Xia Xiaowan finished packing and secured the gifts to her bicycle, then turned back for one last look at the second floor.
She knew Liu Xun did not like her, and they did not even share a room. They could not be considered a real married couple.
—Going back to her parents’ home alone was just fine.
Her uncle’s house was two intersections away.
Xia Xiaowan remembered that her uncle suffered from low blood sugar. He often became dizzy while working, and eating a piece of fruit candy would make him feel better. But to save money, her uncle would only pinch a little white sugar into his cup of water and endure it after taking a few sips.
She rode her bicycle to the Supply Cooperative on the corner. When she pushed open the door, she saw the salesclerks sitting together and chatting.
“Isn’t that Xiaowan? What are you here to buy?”
The salesclerks looked at Xia Xiaowan with undisguised contempt.
Then they suddenly realized that Xia Xiaowan had changed. She had become fashionable, wearing a dress made of the popular georgette fabric, red high-heeled sandals, and her hair loose, with a colorful headband in it.
With that outfit, she was unmistakably a fashionable woman.
The salesclerk immediately felt that the sunflower seeds in her hand had lost their flavor.
In the 1980s, almost everyone lived in one-story houses, often staying in the same place for decades. Nearly everyone knew one another.
Everyone knew exactly what was going on in every household.
“I want two jin of fruit candy and one jin of white sugar!” Xia Xiaowan ignored the salesclerk and stopped in front of the glass counter.
The other salesclerk was more honest. She weighed out two jin of fruit candy and one jin of white sugar for Xia Xiaowan and wrapped them in oiled paper.
The woman who had just mocked Xia Xiaowan was Chen Lili’s mother. She was in her forties, weighed more than one hundred and fifty jin, and had a face covered in layers of flesh.
“Xia Xiaowan, I heard you married a rich man, some old man. You really aren’t picky, are you? You’ll marry just anybody?”
Xia Xiaowan raised her head and rolled her eyes at her. “That’s right, I’m really not picky. But at least I’m living well, unlike your whole family, which depends on you to support it!”
“You little vixen! You’ve got a few stinking coins and came here to show off. Just wait until that rich family doesn’t want you anymore. You won’t even know where to go cry!” Chen Lili’s mother was a shrew. Even when she was in the wrong, she could still argue her way into making trouble.
Xia Xiaowan could not be bothered to deal with her. Today was the day she was returning to her parents’ home, and she wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
After packing everything up, she rode her bicycle toward her uncle Xia Zhiyuan’s house.
As soon as she entered the alley, she heard everyone talking.
“Did you see that? Xia Xiuxiu and her son-in-law just went back to her parents’ home. How shabby! Their bicycle is practically falling apart, and they only brought a bag of cornmeal. Isn’t that embarrassing?” The voice belonged to Li Daman, whose voice was the loudest in the entire alley.
Xia Xiaowan pushed her bicycle past the people and began greeting everyone.
“Xiaowan, are you returning to your parents’ home today too?” When Li Daman saw the bulging bundles on Xia Xiaowan’s bicycle, her eyes immediately went wide.
Li Daman was the nosiest person around. Nothing that happened in anyone’s home could escape her notice.
Xia Xiaowan nodded and greeted the other neighbors as well.
When Xia Xiuxiu heard that her older female cousin was returning to her parents’ home, she hurriedly stuck her head out.
Seeing Xia Xiaowan coming back alone, she smiled happily. In her previous life, when she had married Liu Xun, that scumbag had not accompanied her back to her parents’ home either.
But this life was different. Although she had married Jiang Cheng, who had no money, he had consummated the marriage with her that very night.
She had experienced the sweetness of mutual love between a man and a woman.
She had never received such affection in her previous life. Liu Xun had never touched her in the end, and had even sent her to the hospital, leaving her to live or die on her own.
Just wait. Xia Xiaowan would find out eventually that Liu Xun was no good.
Through the wooden door, Jiang Cheng saw Xia Xiaowan.
She had a slender figure, and her appearance was no worse than Xia Xiuxiu’s. In particular, the way she bent down to lock her bicycle was exceptionally gentle and beautiful. She was like a lily, delicate, radiant, and fragrant.
“Jiang Cheng, what are you looking at? What’s so interesting?” When Xia Xiuxiu saw Jiang Cheng peeking at Xia Xiaowan through the crack in the door, she did not indulge him in the slightest.
At this time, Jiang Cheng looked honest, but the chauvinism and blind filial piety buried in his bones had yet to reveal themselves.
When Wang Xiumei heard that both children had returned to their parents’ homes, she hurried back from the neighbor’s house next door.
The first person she saw was her daughter, Xia Xiuxiu. She glanced at the cornmeal on the table, and her expression immediately darkened.
“Xiuxiu, you only brought a few jin of cornmeal back to your parents’ home? Take it back quickly. Your mother-in-law’s family isn’t well-off either!” Wang Xiumei’s voice was shrill, and she did not give Xia Xiuxiu the slightest bit of consideration. Jiang Cheng, who was standing to the side, lowered his head so far that it seemed about to sink into his neck. He looked like a quail.
Xia Xiuxiu had been spoiled by Wang Xiumei ever since she was little. Whatever she wanted, Wang Xiumei gave her, and she had never suffered the slightest grievance. Yet Wang Xiumei simply could not understand why her daughter had insisted on marrying Jiang Cheng.
They were so poor that they could barely afford food, and he still put on airs of lofty refinement. She had even heard that he spent his free time writing poetry. What use was that?
When Xia Xiuxiu saw that Wang Xiumei was angry, she hurriedly pulled thirty yuan from her trouser pocket and pressed it into her hand.
“Mom, look, our family doesn’t lack anything. I also have a mother who knows how to live, can earn money, and has good character. Just thinking about that makes me happy. As for that Xia Xiaowan, she’s a jinx. Her own parents were both cursed to death by her. So what if she married a rich man? That’s only temporary…”
Wang Xiumei adored this daughter of hers. She was pretty and knew how to speak sweetly.
She quickly stuffed the thirty yuan into her trouser pocket.
“You little clever girl, you know just how to coax your mother. I’ll go buy some meat and make dumplings for you. Go rest and have some water!”
Xia Xiuxiu wrapped both arms tightly around Wang Xiumei’s neck and continued to act spoiled.
“Mom is still the best to me!”
Xia Xiuxiu released her arms and kissed Wang Xiumei on the cheek.
Only then did Jiang Cheng raise his head, awkwardly rubbing his two hands together.
Wang Xiumei found Jiang Cheng unbearably irritating.
If her precious daughter had not married that pauper, she would never have invited him to eat at their home.
Just then, Xia Xiaowan pushed open the door and entered.
“Aunt, I’m home!”
Wang Xiumei looked up and saw Xia Xiaowan carrying an extremely heavy cloth bag. Her eyes immediately lit up.
“Welcome, Xiaowan! Did you bring your aunt some good things?”
Wang Xiumei was greedy by nature. The only way to make her happy was to satisfy her vanity.
Xia Xiaowan opened the cloth bag.
She took out two bottles of high-end baijiu. Just from the packaging, it was clear that they were fine liquor. Next came two cartons of Taishan cigarettes, some candy and white sugar, a large piece of cured meat streaked with fat, three enormous goose eggs, and a cleaned old hen.
Wang Xiumei was excellent at arithmetic. She counted on her fingers. All these things together had to be worth more than four hundred yuan!
—The two bottles of baijiu alone were worth at least two hundred yuan!
The factory director’s family had this very baijiu at home, and everyone knew that it cost one hundred yuan a bottle!
A whole carton of Taishan cigarettes also cost one hundred yuan. They were high-end cigarettes!
And there was the chicken, the cured meat, and the candy too!
Wang Xiumei sighed inwardly. Rich families really were rich!
Xia Xiaowan pressed her lips together and smiled faintly.
Wang Xiumei was so delighted that her eyes narrowed into slits.
“Xiaowan, come over and have some water. Your aunt is going to buy meat and make dumplings!”
Wang Xiumei picked up a bamboo basket and headed toward the Supply Cooperative.
Outside the alley, a green jeep was parked. A handsome man stepped out.
Wasn’t that Liu Xun?
Wang Xiumei was just about to greet him when Liu Xun walked over.
“Aunt, I’m Liu Xun. Has Xia Xiaowan come back to her parents’ home?”
A fine sheen of sweat covered Liu Xun’s handsome face. He looked at Wang Xiumei anxiously.
“She just came in. Son-in-law, is something wrong?” Thinking that something had happened, Wang Xiumei looked at Liu Xun nervously as well.
“Aunt, my mother had her bring some things back to her parents’ home, but she forgot them. They’re in my car. Why don’t you come and take them? I still have something to do!”
As he spoke, Liu Xun opened the trunk and took out several exquisite paper bags. Inside were high-end tea leaves, a set of fine tea ware, and local specialties.
Wang Xiumei hurriedly accepted the things and nodded with a smile.
“Son-in-law, why don’t you come in and have a plate of dumplings before you go? Your aunt’s dumplings are second to none!”
“No, I only came to deliver these things. I still have something to do. I’ll be leaving first, Aunt!”
With that, Liu Xun drove away.
Carrying all those high-end gifts, Wang Xiumei suddenly felt that she was several levels above everyone else in the alley.