*Chapter 7: The 95th Birthday*
6:00 AM. March 20, 2002. Mill Street Compound. Sunday.
The compound bell rang three times. That meant _everyone, now, no excuses._
He was already awake. The Sense was loud. 692 dots, all awake, all moving toward the main courtyard. _Mood: Excited._ _Mood: Nervous._ _Mood: Hungry._
Today was Great-grandmother's 95th. Last life, he sent 500 Chinese Yuan. She died two years later and never saw him again.
This time, he'd spent 570,000 Chinese Yuan prepping for it. The System called it "investment." Grandfather called it "finally acting like a Lin."
He walked out. Third step. Seventh step. Same.
The courtyard was unrecognizable.
Twenty tables, laid end to end. Red cloth. Bamboo benches. Three whole pigs from Farm 7, roasted, on wooden platters the size of doors. Vegetables from Farm 3 and Farm 11, piled high. Wine from Brewery Fermentation Hall 1, twenty vats, unsealed. The smell hit him like a truck.
Fifth uncle was running around in a clean shirt, directing people where to sit. _Mood: Panicked. Loyalty: 78/100._ He'd used the 200,000 Chinese Yuan to buy every table in the county. And two trucks. And a loudspeaker.
"Why is there a loudspeaker?" he asked.
Fifth uncle stopped. "For the speeches."
"What speeches?"
"Yours. You're paying. You speak."
*[Family Ledger Update: Fifth uncle. Mood: Delegating. Loyalty: 78/100 → 79/100. +1 Family Point. Balance: 60 Family Points.]*
He had not agreed to this.
Great-grandmother was carried out in a wooden chair. Ninety-five, back bent, eyes sharp. She wore red. She saw the tables. She saw the pigs. She saw him.
She pointed. "You. Come here."
He went.
"You got rich?" she asked. No hello. No preamble. Ninety-five years of cutting straight to it.
"Yes."
"How rich?"
"Very."
She nodded. "Good. Spend it on family. Not on girls. Girls are expensive and they leave."
Lin Yu, standing behind her: "Great-grandmother!"
_Loyalty: 93/100 → 93/100. +0 Family Points. She agreed with Great-grandmother._
Great-grandfather sat to her left. Grandfather to her right. Father by the first pig. Mother directing the wine. All 692 people filtering in. Third uncle from Suzhou. Fourth uncle from Nanjing. Cousins he hadn't seen since 1998. All here.
*[Family Cohesion: 97/100 → 99/100. Status: Ascendant. +200 Family Points. Balance: 260 Family Points.]*
Two hundred Family Points for throwing a party. The System had interesting priorities.
Thirty-first uncle fired up the diesel engine. It powered the lights. And the loudspeaker.
Fifth uncle shoved a microphone into his hand. "Go."
He looked at 692 faces. 692 dots in his Sense. All watching. _Mood: Expectant._
He cleared his throat. The loudspeaker screeched. Three kids covered their ears.
"Hi," he said.
Silence.
"I missed last time." Truth. "I won't miss this time."
Grandfather nodded once. _Approved._
"Eat," he said. "It's paid for."
The loudspeaker screeched again as he put it down.
Great-grandmother cackled. "Short speech. Good. I'm hungry."
The courtyard exploded. Chopsticks. Laughter. Wine pouring. Twenty-second uncle was carving Pig One and crying. "These are my pigs," he kept saying. "My beautiful pigs."
_He sold them to you for 90,000 Chinese Yuan yesterday,_ he didn't say.
Fourteenth uncle brought over a basket of greens from Farm 11. "First crop in two years," he said. _Mood: Proud. Loyalty: 80/100 → 88/100. +8 Family Points. Balance: 268 Family Points._
Ninth uncle was still _Worried._ Farm 3 only made 420 Chinese Yuan last month. He walked over. Dropped 30,000 Chinese Yuan on his table. "Seeds. Tools. Hire two people."
Ninth uncle stared. "This is—"
"Character building," he said. Lin Yu's phrase. She was going to kill him.
*[Family Ledger Update: Ninth uncle. Mood: Overwhelmed. Loyalty: 68/100 → 82/100. +14 Family Points. Balance: 282 Family Points.]*
Great-grandmother ate three bowls. Drank two cups of wine. Told stories about 1937. At one point she called him "the one who came back."
He didn't correct her.
Lin Wu came over. Ankle still wrapped, but walking. _Health: Recovering. Mood: Good._
"Hardware Store 7 is closed today," Lin Wu said. "Fifth uncle says we're rich now. Are we?"
"Yes."
"Cool. Can I run it?"
He opened Ledger Level 2. Lin Wu. Business: S. Skill: Negotiation Level 3. Potential Cap: Regional Chief Executive Officer.
"After you finish school," he said.
Lin Wu groaned. "Character building?"
"Yes."
_Loyalty: 61/100 → 65/100. +4 Family Points. Balance: 286 Family Points._ He hated it but respected it.
By 2:00 PM, the pigs were bones. The wine was low. The courtyard was full of sleeping uncles and gossiping aunts.
Great-grandmother called him over again.
She grabbed his hand. Strong, for ninety-five.
"You stay this time?" she asked.
He looked at 692 dots. At Grandfather: _Impressed._ At Lin Yu: _Trusting._ At Fifth uncle: asleep under a table with a smile on his face.
"Yes," he said.
She nodded. "Good. Then next year we do ninety-six."
*[Family Ledger Update: Great-grandmother. Mood: Content. Loyalty: 100/100. +50 Family Points. Balance: 336 Family Points.]*
*[Milestone Achieved: Family Anchor. Great-grandmother's approval secured. +500 Family Points. Balance: 836 Family Points.]*
*[System Inventory: 998,310,000 Chinese Yuan remaining.]*
Five hundred Family Points for making a ninety-five-year-old woman happy. The System finally had priorities he agreed with.
He sat down. Finally.
Lin Yu sat next to him. Kicked his shoe. Gently.
"Still no Walkman?" she asked.
He thought about it. Pulled out 500 Chinese Yuan. Handed it over.
"For character building," he said. "Go buy your own."
She took it. _Loyalty: 93/100 → 95/100. +2 Family Points. Balance: 838 Family Points._
The compound bell rang once. Dinner prep.
He had 998,310,000 Chinese Yuan left. 838 Family Points. 84 days until the college exam.
And a great-grandmother who expected to see ninety-six.
He was going to be busy.