Chapter 7: Stirring Up Trouble

She tiptoed to the window of the liquor shop.

Uncle Qi said, “Su Hong, the most I can offer is four hundred. That’s all I’ve got.”

Su Hong froze, then raised her voice sharply:

“My mother-in-law treasures this jade more than anything! Back when my father-in-law was a drunk and a gambler, he pawned everything valuable in the house, but she held onto this piece, refusing to let it go even if it cost her life. This thing is worth a fortune, and you’re only offering me four hundred? That won’t do!”

But Uncle Qi wasn’t in a hurry.

“If you think it’s worth more, go sell it in the county to someone rich,” he said lazily.

“You’re the one who kept saying you wanted it! If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have stolen it!” Su Hong’s voice grew even louder.

Uncle Qi smirked. “Oh, well, now I don’t even have four hundred for you. If you’re really looking to sell, I’ll give you three hundred and eighty.”

Another price cut?

This old scoundrel! Back in the day, he had forced himself on a female educated youth, gotten her pregnant, and fathered Qi Cailing. When the woman fled, he partnered up with Han Feng’s father, gambling and drinking, living like a total lowlife.

It was him who kept insisting Wang Guoguo’s jade was valuable. He even said he’d pay five hundred to anyone who could bring it to him. That was why Su Hong took the risk of stealing it.

And now, this old rogue was turning his back on her?

She realized she had been tricked. Taking a deep breath, she said, “You’re just taking advantage of my misfortune! I’m not selling it!”

“Well, you better find a buyer soon,” Uncle Qi sneered. “If your mother-in-law gets her eyesight back and comes looking for that jade, she might just peel your skin off. You remember how fiercely she used to beat your father-in-law, don’t you?”

Hearing that, Su Hong shuddered.

But she couldn’t bring herself to part with the jade just yet, so she stormed out of the shop.

Chen Yufeng had already returned home ahead of her.

Her two daughters were still playing happily. Tiantian loved her little hair clips and perfume, while Mimi was obsessed with the gold and silver trinkets from Han Chao’s bag, proudly wearing them around her neck as if they were medals.

As she tended to the pumpkin vines, she suddenly saw Han Feng being dragged by the ear past her house—his wife scolding him the entire way.

She took a detour toward the vegetable garden along the river, just in time to hear Su Hong ranting in frustration:

“If my mother-in-law gets her sight back and finds the jade, what am I going to do? She’ll skin me alive!”

Han Feng never intended to deceive his mother. He was simply terrified of his wife.

Deep down, he disapproved of Su Hong stealing the jade.

His mother was from Yunnan, and that jade pendant was one of the last things she had from home.

If Su Hong sold it, it would break the old woman’s heart.

Hearing that the jade hadn’t been sold yet, Han Feng actually felt relieved.

But there was something else weighing on his conscience.

“Wife, you know… that day in the vegetable garden, the fence was fine. But when Mom fell into the river, it was broken. Honestly, I think you did it on purpose. You wanted the jade so badly, you tried to get rid of my mother. You should return it. Give it to whoever you want, just don’t keep it. Otherwise, I’ll tell her you tore down the fence and tried to kill her. Let’s see how she deals with you then!”

Chen Yufeng thought back carefully.

Yes, her mother-in-law had wanted to give her the jade before she lost it.

Then, one day, while blindly searching for radishes in the garden, she had fallen into the river.

It was Su Hong who “saved” her.

And now, Su Hong had the jade.

The vegetable garden had a fence, and Wang Guoguo relied on it to navigate. If the fence had been tampered with, then…

A chill ran through Chen Yufeng.

Her sister-in-law had deliberately tried to kill someone.

All for a jade pendant?

That was attempted murder!

Su Hong’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts:

“You think I’d commit murder over a stupid piece of jade? Your mother is blind—she should’ve stayed put! Why was she wandering around? The fence was already weak! I kept telling you to fix it, but you never did. After all that rain, it just collapsed! If you ask me, this is all your fault! You’re the lazy one who refused to fix the fence. You’re the one who got your own mother killed!”

Her voice had grown so loud that Han Feng shrank back in fear.

She wasn’t wrong—he was lazy. Su Hong had nagged him to fix the fence for ages, but he never did.

Desperate to avoid responsibility, he quickly said, “Fine, fine! You’re amazing because you had a son. But we still need to do something about the jade.”

Su Hong crossed her arms. “If I give it back, she’ll just hand it to Yufeng. Yufeng only has daughters, but I gave birth to a son! Why should she get the jade instead of me?”

Han Feng was too much of a coward to argue with her. “Alright, alright. But we can’t just leave it lying around.”

Su Hong was also looking around warily.

That jade pendant was precious—but it was also dangerous.

If she kept it at home, the old woman might find it.

But if she sold it, she might not get the right price.

And so, she hesitated.

She glanced at Yufeng’s house and suddenly had an idea. She carefully made her way through the vegetable garden and headed towards the second house.

Chen Yufeng was at the back of the house, gathering two pieces of dried laundry, folding them neatly.

“Are you getting ready to join the army? Already packing clothes? Need any help?” Su Hong asked with a smile.

Chen Yufeng replied, “As soon as Mom’s illness is cured, we’ll leave immediately.”

Su Hong’s attitude shifted. “Going to the capital is great! Once you’re there, make sure to have another chubby son with your husband. Don’t worry about raising him—if needed, send him back home, and I’ll help you take care of him. I’m good with boys.”

Chen Yufeng watched her walk away coldly. As the sun began to set and the moon climbed over the hillside, nearing one in the morning, she sat by the window and saw Su Hong sneaking into her vegetable garden. Su Hong dug a few times and buried something in the northwest corner.

That spot was known to have an old snake’s nest. Chen Yufeng was terrified of snakes and never planted anything there, always avoiding the area when passing by.

Han Feng followed behind, looking just as sneaky. “Why not bury it in our own field? Why here?” he asked.

“If I bury it in our field, what if Mom finds it?” Su Hong was confident. “If it’s in Yufeng’s field and Mom finds it, we can just say Yufeng stole it. Mom dotes on Yufeng and won’t pursue it too harshly.”

“Aren’t you afraid Yufeng will dig it up while tending the garden?” Han Feng asked.

Su Hong grinned. “No way. That spot is a snake’s nest. Yufeng’s scared of snakes and won’t go near it.”

If Su Hong’s past scheming, like instigating Han Ming to burn the bedding, could be tolerated for the sake of family harmony and her husband’s reputation, then this was beyond forgiveness. Even if it meant causing trouble for Han Chao, Chen Yufeng could not stay silent anymore.

As soon as Su Hong left, Chen Yufeng took off a cheap trinket from her neck, braved her fear of snakes, and went to the garden. She dug up the buried jade pendant and replaced it with her trinket.

If Su Hong was trying to frame her, then she would play her own game. An eye for an eye.

A few days passed, and Su Hong and Han Feng were clearly on edge, constantly glancing at the vegetable garden. They secretly wished that Wang Guoguo’s illness would take longer to heal. Even though they knew it was wrong to think this way, they hoped she would never regain her sight.

But within just a week, Wang Guoguo returned home.

She arrived in a military jeep, her vision fully restored, and in perfect health.

In a flash of green at the end of the street, the jeep stopped in front of the school.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Wang Guoguo got out of the vehicle. She was no longer the blind woman who stumbled around. She walked with vigor and confidence!

Han Ming thought his grandmother was still blind. He made a face and tried to trip her. But Wang Guoguo lifted her leg and kicked him square on his backside, sending him sprawling to the ground.

In just ten days, Wang Guoguo, who had been blind for nearly three months, regained her sight and walked back into town. If it weren’t market day and everyone was busy with business, there would have been a huge commotion. Even so, people still looked over their stalls, marveling, “The military hospital is truly miraculous, making a blind person see again.”

Meanwhile, Han Feng and Su Hong were selling homemade condiments at a stall—chili sauce, osmanthus sauce, and various pickled spreads made by Wang Guoguo before she lost her sight.

As the jeep entered town, Su Hong’s hands began to tremble.

Seeing her mother-in-law return without a scratch except for a small bandage on her neck, full of energy and fierceness, Su Hong recalled her harsh temper. Her hands shook so badly that a jar of freshly filled chili sauce slipped and shattered on the ground, the bright red sauce splattering everywhere like a crime scene.

An old lady buying sauce gasped, “Goodness, Han family’s eldest daughter-in-law, are you blind? You broke my jar!”

Su Hong nervously apologized, giving one of her jars to the woman and refilling another with chili sauce. She then looked helplessly at her husband.

Han Feng, being a man, kept his composure and signaled for Su Hong to stay calm.

As long as the jade wasn’t found, they had nothing to fear.

If it were found, they’d have to shift the blame onto Yufeng.

…

Wang Guoguo first visited the second house. As soon as she entered, she asked for a pen. Though she was illiterate, she could write simple words quite well. In a few swift strokes, she wrote an IOU and pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, placing it on the table in front of Chen Yufeng. Inside the handkerchief were a passbook and some cash.

The handkerchief was the same one Chen Yufeng had given Han Chao when he left, holding all their savings from seven years of hard work. When she gave it to Han Chao, she said, “Take this first. If it’s not enough, I’ll borrow more.”

The larger the hospital, the more advanced the treatments—but advanced treatments meant higher costs. Military hospitals treated soldiers for free, but family members had to pay. Chen Yufeng knew that in surgery, a longer incision was cheaper, but a smaller one cost more.

So she was mentally prepared for the expenses.

But even so, when she saw the amount on the IOU—three thousand yuan—she nearly fainted!

Seven years of savings, a total of 3,790 yuan, and after one hospital visit, there was only a small amount left.

Wang Guoguo spoke gently, “Feng’er, the cost was indeed high. The doctor used some sort of minimally invasive equipment to thread a tube into my brain. But the effect was remarkable—I could see again right after. Don’t worry, now that I can see, I’ll find ways to make money. I’ll definitely pay you back.”

Chen Yufeng opened the passbook. Inside were seven 100-yuan bills and 90 yuan in loose change. She tucked the IOU into the passbook, closed the door, and took a deep breath before pulling out the jade pendant.

This jade pendant was the only possession Wang Guoguo had brought from Yunnan and was once almost stolen by Han Feng’s father, but she fought to keep it.

When she lost it after falling into the river, she was devastated. But now, it had mysteriously returned.

Chen Yufeng hesitated. She knew that telling the whole story could shock her mother-in-law’s recovering brain and possibly provoke her hot-tempered husband into confronting his brother with his fists.

But it had to be told. She would just have to handle it carefully.

So, she calmly recounted everything: how Wang Guoguo fell into the water, how Su Hong stole the jade pendant, her negotiations with Uncle Qi to sell it, and her scheme to frame her by burying it in her garden. She left nothing out.

As she spoke, she moved closer to her husband, worried he might lose his temper and resort to violence. She needed to keep him calm.

Han Chao was cracking his knuckles.

Whenever he got angry or felt the urge to hit someone, he wouldn’t say a word but would start cracking his fingers one by one, the sound echoing sharply.