Lin Jin

Biodata

Background / History

Life in the Zhou Household

Lin Jin married Zhou Sanfeng, the third Zhou son, and bore Zhou Jinian. After giving birth, he continued carrying the baby, washing clothes, and cooking without properly recovering. Zhou Sanfeng later recognized this lack of recovery as the origin of his persistent lower-back pain 18.

Despite handling cooking, laundry, bedding, and cleaning for a household of more than twenty people, Lin Jin was accused by Grandmother Zhou of contributing little. His husband likewise continued farming despite a leg injury sustained while saving his sixth brother. When Grandmother Zhou used Jinian’s examination expenses to pressure him, Lin Jin proposed dividing the household. She tried to slap him, but the newly reborn Jinian intervened; in Jinian’s previous life, the slap had landed 1.

Welcoming Xie Ning

Lin Jin initially opposed Jinian’s determination to marry Xie Ning. He had heard reports of Xie Ning jumping into the river and suffering severe skin damage, and feared that he would not live long 2 3.

After the marriage, Lin Jin accepted his son’s choice. During Xie Ning’s tea ceremony, he invited him to ask freely for anything he needed and promised that they would build a good life together. He subsequently helped Xie Ning prepare dried eggplant, shared household work with him, and worried over his meals and health 9 14 16 17.

Lin Jin also began to regard Xie Ning as a source of good fortune. He praised his filial concern after the snake-catching incident and later became convinced that he brought prosperity to the entire family 13 36.

Back Injury and Household Division

When Grandmother Zhou restricted Xie Ning’s dinner, Lin Jin protested and took the food back to their courtyard. He falsely claimed to have already eaten so that the others could share the inadequate portions. That evening, he kept Xie Ning’s steamed dried eggplant for their own family—the first time he had deliberately withheld food from the common household 22.

His back condition then worsened after two days of strenuous fieldwork, leaving him unable to get out of bed. Physician Hu prescribed creeping fig vine, brown sugar, and half a year of rest. Xie Ning gathered the medicinal vine and learned how to prepare it, while Grandmother Zhou visited without offering money for treatment 23.

Once Lin Jin could walk again, a dispute over the dried-eggplant business brought the household conflict to a head. Grandmother Zhou charged him for the eggplants and then demanded half the sales proceeds as well, although another branch had used household peanuts without paying for them. Lin Jin refused the unequal arrangement. When she threatened him with a broom, Xie Ning intervened and Zhou Sanfeng called for the household to divide 33.

Establishing a Town Business

Lin Jin helped package and sell Xie Ning’s dried eggplant, marketed as vegetarian jerky. Their first town-market outing sold out, and the family purchased a courtyard house. Lin Jin specifically asked the broker to ensure that its well was cleaned and tested before use 32 34 35 36.

After the household division, the family moved to Upper North Alley. Lin Jin, Zhou Sanfeng, and Xie Ning opened a fish-wonton stall at the alley entrance, selling out of filling on their first day. They discussed increasing production and adding fish-wonton noodles 40 44.

By the time the stall had expanded to six tables, Zhu Dachang’s harassment had become a concern. Lin Jin kept Xie Ning away from the stall and signaled him to return home when he approached with food. He also advocated opening a shop rather than continuing to endure the seasonal discomforts of stall work 46.

Lin Jin later supported Xie Ning’s proposal to open a local shop as thanks to the townspeople who had patronized them for six months, even though the family also intended to establish a shop in the prefectural city. Zhou Sanfeng proposed asking his fourth brother to manage the local business 50.

Personality

Lin Jin is caring and attentive to his family’s everyday needs. He prepares food for his husband and Xie Ning before serving himself, notices which foods Xie Ning enjoys, and reassures him that asking for help is not a burden. He also likes children, sharing roasted peanuts with the neighborhood youngsters who help the family carry their stall equipment 16 20 50.

Although accustomed to enduring unfair treatment, he becomes outspoken when his family’s welfare is threatened. He challenges discriminatory financial demands, objects to Xie Ning being underfed, and firmly prevents his lame husband from joining another dangerous wild-boar hunt. His affection also includes teasing: he quietly laughs with Zhou Sanfeng over Xie Ning’s attachment to Jinian while trying not to embarrass him 16 18 19 22 33.

Abilities & Skills

Cooking and Food Preparation

• Makes chewy steamed buns, with Xie Ning specifically praising their flavor and texture 16.
• Prepares family meals, marinates snake meat, and later cooks fish soup and shrimp independently of the main Zhou kitchen 13 40.
• Assists with vegetarian-jerky production and cooks wontons for the family stall 19 33 46.

Household Work

• Manages large-scale cooking, laundry, bedding, floor cleaning, and water carrying in the extended Zhou household 1 9 14.
• Operates the village stone mill, taking turns with Xie Ning to grind a basket of corn into grits 16.
• Sews winter clothing with Lin Guihua 40.
• Limitation: Persistent lower-back pain is aggravated by heavy work and eventually leaves him temporarily bedridden 16 23.

Small-Business Experience

• Plans festival food sales with Lin Guihua to earn spending money and help cover Jinian’s tuition gift 9.
• Helps Xie Ning calculate the price of his dried eggplant and suggests giving the product a name 32.
• Protects the family’s sauce-making process by moving preparation to their private courtyard when relatives try to observe it 37.
• Handles food preparation and service at the family’s expanding wonton stall 44 46.

Relationships

• Zhou Sanfeng — Husband. Their relationship is affectionate and protective: Sanfeng massages his aching back and urges him to rest, while Lin Jin insists that he avoid dangerous hunting 18 19 33.
• Zhou Jinian — Eldest son. Lin Jin notices his sudden maturity after rebirth without knowing its cause. Jinian protects him from Grandmother Zhou and argues that his back condition should end his fieldwork 1 2 12 26.
• Xie Ning — Son-in-law. Initial misgivings give way to parental affection and confidence in his good fortune. Xie Ning reciprocates by gathering medicine and shielding him during the broom confrontation 3 9 23 33 36.
• Grandmother Zhou — Mother-in-law. Her dismissal of his labor, unequal treatment of his branch, and demands over business income drive his repeated calls for household division 1 22 33.
• Lin Guihua — Fourth sister-in-law and close ally. They share work and support each other as overlooked members of the household. She later asks Lin Jin to help find a kind family for her young ger, Zhou Rong, to marry into 9 16 42.
• Physician Hu — Village physician who treats his disabling back pain and instructs Xie Ning in preparing his medicine 23.

Notable Quotes

“Get up, quickly. If there’s anything you need, you can tell Dad. Don’t be shy. We’re a family, and we’ll make a good life together, all right?” 9

“Either the household supplies the eggplants, and I turn them into something to sell and give Mother half the money as a filial offering, or I pay for the eggplants and keep what I earn.” 33