The next morning.
Lin Yu got up early.
“Brother System, sign in.”
【Ding, daily sign in, congratulations to the host for obtaining 10 small yellow fish, 1 winter and summer tent, 30 sets of steel wire noose. 】
Lin Yu nodded in satisfaction. The System during the novice protection period was indeed generous.
After breakfast, he carried his backpack and walked towards the Dongzhimen Bus Station.
It was more than 70 miles away, and the journey took the whole morning.
By noon, Lin Yu finally arrived at his destination, just before he was about to throw up.
Linjiacun, Mentougou District, was Lin Yu’s hometown.
Lin Yu’s grandparents and eldest uncle still lived in Linjiacun.
Lin Yu's father, Lin Weiguo, had four brothers in his generation.
The eldest uncle was Lin Baojia, followed by Lin Weiguo, the third uncle Lin Xingbang, and the fourth uncle Lin Liye.
Although Lin Yu's grandfather had not received formal education, he was a man of vision. He hired a scholar to give his sons their names.
“Stop, what are you doing?” Lin Yu was stopped by three militia members as soon as he reached the village entrance.
“Big Brother Jiang, it’s me.” Lin Yu recognized the leading young man and quickly called out.
“Little Yu, haha, Little Yu, why have you come back?” Lin Jiang patted Lin Yu’s shoulder happily. “Good boy, it's been years since we last met, you’ve become quite a young man.”
Lin Jiang, the eldest son of Lin Yu’s eldest uncle Lin Baojia, was 28 years old. He was the eldest of their generation. Lin Yu hadn't seen his older cousin for many years.
He joined the army at 18 and hadn't been back since.
“Gangzi, Tiezi, put away your guns. Don’t accidentally shoot your Uncle Yu.” Lin Jiang told the two young men behind him.
“Uncle Yu.” The two quickly greeted Lin Yu.
Lin Jiang introduced them to Lin Yu. “Lin Jingang and Lin Jintie, they are from our second cousin Lin Shi’s family.”
The second cousin Lin Jiang mentioned wasn’t from the same branch of the family as Lin Yu’s grandfather, but from his grandfather’s older brother’s side.
Lin Yu nodded. He knew Lin Shi, this second cousin, and his family were all tough guys.
Back in the day, Lin Shi’s family was the only one in Linjiacun who dared to charge at the Japanese and the puppet troops with bayonets.
Back then, it was Lin Yu’s second grandfather who led a group of uncles and cousins to join the guerrillas.
Lin Yu’s second grandfather also died in that era.
Lin Yu quickly took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes and lit one for his cousin and his nephews.
Even though the two nephews looked younger than him, there weren’t any rural kids who didn’t smoke. It’s too easy to get bitten by mosquitoes and bugs when working in the fields, and besides, the older generations taught them from a young age that smoking could deter snakes.
There were over 40 households and about 300 people in Linjiacun, all Lin family members, sharing the same lineage.
Lin Yu’s grandfather was 73 years old this year, the youngest of his generation, and was known as Old Master Lin Eight. He was a skilled man, having fought in the guerrilla war. Everyone within ten miles called him Old Master Lin Eight.
All of his brothers, from the same generation, were no match for him in terms of capabilities.
This means that Old Master Lin Eight might not be the oldest in Linjiacun, but he was definitely the most senior in terms of generations.
Lin Yu remembered that his grandfather had several nephews who were almost 80 years old.
His eldest nephew had been talking about taking care of his Old Master Eight when he got old and until his death, but after all these years, he never actually did anything for him.
Finally, three years ago, he passed away at the age of 84, unwillingly.
Lin Yu recalled that when his eldest nephew passed, his grandfather was heartbroken.
He cried out, “Eldest nephew, when I was a child, you used to wash my diapers. Why did you leave so soon? The heavens are unjust. You passed away so young.”
The younger generations present at the wake almost choked on their saliva when they heard their grandfather's words.
To this day, Lin Yu still didn’t understand if his grandfather's words about passing away so young were appropriate in this situation.
“Little Yu, let’s go home.” Lin Jiang took Lin Yu’s backpack and put it on his own shoulders.
Turning to the Steel Brothers, he said, “Gangzi, Tiezi, you two watch for a while. I’ll come back later.”
“Don’t worry, Uncle Jiang, take Uncle Yu back quickly.” Lin Jingang replied.
“Gra...Grandfather, where’s Grandma?” Lin Yu shouted as soon as he reached the entrance of his ancestral home.
“Hey, you little rascal.” Old Master Lin Eight came out of the house in high spirits. “Just like your father, you always look for your mother when you come back. You…”
Before he could finish, Lin Yu's grandmother, quick and agile, walked out from the house and grabbed his ear.
“Old man, what did you just call my grandson? You old fool, you don’t even think before you speak, you insulted the whole family with that one sentence!”
Lin Jiang stood aside and chuckled.
Good heavens, not only is it easy to insult your own brother when you're talking about a relative, but you can't even insult your own grandson, can you?
Old Master Lin shook his head, pulling his ear away from his wife’s hand. “What old grandson? Little Yu is my fifth grandson, and I won’t have any more grandsons.”
Old Master Lin had high hopes for his third generation. He even came up with names for them.
Jiangshanhai (Jiangshan Sea), Yuzhouhonghuang (Universe Vastness), Zhongxiaoliyi (Loyalty, Filial Piety, Courtesy, and Righteousness), Wenwushuangquan (Literate and Martial Prowess).
According to Old Master Lin, his grandsons should be both literate and martial, excelling in all aspects of life.
Hence, the names he chose covered everything. Lin Yu and his brothers were constantly guessing.
Old Master Lin probably heard these names from the operas he watched and decided to use them for his grandsons.
However, what Old Master Lin didn’t expect was that his four sons stopped at Lin Yu. No more grandsons, only four granddaughters.
Old Master Lin still cherished his granddaughters. Any offspring of the Lin family was his pride and joy.
But Old Master Lin's ambitions were dashed.
His eldest and second sons were hopeless, and the third son was already 40 years old.
The only hope left was Lin Yu’s fourth uncle, Lin Liye.
Unfortunately, his fourth uncle didn’t live up to expectations. He had two daughters, completely extinguishing Old Master Lin’s last hope.
However, this made his wife, Old Madam Lin, ecstatic. Four lovely granddaughters, she couldn’t get enough of them.
Old Madam Lin had attended private school when she was young and directly decided on the names for her four granddaughters.
Lin Xue (Lin Snow), Lin Miao (Lin Mist), Lin Xin (Lin Joy), Lin Yue (Lin Cheerful).
Before Old Master Lin could suggest names like Zhen (Precious), Feng (Phoenix), Yu (Jade), Mei (Beauty), Old Madam Lin had already gained everyone’s approval. She used the names she had chosen, which were true girls’ names.
The whole family agreed that Old Madam Lin was more cultured than Old Master Lin. If they had known they would have let Old Madam Lin choose the grandsons’ names too.
“Old grandson, why did you come back today? Hurry and come in, Grandma will make you dumplings.” Lin Yu's grandmother smiled and pulled Lin Yu into the courtyard.
She couldn’t get enough of her own grandson.
Lin Yu thought, "I’ll only be able to enjoy dumplings this year. In the next three years, I’ll be lucky to have a cornbread."