A few days earlier, Wang Ningkai’s company had run into so many problems that he had eventually been forced to transfer ownership. Before long, however, a crowd of creditors gathered outside his house. After selling the company, Wang Ningkai had used part of the proceeds to repay debts and pocketed the rest, leaving the workers’ wages unpaid. The workers were furious. They blocked the entrance to his home and demanded their money. Madam Li and Old Madam Wang were accustomed to comfortable lives, and neither could bear the thought of suddenly returning to their former poverty. So they refused to pay.
Now dozens of workers gathered outside Wang Ningkai’s house in Guanjia Village every day, shouting and waving flags and large banners demanding repayment. They blocked the doorway and refused to move. Until Wang Ningkai paid them, they would not disperse.
Swallowing up other people’s hard-earned wages was an immoral thing to do.
Unfortunately, most of the workers had never signed formal employment contracts when they went to work for Wang Ningkai’s company. Many knew little about the law. With Wang Ningkai and his father hiding in Guanjia Village and refusing to come out, the workers had no choice but to confront them at home.
They might want a comfortable life, but the workers had children to feed. They would not let the matter rest without being paid. Some were so furious that they even began throwing stones at the house.
Windows that had been installed less than a year earlier were shattered. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, someone would knock on the door or make a clattering racket outside, leaving the family unable to sleep. Madam Li and Old Madam Wang were terrified. Even so, they still refused to part with the money.
The standoff continued for two days before Secretary Guan finally intervened. He told the workers they could pursue their wages through proper legal channels. Whether or not they had written contracts, as long as they could produce evidence establishing an employment relationship with Wang Ningkai, the unpaid wages were owed to them.
If Wang Ningkai still refused to pay, therefore, the workers could take him and his father to court under the relevant law.
When word of this spread, Madam Li and Old Madam Wang were frightened.
If anything happened to Wang Ningkai and his father, their lives would become still more difficult. Over the years, they had come to regard the two men as the pillars supporting the household.
Wang Ningkai and his father also understood the gravity of the situation. Going to court would only make things worse. The next time the workers gathered outside their home, Wang Hongwei, as head of the household, finally came forward. He promised everyone that they would get their wages, but said the family was short of cash and asked for a few more days.
The workers naturally refused. Some feared the family would use the delay to run away, so they insisted on remaining. At last, Secretary Guan intervened again and proposed that Wang Hongwei pay part of the wages immediately to reassure everyone. After much hesitation, Wang Hongwei reluctantly agreed.
“Do we really have to pay?” Madam Li asked miserably as she watched her husband take one hundred thousand yuan in cash from the safe. In the past they might not have thought much of such a sum, but things were different now. How could they live without that money? Their son still wanted to make a comeback, and there was not much left in the safe.
“If we don’t pay, are we supposed to let them block our door every day until they take Hongwei and Ningkai to court?” Grandpa Wang said. He cared a great deal about saving face, yet matters had reached the point where he barely dared to leave the house. “If word spreads, who will ever work for Ningkai again when he starts another company?”
Old Madam Wang was unhappy, but her husband had a point. “Your father is right. Sometimes you have to give something up to gain something. Right now we can only pay a little to calm those people down.”
Since even Old Madam Wang had spoken, Madam Li had no choice but to give in. She stood in the doorway with an aching heart and watched her husband distribute all one hundred thousand yuan, down to the last note. They also had to promise that the rest of the wages would be paid within three days. Only then did the workers leave, and even then they were reluctant.
That was what they had promised, but if they could not find more money elsewhere within three days, they would have to pay out of their own pockets. Madam Li was so anxious that sores began appearing at the corners of her mouth.
That evening, an unexpected visitor came to their home.
The two sides talked for half an hour. After the guest left, Wang Ningkai’s family seemed filled with new hope. For the first time in days, everyone slept soundly. Early the following morning, Old Madam Wang and Madam Li ate breakfast, then shut themselves in a room to discuss matters for more than an hour. When they finally emerged, they headed straight for Wang Cheng’s family home. They had learned that Guan Lanfang and her husband were both at home today.
After the New Year, Wang Cheng’s jam business had hired two more workers, both from Wangjia Village. One was a younger man with an easy-to-remember name, Wang Da. His schooling was limited, and better employers were unlikely to hire him. Working away from home did not leave him with much after rent, so he had returned to the village. Papa Wang had watched him grow up.
The other was Second Uncle Guan’s wife. Second Uncle Guan was the middle-aged man who had sold seeds to Wang Cheng, and his wife came from Wangjia Village. Their son and daughter were both attending university, which was expensive. Even though the family ran a small shop, its earnings were not enough to cover the children’s tuition and living costs, so Second Aunt Guan had also gone looking for work.
Wang Cheng’s Third Aunt had taken the place of his Eldest Aunt for the time being. With these workers handling things, Papa Wang and Mama Wang no longer needed to help at the jam business so often. They occasionally went over, but spent most of their time enjoying a fairly leisurely life at home. Mama Wang was watering vegetables in the backyard when she heard voices at the front. She came out and found Old Madam Wang and Madam Li. Old Madam Wang held her head high as though her very presence were an honor to Papa Wang’s household. Madam Li, on the other hand, was unusually pleasant, smiling at them.
“Hongxin, Lanfang, why haven’t you come over to visit lately? Mom and Dad have both missed you. We happened to be free today, so we thought we’d come see you,” Madam Li said, taking the initiative to be friendly.
Papa Wang and Mama Wang were both surprised, but after everything that had happened, whatever feeling they still had for Old Madam Wang had largely been replaced by mere courtesy.
“If there’s something you need, just say it. Hongxin and I have things to do in a while.”
Mama Wang did not believe they had come because they missed them. Thinking of what had been happening lately, she suspected this visit had something to do with the unpaid wages. A bad feeling settled over her.
Old Madam Wang immediately looked displeased at what sounded like an attempt to send them away.
Madam Li discreetly soothed her. They had come to ask for a favor. If Old Madam Wang went too far, she would only anger Wang Hongxin and his wife.
Whether Old Madam Wang had genuinely understood the situation or not, she managed to hold her temper.
Satisfied, Madam Li sighed and put on an embarrassed expression. “Since you have other things to do, I’ll get to the point. You must have heard what happened to Eldest Brother’s family. Hongwei and I finally scraped together one hundred thousand yuan to send away those workers blocking our door. We promised to find the rest of the money and pay them within three days. But as you know, Ningkai’s company has collapsed and we’ve lost a great deal. There really isn’t much money left at home, and we still owe them quite a lot. If we don’t pay within three days, they’ll take Ningkai and Hongwei to court. Your parents and I have no other choice. We can’t very well sell the house, so we wanted to borrow some money from you to get through this emergency. Once we’re through the worst of it, we’ll definitely pay you back.”
Papa Wang was taken aback by her words. Madam Li was normally so arrogant that hearing her speak this humbly was a first. Mama Wang was not nearly so easily swayed, however. “How much are you hoping to borrow, Sister-in-law?”
Madam Li thought Mama Wang was yielding, and she brightened immediately. “Not very much. Given your family’s circumstances now, you should be able to afford it. Just three hundred thousand yuan.”
They did not actually need that much. They had done the calculations: after the one hundred thousand already paid, another two hundred thousand would settle the wages. They had deliberately added extra. If they could get the money, they could decide for themselves when to pay it back. And if they could not borrow the full amount, they could bargain it down.
“Just three hundred thousand?” Mama Wang asked sarcastically. “Sister-in-law certainly has a generous definition of ‘not very much.’ Your company has gone bankrupt, yet three hundred thousand is still ‘just’ a little money to you? Why do you need to borrow from us at all?”
Madam Li’s expression stiffened.
“What kind of attitude is that?” Old Madam Wang exploded. “Now that you’re rich, you think you can look down on us? Don’t forget you’re still a daughter-in-law of the Wang family!”
Mama Wang was not afraid of her. She smiled. “Mom, you must be mistaken. How is our family rich? The jam business doesn’t belong to Hongxin or me. Chengcheng built it himself, and the money is his. Besides, Chengcheng isn’t a descendant of the Wang family. What was it you said when Hongxin first found him? I remember it clearly. You said you would never acknowledge a bastard picked up by the roadside as your grandson.”
When it came to holding grudges, Mama Wang might not have ranked first, but she would certainly have placed second.
“Outrageous! Is that any way to speak to your elders?” Old Madam Wang was furious. She immediately turned on Papa Wang. “Do you still consider me your mother? Are you going to let your wife speak to your sister-in-law like that and treat your own mother this way? I should never have given birth to you!”
Papa Wang frowned. Old Madam Wang’s attitude toward him had remained the same for decades. What more could he possibly expect from her now? “Lanfang isn’t wrong. The money belongs to Chengcheng. If Sister-in-law wants to borrow it, Chengcheng will have to agree.”
“Are you trying to anger me to death?” Old Madam Wang could hardly recognize this disobedient son of hers.
Mama Wang said, “Mom, please don’t say that. I’ve heard Ningkai still has an apartment in the city, doesn’t he? No one lives there now. If Sister-in-law is short of money, why not sell it? I remember Sister-in-law saying that place was worth a million yuan. Sell it, and you’ll have enough to pay the three hundred thousand owed in wages, with another seven hundred thousand left over. Perhaps Ningkai could even use that money to get back on his feet.”
“Absolutely not!” Madam Li objected without a moment’s thought.