Chapter 20: Plum Blossom Watch
A villager watched the two families, their expressions clearly showing they were afraid Leng Yuan would come pestering them, and couldn’t help but shake his head in secret.
’Everyone’s from the same village; who doesn’t know what everyone else is like?’
’They were afraid that Leng Yuan wouldn’t be able to get by later on and would come to his uncles to borrow money, but it’s not like he needed their help!’
He couldn’t stand the Leng family matriarch’s favoritism, nor could he stomach the shamelessness of Leng Zhiguo and Leng Zhigang, who had taken over Leng Yuan’s father’s house and kicked the young man out.
Originally, the family property had already been divided. When the eldest son was sent off on his own, he got nothing. He had to rely on his own skills to build a house, and only then did his life slowly start to improve.
But as soon as the eldest son passed away, they seized his house, forcing his son, Leng Yuan, to build a new one for himself at the foot of the mountain. That was taking things too far.
Quite a few people in the village disapproved, but it was ultimately the Leng Family’s private business, so of course, they couldn’t get involved.
But Leng Yuan was a good teacher. Their children’s grades had improved significantly since they started taking his classes, so they were all grateful to him.
’If you asked him, Leng Yuan was a truly capable man. Did they not see? After being kicked out, he went and built his own house at the foot of the mountain. The land might not have cost much—it was cheap—but the house itself was well-built.’
’In this day and age, building a house on your own... how impressive was that?’
’Only those two families were too dense to see it.’
The villager’s mind spun, and a grin spread across his face. He said, "You know, Leng Yuan really knows how to treat his wife. An expensive Plum Blossom watch... he bought it just like that. That kind of generosity is a first for our village."
After saying his piece, the villager went back to shucking corn, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP, working with incredible speed.
But Second Uncle Leng’s and Third Uncle Leng’s families couldn’t remain calm after hearing that.
Aunt Leng, in particular, stopped shucking corn at once. "What? A Plum Blossom watch?"
The villager just chuckled knowingly and said nothing more.
Now Aunt Leng couldn’t focus on her work at all. ’How could Leng Yuan possibly have the money to buy a Plum Blossom watch?’
’She’d seen one at the department store. You needed a special coupon for it, and it cost over two hundred yuan!’
’Never mind how hard the coupon was to get—just the money alone, over two hundred yuan! Her entire family could toil away for a whole year and their share wouldn’t even add up to that much.’
’That brat has that kind of money?’
Aunt Leng found it hard to believe.
Third Aunt Leng was thinking the exact same thing. She stopped working too and started whispering with Aunt Leng.
"Second Sister-in-law, is it true or not? Could Leng Yuan really have over two hundred yuan to spend? Didn’t he borrow several hundred in debt back then? Has he even paid it off?"
Hearing their wives, Second Uncle Leng and Third Uncle Leng also couldn’t help but stop what they were doing.
’They had always looked down on this nephew of theirs. Never mind that he had a teaching job now that paid twenty-five yuan a month. Back when his father was in the hospital, it had cost a fortune, not only wiping out the family’s savings but also forcing them to borrow a lot of money.’
’That debt alone would take Leng Yuan years to pay back, even if he didn’t eat or drink. How could he possibly have any money!’
The two families refused to believe it.
But even as they said they didn’t believe it, their curiosity was eating away at them. When they finally broke for lunch, the group emerged from the fields, determined to find someone and ask.
Aunt Leng was still trying to decide who to ask when Third Aunt Leng nudged her arm. Aunt Leng looked up and saw Third Aunt Leng jutting her chin.
Following the direction Third Aunt Leng indicated, she saw Li Hongmei emerging from the cornfield, apparently on her way back to the Educated Youth Quarters.
Aunt Leng’s eyes lit up.
Li Zhiqing was good friends with Gu Zhiqing. More importantly, she was a notorious gossip who couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Aunt Leng immediately hurried over to her.
"Li Zhiqing, heading back?"
Li Hongmei paused, giving Aunt Leng a surprised look before nodding. "That’s right!"
She recognized Aunt Leng; they often saw each other around the village, but the two weren’t familiar and had never really spoken.
So, Li Hongmei naturally found it strange that Aunt Leng would approach her out of the blue.
Aunt Leng didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. "I heard Gu Zhiqing and Leng Yuan got married and that he even bought her a Plum Blossom watch. Is that true?"
Hearing this, how could Li Hongmei not understand what Aunt Leng was getting at? Her mind raced, and an eager smile spread across her face.
"It is! He bought her a Plum Blossom watch, and I’ve seen it—it’s gorgeous! And besides the watch, there were also Dacron clothes and leather shoes! All told, that must have cost at least three hundred yuan. You have to admit, Leng Yuan is really generous."