Volume One, Chapter 18: Every Family Has Its Own Troubles

Riding his little electric scooter, it took Guo Dong a full ten minutes to get from Xiantao Village to Suodong Village—farther than going to town. Guo Dong was quite well-known in this village, though not for any particular talent, but rather for the mountain of debts he owed.

As Guo Dong had expected, this was the time when everyone was having lunch at home. Almost all the villagers were around. Starting from the first household, he had to visit over a dozen homes before finally settling all his debts. After this round of payments, half of the money he had just made was already gone.

He rode his scooter over to his younger uncle’s house—the last family he owed money to, and also the one he owed the most. Another reason for coming here was that his maternal grandfather still lived there.

The two-story house stood within a courtyard. As Guo Dong arrived at the gate, a quarrel was taking place right outside. Even from a distance, just by hearing the voices, Guo Dong knew it was his eldest aunt making a scene again. Such incidents happened frequently—once or twice every month—and the neighbors had grown accustomed to them.

“Hey, Jelly’s here!” the onlookers greeted Guo Dong as he arrived. Guo Dong slowly pulled up on his scooter, pulling out cigarettes he had prepared in advance. Whether or not the other person smoked, he offered one to everyone he met.

“Come and see!” Guo Dong smiled, directing his gaze toward the entrance of his uncle’s house.

“Why are they fighting again?” someone in the crowd, puffing on the cigarette Guo Dong handed over, answered, “It’s about those two trees your grandpa left behind. They can’t split them evenly, so they’re making a fuss. Just two trees—what’s there to argue about?”

Guo Dong sighed and rode up to the door. Parking his scooter, he greeted his younger aunt with a smile. He had brought two boxes of gifts, bought earlier from a roadside shop.

“Auntie, where’s Grandpa?” Guo Dong asked. The “auntie” in question was his younger uncle’s wife; as for the other, he pretended not to see her.

“Oh, Jelly has come! Come inside, I’ll call your uncle.” Guo Dong didn’t stop her. He had come to repay money. Although his uncle was not at home and his aunt appeared domineering, she might not have the final say.

He walked into the courtyard by himself, ignoring the loud curses from his eldest aunt outside. It was obvious she was cursing them all, including him.

Inside the courtyard, an elderly man with a full head of white hair sat on a chair, wearing glasses and deeply engrossed in a book. He seemed oblivious to Guo Dong’s arrival. In fact, he was so deaf that he hadn’t even noticed the two daughters-in-law quarrelling at the door for quite some time.

Because of his age, his hearing had faded.

Guo Dong crouched down in front of the elderly man. Only then did the old man notice him, adjusting his glasses and smiling warmly.

“Jelly, when did you get here? Have you eaten?”

He was about to get up, but Guo Dong gently pressed him down.

“Just arrived. I’ve eaten,” Guo Dong said with a hint of emotion. Since his mother’s passing, he rarely came here. Yet recently, his grandfather had visited his home, bringing him food.

“Old age, ears don’t work well, everything sounds like buzzing. By the way, how’s your grandfather?” The old man asked.

Guo Dong could only nod. Since his grandfather couldn’t hear a word, it was better to communicate through actions.

“Sit down for a bit. I’ll go inside and get something.”

No sooner had his grandfather gone indoors than his younger aunt, having finished her call, came bustling over. She pulled out a stool and poured some water, her hospitality unmistakable.

“You boy, haven’t come for so long, thought you were scared to show up.”

His younger aunt was quite talkative; otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent so long quarreling with the eldest aunt earlier.

“Been busy lately,” Guo Dong explained.

“Busy with matchmaking, huh? Auntie’s heard about it. No worries, next time I go back to my parents’ home, I’ll introduce you to some unmarried girls from our village.”

Guo Dong quickly shook his head. He was scared now—so many introductions, and yet he hadn’t met a single one.

“No way. These days I’ve been selling peaches. Just sold some, came here to repay the debts,” he said.

The words “repay the debts” made his aunt pause.

“Really? Sold quite a bit?”

She knew very well how much Guo Dong owed her family. When his father had come here to borrow money and failed to get enough from the neighbors, her husband had covered the shortfall—over tens of thousands.

“Yeah, enough to cover the debts.”

Upon hearing this, his aunt stood up immediately. “Alright then, sit a while. I’ll call your uncle and give him a nudge!”

She took her phone and hurried outside, speaking quietly as if afraid Guo Dong might overhear.

Just then, his grandfather reappeared, pulling gently at Guo Dong’s sleeve. Guo Dong was slightly taken aback.

The old man leaned toward his ear, like an old child, and whispered, “You’ve been following your grandfather to study medicine, how’s that going?”

Guo Dong replied casually, knowing his grandfather couldn’t hear and they were both guessing the conversation.

“Good enough, better than my two sons. Here, take this and keep it hidden,” the old man said.

Guo Dong was speechless as a small cloth pouch was stuffed into his arms.

What on earth was going on?

Just as he was about to say something, his younger aunt returned.

Looking back at his grandfather, who seemed to have forgotten about the earlier commotion, sitting quietly with his glasses on, still absorbed in his book—the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon.

His grandfather was an old Chinese medicine doctor. Unfortunately, no one had inherited his legacy after he grew old.

What was this all about?

Secretly, it felt like coming here was just to collect something. Saying it aloud would sound bad, implying favoritism, and who knew what might happen after his grandfather was gone. Not saying anything left a heavy heart.

“Your uncle will be back soon. I told him to buy some dishes from town. You can have a couple of drinks at noon,” his aunt said, smiling as she chatted with Guo Dong.

“Auntie, really no need. I’ll repay the money and leave. Grandpa’s still at home. Where else can I go?” Guo Dong replied.

His aunt looked at him and shook her head. “You poor child, why must you always be so unlucky? Your dad too—left behind a mess after he passed. By the way, don’t let that woman outside hear about you repaying the money, or she’ll make a fuss again!”

Guo Dong smiled wryly. How could he not know? It wouldn’t take a day before the whole village knew. Today’s actions were quite conspicuous—running around over a dozen households, visiting every relative he had.

Plus, with the recent uproar in Xiantao Village, the news was bound to spread like wildfire.

“Auntie, give me my uncle’s phone number. I’ll talk to him myself.”

It wasn’t that Guo Dong was anxious; he just didn’t want to stay here any longer. Outside, his eldest aunt grew louder and louder, as if afraid he wouldn’t hear her, cursing in the most unpleasant way.

“Jelly, don’t mind her. That’s just how she is. She always thinks your grandpa gave our family, Guangkun, some benefits, and that we’re only taking care of the old man for the inheritance. Don’t you know your grandpa’s situation? She doesn’t take care of him herself and only looks for trouble. That’s why your uncle got fed up and left; he doesn’t want to stay. Your uncle is an honest man—I’m not afraid of her!”