Chapter 28 Exclusive Rumors from Jinjiang
As the sun sets, a car slowly drives into the village and stops in front of a house.
Su Ruyi said sincerely to Lu Ting, "Thank you so much today. Not only did you let me have a great meal, but you also drove me back. When I get rich, I'll treat you to a meal."
"Okay, I'll wait."
Lu Ting did not linger and drove away again.
Hearing the commotion, Wang Huiting ran out with a suggestive smile on her face. Su Ruyi walked over and lightly flicked her forehead.
"You little brat, here you go again."
Wang Huiting covered her mouth and chuckled, then winked at her.
Tong Dahua watched the car drive away and said, "It's really too much trouble for you, my friend. You brought me back today, and I didn't even have a chance to invite you in for a cup of tea."
Su Ruyi: "He's in a hurry to go back. I'll invite him later."
"Hurry up and come inside for dinner, we've been waiting for you."
"Oh, you haven't eaten yet? I've already eaten, you guys hurry up and eat."
It was already quite late; most families in the village had finished eating and were enjoying the cool shade under the big trees.
Su Ruyi had said before leaving today that she might be back a little late, and that they didn't need to wait for her for dinner.
Wang Huiting: "I told my aunt, but they insisted on waiting for you."
Su Ruyi really couldn't eat anymore today. She had just eaten a lot of meat, enough to eat half a sheep, and her stomach was already full.
She found that meat gave her great satisfaction. If it were carbohydrates or other foods, she could eat something else even if she was full, but if she ate meat, she really couldn't eat anymore.
"I'm really full today, you guys go ahead and eat, don't worry about me."
Tong Dahua tried to persuade her a couple more times, but seeing that Su Ruyi was determined and looked like she was about to vomit if she ate any more, she stopped trying to persuade her.
Although Su Ruyi didn't eat, she sat down beside Wang Huiting and listened to her recount the day's events.
"Sister, we sold really well today! We sold out of all our stock shortly after you left! We even came back for more, but we still didn't have much left."
Wang Huiting was so excited that she almost stood up and danced; her eyes were practically sparkling.
Su Ruyi said with a look of disgust, "Don't talk while you're eating, you're going to spit it all over the table."
Wang Huiting calmed down a bit, but she was still clearly very excited.
Not only her, but the Zhang sisters, Qiaoqiao and Sisi, were also clearly very excited. Qiaoqiao was rather shy, but she kept smiling, while Sisi was also someone who couldn't keep a secret and was sharing her day's events with Tong Dahua.
Actually, I had already said these things when I came back, but I still couldn't help bringing them up again.
Tong Dahua was also happy for the children. This morning, she learned that Wang Huiting was also going to do business. She was very worried that if she couldn't sell the products or get a good price, she would lose money.
Since the business was supported by Su Ruyi, he didn't say much, otherwise he would definitely have complained.
Now that business is so good, I can finally relax.
"Tingting, it's not easy for you to earn that little bit of money, and you even used it to buy meat. Don't do that next time."
As Tong Dahua spoke, she placed a piece of pork belly on Wang Huiting's plate.
Wang Huiting smiled and said, "Auntie, I'm so happy! This is the first time I've ever earned so much money."
She used to work hard selling scrap metal but couldn't earn much money because there wasn't much garbage in the county. First, everyone was very frugal and would only throw things away when they were completely unusable; second, there was a lot of competition.
Some factories have a habit of throwing away scraps, and you can find a lot of good stuff if you look through them, but those scraps are not something she can be interested in.
The money she earned today makes her smile just thinking about it.
However, Wang Huiting also had her own ulterior motives and dared not tell her aunt how much money she had actually earned.
She knew these adults all too well; they knew she had a lot of money in her hands and would definitely try to put it away.
Moreover, she had only just returned, so she hadn't had time to count the money. She wanted to wait for Su Ruyi to come along, but she had a rough idea of how much it was.
So before she came back, she made a big purchase: three pounds of pork belly, three pounds of pork shoulder, and a pork bone. This was the first time she had ever spent so much money on her own initiative, but she didn't feel bad at all.
Tong Dahua exclaimed, "You are all capable children."
Unlike her, who knows nothing and only knows how to farm.
Su Ruyi: "Qiaoqiao and Sisi were both very capable today; they picked you and Uncle up."
Zhang Dagui, who was quietly eating, was suddenly called out. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved his hand.
"I can't do it, I can't do it, it's all thanks to your aunt who can do it."
Zhang Dagui was very self-conscious and silent because of his congenital disability, and this was the first time he had been praised like this.
Wang Huiting: "Uncle, if it weren't for the plates you made for me today, business wouldn't have been so good, and piling them up together would have made it easier for people to sneak in and steal things."
"That's nothing." Zhang Dagui felt even more embarrassed because it was too rushed; he hadn't polished it at all, and it was still prickly.
Moreover, he only does odd jobs on his own, making things like small stools for the house; he's far from being a real carpenter.
"Anyway, it's very important, Uncle, could you make me another box later?"
While selling things today, Wang Huiting had already been thinking about this matter and had a general idea in mind.
She grew up in a furniture factory, so she knows a little about this kind of thing.
"Okay, tell me what to do in a bit. We have a lot of boards at home."
In the village, they have a habit of stockpiling planks, and according to their local customs, they can prepare coffins in a few years.
"Uncle, I'll buy you some wine tomorrow!"
Wang Huiting dislikes men drinking because of her biological father, so she didn't think about it today.
But since her uncle had helped her so much, she felt she had to show her appreciation.
Tong Dahua quickly said, "Why waste that money? You need money for your studies, so save it yourself. Your father is gone, and there will be many places where you'll need money in the future. Your mother raised you and your two sisters with great difficulty, so you can't spend it recklessly."
When Tong Dahua mentioned her younger brother who died young, her throat tightened, and she felt that even the meat in her bowl didn't taste good anymore.
Zhang Dagui quickly added, "Yes, yes, don't waste money, I don't like drinking."
This wasn't true; it was just that his family's circumstances made him reluctant to waste money, so he just went along with it.
Wang Huiting: "Auntie, I know what I'm doing. Even if you don't believe me, you have to believe my sister."
Seeing how well Wang Huiting and Su Ruyi got along, Tong Dahua felt somewhat comforted.
Although Wang Huiting is not her brother's child, they have developed a bond over the years and naturally hope that the children will have a good relationship so that they can help each other in the future.
Since there's no boy in the family to take care of the household, the sisters have to look after each other even more.
"Luckily we have Ruyi, otherwise how would we survive if the family was full of girls?"
Tong Dahua glanced at her son, who only knew how to eat foolishly, and sighed deeply.
She has a son, but unfortunately he's useless.
Su Ruyi: "Aunt, Tingting, Qiaoqiao and Sisi are all capable. Things are different now than before. There are many jobs outside that are suitable for girls, and they can support themselves. Your cousin can also help you now. Everything will get better and better."
Wang Huiting added, "That's right, Auntie. We women can do it too. Look at you, you take good care of the family."
Tong Dahua rarely receives such affirmation. Although the other person is just a child, she still feels comforted, realizing that everyone can see her hard work.
Suppressing her complex emotions, Tong Dahua called out to everyone, "Come on, eat your vegetables. If that's not enough, we'll have dumplings too."
After dinner, Tong Dahua took a group of girls to bathe in the nearby river. Yesterday, she was worried that Su Ruyi and Wang Huiting wouldn't be used to it, so she only boiled some water for them to wash up.
Today, at Su Ruyi's insistence, I took them to the river to bathe.
It's a village custom that there's a designated area for women to bathe, and men aren't allowed to go there in the evening.
Although Wang Huiting hadn't been here for several years, she still knew where it was.
"Sis, that place is beautiful, but be careful not to go too far, the water is very deep if you go too far."
On the way, I also saw many young women, wives, and older women carrying basins and clothes, walking in that direction or coming back from that direction.
Su Ruyi could clearly feel that everyone was looking at her and Wang Huiting. It wasn't the kind of curiosity that people had for outsiders; some people's eyes were filled with malice.
This left Su Ruyi completely baffled. Were all these people hostile to outsiders?
Tong Dahua also sensed it, and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
"Ignore those people, they have nothing to do with you. They just can't stand to see our family doing well."
The Zhang family was considered a poor household in the village and was not well-liked by the villagers.
Actually, the Zhang family used to be quite well-off. The parents-in-law were both capable people. The father-in-law used to work as an accountant in the city. The brick house they live in now was built with the money they saved up back then.
Unfortunately, she was unlucky and had great difficulty having children. She finally had a son, but he was born without legs.
Later, they sought medical treatment everywhere, spending all the family's money. The mother-in-law never conceived again, and even if she did, she would miscarry.
The family had always struggled to have children, and he was an only child. He was not in good health from a young age, so his family worked hard to support his education so that he could have the opportunity to become an accountant.
Although no one said it, Tong Dahua knew that the problem probably lay with her father-in-law.
Not long after Tong Dahua married Zhang Dagui, she gave birth to a healthy baby. Her parents-in-law were overjoyed and treated her exceptionally well, calling her a hero of the family.
But who would have thought that when Zhang Dagui was five years old, he got sick and damaged his brain?
The villagers all said that their Zhang family ancestors had done too many bad things, which was why they were destined to have no descendants, which made the Zhang family's parents-in-law very angry.
Later, Tong Dahua gave birth to two daughters in succession. Although her parents-in-law were somewhat disappointed, they still loved their two granddaughters very much and never said anything to her.
No matter what, they are all Zhang family members.
However, their family was at the bottom of the village and was the most vulnerable to being bullied.
When he was a child, my eldest son was often teased and bullied by the village kids and hooligans who took advantage of his poor mental capacity and difficulty speaking.
As he grew up, he became tall and strong, and he also became more sensible, which prevented him from being bullied too badly, but his family was still looked down upon.
Tong Dahua insisted on sending her daughter to school, which led to a lot of gossip behind her back.
Now that her two nieces have come to visit, these people are gossiping behind her back, which makes Tong Dahua extremely angry.
It wasn't easy for Su Ruyi to get close to their family. If these people made Su Ruyi unhappy and stopped visiting, she would be furious.
"It's okay, let's ignore these people."
Tong Dahua felt embarrassed and led a few girls to a place a little further away from the crowd, so as to avoid being pointed at and talked about by those people.
"The water is quite deep here, so be careful and don't go too far," Tong Dahua warned.
Su Ruyi glanced at the group of women not far away. The young girls and young wives were still wearing clothes, but the older and younger ones were basically naked, not afraid of being seen in broad daylight.
Tong Dahua noticed her hesitation and said, "It's alright, no man dares to come over, and there are rocks blocking the way."
This was Su Ruyi's first time swimming in the river. There was a river near her home, and almost every year a child would drown there. She had always been obedient and dared not go there.
She was too embarrassed to take her clothes off completely, so she went into the water wearing only her underwear and a short-sleeved shirt.
Aunt Liu also took her daughter to the river to bathe. When she saw Tong Dahua and the others there, she prepared to carry her basin over as well.
She hadn't taken two steps when someone called out to her, "Aunt Liu, don't go over there."
"What's wrong? Da Hua is over there."
Aunt Liu and Tong Dahua were on good terms and often got together. Besides, there were many people around, and she didn't get along with a few of them. They loved to gossip and always said irrelevant things, and Aunt Liu, with her daughter, didn't want to listen to their idle chatter.
Previously, the Li family's youngest daughter was made to cry by their words. She was only ten years old, but because she was a bit plump, some of the women had mouths that sounded like they had eaten feces, and they spoke very rudely.
Now, the youngest daughter of the Li family walks with a hunched back, as if afraid that others will see her large breasts.
Sister-in-law Wang kept waving at her, and Aunt Liu finally couldn't resist her curiosity and went over.
"What's wrong?"
"Didn't you see Tong Dahua's two nieces there too?"
"So what?" Aunt Liu asked, puzzled.
Sister-in-law Wang slapped her thigh, looking quite surprised: "Oh dear, Auntie, you don't know!"
"Know what?"
Weren't you in the village today?
"Yes, it's market day today, so I made tofu and brought it to sell. There are so many people selling tofu now, I didn't sell it all until sunset."
Sister-in-law Wang looked at her with an air of knowing full well, "No wonder, you probably haven't heard what Tong Dahua's two nieces do, have you?"
Aunt Liu had a vague feeling that something was wrong when she heard this.
"What they do has nothing to do with us."
"How can it not be related! Don't you know what Tong Dahua's family situation is? They couldn't even afford to raise her, so they sent her to the Zhang family to be raised, but in reality, they sold her to the Zhang family as a child bride. What money could a family like that have? They call themselves city people, but there are poor families in the city too, some even worse off than us farmers."
Since the road was repaired, it has become much easier for them to enter the provincial capital, so many people are now heading there.
They used to envy the people in the town and the county, but now that they consider themselves to be from the provincial capital, they look down on them a little.
Tong Dahua's family lived in a remote small county town, so they looked down on her even more.
Aunt Liu knew a lot about Tong Dahua's situation, and said, "Speak quickly."
"How could someone from such a family possibly know someone who owns a car?"
"Maybe they borrowed it. Besides, so many people suddenly become rich these days. Maybe it was some poor relative or friend who became rich overnight."
Sister-in-law Wang rolled her eyes at her: "Come on, do you think anyone would believe you if you told them that?"
"If you have nothing else, I'll be going now. It'll be hard to wash up once it gets dark, and I'm all sweaty from going out today."
Sister-in-law Wang: "Don't be impatient. I'm doing this for your own good, so you and your daughter won't suffer when you get sick. People who don't know better might think you're something else."
"What?" Aunt Liu frowned, feeling that the words were full of malice.
"What else could it be but a sexually transmitted disease!"
Aunt Liu was startled: "Don't talk nonsense!"
"How could I be talking nonsense? It's all over the village today. Tong Dahua has a niece who came from the south. She made a lot of money there and came here wanting to take her younger sisters with her. How could such a young girl make so much money? She must be selling herself! Everyone knows that kind of thing happens a lot in the south. There are so many shady shops like that near the train station. I heard there are even villages specifically for mistresses."
Sister-in-law Wang looked in Su Ruyi's direction with disdain.
"It's just that Aunt Tong is too narrow-minded. Her niece came back in a car and she's so proud of herself. She acts like she's never seen a car before. It's so easy for us to go to the provincial capital now. There are plenty of cars on the road."
"You can't say things like that, and Stone's mom isn't that kind of person. She loves her children very much."
Sister-in-law Wang scoffed, "No matter how much you spoil your daughter, your son is still more important. Even if your eldest son isn't very bright, he's still a boy, so we'll definitely make plans for him, just like Uncle Zhang's parents. Things are different now than before; it's not easy to find a child bride, but if we had money, we could still find a good wife for her eldest son."
Zhang Dagui had to walk with the help of a small stool since he was a child, hence the nickname "Zhang the Stool".
Aunt Liu still couldn't believe it; she still knew Tong Dahua's character.
Although she didn't have much contact with Zhang Dagui, he seemed to be a nice person, and Tong Dahua was the one who made the decisions at home.
For a child bride, Tong Dahua was incredibly lucky to marry into a kind family like the Zhang family. Most child brides were treated worse than animals from a young age, working hard but eating very little.
Many in-laws don't treat their daughters-in-law as well as the Zhang family treated their child bride.
Aunt Liu had previously remarked to her husband that Tong Dahua was also lucky in another way; otherwise, if she had stayed in her original home, her life would probably have been worse than it was in the Zhang family.
Over the years, she had personally witnessed how Tong Dahua had subsidized her family, but apart from her second brother, all the other family members were bloodsuckers and ingrates.
Tong Dahua loves her daughter dearly. If you told her that she would receive a large dowry when her daughter gets married, she would believe you. But if you asked her daughter to do such dirty things, she would never believe it even if you beat her to death!
If she really dared to do that, the two elders of the Zhang family would jump out of their coffins and curse her.
Sister-in-law Wang saw what she was thinking and said, "I knew you wouldn't believe me. Today, someone saw my two nieces taking their two daughters to the city, and they came back with a huge pile of meat. Do you think ordinary people's children could be so extravagant?"
You saw it yesterday, how much stuff they brought into the Zhang family's house, and today they bought so much meat, like money doesn't matter. Tell me, if they earned money honestly, would they dare to spend like this? My husband works on construction sites in the city during the off-season, he works so hard just to earn so little, we only dare to spend like this during holidays.”
"That can't be... those two girls just arrived yesterday." Aunt Liu began to have some doubts as she watched Wang's sister-in-law speak so convincingly.
"You didn't see how fancy they were dressed this morning; they didn't look like respectable people at all."
To better promote hair clips and hair accessories, Su Ruyi styled her three younger sisters' hair early in the morning with hairstyles that suited their individual characteristics and were decorated with many ornaments so that they could see more clearly what the effect would be when worn.
All three girls had pierced ears, so they all wore earrings and studs.
Su Ruyi was obsessed with Hanfu for a while, so she specially learned how to comb her hair. She loved beauty and had done a lot of styling of her hair before. After special training, she was definitely an expert among ordinary people, if not a professional.
Actually, she didn't dress her three younger sisters in an extravagant way. After all, if they were too flashy, it wouldn't match their clothes. Besides, she dressed them all in a cute style. It's just that what people see is what they get.
Seeing that Aunt Liu had been persuaded, Sister Wang proudly carried her basin away.
Aunt Liu's daughter, Jiang Xiaotao, tugged at her mother's sleeve and said, "Mom, don't listen to Sister Wang's nonsense. Qiaoqiao is going to college, she would never do such a thing."
Zhang Qiaoqiao had excellent grades and ranked third in the county in this year's high school entrance exam, thus gaining admission to the county's high school. Originally, she could have attended the city's high school, but the county high school said they would waive her tuition, so she went to the county high school instead.
Because of this, the villagers made a lot of sarcastic remarks. Everyone felt that the Zhang family was clueless and actually hoped that their daughter would go to university and take advantage of her good grades to go to a vocational school.
Vocational school graduates are highly sought after these days; they can be assigned jobs right after graduation. Starting work early and earning money is especially suitable for people from less affluent families, as it provides several years of work experience, and salary grading takes seniority into account.
However, if you don't get into university after entering high school, it will all be for nothing, as high school graduation doesn't guarantee job placement.
It's so hard to get into university these days; there are hardly any people from the whole town who can get in.
Therefore, many high-achieving students now go to vocational schools, and the admission scores for many vocational schools are even higher than those for high schools.
Zhang Qiaoqiao's grades are good now, but girls don't always do well in high school.
They only realized their efforts were in vain when they saw it all had come to nothing. With such terrible feng shui in their house, how could a golden phoenix possibly fly out of there?
Jiang Xiaotao and Zhang Qiaoqiao are the same age. Their parents have a good relationship, and so do they.
She always knew how smart Zhang Qiaoqiao was. She wasn't the bookworm type; she was simply intelligent and quick-witted, and coupled with her diligence and hard work, her academic performance had always been excellent.
Zhang Qiaoqiao has great ambitions; how could she possibly ruin her life for short-term gains?
Aunt Liu looked conflicted. She trusted Tong Dahua's character, but Sister-in-law Wang's words were so confident that she couldn't help but feel a little worried.
She didn't care about anything else, but she was afraid that her daughter's reputation would be affected.
"Mom, why don't we just go and ask them directly?"
Aunt Liu was startled: "You're being too reckless! This is so embarrassing!"
Jiang Xiaotao wanted to say something more, but Aunt Liu said again, "But if you keep me to myself, I won't be able to sleep tonight. Come on, let's go ask them!"
After walking a few steps, Aunt Liu whispered another instruction:
"Don't rush into the water later. Just think of it as us going over to say hello to them."
The two discussed it and went over. As soon as they got close, they heard a burst of laughter and cheerful chatter.
"Little Peach's Mom, why are you only arriving now? I've seen you for ages," Tong Dahua greeted her.
Aunt Liu gave her an awkward smile, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards Su Ruyi.
At this moment, Su Ruyi was as delicate and charming as a lotus emerging from the water. Her swimming movements were particularly beautiful and quite different from others.
She was fair-skinned and looked well-behaved and delicate, with a scholarly air about her. She didn't seem like the type to do *that* kind of thing at all.
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