Fourth Mo had four sons and three daughters. Yanhua's father was the eldest, but among his brothers, he was the least capable, only able to farm. His second uncle was a carpenter with admirable skills; even people from the town had heard of him and would come to him to commission furniture. Now he lives in a house made of blue bricks and leads a prosperous life.
The third uncle was a pig butcher, slaughtering a pig each day and selling it around the villages. Watching San Mei plump and round like a barrel, her younger siblings were also chubby like piglets, indicating good times at home.
The youngest uncle was well-educated, having seemingly finished junior high school, and taught in the village while receiving a government salary.
Educated people, wherever they go, are cherished and respected, his family in the village was highly regarded as well.
Every time Fourth Mo heard others mention his youngest son, there was pride on his face, but mentioning his eldest son brought a look of frustration.
The three aunts married average men, knowing what kind of person their grandpa was, they wouldn't come back unless it was during holidays, to avoid being asked for money or other things.
Yanhua felt indignant. Originally, her father should have been the one learning carpentry from the master, who had even favored her father. She couldn't understand what her grandpa was thinking, forcing her father to give up the opportunity to his second uncle. Fearing her father would disagree, he took the second uncle secretly to the old carpenter, claiming that her father had relinquished the carpentry training to the second uncle.
If a person himself is unwilling to learn, the old carpenter had no choice but to take in her second uncle instead.
Yanhua harbored hatred – hating being born into such a family, despising her mother's incompetence, her father's weak character, and above all, her grandpa whose actions had caused her misery. Many nights, as Yanhua lay in bed recalling these events, she cursed that he wouldn't die sooner.
Yanhua was intelligent from a young age, beautiful, and quite scheming. With her high ambitions, how could she resign herself to marry a farmer?
Having heard villagers mention that factories in the county town were hiring, she wondered how to gather some money. Once she left, she would never return, unless she got married.
That afternoon, just returning from the fields, she saw San Mei coming to find Yanhong and overheard them discussing how their grandpa was bringing them to learn medicine from Uncle.
Yanhua thought it over; learning medicine wasn't a bad idea. People who had been to the town's hospital said that doctors there sat like lord landlords, peering at people through the crack of the door, and everyone spoke in hushed tones. Even the nurses who gave injections were a cut above the rest, and the medicine was expensive.
Yanhua imagined, once she learned properly, going to the county town to work as a nurse, and later finding an urban husband. How wonderful life would be then, she thought, not even changing her clothes before following them.
Mo Yuanle had a notorious reputation in the village, everyone knew, and Yanhua was afraid of him yet, for her future's sake, she slowly came out from behind Fourth Mo. When Fourth Mo saw it was her emerging, he glared sternly.
Just thinking about marrying a man like her father, who could only farm, Yanhua steeled her heart, and meeting Fourth Mo's stern gaze, she bravely faced Mo Yuanle's look, "Uncle, I want to learn from you."
"I want to do it too." Before Mo Yuanle had agreed, a little girl ran into the courtyard, panting and stood at the entrance to the hall, shouting loudly into the house, attracting the attention of everyone inside.
Lan Tian looked over and recognized the girl at the door as belonging to Fourth Grandpa's family, seemingly the daughter of Fourth Grandpa's youngest son. He had heard from grandma that she was quite favored by Fourth Grandpa, probably loving the house as he loved the crow. She looked about the age of San Mei. She usually stayed home studying and writing with her father, rarely played with other village kids, and always scored one hundred percent on exams. Lan Tian had seen her only a few times.
Mo Yuanle's gaze swept over several of his nieces, then he made up his mind, "Uncle, from now on Yanhua and Huilin will study medicine with me."
Fourth Mo brought six or seven granddaughters, yet Mo Yuanle chose only two, one of whom was the engaged Yanhua, someone from another family. This made others feel Mo Yuanle had slighted them, and their expressions immediately turned ugly.
"Yuangle, I'm not one to criticize, but the way you handled this isn't right. Teaching one is like teaching two, and teaching a few would be the same. They are all your nieces, and you have no descendants of your own. When they become proficient, they will certainly remember your kindness. When they are doing well in the future, they will surely support you, providing you with something to rely on when you're old. Outsiders are unreliable and are not our Mo Family. Your second aunt-in-law gets confused in her old age, and you are being foolish too."
Fourth Mo had been withholding his anger, upset that Grandma preferred to take in outsiders rather than caring for his own grandson.
Fourth Mo's words were not only harsh and offensive, but they also made everyone, including Mo Yuanle and Zhao Li as a couple, and Grandma Sun, look bad, and also upset Lan Tian.
Disrespectful due to old age, and exploiting it - he meant Grandma Sun, thinking she couldn't hear him calling her out indirectly, while everyone else in the room had the Mo Family's blood.
Lan Tian could ignore many things, but not when it came to his grandma and aunts and uncles.
Cuddled in Zhao Li's arms, Lan Tian tugged at Grandma Sun's sleeve and looked up at her innocently, "Grandma, did Fourth Grandpa come to our house to scold you because Grandpa isn't here? But I saw Grandpa just last night; he told me that back in the day, each household had to send someone to join the army, and only he and Fourth Grandpa were left in our family. Great-grandpa decided to let Grandpa and Fourth Grandpa draw lots, and whoever drew it had to go."
Lan Tian paused, then continued, "Who would have thought it would be Fourth Grandpa who drew it! He was too cowardly and scared to death to go, even threatened to smash his head and kill himself if pushed further. Then he pleaded with Grandpa to go on his behalf, and Grandpa, feeling pity and considering they were blood brothers, went to the army for Fourth Grandpa. Grandpa also said that Fourth Grandpa had promised to honor Grandma like his own mother."
At that moment, the room fell into an eerie, deathly silence.
Fourth Mo's face showed panic, and he looked at Lan Tian fearfully. Grandma Sun couldn't believe what she was hearing, then recalled what Lan Tian had told her before, and suddenly it all made sense, understanding why he suddenly said he would join the army. Mo Yuanle and Zhao Li, the husband and wife, were the most shocked; he had always thought his uncle had joined the army voluntarily, never knowing the truth was like this.
The most despicable was Uncle, who over the years openly and covertly harassed his aunt, grabbing land and even coveting this house. If his uncle had known what kind of scoundrel Fourth Grandpa was, it's unknown whether he'd be so enraged as to rise from his grave.
Yanhua's eyes flickered, though her face showed no reaction, what she was thinking, only she knew.
Huilin covertly glanced at Grandpa, full of astonishment, feeling that the heroic stories her grandpa told her didn't match up at all, and decided to ask her dad thoroughly once she got home. San Mei, Yanhong, and a few of the younger generation didn't understand and looked around blankly at everyone.