Chapter 154: Found Out

October 19, 2023

Author: Zi Tao

Mu Chenze put on a mysterious air. “Not telling you. It’s a secret.”

He quickly started loading the grilled fish fillets onto the cart.

Chu Xuan’s gaze landed on him. “Do you want to get your sweater today?”

It wasn’t really sweater weather yet.

But Mu Chenze was dying to see how the sweater would look on him.

“Hurry up and give it to me. I’ll go try it on in Xiao Feng’s room.”

Chu Xuan smiled. “Then you have to tell me first—how did you get rid of Chu Zhi?”

They chatted as they worked together, moving the fish fillets.

Mu Chenze deliberately lowered his voice. “I asked Pingzi to take some time every day to take his boat over and cut Chu Zhi’s fishing nets. But as luck would have it, this afternoon around five, Pan Xiaoli’s brother Pan Ren took his boat over, pulled up Chu Zhi’s net, and got caught. Chu Zhi was sure Pan Ren was behind everything before, so the two of them got into a fight. Chu Zhi couldn’t beat Pan Ren, so he rammed Pan Ren’s boat with his own out of spite. In the end, both boats got damaged…”

Chu Xuan knew Pan Ren wasn’t a good person.

But the more she thought about it, the weirder it seemed.

“You guys deliberately lured Pan Ren over there, didn’t you?”

Mu Chenze touched the tip of his nose and chuckled. “That Pan Ren once stole fish from Pingzi’s nets, so… you get it.”

Chu Xuan gave him a thumbs up. “You and Pingzi are something else! I’m impressed!”

Mu Chenze was delighted by the praise. “Oh, by the way, when I passed through town, a man named Xiao Huan asked me to tell you to go see Uncle Long tomorrow.”

He didn’t say anything else.

“Alright, got it.”

Chu Xuan guessed there was news from the capital.

She went to her bedroom and brought out the newly knitted striped sweater.

Mu Chenze took it. Blue and white stripes, a V-neck—just like he’d imagined.

He couldn’t wait to borrow Chu Feng’s room, change into it, and look in the mirror.

Chu Feng looked on enviously. “Chenze-ge, you look great in that sweater. I want my sister to knit me one just like it.”

Mu Chenze quickly persuaded him, “We’re not the same age, so this color doesn’t suit you. You’d look better in yellow and white stripes—more energetic. When I get some yellow yarn, I’ll ask your sister to knit you one.”

With just a few words, he got Chu Feng to agree not to copy his style.

He didn’t plan to wear the sweater out in the yard for Chu Xuan to see, because he wanted to wait a few days and pair it with new pants to show her.

He quickly changed out of the sweater, folded it neatly, put it in his cloth bag, and carried it out to the yard to hang on the cart.

“The sweater fits perfectly. I really like it. Thank you for your hard work!”

His tone was very gentle.

To Chu Xuan, it sounded like the tinkling of a spring.

“It wasn’t hard. As long as you like it. It’s getting late—hurry home so you can get a bit more sleep.”

“Okay.”

Mu Chenze pulled the cart full of grilled fish fillets, and before leaving, couldn’t help but glance at Chu Xuan again.

He felt that Fat Ni didn’t seem so fat anymore.

Her eyes looked bigger and brighter than before, her jawline more defined, and her figure wasn’t bulky anymore—at most, she just looked sturdy.

“Chu Xuan, have you weighed yourself this month?”

Chu Xuan smiled confidently. “I weighed myself today. 155 jin.” [approx. 77.5 kg]

Mu Chenze’s eyes were full of praise and encouragement. “Keep drinking your herbal medicine and exercising every day. You can lose another twenty jin or so.”

“I will.”

Chu Xuan watched him pull the cart away.

The next morning, a little after eight, Chu Xuan drank her herbal medicine. Gao Meijuan and the others came over to start work.

The village-run grilled fish fillet factory would officially start production in about five days. For now, they were still testing the ovens, so Chu Xuan’s workshop would keep running for five more days to ensure a seamless transition.

Last month, all the fish fillets were grilled with charcoal, which tasted even better than before and got rave reviews.

Chu Xuan’s clients all agreed to amend their contracts so that after October 5th, the South Fishing Village Food Factory would supply them.

Boss Hou, in particular, doubled his order compared to last month.

Wang Depin was serving as the factory director, and his shop near the train station had already been renovated, now sporting a sign for the South Fishing Food Factory’s First Sales Department.

They’d already lined up buyers for fish livers, skins, and so on.

Supply contracts with the fishermen were also signed.

Everything was going smoothly.

After greeting Gao Meijuan and the others, Chu Xuan rode her bike out.

She headed straight for Uncle Long’s shop.

When she arrived, she saw Ge Dan minding the store.

Ge Dan was very respectful when he saw Chu Xuan—he’d been personally trained by Uncle Long and knew exactly how to treat different people and what to say. He was already a pro.

He told Chu Xuan that Uncle Long was in the study in the backyard.

Chu Xuan went to find him.

She knocked and entered the study. When Uncle Long saw it was her, he took a photo out of the drawer.

Chu Xuan’s eyes lit up.

It was a photo of a man and a woman together.

The man was the one Chu Xuan had drawn.

The woman looked very much like a young Feng Chunhua.

To be precise, she looked exactly like the woman in the photo under Feng Chunhua’s pillow.

“Uncle Long, who are these two in the photo?”

Uncle Long sighed. “The woman is Yuan Tian, the man is Tian Yufu. Yuan Tian is the eldest daughter of the Yuan family, but she has different mothers from her other siblings. The current head of the Yuan family is her younger brother, Yuan Hang.”

“So, Feng Chunhua is Yuan Tian’s biological mother?”

“That’s right.”

“The Yuan family’s doing pretty well. Why would Feng Chunhua leave a good life behind to marry Chu Dashan in a little fishing village?”

“They’re doing well now, but things weren’t always good. Feng Chunhua left the Yuan family when they fell on hard times, abandoning her daughter. Yuan Tian was just born at the time. Feng Chunhua signed a letter severing all ties, promising not to raise Yuan Tian, and Yuan Tian wouldn’t have to support her in the future. Yuan Tian’s father signed it too. From then on, they had nothing to do with each other.”

Chu Xuan was puzzled. “If they cut all ties, why are they in contact again now? Those gold necklaces and jade pendants—did Yuan Tian just give them to Feng Chunhua for free?”

“That’s right. I was thinking of using the jade pendant to get in with the Yuan family, but now I think it’s best not to. Yuan Tian and Tian Yufu have been secretly helping Feng Chunhua. If I bring this up, even if Yuan Hang cooperates with me, Yuan Tian will cause trouble. Better to pretend I don’t know. We’ll see how things go.”

“Uncle Long, something still feels off. About the dragon-phoenix jade pendants…”

“Let me finish and you’ll understand.”

“Please go ahead.”

Chu Xuan listened intently.

“Back then, Feng Chunhua did give birth to a pair of twins—a boy and a girl. But only Yuan Tian survived. Her brother was stillborn. Feng Chunhua bought the pair of dragon-phoenix jade pendants, probably to remember her dead son.”

“Did you find out Yuan Tian’s birth date?”

“Yes, but it’s not the same as the date you saw in the photo under Feng Chunhua’s pillow. Yuan Tian was born a year earlier than that date. According to my people, recently Feng Chunhua contacted Yuan Tian asking for money, but was refused. So Feng Chunhua is probably strapped for cash right now.”

“Uncle Long, are you still planning to sell those three gold necklaces and the jade pendant?”

“I’ll melt the gold necklaces down and sell the gold. The jade pendant—I’ll hold on to it for now.”

Now Chu Xuan had a clear picture. She chatted with Uncle Long a bit more before taking her leave.

She rode her bike to the county seat to see Doctor Zhang for a checkup and more medicine.

Passing by a phone booth near the county hospital, she heard a familiar and annoying voice making a call.

“Xiao Zhi is seriously hurt. We need money for treatment…”

It was Feng Chunhua.

Chu Xuan quickly got off her bike, hid to the side, and listened in."