Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Being Thought Of_1
Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Being Thought Of_1
Due to the delicacies Lin Yue had come up with this time, although she didn’t manage to sell them at the market as she had hoped, she did earn quite a few favors, which was a considerable gain. However, every story has its good and bad sides. In such a large village, any little thing, no matter how insignificant, would spread quickly among the villagers once word got out. Since Lin Yue hadn’t tried to hide her gift-giving, those who were unrelated could only watch enviously, while those who considered themselves entitled to similar benefits but didn’t receive any grew discontented. Such resentment led them to covet what belonged to others, with Zhao Erhu’s aunt being one of the most outraged individuals.
As for how Zhao Lan found out, that involved another top-grade character, Wei Fangcao. Wei Fangcao was the niece of Zhao Erhu’s stepmother from the Wei Family and had married Li Gang, a cousin of Zhao Erhu’s aunt’s husband. Back in the day, it was Zhao Erhu who first caught Wei Fangcao’s eye; she was smitten with his handsome looks at first sight, her heart fluttering with youthful passion. After just two meetings, she made it clear she wanted to marry him, shamelessly pursuing him without concern for propriety or decency.
Unfortunately for Wei Fangcao, Zhao Erhu had a strong dislike for anyone from the Wei Family due to his stepmother’s attitude, including his stepmother’s niece. He certainly wasn’t going to accept her proposal, and he never showed a good face to this shameless woman.
Wei Fangcao was deeply hurt, but soon after, she met Li Gang. Li Cheng was witty and knew how to make a young girl happy. Wei Fangcao gradually took a liking to Li Cheng, and when she learned that Li Gang had a stable job in the city, she became intrigued. Convinced by her aunt Wei Family’s persuasion, she decisively chose to abandon Zhao Erhu, whose reputation was not good, and got cozy with Li Gang, later moving to the city to live with him.
That should have been the end of it, but Wei Fangcao was quite the oddity. Even though she was married, she still harbored an unforgettable obsession with Zhao Erhu. Whenever she returned to the village, she would ‘coincidentally’ bump into her old flame and harbored a deep animosity towards Zhao Erhu’s wife Lin Yue, whom she believed ‘stole’ her man. In the past, this jealousy nearly led to a fight with the Li Family, and this time, she intended to meet Lin Yue during her visit to the village. She hadn’t been back home long before taking two packs of cakes to her aunt Wei Family’s place, wanting to gather some information before making her move.
“Fangcao, when did you come back? Come in and sit down,” the Wei Family matriarch warmly welcomed her niece into the house while directing her daughters-in-law in their chores.
“I just got back this morning and came straight to see you, auntie. These are cakes I bought from the city; they taste really good. I bought them especially for you,” Wei Fangcao said cleverly, calling out affectionately to Li Xiaomei, who was reluctantly cutting pigweed with a kitchen knife, and speaking with a sense of superiority on her face.
Wei Fangcao and Li Xiaomei were close in age and background, and even though they were cousins and used to play together as children, they enjoyed competing with each other. Whether it was food, clothes, or toys, they always tried to outdo one another. Now that she was married, Wei Fangcao’s life was obviously going better than Li Xiaomei’s, something that she took great pride in. On her return this time, she purposefully wore a peach-pink cotton skirt and a silver hairpin to show off, her face coated with a layer of cheap powder, following Wei Family matriarch into the house with a provocative sway in her step, leaving Li Xiaomei feeling both sour and envious.
“It’s not a holiday or anything, so why did you come back now? You didn’t have a quarrel with your husband again, did you? Not to scold you, but now you’re a mother of two. You should live well with Li Gang and not entertain any inappropriate thoughts. It’s only because your husband Li Gang is so forgiving that he doesn’t hold it against you,” said Wei Family matriarch.
“Hmm, I know,” Wei Fangcao responded nonchalantly, reaching for a piece of the bean dregs cake the Wei Family matriarch had specially brought out for her.