Guanjia Village looked no different from usual. The only real change was at Wang Cheng’s home.
Papa Wang and Mama Wang appeared to be carrying on normally, but anyone could see from their haggard faces that something weighed heavily on them. They said nothing, yet everyone knew. Usually the couple were diligent to the point of being busier than most people in the village, constantly running here and there. Over the past two days, however, they had hardly moved.
Third Aunt Guan and her husband often passed their house and saw the two of them sitting in the living room sighing. Third Aunt Guan liked gossip, but even she could only feel sorry when she saw them like this.
As usual, Third Uncle Guan came outside to throw away the trash. A car suddenly stopped in front of Wang Cheng’s house, and a man in a suit stepped out. From the side, the stranger looked so strangely familiar that Third Uncle Guan blurted out a name in surprise.
“Wang Cheng?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Third Uncle Guan realized something was wrong. The man turned toward him, and from the front he looked completely different. Besides, Wang Cheng could not possibly return suddenly at a time like this, and the car was wrong too. Their houses stood next to each other, so Third Uncle Guan often saw the Wang family’s vehicle. This car was black as well, but the model and brand were different.
Still, Wang Cheng had only just been exposed as not being Papa Wang and Guan Lanfang’s biological son, and now a man appeared whose profile resembled him somewhat. Could it really be what Third Uncle Guan was thinking?
While he was still wondering, Papa Wang and Mama Wang hurried outside. Third Uncle Guan’s voice had carried loudly enough that they heard him from the living room and thought their son had returned. But when they saw Zheng Jingen, both froze.
“Mr. Zheng, why are you here?”
Papa Wang had never wondered why Zheng Jingen and Wang Cheng looked similar. The resemblance was visible only from certain angles, and in his eyes the two had never seemed especially alike. Even if they did, he would not have thought much of it.
This was the first time Mama Wang had seen Zheng Jingen in person. But because of Third Uncle Guan’s shout, she instinctively studied him. There really was some resemblance. There could not be that many coincidences in the world. A vague suspicion began to rise in her mind.
“Uncle Wang, Auntie Guan, I came because there’s something important I’d like to discuss with you. It concerns Wang Cheng,” Zheng Jingen said.
Papa Wang still had not understood, but Mama Wang’s expression had already changed.
Third Uncle Guan was not like his wife and usually had little interest in village gossip. Still, his wife loved talking about it, and this particular matter was significant enough that even he was curious. Could this man who had just appeared really have some connection to Wang Cheng? Papa Wang had not invited him inside, so Third Uncle Guan could hardly stay and eavesdrop.
Wang Cheng still had no idea Zheng Jingen had already gone to see his parents. Although he did not plan to return to Guanjia Village for the time being, the jam shops still needed him, and he certainly could not abandon the jam factory either. Otherwise all the effort he had invested until now would have gone to waste.
The renovation of the new jam shop was nearly finished. That morning, the renovation company called and asked him to come inspect the result. If anything dissatisfied him, they would do their best to modify it. He had originally planned to go several days ago but never made it.
That afternoon, after telling Chu Yifeng where he was going, Wang Cheng went to inspect the shop.
The place had not yet been fully cleaned, but Wang Cheng was already very satisfied with the renovation. The overall design used warm tones, and the materials were the best available. They had kept the space ventilated throughout the work, so there was no overwhelming renovation smell when he entered.
Wang Cheng said he was satisfied. After confirming everything with the person sent by the renovation company, he paid the remaining balance. Before leaving, the workers even helped dispose of some useless materials, making the shop immediately look much cleaner. Only then did Wang Cheng call his cousin Jiahe. Guan Jiahe lived in Guanjia Village, so there was no way he had not heard what happened. When he answered Wang Cheng’s call, he sounded momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting to hear from him. His voice was even a little cautious, and he asked whether Wang Cheng needed help.
Wang Cheng grinned. He really was not that fragile. Otherwise he would still be sitting in Chu Yifeng’s suite grieving over who his biological parents might be instead of standing here thinking about the shop’s opening. “Cousin, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I called because the jam shop in the city is finished. The sign will be delivered in two days. You and Uncle Liang should start getting ready.”
“Oh, all right. Do you need us to come over and help first?” Guan Jiahe sounded dazed by how normal Wang Cheng seemed, but his tone really did not sound like anything was wrong.
“No need. I’ll let you know once I have everything arranged.”
After hanging up, Guan Jiahe thought about it and decided to tell his aunt and uncle the news. Knowing Wang Cheng had begun to move forward again would surely make them happy. But when he called, the phone rang for a long time before anyone answered. Papa Wang picked up, his voice obviously distracted.
“Uncle, Chengcheng called me just now. He talked about the new shop. I think he’s doing fine now, so you two don’t need to worry about him.” Guan Jiahe felt puzzled, but did not think too deeply about it. He assumed Papa Wang was still affected by what happened at the engagement banquet.
“Thank you, Jiahe. If Chengcheng calls you again, remember to let us know.” Papa Wang finally sounded a little more spirited.
“I will.”
Over the next two days, Wang Cheng moved back and forth between the apartment and the new shop. He and Chu Yifeng had already returned to living at the apartment. Today, the new shop’s sign arrived. Wang Cheng had someone put it up. The tables and chairs he ordered yesterday were delivered too, and he arranged them personally. Then he called the jam factory and had a batch of jam sent over. Wang Cheng was not particular about grand opening ceremonies. After returning home, he discussed it with Chu Yifeng and simply picked an opening date, then notified his cousin and Uncle Liang.
At the same time, good luck seemed to fall into Wang Xiaoyan’s father’s lap. His company suddenly received a major order worth two million yuan, leaving the entire family ecstatic. Normally, the company’s orders ranged from a few thousand to a little over a hundred thousand yuan. Orders over two hundred thousand were rare, let alone one worth millions.
When Wang Ningkai heard the news, he was both envious and jealous at first, then delighted. His company did business with Wang Xiaoyan’s father’s company, and the two families were about to become in-laws. A large order for one side meant his own company could benefit as well. Over the next two days, Wang Ningkai accompanied Wang Xiaoyan to her family home far more often, calling her parents Father-in-law and Mother-in-law at every turn. His attitude was completely different from his earlier coolness. Once Madam Li and Wang Hongwei heard about it, they started urging their son and Wang Xiaoyan to settle the wedding date quickly. Bind the two companies together now, and backing out later would become much harder.
Wang Xiaoyan also wanted to marry Wang Ningkai as soon as possible because she had noticed someone seemed to be eyeing her fiancé. She was certain she could see calculation in the eyes of female employees at his company when they looked at him. What she did not realize was that things were not what she imagined at all.
The reason Wang Ningkai had become well known was still Lisa. A man who had been dumped by Lisa was someone only Wang Xiaoyan would treasure like a prize. Of course, Wang Ningkai’s skill at coaxing women helped too. When he dated Lisa, she had been even harder to please than Wang Xiaoyan, and he had put immense effort into keeping her happy. Compared with that, winning over an inexperienced woman like Wang Xiaoyan was effortless.
And so the wedding arrangements moved rapidly forward.
Wang Xiaoyan’s mother found someone skilled at fortune-telling to choose a date. They settled on December 19, the ninth day of the lunar month, a Saturday and an auspicious day for marriage. There was no other suitable date that month. Otherwise, they would have had to wait until the end of the following month.
At first, Wang Xiaoyan’s father wanted to wait until the next month because the nineteenth was too rushed. But the fortune-teller said the nineteenth was even better than any date next month, an opportunity that came only once in a hundred years. If they missed it, the marriage might face many difficulties. Wang Ningkai then stepped in at the right moment and declared sincerely that he too could not wait to marry Wang Xiaoyan. His words delighted her so much that the date was finalized.
With very little time left before the nineteenth, both families began preparing at full speed. Madam Li no longer had spare attention to devote to what was happening in Guanjia Village.
This time, they did not plan to invite all those relatives from the Wang side. Wang Xiaoyan’s mother looked down on them as people who were unsophisticated and ill-mannered. She also claimed that this time they would be inviting people of status, and if something embarrassing happened like at the engagement banquet, they would lose tremendous face. In reality, the guests she considered so important were merely business contacts from companies about the same size as theirs.
Madam Li disliked hearing Wang Xiaoyan’s mother criticize the Wang family, since they themselves were part of it, but she agreed with the rest. So on the groom’s side, the only relatives they planned to invite were their immediate household and Old Madam Wang and her husband. They did not even intend to invite Madam Zhang, despite how often the two families interacted.
Later, Old Madam Wang accidentally let this slip. Madam Zhang, already prone to jealousy, found out. She had been planning to attend Wang Ningkai’s wedding and had even discussed with Wang Hongwen how they might use the occasion to meet some of the Wang family’s business contacts and perhaps find an opportunity for Wang Ningshan. Now that the door had been slammed shut, Madam Zhang turned around and spread the story everywhere, telling everyone that Wang Ningkai’s family had said the Wang relatives were all ill-mannered and would only embarrass them.
Wangjia Village no longer existed, but many of the older generation from the clan were still alive. They all belonged to the same lineage. Even if the blood ties were distant, they were still relatives. Once Madam Zhang spread the story, those elders became furious.
Old Madam Wang was so angry she wanted to beat Madam Zhang. But Madam Zhang was not the kind of woman who stood still and took a beating, and Wang Hongwen sided with his wife. Old Madam Wang could do nothing to her, so she called her eldest son and told him what had happened.
When Eldest Uncle heard, he nearly choked with rage. Offending the Wang clan could create problems for their family even if they no longer planned to live in Guanjia Village. If the elders became truly angry, they might even remove the family from the Wang clan genealogy.
To calm the clan’s anger, Eldest Uncle had no choice but to rewrite the wedding guest list and add more than a dozen relatives from the groom’s side. To avoid leaving anyone grounds for criticism, he invited both the second and third brothers’ families as well. The invitations were delivered the next day through Madam Zhang. Mama Wang threw theirs out and made it clear they would not attend. Madam Zhang picked it up, placed it in the storage box beside the door, and left. Her own goal had already been achieved. Whether the third brother’s family attended had nothing to do with her.