You are my golden finger

"Stop it, Jiang, are you trying to rebel?!" the clan leader's voice rang out. Jiang looked up and saw that it was Xihui who came with the clan leader and several elders. She hurriedly threw the broom aside in embarrassment.

Xihui ran towards Lin Xijin, crying and shouting, "Sister, what happened to you? Are you and your sister hurt?" Then the three siblings hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Grandma He climbed up and helped the siblings up while cursing, "You conscienceless Jiang, you will be struck by lightning if you treat these children like this!"

He helped Lin Xijin's siblings to the clan leader and said to him, "Clan leader, you have to make a decision for these children. Jiang almost took Jin's life this morning, and she escaped death. Now she wants to beat her to death. Does Jiang still take you clan elders seriously?"

Lin Xijin hurriedly pulled her brothers and sisters to pay their respects to the clan leader and elders, begging: "Uncle, uncle, please help Jin'er and give us three siblings a chance to live!"

The clan leader looked up at Lin Xijin. His hair was messy, covered in mud and grass, and there was a large bloodstain on his forehead. He had been hit by the door frame in the morning, and the bleeding had stopped. But he was beaten with a broom by Jiang, and started bleeding again. Blood flowed down his cheeks, dripping all over his clothes and the ground. His clothes were tattered from being beaten, revealing bruises.

The three siblings were thin and dark. The oldest was said to be twelve years old, but he was not as good-looking as an eight or nine-year-old child from a good family. The youngest was almost six years old, but he looked only four or five years old, with only a pair of big black eyes on his body to make him look a little proud.

A wave of heartache surged into the old man's heart, and he secretly cursed himself for not taking good care of these children.

The clan leader could not help but get angry: "Lin Guiqi, where are you going to die, you coward, are you going to let your wife beat your grandchildren to death?"

Lin Guiqi is Lin Xijia's grandfather. He is not a bad person, but he is usually not very capable. Jiang has the final say in everything in the family.

When Lin Guiqi heard the clan leader's scolding, he walked out of the kitchen trembling, with his head lowered and not saying a word.

The clan leader asked, "Gui Qi, how do you plan to deal with this matter in your family?"

Before Lin Guiqi could say anything, Jiang rushed to the clan leader and said, "This bitch is unfilial. What's wrong with me teaching my family's young generation a lesson?"

The clan leader finally got angry and yelled at Jiang: "Jiang, if you keep throwing tantrums, I will ask Lin Guiqi to divorce you!" When Jiang heard that she was going to be divorced, she finally dared not say a word.

Seeing this situation, the clan leader had no choice but to turn around and ask Lin Xijin: "Jin girl, what do you want?"

Lin Xijin said: "Uncle, if this continues, my brothers and sisters and I will either starve to death or be beaten to death one day. My parents are gone, and my brothers and sisters are still young. I want to live with them. I want to split up the family and cut off all ties with them!"

The villagers nearby saw the miserable plight of the three siblings and began to talk about it.

Grandma He told the elders what happened to these children today and pleaded with them: "Please help to uphold justice. These three children have nothing to eat or wear and are beaten every day. Please help and give these children a chance to live."

Seeing Lin Guiqi's cowardly look, the clan leader probably couldn't do anything. So he asked Lin Xijin what he wanted. Lin Xijin said: "I just want the old house and vegetable garden at the foot of the mountain, and two taels of silver as a settlement fee."

When Jiang heard that he wanted two taels of silver, she immediately jumped up and down in anxiety: "You bitch, why don't you go and rob? Where can I find two taels of silver to give you?"

The clan leader yelled, "Jiang, do you want to ask the officials to ask Dashan how much compensation money he has? Ask them to help divide it up!"

When Jiang heard the officer, she finally became frightened and stopped talking.

The clan leader and the elders discussed it and knew that these siblings were very kind and would rather suffer losses than leave this family. So they said nothing more and unanimously agreed to let them separate.

The clan leader asked Jiang to bring the house and land deeds, wrote a letter of severance in front of everyone, and asked Lin Guiqi and several children to sign and seal, dividing the family and severing the relationship on the spot. Then everyone dispersed.

Lin Xijin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly took her younger brother and sister back to the thatched cottage to pack up their things, preparing to move immediately while it was still light.

My younger brothers and sisters were also very happy, knowing that they would be able to break away from the Jiang family and would no longer have to suffer bullying.

There was nothing left in the house of the siblings except a torn quilt, two sets of tattered clothes and a broken iron pot.

Grandma He went home and called her son Lin Muxiong, who pushed a cart over. She put the wooden stools and boards used to support the bed, torn quilts and other sundries on the cart and helped push the cart into the old house.

The old house is not far from the home at the entrance of the village, just over a mile away. However, to get to the old house, you have to pass through the center of the village, where there are two large camphor trees, which are quite old and have lush branches and leaves, and several people can't hug them. There are also several ponds around, which are all ancestral property of the clan.

Because the land is warm in winter and cool in summer, the clan built several stone tables and stone benches under the tree. Adults and children usually like to chat and play under the tree to enjoy the cool air. The Lin clan ancestral hall is also built here, and the clan gathers here to resolve any major issues.

When Lin Xijin and his companions passed by here, several women were talking about their family matters. They stopped talking when they saw the three siblings appear.

Grandma Liu from the clan leader's family was also among them. When she saw them, she quickly stood up and said, "Jin girl, have you packed up? Grandma and a few aunts will go and help you clean up the old house. It has not been lived in for several years and I don't know what it has become." So a group of people walked towards the old house in a mighty manner.

After walking for half a quarter of an hour, we arrived at the old house.

The old house was at the foot of the mountain. It was a two-room mud house with a thatched, bamboo and wood kitchen next to it. The front yard was overgrown with weeds and it was no longer recognizable.

Lin Xijin looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar environment around her. Although the present was a little difficult, she was satisfied in her heart. She especially loved the mountains and green forests surrounding her.

Lin Xijin rolled up her sleeves and cleaned the house with Grandma He, her younger brother and sister, while Grandma Liu and a few aunts helped cut the weeds at the gate. Lin Muxiong found a half-used wooden barrel and basin from somewhere, and also brought two buckets of water, and went to clean up the kitchen, helping them build a stove suitable for the broken iron pot.

After roughly an hour of cleaning, we were finally able to settle down inside and out.

Lin Muxiong moved the things off the cart and helped them set up the wooden bed.

Finally, Grandma He took a small cloth bag from the car and said to Lin Xijin: "Jin girl, take this little brown rice first. You and your brothers and sisters can make some porridge first. We can think of a way to get by in the future. We can get through it eventually."

Grandma Liu and several aunts also offered words of comfort.

Lin Xijin said to everyone gratefully: "Grandma He, Grandma Liu, aunts, Jin'er just moved in today and hasn't settled in yet so I can't greet you all. I'll invite you all to come over and get together another day when we're settled in."

Everyone was kind-hearted and didn't take Lin Xijin's words seriously. What they didn't know was that because of their kind gesture today, they would live a happy life with Lin Xijin from then on.