"Brother Cheng."
Zhaodi called out as well, her eyes just as red and swollen.
"Mm."
Cheng Zongyang acknowledged her, then took three incense sticks and lit them. He knelt respectfully and bowed three times before placing the sticks in the censer. Then, he turned to Aunt Chunhua, who stood to the side.
"Auntie, the dead can't be brought back to life. Although Uncle Chen is gone, you still have Zhaodi and Laidi. You must take care of your health."
Hearing this, Chen Zhaodi, who stood nearby with her head bowed, let out a soft sob as tears dripped down her cheeks.
Aunt Chunhua looked at Cheng Zongyang with clouded eyes and nodded slightly, her expression somewhat vacant.
Cheng Zongyang continued,
"Auntie, Uncle Chen saved my life. I will never forget his kindness.
Also, my father and mother told me to bring you some grain. If you need anything in the future that my family can help with, we won't just stand by and do nothing.
Live well, eat more, and take care of yourself. That's the most important thing. I'm sure Uncle Chen's spirit in heaven would want the same."
"Th-thank you!" A hoarse voice escaped Aunt Chunhua's throat as she nodded at Cheng Zongyang.
"I'll be on my way then." Cheng Zongyang looked at the unfortunate family and sighed inwardly.
He walked out of the main hall and saw the second daughter, Laidi, standing by the door. He patted her on the head, then called Zhaodi out from inside.
Chen Zhaodi wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and walked out, looking puzzled. In the courtyard, she heard Cheng Zongyang say,
"Hide the grain I brought. Cook more rice or congee, and make sure you eat enough. I also brought some brown sugar. Boil some brown sugar water for your mother to drink, and you two should have some as well. When the grain runs out, I'll bring more. Don't try to save it by going hungry, understand?"
"And if you run into any trouble, you can come find me."
Cheng Zongyang nagged her with reminders, much like a mother hen.
With red-rimmed, teary eyes, Chen Zhaodi nodded.
Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang didn't linger any longer and headed home.
Just as he reached his front door, however, he saw an old man and two middle-aged men walking toward his house.
"Village Chief, Uncle Detian, Uncle Deshui," Cheng Zongyang greeted them.
The village chief, Jin Fumin, was fifty-two this year. He had two sons, who were the two middle-aged men beside him.
Years of hard farm labor had aged the villagers, making them look older than they were.
The two brothers, Jin Detai and Jin Deshui, were about the same age as his father, Cheng Guanghai—only in their thirties.
But they looked as if they were in their forties.
Even Jin Fumin looked no different from a man in his sixties.
Cheng Zongyang hadn't expected this family to come again today.
When Jin Fumin saw Cheng Zongyang, he smiled.
"Zongyang, good that you're here. There's something I need to talk to you all about."
Hearing the commotion outside, Cheng Guanghai came out of the house.
Looking at Jin Fumin's smiling face, Cheng Guanghai cursed inwardly, 'Old coot. This old geezer still hasn't given up!'
Although displeased, he still put on a welcoming expression and invited, "Village Chief, please come in and talk."
Cheng Zongyang also nodded with a smile.
"No need. I'll just say my piece and be on my way."
Jin Fumin chuckled and looked at Cheng Guanghai, starting to speak right there at the door.
"You know the situation in the village. Times are tough for everyone. To avoid what happened in Hengshui Village—people starving to death—I'm organizing a group to hunt in the Inner Mountain.
We have hunters in the village, of course, but everyone knows you two, father and son, are experts."
At this, Jin Fumin turned to Cheng Zongyang, patted his shoulder, and praised him,
"Especially you. Even the old hunters can't help but give you a thumbs-up. Among the younger generation, no one can compare to you.
Even among the older generation, there are few who can match you. Everyone's saying our village has produced a top-notch hunter."
In response to this kind of flattery—meant to trap him with praise—Cheng Zongyang maintained his smile and said,
"Village Chief, you're too kind. Everything I know, my father taught me. There's still so much I have yet to learn from him. I really don't deserve such praise."
Hearing this, Jin Fumin sighed to himself. 'This kid's mind is really different from others his age. It works unusually fast.'
'When I think of my own grandson, why is the difference so vast!' He then changed the subject, saying,
"I heard you went into the Inner Mountain yesterday and killed a Black Panther? I hear even tigers are wary of those things. Everyone thinks that if you and your father join, the hunt will surely be bountiful, and much safer too."
Cheng Guanghai couldn't listen anymore. 'Not a single honest word comes out of this old coot's mouth,' he thought. 'He just keeps piling on the praise, trying to make it impossible for us to refuse?' His expression became calm as he said,
"Village Chief, as I said yesterday, that Black Panther was killed by someone from another village. They just asked my son to sell it in the county town for them. The only reason is that his second uncle has connections there and knows many Martial Artists and family members, so he could sell it quickly without getting cheated."
At this point, Cheng Guanghai added with a chuckle,
"Besides, no matter how skilled he is, he's still just a kid. He's reckless. How could his experience compare to the old hunters in our village?"
How could Jin Fumin not understand the meaning behind Cheng Guanghai's words? Seeing how stubborn he was, the chief's brow furrowed.
"Guanghai, we're all from the same village. Many people have already joined. It wouldn't look good for your family to isolate yourselves, would it?"
Cheng Guanghai's expression remained pleasant as he said,
"Village Chief, you're aware of the Chen family's situation. Now that Chen Jiang is gone, Mrs. Li of the Chen Family is also in poor health. It's going to be a hard road ahead for the widow and her two orphaned daughters.
My family may be poor, but we can manage to get by trying our luck in the Outer Mountain."
When Cheng Guanghai said this, anyone with eyes could understand his meaning.
Jin Fumin's face darkened. "If you act like this, don't expect any help from the villagers when you run into trouble later."
Cheng Guanghai's expression grew grim. "Chen Jiang died. Did any of the villagers lend his family a helping hand?"
"Hmph!" Jin Fumin flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.
Jin Detai and Jin Deshui both shot Cheng Guanghai a fierce glare.
"Times are getting harder, and refugees are everywhere. For your family to be so selfish... just you wait. There will come a day when you regret this!" Jin Detai spat out this threat and followed his father.
Cheng Guanghai just scoffed.
'In over twenty years, when has our family ever relied on the village for anything!'
'When has the Jin clan ever treated the Cheng Family as true villagers?'
Cheng Zongyang watched his father counter Jin Fumin's overt and covert provocations, his praise-traps, and his attempts to claim credit. He gave a thumbs-up and said with a laugh,
"Dad, that was amazing!"
Cheng Guanghai shot his son a glare and turned back into the house.
In the courtyard, Mrs. Zhou of the Cheng Family, who hadn't gone out but had been listening from the doorway, was very satisfied with how her husband had confronted the village chief.
There were five people in their family; they couldn't afford to lose anyone. She had no desire to end up like Li Chunhua.
"Son, you can't let that old coot fool you," Mrs. Zhou of the Cheng Family said, still a little worried, adding another reminder.
Before Cheng Zongyang could speak, his father interjected, "Don't you worry. We'll be lucky if this little rascal isn't the one fooling others."
Mrs. Zhou of the Cheng Family shot her husband a dissatisfied glare. "Nonsense. How could our son possibly fool others?"
Hearing his mom stand up to his dad, Cheng Zongyang grinned on the sidelines.
Cheng Guanghai opened his mouth, but then thought better of it. 'When this woman gets protective of her son, there's no reasoning with her.'
He turned his head and saw his son's punchable grin, which made his anger flare up. He wanted to curse him out a bit, but then he saw his wife standing there. He just snorted, went straight to the inner room, and prepared to change his clothes to go dig the cellar.
"Mom, you're still the most impressive," Cheng Zongyang chuckled.
"Oh, get out of here..." Mrs. Zhou of the Cheng Family gave her son a look, saying irritably.