Lin Er Dan
"My point is, I don't believe in the return of the spirits. If it's about tomb raiding, what does it mean for the corpse to be placed on your bed? Do tomb raiders want to play with you? Moreover, in our remote and impoverished village, who would bother with such antics?" he said.
"So, you believe that someone wants to target my family?" I asked.
"Yes, you should talk to your father about this. Don't let your grandmother know about this. I'm afraid she won't be able to take it. Just ask, who have you offended? It's very clear that someone wants to tarnish your family, especially you. You've reached the age to find a wife, but who would dare marry you if they know you've slept with the dead? The village chief said.
I nodded. The village chief's words made sense, and even the motive became clear. People in the mountains are not all uneducated.
Grandfather was buried once again.
We wanted to keep the news a secret but it quickly spread throughout the entire village. After all, in a village with only a few dozen households, and without any restrictions on who could attend the funeral, the news was impossible to hide.
The only fortunate thing was that no one knew it was my grandfather's body found on my bed; they all believed it was on my grandmother's bed.
There were even rumors that my grandfather didn't want to leave my grandmother and had come back to take her with him. More outrageously, some said that Old Man Lin was killed with a shoe horn and had returned for revenge.
There were no entertainment activities in the mountains, so after finishing work in the fields, the discussions between the villagers were normal. I didn't pay much attention to them. Although my grandmother used to be quite chatty in the past, she became the center of attention this time. She spoke about the most painful thing in her heart and, being hot-tempered, she fell ill before she could vent, leaving her bedridden.
This made me angry. Because I didn't believe in ghosts and spirits, I swore to find out who was behind this despicable act.
"Who have we offended? Impossible, we simply haven't. Don't you know me?" my father said when I asked him.
"Hasn't anything trivial happened between our family and others on the land's edge?" I asked.
"Truly not. I'm telling you, Xiaofan, don't overthink this. Even if your grandfather wanted to return to see you, or if it's not the case, think of it this way, who in the neighborhood could do such a thing?" My father was a bit annoyed.
I also felt it was unlikely since my father was indeed a good person. He wouldn't have time to argue with others as he had to take care of my mother and my grandfather who was in poor health before his passing. He had to bear the burden of the whole household alone.
But if it was like this, the motive for the incident was unconvincing. If it was intentional, why would someone do this? Out of pure boredom?
I thought about another possibility. If it wasn't because of my family, then the problem might be related to me.
But who could I have offended? I'm a complete homebody, unassuming. Apart from school, my father doesn't allow me to participate in agricultural work at home, so I usually stay at home. Who could I have offended?
I thought and thought, I don't believe in the supernatural, and I can't seem to find any enemies. Is this an unsolvable problem?
I have a childhood friend, basically like a brother, named Lin Er Dan. Our ages are similar, but he chose to graduate from middle school and then wandered around the village. Later, he got married, and his child was over a year old. He was always pestering me to have a drink with him, but because of his high alcohol tolerance, I never dared to go.
Now, because I was feeling troubled, the school is on an indefinite break because of me, so I bought a bottle of liquor and brought some peanuts from home, wanting to chat with him.
After three rounds of drinks, I told him about the recent events I had experienced.
With narrowed eyes, he said, "Xiaofan, I think this, your second uncle is the prime suspect. That person, with such a masculine appearance, definitely looks rich. How could he come to recognize your poor family? Moreover, at such an old age, he doesn't have a wife? In one word, he seems suspicious."
"I have thought about that too, but looking at that face, exactly like my dad's, no one can deny that he's my father's son. I suspect he might have committed a crime in the city and is now seeking refuge here, but doing such a thing? That's impossible. After all, my grandfather is his own father. I'm not familiar with the village, nor do I understand the ways of the world. I'm afraid I might have unknowingly offended someone. Have you heard anyone say something bad about my family?" I was drunk.
"If you want to talk about that, I really have heard others talk about you. They say your standards are too high despite the conditions of your family. Xiaofan, I must tell you, now that you've returned, who is going to introduce a girl to you? Normally, girls with a bit of charm in our village are not willing to come here, but you're different. You're a university-educated intellectual, and I can't help but envy that, but no matter what you look like, you don't see anyone who is good enough, and that could provoke jealousy, couldn't it?" Lin Er Dan said.
When I heard what he said, it seemed to make sense; I said, "Go on, if you can help me understand this issue, I'll come to drink with you every day."
"There's nothing else. I heard those old ladies say this about you too. They said if you keep being so picky, even being a university student, you'll end up single. But I think, just because of this, it doesn't necessarily mean that Lin grandpa's grave was not dug, and his remains were placed next to you. It's clear they wanted to tarnish your reputation!"
"Wait! Xiaofan, there's one more thing I want to tell you. What do you think of Lin San Shui?" Lin Er Dan suddenly made a big turn.
Lin San Shui was the village chief of our village. He was also busy with the matters at my house, and I had a good impression of him. Although I didn't understand why Lin Er Dan was asking, I replied, "He's fine, I think."
"Not good at all!" Lin Er Dan was already quite drunk; he had almost finished the bottle of liquor on his own.
"Why, do you have a problem with him?" I asked.
"A big problem! I'll tell you, Xiaofan, I heard that a sum of money was allocated from the village for you as a teacher, but he, that bastard, deducted five hundred of it for himself every month. But that's not all, do you know how he became the village chief? People say he used his wife to sleep with the township head in exchange for the position!" Lin Er Dan told me mysteriously.
At this point, Lin Er Dan's wife came over and covered his mouth, then smacked his head with a slap. She scolded, "I told you not to chatter."
Lin Er Dan's wife probably weighed at least a hundred pounds more than him, and she was dark-skinned. If they really fought, Lin Er Dan might not be able to handle her, this woman even smiled and said to me, "Xiaofan, Lin Er Dan is drunk and is talking nonsense. Don't believe what he says when he leaves, you mustn't mention this."
I nodded and said, "No problem, Sister-in-law, I know the difference. Release Lin Er Dan and don't suffocate him."
With a smile, White Pearl released Lin Er Dan. Lin Er Dan, perhaps emboldened by the alcohol and with me still there, shouted, "Who the *expletive* said I'm drunk? Everything I said is the truth. Even if you pick someone randomly and ask, other than my honest self, I'll tell you, Xiaofan, I also want to tell you, the poverty alleviation funds provided from above, they’ve all been embezzled!"
White Pearl glared, and if I weren't here today, Lin Er Dan would probably suffer a fat beating.
"Brother, you're drunk. You and your wife should rest. I'll leave, we'll meet again another day," I said as Lin Er Dan's words became increasingly unreliable. I stood up to take my leave, and even if he said a few more words, I was sure White Pearl would break one of his legs once I was gone.
"Bro, don't go, let me tell you something. That girl, Lin Xiao Yao from Lin San Shui's family, likes you. If it's about stigmatizing you, maybe it was her doing it!" Lin Er Dan shouted.
I stood up and left, and White Pearl couldn't hold back any longer, she grabbed Lin Er Dan's collar and pulled him into the house.
I stood up, and it was already dark outside.
I pondered over Lin Er Dan's words. Did Lin San Shui really cheat me out of five hundred yuan? Probably this wasn't false; however, I didn't want to ask. After all, I came to the village to teach, and some might think I'm biting the hand that feeds me when they actually don't know the truth. This job is still important to me; after all, after teaching for three years, there's hope of regularization.
As for Lin Er Dan's claims about Lin San Shui becoming the village chief because his wife slept with the township head, that intrigued me.
This may have been an impulsive act in my youth, because I once saw Lin Sanshui's wife taking a bath. I was eleven that year, still at an age where I didn't understand anything.
You might think, what's so special about seeing a village woman bathe, but Lin Sanshui's wife was different, she was very beautiful. The land shapes the people, and in the village where Lin Sanshui's wife lived, it was a place known for producing beautiful women. The other women in the village had rough skin from working in the fields, but Lin Sanshui's wife was different. Lin Sanshui had made some money from greenhouse farming, so they lived relatively comfortably. He also cherished his wife, and she naturally had good skin, with a fair complexion that was as smooth as water.
So, in our village, there were two beautiful women.
One was my mother.
The other was Lin Sanshui's wife, Wu Miaoke. Just her name alone set her apart from the villagers.
The time I saw her bathing was when I went to her house to play with Lin Xiaoyao. Because I was a child, I didn't knock on the door and just pushed it open, only to see her in a startled state.
My immediate thought was, "So white, dazzlingly white."
As a result, that seductive scene would often appear in my dreams afterwards, causing me to take cold showers countless times.