Fusion System: Rebirth in a Courtyard - Bird Fighting Chronicles

Chapter 84: Account books reveal the fading of family ties; wise words awaken the deluded mind.

The aftershocks of Jia Zhangshi's theft arrest hadn't yet subsided; the blue brick floor of the Hongxing Courtyard still seemed to bear the frost of last night. When Lin Chen opened the door in the early morning, he bumped into Yan Bugui squatting beside the stone mill in the middle courtyard, holding a yellowed account book, his fingertips dabbling in it with ink. From the front yard came Yan Jiedi's suppressed sobs, mixed with Aunt Yan's low words of advice. The cold wind swirled fine snowflakes, filling the courtyard with this oppressive atmosphere.

"Good morning, Master Lin." When Yan Bugui looked up, his glasses were fogged up. He hurriedly stuffed the account book into his pocket, his face showing his usual worried expression. "The weather turned cold so suddenly. I was just thinking about getting the kids some cotton-padded clothes, but this salary... sigh, it's tough." As he spoke, he habitually wiped the corner of his eye, but this time there was no calculation in his eyes, but rather a hint of barely perceptible anxiety.

Just as Lin Chen was about to respond, the crying from the front yard suddenly escalated, followed by Yan Jiedi's tearful question: "Father! I'm your own daughter! You raised me for twenty years, and you only want fifty yuan for raising me? Where am I supposed to get that money?!" Then Yan Bugui's voice rose even higher: "Is fifty yuan a lot? The delivery fee was two mao when you were born, the gift money for your full-month celebration was one yuan and thirty cents, the cost of your school supplies was one yuan and fifty cents a year, and I even remember the half-eaten cornbread you stole when you were ten! That's a total of fifty-eight yuan and sixty cents, and I'm only letting you take fifty; that's already more than enough!"

These words were like a stone thrown into the still water of the courtyard. Qin Huai, who was washing clothes by the pool, paused, soap bubbles dripping down his frostbitten fingers. Liu Guangtian, who had just returned from the early shift at the workshop, carrying his toolbox, also stopped, his brows furrowed. By the time Lin Chen walked towards the front yard, almost all the neighbors had gathered, and Yan Bugui's flimsy wooden door was completely surrounded.

The scene inside seemed even more cramped than outside. Yan Jiedi wore a faded floral cotton-padded jacket, her eyes red and swollen, clutching a neatly folded piece of red cloth in her hand—the fabric she had saved up for half a year's wages to buy her wedding dress. Aunt Yan sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), wiping away tears. On the kang table lay a thick account book, filled with dense handwriting recording every expense Yan Jiedi had made from childhood to adulthood, even down to the entry, "March 4th, 1948, bought half a tael of brown sugar, priced at three cents."

Yan Bugui stood in the center of the room, hands behind his back, adopting the air of a teacher, but his voice carried an undisguised firmness: "I've made it perfectly clear for you, not a penny less than this fifty yuan! Otherwise, you can forget about getting married! If the man's family finds out you wouldn't even give your father child support, they'll think our Yan family has no rules!"

"But my husband's family isn't well-off either!" Yan Jiedi sobbed, unable to catch her breath. "He only earns twenty-one yuan and fifty cents a month as an apprentice. The dowry is barely enough to buy furniture. Where would we get fifty yuan for you? Dad, can't you be a little more understanding? We'll definitely repay you even more when things are better for us!"

"Make an exception?" Yan Bugui sneered, picking up the account book on the kang table and flipping through it noisily. "Back when your elder brother Yan Jiecheng got married, I asked him for sixty yuan for child support, not a penny less! Now I'm reducing it by ten yuan, which is already a favor because you're a daughter! This account needs to be settled clearly. Raising children to provide for old age is a matter of course!" As he spoke, he suddenly glanced at Lin Chen at the door, his expression changed slightly, then he put on a distressed look. "Master Lin, you've come at the right time. You be the judge. I've raised my daughter for twenty years, is asking for fifty yuan for child support too much?"

Before Lin Chen could speak, Liu Haizhong in the crowd exploded: "Yan Bugui, are you even human? Your daughter is getting married, and instead of thinking about adding some dowry, you're demanding child support! If my Guangtian and Guangfu ever treat me like this again, I'll break their legs!" He had just finished cursing when Liu Guangtian quietly tugged at his sleeve—since learning the trade from Lin Chen, Liu Guangtian had become increasingly composed and always advised his father to be less impulsive.

Yan Bugui's face flushed red from the retort, and he stubbornly retorted, "Master Liu, what do you know! I'm teaching the children to be reasonable! Every effort should be rewarded. If this account isn't clear, how will they know how to respect their elders in the future?" He then flipped to a page in the ledger, "Look, in 1949, I bought her an eraser for two cents, and she still hasn't paid me back!"

The neighbors watching all looked on with disdain. Qin Huairu couldn't help but speak up: "Teacher Yan, Jie Di is a good girl. She always helps the neighbors mend clothes without charging them. If you pressure her like this, how will she be able to hold her head high in her husband's family?" Jia Zhangshi also muttered in the crowd: "That's right. I even protect my Jia Geng when he steals. How can you scheme against your own daughter like this?" She was immediately glared at by Qin Huairu and quickly shut her mouth.