While Lin Wanxia and Zhou Yu’an were secretly planning how to earn their first substantial sum of money late into the night, a very different atmosphere hung over the Zhou family compound.
Inside the main hall, Zhou Dehai sat in the seat of honor, puffing on his long-stemmed tobacco pipe. Smoke curled around his dark expression.
Beside him, Wang Xiulan wiped her tears and muttered curses.
“What a disaster! What terrible sin did our Zhou family commit to deserve this?”
“That shameless Lin Wanxia! First she bewitched our Jianbin, and now she’s married his uncle! She’s made our entire family a laughingstock!”
Zhou Jianbin knelt in the middle of the hall, his fists clenched.
The humiliation at Zhou Yu’an’s house still burned inside him.
His former fiancée had become his Young Aunt. From now on, family custom demanded that he address her as an elder.
Just thinking about it made him grind his teeth.
And the worst part was that Lin Wanxia had witnessed every moment of his disgrace.
“Crying! Crying! Crying! Is that all you know how to do? What good is it going to accomplish?”
Zhou Dehai suddenly slammed the bowl of his tobacco pipe against the table.
The loud bang startled Wang Xiulan so badly that her sobbing stopped at once.
“What’s the point of saying all this now? They’ve already registered their marriage! They have the marriage certificate to prove it! What do you expect us to do about it?”
His voice rose with anger.
“What matters now is figuring out how to minimize the damage this whole mess has caused!”
“Dad!”
Zhou Jianbin suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with resentment.
“Are we really just going to let them get away with this? I can’t accept it! That bitch Lin Wanxia and that cripple Zhou Yu’an joined forces to humiliate me! I…”
“You still have the nerve to complain?!”
Zhou Dehai slammed his palm against the table and pointed furiously at his son.
“If you had kept yourself under control instead of fooling around with Li Xue behind everyone’s backs, would any of this have happened?”
“Look at what you’ve done! You pushed Lin Wanxia so far that she went and married your youngest uncle!”
His voice grew louder with every word.
“Your former fiancée has become your Young Aunt! What an accomplishment! You’ve really made your father proud!”
Zhou Dehai’s chest heaved.
The scandal wasn’t merely embarrassing. It threatened his authority.
As the production brigade secretary, he was accustomed to being treated with respect. Now his own son’s misconduct had become village gossip, and his younger brother’s marriage had made the situation even worse.
How could he expect the villagers to respect his judgment when he couldn’t even control his own household?
Zhou Jianbin lowered his head again under the furious scolding.
He didn’t dare utter another word.
Nearby, Li Xue’s face had turned deathly pale.
She had accompanied Wang Xiulan to Zhou Yu’an’s home earlier that day because she wanted to watch Lin Wanxia make a fool of herself.
Instead, she had become the biggest laughingstock of all.
She nervously twisted the corner of her clothing between her fingers.
“Auntie…” she whispered to Wang Xiulan. “Wh-What are we supposed to do now? How am I ever going to face anyone again?”
The thought of having to address Lin Wanxia as her Young Aunt was almost unbearable.
She would rather die than suffer such humiliation!
Seeing Li Xue looking so miserable, Wang Xiulan immediately felt sorry for her again.
“Dehai, stop scolding the children! We need to come up with a solution!”
She nudged her husband impatiently.
“No matter what happens, we can’t let that little seductress enjoy her victory!”
Then she remembered something even more important.
“And what about Jianbin’s return to the city? The commune only has one factory recruitment position available this year! If he doesn’t get it, he might be stuck in the countryside for the rest of his life!”
At the mention of returning to the city, Zhou Dehai’s expression finally eased.
That was the matter he cared about most.
His son’s future was far more important than anything else.
“I’ve already spoken to Li Fugui, the commune official overseeing the recruitment, about the position,” Zhou Dehai said thoughtfully.
“But there are quite a few people competing for it this year. Simply putting in a good word won’t be enough.”
He tapped his fingers against the table.
“We need to give him something worthwhile. Something that will strengthen our relationship and make him remember our favor.”
“A gift?”
Wang Xiulan’s eyes immediately brightened.
“What should we give him? How about the two old hens we’ve been raising?”
“Idiot!”
Zhou Dehai shot her an irritated glare.
“Do you seriously think Director Li’s family is short of a couple of chickens?”
He leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“If we’re going to give him something, it has to be something he desperately wants.”
His expression turned mysterious.
“I’ve been asking around, and I heard that Director Li’s elderly mother has been seriously ill lately.”
“Even the doctors at the county hospital say there’s nothing more they can do. Apparently, she’s barely hanging on to life.”
He paused for effect.
“Director Li has been searching everywhere for rare medicinal herbs that might help save her.”
“Rare medicinal herbs?”
Zhou Jianbin’s eyes suddenly lit up.
A place immediately came to mind.
“Dad! I just remembered something!”
He straightened up excitedly.
“I once heard some of the old hunters in our village talking about a wild ginseng root that’s supposedly more than a hundred years old!”
“They said it grows somewhere deep in the mountains behind the village!”
His excitement increased as he spoke.
“If we can find that ginseng and present it to Director Li, forget about securing one position in the city! Something that valuable could probably get us ten!”
Zhou Dehai and Wang Xiulan exchanged astonished looks.
A hundred-year-old wild ginseng root?
Such a rare medicinal herb could be worth a considerable sum. More importantly, Director Li was desperate to find something that might help his ailing mother.
If they presented him with the ginseng, he might look favorably upon Zhou Jianbin’s application.
For the first time that evening, Zhou Dehai saw a possible way out of their predicament.
“Are you serious?!”
Zhou Dehai sprang to his feet.
“I’m almost certain it’s true!”
Zhou Jianbin nodded confidently.
“The only reason no one has gone looking for it is that the area is dangerous. People say there are wild boars and wolves roaming around.”
He clenched his fists.
“But if finding that ginseng means I can return to the city, I’m willing to take the risk!”
“Good! That’s my boy!”
Zhou Dehai slapped his son firmly on the shoulder.
For the first time that evening, a genuine smile appeared on his face.
“That’s the spirit! You’re a son of the Zhou family, all right! You’ve got courage!”
Wang Xiulan’s gloomy mood vanished as well.
“Jianbin, if you manage to pull this off, you’ll be the greatest contributor to our family’s future!”
Her face shone with excitement.
“Just imagine! You’ll return to the city in style, become a proper factory worker, and enjoy a comfortable life!”
She gave a contemptuous snort.
“Then we’ll see whether that little bitch Lin Wanxia still dares to act so arrogantly in front of you!”
A smug smile slowly spread across Zhou Jianbin’s face.
In his mind, he could already picture the wonderful future awaiting him.
He imagined himself wearing a neat factory uniform, working in the city, and receiving a regular supply of state-rationed grain.
No more exhausting farm labor.
No more struggling in the countryside.
He would become a respectable urban worker with a stable income and a promising future.
And Lin Wanxia?
She would remain nothing more than a country woman married to a cripple.
When that day came, he would finally have the chance to look down on her.
He could almost see himself standing proudly before Lin Wanxia and Zhou Yu’an, enjoying their humiliation.
Lin Wanxia, just you wait!
Once I return to the city, I’ll make you regret everything you’ve done!
You’re nothing but a village woman who married a cripple!
What makes you think you can compete with me?
The more he imagined his future success, the more excited he became.
“Dad, I’ll take a few men into the mountains tomorrow!”
Zhou Jianbin rubbed his hands together eagerly.
“I’ve heard someone describe the location before. There’s supposed to be a fork where three paths meet, with a large blue-gray boulder nearby.”
He grinned confidently.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult to find!”
The family immediately began making plans.
Zhou Dehai imagined Director Li’s gratitude. Wang Xiulan pictured her son returning to the city as a respectable factory worker.
And Zhou Jianbin could almost taste his revenge.
Tomorrow, he would enter the mountains and claim the treasure that would change his future.
What none of them knew was that someone else was already planning to find it.
Meanwhile, in the small mud-brick courtyard on the other side of the village, Lin Wanxia stood beneath the night sky.
She gazed at the moon, remembering the events of her previous life.
Back then, Zhou Jianbin had obtained the wild ginseng and used it to secure his future.
She had watched him rise while her own life fell apart.
But this time, she knew what he was looking for.
And she intended to reach it first.
Zhou Jianbin, you used that treasure to climb over everyone else in our previous life.
Aren’t you curious what will happen when it’s no longer yours to claim?
A faint smile curved her lips.
Tomorrow, we’ll find out.