The air inside Wang Cheng’s family’s new house had reached safe levels after days of ventilation, and they planned to move in during the holiday. They were cleaning the place now, and some furniture had already been brought over. Moving was exhausting work, so when Eldest Uncle arrived with the others, the family of three happened to be resting on the first floor. Tea and fruit sat on the table while they chatted and laughed.
“Third Brother, get out here!”
Before he even entered, Eldest Uncle’s loud, furious shout reached them first. Anyone who did not know better might have thought the brothers were about to become enemies. In truth, that was not far off.
Wang Cheng and his parents were not surprised by Eldest Uncle’s arrival. Judging by the timing, he had probably already taken that man to see Secretary Guan and learned exactly what opportunity he had lost.
Wang Cheng had only just stood up when Eldest Uncle marched in with the others and immediately fired off a harsh accusation.
“Third Brother, are you even human? You and your son actually conspired to undercut me?”
A crowd rapidly gathered outside as they entered. Wang Hongwei had a loud voice, and the neighbors immediately knew something was happening. Most had heard at least a little about the conflicts among the Wang family’s daughters-in-law. Seeing that the person leading the charge this time was the eldest Wang brother only made them more curious.
“Eldest Brother, what are you talking about? When did I ever undercut you?” Papa Wang stood up. He was honest by nature, but not the kind of man who would stand there and let someone falsely accuse him, especially when they had already anticipated a confrontation like this.
“You knew perfectly well that I wanted to contract North Mountain, yet you and your son secretly took the contract behind my back. If that isn’t undercutting me, what is? Third Brother, Third Brother, I really misjudged you. Mom and Dad misjudged you too. We always thought you were an honest man. Who knew you were capable of stabbing someone in the back like this!” Eldest Uncle grew more worked up as he spoke, his neck and face turning red.
Wang Cheng immediately took offense at the way Eldest Uncle was talking about his father. “Eldest Uncle, you can’t just say whatever you want. Being an elder doesn’t change that.”
“I’m telling the truth!” Eldest Uncle’s anger flared even higher when he saw Wang Cheng.
“Fine. Then let me ask you this. Did you ever tell my dad that you wanted to contract North Mountain?” Wang Cheng narrowed his eyes and asked in an even, unhurried tone.
Eldest Uncle immediately fell silent. He had rushed over in a rage without thinking anything through. Now that Wang Cheng pointed it out, he finally remembered that he truly had never told anyone in the village besides Secretary Guan about his intention to contract North Mountain. Third Brother’s family certainly had not known.
“Y-you talk to your elders like this?” Unable to answer, Eldest Uncle became angry out of embarrassment.
Wang Cheng sneered. “If I didn’t speak up and just stood here while Eldest Uncle accused my dad of undercutting you without knowing right from wrong, what kind of son would that make me?”
“You…” Eldest Uncle sputtered for a long time without managing a rebuttal.
“Eldest Uncle, I’ll tell you the truth. I was interested in the medicinal herbs on North Mountain and had already been considering taking the contract. I came back this time planning to use the holiday to get the paperwork done. You were simply one step too slow. How can you blame my dad for that? As for this talk about undercutting you, there’s no basis for it at all.”
Wang Cheng’s mixture of truth and fabrication immediately won sympathy from the villagers gathered outside. Being too slow himself and then accusing his younger brother of sabotaging him was unreasonable enough. To come here openly and scold them for it was even worse. The murmuring and finger-pointing grew louder.
“Don’t you work at Huaying Real Estate? How could you suddenly think of contracting a mountain? Did you hear some kind of inside information?” Eldest Uncle was grasping at straws now, throwing out whatever accusation came to mind.
Wang Cheng spread his hands. “Who told you that? I only signed a three-month agreement with Huaying Real Estate in the first place. It’s almost over now, and I never planned to stay there afterward. Of course I have to think about what I’ll do next. Though I suppose I did hear something. Once when I went to Grandpa’s house, he happened to mention the medicinal herbs on North Mountain. Eldest Uncle knows Grandpa isn’t in the best health and often goes up the mountain to gather herbs. He told me there were plenty of medicinal plants there. That’s what gave me the idea.”
Eldest Uncle was left speechless again.
Li Duzhi pushed up his glasses. This young man was smarter than he had expected. Not only had Wang Cheng separated himself cleanly from any accusation of sabotage, he had even shifted responsibility back onto Wang Hongwei. More importantly, Li Duzhi found the explanation virtually flawless. They really had run into father and son on the mountain yesterday. He thought perhaps those two had made up their minds so quickly because of the suggestive remark Wang Hongwei had made at the time. They might have guessed why Wang Hongwei was there, worried he would get there first, and decided to move before he could.
Sometimes bad luck was simply bad luck. Li Duzhi had originally thought that since the men were brothers, there might still be a chance to get the contract transferred from them. Now it was obvious the relationship between their families was poor. Even if Wang Hongwei’s Third Brother agreed, this Wang Cheng clearly would not.
There were far too many spectators for the commotion to escape notice.
Madam Zhang had come over alone and quickly noticed the crowd. After asking around and learning what had happened, her first reaction was gleeful satisfaction.
She might constantly flatter Eldest Brother’s family, but that did not mean she enjoyed seeing them prosper. Eldest Brother’s family had just lost their chance to curry favor with Wang Ningkai’s girlfriend Lisa. Of course she was pleased. But her satisfaction quickly twisted into resentment again. How did that little brat Wang Cheng keep getting so lucky?
Madam Zhang hurried over to watch, but she was too late. Wang Hongwei had already been argued into silence by Wang Cheng and stormed away. With the show over, the crowd gradually dispersed. Only Wang Cheng and his parents remained inside the new house, along with a few neighbors who stayed behind to congratulate him.
North Mountain now belonged to Wang Cheng’s side, which meant villagers could no longer gather medicinal herbs there as freely as before. Naturally, people wanted to establish a good relationship with the family first.
Wang Cheng turned and spotted Madam Zhang lurking suspiciously by the doorway. He knew Second Aunt would never miss entertainment like this.
Madam Zhang met his gaze, realized there was no point hiding, and walked in openly. Smiling broadly at everyone, she said, “Well, would you look at that. I just arrived and heard Wang Cheng contracted an entire mountain. Congratulations! Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law really raised themselves a fine son.”
“Chengcheng, take the three-wheeler outside and head back first. Your dad and I will finish what we’re doing here, then come home to help later,” Mama Wang suddenly said to him.
Wang Cheng could tell she wanted him out of the way, but he obeyed anyway. The three-wheeler sputtered noisily outside until the sound faded into the distance. Madam Zhang then picked up the conversation again, sitting across from Mama Wang with envy written all over her face.
The remaining neighbors took one look at Madam Zhang’s posture and knew nothing good was coming. Wang Cheng’s family was rising in the village now, and none of them wanted to offend Papa Wang or Mama Wang, so they quickly found excuses to leave.
“Sometimes I really wonder why I don’t have your luck. Third Brother only picked up a baby from outside, and now that child has made him the richest man in Guanjia Village. I’m so jealous. If I’d known, I would’ve gone out and picked up a baby myself back then.” Madam Zhang dropped the shocking words as casually as if they were ordinary gossip.
Mama Wang looked at her coldly. “Second Sister-in-law said it yourself. You simply don’t have that kind of luck.”
Madam Zhang’s expression stiffened, and much of the smile disappeared from her face. Malice crept into her tone. “I wonder what Wang Cheng would think if he knew he was picked up. If it were me, I’d be devastated. Imagine finding out the parents you’ve always respected aren’t your biological parents at all. Though when you think about it, it isn’t that strange. What real parents would hand their own child over to someone else? Only a child who wasn’t really theirs could be treated so casually.”
Mama Wang shot to her feet and stared down at Madam Zhang. “If you dare say anything you shouldn’t in front of Chengcheng, I won’t let you off even if I come back as a ghost.” Madam Zhang was frightened by the look on her face and felt a chill run through her, yet she still stubbornly shot back, “What, are you afraid Chengcheng will stop supporting you once he learns the truth? In the end, you’re just after his money.”
“Bullshit.” Mama Wang snapped, “Second Sister-in-law, do you think everyone is as calculating as you? I don’t need Chengcheng to support me. Money means nothing. It’s not like I’m short of the few coins he has. Chengcheng is my son. He was my son before and he’ll be my son in the future. Even if his biological parents come looking for him one day, he will still be my son.”
“What noble words. Who knows whether…”
“That’s enough!”
Madam Zhang jumped and turned to stare at Papa Wang in shock.
Papa Wang drew hard on his cigarette, then crushed it out in the ashtray. He rarely smoked, and even more rarely did so in front of his family, but today was an exception. The events of those years were not something that could be explained in a few simple sentences.
Mama Wang glanced at him, then turned back to Madam Zhang. “I respect you because you’re my second sister-in-law. There are some things you’d better let rot in your stomach. Otherwise, don’t blame me for forgetting the ties between our families. If I wanted to make it impossible for your family to remain in Guanjia Village, it wouldn’t be beyond me.”
“You!” Madam Zhang was stunned. Mama Wang’s words completely overturned her previous impression of Guan Lanfang. Was this really the Guan Lanfang she knew? She was threatening her? Madam Zhang could barely believe it, but she still did not dare test Mama Wang’s bottom line.
Madam Zhang fled in a panic.