Cheng Lang saw a glint of teasing slyness in Feng Man’s eyes, and only then did he slowly calm down. In that instant, he had almost believed…
Before he could answer, Feng Man withdrew her momentum first and smiled brightly as she lectured her husband. “In the future, if there are any big gossip matters, remember to tell me in advance. Otherwise, if I cause a blunder and enthusiastically invite the two elders to sit together for a meal, wouldn’t that be a bit awkward?”
“Mm, alright.” Cheng Lang’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he softly agreed.
He truly did not have the habit of gossiping with others, but that was for outsiders. Feng Man was his wife, so of course it was different.
As the two talked, a burst of bickering suddenly came from the courtyard. The strong-willed Cheng Yulan and the sharp-tongued Chen Xingyao were arguing over whose bone the Big Yellow Dog preferred to eat.
“Chen Xingyao, how old are you? Little Yellow can’t finish it, and you’re still feeding it. Don’t stuff it until it bursts later.”
“Cheng Yulan, I’m not saying anything bad about you, but why do you always meddle in everything? Little Yellow just loves the bones I feed it.”
Feng Man had not expected the two to have this kind of vibe. Either they had not finished a sentence at the dinner table earlier, or now that they were bickering, neither would yield.
At first glance, they seemed at odds, but upon closer thought, one could indeed detect something off.
After seeing off the guest Chen Xingyao and closing the front gate, everyone retired to rest. Feng Man took a bath and washed her hair before returning to the room. When the hairdryer was plugged in and rumbling loudly, she was still pestering Cheng Lang for gossip.
When Cheng Lang had headed south back then, he had not known the inside story. He had gone to the largest Liberation Mine District in Ink River to find work. At that time, Chen Xingyao was the renowned big shot in the industry that Cheng Lang had heard about from others—unkempt, without any airs, able to chat with anyone, and with skills that everyone praised.
This man was famously a workaholic and unlike others who loved taking disciples. Chen Xingyao was willing to answer questions for anyone; whoever came up to ask about mining matters, he would answer without reservation. But he refused to formally take even one disciple, saying it was too troublesome.
Cheng Lang never sought to invite rejection, so naturally he would not approach the man. Until Chen Xingyao took the initiative to find him and said he wanted to take him as a disciple.
Feng Man listened intently and calculated the time—it had been seven years ago. “Master Chen just wanted to get close to Little Aunt through you?”
“It can’t be called getting close. The two of them love to argue whenever they meet, but perhaps Master wanted an excuse to argue a couple times.” At the time, Cheng Lang had not known about the connection between Chen Xingyao and his little aunt. He had only asked one question: why take him as a disciple? Chen Xingyao thought the man was odd—plenty of people scrambled to become his disciple, yet this one hesitated.
But Chen Xingyao did not follow convention either. He only said he liked this one’s uncompetitive temperament, different from others.
After becoming Chen Xingyao’s disciple, Cheng Lang was envied by the people in the Mine District for a long time. Everyone said his luck was too good; having such a master was like soaring into the sky. And when Cheng Lang and his little aunt’s family happened to run into Chen Xingyao at a restaurant outside, Cheng Lang keenly sensed something amiss. After asking his cousin Fan Zhenghua, he finally learned the truth.
Over thirty years ago, Chen Xingyao had met Cheng Yulan in Ink River. At that time, one was a brash young man in the Mine District, the other a new wife who had followed her husband south to seek relatives. Chen Xingyao was in charge of a mining project that needed some materials purchased, so he crossed paths with Cheng Yulan, who had gone to help out. Gradually, the love-struck Chen Xingyao fell for her. He found it especially exciting when she put her hands on her hips and scolded the shrewd supplier boss trying to cheat her, and amazing when she swung a broom to thrash a punk trying to harass her. Little by little, he developed feelings for her.
Chen Xingyao had never experienced anything like this before. The workaholic only realized what it was called—liking—after reacting like a fool. Then he secretly gave her wildflowers picked by the roadside or brought some snacks to give her. Cheng Yulan noticed his little intentions right away. Being straightforward, she directly told him she was married.
Chen Xingyao was indeed stunned for a moment. He had never imagined his beloved was already married with a child. He went back heartbroken and dejected for quite a while.
Cheng Yulan thought the matter was settled. He had not known she was married before and had some pursuit intentions, but now it would surely pass. Who would have thought that three months later, Chen Xingyao appeared again, even dropping a bombshell: asking Cheng Yulan to consider him. After all, men could have three wives and four concubines back then, and women could now too… At worst, he would be on the outside, her man on the inside, and everyone could coexist peacefully.
She directly chased him out!
From then on, Cheng Yulan gave Chen Xingyao the cold shoulder whenever they met, thinking the man was deranged…
Eight years ago, Cheng Yulan’s husband passed away from illness. Chen Xingyao learned of it half a year later and thought his long wait in line might finally pay off. But Cheng Yulan had deep feelings for her late husband and stubbornly refused to remarry, so many more years passed just like that.
Feng Man was truly shocked by that line from Cheng Lang’s master: men could have three wives and four concubines back then, and women could now too. That mindset was way ahead of its time!
“So your master has been persistently pursuing her all along?” Feng Man could not help but ask curiously.
“No, actually Master rarely shows up in front of Little Aunt, worried about annoying her.” Both Cheng Lang and Fan Zhenghua had been entrusted by Chen Xingyao with things to deliver—sometimes tonics for the body, sometimes little trinkets like fresh flowers. Nephew and son could still claim they bought supplements like astragalus, angelica, or wild ginseng to show filial piety themselves. But flowers? Sending those directly exposed him.
Chen Xingyao did not care. He had them deliver from time to time, and only quieted down after getting scolded by Cheng Yulan.
After listening to stories all evening, Feng Man woke up the next day still marveling. In the morning, while preparing food with her cousin-in-law, she brought it up. Dong Xiaojuan naturally sighed too. “Actually, Master Chen is pretty good. I noticed Mother-in-law treats him differently from others.”
“Really?” Feng Man felt like she had heard some earth-shattering secret. “How is she different?”
Dong Xiaojuan said solemnly, “She scolds him especially bluntly.”
Feng Man: QAQ
As the two chatted about the past, Feng Man still had one puzzle unsolved. “But speaking of which, Cousin-in-law, you said Master Chen took A-Lang as a disciple back then to have a reason to get closer to Little Aunt. Why not just take Hua-ge directly? A son would be much closer.”
No matter how you looked at it, taking someone’s own son as a disciple made the relationship obviously closer.
Dong Xiaojuan did not hesitate at all. “Master Chen didn’t want to take a disciple and get dragged down by the kid’s stupidity to death.”
Feng Man: “…”
Truly a devoted wife—zero hesitation in badmouthing her own husband.
“You don’t know how strict Master Chen is, how high his standards are. No one in the entire Mine District could catch his eye! He took A-Lang as a disciple partly because of Mother-in-law, but A-Lang’s own skills were very important too.” Dong Xiaojuan was quite knowledgeable about the events back then.
……
Just as Cheng Lang had said, after observing for a few more days, Feng Man saw that Master Chen truly did not persistently pursue Little Aunt. The old man was busy with work to begin with and did not dare casually come over during his free time to get scolded. As Chen Xingyao put it, getting scolded once every ten days or half a month was enough; more was no good.
With no elders’ bickering in the home, a new wave arose instead.
A week after Fan You Shan secretly altered his scores, he was finally discovered by his old mother!
Ever since Dong Xiaojuan learned her son had scored 98 in Chinese and 99 in math on his final exam, she wanted to proclaim it to the world, bragging to everyone she met with a grin that would not close.
That day, Fang Yue’s daughter had a fever and was ill, so she did not go to the river to catch fish. Dong Xiaojuan went to the aquatic market alone to buy fish. As the fishmonger scooped the fish into a bag and tallied the price at nine-nine, Dong Xiaojuan paid happily. “Nice number. My son scored the same in math, ninety-nine. But he’s only in first grade; he has to keep it up.”
Coincidentally, the daughter of the fishmonger next door was also in first grade at Mining Elementary School. She was helping her parents at the moment and laughed upon hearing. “Sis, what’s your son’s name? My daughter’s in first grade too, Class 2 at the mine elementary. She got 96 in math. Didn’t expect your son to be even better.”
“Oh my, my son is in Class 2 at Mining Elementary too!” Dong Xiaojuan was thrilled and gave her son’s full name. “Fan You Shan. We’re quite fated.”
“Ah? Fan You Shan?” The fishmonger’s daughter was stunned and could not help muttering, “I heard my daughter say her deskmate didn’t do too well. Math 79, Chinese 78. Seems like it was Fan You Shan.”
The smile on Dong Xiaojuan’s face instantly froze. “What did you say?”
……
Feng Man noticed that when her cousin-in-law returned from buying fish that morning and started killing and filleting the fish to prepare food, something was off.
The cutting board was nearly chopped apart, and the knife went thud-thud-thud-thud endlessly, as if laced with anger.
“Cousin-in-law, are you alright?” Feng Man had spent months with Dong Xiaojuan and knew early on that her cousin-in-law wore her emotions on her face and did not hide things well. She could tell at a glance that she was upset.
“I’m fine!” Dong Xiaojuan did not let it interrupt her work. Everything could wait until the food was prepared.
By the time they finished bustling before lunchtime, Dong Xiaojuan said she wanted to rest for the day and asked Feng Man and Yuan Qiumei to handle the stall. Feng Man thought Dong Xiaojuan was unwell and naturally agreed.
As she left, she looked back and saw her cousin-in-law cleaning the stove, even rolling up her sleeves deliberately, looking ready for a big showdown. At the alley entrance, she ran into Xiaoshan playing with his little friends and hurriedly instructed him. “Xiaoshan, your mom doesn’t seem to be feeling well today. Go back and check on her.”
“Got it.” Fan You Shan agreed readily.
The stall’s food still sold out quickly that day. With Saturday approaching and the end of the Gregorian year, everyone was willing to spend, rewarding themselves. The miners lined up, and suddenly a familiar figure emerged from the crowd.
Everyone was already used to Cheng Lang dropping by occasionally. After all, who could say anything if the boss of Feng’s gave her man a little extra?
“You got off work pretty early today?” Feng Man knew that mine bosses in the startup phase had few privileges and were even more hands-on and tiring than regular workers. She immediately gave Cheng Lang a sesame flatbread and ladled him a bowl of milky white fish soup.
Cheng Lang stood by the stall, wolfed down the flatbread in a few bites, and finished the fish soup. His body felt warm and comfortable. Just as he was about to tease Feng Man about her booming business, something tugged at his pant leg.
He looked down and saw the Big Yellow Dog by his feet, wagging its tail and nipping at his pant leg repeatedly.
“Hey, how did Little Yellow get here!” Feng Man was both surprised and delighted, but she had no idea what was going on. She looked around but did not see Xiaoshan or her cousin-in-law.
Little Yellow trotted two steps to Feng Man’s side and tugged at the hem of her windbreaker, pulling outward.
Cheng Lang and Feng Man sensed something wrong, as if Little Yellow was trying to lead them somewhere.
“Sister Qiumei, watch the stall for a bit. I have something to handle.” Feng Man thought of her cousin-in-law’s expression that morning. Could something have happened because she was unwell? She quickly called to Fang Hong at the neighboring stall. “Sister Hong, trouble you to help watch Sister Qiumei’s stall too.”
“Sure, go handle your business.” Fang Hong’s stall had improved thanks to Feng’s, and pitching in occasionally was common, so she did not refuse.
Cheng Lang and Feng Man followed Little Yellow away. Seeing it run toward home, their hearts sank. “Could Cousin-in-law… aiya~”
They had just reached the gate when, before Feng Man could finish, they heard wailing from the courtyard, accompanied by the sight of someone being chased with a feather duster—a scene of total chaos.
Fan You Shan clutched his butt and ran in circles, pursued by the furious Dong Xiaojuan swinging the feather duster.
“Mom, I was wrong, I was wrong! Ouch, my butt hurts so much!”
“You’re capable, huh? You even dared to alter your scores! If I don’t teach you a lesson today, I bet you’ll reach for the skies next time!”
Feng Man and Cheng Lang stared in shock at the pandemonium in the yard and exchanged a glance, finally understanding.
So Xiaoshan’s final exam report card scores had been altered by himself?!
“Uncle, Auntie, Little Yellow, save me!” Fan You Shan had taken a couple swats on the butt, which now faintly ached. Spotting his saviors, his eyes lit up as he pounced over and hid behind Cheng Lang and Feng Man.