Chapter 42.1

Xun Li gave up the eel purchasing business in Dawang Village, but Jiang Ruan found it challenging to take over entirely. The Cheng family, who dominated the village committee, had long coveted the profits from the eel trade but had only refrained from seizing control because they feared Xun Li. Now that the situation had changed and Jiang Ruan was involved, they began to exclude and compete with her, trying to push her out.

The Cheng family arranged for one of their own, Cheng Xinwang, to compete with Jiang Ruan, persuading the villagers to sell their eels to him. He promised to take the eels to the city for sale and then share the profits with everyone afterward.

“I’ll buy at three and a half cents per pound. Old Cheng, you’re a fellow clansman of the Cheng family. How can you sell the eels to someone else?” said Cheng Xinwang.

Jiang Ruan retorted, “Cheng Xinwang, I heard your family has some old grudges with Xun Li. I’m just giving everyone a friendly reminder, even if you sell your eels to him, there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to sell them.”

Cheng Xinwang chuckled, “My brother-in-law is a director at a state-owned restaurant, in charge of procurement for several places. Selling a few eels is no big deal.”

Jiang Ruan countered, “Then what about before? When the price for your village’s eels was crushed down to one and a half cents per pound, the Cheng family played a significant role. Why didn’t you step forward and offer three and a half cents per pound back then?”

At that time, the Cheng family had been too afraid of Xun Li’s retaliation to stand up for the villagers, who suffered from the low prices. Now that Xun Li had stopped purchasing, they suddenly emerged, but many in the village saw through their opportunistic ways.

Although people spoke about it like that, Cheng Xinwang’s offer of an extra five cents per pound—fifty cents for every ten pounds—was tempting. That amount could buy half a pound of sugar, and so the dozen or so households related to the Cheng family still sold their eels to him.

Today, Zhou Bingsheng brought eight pounds of eels with a group of children following him. He said, “My dad told me that you’re an honest person, big sis. The first time, you didn’t exploit us kids, so he asked me to sell the eels to you again.”

“Big sis, I caught these myself, and I’ll sell them to you. I want some fruit candy.”

This little boy had only caught two pounds of eels, but since his family had four children, Jiang Ruan smiled and gave him four pieces of candy.

They ended up collecting over one hundred seventy pounds of eels that day, while Cheng Xinwang managed to collect a bit over one hundred thirty pounds. Feeling quite pleased with himself, he rode his bicycle into the city.

Jiang Ruan and Qin Ao still had eggs to collect.

While gathering the eggs, Qin Ao said to Jiang Ruan, “Did you hear? Last night, Cheng Xinwang’s sister was beaten by her husband.”

Jiang Ruan, who was carefully cushioning the eggs with straw, paused and asked, “Do you know why?”

Qin Ao’s mother enjoyed gossiping and had heard about it while at the morning market, where she’d gone to look for fresh and cheap vegetables. She repeated what she had heard to the family.

He said, “Someone wrote an anonymous letter telling Lu Zaiqiang that his wife had been secretly taking birth control for four years to avoid getting pregnant, which led to the beating.”

Jiang Ruan couldn’t figure out who might have done it. It was clearly someone in the know, but writing an anonymous report could be motivated either by revenge or a desire to gain some advantage. If they looked into Cheng Chunying’s enemies and who stood to benefit in the end, they might be able to identify the culprit.

She said, “I’ll ask Brother Qin Yan later. Maybe he can guess who’s meddling in other people’s business.”

“How could he possibly know?” Qin Ao said, “I suspect it was Xun Li who reported it. He still seems to hate his ex and her family.”

Jiang Ruan replied, “You shouldn’t spread baseless rumors without evidence. Once rumors start, they can become reality.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word to anyone else.”

The two of them first went to deliver the eels and happened to see Cheng Xinwang, bruised and battered, at the aquatic products department. The manager there, who had received prior notice from Xun Li, refused to buy Cheng Xinwang’s eels.

It was only then that Cheng Xinwang realized that just because he had bought the eels didn’t mean he could necessarily sell them. Avoiding eye contact with Jiang Ruan, he slinked away dejectedly.

Qin Ao was curious and handed a cigarette to the aquatic products manager, asking, “Brother Shui, isn’t his brother-in-law working at a state-owned restaurant? Why would he need to sell the eels here?”

Brother Shui shared the gossip he had just heard, “That fool Cheng Xinwang hit his brother-in-law. Naturally, the state-owned restaurant won’t buy his eels.”

Qin Ao raised an eyebrow, impressed, “I always thought the Cheng family was just willing to sell out for personal gain.”

Jiang Ruan looked at the distant figure of Cheng Xinwang, limping and unable to even ride his bicycle. She wondered whether he would be able to sell his one hundred-plus pounds of eels.

She told Qin Ao to go sell the eggs and said, “Once you’re done, go to my house and let Grandma Huang know that I’ll be home late tonight.”

“What are you up to?”

“I’m going to check on Cheng Xinwang.”

“Come on, Jiang Ruan. Stay out of it. Qin Yan’s away at military training for a month, and I promised him I’d keep an eye on you.”

Jiang Ruan replied, “You said it yourself—stay out of my business. I have a different way of doing things than you do. I can’t learn your ways, and you shouldn’t try to tell me how to handle mine.”

…

At the market, Cheng Xinwang didn’t dare kill the eels—who would buy live eels? They’d frighten anyone away, so he hadn’t sold a single one yet.

His sister heard about it and brought lunch over to check on him, handing him a lunchbox. “Eat first,” she said.

Cheng Xinwang’s face was still sore, and when he opened the lunchbox, he could tell from the taste that the food wasn’t his sister’s cooking, it was bought from a restaurant.

He had overheard some of the gossiping women earlier, that beast Lu Zaiqiang had beaten his sister nearly to death over an anonymous letter.

“Why didn’t you explain yourself?” Cheng Xinwang asked.

Cheng Chunying gave a self-mocking laugh, “Explain what? I really have been taking birth control.”

Cheng Xinwang was twenty now, and when his sister had gotten married, he was sixteen—too young to understand such things back then, but now he did. He asked, “Sis, you’ve been unhappy these past few years, haven’t you? Did you even want to marry Lu Zaiqiang?”

The family had always said his sister was lucky to marry into the city and enjoy a better life.

Cheng Chunying fell silent, staring blankly. “What is happiness, really? For some, it’s simply being full, for others, it’s having their family together. I eat well and dress warmly, maybe that’s happiness in some people’s eyes.”

When the older sister said that, it was clear she wasn’t happy.

Cheng Xinwang suddenly gripped his chopsticks tightly and took a few big bites of rice, choking and coughing for a while before he could swallow.

He said resentfully, “It’s all because of Grandpa and Grandma. They forced Mom and Dad to make you marry, and in the end, Uncle’s family got all the benefits.”

After the younger brother finished eating, Cheng Chunying collected the lunchboxes and said, “You’re not cut out for business. Once you sell off these eels, don’t bother with it anymore.”

…

After Cheng Chunying left, Jiang Ruan ran over to Cheng Xinwang.

Cheng Xinwang was in a foul mood over both his sister’s situation and the eels. He snapped, “Are you here to laugh at me?”

Jiang Ruan said, “You won’t be able to sell them like this. Bring the bucket and come with me.”

“Hmph, I’m not going. You must be up to something.”

Without saying much, Jiang Ruan picked up a bucket and headed to the seafood counter. She approached a woman selling fish and said, “Sis, my brother and I are from Dawang Village. Could we borrow your stall to sell some eels? I can help you sell your fish, too. Is that alright?”

Since the products didn’t compete, the woman said, “Sure, go ahead. Selling eels won’t interfere with my fish sales.”

Jiang Ruan began calling out, “Wild eels, caught from the fields, seventy-five cents per pound—the same price as pork but healthier! Great for families with kids, buy some to take home and cook. We’ll even clean them for you.”

With her energetic sales pitch, business picked up quickly. Jiang Ruan was busy cleaning the eels and looked back to see Cheng Xinwang staring at her in a daze.

Exasperated, she said, “We’re swamped here. Weigh the eels and handle the money!”

Cheng Xinwang snapped out of it and got to work. He couldn’t understand why Jiang Ruan, his competitor, would help him sell his eels.

There were too many eels. They only managed to sell half by late afternoon, but as the evening crowd came in, Jiang Ruan’s knife skills attracted more customers. She even filleted the fish for the stall owner, and by 7 p.m., both the eels and most of the fish were sold out. There was just half a pound of eels left, which Jiang Ruan cleaned and gave to the fish seller. In return, the woman gave her a pound of small fish.

They had sold over 130 pounds of eels at seventy-five cents a pound, making a total of one hundred yuan, minus a few cents here and there. The cost had been forty-seven yuan, so they made a profit of fifty-three yuan.

This was the first time Cheng Xinwang had made money from business. He was thrilled—it was as much as his brother-in-law’s monthly salary. Now he understood why those small traders always kept a low profile while quietly making money.

But he knew that without Jiang Ruan, he wouldn’t have been able to sell the eels.

Cheng Xinwang took out a five-yuan bill, but feeling it was too stingy, he added another five, making it a total of ten yuan. “This is for you. Thank you.”

Jiang Ruan accepted it without hesitation and said, “You’re not suited for business. Stop trying to buy and resell things. Think about what might suit you better.”

“I’m heading home,” Cheng Xinwang said. “Next time, I won’t compete with you for eel sales.”

“Does your village have a phone?” Jiang Ruan asked.

“Yes,” he replied. There was a phone at the village office.

Jiang Ruan handed him her phone card and took him to a phone booth. “Call your family. The road is dangerous at night. Stay in the city tonight and go back tomorrow morning.”

Staying at a guesthouse was expensive, and he hadn’t planned on spending the night in the city, so he didn’t have a referral letter to stay at a guesthouse.

Jiang Ruan said, “Just call. I’ll find a place for you to stay. I helped you sell the eels, and it took us this late. If something happens to you on the road, your family will hold me responsible. It’s better not to travel at night.”

Not everyone was like her, able to fend off several people at once. It was safer to head back in the morning.

After deducting the amount owed to the villagers for the eels, Cheng Xinwang still had forty-three yuan left. Staying the night wouldn’t be a bad idea. He decided to give his sister twenty yuan tomorrow. He called the village and asked someone to inform his family that he’d be back in the morning.

Jiang Ruan also needed to make a call and asked Cheng Xinwang to wait. “I’m going to call Brother Qin Yan and ask him about your family’s situation. Then I’ll take you to where you can stay.”

“How would your so-called ‘brother’ know anything about my family?”

“Stop arguing. I’ll explain later.”

Meanwhile, Qin Yan was in the dormitory bathroom, showering after a grueling day of military training. A classmate leaned against the door and shouted, “Qin Yan, there’s a call for you. It’s a girl!”

The only girl who would call him there could only be Jiang Ruan. Qin Yan had been hoping to hear from her, and he rushed to rinse off and get dressed as quickly as possible, but by the time he got there, the call had already ended. The dormitory supervisor had noted down the number and told him to call back.