Chapter 54: Gossip

My cousin-in-law, Meng Lin, didn’t stay long. She sent a grand opening red envelope on behalf of the family and then took Junjun in a taxi to my cousin’s company.

Aunt Zhou’s fruit shop has become a chain. The Xiuli (beautiful) Community has the “Xiangxiang Fruit Shop No. 1,” while the Jinxiu neighborhood has the “Xiangxiang Fruit Shop No. 2.” When Chen Jin came over, she was still organizing the shelves.

As soon as she entered the shop, she was greeted by the strong aroma of fruits. Aunt Zhou was busy decorating fruit baskets with a young girl. Compared to the old days when they would just pack fruits in red or black plastic bags, the shop’s packaging now looks much more upscale. Not only are there fruit baskets, but even the plastic bags for the fruits are customized with the shop’s name, “Xiangxiang Fruit Shop,” printed on them.

It seems that Aunt Zhou wants to turn her fruit shop into a branded business.

However, it indeed looks much more upscale, and it’s impressive to buy and gift.

“Ah! Third sister, come eat some watermelon!” Aunt Zhou was startled when she saw her, then handed her a slice of freshly cut watermelon. Seeing Chen Jia and Chen Yongan following behind her, she handed them two slices as well. “New variety, seedless watermelon, especially sweet!”

Chen Jin didn’t hold back. After taking the slices with both hands, she lowered her head to take a bite, nodding in surprise, “It really is especially sweet! And crunchy!”

“I’ll buy a few to take back later. Aunt Zhou, please hold seven for me,” Chen Jin quickly listed out the families she wanted to send them to.

Aunt Zhou’s eyes crinkled with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll give you plenty; I’ll pick the best ones for you later.”

The shop had hired some help, and Aunt Zhou introduced her as the daughter of a relative. Noticing that there weren’t many customers at the moment, Aunt Zhou moved a few small plastic stools outside under the sunshade, inviting them to sit and eat, and she brought out half of the watermelon she had just cut.

“Third sister, eat more.”

Chen Jin grinned, “Sure!”

After munching on half a slice, Chen Jin remembered her “real purpose” for coming. She nudged Aunt Zhou with her elbow, “Aunt Zhou, has anything interesting happened in the Xiuli (beautiful) Community recently? I’ve been busy with work since graduation and haven’t seen people from the village for a while. I miss everyone.”

Aunt Zhou looked at her sideways, her face saying, “You’re still trying to play coy with me? Do you think I can’t see that you’re after the gossip?”

“Well, there have indeed been quite a few things happening over there lately.”

Aunt Zhou took on a “I’m about to spill the tea” posture, scooting her stool closer to Chen Jin. She glanced around carefully, covering her mouth with her hand and lowering her voice instinctively.

“Do you remember when I told you about running into Chen Wenzhen taking a young woman to a house in Xiuli (beautiful) Community while throwing out the trash at night? Guess who that woman is?”

As Aunt Zhou adjusted her stool, Chen Jin stopped munching, holding her breath, waiting for the big reveal. But Aunt Zhou wanted her to guess?!

Chen Jin pouted in disdain, “If you make me guess, then next time, I’ll have you guess too, alright?”

Aunt Zhou was caught off guard by her words and snapped, “No patience!”

But she continued, “It’s his wife’s cousin!”

After saying that, she tilted her chin at Chen Jin, as if to say: Did you expect that?!

Chen Jin… Chen Jin really didn’t expect that! It could be like this?!

But she asked, “Was she just giving him a ride or something?”

“Not by the way!” Aunt Zhou waved her hand, “I heard from the woman cleaning the neighborhood that Chen Wenzhen and his sister-in-law were calling each other husband and wife. Tsk, tsk, tsk, what do you think? This man is still hanging on the wall, the most honest! I think Chen Wensong is a bit better than him; even rabbits don’t eat their own burrow’s grass! The way he is, it’s really disgusting! If Zhang Meixian found out, wouldn’t she be furious? And Zhang Meixian’s cousin too; there are plenty of good men out there! Why must she go for her own cousin-in-law? What a disgusting thing! You tell me, I’ve lived for decades and never seen anything like this. What, has education made people smarter, but also increasingly immoral?”

Aunt Zhou couldn’t understand it. In the past, even if people in the village were terrible, they couldn’t be worse than that. Now, it seemed as if everyone had become possessed by beasts, completely forgetting what manners and morals are.

Chen Jin disagreed with her statement that Chen Wensong was better than Chen Wenzhen, “How can he be any better? They’re both equally rotten, just different sides of the same coin.”

They’re all trash; does that mean the garbage on the street is any nobler than the garbage in a stinking ditch?

“Is it possible that this news has spread? Has the village head found out?”

“It hasn’t spread yet, but I don’t think it will be long. If the village head finds out, will Chen Wenzhen be okay? I’m just afraid that Chen Wenzhen and Zhang Meixian’s cousin might not come to an agreement and end up confronting each other. It’ll be hard for the news not to get out.”

“However, anyone who frequently visits the Xiuli (beautiful) Community probably knows enough about it.”

The more Aunt Zhou spoke, the more animated she became. “At first, nobody knew, but that woman was outside the neighborhood doing something and got into a fight with someone. When Chen Wenzhen came to help, he immediately called her ‘wife.’ Tsk, tsk, at that time, your third uncle, aunt, and your little aunt were all there, and so was Jiang Kexin. Others might spare Chen Wenzhen’s face and not talk about it, but Jiang Kexin won’t be so courteous.”

Chen Jin took another bite of watermelon, “Why? Aunt Kexin has no grudge against Chen Wenzhen, right?”

“How can there be no grudge? Chen Wenzhen is with Chen Wensong every day now, backing up his brother. When he saw Jiang Kexin in the Xiuli (beautiful) Community, he even lectured her, telling her to give half of the apartment she was allocated back to Chen Wensong. As a result, he was kicked into the garbage bin by Jiang Kexin.”

“Whoa… Aunt Kexin has become so fierce now?” A big man could be kicked like that? Last time in the village, if she hadn’t had a knife, she probably would have suffered a lot herself. She had gotten injured back then too.

Aunt Zhou nodded, “I heard she was bored and signed up for a class specifically to learn how to fight. You know, Chen Yue, after finishing her college entrance exams, her mother sent her to practice boxing. That training class is right across from the Xiuli (beautiful) Community, in a small martial arts school.”

Chen Jin became interested, “I’ll go take a look another day. If it suits me, I’ll sign up to learn as well.”

Learning a few self-defense moves would be good. After all, she was now a wealthy lady with assets worth tens of millions, and she needed to protect her life.

“You’re going too? My well-off family said they want to learn as well. I really don’t understand what you youngsters are thinking these days. In the past, people only learned to play musical instruments; hardly anyone went to learn boxing.”

Chen Jin laughed, steering the conversation back on track, “Any other gossip?”

“Of course! My two old relatives are now trying to persuade Chen Wenxing to divorce and marry someone else. They say that since his current wife can’t have kids, there will be no one to inherit the family’s property in the future.” Aunt Zhou laughed, “As if they have anything worth inheriting! Chen Wenxing was cheated in business, and the little money they have left is nearly gone. Inheriting the Rose Garden apartment and his car worth over four hundred thousand? Ha!”

“There will come a day when they regret it. They’re still living in the Rose Garden, but in less than two years, they’ll have to sell their house and car and move. Hmph, I’m just waiting to see their jokes.”

That’s why it’s said that keeping wealth is hard.

When they had no money, they had all these plans: how much to save for interest, how many properties to buy for monthly rent, and how much cash flow to keep on hand… But once they got a few million in hand, they thought everything was a bargain and felt they could afford to try their luck in business. In the end, they just fell into it.

People always overestimate their self-control. Chen Jin was no exception.

Just looking at the clothes in her small villa’s closet and the row of skincare and makeup products on her vanity told the story. Now she was already thinking about buying a luxury car worth a million when the next round of redevelopment came. Wasn’t she the one who used to be intimidated by a four hundred thousand Audi? She was becoming a bit carried away.

Fortunately, while she was still clear-headed, she had exchanged most of her savings and had properties and investments, so that cold string of numbers wouldn’t just lie there, occasionally losing a little change for various reasons until it unknowingly decreased by half.

“Hey, I saw that man in front of your aunt; I heard he’s getting remarried and wants to bring his second wife’s child to live with him. They’re all in their twenties; at this age, they should be getting married and starting a family. I think that woman is after his family’s house. I see that she’s got him so wrapped around her finger that he can’t find his way. His two biological kids have also caused a fuss.”

Chen Jin smiled: she knew it!

Evil people will eventually meet their match, and rotten people deserve to gather together. Her aunt is living a much better life now; she really did the right thing by getting divorced!

“Hehe, when you return to the first store in Xiuli (beautiful) Community, please mention this to my aunt; this news goes down well with a meal.”

“No need for you to say anything; I have a good relationship with your aunt and your third aunt.”

Aunt Zhou smiled with pride. “I think living in Xiuli (beautiful) Community is nice. Although several families in the village live in Rose Garden, it’s still not as good as living in Xiuli (beautiful) Community.”

Chen Jin sat there for an hour and basically learned all the news about every household in Qiaodong Village. After listening to the news, she finished the watermelon she had brought out.

Feeling satisfied, she stood up to stretch her limbs and was nearly startled by Chen Jia and Chen Yongan, who were sitting very close behind her; she had almost forgotten about them.

Both of them wore satisfied smiles on their faces, surely thinking that this trip was worth it.

Aunt Zhou still needed to take the bus back to Xiuli (beautiful) Community. From now on, the second store at her place would be looked after by her and Uncle Wenming, taking turns occasionally.

On the way back, Chen Jin took a small detour that led her through Xiuli (beautiful) Community, allowing Aunt Zhou to ride with her.

Before leaving, Chen Jin instructed Chen Yongan to move six big watermelons to the trunk, leaving one to bring to Tian Miao at the store up front. She also picked out some other fruits.

First, she went to Xiuli (beautiful) Community, just in time to drop Aunt Zhou off at her doorstep and also deliver a big watermelon each to her third uncle, third aunt, and aunt.

Chen Yongan said he wanted to stay with his third sister at the small western-style building tonight. Without waiting for his parents’ consent, he urged Chen Jin to hurry and drive away. Seeing this, Chen Jia, now also on summer vacation and with nothing else to do at home, immediately raised her hand to say she wanted to go too.

Thus, Chen Jin drove around the city.

After leaving Xiuli (beautiful) Community, she went to her uncle’s house to deliver a big watermelon, then detoured to Rose Garden to let Chen Yongan go up and get some clean clothes. When he came down, he also brought his game console with him. Next, they headed to the Meteorological Bureau’s family compound in Dongcheng District.

Chen Jia said she might be a bit slow because she needed to talk to her friends and have them wait at her house. Chen Jin drove into the compound and parked in an empty space next to the gate, with Chen Yongan following behind, holding the big watermelon.

Chen Jin had some impression of the people in the compound.

During the summer after she finished her college entrance exams, she had come here to tutor Chen Jia for a while. Whenever she came over for dinner in high school, her second uncle and aunt would often boast to their neighbors about how she was studying at the city’s No. 3 High School and how good her grades were. So that summer, in addition to Chen Jia, several children of her second uncle and aunt’s colleagues were sent over to her for tutoring.

It was because she found tutoring those kids to be so easy that she mistakenly thought tutoring was not difficult, leading to her defeat at Chen Yongan’s hands. After going to college, she never thought about tutoring others to earn some pocket money.

She was afraid of encountering another Chen Yongan.

As she walked in, people greeted her, saying, “You look a bit familiar.”

How could she not look familiar? Your son learned from me for a month and a half; once a teacher… ah, never mind, they saw each other almost every day that summer.

They probably didn’t recognize her because she had dressed up more today, looking quite different from usual. Thinking about it this way made her feel that the effort she put in this morning wasn’t in vain. If she had worn makeup and looked the same as usual, then it would have been unnecessary.

“Sister Chen Jin!”

Chen Jin turned around to see another student she had taught; at least this one was worth teaching since he still recognized her.

“Are you coming to Director Chen’s house, Sister Chen Jin? It seems they went to work.”

“No problem, Chen Jia is here.”

“Jiajia is back?” The boy wanted to call out to her, but noticing that Chen Jia was walking quickly ahead, he gave up.

Chen Jin smiled and chatted with him until they reached the stairs, each heading in different directions. By the time she arrived at her second uncle’s house, she still couldn’t remember the boy’s name but recalled that he had come to tutoring sessions with Chen Jia.

The buildings in the Meteorological Bureau’s family compound were built about eight years ago and were collectively funded. At that time, her second uncle and aunt had almost emptied their savings and borrowed money to buy one. Later, there was basically no allocation of housing from units anymore. They were glad they had bought it at that time when prices were relatively low; even borrowing money was manageable, or else now, the prices would have skyrocketed compared to their salaries.

“Third sister, Yongan, pour yourselves some water,” Chen Jia said as she rushed inside to grab something before quickly heading out again.

Chen Jin found a cup to pour herself some water and was drawn to a document on the dining table. It contained information about well-known universities abroad, sourced from a study abroad agency.

Since the document was laid open with red ink highlighting some key points, it seemed likely that only Chen Jia would be interested in researching this material.

So, Chen Jia is thinking about studying abroad?

As Chen Jin was about to flip through the document, she saw Chen Jia rush back, panting heavily, heading straight for the document on the table. Upon noticing Chen Jin had seen her, her eyes momentarily panicked, and she hurriedly said, “This, this is my friend’s; I’m just delivering it to her.”

Chen Jin smiled, “Then you should hurry; we’ll be going out to eat soon.”

As Chen Jia headed out, she glanced back at her several times, but Chen Jin pretended not to see.

Chen Jia was about to enter her third year; even if she went abroad for an exchange, she would have to wait until her senior year, or she would have to apply for studying abroad after graduation.

Among the people she knew, only Zhuo Ran, who was in her class, had chosen to study abroad. Chen Jin didn’t know much about studying abroad and had no idea how easy it was to apply or how much it would cost.

But undoubtedly, studying abroad would not be cheap.

It wouldn’t be impossible for her family to support her studying abroad, but they would worry about her second uncle and aunt not agreeing to her going so far away. After all, being their only child, going to other places in the country was still manageable since they could keep in touch. But being abroad was another matter.

Now many people are thinking about studying abroad; Chen Jin had also asked Yang Qian about her experiences traveling abroad.

Yang Qian, however, said it was just okay, not as good as going to Hong Kong.

The moon abroad isn’t rounder than at home. Although the current public safety situation isn’t particularly good in the country, it’s not any better abroad, and foreigners look down on Chinese people.

Forget it; since she doesn’t know much, she won’t say more. From Chen Jia’s demeanor, it seemed she was only gathering information and understanding for now; how she ultimately decides is still up in the air.

Lunch was eaten outside; Chen Jin casually found a restaurant she liked and discovered that the food was surprisingly delicious. She asked the owner for a business card, thinking she could bring her friends back next time.

Now that she was in Dongcheng District, with nothing else to do, Chen Jin drove through the streets and alleys. She went to Lao Youfu at the end of Jiefang Road to buy some pastries and then detoured to Guxi Road to buy the delicious red leaf cake she had mentioned last time.

Satisfaction filled her as she carried her favorite delicacies straight home.

When Shen Baichuan heard the familiar sound of the car outside the gate, he slowly put down the documents in his hands, got up to check his reflection in the bathroom mirror, looked from left to right, and then quickened his pace, casually walking outside.

He saw two young people get out of Chen Jin’s car—one was his sister who occasionally visited, and the other he didn’t recognize. However, hearing him call out “Third Sister” to Chen Jin confirmed that he was a relative on her side.

She had quite the haul today, bringing back two lively individuals along with three big watermelons and a large bag of pastries from Lao Youfu, plus three small cakes. Hmm, she had previously enjoyed that cake he had treated her to, and she didn’t expect her to find that shop!

“Good afternoon, Teacher Shen,” Chen Jin waved after seeing him, then urged Chen Yongan and Chen Jia to hurry inside, “Quick, quick, quick! We’re going to get sunburned…”

He stood at the door for a little while longer and saw her holding an umbrella and carrying a big watermelon to Professor Song’s house. When she came back, she waved at him and ran back.

He looked at the sky, then glanced at the black and white cars outside, and finally at the front yard of the neighbor’s house. After waiting for more than ten minutes, he heard the lively sound of “Ah! I lost again!” coming from next door. He was very familiar with the sounds of this game.

Well, it seemed that there wouldn’t be a watermelon coming over to him after all.

Tsk! Aren’t we neighbors? Why the difference in treatment?

He turned around and went inside to make himself a cup of coffee. He then received a call from Qin Yi, asking if he would be going back to the old house for dinner tonight.

Shen Baichuan asked who else would be there and, after confirming a few names, said, “Then I’ll go too.”

Chen Jia and Chen Yongan had been living with Chen Jin for three days, enjoying good food and fun. However, the two of them still had other things to do. Chen Jia was going to visit their grandmother with her second aunt, and Chen Yongan’s classmate called him to hang out, and the call came through to Chen Jin.

After dropping off Chen Yongan, when he took Chen Jia near the Meteorological Bureau’s residential area, Chen Jia hesitated to get out of the car, so Chen Jin quietly waited.

“Third Sister…” Chen Jia anxiously fiddled with her fingers. For the past three days, Third Sister hadn’t asked a single thing about her study abroad materials. But Third Sister was so smart; she must have guessed something. And she was still secretly gathering materials without telling their parents…

“If you want to talk about those materials, there’s no need. I won’t bring it up with anyone else. You’re an adult and can make your own judgments. If you need help, you can come to me.”

Chen Jin continued, “Studying abroad isn’t a small matter. You should discuss it well with your family. You know that even though you’re the only daughter, your parents never forced you to stay in Rong City for school or work; they’re quite open-minded.”

“Mm.” Chen Jia secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both embarrassed and warm-hearted. “Thank you, Third Sister.”

“No need to thank me; you’re an adult now; you know what’s right and wrong.”

Watching Chen Jia enter the residential area, Chen Jin sighed heavily. After waiting a few minutes, she started the car and headed home.

As soon as she got home, Chen Jin was captivated by the little red car at Shen Baichuan’s doorstep and found herself unable to move. The color was so beautiful! It reminded her of a picture in a fashion magazine, where a model was sitting on the hood of a red car…

She really wanted to borrow the car to try taking some photos.

She planned to change to a better-performing camera.

“Do you want to go up and take a look?” Shen Baichuan suddenly appeared behind her without her noticing, giving Chen Jin a fright.

She was brave enough, but she really couldn’t handle being scared!