During the reservoir construction, aside from not personally visiting Wan Jianhai at the county government office a second time, the village chief did everything else hands on. However, all the credit was swept up by that girl, Nan Feng.
Now everyone in the village is praising Nan Feng, and it’s as if he, as the village chief, only played a minor supportive role.
Especially when his two clueless daughters-in-law were also involved in the chit-chat:
The second daughter-in-law was feeding her daughter a piece of meat, while saying, “Did you know? This afternoon, I ran into Old Zhou in the vegetable field. Everyone was swarming around him, claiming he’d struck it rich this time. Even though his three sons are good for nothing, that wild lad is worth three of them, let alone Nan Feng, who’s bound to marry that wild lad sooner or later. You know what that means? Definitely a win-win, it’s like two arrows from one bow.”
The third daughter-in-law retorted, “Oh please, just because you’ve watched a few operas doesn’t mean you know how to use idioms. It’s not ’two arrows from one bow’, it’s ’one arrow, two vultures’.”
The second daughter-in-law: “All right, let’s forget about using idioms then. Regardless, Old Zhou’s definitely struck it rich.”
The third daughter-in-law while gnawing on a piece of meat: “Absolutely, I even went up the hill today specifically to have a look at Nan Feng. My oh my, I almost didn’t recognize it was Nan Feng, that girl who used to be ugly, foolish and dirty. How did she become so radiant? Her facial pimples are all gone, she looks much healthier, has grown taller, and her waist and bottom are suitably proportioned.”
The second daughter-in-law: “Indeed, she looks like she can bear children now.”
The third daughter-in-law: “Wenxuan has suffered a big loss this time. Last time he insisted on breaking off the engagement, we all tried to persuade him not to…”
The second daughter-in-law kicked the third daughter-in-law under the table, shutting her up promptly.
Wenxuan’s mother coughed a few times, then slammed her chopsticks on the table: “A loss? A loss? You have all seen how the reservoir construction went. Wenxuan’s father and Wenxuan himself have been working tirelessly. How does the credit go solely to Nan Feng and that lad? Sure, Nan Feng isn’t daft anymore, she’s even got prettier. But how did our Wenxuan lose out? Tomorrow they will release the results for the imperial examination, and Wenxuan is bound to be the top scorer. He can marry any kind of woman he wants. There are many beautiful, well-bred and intelligent women for him to choose from.”
Mo Wenxuan became somewhat impatient, “Mother, let’s not talk about that. I’m still young, there’s no rush to get married.”
Wenxuan’s mother had no choice but to zip it. If she kept quiet, then no one else was allowed to speak either: “Did you hear that? Our Wenxuan does not like to discuss trivial matters such as romance. He is currently only focused on his studies, so let’s not bring this up again.”
The second daughter-in-law curled her lip, “Fine, we won’t discuss it anymore.”
The third daughter-in-law began to stagnate on her bowl of rice.
…
After dinner, the village chief and Wenxuan’s mother went back to their room.
Wenxuan’s mother finally vented the frustration she had been holding in: “You and Wenxuan could have taken care of building the reservoir yourselves. Nan Feng and that lad only pitched in the last minute. If it weren’t for your previous hesitation and fear of messing up the reservoir project, would the villagers have revered Nan Feng and that lad so much?”
The village chief, having taken off his quilted jacket, lit up the hearth in the room again: “Now why are you blaming me again? Do you have any idea how much pressure I’m under as the village chief? If I were to mess things up, I could lose my position. If Nan Feng and that lad did contribute, then let them take the credit, as long as these two remain in our village, any future problems will rest on them.”
Wenxuan’s mother sat sullenly on the bed: “But did you hear how incessant the second and third daughters-in-law are about us being at a disadvantage? How have we lost out? Sure, Nan Feng has improved her looks, but that’s just in comparison to her previous shabbiness. If she were to compete with the ladies in town, she’d still be nothing more than an ugly lass.”