Just as Xu Ziyan and Fang Lihai were touring the Capital, Xu Xiuyun, after waiting two days to confirm her guess was likely true, returned to the Xu family to report the matter.
Xu Grandmother cried out in shock, “Is what you’re saying true? Xu Ziyan embezzled the Fang family’s money and ran away?”
Xu Xiuyun hurriedly said, “Grandmother, I don’t know if it’s true, I was just guessing. Look, I saw her sneaking away that night, dropping money and looking around before hastily picking it up. I went to her house, and her in-laws didn’t even mention her, their faces were so ugly. I said I’d give them some money for nourishment, handed over ten yuan and asked her to give me five back in change, and she couldn’t even produce the money.
This is just my wild guess, but I thought if it were true, wouldn’t the Fang family come to our old Xu family to settle the score? So I hurried back to tell you, so you’d have some idea.”
Xu Old Man puffed on his pipe and said, “Can’t be wrong. That wretched girl has been stealing and pilfering since she was little, just the kind of thing she’d do. Seems her good behavior lately was just an act to lull the old Fang family into letting their guard down, so she could steal more. Fang Lihai sends quite a bit of money home every month.”
The Xu family argued about this matter for a long time. After Xu Xiuyun returned home, the news spread throughout the village.
Some said it must be false; Xu Xiuyun and the Xu family weren’t upstanding characters, and they all had a grudge against Xu Ziyan. Could their words be trusted?
But others said Xu Ziyan was, after all, a member of the Xu family. If nothing was wrong, the Xu family wouldn’t say such things, especially since admitting they raised a ‘thief’ wasn’t exactly glorious. Them speaking out now must be to distance themselves, guarding against the Fang family coming to settle accounts.
Unfortunately, Xu Father and Xu Mother weren’t just selling breakfast anymore but also other snacks. They left early and returned late every day, impossible to catch, so naturally no one could ask them.
A villager on good terms with the Fang family came over for a visit and, during the chat, probed, “Sister-in-law, where’s your daughter-in-law? Haven’t seen her for several days. Did she go out?”
Fang Mother nodded. “Ah, yes, she went on a long trip.”
“She’s never been out before. What’s she doing on a long trip?”
Buying a house couldn’t be announced publicly. Moreover, Fang Mother knew about the plot and knew this must have been spread by Xu Xiuyun. Naturally, she wouldn’t let Xu Xiuyun have the satisfaction. “Young people’s affairs, how should we know all that? I didn’t ask.”
Fang Mother being so tight-lipped made the inquiring villager even more anxious. “Look, why are you still covering for her? Everyone knows already, she embezzled your family’s money and ran! This won’t do. You have to tell the Village Chief. If not, we should call the police to arrest her. We can’t let her cheat you like this.”
Fang Mother turned serious. “What nonsense are you spouting? Our Zi Yan is just fine. When did she embezzle money and run?”
Fang Father also frowned. “What do you mean everyone knows? Something even our family doesn’t know about, how would ‘everyone’ know? Who’s out there spreading rumors and smearing Xiao Yan’s name?”
The villager was taken aback. Seeing their expressions didn’t seem false, he awkwardly stood up and stammered, “Well… the old Xu family said it. Aren’t they Xu Ziyan’s maternal family? They wouldn’t lie, would they? Anyway, the whole village knows. I was just being kind, coming to see if you needed help. Really nothing’s wrong?”
“Something is wrong!” Fang Mother slammed the table, rolled up her sleeves, and strode out. “I’m going to the old Xu family right now to ask them how dare they slander Xiao Yan? As elders, as blood relatives, they treated Xiao Yan poorly before. Now Xiao Yan is part of my family, and I won’t let them bully her.”
The villager slapped his thigh. “Hey, wait, don’t tell them I said anything!”
Soon after, Fang Father and Fang Mother were standing at the entrance of the Xu family’s compound, shouting.
“Heartless scoundrels! Don’t do any proper work all day, just smear the younger generation’s name. Are you jealous of her good character or jealous she’s living well? Mind your own business instead of poking your nose into my family’s affairs. Do the affairs of our old Fang family need you to meddle?
Xu family, all of you, come out! If you don’t admit your mistake and apologize today, this isn’t over!”
The Xu family quickly came out. Xu Grandmother pointed at their noses and cursed, “You treat a thief like a treasure. With such a scourge appearing in the village, we’re upholding justice at the expense of family ties, not letting one bad apple spoil the barrel. Unlike you, who only know how to cover things up and are still speaking up for her now.”
Fang Mother spat. “You old hag, if you want to uphold justice, you should wipe out your whole family first. Not a single decent one among you, just know how to fabricate lies. You live miles away from my family. Do you have clairvoyance or clairaudience? ‘Thief’ this, ‘thief’ that. What did she steal? Do you have any proof?”
A member of the Xu family’s Third Branch blurted out, “Xiu Yun saw it! It was Xiu Yun who told us. She lives next door to your family, what doesn’t she know?”
Fang Father said angrily, “I knew it was that Xu Xiuyun again. Does she have a grudge against my family or what?”
Just then, the Village Chief and many villagers arrived. Fang Father said furiously, “Village Chief, you must stand up for me. That Xu Xiuyun is too hateful. It’s only been a few days since she got back from the police station, and she’s already fabricating lies to frame my daughter-in-law. That kind of person is the one bad apple that spoils the barrel. She shouldn’t be allowed to stay in the village.”
The Village Chief had someone fetch Xu Xiuyun. He was also very angry inside. This Xu Xiuyun was someone everyone had watched grow up, always fine before. Why was she causing so much trouble lately? Was it really, as his wife said, because her life was worse than her cousin’s, and she was psychologically unbalanced?
When Xu Xiuyun was brought over, her heart was pounding wildly. She never imagined things would blow up like this. She told the Xu family hoping they would spread the news, then the Village Chief would naturally inquire, the aggrieved Fang parents would cry about Xu Ziyan stealing, and the Village Chief would naturally handle it.
But the news had just started spreading; how did the Fang family come to their door to settle scores already? And why were they stubbornly refusing to admit Xu Ziyan stole anything, insisting she was fabricating lies? If this wasn’t handled well, she’d be at fault again.
Seeing it was Xu Xiuyun stirring up trouble again, everyone pointed fingers at her. Xu Xiuyun wore an expression of innocence and anxiety. “I was just speculating, I didn’t say it was definitely true. Grandfather, Grandmother, didn’t I say it wasn’t certain yet, and not to spread it?”
Xu Grandmother said, “It’s already been said, what’s the use of bringing that up now? Besides, what’s uncertain? Didn’t you see that wretched girl sneaking off late at night?”
So Xu Xiuyun reluctantly recounted what she saw once more.
Fang Mother sneered. “Xiao Yan went out to handle business and was carrying a lot of money, of course she was nervous. Is she not allowed to be careful? Who wouldn’t quickly stuff money back in their pocket if they dropped it? What if someone like you was secretly watching?”
Fang Father also said, “You suddenly show up at my door wanting to give us money, who would dare take it? Just because we didn’t give you change, you claim our money was embezzled? I think your heart is filthy; you think everyone is as you imagine.”
Fang Mother casually pulled a few yuan from her pocket. “Who said I have no money? Look, isn’t this money? We just couldn’t be bothered with you. Unsolicited kindness always has an ulterior motive. We didn’t want your nourishment money. Sure enough, you were up to no good.
And yes, we did give all our money to Xiao Yan. That’s because Xiao Yan is smart and sensible. We unanimously decided to let her manage the household. All the money is in her hands; we just kept a bit for emergencies. What of it? Can’t my daughter-in-law manage the household?”
Xu Xiuyun found this laughable. In so many village households, if the elders were still alive, who would give all their money to their daughter-in-law? It was simply impossible, so she became even more convinced Fang Mother was just being stubborn.
Moreover, she was already backed into a corner. If Xu Ziyan wasn’t the problem, then she became the problem. Naturally, she couldn’t back down. She said, “I know Battalion Commander Fang is in the army, and his family can’t afford a scandal. But if Xu Ziyan stole something, then it’s not just your family’s business; it concerns our whole village. Helping her cover it up is wrong. As a military family, you especially shouldn’t shield wrongdoing.”
These words were dripping with malice, practically saying the soldier was sheltering a thief, trying to drag Fang Lihai down with them. Fang Mother’s fury soared. She stepped forward and slapped Xu Xiuyun twice across the face. “I’ll teach you to spout nonsense! Teach you to spout nonsense!”
The Village Chief quickly had people pull her apart. This matter had two conflicting accounts; it wasn’t easy for him to handle. Although this was the Fang family’s private matter, and the Fang family said nothing was wrong, it should be treated as such. But Xu Xiuyun mentioned shielding a thief; this couldn’t be left unclear. Coincidentally, the policy had changed recently, eliminating the need for introductory letters. Otherwise, he’d have known where Xu Ziyan went.
The Village Chief said with a headache, “Old Fang, when will Xu Ziyan return? Do you have any way to contact her? Everyone will feel reassured knowing what’s really going on. If Xu Ziyan is wronged, I’ll definitely make the Xu family apologize to her.”
Fang Father said, “How can we contact her when she’s on a long trip?”
The Xu family said, “What’s she doing on a long trip for no reason? Does she have relatives out there? What’s she doing? And leaving sneakily late at night?”
Fang Mother said angrily, “What ‘sneakily’? We all knew what time she was leaving; we even saw her off at the door. How is that sneaking? Besides, she went to the city at night to meet Xiao Hai. The two of them stayed at an inn and caught the train early the next morning. It wasn’t just her alone.”
Xu Xiuyun immediately said, “Impossible! Didn’t Fang Lihai return to his unit?”
Fang Mother rolled her eyes. “What, are you a fortune teller? You know everything? Xiao Hai specifically took leave from his unit to accompany Xiao Yan on this long trip. Otherwise, how could we rest assured letting her go so far? It’s dangerous! Xu Xiuyun, who do you think you are? Guessing this and that every day, thinking you’re always right, then spreading rumors everywhere.”
Xu Xiuyun didn’t believe it. “Then tell me, where did they go? What are they suddenly doing on a long trip? This makes no sense. There’s no reasonable explanation.”
Fang Mother suddenly seemed to remember something and said to the Village Chief, “Our Xiao Yan wrote an article published in the newspaper. She went to the Capital this time specifically to meet the newspaper agency editor. I think we have the editor’s phone number at home. How about we call the editor and ask if she met Xiao Yan?”
Everyone was stunned. “What? Published an article in the newspaper?”
Xu Grandmother laughed loudly. “Don’t blow hot air. With her measly skills, can she even understand what she writes? Published? Who are you trying to fool?”
Fang Nan and Fang Bei clattered back home, grabbed a newspaper, and ran back, holding it up high and shouting, “This was written by our Mom! Our Mom is amazing! She can not only write articles, she can write novels! She’s a great writer! No one can look down on our Mom!
And our Mom didn’t run away! Mom said she’ll bring us back special treats from the Capital!”
The Village Chief took the newspaper. A crowd pressed behind him, wide-eyed as they looked. Of course, they couldn’t understand the article’s substance, but they could see it was in a very prominent position in the newspaper, which meant the article was very well-written!
Looking at the byline—Yu Kai—wasn’t that just characters split from Xu Ziyan’s name? And below the name was written her place of origin, which was indeed their area. No mistake!
Good heavens, Xu Ziyan was actually a great writer! Their village had actually produced a great writer!
Xu Xiuyun snatched the newspaper, her face instantly turning pale.