Cai Xiaomei was in an exceptionally good mood today.
Her son, who had seemed destined to remain a bachelor, had finally woken up!
Heaven be praised! The whole world should celebrate!
Cai Xiaomei never expected that her 22-year-old son—already considered an old bachelor by local standards—would finally meet a girl he liked. And he moved fast too. He made his move after knowing her for just a day and a half. Just like her in her younger days.
Back then, she had been just as decisive, and that was how she had landed that man. Together, they produced a handsome, brilliant son. Everyone who saw him envied her for having such an outstanding child. Sure, people gossiped that her man had run off, but she didn’t care one bit. Those gossips were just jealous.
After all, which other woman in the village could find an incredibly handsome man, bear him a clever, good-looking son, and then stay living with her own family, protected by her brothers?
Heh heh!
Zhou Haoting came home to find his mother wearing a goofy grin. He couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose. She was definitely lost in memories of the past again.
Every time she reminisced about those days, she got that dreamy smile. It had made him curious his whole life—what kind of man was his father, whom he had never met?
“Son, you’re back!”
Cai Xiaomei spotted her son entering and dashed over in a few quick steps, slapping his muscular arm with gusto. “You’re really my son, aren’t you? So capable! You pursued a girl after knowing her for just a day!”
“Mom…” Zhou Haoting said helplessly. “I haven’t won her over yet. She only agreed to let me court her. Please don’t go doing anything to scare her off. If you do, your son really will end up a lifelong bachelor.”
“Pfft, pfft, pfft—spit that out and say it again! What lifelong bachelor? It’s so hard to find someone you truly connect with in this life. Now that you’ve finally found her, don’t you dare give up.”
Zhou Haoting understood what his mother meant. He had always felt she’d gotten the short end of the stick. She had been with a strange man for only three months, had him, and then the man left. That meant she had only experienced happiness for three months. After that, she had been alone ever since.
Was it worth it?
He used to think it wasn’t. But after meeting Tian Tian, Zhou Haoting suddenly understood that feeling.
Maybe you can’t have forever. But having something for a while might be acceptable too.
Of course, that was just a passing thought. He wouldn’t settle for “just for a while.” Now that he had fallen for her, he wanted it to last forever.
“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll work hard to prove myself and aim to get promoted to official boyfriend as soon as possible.”
“That’s my boy. I believe in you, kid.” Cai Xiaomei laughed heartily. She was about to suggest they go to her eldest brother’s house for dinner.
But just as they stepped outside, she saw Hu Erhua, that shrew, pulling at another woman and whispering about something.
The moment the two spotted Cai Xiaomei, they scattered like startled birds, guilt written all over their faces.
“That Hu Erhua is definitely gossiping about me. With all that time, she could be doing something useful. What an embarrassment to our village…”
Meanwhile, Hu Erhua was also cursing under her breath.
“That damned Cai Xiaomei. That shameless bitch.”
“Mom, what are you griping about now? Hurry up and make dinner! Look around—who else hasn’t eaten at this hour? Just you. You’re lazier than a ghost. No wonder Dad doesn’t want to stay home.”
In the living room, a yellow-haired young man shuffled out wearing flip-flops, wiping sleep from his eyes and pointing at his mother as he scolded her.
Hu Erhua’s face immediately broke into an ingratiating smile at her precious son’s words. “Bozy, you’re awake! Mom will make dinner right now. Are you going out after eating? I’ll buy half a roast goose this afternoon for an extra treat. Make sure you come home for dinner.”
“Ooh, you made some sales?” Bozy’s half-closed eyes snapped wide open.
Hu Erhua said, “Of course! I’ve already sold over a dozen. Son, I should be able to sell them all in another couple of days. Do you still have more stock?”
Bozy immediately held out his hand. “Give me the money. I’ll go out this afternoon and bring back more stock for you.”
Hu Erhua quickly pulled out the eighty-plus yuan she had earned from a crack in the wall at home.
“I’ll give you this money, but don’t you dare spend it on that good-for-nothing father of yours.”
“Fine, fine, fine.” With money in hand, Bozy became very agreeable.
But Hu Erhua brought up something else. “Bozy, when are you and your girlfriend getting married? Cai Xiaomei’s quiet, reserved son has found himself a girlfriend.”
Bozy had no interest in this. He brushed her off. “When you’ve saved up a thousand yuan, then I’ll get married.”
That’s what he said, but he still took a detour on his way back in the evening to pick up the goods.
—
At that moment, Tian Tian had just woken up from an afternoon nap in her room. She had also roughly sketched out her next money-making plan and was about to go downstairs to make dinner. Just as she stepped out, she saw a yellow-haired young man enter the building next door.
That building was also a two-story self-built house, but the landlord didn’t live there. The entire building was rented out to tenants—fifteen people in total.
The yellow-haired man walked into the courtyard and called out for Zhou Qiaoqiao.
Next door, Qian Lizhen had just gotten home from work. Hearing someone call Zhou Qiaoqiao’s name, she immediately opened her door and came out.
“Tian Tian, you’re done resting? Mom told me you sold a lot of flip-flops again today.”
“Yeah, Sister Zhen. You’re back from work? Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet. Mom’s cooking downstairs.”
The two chatted idly, but their eyes were fixed on the courtyard of the neighboring building. When they saw Zhou Qiaoqiao actually come downstairs to meet the yellow-haired guy, both were a bit surprised. Qian Lizhen, who didn’t get along with Zhou Qiaoqiao, had her eyes light up.
“I’ve always said Zhou Qiaoqiao was no good. Look at her—chatting and laughing with some yellow-haired punk.”
Tian Tian also watched their interaction. They seemed pretty familiar with each other. Xu Songmei, Zhou Qiaoqiao’s mother, was no pushover, and her daughter Zhou Qiaoqiao probably wasn’t simple either.
Just then, Zhou Qiaoqiao stuffed a black plastic bag into the yellow-haired man’s hand. As he took it, he casually touched her hand.
Zhou Qiaoqiao didn’t pull away at all. She just gave him a playful, scolding glare and then clip-clopped back upstairs.
Having watched the whole thing, Tian Tian concluded that this girl was also quite calculating.
She wondered what Zhou Qiaoqiao had given the yellow-haired man. The outline of the plastic bag looked familiar. Tian Tian thought to herself, Could it be those electronic watches?
Back when Xu Songmei had thrown her tantrum over the watches, the police had come by, and then things had gone quiet. Now it seemed they were actually trying to sell those empty-shell electronic watches? Weren’t they afraid of getting caught?
Tian Tian filed this information away, deciding to find an opportunity to expose it.
But then she noticed that Qian Lizhen’s eyes were sparkling.
“Tian Tian, if a man found out his girlfriend was fooling around with another guy, would he break up with her?”
Connecting this to the scene they’d just witnessed, Tian Tian’s imagination ran wild.
Clearly, Qian Lizhen didn’t need an answer. She was already answering her own question. “He’d definitely break up with her. Hehe.”
Tian Tian opened her mouth to say something but then thought better of it. Their relationship wasn’t close enough for that. Besides, Qian Lizhen had already rushed downstairs without saying another word.
Then Tian Tian heard Liu Chunfen’s voice asking where she was going.
Qian Lizhen answered, “I’m heading back to the factory. I’m working overtime tonight and staying in the dorm.”
“At least eat something before you go!”
Liu Chunfen came out just in time to see her daughter’s hurried retreat. She turned and saw Tian Tian. “Tian Tian, perfect timing. I made Lizhen’s portion, but she went back to work. Why don’t you eat with me tonight? Otherwise, the food will go to waste.”
Tian Tian had eaten Liu Chunfen’s cooking on the day she arrived. To be honest, it wasn’t good.
Now that she had money, she wasn’t about to torture her stomach.
“No thanks, Aunt Liu. I’ve already prepared what I’m eating tonight. Why don’t you share it with Granny Cui?”
With that, Tian Tian entered the kitchen and started making egg fried rice on the other stove. The rice had been cooked earlier. She scooped some out, added two eggs, a handful of dried seaweed, some chopped scallions, and some diced canned meat.
The aroma was heavenly.
She was about to take it back to her room to eat, but Granny Cui warmly invited her to sit at the table. After a moment’s thought, Tian Tian brought her bowl of egg fried rice over and sat down.
“You young people still have good appetites,” Liu Chunfen said enviously.
Tian Tian didn’t respond. She just nodded and started eating with her spoon. It was really delicious—rich and fragrant, each grain of rice coated in egg. Even the canned meat tasted wonderful.
“You young people out here working should watch your spending. If you ask me, working in a factory is still best. Meals and housing provided, regular paycheck. If I were a few years younger, I’d definitely work in a factory.”
Liu Chunfen chattered on for a bit. Seeing that Tian Tian wasn’t engaging with her, she laughed awkwardly and continued:
“Tian Tian, since you’re not interested in hearing about jobs, I’ll let that go. But there’s something I do need to remind you about.”
Now, Tian Tian was a little interested.
Liu Chunfen, encouraged by the response, leaned in eagerly. “At noon while you were selling flip-flops, a villager named Hu Erhua pulled me aside for a chat. She said a lot of nasty things about you. Then she asked me about your background. She also said that Zhou Haoting’s mother isn’t a good woman. I really don’t think Hu Erhua is a decent person. But what she said about that man’s family situation, you…”
Tian Tian raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t expected this to be the topic.
She already knew how Zhou Haoting had been born. He had been completely honest with her about it. His mother had fallen for his father’s good looks, staged a “beauty saves the hero” scenario, and then borrowed his seed to have a child. The handsome father had left before Haoting was even born.
The story had caused quite a scandal back in the day. If the Cai family hadn’t had so many relatives and so much influence—and if the couple hadn’t publicly held a wedding banquet—the gossip would have been merciless.
But to Tian Tian, this was no big deal. In her previous life, she hadn’t been that bold, nor had she met a handsome man who made her heart race. Otherwise, she might have done something similar herself.
Having money, a house, a good kid, and no man—wasn’t that pretty great?
But Liu Chunfen clearly couldn’t accept such an arrangement.
“You’ve only been in the village for two days. You don’t know the ins and outs of the situation yet. I’d hate to see you get fooled. I just learned today that Cai Xiaomei’s husband didn’t die—he ran away. Think about it—if she were a good woman, why would a man run off?”
Bam! The sound cut off Liu Chunfen’s rambling.
“Aunt Liu…” Tian Tian slammed her stainless steel pot down on the square table and looked sternly at Liu Chunfen. “Whatever someone else’s situation is, what you just said is wrong. What does a man running away have to do with the woman? The legs are on the man. If he wants to run, he runs. Why blame everything on the woman? You’re a woman yourself. Would you want people putting the blame on you like that?”
Liu Chunfen was left speechless.
Granny Cui, who had been silent all along, spoke up slowly, “Xiao Liu, you’re in the wrong here. Can’t you see for yourself whether Xiaomei is a good woman? Whether her husband ran off or not has nothing to do with you either. You’ve been living in this village for months. You’ve eaten rice for so many decades. How is it that you can’t see things as clearly as this young girl Tian Tian?”
Liu Chunfen’s face crumpled into a bitter expression.
Tian Tian found it off-putting. She picked up her stainless steel pot and said, “I’m going back to my room.”
Once back in her room, she let out a sigh of relief. She sat down and continued eating. As she ate, she felt suffocated just thinking about what Qian Lizhen’s life must be like.
Liu Chunfen wasn’t a bad person. But her words and actions were constantly uncomfortable.
Tian Tian was grateful her own mother wasn’t like that.
She had originally wanted to ask Granny Cui about the various small workshops in the village, but that plan was completely ruined.
Sigh.
Tian Tian wanted even more now to buy that farmland soon so she could move out.
Now she had a new method: as long as she had enough money, she could buy the land. But this method was a bit too fast. Tian Tian silently set a deadline for herself: six months. She would use these six months to observe Zhou Haoting’s behavior. If he performed exceptionally well, marrying him would be the fastest way to move her household registration to the village.
Just as she was thinking about Zhou Haoting, before she had even finished eating, Zhou Haoting showed up at her door, carrying a takeout container of deli-style roasted meat.
Tian Tian leaned over the balcony and waved at him. “Come on up and eat together…”
She didn’t want to go downstairs and see Liu Chunfen’s sour face again. So she moved her table out to the balcony so they could eat and chat. This way, no one could gossip either.
Zhou Haoting hadn’t expected that less than two days after meeting her, he would already have the chance to enter her space.
He was a little nervous—what should he do?
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