Cheng Ying forced her eyes to well up with tears, a delicate, technical maneuver. Cheng Ying truly exerted herself, remaining silent for a long time, head bowed as she brewed the necessary emotion.

To the two sharp minds present, it was clear the child was genuinely troubled. Cheng Ying’s family situation was complicated.

The old captain let out a long sigh, "Child, what is it? Tell your great-uncle." Cheng Ying finally felt she had reached the peak, lifting her head to look at the two most respected men in the village.

Pa-ji—she sank onto the floor, "Sir, I want to move my father's grave." Heavens above, this was monumental! Cheng Shan’s dry-cured tobacco pipe slipped from his fingers onto the table, sending sparks flying.

"Yingzi, can you even make this decision? What are you saying?

And where would you move him to?" Cheng Ying’s emotion was at its height now. "Sir, I beg of you, let my father be interred in the ancestral graveyard!" If her previous words were startling, Cheng Ying's current plea was deliberately difficult.

In the village custom, a father who died outside the village could not be brought into the ancestral plot. This wasn't a decision one person could make; it was a matter of long-held tradition.

The captain did not pick up his pipe again. Even the old captain’s face had darkened.

That ancestral graveyard of the old Cheng family wasn't just Cheng Ying’s; everyone shared the same ancestors. Who wouldn't want their lineage to have good feng shui?

To disrupt that—how could it be allowed? Seeing that neither man responded, Cheng Ying fell silent, grabbing Cheng Shan’s sleeve and beginning to sob.

It wasn't a dry, theatrical wail; it was a deeply suppressed, agonizingly somber cry. Cheng Ying incorporated her great-aunt’s method of grave-wailing, adding two crucial lines: "Sirs, just grant me this wish.

My father is all alone up on that distant mountain; I cannot sleep soundly." For a girl barely in her teens to say this made Cheng Shan’s heart clench painfully. They had watched this child grow up.

Not just Cheng Ying, but her father too—he had watched him mature. The child was indeed pitiable.

But this was an outsider’s death. Cheng Shan’s eyes reddened too.

"Child, it’s not that this old man lacks compassion, but it is the rule of the elders. Your father simply cannot enter the ancestral plot." Cheng Ying let out a loud wail and truly cried.

Imagine how his grandmother must have felt hearing this earlier. The old captain beside them, advanced in years, felt his mood growing turbulent as well.

"Girl, this idea of yours, both your great-uncle and I cannot make it happen. This isn't one person's affair.

Most people in this village are surnamed Cheng; we share the same ancestors. Your father alone cannot disrupt the ancestral feng shui, can he?" Cheng Ying choked out her words, "You both said he is everyone’s ancestor, we all share the surname Cheng.

Why can't my father join the ancestral graveyard? Why must my father be left all alone outside?

Don't the ancestors care for their younger descendants?" Cheng Ying was deliberately trying to muddy the waters. The old captain understood the child's heart.

"Child, it’s not that we refuse you; it’s truly impossible." Hearing this, Cheng Ying’s tears began to roll down uncontrollably. "Why is it impossible?

I insist my father be near the ancestral graves! Ever since the village divided the land, I dream of my father every day.

He says he has nowhere to stay, that not a single piece of ground belongs to him. I haven't dared tell Grandmother.

Sir, just let my father enter the ancestral graveyard! Just give my father a place that is his own, or my father will never rest peacefully underground." With that, Cheng Ying dissolved into unlooking sobs.

The commotion in the room was so loud that Chi Wu, waiting outside, could hear it; his own eyes were already red. The task Cheng Ying had given him was long forgotten.

He felt no connection or affection for Yingzi’s father, but he simply couldn't bear to see Yingzi crying like this. Chi Wu burst in, pulling Yingzi up.

"Stop crying! I'll help you.

We'll dig your father up tonight and bury him in the ancestral plot." Chi Wu, being a child, truly didn't understand the magnitude of moving a grave. Cheng Ying was almost choked with frustrated laughter.

You still think of digging up my family’s graves? Wait until I deal with you later.

The captain and the old captain looked at the two children, their hearts filled with distress. If they were adults, the two men would certainly pause to consider their motives.

But faced with two children planning to secretly dig graves, there was nothing to deliberate. Furthermore, to prevent the children from making a rash move, they needed to soothe the situation.

"Child, does your grandmother know about this?" Cheng Ying looked up through her tears, "No, I don't dare tell Grandmother. If Grandmother knew, my father would have nowhere to rest at all; wouldn’t that be digging into Grandmother's heart?" The old captain sighed again.

The child was sensible. However, even though this matter sounded superstitious, the villagers all held these beliefs; one couldn't simply dismiss the child’s words as false.

It was just a dream, but if one pressed too deeply, one couldn't leave the living unsettled either. "Girl, you did the right thing not telling your grandmother.

But having your father enter the ancestral graveyard is out of the question. Besides, your father never said he insisted on the ancestral plot, did he?

Your father was a sensible child; he surely wouldn't say such a thing." Cheng Ying thought to herself, The old ones are the spiciest ginger. They were trying to coax the child.

Cheng Ying spoke with a veiled voice, "My father always said that a place he stays that isn't his own makes him uneasy, that he doesn't know when he’ll be brushed away." Cheng Ying internally thought, That dream was specific enough. I wonder if they believe it.

Cheng Shan looked at Cheng Ying. This matter was truly uncanny.

"Yingzi, are you the only one who knows this?" Cheng Ying: "I dare not tell anyone." Cheng Shan sighed. This was the only blood relative her father had left; of course, he would be concerned.

He had managed to rationalize things for himself; he even dreamed of his own old man during festivals. Whether this was real or not was hard to say, but whether real or false, one had to comfort the living and the dead.

Otherwise, the child might develop a chronic illness that couldn't be cured, especially with Yingzi; this was clearly a malady of the heart. The old captain asked, "Yingzi, is there nothing else?" Cheng Ying thought, If there was anything else, it would be a lie.

"No, I can't even see my father's face; it's just that one sentence." Cheng Shan said, "Yingzi, how about this: moving your father’s grave is impossible, that is the rule set by the ancestors. But the place where your father rests belongs to the production team.

You discuss it with your family—whether through contract or some other means—and this old man and your great-uncle will speak to the village. Let it be registered under your family’s name.

At least your father can rest assured that it’s his own piece of ground. What do you think?" Cheng Ying was overjoyed inside.

This was exactly what she wanted! This outcome was excellent.

I didn't have to drag the dead man out to speak, she thought, even if the methods were a bit crude, for someone my age, it’s quite good. Since she had no other capital, this was her only option.

Cheng Ying, choking back tears, asked with feigned confusion, "If it's my own land, will my father be safe from being brushed away?" Cheng Shan replied, "Yingzi, just treat it as a comfort." Cheng Ying: "Then I thank you, Sir, and thank you, Great-Uncle, on my father's behalf." Cheng Shan felt a chill down his spine. Why was this girl speaking with such unsettling formality?

It's fine for her to thank them, but why thank them on behalf of her father? The realms of the living and the dead are separate!

The old captain muttered to himself, The child speaks without malice. Don't blame her.

Cheng Shan sternly stated, "Yingzi, you are not to mention moving the grave again." Cheng Ying: "Mm, I listen to you. Sir, I haven't told Grandmother about this.

Grandmother is old; I'm afraid she couldn't bear it." The old captain nodded at Cheng Ying. "Don't worry, girl.

Neither your great-uncle nor I will say a word about this." Cheng Ying was immensely satisfied. "Thank you, Great-Uncle.

Thank you, Sir." Cheng Shan continued, "Yingzi, the place where your father is buried is far from the village, not worth much, but your family still needs to exchange some of your mountain holdings for it. You talk to Wuzi’s father about this later." Cheng Ying: "Sir, all our family’s mountain holdings are planted with trees." Cheng Shan grinned, showing his teeth.

"You don't need that much—just an area the size of a sleeping mat. Your mother just needs to say the word." Cheng Ying was displeased.

"Sir, you only want to give my father a place as small as a sleeping mat?" Cheng Shan glared. "You little brat, how big a place do you think he needs?" Cheng Ying: "But won't my father feel suffocated?" Cheng Shan felt that if he indulged the child's childishness, he would appear petty, but if he didn't indulge her, he felt suffocated himself—how much space did she really need?

"You can try to contract the entire mountain area for your father." This was absolutely meant to sting her into backing down—a way to shame her if she were an adult. But a mischievous child surely wouldn't understand.

Stars flickered in Cheng Ying's eyes. That was the implication she wanted.

Cheng Shan looked into Cheng Ying’s eyes. "Girl, that land belongs to the team.

Even if the team contracts it to your family, there are rules. Uncle isn't trying to trick you; if you contract the mountain for one or two years, there’s no production to speak of.

But if you take it for ten or eight years, that’s a huge expense. Girl, don't even think about it.

Just let your father rest in peace." Cheng Shan’s words were solid; this was his assurance to Chi Yong. He couldn't let the child cause chaos and put the adults in a difficult position.

Chi Yong’s family dynamics were complex enough; they shouldn't add to the trouble. Cheng Ying: "No.

What you said—eventually, these places will belong to others. If my father only has such a small patch, he won't even have a path to walk out.

He’d have to use someone else's road! Sir, just tell me, I want it all." The two men in the room felt a chill run down their spines.

The man was dead; why would he need a path to walk out? Why did the girl speak so frighteningly?

Why couldn't this child speak properly? Cheng Shan explained, "Yingzi, let this old man tell you.

That patch of mountain is far from the village; nobody wants the trouble of it, and there are hardly any trees up there. But if you want to contract it, the minimum annual rate will be calculated at fifty yuan.

You would need to contract it for at least ten years, and even then, the mountain's yield might not reach five hundred yuan in ten years. Can your family afford that?

Listen to this old man, don't trouble the adults anymore." Cheng Ying understood. If she pressed further, she would be pressing for money—pressing the adults who had no substantial savings.

Chi Wu was stunned by the figure of five hundred yuan. Cheng Ying thought it was cheap—really cheap!

But she simply had no money. Even combining all her family’s savings wouldn’t reach five hundred yuan.

Moreover, just as the captain said, ten years was too short. Twenty years would be better, ideally fifty.

But alas, she had no money. A single penny could defeat a hero.

Cheng Ying asked, "Sir, your word stands, right?" Cheng Shan replied, "Yingzi, this old man makes a promise here: as long as your family comes forward, this old man will risk his reputation and speak to the villagers, and it will be settled." Cheng Shan was purely trying to dismiss the child, hoping to make Cheng Ying drop the idea. Furthermore, that mountain land was undesirable; who would bother contracting it?

No one would compete with Cheng Ying. And since the child originally came to move her father into the ancestral plot, they were lucky they managed to redirect her to this compromise.