readease Chapter 82: Making Men Completely Subdued
Chapter 82: Making Men Completely Subdued
Hearing the noise, Hu Mei slowly turned around.
Her tiny green eyes scanned Yan Xiujuan up and down several times before finally settling on Yan Xiujuan's face, which, despite the application of face cream, still couldn't hide her fatigue.
"Pooh!"
Hu Mei spat the sunflower seed shells out of her mouth onto the ground, dusted off her hands, and said with a forced smile, "What kind of qigong are you practicing? I was just feeling uneasy because I heard a lot of noise upstairs. I was wondering if a thief had broken in, or if a couple was fighting with knives. I was just about to go up and check it out when you came down here."
These words were laced with barbs, making Yan Xiujuan's eyelids twitch.
Just now, Wang Lili attempted suicide, Wang Jianguo threw things, and Zhao Gang kowtowed loudly; the commotion was quite significant.
This old-style red brick building already has poor sound insulation; you can hear a pin drop upstairs, let alone the commotion just now that threatened to blow the roof off.
"Look at what you're saying, there's no thief here."
Yan Xiujuan steadied herself and tried to make her voice sound calm and natural. "It's just that good-for-nothing cat at home. It jumped around and broke the vase. Lili is a timid child, and she made a couple of loud noises. You know, pregnant women are often emotionally unstable."
"cat?"
Hu Mei raised one eyebrow, her expression even more mocking than before. "Xiujuan, we've been neighbors for decades, how come I didn't know you ever had a cat? Besides, how could a cat make your husband, Old Wang, so angry that he roared like a madman? I heard it clearly just now, Old Wang was practically shouting for help, anyone who didn't know better would think they were interrogating a spy!"
Yan Xiujuan's face stiffened for a moment, and the vegetable basket in her hand creaked as she gripped it tightly.
"You know Old Wang's temper. He's going through menopause. He's heartbroken to see the vase broken, so he's throwing a tantrum."
Yan Xiujuan forced herself to explain, but her feet subtly moved away, wanting to end this suffocating conversation as soon as possible. "Alright, I'm not going to talk to you anymore. I have to go to the market. If I go too late, I won't be able to buy fresh ribs. Lili is weak and needs to eat something nourishing."
As she spoke, she turned to walk around Hu Mei.
To everyone's surprise, Hu Mei suddenly moved aside, her large body blocking her way.
The fake smile on her face instantly faded, replaced by an extremely uncomfortable look of inquiry and mockery.
"Buying pork ribs to nourish your body is a pretense; what you really want is to get away and find some peace and quiet, right?"
Hu Mei lowered her voice and leaned close to Yan Xiujuan's ear, the strong smell of sunflower seeds filling Yan Xiujuan's nostrils. "Xiujuan, let's not beat around the bush. I just saw that young man Zhao Gang go in; he looked so miserable, like he'd just crawled out of a graveyard. Then Old Wang came back, and then all that commotion. Tell me the truth, is it because of what happened at the supply and marketing cooperative yesterday, that it's spilled over into our house?"
Yan Xiujuan's pupils suddenly contracted.
She knew this couldn't be kept secret, especially not from Hu Mei's loose tongue.
But to admit it is absolutely unacceptable.
If she were to give in, ten different versions of the "Wang family scandal" would be circulating in this compound tomorrow. How would Yan Xiujuan face anyone then?
"Hu Mei, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"
Yan Xiujuan's face darkened, adopting the demeanor of a government official. "Zhao Gang was just overworked and unwell. As for what happened at the supply and marketing cooperative, someone was jealous of Zhao Gang's youth and talent and deliberately spread rumors! The organization hasn't even made a decision yet, what are you gossiping about?"
"Rumors?"
Hu Mei slapped her thigh dramatically, as if she'd heard the funniest joke in the world. "Oh my dear sister, you're so thick-skinned! That country girl has already shown her marriage certificate, how can this be just rumors? I've heard it all. She may look a bit rustic, but she's got that fierce temper, she's not someone to mess with. People say Zhao Gang is a heartless man, a traitor! Now the whole county is talking about your Wang family… hehe…"
Hu Mei paused deliberately, a malicious glint in her eyes. "They say your Wang family is a bunch of junk collectors, treating even a wife-and-child-abandoning scumbag like a treasure. Xiujuan, we both have children, and I'm worried about your precious Lili. If she really marries a divorced man, won't people gossip about her behind her back?"
These words were like a barbed whip, lashing Yan Xiujuan's face. Her face turned a deep purplish-red, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
A junk collector? A divorced man?
Each of these words is like a sharp knife, precisely stabbing at the "face" that Yan Xiujuan cares about most.
What she was most proud of in her life was finding a good husband and having a beautiful daughter. She had been hoping that her daughter would marry a rich man so that she could hold her head high in front of her old friends.
And the result? Now they've become the laughingstock of the entire compound!
Yan Xiujuan took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the urge to rush up and tear Hu Mei's mouth apart.
She knew that if she got angry now, she would only be playing into Hu Mei's hands and confirming her own guilty conscience.
"Hu Mei, I think you're going through menopause, you're just bored!"
Yan Xiujuan sneered, straightened her back, and adopted a condescending attitude. "Whether it's a rumor or the truth, that's all in the past! Zhao Gang was indeed a bit confused in the past, but that was an arranged marriage, the dregs of the old society! This is a new society, where freedom of love is valued! He and that rural woman have long since lost feelings for each other, and the formalities have been completed!"
At this point, Yan Xiujuan deliberately raised her voice, as if speaking to Hu Mei, but also as if speaking to everyone in the building who was eavesdropping:
"You heard that noise just now? That was Zhao Gang making a promise to Old Wang! This kid is an honest man; he knows he was wrong before, so he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to us old folks to admit his mistakes, and even swore to change his surname! He said that if he has any children, they will take Old Wang's surname, and even if he has to marry into the family, he, Zhao Gang, will still have to take good care of Lili!"
Yan Xiujuan's "advance as retreat" tactic was quite skillful.
Since they couldn't hide Zhao Gang's shameful deeds, they might as well trample Zhao Gang into the mud and portray themselves as the "magnanimous and powerful party who brought their son-in-law into their home."
In a place like Yun County, although marrying into a family has a bad reputation, it's still better than having your daughter deceived. At least it shows that the Wang family has the means to keep their husbands under control.
Hu Mei was clearly taken aback by Yan Xiujuan's move. She paused for a moment, then curled her lip and said, "Marrying into the family? Changing his surname? Oh my, Zhao Gang really doesn't even acknowledge his ancestors in order to climb the social ladder. Tsk tsk tsk, he's really got some nerve eating a gigolo."
"That's still better than some people's sons!"
Yan Xiujuan retorted without hesitation, directly hitting Hu Mei's sore spot, "I heard your Qiangzi quit his job again recently? It's not good for him to just stay home and sponge off his parents all the time. My Zhao Gang may have some minor flaws, but he's a key employee at the supply and marketing cooperative, with a bright future ahead of him. A man is a good man as long as he's obedient, can earn money, and is good to his wife! Whatever his surname is, that's all irrelevant!"
Hu Mei's sore spot was hit, and her face instantly turned ugly.
Her son's lack of ambition is her biggest worry in life. He usually shows off in the compound just to have fun, but when it comes to real achievements, he is indeed far inferior to Zhao Gang.
"Hmph, a promising future?"
Hu Mei snorted coldly, her eyes darting around as she found a new point of attack. "Xiujuan, aren't you speaking too soon? With such a commotion yesterday, surely the supply and marketing cooperative will give us something, right? I heard that the deputy director's position... is probably in jeopardy! Don't end up losing everything, only to bring home an unemployed son-in-law who lives off you. Old Wang's salary isn't enough to support this whole family!"
Yan Xiujuan's heart sank again.
This was also her biggest worry. Although Lao Wang said to send Zhao Gang to the warehouse, it was still a demotion, and no one could say for sure whether he could climb back up in the future.
But Yan Xiujuan remained defiant, saying, "You don't need to worry about that! Old Wang has worked in the county for so many years, would he let his children and son-in-law go hungry? Going to the warehouse is to toughen him up; young people need to endure hardship! Alright, I'm not going to argue with you anymore, I need to go buy groceries!"
After saying that, Yan Xiujuan didn't give Hu Mei a chance to speak again. She pushed Hu Mei aside, who was blocking her way, and walked quickly out of the building with her high heels clicking.