Chapter Twenty-Two: I Am Truly a Devoted Son

I looked at Xu Zhixia’s face, my lips pressed tight, saying nothing.

I understood perfectly well what she meant. The villagers of Changshui Village had been terrified by poverty for too long; they would never let such an opportunity slip through their fingers. To Xu Zhixia, one hundred thousand yuan was merely the price of a coat or a handbag, but to the villagers, it was a fortune that could change their lives.

My silence pleased her. She chuckled, "Jiang Jian, the thing I lack least is money. If I add another hundred thousand, do you believe they would tear up the graveyard themselves before the excavators even arrived?"

"Perhaps they would, but I never will. I will never let you touch my father’s grave!"

I knew full well that fighting Xu Zhixia and the Xu Group behind her was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, but even if only a handful of ashes remained, that was still my father.

"Jiang Jian, what can you do on your own?" she asked. "I remember your mother is still alive. Don't you care about her at all?"

"Xu Zhixia, what exactly do you want?!"

Hearing her mention my mother, my nerves tensed instantly, and I stared at her with lethal intensity.

"I don't intend to drive you to your death. After all, death would be too easy for you." She paused. "I can give you a few more days to relocate, but I have a condition."

"Tell me, what condition?"

Xu Zhixia pinched my chin, her eyes confident and resolute. "Come back with me today, and you will naturally find out."

I had not spared her face in front of others these past two days; she had likely already planned how to torture and retaliate against me. If I really went back with her, nothing good awaited me. But if I refused, she would destroy my father’s grave. How was I supposed to choose?

I never expected that I would fail not only to protect my father’s legacy but also to safeguard his final resting place. I took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, and looked at Xu Zhixia with a resolute gaze.

"I agree, but you and I must sign an agreement guaranteeing that you will not let the construction crew work during these next few days."

"Agreed. No problem."

Xu Zhixia was swift. She had Xiao Zhu write down the terms on paper, then took the paper, pen, and ink pad to return to the village with me. My personal wishes ultimately carried no weight; I informed the village about the additional money Xu Zhixia was offering. As soon as the villagers heard they could get another hundred thousand yuan, light ignited in every one of their eyes.

"Jiang Xiaosi, how did you manage to negotiate this? We get more time and more money—you really have a knack for this, kid!"

"That’s right! That’s over ten million in total, and she’s just handing it over. Jiang Xiaosi, is this for real? Don't lie to us!"

"Brother Jiang isn't lying to you all. This was proposed by President Xu. If you have no objections, please sign your names and press your thumbprints on this agreement."

Xiao Zhu held the agreement, letting the villagers pass it around. However, most of the people in the village were not well-educated, and several were illiterate and couldn't understand the document at all, so it was eventually handed to the village chief and the party secretary. After reading it, they hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Every household sent a representative to sign and press their prints. Since the heads of the families were already gathered near the ancestral graves, the process was completed in less than half an hour. Looking at the agreement filled with names and bright red thumbprints, I felt a complex mix of emotions. I looked at my father’s tombstone from afar, finally signed "Jiang Jian," and pressed my own thumbprint.

Once the signing was over, everyone dispersed to go home and gather their belongings. Only I remained where I stood, motionless.

"Brother Jiang..." Xiao Zhu called out tentatively from behind me.

"Xu Zhixia should be satisfied now. I don't trust anyone else to move my father’s grave, and it wouldn't be proper. Once I dig up my father’s remains, I will go back with her."

"Sigh... Brother Jiang, if only it hadn't come to this, why insist in the beginning?"

The agreement was in duplicate; the village chief kept one, and Xiao Zhu took the other. I walked home in a daze, seeing my mother leaning against the door frame waiting for me.

"Dabao, what’s going on?"

The neighbors had already begun packing. The chickens, ducks, and geese were being chased about, squawking wildly. They weren't waiting to be slaughtered for a final farewell meal; they were either going to be sold at the county market. In the village, they were gold mines that laid eggs and earned money, but once they moved to the county town, they would be nothing but cumbersome burdens.

I didn't know whose cat had been startled, scrambling onto the roof and knocking off several tiles that shattered with a loud crash. Usually, one would hear a loud, cursing voice, but today, no one had the energy to spare for it. Everyone was immersed in the joy of escaping the poverty that had plagued this mountain village for decades.

"Mom, let's go inside and talk."

I told my mother about the land acquisition and the need to relocate the grave. She was silent for a while before letting out a sigh.

"That's good. That’s very good."

"Mom, I have to rush back to Tianhai today. I’ll dig up my father’s remains and keep them at home for now. Once I’m done with my business, I’ll come back to pick you up."

Changshui Village was about to be razed to the ground. Even if my mother didn't want to leave, she had no choice.

"Fine. I’ll go with you to the big city and enjoy my later years."

I held the erhu case and picked up a shovel from the courtyard. I went to the back mountain, stood before my father’s tombstone, and watched the case burn completely into ashes. After hesitating for a long time, I began to dig into my father’s grave mound, shovel by shovel.

Looking at the black-and-white photograph of my father on the tombstone, he didn't look very happy. And why would he? No one would be happy to have their grave dug up, even by their own son.

"Dad, don't blame me. Everyone in the ancestral graveyard has to move. The cemeteries in Tianhai are too expensive and I can't afford them, but the county cemetery isn't a bad choice for you."

"When Mom passes away in the future, I’ll bury you two together."

I figured I’d have to entrust this to Lin Xingfan. If my stomach cancer couldn't be cured, I’d likely die before my mother anyway. Once bitten, twice shy—I trusted him.

After digging for about an hour, I was exhausted, leaning on the shovel and gasping for air. Sweat was streaming down my face. I was still wearing a button-down shirt that didn't absorb sweat at all; it clung to my skin, clammy and miserable.

A breeze suddenly picked up in the surrounding woods, the leaves rustling loudly. The wind felt chilly against my skin, and I even shivered.

"A-choo!"

"Dad, is that you blowing wind because you saw I was hot? Take it easy, don't give me a cold."

It seemed it really had been my father; as soon as I said that, the wind stopped, leaving only the sound of birds and insects in the grass. That stubborn old man—he really stopped the moment I complained. Petty, even in death.

Sweat dripped into the yellow soil beneath my feet. I didn't know how long I had been digging before I finally saw the lid of my father's coffin.

Damn it all. Back in school, I loved reading tomb-raiding novels and fantasized about being a grave robber, fighting off undead, only for my first time excavating a grave to be my own father's.

The coffin lid was sealed shut with nails. I couldn't pry it open with the shovel, and I didn't have the proper tools.

"Dad, soak up some sun for a while. I’m going to go find Uncle Lao Bai and borrow a crowbar. If I’d known I’d have to dig you up in a few years, I wouldn't have let Uncle Lao Bai and his family seal the nails so tight."

I stuck the shovel into the ground, wiped the sweat from my brow, and turned to walk toward the village.

"Oh, what the—!"