Chapter 25: Digging a hole for yourself, the old tree blooms

After Zhang Chunyan finished burying the bundle, she looked around to make sure no one was there, then hurriedly slipped back into the house—it was clear she was planning to run away that night.

But her plan was doomed to fail.

Just moments after she left, Wang Huimin went over, moved aside the stones, and retrieved the cloth bundle. Inside were several sets of clothes—clearly Zhang Chunyan’s—and a pile of cash in various denominations. There were coins worth a few cents, some one- and two-jiao bills, and even several one-, two-, and five-yuan notes. Shockingly, there were twenty ten-yuan bills as well.

Altogether, it added up to over 230 or 240 yuan—a significant sum. Wang Huimin was stunned.
Could it be that Zhang Chunyan had stolen this money from her family, just like she had? Otherwise, how could an unmarried girl have so much money?

Well, whatever the case, that money was hers now. It was perfect—she could use it as a bride price to “marry herself off” to someone like Song Fu, a scumbag. Let Zhang Chunyan take her own place—poetic justice.

And with this money, she wouldn’t have to use any of her own savings to help Song Jianjun—win-win all around.

That wretched woman had basically dug her own grave. Even the heavens didn’t favor her.

Wang Huimin was elated just thinking about it. She didn’t touch the clothes or anything else, only took the money. She immediately stored it in her mystical space and left the scene, heart blooming with joy.

By the time she got home, Song Jianjun was already back, and Song Fu was there too. Several sets of clothes were laid out on the kang bed.

When he saw her come in, Song Jianjun asked,
“Xiaomin, where did you go?”

Wang Huimin replied,
“I had some free time this afternoon, so I went to visit my grandma. Why did you buy so many clothes?”

Song Jianjun picked up two sets of clothes and set them on the side of the kang.
“These two sets are for you. Seamstress Sun already had your measurements, so I asked her to make them directly. Take a look—if they don’t fit, she can still alter them.”

“The other two sets are for Chunyan. We’ll bring them along when we deliver the bride price in a couple of days.”

So that’s what he’d gone out to do—have clothes made for both of them. Ready-made clothes were rare in those days. You usually had to go to the tailor’s shop, pick fabric, and leave your measurements for custom orders.

Summer clothes were simpler and could be done in two or three days. These outfits had been pre-arranged by Song Jianjun with the tailor in advance. There was only one seamstress in the entire village, so she pretty much knew everyone’s sizes.

As the groom’s family, it was customary to prepare new clothes for the bride, and the bride’s family would also provide a dowry. The Zhang family would surely give Zhang Chunyan something, but Wang Huimin hadn’t received any dowry at all.

The two sets of clothes Song Jianjun picked for her were quite nice—one white floral blouse and one pink one with green leaves. They were made of dique liang, the best summer fabric at the time—cool and comfortable.

The pants included a pair in deep blue and one in pale green. The material was good, the colors matched her well, and the sizing was spot-on—he had a good eye.

Wang Huimin smiled,
“Thank you. The clothes are really nice. I think they’ll fit—I like them a lot.”

She was indeed a beautiful girl. Her gently arched eyebrows and bright, lively eyes gave her an energetic charm. Her oval face was a bit slim but still carried a touch of baby fat, and her skin was flawless. Her long hair was tied back in a braid, and she carried a freshness and brightness that other girls didn’t have.

When she smiled, she radiated such vitality that it lit up the room.

Song Jianjun just stared at her, momentarily dazed.

Song Fu didn’t say anything, but Wang Huimin noticed his absent look.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

Song Jianjun snapped out of it—realizing he’d been staring dumbly at a young girl. His face flushed red, and he quickly turned away.
“As long as you like them, that’s all that matters,” he mumbled, then turned to help Song Fu with plastering the walls of the main room.

Wang Huimin didn’t understand what had happened—she hadn’t realized that Song Jianjun was embarrassed.

Since they were all working, she joined in and cleaned both the inner and outer rooms, then carefully stored the new clothes in the wardrobe.

She had planned to do the laundry too, but Song Jianjun stopped her. He insisted that she rest on the kang and not do anything else. Wang Huimin didn’t argue.

But when dinner time came, she still got up to cook. She reheated the leftovers from lunch and made a fresh dish of braised potatoes. She also cooked a big bowl of sorghum rice. Everyone—kids and adults—ate heartily, with the two younger ones stuffing themselves until their bellies were round.

Even Song Fu ate quite a bit. He had to admit—Wang Huimin was a good woman, and her cooking skills were no joke. Even with the same ingredients, her dishes tasted far better than his or Song Jianjun’s attempts.

After dinner and cleanup, the kids finished their homework and night fell.

Now that his third uncle had a wife, the sleeping arrangements in the house had to be adjusted. In the countryside, the kang beds were large—each could sleep four or five people, and there were kangs in both the inner and outer rooms. In summer, it was too hot to heat the kang, so Song Fu, Song Xiaolong, and Song Xiaoxue usually slept in the inner room, while Song Jianjun slept in the main room.

But since he and Wang Huimin weren’t really husband and wife, it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to sleep together. So, he asked Song Fu to take his bedding and move to the side room.

In a few days, when Zhang Chunyan married in, he would move over there too.

He also planned to have Song Xiaolong and Song Xiaoxue sleep in the outer room with him, completely freeing up the inner room for Wang Huimin. After all, there were two adult men and a teenage boy in the house, and the girl needed her own private space.

Song Jianjun’s plan was thoughtful—but Song Fu had considered even more than that. After their conversation earlier that day, his mindset had shifted. Now, everything he did was with his third uncle’s best interest at heart.

He said to Song Xiaolong and Song Xiaoxue,
“Xiaolong, Xiaoxue—now that Third Uncle’s married, it’s not convenient for us to stay here anymore.”

“You guys should go stay in the side room with your big brother for now. After a few days, you can move back to the main house,” someone suggested.

Wang Huimin didn’t have any objections to this arrangement, though she did glance at Song Fu with slight surprise. Song Xiaoxue was still too young to understand whether something was appropriate or not—she just did whatever her big brother said. So she immediately ran back and brought out her little quilt.

But Song Xiaolong had a vague sense of what was going on. He knew that since Third Uncle had just gotten married, he’d definitely want to spend more time with his new bride. Staying in the main room would just get in the way, so he obediently carried his bedding to go sleep in the side room with Song Fu.

Only Song Jianjun felt that the arrangement wasn’t quite right. That would leave just him and Wang Huimin, a man and a woman alone in the same space. While he could guarantee that he would never do anything inappropriate to the girl, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable or suspect he had bad intentions. That would be troublesome.

He quickly stopped Song Fu and said, “That’s not necessary, Xiao Fu. You just go sleep in the side room yourself. Let Xiaolong and Xiaoxue stay and sleep out here with me.”

All these years, Song Jianjun had been the quiet type. He worked hard and looked after everyone, but rarely said much. This was the first time Song Fu had ever seen his third uncle look a little uneasy—and he found it kind of amusing. Still, he understood. His uncle was getting on in age and had finally married, and Wang Huimin was a pretty and delicate young girl, much younger than him.

Now that she was officially brought into the family, it was only natural that his third uncle might have certain thoughts. As a nephew, it was his duty to help smooth things over for him. Even though he hadn’t ended up marrying Wang Huimin himself, she was still part of their Song family in the end. As long as she didn’t end up with someone else, he didn’t feel any regret.

Tonight, his third uncle had a chance to blossom late in life. He certainly wasn’t going to let the younger ones get in the way of that.