“Have you heard? Zhou Yu’an and his new wife have suddenly come into money!”
“Money? Where would they get that?”
“Someone saw Lin Wanxia shopping in town yesterday. She bought white flour, rice, and even dacron fabric!”
Early that morning, several village women gathered around the well while drawing water.
The newlyweds’ unexpected purchases had already become the talk of Hongqi Brigade.
One woman leaned closer.
“My cousin knows an apprentice at Tong Ren Tang in the county. Apparently, someone sold the shop an exceptionally valuable wild ginseng root.”
“How valuable?”
“They say it fetched five hundred yuan!”
“Five hundred?”
The women gasped.
For families accustomed to carefully counting every coin, such a sum was difficult to imagine.
“Wait,” another woman said. “Didn’t Zhou Jianbin go into the mountains looking for ginseng recently?”
“He did! And he came back empty-handed.”
“Then perhaps Zhou Yu’an found it first!”
“Or maybe his wife did. I heard she went into the mountains that same morning.”
The women exchanged excited glances.
None of them knew who had actually sold the ginseng, but that didn’t stop them from drawing conclusions.
“And now they’re spending money like wealthy people!”
“Imagine that! The nephew searches for treasure, and his young uncle ends up with the fortune!”
Laughter and speculation spread around the well.
As the morning wore on, the rumors grew increasingly elaborate.
And strangely enough, it seemed as though someone was deliberately guiding the conversation in a particular direction.
Before long, a new version of the story began circulating.
“Speaking of which, if Zhou Yu’an really made all that money, why hasn’t he offered to help his older brother?”
“His older brother? You mean Secretary Zhou Dehai?”
“Of course! They’re family, aren’t they?”
Another woman frowned.
“Didn’t the brothers have a falling-out years ago?”
“That doesn’t change the fact that they’re related by blood! Besides, Secretary Zhou has done so much for this brigade. Would it hurt Zhou Yu’an to show a little gratitude?”
Another woman immediately joined in.
“Besides, Secretary Zhou Dehai has been worried sick trying to find precious medicinal herbs for Director Li’s elderly mother.”
“He’s been searching everywhere!”
She clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“And what is Zhou Yu’an doing? Sitting at home with a fortune from selling ginseng, pretending nothing’s happening! He hasn’t offered a single cent to help!”
“How heartless can a person be?”
“Exactly! He’s far too selfish!”
Someone else added, “Director Li controls the quotas for our entire brigade! If he gets angry, all of us could suffer!”
Gradually, the conversation shifted.
What had started as harmless gossip about a newlywed couple’s unexpected fortune became a wave of moral condemnation directed at Zhou Yu’an.
Selfish.
Coldhearted.
Ungrateful.
Lacking any sense of responsibility toward the collective.
One accusation after another was placed squarely on his shoulders.
And the people spreading these accusations seemed to have forgotten one very important fact.
The money belonged to Zhou Yu’an and Lin Wanxia.
They had earned it themselves.
But by now, few villagers were interested in that detail.
Later that morning, Lin Wanxia picked up a wooden washbasin and headed toward the river near the village entrance to do the laundry.
Almost immediately, she noticed something was wrong.
Everywhere she went, people were giving her strange looks.
The older women who usually greeted her with a friendly word now turned their heads and pretended not to see her.
Others gathered in little groups, pointing at her back and whispering among themselves.
Their eyes were filled with envy, suspicion, and a hostility she couldn’t quite explain.
Lin Wanxia’s heart sank.
Something had happened.
She kept her expression neutral and continued toward the river.
After finding a spot along the bank, she crouched down and began scrubbing the clothes.
But although her hands were busy, her ears were carefully tuned to the conversation taking place a short distance away.
“…You really can’t judge people by their appearances! He always seemed so quiet and honest. Who would’ve thought he could be so cruel?”
“Exactly! He’s sitting on enough money to save someone’s life, eating good food and enjoying himself while Director Li’s poor mother lies there waiting to die!”
“And if this ends up ruining Jianbin’s chance to return to the city, I swear I’ll never forgive that family!”
Lin Wanxia’s hands stopped moving.
So this was Zhou Dehai’s plan.
Unable to obtain the ginseng, he had decided to turn the villagers against Zhou Yu’an.
By presenting their private earnings as money that rightfully belonged to the collective, he could make Zhou Yu’an appear selfish for refusing to surrender it.
And by invoking Director Li’s sick mother, he was making the accusation even harder to challenge.
If Zhou Yu’an refused, the villagers might blame him for any consequences that followed.
If he gave in, their hard-earned money could end up helping Zhou Jianbin secure the factory position he wanted.
Lin Wanxia’s jaw tightened.
The scheme was vicious precisely because it disguised greed as concern for someone else’s suffering.
She knew Zhou Dehai had no right to demand their money.
But she also knew how quickly village gossip could become a weapon.
Lin Wanxia trembled with anger.
She snatched up her wooden washbasin without even bothering to wring out the wet clothes.
Then she turned and hurried straight home.
She had to tell Zhou Yu’an immediately!
The moment she entered the courtyard, she spotted him sitting beneath the eaves.
He held a small carving knife in one hand and a piece of wood in the other, carefully shaping it with slow, deliberate movements.
Warm sunlight fell across his sharply defined profile, softening his usually stern appearance.
He seemed completely unaware of the storm brewing outside.
“Zhou Yu’an!”
Lin Wanxia hurried toward him, her voice filled with urgency.
Zhou Yu’an looked up.
Seeing her dark expression and the anger burning in her eyes, he set down his carving knife.
“What’s wrong?”
“Outside… the entire village is talking about us!”
Lin Wanxia quickly told him everything she had overheard by the river.
She repeated the rumors, the accusations, and the cruel things people were saying about him.
She didn’t leave out a single detail.
Lin Wanxia expected Zhou Yu’an to become angry.
Instead, he listened without interrupting, his expression unreadable.
When she finished, he asked, “Is that everything?”
“Is that everything?” she repeated incredulously. “They’re trying to turn the whole village against you!”
“Will getting angry solve anything?”
He picked up the small wooden figure he had been carving and gently brushed away the shavings.
Only then did Lin Wanxia notice what it was.
A young girl with two braids, captured in midstride.
The unfinished figure bore a surprising resemblance to her.
Despite her anger, she stared at it for a moment.
“You were making that?”
Zhou Yu’an glanced at the carving.
“Just passing the time.”
Then he set it aside.
“Let them talk,” he said.
“But what if they demand our money?”
His expression cooled.
“Then they’ll have to explain what gives them the right to take it.”
Lin Wanxia studied him.
He wasn’t indifferent to the accusations. He simply refused to let Zhou Dehai dictate how he should react.
“You’re not worried?”
“I’m more interested in what they intend to do next.”
He reached for his cane.
“If they want a confrontation, we’ll hear what they have to say.”
His calmness steadied her.
For the first time since overhearing the rumors, Lin Wanxia felt she could think clearly.
They had done nothing wrong.
And they weren’t going to surrender their money simply because Zhou Dehai demanded it.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the courtyard.
Heavy footsteps approached, accompanied by the noisy voices of several people.
“Zhou Yu’an! Zhou Yu’an, are you home?!”
A shrill, domineering voice rang out.
Before anyone inside could respond, there was a tremendous crash.
Bang!
Someone kicked the courtyard gate open from the outside!
Zhou Dehai strode in first, his hands clasped behind his back.
He wore the stern, self-important expression of a village official accustomed to giving orders.
Behind him came Zhou Jianbin, looking unbearably smug, followed by Wang Xiulan, whose face was twisted into an angry scowl.
And behind the three of them was an enormous crowd of curious villagers.
They packed the narrow entrance so tightly that there was barely room for anyone else to squeeze through.
Zhou Dehai’s eyes immediately swept across the courtyard.
His gaze landed on a sack of white flour that hadn’t yet been put away.
Then he noticed the unopened bottle of Erguotou liquor near Zhou Yu’an’s feet.
For a brief moment, greed and jealousy flashed through his eyes.
But the expression vanished almost instantly.
In its place appeared a look of profound disappointment, as though he were a deeply concerned elder forced to confront a wayward family member.
“Yu’an!”
He drew out the name dramatically.
His tone was heavy with false sorrow.
“You’ve really made a terrible mistake!”
He shook his head.
“As your older brother, I’m happy to hear that you’ve come into some money. Truly, I am!”Zhou Dehai’s words were carefully chosen.
He hadn’t directly accused Zhou Yu’an of stealing the ginseng. Instead, he had presented the couple’s money as something they were morally obligated to surrender.
Several villagers immediately took his side.
“That’s right! Zhou Yu’an, you should help!”
“Director Li’s mother is seriously ill!”
“What’s the use of having so much money if you won’t help someone in need?”
Others exchanged uncertain glances.
They sympathized with the sick woman, but some were uncomfortable with the idea of forcing a newlywed couple to hand over their savings.
Zhou Dehai noticed their hesitation.
“Yu’an,” he continued, “I’m not asking you to give up everything. But surely you can contribute something!”
Before Zhou Yu’an could answer, Wang Xiulan pushed forward.
“And you!”
She pointed directly at Lin Wanxia.
“You shameless little vixen! This must be your doing!”
Lin Wanxia’s expression hardened.
“What exactly have I done?”
“You married into our family and immediately started spending money! Now you won’t even let Yu’an help his own relatives!”
“Director Li isn’t our relative,” Lin Wanxia replied coldly. “And the money belongs to my husband and me.”
Wang Xiulan flushed.
“Listen to her! She’s admitting they have the money!”
Lin Wanxia opened her mouth to respond, but Zhou Yu’an gently stopped her.
He rose from his chair, steadying himself with his cane.
The courtyard gradually fell quiet.
He looked at Zhou Dehai, then Wang Xiulan.
Finally, his gaze settled on Zhou Jianbin.
His nephew stood behind his parents, watching with barely concealed satisfaction.
Zhou Yu’an regarded him for a long moment.
Then he spoke.
“The money is inside the house.”
His voice wasn’t loud.
But somehow, every person in the crowded courtyard heard him clearly.
“If you want it…”
He paused, his expression utterly calm.
“Come and take it yourself.”