TFS – Chapter 71 Final Decision

“What’s this? Third Uncle, do you have objections to how the Li family handles its affairs?” The Li family had anticipated that the Zhao family would raise objections, so they were ready and waiting for this confrontation. The Li and Zhao families had long-standing tensions, particularly since Zhao Laosan passed the imperial scholar exam and earned the title of Xiucai. Ever since, this Third Uncle had acted as though the Zhao family were the most prominent household in Pingshan Village, constantly trying to challenge the Li family in village matters.

But right now, Zhao Laosan was merely a Xiucai. If he were a Juren (a scholar who passed a higher-level imperial exam), the elders of the Li family might have been more cautious in considering the Zhao family’s attitude. However, at this point, Li Feng’s backing was far stronger than Zhao Laosan’s. Even though Li Feng was no longer serving as an official, he still had connections with a group of brothers and friends who were active military officers. The Li family clan wasn’t foolish enough to offend Li Feng just to appease the Zhao family.

The Third Uncle’s fingers trembled with anger at this blatant disregard for the Zhao family. For the Li family to add Dahu’s two children to their family records without even giving the Zhao family a heads-up? Outrageous!

“Those two children are Dahu’s flesh and blood! Shouldn’t we Zhao family members have a say in what happens to them? Even though Dahu is gone, he still has a mother, brothers, and a whole clan! Who agreed to let them change their surname and ancestors?!”

The Li family had anticipated this exact reaction, and Tang Chunming, in particular, was well-prepared. Gently patting little Ah Sen, he stepped forward and declared, “These are my children. Whose surname they take is entirely up to me. Ah Sen has been around for how long now? Have any of you Zhao family members ever shown up? You don’t care about them, but others do.”

“I care!” Li Feng’s cold, resolute voice followed immediately after Tang Chunming’s, firm and powerful, echoing through the room.

Hearing Li Feng’s words, many secretly cheered. This was what a true man should do!

One of the Li family’s elders stepped in, playing the mediator, though his true intentions were clear to everyone present: “Alright now, Zhao family, you’re not exactly short of children, are you? Dahu still has two brothers, doesn’t he? In the future, if you want someone to carry on the incense offerings, you can simply have one of them adopt a son for him. Besides, when Ming Ge’er moved out and set up his own household, none of you Zhao family members said anything about supporting his two children. And now… ha!”

Since the Zhao family didn’t support Tang Chunming’s children back then, it was only natural that he had the final say over whose surname his children would take. While the Qin family allowed their children to follow their stepmother into a new marriage, they at least brought some Qin family land into the arrangement, so the Qin children could still be considered supported by the Qin family. But what about the Zhao family? They had already reclaimed their land long ago. As for the newly cultivated fields, those were wastelands and didn’t cost a thing. The first year’s taxes were paid by Ming Ge’er himself. In short, the Zhao family had nothing to do with them.

Naturally, the Li family sided with Li Feng, using sharp words to put Third Uncle and the Zhao family in their place: “When Ming Ge’er had these children, there wasn’t a single Zhao family member present for the sanxi (three-day ceremony) or the full-month celebration. Let’s not even talk about little Ah Sen; even Ah Lin, who has grown so much, seems to have barely eaten a few meals provided by the Zhao family. We’ve never heard of the Zhao family planning to put Ah Lin on their family register, have we?”

Some families only consider adding sons to the family register when they’re about to marry, and the Zhao family clearly prioritized sons over ge’ers or younger children. Zhao Liu-shu (Uncle Zhao Liu) was an exception, considered a rare outlier in the Zhao family. So, it was highly unlikely that the Zhao family would’ve put Ah Lin on the register while he was still so young. Yet now, that neglect had ironically become evidence in the eyes of others that the Zhao family had no regard for these two children.

“Exactly! If they truly cared about Dahu’s children, they should’ve discussed adding them to the family register with Ming Ge’er long ago. But they didn’t, and now they expect Ming Ge’er to have no choice but to find a better path for the children?”

“Maybe the Zhao family was trying to use the family register to control Ming Ge’er. Ha! They didn’t expect Li Feng to step in—a big-hearted man who treats these children as his own. Their little schemes are falling apart, and now they’re scrambling. What were they doing all this time?”

The room buzzed with chatter, and some people even speculated that the Zhao family intended to use the children as a pretext to claim Tang Chunming’s hard-earned property. Every word of this reached Third Uncle and the rest of the Zhao family. Third Uncle’s face turned a deep red, not from shame but from a mix of embarrassment and anger. Their true intentions had been exposed, and it took thick skin for him to remain standing there.

“No! I won’t allow it!” At that moment, the sharp voice of Zhao Laomu (Old Madam Zhao) rang out. He grabbed Wang Chunhua’s arm so tightly that Wang Chunhua winced in pain, wanting to shake him off but not daring to under so many watchful eyes.

“Those are Dahu’s children! You shameless ge’er, seducing some random man and trying to make Zhao family blood forget its ancestors? I won’t allow it! Even in death, they are still of the Zhao family—”

Old Madam Zhao’s hateful glare bore into Tang Chunming. Just seeing him standing there easily sparked his rage. In his eyes, Tang Chunming’s current smooth and comfortable life was a stark contrast to his own struggles. Zhao Dahu was his son, and he believed he had the right to treat him however he pleased. Even after his death, he hadn’t shed a single tear for him. He didn’t see any fault in himself—it was just Dahu’s fate, and his children’s fate should be the same. Even if they were mistreated to death, they still shouldn’t change their surname.

“Enough, Mother! Haven’t you embarrassed us enough?” Zhao Laosan shouted angrily.

Li Feng cast a cold glance at the hysterical Zhao Laomu before turning back to the family register. With a few quick, decisive strokes, he added the names of all three individuals. Then, he set the pen down and said to the presiding clan elder:

“It’s done. From now on, Li Lin and Li Sen are my children, and they have no further ties to the Zhao family.”

“Exactly as it should be, exactly as it should be,” the elder affirmed. “From now on, as you raise them to adulthood, they should respect you as their father. If they fail to do so, our clan won’t forgive them either.”

The two completely ignored Zhao Laomu’s hysterical yelling and Third Uncle’s fury. Once the pen was set down, the matter was final. The village head let out a sigh of relief. He had been somewhat worried that the Zhao family would cause trouble, which is why he originally intended to “act first and report later.”

Zhao Laomu, enraged to the point of madness, tried to storm into the ancestral hall to tear apart the Li family’s genealogy book. However, not only were the Li family men standing in his way, but even the Zhao family members wouldn’t allow a ge’er like him to cause such a commotion in the ancestral hall.

Zhao Laosan was forced to restrain his mother. Meanwhile, Third Uncle swayed on his feet with anger and shouted, “Fine! Fine! The Li family is going too far! I’ll wait and see what kind of end those two meet!” If they hadn’t yet completed the ancestral rituals, he might have stormed out in fury already.

But someone had to contradict him. Uncle Liu stepped forward, patted Li Feng, who had just walked out of the ancestral hall, and said, “Well done, Feng lad. A real man should have a big heart. From now on, live a good life with Ming Ge’er and the two kids. Don’t bother with what irrelevant people say.”

Third Uncle nearly spat blood in anger. He knew that Uncle Liu still resented the Zhao family for what had happened to Da Lian in the past, though Third Uncle himself didn’t see anything wrong with the Zhao family’s actions back then. He simply felt Uncle Liu was holding a grudge over a trivial matter. Still, he also believed Uncle Liu’s family would never amount to much.

Tang Chunming paid no attention to Third Uncle’s hollow threats, but he was curious to see if the Zhao family themselves would meet any kind of favorable outcome in the end.

After the ancestral rituals were complete and the new husband was officially added to the family register, the clash between the Zhao and Li families remained a hot topic in the village for days. Tang Chunming and Li Feng, each carrying one of the children, left the ancestral hall together. On their way, they bumped into Li Conggen and his family. The group was dressed quite finely today; one of them even adjusted a silver hairpin in their hair, which almost made Tang Chunming burst into laughter.

If there was one thing Tang Chunming couldn’t tolerate, it was wearing accessories, especially hair ornaments. His hair was thick and long, and he usually just tied it loosely behind his head. Occasionally, Zhang Xiu or others, unable to bear the sight, would braid it into a long plait for him. Nowadays, though, it was Li Feng who handled it, keeping it neat and clean. When they got married, Li Feng had tried to have new jewelry made for Tang Chunming, but the idea was immediately vetoed. Recalling how Ming Ge’er had explained his previous life’s male identity, which was nearly equivalent to that of a man, Li Feng empathized and decided to respect his wishes.

Seeing Ming Ge’er trying to suppress a laugh now, Li Feng found that this overly adorned family wasn’t too much of an eyesore. At least they were providing some entertainment for Ming Ge’er, right?

“Ah-Da.” (Father)

“Hmm?” Li Feng looked at Ah Lin in his arms. Ah Lin had been unusually quiet throughout the day. Li Feng couldn’t help but wonder if the child had understood everything that had happened. Ah Lin always seemed far more intelligent than other children his age.

“From now on, my brother and I will be Father and Mother’s children?”

“Of course. Ah Lin is the eldest, and Ah Sen is the second,” he said, glancing at Ming Ge’er’s belly nearby, thinking that there might even be a third and fourth child in the future. “You are both part of our family now. If anyone says otherwise, just come back and tell me. Father will go and teach them a lesson.”

“What about Grandma?” Today, Grandma was so scary. In the past, Ah Lin would have been frightened to tears, but today he was very brave.

“Ah Lin and Ah Sen have a new Grandma now. Didn’t Father and Mother take Ah Lin to meet and bow to her yesterday? From now on, others will call her the same way as they call Da Mao and Er Mao’s grandmother,” he said. During the wedding and yesterday’s New Year’s Eve, he had taken Ming Ge’er and Ah Lin to meet his parents. Ah Sen was too young to bring along. That earlier visit to Zhao Dahu’s grave was an exception, just that one time, because small children are still too light-spirited.

Seeing Ah Lin still deep in thought by himself, Li Feng looked at Ming Ge’er worriedly. Is this child too clever? He thought that being overly smart wasn’t always a good thing. Children should be carefree, like Ah Sen, nestled in Ming Ge’er’s arms now. This thoughtful Ah Lin made him feel even more protective. Before today, no one in the Zhao family had cared about Ah Lin; instead, their attention was focused on Ah Sen, which made him dislike the Zhao family even more—especially Old Grandma Zhao’s attitude. It made him think how difficult it must have been for Ming Ge’er to contend with such a mother-in-law when they weren’t yet familiar with each other.

“Things will slowly get better, I suppose. Besides, when have my children ever not been smart?” Tang Chunming proudly raised his chin.

“Well, they’re my children too,” Li Feng chuckled.

During the first month of the lunar year, it’s the most leisurely time. The only relatives Li Feng and the others needed to visit now were on Wang Ying’s side. The Li family members all lived in the village, making it very convenient to drop by each other’s houses. The Tang family store in Anping County was also closed for a few days. Zhang Changming, who was now walking around the village, had become the subject of widespread praise. People said he had completely changed and now looked like a city person.

Some families even wanted to send their sons to the city to work and were planning to ask Li Feng or Zhang Changming for help. However, they were quickly persuaded otherwise: “Instead of doing that, why not focus on taking care of your fields? Just look at the wheat in your fields. When spring comes, plant rice again, and the money earned will be no less than working in the city.”

At first, those families were very worried when they planted their wheat. But when the wheat sprouted and grew sturdier than their old varieties, their concerns eased significantly. Not to mention, these new seeds had almost no waste. Unlike their old winter wheat, which often had seeds that wouldn’t sprout, these saved them quite a bit of money on seeds without them even realizing it.

Tang Chunming was unaware of the villagers’ little schemes. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t actually bring anyone into the Tang family business. Aside from Zhang Changming, all staffing matters had been handed over to Teng Yu. He didn’t want to get involved in arrangements that could favor one family over another and make things awkward. As for Zhang Changming, it was only natural to give him some preference since their families were on the best terms.

Because things were relatively quiet and he had cover for his absences, Tang Chunming had been sneaking into his space to meditate diligently. He was determined to cultivate some inner strength. He blamed his lack of stamina for how exhausted he felt after being thoroughly “tormented” by Li Feng. He bit the bullet—he couldn’t let the gap between him and Li Feng be too wide.

In truth, their intimacy was quite harmonious, but Li Feng’s seemingly endless stamina often left Tang Chunming biting the blanket, wanting to cry but unable to shed tears. That rascal was like a long-time bachelor finally getting his first taste of indulgence and completely unable to stop. With no evening entertainment in the village, their nightly “festivities” had become a routine.

Since Ah Lin and Ah Sen were still too young to be left in a room alone, and Elder He was too old to watch over the children at night, the two kids still shared a room with them. At first, Li Feng worried about the noise disturbing the children and tried to keep things quiet. But one time, Tang Chunming accidentally brought Li Feng into his space during their intimacy. From then on, every time they went to bed, Li Feng insisted on being brought into the space, using the perfectly reasonable excuse that it wouldn’t disturb the kids or negatively influence them —especially since Ah Lin was old enough to remember things. Tang Chunming had no choice but to agree.

Even after Tang Chunming emerged from the space, weak and sore, there were times when Li Feng, still unsatisfied, would pull him back onto the bed for another round.

Sometimes, Tang Chunming couldn’t help but reflect: wasn’t this outcome his own doing?

That said, he had to admit—he did enjoy it, and he had started craving it himself.

After the Lantern Festival, the village school reopened, as did the one in the county. Li Feng drove the carriage to take Tang Chunrong to the county school along with Li Chengzu and Li Chengzong. Meanwhile, Tang Chunming stayed home to look after the children.

Wang Ying, who always claimed that educated men were useless and should just stay home to farm, couldn’t sit still when the time came. He showed up at his stepson’s house, offering to help Tang Chunming take care of the children since the man of the house was away. But both Tang Chunming and Elder He could see that Wang Ying’s heart wasn’t in it and didn’t dare entrust the children entirely to him.

“Don’t worry, Mother. Even Elder He said that Ah Rong’s studies are excellent. For a county school, passing the entrance exam won’t be a problem. By the way, have you packed everything at home? Once the exams are over, he’ll have to stay in the county and won’t be able to come home often.”