Chapter 240: Paying a Visit

Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Paying a Visit

The next day, Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Wei Qiang headed into the mountains bright and early. Luo Xiaohu didn’t leave right away, planning to eat breakfast first and then give Gu Nuan Nuan a ride to school.

Just as Luo Xiaohu finished breakfast and stepped out to put Gu Nuan Nuan’s bicycle in the car’s trunk, he opened the large iron courtyard gate to pull the car out. That’s when he saw them: Zhang Weihong and Fang Juxian, as well as Zhang Weimin and Guo Xiuying, who was holding her son, the little two-year-old Zhang Tianci. He froze for a moment, then forced a polite smile. "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, you’re here. Why didn’t you knock? You gave me a scare."

"We just got here. What are you doing here?" Fang Juxian said with a fake smile, craning her neck to look into the courtyard. "The car’s here, too. Don’t tell me Eldest Brother came back last night?" ’He really rushed back to tattle on us, didn’t he? I wonder if our two families can still bring up borrowing money from Mom and Dad and get what we want. This is too much! He’s trying to corner us, not leaving his own family any way out at all—’

"That’s right, we came back yesterday. Second Uncle, Third Uncle, would you mind moving your bicycles? I need to get the car out right now." Luo Xiaohu glanced at the two brand-new bicycles blocking the gate, the smile on his face growing even more strained.

’He came back yesterday, and now they’re leaving first thing in the morning? It seems he really did come back just to tattle.’

Fang Juxian’s eye twitched. Zhang Weihong, Zhang Weimin, and Guo Xiuying seemed to have come to the same conclusion, and their expressions all soured. Guo Xiuying pursed her lips and tightened her grip on her son, making Zhang Tianci uncomfortable. He whimpered like a kitten in her arms a couple of times before she snapped out of it and loosened her hold.

Zhang Weihong and Zhang Weimin each moved their bicycles and stepped aside.

"Tsk, this car is so shiny it gleams. How great would it be if we could just ride in it once? If we could ride in it every day, I’d probably have no other regrets in this life. I’d wake up from my dreams laughing. They’re all blood brothers, so why is the difference between them so huge? One of them gets to drive a big car, while we could barely scrape together the money for bicycles."

Fang Juxian watched, her voice thick with envy, as Luo Xiaohu expertly reversed the car and pulled up to the gate. Her eyes greedily drank in the sight of the car for several moments before she turned to Guo Xiuying. "Third Sister-in-law, just imagine if we had a car like this. The next time your Tianci has a fever or a cold, you wouldn’t have to suffer through a bumpy ride on the back of a bicycle to take him to see Xu Banxian, would you?"

"That’s enough," Zhang Weihong snapped, his expression turning even uglier. "Don’t forget why we’re here today. Stop trying to stir up more trouble."

’He could see it clearly now—his wife was the kind of person who could never let things be. Before all this, his family and Third Brother’s family had been doing perfectly fine at the fish farm. The work wasn’t hard, and the monthly pay was far better than what he used to make helping people out, sweating buckets next to a hot stove all day. Most importantly, while his and Third Brother’s positions weren’t that high up, everyone, even the farm manager, turned a blind eye to their antics because of their family connections—as long as they didn’t go too far. And everyone else? Who would dare offend them to their faces? No matter how much they disliked them, they still had to plaster on a smile, didn’t they?’

’But his wife was never satisfied. She was constantly in his ear, and in Third Brother’s and Third Sister-in-law’s, instigating things. In the end, they all cooked up that stupid plan together and got themselves kicked out.’

"Fine, I won’t talk, I won’t talk! Why are you being so fierce?" Fang Juxian shrank back when her husband got angry, her voice turning meek. ’She had a guilty conscience. Deep down, she knew this wasn’t the right time to be provoking everyone, especially stirring up Third Sister-in-law’s jealousy about Eldest Brother’s family having a car. But what can I do? I just can’t help myself!’

Gu Nuan Nuan came out wearing her schoolbag. Seeing the group at the gate, she greeted them one by one with a blank expression. "Second Uncle. Second Aunt. Third Uncle. Third Aunt." ’Eldest Uncle was right,’ she thought. ’They really are quick. I have to hand it to them—how can they have the nerve to show up here after secretly selling off the wild fish? I wonder what they’re scheming this time. Surely they’re not shameless enough to ask for their jobs back? Heh. Well, whatever they’re planning, Eldest Uncle is ready for them.’

She called back into the house, "Grandma! Mom! Second Uncle and Third Uncle are here!" Then she pulled open the car door and slid inside.

As the car sped off, Fang Juxian clicked her tongue. Words rose to her lips, but in the end, she swallowed them.

"What are you all doing here?" Wen Xiu demanded as she came out, her face a mask of fury as she looked at them.

"Mom, are there any leftovers?" Fang Juxian said, putting on a fawning smile for her mother-in-law. "We got up at the crack of dawn and haven’t eaten breakfast. It’s one thing for us to be hungry, but Tianci is just a little child. He can’t go hungry, can he?"

"Leftovers?" Wen Xiu scoffed. "Have you ever seen a family cook a meal with enough leftovers for four adults? If you’re so desperate for leftovers, how about I go to the village broadcast station and make an announcement? I bet if every household pitches in, we can scrape together a few bowls for you."

"Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, you haven’t eaten?" Zhang Minzhen had come out and overheard the exchange. "Let me go to the kitchen and make a bowl of noodles for each of you." Without another word, she turned and headed back to the kitchen.

"Close the main gate and get inside," Wen Xiu said, suppressing her anger as she turned and walked into the main room.

"Stop looking around. Your father and Eldest Brother aren’t here." Seated in the master’s chair, Wen Xiu watched her two sons and daughters-in-law craning their necks and let out a cold snort. "There’s no need to rehash what you did. It’s enough to foul my ears just thinking about it. So, out with it. Tell me exactly why you’re here today."

"..." Zhang Weihong and Zhang Weimin’s faces flushed bright red.

Guo Xiuying, feeling she hadn’t been directly involved, sat there holding her child, perfectly calm and composed. Fang Juxian, however, had never once thought she was in the wrong, so her expression remained unchanged. In fact, hearing this, she even began to sound aggrieved. "Mom, we had no other choice! If..."

"No other choice?"

Wen Xiu cut her off, having no patience to hear whatever excuse she was about to spin. She looked at her sons. ’They’re blushing, which means they still have some sense of shame.’ Then she looked at her two daughters-in-law, and regret washed over her. ’How did I ever let my sons marry such shameless women? If only Second and Third had married wives as virtuous as Eldest’s, perhaps they wouldn’t be in this state today.’

The thought flashed past. She closed her eyes, her face a complex mask of regret and derision. "If you were decent people, who could have possibly forced you to do such a thing? It’s only out of consideration for me and your father that you aren’t sitting in prison right now. Do you have any idea how much of a loss you’ve caused the company? We were the only ones who had those fish, but now..."