ABPUBALC - Chapter 8

 Chapter 8: Raising a Ruckus

Days went by in an orderly manner. Gu Qiming would hunt in the mountains about every two days. Sometimes, he would spend a night on the mountain.

Lin Xing, feeling uneasy, purchased several pouches of beast repellent powder for him to carry.

Since Gu Qiming indicated his feelings last time, there hadn't been much contact between the two of them aside from taking Gu Qiming's measurements for clothes. Gu Qiming was anxious, but there was nothing he could do. The boy was too shy, so he could only wait for him to come around.

Lin Xing's handcart business has been doing well these days. He sold it to the carpentry shop for 360 wen per cart, and the carpentry shop could sell it at an even higher price. But despite the price tag, there were still customers who bought it, especially the well-to-do women and shopkeepers in the town. It was so convenient to push a cart out to buy things. In the past half a month or so, he had made seven or eight carts and delivered them to the shop.

Lately, Gu Qiming has made a fair amount of money from hunting, although he's only caught hares and roe deer, which don't sell as well as larger sika deer or elk.

But he also knew that these deer were hard to come by, so bagging one already counted as extraordinary luck. He shouldn't be too greedy.

That day, Gu Qiming came down the mountain carrying a freshly caught rabbit, thinking to himself that tonight he might coax Lin Xing into making rabbit meat again. A few days earlier, they had a wild rabbit at home which Lin Xing had cooked into a plate of spicy rabbit meat. It was so deliciously spicy that Gu Qiming couldn't stop drooling, yet his chopsticks never paused.

"If you ask me, it’s impossible for a single shuang’er to stay lily-white if he hangs around men all the time.”

"That's right. Our Lin family village can't tolerate such an unchaste person. What if our village's daughters can't get married if this gets out?"

"No wonder he's been avoiding marriage—it turns out he had already hooked up with a man. It's a stroke of luck he didn't marry into our family back then; otherwise, my son would have truly become a cuckold..." Before she could finish, the woman seemed to realize the awkwardness of her words and consciously shut her mouth.

Gu Qiming hadn't even reached his doorstep when he heard a cacophony of voices approaching, each sentence more unpleasant and shrill than the last. Instinctively feeling that something was amiss, he didn't waste time reacting before pushing through the crowd and rushing inside.

When he saw the scene in the courtyard, he felt an extreme murderous rage bubble up from within him.

The courtyard was a mess. Lin Xing was being held down by two men. When he saw Gu Qiming standing at the entrance, he lowered his head in a panic, seemingly not wanting him to see his current disheveled appearance.

But Gu Qiming still saw it, a bright red slap print clearly visible on his face.

"Damn it, I'll kill you all!"

Gu Qiming only felt that the streak of red seemed to strike directly at his heart. With a fierce kick, he pushed past the two men trying to block his way, his fists greeting them without any courtesy. These farmhands might have had strength, but they lacked technique in fighting, naturally standing no chance against someone who had undergone military training.

Almost everyone in the courtyard turned their attention to Gu Qiming. Some timid women covered their eyes, not having the mind to look at such gory excitement.

Lin Xing felt the hand on his shoulder lose some of its strength. He took the opportunity to break free from his restraints and quickly went over to pull Gu Qiming away. "Brother Gu, stop this!"

If this carries on, things will take a turn for the worse!

Gu Qiming barely reigned himself in, holding onto a thread of sanity. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was clearly furious.

He pulled Lin Xing toward himself and asked, without considering those around them, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"N-Nowhere else." Lin Xing unconsciously touched his face. The point of impact was burning with pain, and had left a faint metallic taste in his mouth.

"Look! In broad daylight, daring to flirt right in front of everyone else."

The silence was broken, and everyone subconsciously looked at the only person who dared to speak. The person speaking was Li Yan, Lin Xing's second aunt and Lin Hao's mother. She was well-known in the village for her sharp tongue and sarcastic remarks.

She had heard her son say that Lin Xing had made a fortune and ate meat every day, so she had been eager to visit for a long time, but she had never found the opportunity. Today, when her father said he wanted to visit Lin Xing, she was overjoyed and followed him without hesitation. If she could get some money from him, her family would be able to live comfortably for a while.

Only then did Gu Qiming notice the quality of the people surrounding the courtyard. Some of their faces were familiar. They were the two cheap elder brothers of Lin Xing.

At this moment, the elder who had stood there silently for a long time finally spoke. He stroked his beard and said to Gu Qiming, "You are Gu Qiming, right? I am the village head of this Lin Family Village. I came here today to settle the matter between the two of you."

"Lin Xing brought outsiders into the village without permission. That alone is against the rules. Now, your identity is unclear, and if you bring disaster to the village, the entire community will be implicated."

As he spoke, he put on a helpless expression: "You are an outsider and it's not possible for our Lin family village to accept someone with an unclear background. As for Lin Xing, he's originally a member of the Lin family, and the family has never officially been split. Being a Shuang'er, he's been fooling around outside for much too long. Now that his family has finally found him, he should return back to his family home."

Gu Qiming saw that the old man looked as shifty as a rat and knew that he definitely was up to no good. Nonsense was flowing out of his mouth like a runaway train[满嘴跑火车 mǎn zuǐ pǎo huǒ chē (idiom) to have a glib tongue / a fast talker / to talk big. More info eyeshenzhen.com ].

However, he was in no position to refute his words. In their eyes, he was just an outsider of unknown origin. The man was the head of the village. He couldn't fight him in the literal sense, not if he didn't want to worsen things.

"Lin Xing belongs to the Lin family. We're here today to take him back with us. As for that unsavory affair between you two, you've ruined the reputation of our innocent child, so you owe us an explanation for yourself at the very least." Old man Lin, who had been observing the scene, chimed in.

A few days ago, Lin Hao mentioned at home that Lin Xing made quite a bit of silver from his work, and that there was a man in their family who hunted, so they could eat meat every day. He didn't believe it.

Lin Xing's carpentry skills are quite clear to him. At most, he is just an amateur, and he is far behind a real craftsman. Over the years, everyone in the Lin family has been keenly aware of how he's been doing.

It wasn't until Old man Lin went to the town and accidentally saw the two happily chatting away while selling game that he finally believed it was true.

That little wretch actually didn't know to use the money he earned to show filial piety to his elders. As soon as Master Lin thought about this, he felt angry. He was truly a baleful star!

[丧门星 sàng mén xīng : messenger of death / person bringing bad luck. More: https://journeytothewestresearch.com/tag/baleful-stars/]

After that incident, the Lin family had a few uncomfortable days. They were all worrying over the money Lin Xing made from his carpentry work, counting coins that weren't even theirs. Eventually, they came up with an idea. Since no outsiders knew about their initial family separation, they decided to take two chickens from their home to the village head, preparing to "bring Lin Xing back."

"You're simply spouting baseless accusations!"

Lin Xing began trembling from anger; this group of people had clearly planned this, and their goal in coming today was to deliberately cause trouble!

"I have been living a blameless life with Brother Gu, yet now you're spreading vile rumors to harm my reputation just because you've seen me making some profit in town. Truly, you are malicious people!"

Gu Qiming sensed his emotions and patted him on the back, signaling him to calm down[e/n: cough... who was the one filled with murderous rage?].

The current situation is quite unfavorable for them, reminiscent of ancient attitudes that value filial piety above all else. Lin Xing cannot confront them directly, for fear of facing severe backlash that might leave him ostracized and struggling to survive[Raws: leave him with a broken spine/backbone].

Some words, only he could say them. Besides, he didn't believe that this group of people had put in so much effort just to take Lin Xing home. It's all nonsense, and boiling things down, it's most likely they're after money.

"What are you talking about? Which proper young master would have an unidentified strange man in their home? You're going to make us, the Lin family, lose all face. How much longer are you going to shame us?!"

These people are easily swayed. Someone chimed in, “Exactly, they’re already living together, how could they not have done anything…”

The spectators in the courtyard chattered incessantly, their words laced with malice and undertones of Schadenfreude.

Alrighty, folks, let’s all disperse. It’s a private family affair. We’ve seen enough of the ruckus, so head home, everybody!

When the village head saw that the villagers were standing with the Lin family, he knew that his goal had been achieved, and the rest would be easy to do.

"Unacceptable! That Gu… Gu Ming hit us up so badly, and he's just going to leave like that? He has to pay!"

The first to speak was the tough guy that Gu Qiming had just knocked to the ground. Probably feeling that he had lost face, he also wanted to get in on the action.

Gu Qiming was shocked, how could there be such a shameless person?

“It was you who threw the first punch! If I hadn’t fought back, I would be the one on the ground.”

"How can that be? If I don't get paid today, I'll just have to stick around here!"

"Okay then, if you want to watch, you can watch. " Gu Qiming had thought that the man would throw out some frightening threats, and yet, he was acting so timidly.

The man was taken aback, as if he had not expected Gu Qiming to be completely unconcerned. His heart began to pound, and he feared that if he truly stayed, he would be beaten again by Gu Qiming. He could only leave dejectedly.

Once the onlookers had all disappeared, only the Lin family and the village head remained in the courtyard. Only then did Gu Qiming say to Old Man Lin, "Speak. What exactly did you intend to accomplish by kicking up such a fuss today?"

“We don’t wish to 'accomplish' anything. Over the years, Lin Xing has gone astray too many times while on his own. Our grandpa is kind-hearted and doesn’t want to bother with him, but once he returns home, he will naturally teach him properly on how to be a proper Shuang'er.” Lin Hao smiled at Gu Qiming. “As for you, our village naturally has no place for an outsider like you. You can go wherever you feel comfortable."

Gu Qiming scratched his head. It seemed that he had gone too easy on him the last time. Lin Hao actually still dared to speak to him like this!

Lin Xing was so anxious that he was biting his lips. The Lin family village was actually very exclusive. Aside from Shuang'er and woman who had married in, they generally did not want to accept outsiders. If the village chief really wanted to drive Brother Gu away...

“If I leave, who else could you ask for money?”

Gu Qiming took on an arrogant tone, "Do you really think that..." He met Lin Xing's gaze and spoke intentionally. "You don't actually believe that he can make such profitable items on his own, do you?

"You guys know how he’s been doing these past few years, right? He can barely support himself, let alone make a living as a carpenter. Not to mention he’s getting older now. It’s his blessing that I still want him. If I leave, do you really think he can still make money for you guys?"

Gu Qiming's statement contained numerous flaws, yet it still managed to deceive the Lin family into becoming momentarily stunned.

Indeed!

Everyone has seen how Lin Xing has been living for so many years. His house was so poor that he couldn't raise even a single animal. It wasn't until after this person arrived that things started getting better.

And as they could clearly see, Gu Qiming even came back carrying a very fat rabbit!

Lin Xing was also taken aback. He knew that Gu Ge was saying this so that the Lin family could hear, but for some reason, there was a faint hint of bitterness rising in his heart...

"That won't do either! Why should our family's beautiful son be so cheap? We are Lin Xing's family no matter what others may say. If you don't have ten taels of silver, don't even think about marrying him!" When Old Man Lin saw Gu Qiming's attitude, he realized that man really did fancy Lin Xing.

“That's impossible! Don't try to trick me. Look at him yourselves! Where is he worth ten taels of silver to you? Don't treat the money in Laozi's[e/n: laozi = confidence, arrogance, or a defiant "I".
Literally: I, your father/daddy.. and tbh I have been excited to use that word hehehe] house like it fell from the sky!” Gu Qiming deliberately exaggerated his tone, “Six taels at most! Once you take the money, Lin Xing will belong to me. You can't control what happens to sons-in-law after they marry out. He'll be Laozi's mule and horse from then on, and the Lin family has no say in it.”

Six taels of silver!

The villagers may not be able to save up six taels of silver for years, but Li Yan was very excited because with this money, Lin Qing's marriage would be settled! His second son had reached the age to talk about marriage a long time ago, but unfortunately, the family had fallen on hard times these past few years, which had delayed things.

Old Man Lin merely mentioned it in passing, believing that getting five liang would already be quite good. Yet, Gu Qiming actually managed to produce six liang, showing how surprisingly capable this hunter truly is.

He pretended to be in a difficult position and said, "Six taels of silver is not impossible. Our Lin Xing is capable and willing to endure hardships. Wherever he goes, there will be people eager to marry him. If it weren't for you ruining Lin Xing’s reputation, I wouldn’t have agreed to betroth him to an outsider like you."

Lin Xing sneered in his heart. These words were pleasant to the ear, but the words and phrases did not treat him as a human being at all, but as an object to be disposed of at will.

He had originally wanted to retort that this was his own business, even if he took on the reputation of being an unfilial son, he couldn't let them get their way.

However, before he could open his mouth, Gu Qiming seemed to see through his thoughts. He pinched his hand, signaling him not to act rashly.

"That's perfect, the village chief is here today. After taking this six taels of silver, Lin Xing will be mine. Words alone are not reliable, we should sign a contract."

"Then let's draw up a written agreement!" Old Man Lin eagerly responded. These words were precisely what he had hoped to hear. He had been apprehensive about Gu Qiming going back on his word.

Gu Qiming then said to the village head, "We've really troubled you today. We've made such a fuss and caused you to see a joke. We'll have to trouble you to bear witness later." He then took out the wild rabbit he had just caught today. "This wild rabbit is a token of our respect for you. Thank you for going through the trouble of coming all this way." my Lin Family Village's people, so naturally, no one will make things difficult for you again."

Seeing that he was being so reasonable, the village elder smiled and said to Gu Qiming, "Very well, I will go back today and make the necessary preparations. Tomorrow at the beginning of the Si hour[Si Hour: Snake Hour, 9 to 11 am], you come to my house. Now that you and Lin Xing are engaged to be married, you are considered half of

Gu Qiming agreed readily on the surface, but internally he cursed this old fox severely. He truly let him off too easily; this journey probably allowed him to profit handsomely from both ends. After watching the drama unfold for so long, he's now stepping in to play the peacemaker. Likely, the more intense their conflict, the happier he becomes.

After the village chief left, Gu Qiming took out two-taels of silver and said to the Lin family, "I'll give you two taels first today; the rest will be given when the papers are signed tomorrow."

With the money in their pockets, the Lin family naturally left beaming with delight.

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Next Chapter: A Confession

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