A light rain began to fall on and off. It seemed to herald winter’s true arrival, and the temperature dropped several degrees all at once. Pedestrians hurried along, and anyone dressed too lightly rushed home. Only home could warm them up again.
Seeing that there were no customers, Wang Cheng simply closed the shop and headed home. There were already few people left on the street, apart from a handful of women carrying umbrellas as they made their way to the market to buy ingredients for dinner.
He parked outside and ran through the rain into the courtyard. There was a metal awning overhead. After brushing the raindrops from his clothes, he headed toward the house, but before stepping inside, he heard a voice. Peering in, he saw that the speaker was none other than the man who had joined forces with the medicinal-herb merchant to try to cheat his family out of their herbs, and who, in name at least, was still Papa Wang’s friend.
The man’s surname was Huang. He was originally from elsewhere and had moved to a village near Wangjia Village ten years ago. After marrying a woman from Wangjia Village, he had settled there permanently. He had met Papa Wang through his wife, and the two families had been on fairly good terms for many years.
Ever since Wang Cheng and his parents began suspecting that his motives were impure, they had been on guard against him. They had not told him that the medicinal herbs had already been sold to Che Fan. Several days passed like that. Perhaps unable to hold back any longer, Huang Fulai had finally come directly to their door.
“Brother Wang, have you made up your mind yet? Boss Xu called me this morning and asked whether you’re selling or not. He came from out of town and won’t be staying in Shanhai City for long. If you’re planning to sell, the sooner the better. Once you miss this chance, there won’t be another one.”
Huang Fulai put on a worried expression as though he were genuinely thinking of their best interests. Little did he know that the Wang family had already seen through him. A face that had once seemed honest and good-natured now looked thoroughly detestable. Mama Wang had to restrain herself from exposing him and falling out with him on the spot.
“Uncle Huang.” Wang Cheng walked in and greeted him with a beaming smile.
The instant Huang Fulai saw him, his expression became somewhat unnatural. He had deliberately chosen a time when Wang Cheng was not home because he was afraid Wang Cheng might see through him. He was confident he could fool Papa Wang and Mama Wang, but Wang Cheng, whom he understood less well, made him more uneasy.
“Wang Cheng. Why are you home so early today?”
“Am I not allowed to come home early? Or are you worried I’ll interfere with whatever you’re doing, Uncle Huang?” Wang Cheng sat down in front of him, his words laden with meaning.
Huang Fulai’s face stiffened. “Of course not.”
“Good. Then let’s talk about that batch of medicinal herbs.” Wang Cheng smiled and nodded.
Huang Fulai immediately perked up. He had spent the past few days at home waiting for news from them, yet the Wang family had remained completely silent. Worried that something had gone wrong, he had finally been unable to resist coming over to sound them out. “So, what have you decided?”
Wang Cheng shook his head. “The price he offered is too low. We’re not selling to him.”
“What?” Huang Fulai froze. “But the price is low because the medicinal effect of your herbs has deteriorated. You know that once medicinal efficacy drops, many merchants won’t buy the herbs at all. Boss Xu is willing to buy them now, which makes this a rare opportunity!”
“That so-called decline in efficacy is nothing more than his one-sided claim. You know perfectly well, Uncle Huang, that before my family contracted North Mountain, villagers from the surrounding area used to go there to gather medicinal herbs whenever they got sick. After drinking medicine brewed from those herbs, they recovered just fine. That’s nothing like his claim that the herbs are ineffective. I discussed it with my parents, and we think that man is more likely trying to trick us so he can buy our herbs cheaply.”
Cold sweat broke out across Huang Fulai’s back as Wang Cheng spoke. “But… it isn’t enough for the villagers to believe you. What if you anger Boss Xu and he starts spreading rumors? I heard he has many friends in Shanhai City. If the other medicinal-herb merchants believe what he says, then you really won’t be able to sell those herbs. You should think this over carefully.”
“Uncle Huang, why do you keep speaking up for Boss Xu? Come to think of it, weren’t you the one who introduced him to us? Could it be that…”
“Wang Cheng, there’s a limit to joking around.” Huang Fulai cut him off angrily. If something like this got out, he would be finished. If the villagers learned that he had done such a thing, he would never have a peaceful life there again, so there was absolutely no chance he would admit it.
“I haven’t even said anything yet, and you’re already reacting this strongly. Don’t tell me you have a guilty conscience, Uncle Huang?” Wang Cheng found it amusing. The man was far too easy to provoke.
Huang Fulai shot to his feet and glared furiously at them. “I kindly introduced a buyer to you. It’s one thing for you not to thank me, but now you’re accusing me of having ulterior motives? Wang Hongxin, and here I thought we were friends. I finally see what kind of people you really are. Fine. From now on, I won’t set foot through the Wang family’s door again.”
After getting those accusations out first, Huang Fulai turned to leave.
“Uncle Huang, let me tell you one more thing. We’ve already sold those medicinal herbs. The buyer is also in the medicinal-herb business, and he’s an expert. He personally inspected the batch at our house and said the exact opposite of what you did. He also offered twice your price.”
Huang Fulai stiffened. Without daring to turn around, he walked away. He had been exposed on the spot, so what dignity did he have left? All the righteous indignation he had shown a moment earlier disappeared.
However, Wang Cheng and his parents had still underestimated the man’s character.
They had exposed Huang Fulai only so he would know his scheme had been discovered and would stay far away from them from then on. Most people would have done exactly that, but Huang Fulai was petty and narrow-minded.
Huang Fulai resented Wang Cheng and his parents for making a fool of him, and he was also afraid they would reveal what had happened. He therefore decided to strike first by spreading rumors that Papa Wang was ungrateful and disloyal.
Rumors first began spreading at the market. With so many people and so many mouths, plenty of news originated there. Mama Wang heard about it while buying groceries and became so furious that she cursed Huang Fulai on the spot. People who knew her saw her reaction and asked what had happened.
Mama Wang had originally had no intention of making the matter public, but since the other party refused to leave himself any room to retreat, she no longer felt any need to keep quiet. She immediately told them what Huang Fulai had done. Compared with Huang Fulai, most villagers were more willing to believe Mama Wang.
By the time Wang Cheng and Papa Wang learned about it, public opinion had already begun quietly shifting. There were still some dissenting voices, however. After all, there was no evidence proving which side was telling the truth.
No one knew what Huang Fulai was thinking, but after the matter came out into the open, he actually became more brazen. Several times, he publicly accused Wang Cheng’s family in fierce language and acted as though he were the victim. It was all an act, but some foolish villagers really did fall for it and stood on his side, repeatedly criticizing the Wang family.
Madam Zhang loved this kind of gossip, especially when it concerned Wang Cheng’s family. The moment the rumors began spreading, she immediately guessed what had really happened.
Papa Wang had always treated his friends well and was very hospitable. Huang Fulai was his friend, so there was no way Papa Wang would do something so ungrateful. Huang Fulai had to be lying. Still, Madam Zhang felt no sympathy for Wang Cheng’s family. If anything, she took a certain amount of pleasure in their misfortune and went to Eldest Uncle’s house that very afternoon.
Eldest Uncle’s family had recently been preoccupied with Wang Ningkai’s troubles. After he broke up with Lisa, his company had been affected to some extent. Some customers had done business with them only out of consideration for Lisa’s father. Now that the relationship was over, several customers worried about getting dragged into some dispute and withdrew from verbal agreements they had made. Since arrangements had already been put in place, the cancellations created enormous problems for the company. Wang Ningkai and his father were so overwhelmed that they had no energy left to concern themselves with anything else. Besides, they were somewhat wary of Wang Cheng now. Madam Li, however, was unable to help with the business and could only stay home with the two elders, occasionally joining them in cursing Wang Cheng and his parents.
They did not pay much attention to Madam Zhang’s arrival. They were in low spirits and could not even be bothered to entertain her. Madam Zhang, on the other hand, looked positively radiant. She wore such a broad smile that one might have thought she had won the lottery.
“Sister, still sulking? I brought you and Mom and Dad some wonderful news today. I guarantee you’ll all perk right up after hearing it.”
Madam Li knew Madam Zhang loved gossip more than anything. The so-called good news was probably nothing more than that, so she became even less interested. “Just say what you came to say.”
“To tell you the truth, I sympathize with you too. That little bastard Wang Cheng is really no good. But now even Heaven has finally had enough of him and sent someone to deal with their family.”
“What did you say?” At the sound of Wang Cheng’s name, Madam Li finally reacted.
“I said Heaven sent someone to deal with them. Wang Cheng and his parents won’t be having an easy time for a while.” Madam Zhang smiled.
“Explain yourself. What exactly happened?” Seeing that she was still drawing things out, Madam Li immediately grew impatient.
Madam Zhang did not mind. She quickly told her everything she had heard. Even though Huang Fulai was the one at fault, seeing Third Brother’s family suffer still made them feel considerably better.
Sure enough, Madam Li’s mood improved greatly after hearing the story, and she then shared it with the two elders. Unfortunately for them, before the family had enjoyed themselves for even a few days, the situation took a turn.