Chapter 23 Father, Xu Lin Must Not Stay

Xu Lin watched her father leave, a flicker of doubt crossing her face. That man clearly possessed weapons—so why ask the white-haired old man to prepare arms against her? Did he not trust the old man? Though she didn’t understand, Xu Lin still entered the secret chamber. With a wave of her small hand, she began collecting, collecting, collecting—soon, the ten-square-meter chamber was cleared out entirely.

The next time her father came to retrieve something, heh, just imagining the look on his face—like he’d lost his father—made Xu Lin stifle a laugh behind her hand.

Instead of following her father home, Xu Lin veered off toward a small newspaper office in the west of the city. It took only a dozen minutes to bike there.

By the time Xu Lin arrived, the staff had finished for the day, leaving only one person on duty. He was surprised to see Xu Lin turn up so late. But when he learned she was there to publish a public notice of severed family ties, he was hardly shocked. In these unusual times, declarations of disownment were all too common—father and son, grandparent and grandchild, even husband and wife. Every kind of familial rupture appeared in the announcements.

But after hearing Xu Lin’s story, the staff member fell silent. He hadn’t expected a reason like this. Born of the blood, yet severing ties for the sake of a foster sister—what kind of family was this?

“This is my severance document. Take a look—I’m not lying,” Xu Lin said, handing him two copies.

After reading them, the staff member regarded Xu Lin with even more sympathy. Sixteen years of abuse at the foster home, not a gesture from her biological parents, and still she was expected to care for her foster family’s child. Tsk, tsk—how much water had seeped into those parents’ brains to be this foolish? If it were him, he’d have brought the child home in an instant and made the foster family pay, to see justice done.

With a trace of pity, he asked, “Young lady, we can publish your notice for you. Do you want the expedited service or just wait for the next paper issue?”

Fearing she didn’t understand, he added, “There’s a print run tonight. If you want it in right away, it’ll cost extra. Otherwise, the next issue is in three days.”

“I’ll take the expedited option,” Xu Lin replied at once, producing cash. Who knew when her father would act? The sooner the notice was out, the better—no time to waste.

“All right, the expedited fee is two more yuan. I’ll write a receipt,” said the staff member, filling one out.

Xu Lin handed over the money, took the receipt, and left with a smile, bidding the man goodbye. As she was leaving, he couldn’t help but ask, “With both sides disowned, how will you live from now on?”

“Unless something unexpected happens, I’ll volunteer for rural service. I believe in the vast world, I’ll make something of myself,” Xu Lin replied, waving cheerfully as she departed.

When Xu Lin returned home, her father was already waiting in the central room. He didn’t ask where she’d been, simply handed her five thousand yuan and turned to go, not uttering another word.

Pocketing the money, Xu Lin grinned, closed her door, and slipped into her private space with her newfound wealth. She was eager to check her spoils and see just how many treasures her father had hidden in that secret chamber.

She opened the small suitcase first, counting the cash—fifty-three thousand yuan. With the five thousand she’d just received, she now held fifty-eight thousand yuan—enough for two or three courtyard homes. Beaming, Xu Lin placed the suitcase on a shelf and continued to open her “mystery boxes.”

After tallying everything, she found 110 large gold bars, each five hundred grams. At the current rate of nine yuan per gram, the gold alone would fetch four hundred ninety-five thousand yuan. If she waited twenty or thirty years to sell, the value would be astronomical.

Besides the large bars, there were two hundred small bars, each fifty grams—another ninety thousand yuan—a tidy sum. Even without considering anything else, just the gold she’d collected in recent days made her a millionaire. In the 1970s, that was a fortune. Xu Lin felt she could retire and live a life of leisure.

Of course, those boxes contained more than just gold—there were ancient books, paintings, and other cultural relics. Xu Lin didn’t bother counting their value and simply placed them all in the “relics zone”; those would be surrendered to the authorities someday.

What concerned her most, though, were a crate of grenades, a crate of landmines, two crates of ammunition, and over a dozen illegal firearms. Who knew where her father had acquired these? They were hot enough to burn the hands just to hold. For now, with nowhere better to keep them, she stored them in her warehouse.

Suddenly, Xu Lin jumped to her feet—she’d forgotten something! She was supposed to mete out three beatings a day, and she was one short. That wouldn’t do—she needed to make up for it.

Xu Lin flashed out of her private space and dashed from her room to administer the third punishment of the day.

The five members of the Xu family: …Can’t you act a little more human? Would skipping one beating really kill you?

After stretching her limbs and leaving the five Xu family members groaning in pain, Xu Lin returned to her room, refreshed, and began to cultivate.

The next morning, after Xu Lin got up, the house was empty. Those who had work had gone to work; those who could escape had done so, all afraid of being pinned to the ground and thrashed before breakfast.

But could they really hide forever?

Xu Lin went to the kitchen and made herself a hearty breakfast. Sated, she headed out again. She wanted to check in on the white-haired old man, then buy a few copies of the newspaper featuring her severance notice as souvenirs.

In this era, at least, severing ties was truly possible—unlike in later times, when the law made it all but impossible.

Not long after Xu Lin left the courtyard, Old Lady Xu sneaked back, her face betraying lingering fear—a sight to behold. Not that Xu Lin saw any of this; she was too busy admiring her handiwork in the newspaper, pleased with her success.

At noon, after school, Qin Fang met Xu Lin’s father in the grove behind the school. From him, she learned that Xu Lin had severed ties with the Qin family—a piece of news that delighted her and put her mind at ease. Still, she considered Xu Lin a threat. Who knew if the Qin family might someday, on a whim, acknowledge Xu Lin once more? So she said to her father, “Father, Xu Lin can’t be allowed to stay. You should find a way to get rid of her. If nothing else, send her to the countryside.”

“Don’t worry, Fang’er. I’ve already signed her up for rural service. Of course, that’s just a last resort. If I can kill her in the city, I’d rather do that,” her father replied, unable to hide his murderous intent at the mention of Xu Lin.

That wretched girl had nearly beaten him to death last night; he’d only just recovered by midnight. To avoid another morning beating, he’d slipped out before dawn. Now, he was exhausted and in pain, his days barely bearable—more than anyone, he wished Xu Lin dead.

He couldn’t help himself and recounted Xu Lin’s recent actions at length. As he spoke, he nearly broke down in tears. Life was just too hard.