Chapter 812: Let's Fight Them!
After understanding the whole story, Chen Fan finally realized why the Lin family was so angry.
This kind of situation exists everywhere. It could only be said that the Lin family was quite unlucky this time, as their event happened to coincide with the Song family's memorial service.
However, Chen Fan still admired Su Ruochu's uncle for making a decisive choice afterwards.
In the face of an irresistible force, choosing to compromise decisively and handling the immediate matters at hand was the most important thing.
As dusk fell, the Lin family's relatives and friends gradually arrived at the Lin family's old house.
The Lin family wasn't considered a prestigious clan in the local area. Most of those who could come were relatives with some connection, while friends, unless they were particularly close, would mostly come tomorrow during the memorial service.
In the large courtyard of the Lin family's old house, the Lin family had hired chefs who prepared several tables of food, and everyone sat down together to have dinner.
Although located in the southern region, the temperature was still very low as it had just passed the New Year.
It wasn't comfortable to eat outside in the courtyard.
Because of Chen Fan's special status, Su Xuecheng asked Chen Fan to eat at the main table, but Chen Fan declined.
In the end, accompanied by Su Ruochu, the two ate dinner alone in a relatively quiet corner of the courtyard.
Chen Fan was from the north, and the local cuisine wasn't really to his taste. In his opinion, the food eaten by the locals was a bit bland.
Su Ruochu noticed that Chen Fan didn't have much appetite, so she thoughtfully asked if the food didn't suit his taste, and whether she should cook him a bowl of instant noodles.
Chen Fan smiled and shook his head.
"It's okay. I ate a bit too much during the day, so I'm not very hungry now."
"I've noticed that the funeral customs here are actually quite similar to those back home."
Su Ruochu wasn't in a good mood and said in a low voice, "I'm afraid this memorial service won't go smoothly."
"What's wrong?"
"I overheard the adults talking earlier, saying that they had originally prepared more than 20 tables, but only 13 tables came in the evening, and several tables were still empty. Many guests didn't come."
Su Ruochu explained softly, "Originally, my uncle and the others suggested keeping it simple, but my mom said she wanted to let grandma leave with dignity, so she wanted to make it a grand affair."
Chen Fan asked curiously, "Doesn't your grandmother have many relatives on her side?"
Su Ruochu looked up at the courtyard.
"There aren't many relatives on my grandmother and grandfather's side, and basically everyone who could come has come."
Chen Fan was curious: "Logically speaking, for such events in the village, shouldn't the villagers come to help and have a meal?"
At this, Su Ruochu's expression became sadder.
"Except for the villagers who came to help, most of the villagers went to town."
Seeing Chen Fan's confusion, Su Ruochu explained softly, "I just heard my uncle and the others saying that the Song family is hosting a big banquet in the town square, and they've even invited a theater troupe to perform. Any villager who goes to watch can eat for free, watch the show for free, and even get a bag of rice when they leave."
"The Song family has a lot of influence in town, and they're used to throwing their weight around, so not many people in town dare to offend them."
"Moreover, the Song family also runs a labor market. If villagers from several villages in town want to find work, they have to go to the labor market, so they don't dare to offend the Song family..."
Hearing this, Chen Fan basically understood.
It turned out that most of the villagers had gone to town to join in the excitement.
As they were talking, Su Ruochu's younger uncle suddenly walked in from outside the courtyard gate with a gloomy face.
He came to the table where Su Ruochu's older uncle and the others were sitting in the courtyard and said something in a low voice. Su Ruochu's older uncle suddenly slammed the table and stood up.
"This is too much!"
"These people are simply going too far!"
"Let's go confront them! I want to see what these people are trying to do."
This sudden scene made all the guests who were eating in the courtyard look up in surprise.
Seeing this, Su Xuecheng quickly gave a look and grabbed his wife.
"Don't be hasty, let's go inside first and talk."
Lin Wanxiu said with a gloomy face, "Why go inside? I want to see what they can do to me."
At this moment, Su Ruochu's older uncle shouted sternly.
"Third sister, go inside."
With the older uncle speaking up, even though the brothers and sisters were full of anger, they could only hold it in for now and follow into the hall with disgruntled faces.
Chen Fan looked up and noticed that the young people in the courtyard were also following the adults inside, so he turned to Su Ruochu.
"Don't you want to go in and see what's happening?"
Seeing Su Ruochu's hesitant expression, Chen Fan spoke up.
"Let's go. I'll accompany you."
Only then did Su Ruochu stand up and walk over with Chen Fan's company.
As soon as they got close to the door, Chen Fan could hear angry curses and roars coming from inside.
The few young people blocking the doorway turned their heads, and seeing it was Chen Fan and Su Ruochu, they hesitated for a moment but still made way for the two to enter.
In the hall, almost all of the Lin family members were there.
Su Xuecheng and the older uncle sat on the sofa with gloomy faces, not saying a word.
While several of the women were cursing loudly.
Chen Fan stood at the door listening for a while before he basically understood what had happened.
It turned out that in order to make the funeral lively, the Lin family had also specially invited a gong and drum troupe.
But tonight, as soon as the gong and drum troupe arrived in town, they were forcibly hijacked by the Song family's people.
No wonder the Lin family was so angry now.
Don't hit someone in the face.
As the saying goes, respect the dead.
At a time like this, forcibly hijacking the gong and drum troupe that had been invited was a blatant insult.
Chen Fan shook his head speechlessly.
The Song family had really gone too far this time.
It was bad enough that they had taken away the memorial hall during the day.
But now they directly stole the gong and drum troupe that had been invited. This was no longer just targeting them. If this wasn't handled well, it could develop into a blood feud between the two families.
However, given the Song family's power in the local area, they didn't seem to take the Lin family seriously at all.
In the living room, Lin Wanxiu lost her composure for once. After cursing for a while, she suddenly stood there and started crying.
As she cried, several women beside her also started wiping their tears.
While the young people of the Lin family were clamoring to go settle scores with the Song family.
They were all at an age where blood runs hot, and compared to the adults, these young people didn't have as many concerns.
When someone rides roughshod over you, how can you not fight back?
If the Lin family didn't do something, they probably wouldn't be able to hold their heads up in the local area in the future.
"Damn, let's fight them!"
Even the usually mild-tempered younger uncle couldn't contain his anger at this moment. He turned around and grabbed a sickle from the wall, ready to go settle accounts with the other side.
"Fifth brother. Stop!"
"I said stop!"
Just as a group of people were about to rush out, Su Ruochu's older uncle suddenly slammed the table and shouted loudly.
"Big brother, they're already walking all over us. Are we supposed to just turn a blind eye?" the younger uncle shouted angrily, his face flushed.
"How can you be so rash!" the older uncle rebuked. "Can impulsiveness solve the problem?"
"Let me ask you, even if you lead people there, what can you do?"
"How much influence does the Lin family have in town, and how many people do they have? Don't you know?"
"If you lead these young people to charge over there now, can you win?"
The group fell silent. A young man nearby, the older uncle's son, said stubbornly,
"Dad, even if we can't win, we still have to fight. Otherwise, how can our Lin family show our face in the village in the future?"
"That's right! Even if we lose the fight, we have to let them know that our Lin family doesn't have cowards and isn't easy to bully..."
Several young people muttered quietly, obviously displeased.
"All of you, shut up!"
Fortunately, in this family, Su Ruochu's older uncle had enough authority. With one shout, he temporarily intimidated these hot-blooded young people.