Chapter 42.2

When he dialed, a man answered on the other end.

…

Jiang Ruan came back with some baked buns. Cheng Xinwang had just said a couple of words on the phone when she took over the call. It was Qin Yan calling back.

Qin Yan heard from the man who answered that Jiang Ruan had gone to buy buns, and it was already past seven. He asked, “You haven’t had dinner yet?”

Though he was curious about who the man was, asking directly would seem like a lack of trust. He decided to wait for Jiang Ruan to explain, but it didn’t matter if she didn’t; he trusted her.

Jiang Ruan said, “I helped Cheng Xinwang sell eels all afternoon, then came to call you. I’m taking him to Qin Ao’s place afterward.”

She briefly explained the situation with the eel sales in Dawang Village and added, “Xun Li from the Fisheries Department told them not to buy his eels, and he even got into a fight with his brother-in-law. I figured he’s a decent guy, even if he competed with me for eel sales. Business is all about competition, but it’s better to win over a rival than make an enemy. By helping him sell the unsold eels, I’ve gained his gratitude and neutralized a potential adversary. Not bad, right?”

Qin Yan: “…Is Cheng Xinwang listening?”

Cheng Xinwang was squatting on the sidewalk, eating a bun. Jiang Ruan nodded, “I’m straightforward about it. I helped him sell the eels to earn his gratitude. Why would I spend half the day helping him without expecting something in return, right?”

Qin Yan was amused by her honesty. It was better this way—there would be no misunderstanding or chance for Cheng Xinwang to develop feelings for Jiang Ruan.

Men in difficult times were especially prone to being moved, especially when the person helping was a pure and pretty young woman.

Qin Yan said, “The worst people in the Cheng family village are Cheng Xinwang’s uncle’s family. His uncle wanted to get into the eel business but was afraid of retaliation from Xun Li, so he pushed the reckless Cheng Xinwang forward to test the waters.”

So that’s what happened. Jiang Ruan asked, “Then can you analyze who anonymously wrote to Lu Zaiqiang, revealing that his wife was secretly taking birth control pills to avoid having children? It must be someone familiar with the situation, right?”

In her previous life, Qin Yan had had business competition with Xun Li and had investigated people associated with him, including his former partner, Cheng Chunying. Cheng Chunying had been infertile, while her husband had a mistress who bore him a son and a daughter. In her previous life, there had been no mention of Cheng Chunying deliberately using birth control.

The person who knew about this and sent the anonymous letter could only be Mu Xuehui, who had been reborn. Mu Xuehui likely did it to curry favor with Xun Li, thinking that the worse things were for Cheng Chunying, the happier Xun Li would be. But she really didn’t understand Xun Li at all.

Qin Yan said, “It might be Mu Xuehui.”

“Mu Xuehui?” Jiang Ruan was stunned. “But she doesn’t know Cheng Chunying, right? How would she know?”

Qin Yan replied, “It’s just a guess. There’s no evidence, so don’t spread it around.”

But Cheng Xinwang had already overheard.

Jiang Ruan said, “Okay, I’ll tell Cheng Xinwang not to say anything either.”

Qin Yan said, “Follow Mu Xuehui for a few days and see if she does anything suspicious.”

Jiang Ruan didn’t question Qin Yan’s instructions at all, “Okay, I’ll follow her right after school.”

The phone call had already gone on for a while, and the dormitory had a time limit on phone use. Jiang Ruan was very sensible, saying, “Qin Yan, that’s all for now. I’ll hang up. By the way, I miss you very much, every day, even before I go to sleep. But I haven’t dreamed about you yet, so I guess I don’t miss you enough. How about you? How many times do you think about me each day?”

Her bold confession nearly made Cheng Xinwang choke on his bun.

He thought to himself, This is true mutual affection. His sister used to be like this with Xun Li—every time she mentioned him, her face was filled with hopeful smiles. But since their marriage, he had hardly ever seen her smile.

Cheng Xinwang suddenly stood up and crushed the bun in his hand. In the past, his grandparents scolded his parents, saying his sister didn’t know how to appreciate good fortune, not treasuring such a great match with the Lu family.

But it was his sister who took the beatings after their drunken nights, while the benefits went to their cousins in the city!

Jiang Ruan had already hung up and saw Cheng Xinwang wasting food, so she scolded, “If you’re not eating, give it to me.”

Cheng Xinwang reluctantly ate the squished bun and asked, “Who is Mu Xuehui? Are you sure your fiancé is right about her being the one who sent the anonymous letter to my brother-in-law?”

Jiang Ruan replied, “There’s no way to be sure. We don’t have evidence, so don’t spread rumors.”

Nonetheless, Cheng Xinwang remembered Mu Xuehui’s name.

Seeing Jiang Ruan’s faint expression of disappointment, he asked, “You’re usually so cheerful. Why are you upset after calling your fiancé?”

Jiang Ruan sighed, “Qin Yan didn’t say he missed me. Doesn’t he miss me at all? We’re engaged, after all.”

Cheng Xinwang was taken aback by Jiang Ruan’s boldness—bolder than most men he knew. “Maybe he was just embarrassed. You know what we call women who are this bold?”

“What?” Jiang Ruan asked.

“A hooligan or a rascal. You’re like a female hooligan,” Cheng Xinwang joked.

Jiang Ruan responded, “Why not? Can’t I tell my fiancé that I like him?”

“You can, but you should do it in private. He’s probably surrounded by people in his dorm. How could he not feel embarrassed?”

Jiang Ruan nodded, “You’re right. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

…

Jiang Ruan took Cheng Xinwang to Qin Ao’s house, asking him to let Cheng stay the night.

Qin Ao pulled Jiang Ruan aside and whispered, “I don’t mind helping him, but is it worth it?”

Jiang Ruan replied, “In rural areas, especially with strong patriarchal attitudes, it’s rare for a brother to be good to his sister. I’m helping him so that in the future, she’ll have a brother who cares for her. Besides, I’m not doing it for free—he gave me ten yuan and promised not to compete with us for the eel business.”

Qin Ao couldn’t argue with that and allowed Cheng Xinwang to stay, even giving him some clean clothes to wear. While chatting with Cheng, he praised Jiang Ruan, “My brother found himself a special girl. At first, I thought she was silly, but now I find her quite endearing.”

Cheng Xinwang thought that being around Jiang Ruan was very easy, she was straightforward and didn’t make him guess her intentions.

The next morning, Cheng Xinwang woke up early, left two yuan as payment for staying the night, and went to the breakfast shop where his cousin was working.

His cousin had come to the city to work last year, claiming that she was working hard to support her brother’s education and to be a filial granddaughter.

Cheng Xinwang observed the shop. Besides his cousin and her husband, there was no one else there. Where was the boss? It seemed unlikely that the boss wouldn’t be there for a business that handled cash every day. This was probably his cousin’s shop.

Cheng approached them, handing over a yuan and smiling, “Cousin, brother-in-law, give me a breakfast meal.”

His cousin was startled and asked how he got there. She explained that the boss was away due to a family emergency and hurriedly served him noodles, urging him to eat quickly and go home.

Cheng Xinwang put on a pitiful expression, “I hit my brother-in-law, and the eels were bought at a low price by a competitor. I still owe the villagers over forty yuan. How can I go home without any money?”

His cousin just wanted to send this troublemaker away as soon as possible, so she took out thirty yuan, saying, “We only made this much in the morning. You take it.”

“Thank you, cousin.”

With the money in hand, Cheng Xinwang became more certain that the breakfast shop belonged to his cousin. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to give him thirty yuan from the shop’s earnings.

He went to the supply store and bought ten yuan worth of pork, cake, and apples. Then, he visited his sister to apologize to his brother-in-law, hoping to make things easier for her.

His apology worked. His brother-in-law suggested delivering eels to a state-run restaurant next time. However, Cheng Xinwang had already decided not to compete with Jiang Ruan for the eel business.

Back in the village, he paid off the villagers for their eel supplies and told them he wouldn’t be buying eels anymore, leaving the business to Jiang Ruan.

“The city is a complicated place. Even if you buy the eels, there’s no guarantee you can sell them. The city people who come to buy already have established connections. We farmers can’t navigate those ways.”

Hearing this, several of Cheng’s relatives in the village were upset. The river in Dawang Village was clear, and eels were plentiful during these months. Was he really going to let Jiang Ruan profit from it?

Cheng’s uncle called his daughter in the city, asking if she could help sell the eels. “If you can sell them, I’ll start buying.”

His cousin was exasperated by her father’s persistence. Her breakfast shop earned enough, and even if the eel business made money, it wouldn’t benefit her. She wasn’t going to get involved.

“Dad, Xun Li is a dangerous man who’s been to prison. You don’t want to provoke him. I found out that Jiang Ruan has a remedy for his mother’s rheumatism, which is why he’s given up the Dawang Village eel business. I send you thirty yuan from my forty-yuan salary every month. Be satisfied with that.”

The Cheng family had once wronged Xun Li, thinking he’d be in prison for over a decade. But with the reforms and the opportunity to do small businesses, he was released after four years. They truly didn’t dare to offend him again.

…

Mu Xuehui dared to approach Xun Li.

Xun Li was a man of courage, not defeated by four years in prison. He seized the right moment to make money and seek revenge, trampling those who had reported him.

Mu Xuehui had laid the groundwork, ensuring that the woman who had hurt him most suffered, and she knew that today Xun Li’s younger sister would be bullied by male classmates and pushed into a muddy pond, with her clothes torn off. This incident would become a lifelong trauma for her, making her fearful of men.

Mu Xuehui came to rescue his sister, intending to take her to see him.

When she arrived, she was surprised to find Jiang Ruan already there. Xun Xiang had been thrown into a mud pit by some annoying, troublemaking boys. They clapped their hands and taunted, “Your mom had you with some random man, and not even your dad knows who he is! Wild child, wild child!”

Jiang Ruan grabbed the two culprits, one in each hand, and threw them into the mud pit as well. Then she told Xun Xiang, “Fight them. Beat them until they’re too scared to ever bully you again.”

Like a little wildcat, Xun Xiang scratched and bit them in the mud, giving the two boys a hard time. Soon after, the boys’ parents arrived. Seeing their sons covered in mud and wailing in pain, they angrily moved to hit Jiang Ruan.