OFTLHFRO C5

Chapter 5 – So-Called Elders

Seeing that Luo Mingchen had already made up his mind, the village head’s son knew better than to say more.

Although Luo Mingchen had never trained oxen before, he had tamed mutant beasts.

The crops he grew in his spatial field possessed a strange allure to animals; even zombies that didn’t normally eat plants would be drawn to them.

It was probably because those foods contained a faint, gentle energy. A researcher had once told him that this kind of planting space was extremely rare — if he went to one of the large bases, he’d definitely live well.

Precisely because of this, people had been eager to seize it for themselves on the road…

Looking at the ox, Luo Mingchen plucked a few cabbage leaves and fed them to it.

After eating, the ox mooed softly and rubbed against his hand.

“So obedient.”

The three Huo siblings stared in amazement.

“Get in.”

Luo Mingchen scooped up Huo Xinyue and climbed onto the cart. Huo Yuhui and Huo Xiang followed closely behind.

Huo Xinyue held a skewer of candied hawthorn and licked it, then offered it to Huo Yuhui, gesturing for him to eat. “Ahh…”

“Yueyue, you eat it. Big Brother already had some.”

It wasn’t a lie — Luo Mingchen had bought one skewer for each of them; theirs were simply already eaten.

When Huo Xinyue saw Huo Yuhui refuse, she handed it to Huo Xiang instead.

Greedy by nature, Huo Xiang bit into a hawthorn without hesitation.

Back when they lived with their biological father, they often went hungry and were frequently beaten.

After their mother died giving birth to their little sister, life became even harsher.

Only when their adoptive father arrived — claiming to be their mother’s cousin — did he take them away, declaring himself their father and giving them a slightly better life. It was only then that they’d tasted candied hawthorn for the first time.

But since their adoptive father couldn’t stay home long, every time he left to escort caravans, their uncle’s family would come to bully them again…

Thinking of their father, even the carefree Huo Xiang sank into gloom. “Little Dad, what do I do if I miss Dad during the day?”

Luo Mingchen remembered what he’d told him about stargazing the night before. After pausing, he said, “He sleeps during the day, so don’t wake him. When we get back, we’ll burn him more paper money, so he’ll have lots to spend in the heavens. When he wakes up — wow, so much money.”

Hearing this, Huo Xiang couldn’t help but laugh. “Dad will definitely be happy.”

“Exactly.”

Not understanding why his brother was laughing, Huo Xinyue also giggled along.

Watching from the side, Huo Yuhui felt his heavy mood lighten a little and allowed the corners of his lips to curve upward.

The two ox carts weren’t far apart. Listening to their conversation, the village head’s son felt both amused and saddened.

His father had worried for nothing — Luo Mingchen didn’t see the three children as burdens at all, nor had he thought of secretly selling them. Instead, he treated them as his own.

Still, raising three children, two of them boys… the days ahead would not be easy.

When they returned to the village, seeing three ox carts in a row, those working in the fields craned their necks curiously.

The village head’s house was near the entrance, but Luo Mingchen’s home was another hundred meters ahead.

As they passed a house, a woman in blue stood at the doorway. Her features were passable, but her expression was sharp and mean. Holding a rolling pin in hand, she blocked their path.

Seeing Huo Xiang shrink back in fear, Luo Mingchen could already guess her identity, but he still asked, “And you are?”

“Me?” The woman in blue put one hand on her hip and pointed the rolling pin at him with the other. “I’m Huo Yan’s cousin-in-law! And what the hell are you? Where’d you get the money for all this?”

Luo Mingchen replied calmly, “Oh — cousin-in-law, huh? I thought you were his mother.”

The woman’s face darkened at his tone. “Huo Yan grew up here. I’m his cousin-in-law; I fed him back then. Now that he’s dead, the family property rightfully belongs to us.”

Huo Yuhui was shocked at her shamelessness. Since Luo Mingchen was present, he boldly retorted, “Bullshit! My dad was raised by my maternal grandfather. When he came to take us in, he said himself that since our maternal grandfather’s family raised him and treated him well, he’d raise us as his own children.”

Luo Mingchen raised an eyebrow — so these three kids weren’t even his biological children?

“What would a brat like you know? A few ungrateful white-eyed wolves siding with outsiders, huh?”

Huo Xiang mustered his courage. “Little Dad isn’t an outsider!”

“Why, you little bastard!”

The woman in blue raised the rolling pin to strike him.

Luo Mingchen caught it in one swift motion and smacked her twice with it.

“Ah! Murder!”

Hearing this, Luo Mingchen rolled his eyes. “Can you and your husband come up with a new line? Yesterday he brought two traffickers here, saying he wanted to sell my three kids. Now you’re blocking the road and trying to hit a child. What, in this village, whoever screams the loudest is in the right?”

Clutching her aching arm, the woman glared at him viciously. “I’m Huo Yan’s cousin-in-law! That makes me your elder!”

“An elder?”

Luo Mingchen laughed. “An elder who comes to steal the family property and sell the children before the body’s even cold? Whoever wants to recognize you can do so — go ahead and summon their father’s spirit to judge. If you can’t, then get lost. Aren’t you afraid of ghosts knocking on your door at midnight?”

“You—!”

The woman wanted to retort, but when she saw Luo Mingchen crush the rolling pin — as thick as a wrist — with one hand, she trembled in fear.

Luo Mingchen tossed the broken pin at her feet and drove the ox cart onward.

The men delivering the coffin followed behind.

The onlookers in the distance were all disgusted by the woman’s behavior.

But since her family was notoriously troublesome, no one dared speak up.

If they were merely loudmouths, it wouldn’t be anything remarkable. But Lin Erlang — her relative — was the only licentiate* in Xishui Village and had a good chance of passing the provincial exam, so naturally, no one dared oppose the Lin family.

[*Note: “Licentiate” (秀才) refers to someone who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations, granting minor scholarly status.]

When they arrived, the coffin shop worker glanced at Luo Mingchen’s thin frame and suggested, “Why don’t you find two people to help carry the coffin down?”

“No need. Thank you.”

Luo Mingchen handed Huo Xinyue to Huo Yuhui and told them to step aside. Then he lifted the coffin with his bare hands and carried it into the yard.

The coffin shop worker was dumbfounded.

Smiling, Luo Mingchen said, “Thank you for delivering it. Why not come in and have a bowl of water?”

“Ah, sure.”

On such a hot day, after walking so far, he was indeed parched.

After sending the man off, Luo Mingchen noticed the stunned expressions on Huo Yuhui and Huo Xiang’s faces. He patted their little heads. “Did your father leave behind any clothes?”

“Yes,” Huo Yuhui said. “Little Dad’s room is the same one Dad stayed in. There are still some of Dad’s clothes in the wardrobe.”

Luo Mingchen nodded. “Good. Tomorrow we’ll ask the village head to help us choose a nice burial plot.”

“Mm…”

Luo Mingchen deliberately kept his tone light. No matter what, things had come to this; the proper rites still had to be performed.

As for how he had ended up here — whether through a wormhole, divine intervention, or his mother’s blessing — he didn’t know.

In any case, one might not believe in gods, but one should never disrespect them.

Meanwhile, the blue-clad woman who had returned home nursing her injuries felt increasingly uneasy.

They had long since heard that the man who married in, Wang Chen, was weak and timid. How could he suddenly become so formidable?

Could it be… this man wasn’t Wang Chen at all?

With this thought, the woman planned to bring Wang Chen’s family from the neighboring village to identify him.

But her body hurt too much, so she had to rest first.