Chapter 4 — A Pigsty Cleaner Than the Ancestral Home

My fingers had just brushed against the paper bag when a shrill, piercing shriek from Man Man shattered the quiet of the courtyard.

Father! There must be a fortune hidden in the pigsty! Li wants to keep it all for herself!

When Man Man burst into the space, she was still wearing her house slippers. Eldest Uncle followed close behind, his expression so dark and brooding it seemed water could be wrung from it.

Secretary, hand over whatever you are holding in your hand.

Hwai Thanh tucked the paper bag behind his back.

Cheng De, are you giving me orders now?

Eldest Uncle’s eyes remained fixed relentlessly on the paper bag.

Whatever my mother entrusted to your care must be opened in the presence of all her children.

Man Man reached out to snatch it. Shen Yan moved his hand to block her, and she instantly collapsed onto the ground.

Someone is getting beaten!

Li and her husband are robbing the inheritance and resorting to violence!

Her voice was shrill and carrying; within just a few loud wails, she had drawn a crowd. Eldest Aunt rushed in with her hair in disarray, bursting into tears the moment she crossed the threshold.

My poor, pitiful daughter!

Her grandmother has only just passed away, and outsiders are already coming to our door to bully us!

Hwai Thanh was trembling with rage, his cane striking the ground furiously.

Man Man, did anyone even touch you just now?

Man Man sat on the cold ground, cradling her arm.

He pushed me!

Shen Yan’s face drained of color.

I never touched her at all.

She immediately pulled up her sleeve. A dark, ugly bruise was visible on her skin. I recognized that bruise instantly. Yesterday, during the division of the estate, Man Man had fought with her cousin over a gold bracelet and slammed directly into the corner of a table. But the onlookers knew nothing of this. Whispers began to ripple through the crowd.

This son-in-law certainly has a fiery temper.

He even pushed Eldest Uncle last night.

Taking advantage of the ensuing chaos, Eldest Uncle lunged behind Hwai Thanh. His hand clamped onto the corner of the paper bag. I sprang forward to hold onto it.

This is what grandmother left for me.

You think just because you say it is for you, it actually is?

Eldest Uncle pulled with all his might. The paper bag tore down the middle, ripping apart. A heavy brass key fell to the floor, accompanied by a folded sheet of white paper. Quick as lightning, Man Man scooped up the paper and bolted. I gave chase. She came to a halt right at the courtyard gates, unfurling the paper before everyone gathered there. Scrawled across it were just a few lines of handwriting.

Li Li, the key opens the small box hidden behind the third blue brick on the east wall of the pigsty.

Do not fear the filth, and do not care if others laugh.

What grandmother gives to you, no one can ever take away.

As she finished reading, Man Man’s eyes flushed red with greed.

There really is something hidden here!

She crumpled the paper into a tight ball and shoved it straight into Eldest Uncle’s hand.

Father, the third brick on the east wall!

Eldest Uncle immediately sprinted toward the eastern wall of the pigsty. Hwai Thanh shouted at the top of his lungs:

The official seal is still in place! No one is permitted to touch anything!

Yet the east wall itself had not been sealed off. The only thing under official seal was the stone trough. Brandishing a heavy iron hammer, Eldest Uncle smashed it directly against the third blue brick of the eastern wall.

With a loud crash, the brick cracked open. My heart seemed to fracture right along with it. A second blow landed, and half the brick broke away, tumbling to the ground. Deep within the recess of the wall sat a small iron box, roughly the size of a human palm. Eldest Uncle reached out to grab it, but Shen Yan firmly seized his wrist.

Eldest Uncle, grandmother wrote down very clearly that this belongs to Li.

Eldest Uncle let out a cold, derisive laugh.

I am her own flesh and blood.

Whatever nonsense she wrote down while her mind was failing counts for nothing.

As the two men struggled, Man Man picked up the brass key and thrust it into the lock of the iron box. The lock clicked open with a sharp snap. Everyone held their breath. Inside the box, there was no money at all. There was only an old ledger, a photocopy of a savings book, and two faded photographs. The manic excitement on Man Man’s face instantly vanished, replaced by bitter disappointment.

Is this all there is?

Eldest Uncle snatched the ledger away, flipped through a couple of pages, and his expression shifted dramatically. He slammed the book shut.

Fake.

This was definitely fabricated by Li.

I raised my hand.

Give that to me.

Eldest Uncle shoved the ledger inside his shirt.

This belongs to my mother.

Hwai Thanh slammed his cane hard against the ground.

Cheng De, do you dare commit daylight robbery in the presence of a police officer?

The police officer who had escorted Third Uncle back to complete some paperwork happened to arrive at that very moment. Hearing the commotion, he stepped into the courtyard. Eldest Uncle froze, his movements arrested. When the ledger was finally handed over to me, the corners had been badly crumpled by his tight grip. The very first page bore my grandmother’s familiar handwriting.

The ledger of accounts.

Flipping further inward, page after page was crowded with dates and monetary sums.

Cheng De borrowed three thousand yuan to pay for Man Man’s tuition.

Cheng De took twenty thousand yuan of my retirement savings under the pretext of repairing the ancestral home, but never made any repairs.

Cheng Rong collected the profits from the fishpond on my behalf and failed to turn them over for three years, totaling one million six hundred and twenty thousand yuan.

My finger paused on the very final page. Written there were the words:

Ten gold bars, concealed beneath the base of the pig trough, belong to Li.

Should anyone dispute this, hand this ledger over to the authorities, and all outstanding debts owed by the children shall be recovered directly from their inheritance.

The courtyard fell into a stillness so profound that only the sound of ragged breathing could be heard. Suddenly, Man Man shrieked at the top of her lungs:

There is gold beneath the pig trough!

That frantic cry acted like a spark thrown onto dry tinder, instantly igniting the bottomless greed of everyone present. Eldest Aunt was the first to charge toward the pig trough.

That is my mother-in-law’s gold!

By what right does it go to an outsider!

The village official who had accompanied Hwai Thanh stepped forward to block her path, while the police officer advanced with a stern warning.

Everyone step back.