Three days later, Li Zhengguo returned, accompanied by two police officers.
He took the police directly to Lin Er'lai's house.
Upon seeing the police, Lin Er'lai's wife's expression changed. She tried to close the courtyard gate, but it was too late.
Lin En'hu immediately grabbed Lin Wan, who was beside him, by the neck, threatening the police to let him go.
The two officers drew their pistols, ordering him to surrender or face immediate execution.
Lin Er'lai's wife tearfully pleaded with her son to surrender, arguing that surrender didn't necessarily mean death.
Lin En'hu refused to surrender, believing that while surrender might not mean death, it would certainly ruin his youth.
Lin Wan struggled, her face turning purple. Lin Man, disregarding everything, rushed forward to save her sister.
Lin En'hu kicked out at Lin Man.
It was at this moment that Li Zhengguo lunged from the side, tackling Lin En'hu to the ground.
The two officers immediately moved forward, subdued Lin En'hu, and handcuffed him.
Lin Man suffered three broken ribs from the kick, and Lin Wan fell with Lin En'hu, her left arm broken.
Police cars and an ambulance wailed into Kushan Mountain.
The entire Lin Er'lai family of five was taken away.
Li Zhengguo called Lin Hua'er and Lin Duo'er to accompany him to the county.
Lin Guang'de hurried to follow. Despite his estrangement from his nephew, he wanted to know what this outsider, Lin En'hu, had done to his nephew.
Once at the station, Lin En'hu lost all will to resist.
He confessed in detail how he had plotted against Lin Er'lai.
Lin Er'lai had planned to undergo IVF to have a son.
Lin Er'lai's wife had no choice but to comply.
For years, Lin En'hu had viewed all of Lin Er'lai's property as his own. How could he possibly accept this?
Compounded by the recent mockery and ridicule from his classmates for being a burden…
A wicked idea took root. He used the pretext of accompanying them to take care of them and went with them to the provincial hospital.
At the provincial hospital, Lin Er'lai and his wife were busy registering, finding accommodation, and waiting for ovulation.
Meanwhile, he roamed around the hospital, looking for small clinics and talking to various medical touts.
He met countless swindlers and obtained various "miracle cures" for strokes, which he followed meticulously.
While the couple was at the hospital, he carefully brewed a pot of ginseng chicken soup, adding sleeping pills, claiming it would enhance male performance.
Lin Er'lai's sperm collection process wasn't smooth, and he might even require surgery.
Lin Er'lai's wife, seeing her son's thoughtfulness, also believed that her son had no objections to her having another child.
After all, she had told him long ago to behave well, serve his stepfather, and that all the inheritance would be his after his stepfather passed away.
Now, with the sudden prospect of another child, she felt a pang of guilt towards her son.
Therefore, she also persuaded Lin Er'lai to drink the chicken soup.
After drinking the soup, Lin Er'lai quickly fell asleep.
Lin En'hu took out the cloth strips he had prepared earlier and tied Lin Er'lai to the bed.
It was then that Lin Er'lai's wife realized something was wrong.
She urged her son not to do anything foolish, suggesting they tell Lin Er'lai that he had been tired lately and couldn't sleep when he woke up.
Lin En'hu disagreed. He had planned this for a month; how could he be dissuaded by his mother?
He yelled at his mother, accusing her of deceiving him and of her remarriage making him a laughingstock.
Seeing her son's near-deranged state, Lin Er'lai's wife relented and colluded with her son…
When Lin Er'lai woke up, he found himself bound and gagged, whimpering in terror.
Lin En'hu, however, smiled and told him that he wouldn't take his life, but merely make him retire early.
Lin En'hu brewed the various folk remedies, and with a cleaver held to Lin Er'lai's neck, forced him to open his mouth. Lin Er'lai's wife, trembling, helped to force-feed him.
After drinking the medicine, he was gagged and bound again.
Once all the medicine was consumed, Lin Er'lai began showing stroke symptoms. He thought he would finally be free.
He didn't realize that these symptoms were not what Lin En'hu desired.
Lin En'hu had already found out that there was a more severe type of stroke that resulted in the loss of speech function.
He continued to procure herbs, brew them, and feed them to Lin Er'lai.
He meticulously observed Lin Er'lai's condition.
He also used all sorts of insults to provoke the already paralyzed Lin Er'lai.
Lin Er'lai wanted to curse, but could only make whimpering sounds.
Lin En'hu stopped giving him medicine and simply waited in the rented room.
Only when Lin Er'lai became incontinent and completely lost mobility in his limbs did he begin his return journey.
Lin Er'lai's wife feared they would be exposed upon their return, but Lin En'hu believed that as long as the person was alive, the village wouldn't care about Lin Er'lai's condition, given his poor character.
He meticulously cared for him, not only to gain Lin Er'lai's shares but also to earn the reputation of a filial son…
Lin Er'lai and his two daughters were admitted to the hospital.
Lin Hua'er asked Lin Duo'er to watch over them at the hospital while she, along with their great-uncle, sued Lin En'hu and his mother.
With nothing more to do on this matter, Li Zhengguo returned to Kushan Mountain and used a loudspeaker to summon all villagers to a meeting at the village committee office.
This time, it was an in-person meeting.
He recounted the details of Lin En'hu's crime and his motivations.
Then, he asked the villagers what they thought was the key reason that led Lin En'hu to this point.
The villagers looked at each other, bewildered. How would they know?
Li Zhengguo clapped his hands, signaling for silence. "You can boldly share any guesses or thoughts you have. I want you to learn a lesson from this incident."
The villagers were relieved and one by one stood up to share their views.
Li Zhengguo, however, repeatedly shook his head. "Does no one truly know the most crucial reason?"
A villager raised his hand and stood up. "It must be that his mother always told him that everything Lin Er'lai had would eventually be his."
"Correct!" Li Zhengguo nodded and gestured for the villager to sit down. "That is the key. Everyone has obvious or subtle possessive desires."
"This is also why children fight over a small candy."
"Although Lin En'hu is a stepson, Lin Er'lai's two youngest children are still girls."
"And Lin Er'lai's wife constantly whispered in his ear about relying on Lin En'hu for old-age support."
"Lin Er'lai also believed this. He saw Hu Zi as an obedient child and thought that having Hu Zi care for him in his old age was acceptable."
"But Hu Zi caused trouble at school, and I couldn't have intervened without imposing a penalty. So, Lin En'hu's image as the perfect heir was shattered in Lin Er'lai's eyes. He conceived the idea of having his own child."
"This idea led to the ruin of his health and landed his mother and son in prison."
"As parents, you must not prematurely judge whether your children are filial or not."
"And you must not frequently discuss how property will be distributed, as it can lead to trouble."
"Sometimes, sons and their wives may not be as filial as daughters and their husbands."
"The best distribution method is to include yourselves as two shares in the allocation."
"For example, if you have four children, divide all your possessions into six shares. Each child gets one share, and you and your spouse each get one share."
"In the future, whoever among your four children takes care of your funeral, you will give your share to them. It doesn't matter if it's a daughter or a son raising you, it's the same."
"As a precaution, you can also write down an agreed-upon contract and keep it at the village committee office, with the committee supervising whether the children have fulfilled their filial duties."
"Alternatively, the children can jointly support you, and the inheritance will be divided equally."
"If the children shirk their responsibilities and none are willing to care for you, you can report it to the village committee. The committee will help you deal with them."
"Good and evil are but a single thought away. Never use wealth to lure your children into doing something for you."
"If you don't get what you expect, it can easily lead to rebellion in your children, even to them going astray."
"While you are here, the village is here, and the village committee is here. Even if I'm not here, the village committee remains, and the leaders who guide the villagers are still here."
"Even the wisest officials find it difficult to resolve domestic disputes, but no domestic affair can disregard the existence of the law."
"I sent Lin En'hu to attend a law class, but it did not deter his evil intentions to commit a crime."
"Therefore, when I tell you to study the law, it doesn't mean that those who study the law won't commit crimes. It's so that when you commit a crime, you will think of the consequences."
"The net of justice is vast and inescapable. Once you commit a crime, do not harbor any侥幸心理 (hopes of escaping punishment)."
"Go back and reflect thoroughly. Every villager, listen carefully, every single villager, must write me a reflection paper."
"I want to see if you have learned any lessons from the Lin En'hu incident."
"Let me state upfront, I am only offering suggestions, not telling you that you must leave a share of your property to your daughters. There are also sons-in-law who are terrible."
"People change. You will only know who is truly filial when you are too old to move."
"One more thing, more work, more reward is also a fair standard for distribution. The one who works harder must receive more."
"You cannot, out of favoritism for the younger one, have the elder one work themselves to death, bring back the earnings, and then have it divided equally. And then say 'I told you so'; I won't take the blame for that."
"Anyone who dares to put the blame on me, I will interfere in their family affairs, divide their household early, and let them live with their favored children. I'll see what outcome they get."
"My proposal for fair distribution is so that when you reach the day of regret, you can still with a clear conscience demand that children who received an equal share of the property support you."
"What you do is your business. You reap what you sow."
"If any reflection paper is found to be plagiarized, the plagiarizer will be punished by writing two different reflection papers, and the person whose work was plagiarized will also be punished. Meeting adjourned!"
Adjourned?
Can't we not adjourn?
Let's have it go on forever, shall we?
Why is it that whenever Village Chief Li calls a meeting, they end up in trouble?