Chapter 48: Storm Brewing (Part 3)

Lin Juhua slapped her thigh and, with a sigh of finding a kindred spirit, said, “I’m worried sick! Our Xiao Wu has always been generous—whenever he has a bit of money, he buys things for the kids at home, even for me and his sister-in-law. Whenever my mother-in-law loses her temper, he always speaks up for me. He’s even better to me than my own brother. This time, he said he’d help Jiaojiao by sending some wild game to those families—just as a gesture, without making a fuss. We’re all relatives, after all. He told them not to send anything back, just to say that packages often get lost here, and that we’d thank them in person if we ever go to the capital. Listen to that—he’s taking all the blame on himself.”

“Our whole family supports Xiao Wu’s way of handling things. Otherwise, what would the Lin family think of us country folk? Jiaojiao also said it’s for the best—now she won’t have to keep up ties with her uncle’s family. They’re so shameless. How could she ever be the head of the household with a personality like that? Next year, when the family splits, my mother-in-law will go with the eldest brother. Those two are like kids playing house—and they even have a child.”

Zhang Xuehua comforted Lin Juhua, “Jiaojiao is a kind soul. You can’t force her uncle—her parents are still around. If things fall apart, it’ll be ugly for everyone.”

As they chatted, a few more people joined them, their mouths agape at the story. Lin Juhua and the others whispered for a while longer until the work whistle sounded.

An old woman from the village said, “Forget it, go home and tell her not to be upset. Having relatives like that is worse than having none. The sooner you cut ties, the better…”

“Anyone could tell they’re no good. Only one person in that whole family works the fields—they live off Jinwawa’s grandfather’s family. That old man’s got a good heart.”

“Good people get bullied, and good horses get ridden. If I were Jinwawa, I’d report them. What a bunch! The Huang family used to be dirt poor…”

Seeing the situation, Lin Juhua felt satisfied—Xiao Wu’s plan seemed to be working. If not, she’d bring it up again after work. She was exhausted.

Sun Meili was working, but the more she thought about it, the more indignant she felt. That shameless, despicable woman kept flaunting herself in front of her. Someone ought to expose her true colors. Why did Zhou Xue always have to show off, acting like she was the real Jinwawa, when she’d just snatched everything away? Her family were like bandits, stealing both men and dowries.

She decided to go back to her parents’ house and tell her two sisters-in-law. That shameless family needed to be put in their place.

Yezi was also working and feeling resentful. Her family was always shortchanged on work points by the production team. Even when her mother was sick, they wouldn’t let her take time off. Did her in-laws know how shameless their relatives were? Of course they did. No wonder they wouldn’t let Wang Youlin marry Meili. That whole family was rotten. She thought about going home to discuss it with her father. If they could get that man removed from his post, maybe their family would finally get fair treatment from the cadres. Her younger brother was old enough to get married—should he have to work under that man? Why?

Soon, several women were asking for leave, each with their own reasons. It was the slack season, otherwise it wouldn’t have been so easy to get time off. Lin Juhua noticed some men were also taking leave—those idle men were even more gossipy than the women. It was like everyone was heading to Hulu Village. Lin Juhua didn’t rest either—when people asked, she’d sigh and mutter a few ambiguous words, leaving everyone whispering to each other. Laughter occasionally erupted from the men’s side. Zhang Guoqiang ignored the commotion and just focused on his work.

Sun Meili and Yezi ran into each other on the road and felt a bit awkward. But Yezi knew Sun Meili had suffered at the hands of the Wang family. In these times, if a woman’s engagement was broken off after the betrothal gifts had been exchanged, it was a huge loss for her. Sun Meili really was beautiful—the village flower, ruined by the Wang family’s scheming. They should have just admitted the engagement was set long ago.

Yezi didn’t hide her intentions and told Meili directly that she was going home to tell her father—maybe they could shame that old man. Her family did the most work and still got their points docked. The two of them, united by a common goal, talked heatedly, not noticing a few people following behind them. Strangely, no one had run off to Zhoujia Village to spread the news—so much for their connections.

As they entered the village, they saw Zhou Xue swaying along with her son in her arms, wearing a bright red cashmere coat, deliberately checking her watch every so often as if afraid no one would notice she owned one. It was sickening. Sun Meili and Yezi spotted her from afar and quickly avoided her, pretending not to see and planning to take a detour. But Zhou Xue shouted at them loudly, not caring if she startled the child in her arms. Today, it seemed, Zhou Xue’s luck had run out. Not far from the village entrance was the production team’s office. When there was business, the village cadres would gather the villagers at the gate. Today, there was no work, but they were announcing something, the loudspeaker screeching as it was adjusted, and the villagers were all waiting nearby.

Zhou Xue had always held a grudge against Sun Meili. She knew Wang Youlin still had feelings for Meili. The two had been about to get engaged, but because her father-in-law objected, he married Zhou Xue instead. Now, even though Sun Meili had finally married into another village, she often came home, and Wang Youlin grew colder and colder towards Zhou Xue. Other than necessary conversation, he barely spoke to her. She couldn’t even start a fight—he just ignored her. Now, seeing Sun Meili hurrying home and trying to avoid her, Zhou Xue finally saw her chance.

Rolling her eyes and lifting her chin, Zhou Xue shouted from afar, “Well, well, look who’s come back to her mother’s house! It’s Meili! Out of rice again? You keep coming home to haul things back—how long can you keep that up? And every time you come back, you’re dressed in rags. Are you trying to look pitiful so your mother will give you more to take home? Your man’s really useless, isn’t he? Can’t even provide you with decent clothes—might as well send you out naked. Tsk tsk, look at you, how pitiful.”

Sun Meili hadn’t wanted a confrontation—she looked down on women like Zhou Xue. Besides, Zhou Xue’s father-in-law was the team leader, a petty and snobbish man. Her own family lived in the village, and she didn’t want to drag her parents and brothers into trouble. She’d rather avoid Zhou Xue. But now, hearing her shout and seeing everyone gather around, she was both embarrassed and angry. She couldn’t hold back anymore—time to expose her.

“That’s right, my man’s got no skills—he can’t even steal his cousin’s dowry like you did. That coat looks nice on you—doesn’t it itch to wear it? Have you no shame? I don’t even want to talk about your filthy business—just saying it would dirty my mouth. You think nobody knows what your family’s done? Strutting around like a phoenix, but you’re just a wild chicken. You think you’re fooling anyone? Everyone’s laughing behind your back.

If Jinwawa wasn’t so kind, I’d have sent your whole family of scoundrels to the county jail by now. You still have the nerve to show off every day, afraid people won’t notice? Everyone knows your dirty deeds—bleeding Jinwawa dry, sending her off to marry with nothing, while your family struts around in new clothes. Not a decent one among you!”

Zhou Xue, tongue-tied and guilty, had thought no one would dare talk about what happened to Zhou Jiao, and was caught off guard. She put her son down and charged at Sun Meili, screaming and clawing. The commotion drew the attention of the villagers nearby, who all came running to watch the spectacle."