Chapter 44.2

After leaving the police station, Qin Yan accompanied Jiang Ruan to Dawang Village to purchase eels, but they were stopped at the village entrance.

Several members of the Cheng family blocked them, saying that from now on, the village would handle the eel business collectively and wouldn’t allow outsiders to buy them.

This time, it was Cheng Xinwang’s family leading the effort. With Xun Li arrested, they felt emboldened, believing that the man who had held a grudge against them for years would be locked away for a long time. They intended to take over the eel business themselves.

As for sales, the Cheng family’s favored son-in-law, Lu Zaiqiang, had already made arrangements. A state-owned restaurant agreed to purchase 200 pounds daily at the same rate as the seafood shops. They planned to buy at 30 cents per pound, which would net them a profit of over 40 yuan for every 100 pounds.

Dawang Village could easily produce more than 100 pounds of eels each day, and they stood to earn a city dweller’s monthly salary in just a month or two. This money was not something they wanted to share.

“You two can go to another village. We’ll handle our own eels here.”

Jiang Ruan, prepared for the possibility of not being able to buy any eels, said, “Fine, your village seems united. If you want to keep the profits for yourselves, I won’t argue. I’ll buy eggs then.”

“Eggs? Go to another village for that, too. We’re selling our own eggs.”

Jiang Ruan thought the Cheng family was acting like village bullies. She wanted to gather more information about the conflicts between the Cheng family and Xun Li, but she couldn’t leave just yet.

“Fine, I won’t buy eggs either, but I came here today to treat Xiaosheng’s father. Surely, I can enter the village for that?”

“You know how to treat illnesses? Do you have a license?” Cheng Xinwang’s uncle was still unwilling to let Jiang Ruan in.

“I don’t need a license to treat you,” Jiang Ruan retorted. “You’ve been feeling chest tightness and shortness of breath, haven’t you? You should go to the city hospital for a scan.”

Cheng Xinwang’s uncle was startled, he had indeed been feeling tightness in his chest and having trouble sleeping.

Zhou Bingsheng, determined to sell his eels to Jiang Ruan even if it meant carrying them out of the village, was thrilled to hear she could treat ailments. “Sister, I’ll show you the way. If you can cure my father, I’ll catch eels for you for the rest of my life.”

Jiang Ruan smiled. “Let’s see first. I can’t guarantee a cure.”

Xiaosheng’s father had a lung infection, but it wasn’t severe. She could heal it with her abilities, though his right hand had been injured before, leaving it too weak to do farm work. He was considered a poor household in the village. His injury was from an accident, and although she could heal it, she had no reason to offer free treatment.

Jiang Ruan brought a packet of herbal medicine and instructed Xiaosheng to heat some water. She treated his father for half an hour, after which he could lift a kettle, a marked improvement over his previous weakness.

Qin Yan already had suspicions. The herbal packet couldn’t have such miraculous effects, and no medicine in the future could achieve such results.

He had realized from the moment he could stand that Jiang Ruan had been the one to heal his legs, not the herbal baths. He never questioned her, just as she never questioned the strange tasks he asked her to do.

What mattered to him was Jiang Ruan. As for her secrets, he would protect them carefully and never reveal them, not even for a lifetime.

Qin Yan glanced out the window, noticing a few villagers peeking inside. He went out and scolded them, “This is private treatment. Are you trying to steal our methods?”

Once the curious villagers left, Jiang Ruan spoke openly to Xiaosheng’s father. “Are you satisfied with the treatment so far?”

Xiaosheng’s father, unsure how she had done it, acknowledged that his hand was indeed gaining strength. At the very least, he could now manage household chores.

As one of the few literate people in the village, he knew enough to say, “Do you want money or something else? You wouldn’t treat me for free.”

Xiaosheng grew anxious. His family was poor, but he could work to earn money in the future. He pleaded, “Sister, please help my father. I’ll work for you for the rest of my life. Is that okay?”

Jiang Ruan handed him a piece of candy and told him to wait outside. Xiaosheng reluctantly obeyed.

She then said to Xiaosheng’s father, “I don’t want money. I just want to ask you about the grudge between Xun Li and the Cheng family. I couldn’t find out anything in the city.”

It turned out she was asking about that. Xiaosheng’s father sighed, “Half the people in our village are indebted to Xun Li.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think our village is poor?” he asked.

Jiang Ruan nodded. Aside from the village officials’ houses, which were made of brick, most of the villagers’ homes were just mud houses.

Xiaosheng’s father explained, “It used to be even worse when the collective farming system was in place. At that time, Cheng Chunying was only about nineteen. She went to the city to sell eggs and ran into Xun Li, who fought off some thugs for her and showed her where to sell her eggs. They grew close and eventually started dating, almost getting engaged.”

“Later, our villagers sold him all the chickens, ducks, wild pigs, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots we gathered from the mountains. Xun Li was generous, and he considered himself a future son-in-law of Dawang Village. When we couldn’t afford a diesel engine for spring planting, he advanced us a sum of money, with the village committee giving him an IOU. That year, we had a diesel engine for the fields.”

At that time, small traders like him were considered illegal speculators, and if caught, they would be imprisoned.

“After spring planting, before the eels could even be harvested, someone reported Xun Li for illegal trading, and he was arrested. The rest, you know. Cheng Chunying married someone from the city, and the village envied her for a long time. But the person who reported Xun Li was actually a resident of Dawang Village, led by the Cheng family. Half the village put their fingerprints on that report.”

Jiang Ruan was stunned. She had initially thought Lu Zaiqiang had reported Xun Li out of jealousy over a friend’s romantic interest, but it turned out the Cheng family had led the accusation, with half the villagers joining in.

She no longer had any interest in buying eels from Dawang Village.

“Are you really going to let Xiaosheng live in such an environment?” she asked.

Xiaosheng’s father had not signed the report back then and was ostracized by the villagers as a result. Life had only gotten easier after Xun Li stopped buying eels from him.

Xiao Sheng’s father sighed helplessly, “My farmland is all in Dawang Village. I’ve been a farmer rooted in this soil my whole life. Where else could I go?”

Jiang Ruan acknowledged his plight and apologized, “I will continue treating you.”

“As for the payment, I don’t have much money. If I did, I wouldn’t have let this pneumonia drag on for so long.”

Jiang Ruan replied, “The information you provided is enough to cover the treatment cost. I’ll keep buying the eels from your family, no matter how small the supply.”

Qin Yan was surprised to learn about the deep grudge between Xun Li and the Cheng family in Dawang Village. It made sense now why Xun Li harbored such hatred for the village.

Jiang Ruan lamented, “Brother Qin Yan, why is it that those who give the most always end up hurt?”

Qin Yan reassured her, “Don’t worry. I’ll give more for you in the future, so you won’t have to suffer.”

On the way back, Qin Yan rode his bike with Jiang Ruan sitting behind him. Through his shirt, she could feel his abdominal muscles, which had become more defined since his military training.

Jiang Ruan suggested, “Brother Qin Yan, the ride back is over two hours. How about I take over and give you a break?”

Qin Yan chuckled, “Don’t you know? Ever since your treatment, my strength has improved a lot. We can test it out—see if I can get us back to the city on my own.”

“Alright, but if you get tired, then it’s my turn.”

As they were leaving the village, they ran into Cheng Chunying, who had returned to visit her family. The three of them exchanged nods at the village entrance without saying a word.

Once they had passed her, Jiang Ruan asked, “Brother Qin Yan, why do you think Cheng Chunying is visiting her family when it’s not a holiday?”

Qin Yan shrugged, “I’m not sure. Did you notice? This time, her injuries are visible on her face. If she’s experiencing domestic violence, she can seek help from the Women’s Federation, but she hasn’t once. She never even talks about it to her family. She secretly takes birth control pills, which means she’s purposeful. Let’s not get involved. We should focus on hiring a good lawyer for Xun Li.”

“Agreed, let’s start looking as soon as we get back.”

“Sis, why are you back?” Cheng Xinwang asked. He had stayed home ever since yesterday’s family discussion about not allowing Jiang Ruan into the village.

The Cheng family hadn’t split up, and since their eldest uncle was the village secretary, the Cheng household was one of the few with a new, spacious brick house. The house had been built the year Cheng Chunying got married.

Cheng Chunying replied, “I came back to check on you and see how Mom and Dad are doing.”

By midday, she naturally stayed for lunch. However, her uncle and his children were too busy collecting eels to join. Her aunt and Cheng Xinwang’s mother prepared the meal.

The eldest aunt remarked to her sister-in-law, “You need to talk some sense into Chunying. It’s been four years and she still hasn’t had any children. Does she think Xun Li would still want her? She should be more realistic and give the Lu family a child soon to secure her position.”

Cheng Chunying’s mother defended her daughter, “She’s still young. We’ll wait until my son-in-law quits drinking before having a child.”

Old Mrs. Cheng joined in and scolded Cheng Xinwang’s mother, “You’re too soft. That’s why you raised two ungrateful children. Let me tell you, the Lu family’s marriage is the key to our Cheng family’s well-being. Chunying, after lunch, go back to your in-laws and give them a grandchild soon, so you won’t be a burden to us. That would be the best way to show your filial piety.”

Cheng Xinwang protested, “Why should she have a child? I want her to get a divorce!”

He earned a hit from his grandmother’s cane for that.

Cheng Chunying gently stroked her brother’s back where he’d been hit and led him outside to talk. She said, “No matter what happens, you mustn’t resent Xun Li. Our family has no right to hate him. Dawang Village’s committee embezzled a sum of his money. Apart from buying a diesel engine, the remaining funds were pocketed by a few committee members. Our brick house was built with that money.”

Cheng Xinwang was stunned. “If the village owes him money, then what about the IOU?”

“It was taken by Lu Zaiqiang, who used to work closely with Xun Li back when they were involved in smuggling goods. Lu Zaiqiang was cunning and hid the IOU within the dowry, which our uncle then hid away. It might even be burned by now.”

There was no way the IOU was destroyed, their uncle was a shrewd man. He would have kept it to blackmail Lu Zaiqiang, making sure the state-run restaurant he managed would continue buying the Cheng family’s eels.

Cheng Xinwang couldn’t believe the truth. “Does Dad know about this?”

“He does.”

Cheng Chunying looked at her brother with compassion. “Dad is an old-fashioned man. He’s too set in his ways to change. When you grow up and have the means, take Mom away from the Cheng family. Help her divorce so she can have some peace in her remaining years.”

“But why don’t you get a divorce?” he asked.

“I want to,” she sighed. “But if I did, Lu Zaiqiang said he’d kill our whole family. I don’t care about the rest of the Cheng family, but I can’t abandon you and Mom.”

After lunch, Cheng Chunying said she was tired and took a nap before leaving. When she returned to the city, she went to the police station and reported the Dawang Village committee, even providing evidence.

That night, a neighbor of Cheng Chunying called the police, reporting that Lu Zaiqiang, while drunk, had beaten his wife to death.