Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

When Lin Nuo arrived at her elder brother's house, a crowd had already gathered at the gate.

That's how it is in the countryside; any little noise gets noticed faster than a market day.

Several women, wearing cotton-padded coats, stood at the base of the wall, hunching their shoulders and whispering to each other; several old men squatted outside the courtyard gate smoking, the red glow of their cigarette butts flickering in the darkness; many teenagers crowded at the front of the crowd, craning their necks to look inside.

The door to the main room was open, and a yellowish light spilled out, casting a hazy glow in the courtyard. Dan Jun's voice came from inside, loud enough to be heard throughout half the village:

"This is a toilet! I'm going to pee here! What's it to you?"

Lin Nuo pushed through the crowd and went inside. Liu Jianguo and Zhao Dazhuang were holding Shan Jun's arms on either side, while Lin Jiang stood in the doorway of the west room.

Dan Jun was already completely drunk. He struggled, but couldn't break free, so he raised his voice even higher:

"Lin Jiang! Get out of my way! I need to pee! Are you going to take responsibility if I burst?"

Hirako and Anko were in the west room, and the sound of crying could still be heard.

The eldest sister-in-law, Shan Fang, stood in the middle of the main room, trembling with anger. She pointed at Shan Jun, her lips quivering for a long time, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Lin Nuo walked over and put the wooden stick in his hand on the table.

"Single Army".

Dan Jun turned his head, saw Lin Nuo, and was stunned for a moment.

He seemed to have sobered up halfway, yet not quite. He loosened his grip, straightened up, and raised his chin, trying to appear fearless.

"Lin Nuo? What are you doing here? Trying to show off again?"

Lin Nuo didn't reply, but walked towards him with the stick in her hand. Dan Jun subconsciously took half a step back, his back hitting the edge of the table.

Lin Nuo walked up to him, less than two steps away. He stared into Shan Jun's eyes, his voice low:

"Try taking one more step."

Dan Jun wanted to say something, but only a hissing sound came out of his throat. He looked into Lin Nuo's eyes, which were empty, and it was this feeling that sent chills down his spine.

"Who...who are you trying to scare?"

Dan Jun's voice was already weak.

Lin Nuo didn't answer. He turned around, walked to the door of the west room, squatted down, and called out inside:

"Pingzi, Anzi, come out. Your second uncle is here."

Pingzi climbed off the kang (a heated brick bed), barefoot, and rushed over, throwing himself into Lin Nuo's arms, sobbing uncontrollably: "Second Uncle... he needs to pee... he said he wants to pee at my door..."

Anzi followed behind, walked to Lin Nuo's side, tugged at his clothes, not crying, but almost crying.

Lin Nuo picked up Pingzi, put one arm around Anzi, and spoke very softly:

"It's alright. With Uncle here, he wouldn't dare."

Pingzi's crying gradually subsided, turning into intermittent sobs, and she buried her face in Lin Nuo's shoulder.

Lin Nuo stood up and handed the two children to Liu Jianguo at the door:

"Jianguo, take Pingzi and Anzi to my house to find their aunt."

Liu Jianguo took Pingzi, bounced him in his arms, and nodded: "Yes."

He carried the child and walked out. Anzi followed behind him, took a few steps, and then looked back at Lin Nuo. Lin Nuo nodded to her, and only then did she walk out with peace of mind.

It was only then that Shan Fang recovered. She walked up to Shan Jun, her voice trembling, not from fear, but from anger:

"Shan Jun, what exactly do you want?"

Dan Jun opened his mouth, rolled his eyes twice, and then, with his neck stiff, shouted again:

"Sis! I've had too much to drink, what's wrong with finding a place to pee? Are you making a big deal out of it?"

"Pee?"

Shan Fang's voice rose considerably; she was furious, pointing at the door to the west room:

"That's Hirako Yasuko's house! You, as his uncle, urinate in front of the child's door, and you have the nerve to say that?"

Dan Jun, however, was not one to mince words:

"How would I know that was the child's room? It was dark, I couldn't see anything!"

"Can't see it?"

Lin Nuo chimed in:

"You walked from the main room to here, past your elder brother and sister-in-law's room, past the kitchen, and the last door is the west room. You went through three doors, and then you chose to urinate at the very last door?"

He looked into Shan Jun's eyes:

"Are you genuinely blind, or are you doing it on purpose?"

Dan Jun's expression changed completely.

Lin Jiang then spoke:

"Shan Jun, you can leave now. I don't want to dwell on what happened today. Go back and think it over carefully."

Dan Jun grasped at a straw, nodded hurriedly, and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute."

Lin Nuo's voice came from behind.

Dan Jun stopped in his tracks, not daring to turn around.

"You scared the child, and you didn't even apologize?"

Dan Jun slowly turned around, his lips trembling as he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth:

"...Sister, brother-in-law...it was my fault..."

Shan Fang's eyes reddened. She walked up to Shan Jun and looked at her younger brother. She had raised him from a young age; their parents had spoiled him, and she had spoiled him just as much. But today, he had truly gone too far.

She raised her hand and slapped Shan Jun across the face.

The sound of a sharp "snap" rang out crisply in the quiet main room. Dan Jun's face jerked to one side, and he froze on the spot.

"This slap was for Hirako."

Tears streamed down Shan Fang's face. She raised her hand again and slapped him once more. The sound was even louder than before, and Shan Jun's face turned to the other side, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth.

"This slap was for Anzi."

She was panting heavily, raised her hand, and prepared to slap him a third time—this time she didn't, her voice choked with emotion:

"The third slap... was for your parents... They spoiled you their whole lives, and what kind of person have they produced..."

She lowered her hands, turned around, her shoulders heaving, and burst into tears.

Dan Jun stood there, his face burning.

Lin Nuo glanced at him, her voice low:

"Shan Jun, do you know why your sister didn't strike a third time? Because she couldn't bring herself to do it. Your father just passed away, and you're the only son in the Shan family. She couldn't bring herself to do it, but I could."

He took a step forward, and Shan Jun instinctively stepped back.

"Why did you come here tonight to cause trouble? You know perfectly well. Nobody's arguing with you about the wedding gift money. How much did your sister contribute to your father's funeral, and how much did you contribute?" You still have the nerve to cause trouble.

He paused:

"You're afraid your sister will take half, so you're throwing a tantrum because you're drunk."

Dan Jun's legs began to tremble.

"You think nobody can tell? You think if you cry a couple of times and yell a few things, everyone will believe you're just drunk?"

Lin Nuo's voice suddenly rose:

You don't deserve it.

Dan Jun's legs went weak, and he sat down on the ground with a thud.

She burst into tears with a "waaaah," wailing as she spoke:

"Sister...Sister, you can't abandon me...I'm not married yet...Dad's gone, you're my only family now..."

Shan Fang turned around, looked at him like this, her lips trembled twice, and her tears fell even more fiercely.

"How...how can you be so useless..."

Dan Jun cried, burying his head in his knees, his shoulders heaving.

Lin Nuo stood to the side, watching this scene with no expression on his face. He turned his head and glanced at the crowd of onlookers at the entrance.

"Let's call it a day. There's nothing to see here."

The women sheepishly shrank back, while the old men stubbed out their cigarettes and slowly stood up to walk home. The crowd gradually dispersed, and the courtyard fell silent again.

Lin Nuo called Zhao Dazhuang and Liu Jianguo to the gate of the courtyard.

Zhao Dazhuang rubbed his hands together:

"Brother Nuozi, that Shan Jun... he won't cause trouble again, will he?"

"I don't know. Come on then, I'm not afraid."

Lin Nuo took out some money from his pocket and handed it over:

"The pheasants and rabbits you caught last time are sold. Pheasants are six yuan each, rabbits are six yuan each, so after deducting costs, that's five yuan per person."

Zhao Dazhuang took the money and rubbed his fingers on the banknotes:

"Brother Nuozi, this...it's only been a few days, and you've already split five pieces?"

Liu Jianguo took it, put the money in his pocket, and patted it:

"Brother Nuozi, working for you is much better than farming."

Lin Nuo:

"I've been busy these past few days. My older brother just finished his funeral, and the old foreman is in the hospital. You two go into the mountains and set your traps. Keep what you catch, or you can sell it at the supply and marketing cooperative. Once I'm done with this, we can go to the county town together to sell it."

Zhao Dazhuang nodded:

"Got it, Brother Nuozi. Don't worry, I've checked all the condoms, and I've prepared new wire."

Liu Jianguo added from the side:

"I recognize the footprints, so I won't put the trap in the wrong place."

Lin Nuo glanced at them:

"Okay. Go ahead. Be careful, don't go too deep. If you encounter a wild boar, don't fight it, run."

"Why!"

The two men responded and turned to leave.

Zhao Dazhuang took a few steps, then turned back and called out:

"Brother Nuozi, please take good care of the old foreman. We're waiting for you to come back."

Lin Nuo waved to him and went home.

When Lin Nuo arrived home, Su Wanqing had already settled the child.

Pingzi slept at the very back of the kang (heated brick bed), his face buried in the pillow. Anzi slept next to him, one hand on his younger brother, as if protecting him.

Hearing footsteps, Su Wanqing looked up at Lin Nuo:

"Is it all taken care of?"

"Um."

Linno sat down next to her:

"Shan Jun wasn't drunk. He deliberately caused trouble."

"I'm just worried about my older brother taking a share of the wedding gifts. That guy, his own father just passed away, and all he thinks about is money."

Lin Nuo's voice was calm:

"My sister-in-law slapped him twice. He sat on the ground crying, not ashamed at all, and even shouted, 'Sister, you can't abandon me.'"

Su Wanqing reached out and took his hand.

Lin Nuo leaned on her shoulder and closed her eyes:

"Teacher Su, tell me, how did people become like this?"

Su Wanqing was silent for a moment, then spoke very softly:

Some people never grow up in their entire lives.

Lin Nuo didn't say anything more. The two of them just sat there.

After a while, Lin Nuo opened his eyes:

"I'll go to the health center to cover your shift first thing tomorrow morning. The old foreman's place can't be left unattended."

"Um."

"Can you boil a few eggs for me? I'll take them over."

Su Wanqing nodded, put down her pen, and stood up:

Go to bed early. You have to get up early tomorrow.

As dawn broke, Lin Nuo boarded the bus to the county.

He had five boiled eggs that Su Wanqing had made, wrapped in an old cloth, still warm, making his chest feel cozy. He was also carrying a cloth bag containing two cans of food and a packet of brown sugar.

The corridor of the health center was filled with the smell of Lysol, mixed with the scent of cotton wool and disinfectant.

Lin Nuo pushed open the door to the ward. Old Man Zhou was still asleep. Zhou Laoshuan sat on the edge of the bed, his hands supporting his knees, his head nodding as he dozed off. There were dark circles under his eyes; he hadn't slept much all night.

Lin Nuo walked over quietly, placed the things on the bedside table, and reached out to touch the old man's forehead.

It's still a bit hot, but much better than yesterday. Yesterday it was so hot you could feel the heat even through several layers of cloth, but today it's at least not so scary.

Zhou Laoshuan was startled awake. He abruptly raised his head, his eyes red. When he saw it was Lin Nuo, he let out a long breath, his voice hoarse:

"Nuozi? Why are you here so early?"

"Uncle Zhou, you should go back and rest. I'll stay here."

Old Zhou shook his head and patted the old man's quilt:

"I'll stay a little longer. This old man talked nonsense all night. He kept calling out 'Old Zhou' and 'Nuozi,' it was making me nervous."

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice:

"For a while, he cried out, 'Mountain God, don't take me away,' and I almost couldn't hold back my tears."

Lin Nuo felt a pang of sadness, but didn't reply. She sat on the other side of the hospital bed and pulled the blanket up.

A little while later, the nurse came in to check on the patient. She took the patient's temperature, which was 38.2 degrees Celsius, a significant drop from yesterday.

Lin Nuo followed the nurse out of the ward and called out to her in the corridor:

"Comrade, how is Uncle Zhang?"

The nurse glanced at him:

"Are you his family member?"

"He was considered his apprentice. He lived alone, without any family."

The nurse nodded, her expression softening.

"The doctor will be making rounds soon, so you can just ask him directly. But he's much better than yesterday; the fever has gone down considerably, and the inflammation is under control."

Lin Nuo returned to the ward and waited for a while. Just after eight o'clock, the attending physician arrived. He was an elderly man in his fifties, wearing glasses and a name tag on his white coat that read "Chief Physician Wang Deming".

Dr. Wang walked to the bedside, flipped through the medical record, listened to the old man's lungs with a stethoscope, straightened up, and hung the stethoscope around his neck.

Lin Nuo quickly went over:

"Dr. Wang, how is my Uncle Zhang?"

Dr. Wang took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with the cuff of his white coat, put them back on, and began to speak slowly and deliberately:

"The patient has pneumonia, which was discovered relatively early. He is in good physical condition, and his cardiopulmonary function is much stronger than that of his peers, which is probably a result of his years of active lifestyle. Currently, the treatment is working well; his body temperature is decreasing, and his inflammatory markers are also improving."

Lin Nuo breathed a sigh of relief:

"Won't... there be any danger?"

Dr. Wang glanced at him:

"From what we've seen so far, there's not much of a problem. He has a good constitution, so as long as he takes his medication on time and rests well, he should recover without any issues. Observe him for a few more days, and he can be discharged once the fever has completely subsided."

He paused, then added:

"But you need to be careful when you get back; don't overwork yourself. The younger people need to keep an eye on them, because the older folks can be stubborn and don't take things seriously."

Lin Nuo nodded quickly:

"Thank you, Dr. Wang! Thank you so much!"

Dr. Wang waved his hand, turned around, and left.

Lin Nuo stood by the hospital bed and let out a long sigh. Old Zhou, who was also nearby, heard this, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and muttered:

"That old geezer is pretty tough."

Around noon, the old foreman finally woke up. His lips moved slightly, but his voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"...What are you doing here?"

"Uncle Zhang, I've come to see you."

Lin Nuo stood up, propped up his pillow a little, poured half a bowl of hot water from the thermos, and placed it on the bedside table to cool.

The old foreman didn't speak, staring at the ceiling with no expression on his face.

After a while, he suddenly spoke, his voice very soft, as if he were talking to himself:

"Lin Nuo".

"Hey, Uncle Zhang."

"Push me into the mountains and feed those creatures there."

Lin Nuo paused for a moment.

He didn't reply, but lowered his head and gently tucked the old man's exposed hand back into the blanket.

Old Zhou heard this and his face immediately fell.

"You old geezer!"

He stood up, walked to the bedside, and almost poked the old foreman in the face with his finger:

"What nonsense are you spouting! Pushing them into the mountains? Feeding them those things? That's murder! Are you trying to harm Nuozi?"

The old foreman didn't look at him; his eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and his lips moved slightly.

"I don't want to be a burden to others..."

"A drag on my ass!"

Zhou Laoshuan's voice rose considerably:

"You were sick, and Nuozi came all the way here to pay your hospital bills and take care of you. How can you say such things to him?"

The old leader fell silent.

Zhou Laoshuan took a few deep breaths and whispered:

"Old Zhang, how many years have we known each other? Forty years, right? You saved my life when you were young, and I've remembered that for the rest of my life. Are you trying to make me feel bad by saying things like this to me now?"

The old foreman's lips moved slightly, but he didn't utter a sound.

Old Zhou wiped his face, his voice muffled:

"Once you're better, you can die wherever you want. Nobody will care. But right now, you're going to live. Take your medicine, get your injections, eat—you can't miss a thing. Do you hear me?"

The old leader remained silent for a long time.

Then, he nodded slightly.

Old Zhou turned around, his back to the hospital bed, and rubbed his face hard with the back of his hand.

Lin Nuo stood to the side, watching everything unfold. He walked over, brought over the cooled water, stirred it with a spoon, blew on it, and held it to the old foreman's lips.

"Uncle Zhang, have some water."

The old foreman opened his mouth and took two sips. A little water spilled from the corner of his mouth and trickled down his chin. Lin Nuo gently wiped it away with a towel.

"Uncle Zhang, the doctor said you're in good health and can be discharged after a few more days of observation. Don't worry about anything else."

The old foreman didn't speak, and closed his eyes.

Lin Nuo placed the bowl on the bedside table, turned around, took out the packet of brown sugar from her cloth bag, poured some into the bowl, stirred it with chopsticks, and handed it over.

"Have a couple more sips. Brown sugar water, to nourish your body."

This time, the old foreman didn't refuse and drank about half a bowl.

Old Zhou watched him drink it, muttering something under his breath:

"That old geezer just needs to be taught a lesson."

His voice had a nasal quality.

Old Zhou didn't go back until the sun was about to set.

Lin Nuo escorted him to the entrance of the health center. Zhou Laoshuan turned around and patted Lin Nuo on the shoulder:

"Nuozi, your Uncle Zhang is stubborn but soft-hearted. Don't take what he said to heart. He's just afraid of dragging you down with him."

Lin Nuo nodded: "Uncle Zhou, I know."

"You need to take care of yourself these next few days, don't overwork yourself. You still have a wife at home."

"Um."

Old Zhou took a few steps, then turned back:

"I'll come again tomorrow. You go about your business; you don't need to come every day."

Lin Nuo stood at the entrance of the health center, watching Zhou Laoshuan's figure disappear into the twilight, then turned and went back to the ward.

The old foreman has fallen asleep again. His breathing is much more stable than yesterday, no longer as frightening as when he's pulling a bellows.

Lin Nuo sat down on the edge of the bed and tucked the blanket in.