alright! Bring more goods, that dealer is very generous! Last time he saw your windproof products, he didn't even haggle over the price, saying they were of good quality and made authentically."

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and offered it to Lin Nuo. Lin Nuo waved his hand, not taking it. Cheng Youtian lit it himself.

"If we can get more this time, the price is negotiable. The dealer said he wants astragalus, bupleurum, platycodon, and atractylodes. The larger the quantity, the higher the price."

Lin Nuo nodded, starting to plan in his mind. It was time to put those medicinal herbs that the old foreman had taught him to process to good use.

Cheng Youtian got on his bike, pedaled twice, then stopped.

"By the way, Nuozi, that dealer also asked if you had any wild ginseng. He said that stuff is worth a lot of money, and a good one can be worth half a year's income for you."

Lin Nuo kept it in mind:

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on it."

Cheng Youtian sighed and rode off. The bell jingled all the way to the village entrance, growing ever more distant.

Lin Nuo stood in the courtyard, watching his figure disappear at the end of the village road. Cheng Youtian even has a bicycle now; it seems he's made quite a bit of money.

Lin Ming's matter is over.

It's time to get down to business.

I'm going to Chengjiatun tomorrow.