Hu Honghua came to the Li family today, having dressed up deliberately.
She wore a new red floral dress, obviously the latest style from the town.
It must have been bought by her uncle, Hu Chengjun, during one of his trips to the town.
But Hu Honghua was dark and thin, and the bright red dress only made her look even more sallow.
She always hunched her back nervously, cautiously watching people’s expressions, making her look like a frightened little mouse forced to walk under the glaring sun, startled by the slightest noise.
Naturally, nobody liked her.
Li Jianye didn’t like her either.
If it weren’t for the time Hu Chengjun had helped him out and for that drunken night, he wouldn’t have agreed to marry off his promising eldest son to her.
Because of this marriage, his eldest son had been sulking with him for a long time.
If it hadn’t been for Shi Meilan stepping in and saying she’d find a way to cancel the engagement, Li Tianci wouldn’t even speak to him.
So whenever he saw Hu Honghua, Li Jianye grudgingly nodded at her, regretting it instantly.
But the more the Li family wanted to back out of the marriage, the more eager Hu Honghua became, always bringing little gifts.
Sometimes it was animal meat, probably hunted by Hu Chengjun; sometimes newly made leather clothes; sometimes herbal medicine dug up from the mountains.
Today, when she handed something over, Li Jianye saw two books.
“These are from my uncle, brought from the town,” Hu Honghua said with a stiff smile, hurriedly explaining, “He said these are useful tutoring books for the college entrance exam. I wanted to give them to Brother Tianci.”
Li Jianye usually didn’t bother with her, but today, for the first time, he forced out a smile and said casually, “Ah, Little Honghua, how long have you been here?”
“I just arrived,” Hu Honghua said, thrilled to see Li Jianye smile at her, thinking she had brought the right gift.
She lifted the books higher with excitement.
“Oh, just arrived? Good, good,” Li Jianye thought to himself, “Just arrived means he hasn’t seen anything yet.”
He rubbed his hands nervously, trying to hide his awkwardness, and pointed toward the front east room, “Your Aunt Shi is inside.”
Hu Honghua started to walk in but turned back to ask, “Okay, I’m going in now—Uncle Li, what were you doing climbing over the wall just now?”
Li Jianye was about to step into the main hall to get some water and calm down when Hu Honghua’s words nearly made him trip to his death.
Stammering, he replied, “Ah, the wall—the brick was loose, I was fixing it! Don’t mind me, go find your Aunt Shi.”
Saying that, Li Jianye stumbled back toward the main hall.
The main hall sat in the center of four rooms, with two doors on each side leading to corridors and the front east and west rooms.
Behind the corridors was the kitchen, and beyond the kitchen were the back west and east rooms, also spacious, for the two sons to live in.
In rural areas, many families had two brothers or sisters, sometimes three generations sleeping on the same kang bed, but a spacious home like the Li family’s was rare.
The main hall was also grand, furnished with a large eight-immortal table where the family usually ate.
Occasionally, guests stayed overnight here.
Passing through the hall, Li Jianye headed to the front west room.
As he ran past the hall, Li Jianye glanced at the front east room.
Shi Meilan was still asleep.
He breathed a sigh of relief and turned quickly into the front west room.
Of the four rooms in the Li household, three were occupied, and only the west room was empty, which Li Jianye had turned into his study.
It contained an expensive rosewood desk, and the bookshelf behind was filled with his books, mostly essays and poems.
He had once attended a private school and even been to a big city like Beijing.
He had seen a wide world, but unfortunately had missed the chance to take the college entrance exam, so he was stuck in this small village.
He considered himself a cultured man, full of propriety and righteousness, often writing and submitting articles to the local newspaper.
Occasionally, one or two were published, earning him ten or twenty yuan in remuneration for a written work.
The scent of ink in the study relaxed him completely.
He proudly pinned his writings to the walls.
The west room was the sanctuary of his noble soul, strictly off-limits to others.
He used to spend his free time there, quietly facing his works.
But today, after returning, he didn’t sit down; instead, he rummaged through drawers searching for something.
He secretly saved small amounts of money.
His salary was handed over to Shi Meilan every month, but he also had payment for a written contribution.
A man must have some money, after all.
But even when he gathered all his small savings, it wasn’t even two hundred yuan.
Li Jianye sat on the chair in his study, worried.
After biting his lip, he stood and walked toward the neighboring yard on the right.
The yard next door belonged to his eldest brother’s family and was about the same size as theirs.
The Li family had two sons: the eldest, Li Laoda, named Li Jianjun, and the second, Li Jianye.
Not long after Li Jianye married, they separated households.
Shi Meilan had a fiery temper and couldn’t get along with his mother or his sister-in-law.
Constant quarrels made the home chaotic until they were forced to split.
Li Laoda took their parents and lived in the big house, while Li Jianye and Shi Meilan moved into a smaller house.
Later, they expanded their house, which became even bigger than the elder brother’s.
Though Shi Meilan and the eldest brother’s wife fought fiercely over money and land during the separation, Li Jianye and his brother still maintained a fairly good relationship.
The elder brother was a few years older and was steady and honest.
Whenever Li Jianye was in trouble, his brother would help.
Li Jianye pushed open the door of the neighboring yard.
But today, luck wasn’t on his side.
His good-natured elder brother wasn’t home.
Instead, the shrewish eldest brother’s wife was there.
While Li Jianye went next door to the elder brother’s house, Hu Honghua entered the front east room.
She knew Shi Meilan would be napping at noon, so she didn’t want to disturb her.
Instead, she stood in the corridor between the main hall and front east room, clutching the books, quietly muttering what she planned to say.
“Aunt Shi, hello. These are books I brought for Brother Tianci.”
“Aunt Shi, you look so beautiful today.”
“Aunt Shi, my uncle bought me a bolt of cloth, and Aunt Zhao at the village entrance made me a new dress. There’s half the cloth left, just enough to make one for you, too.”
“Aunt Shi—”
“What are you muttering about?”
A voice came from inside the door.
Hu Honghua gasped and looked up to see Shi Meilan standing at the doorway, frowning at her.
After scanning her from head to toe, she said, “How did your uncle pick out this dress?”
The bright red dress clung to her too-thin, shriveled frame, making her look even darker.
The dress was nice, but not right for her.
Hu Honghua nervously hugged the books tighter. “Au-Aunt Shi, I, I, I—”
“Enough, I know what you want to say.”
I heard it through the door just now.
After a lifetime apart, seeing Hu Honghua again, Shi Meilan felt a strange warmth mixed with a little guilt.
Last life, when Hu Honghua came to their house, no one liked her.
But looking back, Hu Honghua was the only one with a kind heart in that family.
A little slow maybe, but better that than being cruel.
Because Hu Honghua had helped her last life, this life she absolutely would not let Hu Honghua step into the Li family’s front door again.
Thinking of how Hu Honghua had even buried her last time, Shi Meilan softened her tone and said, “We’ll talk about all that later. First, come with me.”
Last life, Hu Honghua buried her once; this life, she’d make Hu Honghua rich once.
Shi Meilan grabbed Hu Honghua’s arm and walked outside, whispering, “Quiet, we’re going to spy on Li Laoda.”
Hu Honghua was dragged along to the right side by the wall.
Shi Meilan stood sneaking by the wall, tiptoeing to peek into Li Laoda’s yard.
Last life, Shi Meilan had really been asleep at this time, completely unaware of what Li Jianye was up to.
This life, she was determined to watch closely.
Hu Honghua didn’t know why Aunt Shi wanted to spy on Second Uncle Li, but since Shi Meilan had spoken, she obediently followed.
Her uncle had said Aunt Shi was a good person, tough on the outside but soft inside.
Following Aunt Shi was definitely the right choice.
They didn’t need to worry about being spotted.
When the families split, Shi Meilan didn’t want to be seen by the neighbors right outside the door, so they built high walls.
Whatever happened inside either yard was hidden from the other.
Now, as Shi Meilan pressed close, she overheard Li Jianye being scolded by Li Laoda’s wife.
“Want to borrow money?” Li Laoda’s wife, Zhao Erjie, had a grudge against Shi Meilan since the split over family money.
She had never beaten Shi Meilan but held a grudge to this day.
Seeing Li Jianye, Zhao Erjie didn’t even let him inside the main hall.
After hearing his request, she stood in the yard, hands on hips, yelling, “Borrow money from my husband? Where’s my husband richer than you? He works himself to the bone, never home all year round! I do all the housework and fieldwork alone. I’m just a woman working hard to make ends meet, and you have the nerve to ask us for money?”
“You’ve been to school and have the skills. Your father arranged for you to be the school principal. And your brother? He only knows how to drive big trucks! Is our family better off than yours? Your wife eats the best food every day. When we split, your wife counted the accounts with me for three whole days. If I ate one more egg than her, she wanted me to pay it back! And now you come asking us for money? Have you any conscience?”
“Your parents were raised by us. Have you ever paid a penny? You—”
Zhao Erjie launched into all the old quarrels with Shi Meilan.
Li Jianye’s head spun and he was fed up, turning to run away.
Zhao Erjie wasn’t satisfied and continued yelling after him until he was safely back in his own yard, then she snorted and returned home.
Li Jianye was scolded until he was soaked in shame, staggering as he walked back to his yard.
Seeing Shi Meilan still asleep and Hu Honghua waiting in the corridor, he cursed his bad luck silently, avoided them, and went straight back to the west room to sulk alone.
These women always fussed over money! Like shrews yelling in the street—so embarrassing! If the gossip got out, it would be a complete disgrace.
Thinking about the family split still made Li Jianye resentful.
Their family had been fine, but after he married Shi Meilan, everything turned chaotic.
Eventually, the house split apart.
The root cause was Shi Meilan’s domineering personality—she had to overpower everyone, causing all the trouble.
If only he had married the gentle Wang Yulian, none of this would have happened.
Thinking of Wang Yulian’s tender, loving eyes, a rush of anger swelled in Li Jianye’s chest.
He had promised Wang Yulian and couldn’t let her down.
Where on earth could he get the money?
Money, money, money. As Li Jianye thought, he suddenly remembered the school fees and book fees had just been collected and were in his hands, totaling exactly two hundred yuan.
Usually, school fees were kept by him for two months, so he could temporarily use this money to help Wang Yulian.
As for the shortfall—he had his ways! For now, the most important thing was to take care of Wang Yulian’s matter.
Determined, Li Jianye got up and headed to the school.
After Li Jianye left, Shi Meilan finally sat up from the front east room and called Hu Honghua in from outside.
“Aunt Shi, Second Uncle Li has gone out,” Hu Honghua came in from the corridor, looking dazed. “Why did Second Uncle Li go out to borrow money?”
“Here,” Shi Meilan took out two large boxes of snowflake cream from her wardrobe and said, “Take these and apply every day. They’ll make your skin fairer.”
Hu Honghua accepted the gifts, feeling overwhelmed and wanting to say something nice, but her mind froze, and she just stared blankly at Shi Meilan.
“Come find me tonight,” Shi Meilan said softly. “Then you’ll understand why Second Uncle Li went out to borrow money.”
“Why do you want me to come?” Hu Honghua asked, genuinely curious despite her simple mind.
“Because we’re going to catch them cheating,” Shi Meilan said calmly.
For dealing with these two scoundrels, Shi Meilan had only one plan.
Because Hu Honghua had helped her last life, tonight’s share of this good thing, Shi Meilan would give half to Hu Honghua.
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