Forty-six beauties, third uncle
Just as Li Wei was full of anticipation, expecting her aunt to abandon her evil ways and embark on the golden road to becoming a successful businesswoman, the villain who shattered her dream arrived.
Grandpa Cheng Enjiu had seven brothers, and he was the sixth. His eldest brother was considered quite successful, having distinguished himself in numerous battles and now holding a high-ranking position in the military region of a southern province. Of the remaining brothers, the fourth, Cheng Enli, fared better, having completed high school and then teaching at a junior high school, making him a relatively educated man. The remaining five brothers were all farmers. They themselves were not particularly successful, and their children were also quite ordinary, none of them achieving a higher level of education than Cheng Fei.
The fourth son, Cheng Enli, had the highest level of education. Of his five children, only his third son, Cheng Yaxuan, attended a vocational school, making him the most successful among his generation.
Although Cheng Yaxuan's educational background doesn't seem high, he had a good job after graduation, working at the Agricultural Bank of China in the county. After a few years, he was transferred to a branch in a town below and became the branch manager, which is considered quite promising for his age. Therefore, the fourth brother, Cheng Enli, has the highest status among the local brothers.
Originally, Grandpa Cheng also had a chance to spar with his fourth brother, but unfortunately Cheng Fei didn't get into university, so the opportunity was lost. Now that Cheng Yaxuan, a leading figure among the younger generation, has arrived, Grandpa Cheng and his son-in-law Li Zhaoxing have come to the living room of the new house to keep him company. They wonder what important matter brings these distinguished guests.
After a round of pleasantries involving tea and water, Cheng Yaxuan got down to business: "Sixth Uncle, Brother-in-law, I heard that Cheng Fei's college entrance exam results weren't ideal, so I came to see if she plans to repeat a year to try again or if she's planning to start working. Going to university is out of the question, but if she wants to work, our Agricultural Bank is currently recruiting, and if everything goes smoothly, she'll be officially hired in about a year. With her qualifications and my connections, it's practically a sure thing. So I came to get your opinions; this is a rare opportunity!"
After exchanging a few polite words and thanking them for thinking of their family with good news, Grandpa Cheng and his son-in-law Li Zhaoxing looked at each other, finding it difficult to make a decision. So he called to Li Lin, who was listening to the gossip, "Go, Lin, call your aunt over, quickly." This was a major matter concerning Cheng Fei's life, and Cheng Fei had to make the decision herself, after all, the child was already so old.
Li Lin readily agreed and ran to the old house in the village to find her aunt. Before leaving, she took one last, reluctant look at her third uncle, who was dressed smartly and looked handsome.
It's no wonder little Li Lin is infatuated; Cheng Yaxuan has inherited almost all the best qualities of his family and mother, and even amplified them. He's over 1.8 meters tall with a perfectly proportioned figure, his white shirt and black trousers are spotless, his square face has sword-like eyebrows and dark eyes, and his slightly upturned lips beneath his straight nose always seem to hold a hint of a smile. His skin is a healthy deep tan, and at the perfect age of twenty-eight or twenty-nine, he exudes a mature yet youthful vitality—it's no exaggeration to call him a handsome man.
Cheng Fei arrived quickly, her slightly unsteady breathing indicating she had walked quite fast. Behind her trailed Li Wei, who, having nothing better to do, fiddled with her hair and constantly nagged and tried to brainwash Cheng Fei.
Upon hearing Li Lin say that her third uncle was looking for her aunt, and seeing that her aunt immediately put down her work, changed into a new outfit she had bought last time, and hurriedly left, Li Wei, with the despicable thought of a boss keeping a close eye on employees to prevent them from slacking off, also came along.
Now, Li Wei follows her aunt around every day, afraid that something might happen that would seduce her aunt and fire her. She even asks her aunt's whereabouts when she goes to the toilet. She's incredibly vigilant. Sometimes she even thinks to herself with a touch of self-deprecation: Liu Bei, the notorious bandit leader, visited Zhuge Liang three times at his thatched cottage; she's visited him countless times at his outhouse. In the end, Liu Bei devoted himself to the cause until his death, while her aunt's relationship is still far from settled, yet she's already agreed to take care of her in her old age.
We're all human, so why is there such a huge difference? Is it a problem with my character? Or maybe my ears are a little small? I'm so conflicted…
After returning home, Li Wei didn't rush to visit her wealthy uncles and aunts. Instead, she first went into the family's steamed bun and mantou production workshop. She looked around. The new round bread looked quite appealing. Not only was it cute, but its color was also incredibly tempting. Because it was freshly baked, the aroma of wheat was irresistible… Without further ado, she grabbed one and ate it.
Li Wei strolled into the living room, munching on a fresh bread roll. Her impression of her uncles from her previous life was that they were handsome, successful men. She had very little contact with them and didn't remember much. So, upon entering the house, Li Wei glanced at them casually. The bread roll she'd barely taken three bites of fell to the floor. Wow! Where did this handsome man come from?! He's so...so stylish!
Normally, no one would pay attention to a child. But Li Wei's round, three-slit bread rolls around a few times and ends up at the feet of her handsome third uncle. It stops. It tipes over.
Li Zhaoxing frowned as he looked at the ground: "Pick it up. How can you be so careless with food? This is outrageous!" Could it be that this new variety doesn't taste good?
Li Wei hurriedly touched the corner of her mouth, secretly wiping away non-existent drool. Her eyes were fixed on her legendary third uncle. She ran over to pick up the bread, retreated behind her grandfather, and positioned herself directly in front of her third uncle, revealing what she thought was the most beautiful smile: "Hehe, third uncle, you're here."
Cheng Yaxuan found Li Wei quite interesting. This child was not shy at all and was quite polite. She was also very cute and had a delicate, porcelain-like appearance. So he praised her, "Brother-in-law, this must be your eldest child. He is not only very likable, but also very polite. I heard from my mother that he is also doing well in his studies. I remember seeing the twins at my wedding, but I don't think I saw this child."
Li Zhaoxing hurriedly said, "That's right, it's the eldest brother. She was born the year you went to vocational school."
Cheng Yaxuan laughed and said, "That's true. I think I saw him once when he was two or three years old. Why haven't I seen him in the past few years?"
Grandpa Cheng said irritably, "The girl has been weak since she was a child and is prone to catching colds, especially during holidays. When she comes to my house for the Spring Festival, it's like a battle, all rushed and chaotic. It's normal that you're too busy with work to see her. She's been a bit better these past two years, but she's still a worry."
As the group was talking, Cheng Min, who had gone out to run errands, returned. There was another round of warm greetings and inquiries, and Cheng Yaxuan explained the purpose of his visit.
Li Wei immediately understood. It turned out that her third uncle was trying to undermine her! Her little wall was already fragile, and it probably couldn't withstand a single blow from this important third uncle.
While the adults were chatting animatedly, Li Wei nervously glanced at her aunt. Her aunt's face was as beautiful as a peach blossom, her eyes sparkling; she was indescribably beautiful. Li Wei's heart skipped a beat. Had her aunt really gone to work at the bank? A pang of unease gripped her. "Auntie," she thought, "if you were really going to stay and work steadily at the bank, that would be one thing. But you've changed husbands and jobs one after another. You don't seem to value that stable job much. What's with all this eagerness now?"
Li Wei pondered this over and over, glancing at her aunt one moment and then at Cheng Yaxuan, the man trying to steal her away the next. Gradually, she sensed something was amiss. Judging by the vast collection of romantic soap operas and dramas she'd watched—Korean, Japanese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese—it seemed, very likely, that her aunt's gaze towards that third uncle wasn't innocent. There was a word for it…right, a tender, affectionate look!
Li Wei tried hard to banish this thought from her mind. This was too absurd. Anyone with a modicum of rationality would know that they were cousins, and marriage would result in having mentally challenged children. But that wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was that Cheng Yaxuan's uncles and third uncles were already married!
Li Wei observed Cheng Yaxuan closely, from head to toe, from his every move to his eyes and expressions—almost scrutinizing him like he were under a microscope. After a long time, Li Wei wasn't sure if it was just her preconceived notions. Although there were no obvious flaws, she still found her third uncle highly suspicious. No matter how she looked at him, she felt his gaze towards her aunt was not innocent, his smile was ambiguous, and his behavior was frivolous…
Moreover, Li Wei suddenly remembered a time in college when she was celebrating a classmate's birthday at a Western restaurant. She had seen Cheng Fei and Cheng Yaxuan eating together. At that time, Cheng Fei seemed to be in a bad mood. When she saw Li Wei, she just nodded indifferently. She was elegant, fashionable, and had a cold demeanor that made her feel distant. Li Wei didn't know what to say, so she greeted her and moved on.
Looking back now, it seems that Cheng Fei had just ended her second marriage not long ago. Her first divorce from Ding Anping had already caused a great deal of unpleasantness with her family. After the divorce, she resigned from the Agricultural Bank in her town and went to work as an accountant in a private company in the city. She didn't tell her family about her second and third marriages and divorces, and lived on her own all along. No matter what, Li Wei still feels heartbroken when she thinks about it sometimes.
Therefore, Li Wei had reason to suspect that Cheng Yaxuan's relationship with his aunt was definitely not simple.
Now, seeing her aunt's almost-cooked duck about to fly away, Li Wei didn't hesitate to assume the worst about her third uncle, Cheng Yaxuan. This guy might very well be the architect of her aunt's unhappy marriage. Just look at those peach blossom eyes, thin lips, pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, hooked nose...
In short, the sunny, handsome young man from just moments ago has now, after much internal struggle with Li Wei, become Gargamel. His mind is consumed with how to rescue his aunt, Smurfette, from the clutches of witchcraft.
But it's not her turn to make a move yet. Everyone is waiting for Cheng Fei to say whether she wants to continue studying for the college entrance exam or go to work at a bank.
The public's inclination is obvious.
Cheng Fei has calmed down now. Since it concerns her future, she has managed to suppress her ulterior motives and is thinking about it seriously.
If it weren't for Li Wei's recent little hair clipping incident, she really wouldn't have even considered going to the bank. Not only would it be a good job, but she would also be able to work with her third brother, which was what appealed to her the most and what she had always dreamed of.
These past few days, Cheng Fei had suffered many setbacks at the hands of Li Wei, causing her to doubt her own intelligence and beauty, and lose her confidence. She thought to herself, "I'm an adult, and I've studied for many years, how come I'm inferior to a child in every way?" Although she outwardly refused to admit it, the facts spoke for themselves. If she rashly went out to work, she wasn't sure if she could handle it, especially since she would lose face in front of her third brother. Thinking about how she had been looked down upon by him, it was simply unbearable…
Cheng Fei thought it over and over but couldn't make up her mind. It was her grandmother, who came in after Cheng Min, who spoke up: "Ya Xuan, you've come all this way to find a job for the old lady. Your sixth uncle and I really don't know how to thank you enough. Why don't you stay here tonight and let your sister think it over? We can all discuss it carefully and then give you a definite answer. What do you think?"
Cheng Yaxuan readily agreed, nodding and saying, "Sixth Aunt, you're being too polite. What's our relationship? Cheng Fei isn't an outsider, so helping out is only natural. There's no rush. The registration deadline is the day after tomorrow anyway, so you should discuss it carefully. After all, work is a lifelong commitment, so we need to be cautious, especially since my sister is so smart and capable; she can't go wrong anywhere. As for me, I have to go to work tomorrow, so I won't stay any longer. I'll head back while it's still early."
Li Wei watched Cheng Yaxuan ride away on his bicycle, and sighed. She realized that in just a few years, people of Cheng Yaxuan's rank would be driving cars, and even the director of the credit union under him would have one. Right now, apart from being more neatly dressed, he was indistinguishable from an ordinary employee.
The adults all sat together to discuss Cheng Fei's matter. Li Wei wasn't in the mood, so she simply went back upstairs to her original room, lay on the bed listlessly, and stared blankly at the wall.
Cheng Yaxuan ruined what was originally a perfectly good plan, leaving her no room for argument.
Li Wei suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, like a cat whose bones had been removed. She stared limply at the map of China she had pasted on the wall, knowing that she could go nowhere, do nothing, and that no one would listen to her...
Although I've made some money, if I don't keep working hard, in ten or eight years, when prices rise, the economy becomes more developed, and housing prices skyrocket, my meager earnings will be worthless.
The family fortune her parents earned all belonged to Li Lianhui; it's a tradition that's been passed down for thousands of years, and no one can change it. As for her own intelligence, she wouldn't dare say she's superior to her aunt. Although she's prepared quite thoroughly now, when the competition intensifies, she might be squeezed out. Even if she's lucky enough to cross the bridge, what kind of job she'll get, how long that job will last, and whether it'll be enough to live on—all of that is uncertain…
Li Wei became increasingly frustrated and uncertain about the future as she thought about it, and eventually drifted off to sleep.
I had a dream where I fulfilled a dream I'd had long ago, a dream I'd read in Sanmao's books. I saved enough money and found a man like Jose, and the two of us traveled around the world together. We traveled from continent to continent, from ocean to ocean, everywhere was water, we caught so many fish that we couldn't eat them all and couldn't bear to throw them away, so we dried them. We dried them day and night, which exhausted me.
Exhausted, Li Wei suddenly felt an earthquake. She was overjoyed, thinking she wouldn't have to dry fish anymore. But then she heard Li Lin calling in her ear, "Sister—, sister—, get up quickly, it's time to eat, it's time to eat! Mom is frying ribbonfish, hurry up!"
Li Wei groggily got out of bed, watching Li Lin's retreating figure before finally snapping back to reality with a 'bang' as the door slammed shut. She blankly recalled her dream—traveling around the world? Why was she so tired? She looked up at the map on the wall, and… that blue sea outside the chicken's belly—she seemed to have just been fishing and drying fish there…
An idea flashed through Li Wei's mind. After pondering for a long time, she finally made up her mind, got out of bed with renewed energy, and went to eat ribbonfish.
She was willing to take a gamble. As the saying goes, "It is endlessly joyful to fight against the heavens and the earth."
She couldn't fight against fate, but now she wanted to see if fighting against that scoundrel Cheng Yaxuan would be endlessly enjoyable!
If she couldn't find joy, she would desperately seek it out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
