Chapter 5: The Malicious Neighbor

When Chai Jin saw Chai Xiaoshan rushing toward him, he quickly crouched down and lifted the bag of fruit in his hand. “Look what your brother bought for you!” Chai Xiaoshan, a little glutton, didn’t even have time to wipe her tears away; her eyes were fixed on the rosy apples in the bag. “Wow, brother, are those apples?” “What do you think?” Chai Jin gently wiped the tearstains from her face with his sleeve. “Brother, give it to me, I want to eat.” The little girl impatiently reached for them, with no trace left of her previous sobs.

Chai Jin pressed down on her little head. “You can’t eat them now. We have to wash them at home first, or you’ll get roundworms!” Chai Xiaoshan looked troubled. Chai Fang hurried over as well, her delicate, oval face gazing at him. “Xiao Jin, did you really exchange those papers for money?” “How did you buy so many things?” Chai Jin was in high spirits. The exhaustion from several days of travel vanished when he saw his sisters; he didn’t feel tired at all. “Let’s go home first, and I’ll tell you everything.” “Where’s Dad? Is he home?” “No, he went out to borrow money.” “Oh, let’s go back then.”

The three siblings walked toward their earthen house. But Chai Xiaoshan the little glutton never took her eyes off the apples in Chai Jin’s hand. Sometimes, when Chai Jin switched hands because of the weight, she would follow to the other side, constantly looking up with a hopeful smile. “Chai Jin, are you tired of carrying them? Let me help you.” “Brother, why don’t you take out two for me to hold? That way the bag will be much lighter.” “Brother, can I eat two at once later?”

For Chai Xiaoshan, the only fruit she had ever longed for was the old sour jujube tree in front of their house. In spring, she would ask, “Brother, why hasn’t the jujube tree blossomed yet?” In summer, “Chai Jin, the flowers have fallen, when will the fruit be ripe?” In autumn, “Brother, hurry and pick the fruit for me, or it’ll rot on the tree!” In winter, “Brother, when will the jujube tree bloom again?” Season after season, Chai Xiaoshan would ask such questions every day. This was the reality of children growing up poor in those times.

By the looks of it, this was the first time the Chai family’s earth-brick house was filled with the aroma of meat that year. It wasn’t that Chai Mingguo was stingy with his three children, but after paying the grain tax, whatever little was left would be taken by the village creditors. The smell of meat, therefore, immediately attracted the villagers’ attention.

After returning home, Chai Fang deftly prepared several dishes. When their father still hadn’t returned after a long wait, she went out to the fields to look for him, but he was nowhere to be found. The three siblings had no choice but to save a portion for their father and start eating. At the table, Xiaoshan ate heartily, her mouth covered with meat grease, her smile pure and innocent. Chai Fang ate quietly and asked Chai Jin many questions, which he answered patiently, bit by bit.

In the midst of their cheerful meal, a coarse woman’s voice rang out from outside—it was Li Fengxian, their neighbor. “Chai Mingguo! I KNEW your family was hiding money!” she shouted. “Your son brought home such a big string of meat, do you think we villagers are blind?” “Get out here and pay what you owe, you shameless wretch!”

At the sound of her voice, Chai Xiaoshan was so frightened she dropped her bowl and hid behind Chai Fang. Li Fengxian was their neighbor, a vicious woman who had often bullied Chai Xiaoshan—pinching her, slapping her, even secretly jabbing her with needles. Chai Jin remembered when he was thirteen and Xiaoshan was only two, she had lured the girl into her house and pricked her with needles just because Xiaoshan had chased her chickens. When he found the needle marks, he rushed to her house and fought her. In the end, Chai Mingguo had to come home and apologize before dragging him away. When you owe people money, you have to bow your head and swallow your dignity.

That was why Chai Jin loathed this woman. Without a word, he went inside, took out a hundred-yuan bill from his bag—their family’s debt to Li Fengxian. Li Fengxian came to the door, her beady eyes oozing malice as she looked inside. “Where’s Chai Mingguo?” Chai Fang replied in a small voice, “Father hasn’t come home yet.” “If he’s not home, where did you get the money to buy meat?”

Before she finished, Chai Jin flung the hundred-yuan note at her. “Your money is repaid. Don’t you dare make a scene in my house. I’ve never forgotten what you did to us when I was thirteen. Don’t blame me if I can’t control myself next time.” Li Fengxian was stunned for a moment, then picked the bill up off the ground, holding it up to the sunlight, inspecting it back and forth. At last she muttered, “It’s real.” But then, in her sharp, spiteful voice, she demanded, “And where did your family get the money?”

Chai Jin looked her in the eye. “Do I owe you an explanation?” “Hey, you little brat, you think you’re somebody now that you’ve grown up?” Li Fengxian rolled up her sleeves and stormed inside. Chai Mingguo never dared make a sound in front of her—how could his son amount to anything? For years, Li Fengxian had lorded it over their family, never showing an ounce of respect.

Provoked by Chai Jin’s defiance, she was furious. Chai Fang panicked, about to intercede, but Chai Jin didn’t waste a word—he stood up and slapped Li Fengxian hard across her fleshy face. Her cheeks quivered, her body reeled, and she almost fell. She caught herself against the wall and exploded, shrieking, “You little beast! I’ll kill you!” “There’s no law and no heaven left, is there?”

You’re ruthless; I’m more ruthless than you. Chai Jin grabbed a wooden stick from the side and swung it down with a bang. He missed, the stick striking the ground at Li Fengxian’s feet, but it was enough to shock her sober. Seeing the fury in his bloodshot eyes, she was cowed. If that stick had landed, she might never have gotten up again. Shuddering, she backed away several steps and ran to the door. Pointing at him, she screeched, “So you’ve learned to fight back, have you? Fine! When Chai Mingguo comes home, I’ll have him deal with you, you little wretch!” With that, she spun around and fled, afraid Chai Jin might chase her.

Chai Jin tossed the stick aside and, as if nothing had happened, returned to the table, looking at his stunned sisters. “People like that only respect someone more ruthless than themselves. Only then do they back down. Let’s eat.” “Okay,” Chai Fang replied, still dazed. She felt as though her brother had suddenly changed overnight—he’d never been like this before. She said nothing.

Li Fengxian, frightened off by Chai Jin, was far from appeased once she calmed down at home. Gnashing her teeth, she muttered, “So your family suddenly has money, is it? I’ll see just how much you really have! Repaid your debt to me? Let’s see if you can pay off the whole village!” “Lowly people, I can’t stand your family!” Thus, the venomous woman began spreading the word around the village, telling everyone that Chai Mingguo’s family had money and urging them to collect their debts—intent on driving the whole village to their door, just to vent her spite.