Most of the dowry items Zhou Yun prepared for Xu Changxia were substandard replacements.
For instance, the fabric for Xu Changxia's dowry quilts actually cost just over thirty yuan per meter. Zhou Yun had prearranged with the shop assistant to deceive Xu Fangfei, claiming it was premium material worth one hundred thirty yuan per meter—an untrained eye couldn't tell the difference.
Zhou Yun used surplus household grain, oil, and cloth ration coupons as kickbacks for the shop assistant, who was willing to cooperate.
As for other items, they were even easier to pass off.
"These two watches—you bought them yourself from the department store through connections, without my mother present, correct?" Xu Changxia picked up the pair of watches from the table and asked.
"Yes, and they were terribly expensive! Go ask around—who else gets a pair of brand-name watches as dowry in a marriage! Are you still not satisfied?" Zhou Yun frowned deeply.
"What if I don't want them now? Purchases can be returned at the counter within thirty days. You haven't thrown away the receipts, have you? The tags are still attached, clearly unused. Why don't you return them, Aunt?" Xu Changxia replied.
"This…" Zhou Yun immediately looked troubled.
"Can't return them, is that it?" Xu Changxia sneered.
"Or perhaps these weren't bought from the counter at all, but are secondhand watches someone else used, polished up and brought here. They'd cost at most a third of the counter price."
"How dare you spout such nonsense!" Before Xu Changxia finished speaking, Zhou Yun began shouting loudly.
"Whether I'm spouting nonsense or not will be clear if we try to return them at the counter," Xu Changxia replied calmly.
"Xiaxia! How can you slander your aunt like that?" Beside them, Xu Cheng stood up in astonishment. "Besides, who returns watches just days after buying them? What will people think of our Xu family? Aren't we embarrassed enough already?!"
Xu Changxia remained silent, merely looking at Zhou Yun with mocking eyes.
Zhou Yun couldn't meet her gaze.
She had indeed spent only sixty-odd yuan on this pair of watches, while the counter price was over two hundred yuan.
But how did this clueless girl learn about such tricks?
Xu Changxia knew Xu Cheng would defend Zhou Yun. Back then, Xu Cheng was just a poor boy—his father a rural barefoot doctor—while Zhou Yun was a city girl who married beneath her. Xu Cheng always felt Zhou Yun had suffered by being with him.
A few words from her wouldn't make Xu Cheng turn against Zhou Yun, but at the very least, her outburst today would plant a seed of doubt in his mind, making him question Zhou Yun's character.
As for verifying whether Zhou Yun was lying, the method was simple: Xu Cheng could just visit the counter as she suggested.
If he didn't go now, he would surely go someday.
"Fine, let's set the watches aside. What about the dowry bicycle and the television? Can you show us the purchase receipts, Aunt?" Xu Changxia continued.
"I don't know what you're implying! I paid real money for these items! How could they be fake?" Zhou Yun stubbornly defended herself.
"Why couldn't they be fake?" Xu Changxia retorted unhurriedly.
That Fenghuang Brand Bicycle was a reassembled secondhand product.
As for the television set, it was from a brand with a notoriously high failure rate, piled up in the factory warehouse and completely unsellable. Zhou Yun had bought it back for less than a hundred yuan, but the issue hadn't been exposed yet. In two months, the news would break.
In the early 1980s, information lagged significantly, and many shrewd people made fortunes by capitalizing on this information gap.
"Xiaxia, let it go…" Xu Fangfei suddenly stepped forward from the side, tugging at Xu Changxia's sleeve and whispering.
Xu Fangfei thought that since she and her daughter were living under someone else's roof, it wouldn't be right to spell things out too clearly and create discord between Xu Cheng and his wife. They couldn't repay kindness with ingratitude.
"What do you mean, let it go? That makes it sound like our family owes you and your daughter something! Would I really withhold Xiaxia's betrothal gifts?" Zhou Yun, however, refused to back down and started making a scene.
After saying this, she pointed at Xu Changxia and added, "And these words—did Jiang Chi teach you to say them? Otherwise, how would you know about these underhanded tricks?"
Xu Changxia smiled faintly. "If you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place."
"So you're admitting it!" Zhou Yun stared at her in shock, not giving her a chance to speak further, and turned to Xu Fangfei. "Second Sister, you're not still covering for her and letting her meet with Jiang Chi, are you?"
"Do you have any idea how high-ranking Jiang Lianzhou is? How dare you encourage your daughter to seduce both of his sons at once? If you want to die, don't drag our whole family down with you!"
"I didn't!" Xu Fangfei waved her hands in panic. "Sister-in-law, you can't say things like that! Xiaxia knows her manners—she would never mess around with Jiang Chi!"
"I clearly saw Xiaxia sneaking out after dinner the night before last! At the time, I thought she was just going out for some fresh air, so I didn't tell your elder brother! You two…" Zhou Yun wore an expression of profound distress.
"Enough!" Suddenly, Xu Cheng roared.
His square face flushed bright red as he stomped over to Xu Changxia and glared at her. "Xiaxia, tell your uncle the truth—did you meet with Jiang Chi the night before last or not?"
Xu Changxia met Xu Cheng's gaze for a few seconds, then looked past him at Zhou Yun.
A flicker of triumph immediately appeared in Zhou Yun's eyes.
If Xu Changxia dared to press the issue about the betrothal gifts, she would sit outside the building where Jiang Lianzhou worked, making a scene—crying, yelling, and threatening suicide—until the story of her secretly meeting Jiang Chi spread throughout Hangzhou!
To protect Xu Changxia's reputation and the future of the Xu family, Xu Cheng would never dare to confront her about the money again.
Xu Changxia hadn't expected Zhou Yun to have witnessed that night's events and kept quiet about it.
It seemed she had been saving this leverage for a rainy day—and now, she was using it.
She even suspected that Zhou Yun had followed her and Jiang Chi that night, eavesdropping on their conversation all the way.
Zhou Yun had never been a simple woman. That was why, all these years that Xu Fangfei had been living under Xu Cheng's roof, Zhou Yun had kept her firmly under control, leaving her no room to resist.
After a long silence, Xu Changxia took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak to Xu Cheng. "That day, I…"
Before Xu Changxia could continue, a knock came from outside the door. "Is anyone home?"
Xu Cheng understood the principle that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public.
He jabbed a finger sharply at Xu Changxia, gritting his teeth and lowering his voice. "Wait! I'll settle this with you in detail later!"
He turned and walked to the door, unlocking it.
The moment he saw who was standing at the doorway, he froze.
"What's wrong?" Outside the door, Jiang Yao, dressed in a proper military uniform, smiled politely at Xu Cheng. "Uncle, with that expression—are you not welcoming my visit?"