Xiawa Village is only about twenty kilometers from Han Province, and a dozen kilometers from Xisi Hutong.
You Sanmei knew the old man would take the same route back after delivering the chickens, ducks, and geese, so she told him she’d wait right there again in an hour.
The old man nodded readily, they said their goodbyes, and each went their own way.
Where You Sanmei was heading today was truly dangerous.
It was the hideout those thugs from her past life had mentioned – the ones who’d massacred the Chen family when they couldn’t collect their debts.
But she wasn’t going there for that.
She was looking for the small-time gangsters nearby who scraped by just like fuel thieves.
Compared to these real toughs, the one back at her place… was nothing more than a kid playing house.
After all, he’d run away the moment things got serious – and real gangsters would never bother letting him “tag along” anyway.
You Sanmei let out a quiet breath of relief.
Thank goodness! Thank goodness!
Thank goodness her husband Heigou was such a cowardly fool.
If he’d had any guts at all, before anyone else could harm them, they’d already be tangled up in endless trouble.
She slipped into the noisy crowd, and soon found the spot covered wall-to-wall with handwritten notices and small ads.
Two or three young gangsters squatted there smoking and drinking beer. Every time someone stopped to look at the ads, they’d grin and pitch their services: “Miss, need a private detective? We can find out if your man’s got another woman on the side. If you want to take it to court, we’ve got people for that too! From gathering evidence to getting them locked up – full service!”
“Sir, interested in men’s health remedies? We’ve got the best little pills guaranteed to bring back your spark!”
“Hey there, Sister – painless abortions? Surgery today, back to work tomorrow!”
“Need a secret message delivered? Only eight eighty – guaranteed straight to the recipient!”
You Sanmei stopped, softening her voice on purpose: “How secret is it really? Any hidden fees?”
“Oho, pretty lady~”
A gangster in a blue-grey tunic jumped up, all smiles – clearly the leader of the group.
“Rest easy, no extra charges at all – absolutely foolproof!”
“And we’ll never breathe a word to anyone!”
“Hmph, can anyone like you be trusted to tell the truth?” You Sanmei clicked her tongue, saying meaningfully: “I’m looking for someone I can work with long-term…”
The gangster flinched hard at that.
He snapped at the others: “You blind fools! Get the lady a seat now!”
“This lady is a BIG CLIENT – do you hear me?! A BIG CLIENT!”
…
…
A dozen minutes later, You Sanmei had negotiated the price down to six sixty for secret deliveries.
And she specified no written letters – the message had to be passed another way.
She knew these guys had plenty of tricks up their sleeves.
Sure enough, the gangster grinned and tapped his own mouth: “Pretty lady, us boys make our living with what we say~”
“You can count on us!”
“Good.” You Sanmei stood up briskly. “I hope this first job goes smoothly – then we can keep doing business together.”
“Absolutely, absolutely!”
“Bow to the lady – see her out!”
Perhaps even You Sanmei herself hadn’t expected how fast they’d move.
Right after striking the deal, they got straight to work.
That afternoon, in Xiaogou Village.
Ma Xiu – Lin Mei’s stepmother – sat under a tree fanning herself with her youngest son, gossiping more and more angrily as she went, spittle flying everywhere.
A neighbor woman nodded sympathetically: “That’s the truth! When Lin Mei was here you had it so much easier. Now that she’s gone, and your man’s out in the fields – all the work falls on you alone!”
“Though… didn’t you get two or three hundred yuan in betrothal money when she married off? Why not hire someone to help with cooking and cleaning? Then you could focus on looking after your youngest.”
“Never!” Ma Xiu shot back without thinking. “I’ve got two precious boys to raise! Both of them will need money for wives someday!”
“That money has to stay put for them.”
“…I’ll just have to tough it out a few more years. Lin Ju’s already twelve – in a few years she’ll be old enough to marry too.”
“Maybe by then the betrothal price will double!”
Just then, two women walked down the path arm-in-arm, chatting loudly.
They were strangers – clearly not from the village – but their voices carried so far that everyone turned to listen.
“Honestly? The Li family has it best in Xiawa Village! Their only son Li Heng is doing so well – I heard he just won some kind of prize money, five hundred yuan!”
“And Lin Mei’s living like a queen! Her mother-in-law takes her shopping for new clothes every day, and she barely lifts a finger!”
“To have such a kind mother-in-law – treating her like her own daughter, cooking her something different every single day!”
Lin Mei even said herself: ‘This life feels like I’ve gone straight from hell to heaven!’”
The other woman spat on the ground: “You bet she does! Her own family’s nothing but a bunch of good-for-nothings – and that stepmother of hers just keeps popping out kids like a sow! Every time she has another one, more work gets dumped right onto Lin Mei’s shoulders!”
“Poor thing – she’s still so young, and she’s suffered so much…”
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?!”
Ma Xiu shrieked, clutching her son Lin Yong and storming over.
Eyes blazing, she yelled: “Where did you two old hags come from?! And where did you hear all that garbage?!”
“Ah!”
The two women jumped in fright, stammering: “W-we… we just heard it from others! We’re from Xiawa Village ourselves…”
Ma Xiu froze, teeth clenched tight: “That Lin Mei you’re talking about… is that the one from our Xiaogou Village who just married out?!”
“She doesn’t have to do any work, her mother-in-law cooks for her, and her husband earns money for her to spend – is that right?!”
The women nodded hard: “Yes yes – that’s exactly the girl from your village!”
“Why do you ask, sister? Is she family?”
“…No! Never heard of her! Don’t know her!”
Ma Xiu hugged her youngest son tight and hurried away as if running for her life.
The others sat under the tree, so stunned they forgot to eat their sunflower seeds.
“Good heavens – I never thought Lin Mei had such a sharp tongue! Calling her own stepmother a sow…”
“Pfft, hahaha! Once you’re married out, things sure change! She can’t get hit anymore, so she’s finally saying what she really thinks!”
“Do you think Ma Xiu will go storming over to Xiawa Village to give her a piece of her mind?”
“Please – she absolutely will! You know what Ma Xiu’s like!”
“Our village’s two most famous stepmothers – Ma Xiu here, and Wang Hong over at the You family – they’re both just as bad as each other!”
At that, everyone’s curiosity got the better of them.
“Wonder if that Sanmei from the You family is even still alive?”
“Who knows… even if she is, I bet she’s having a terrible time.”
“Imagine finding out after you marry someone that they’re sick and need medicine just to stay alive – would you be happy about it?”
“Kicking her back to her parents or beating her out the door would be the least you’d expect!”