Chapter 161: Chapter 157: Terribly Smitten

Xu Huan looked back through the rear window at Li Xiangyang’s retreating figure and nodded shyly. “I understand, Ms. Li.”

’Even though Li Xiangyang is a pig butcher,’ she thought, ’he’s young and good-looking—much better than the men my relatives introduced me to.’

Li Jing said lightly, “Don’t worry about your brother’s tuition. Once he gets into college, you won’t have to stress over it.”

Xu Huan looked at Li Jing gratefully. “Thank you, Ms. Li. Xu Li is so lucky to have met such a good teacher like you.”

Li Jing looked at her and said softly, “I only help those who are worth helping. Go home and pack your things, then go to my dad’s place. He’s a soft-hearted old man. As long as he likes you, you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

“Okay,” Xu Huan replied softly.

Li Jing turned her head to look behind her. ’Knowing Xiangyang,’ she thought, ’Xu Huan is generous and straightforward—exactly the kind of girl he likes.’

’I refuse to believe that Xiangyang would choose a widow with a child over the young and beautiful Xu Huan.’

At this, her mind drifted to the past. ’I had no choice but to make that decision back then. Why can’t they understand me?’

’The circumstances were what they were. If it were now, I wouldn’t have had to publish a newspaper announcement disowning my parents just to marry Jingsheng.’

’I had actually thought it through at the time. As long as I married Jingsheng, the Li family would have a powerful backer.’

’Everything was clearly going just as I’d planned. Who would have thought something would happen to Mom?’

’Dad disowned me, Xiangyang treats me like an enemy, and I’ve paid the price for all these years.’

’Even though Jingsheng is very good to me, his family has always excluded me. Even my own child was taken by my mother-in-law to be raised in the provincial capital.’

’She said she was afraid we were too busy to take good care of the child, but really, she was afraid I would be a bad influence.’

’They were the ones who set the conditions in the first place, but in the end, everyone called me heartless for abandoning the parents who raised me for a man…’

Li Xiangyang walked into the room, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He plopped down in the wicker chair next to Brother Yong, propped his legs up on a rickety wooden table, and leaned back. “Where’s Shuiqing?”

“Shuiqing went to meet the owner of the rundown house.” Hearing a car start, Brother Yong turned and gave him a suggestive look. “That girl Li Jing introduced you to has a great face and figure. Why not give her a shot?”

“You jerk!” Li Xiangyang rolled his eyes at him. “How did she find this place?”

Brother Yong jutted his chin toward the corner. “Heard she went to your house. Your dad wouldn’t see her and kicked her out. Threw her stuff out, too.”

Li Xiangyang turned his head and saw a pile of nutritional supplements in the corner. He sneered, “When Zhigang gets back, tell him to return them to Li Jing’s place.”

Brother Yong tried to reason with him. “Xiangyang, why do you have to be like this? You can’t blame her entirely, given the circumstances back then. You can only blame the fact that everyone was crazy at the time. Besides, she didn’t know anything would happen to Auntie!”

Hearing this, Li Xiangyang shot to his feet and stared at him coldly. “If you ever speak up for her again, don’t blame me for turning on you.”

Seeing his fury, Brother Yong quickly grabbed him. “I won’t say any more. I swear, I won’t bring it up again.”

Li Xiangyang glanced at him and sat back down. “I know you mean well, but you’ve never felt what it’s like to be abandoned and betrayed by your own family. I can’t forget it!”

’If a family can’t stick together through thick and thin, can you even call it a family?’

His mind went back to those years of “stamping out capitalism.” ’Just because our family owned a few pig farms and had opened fresh and cured meat stalls in several markets, they targeted us as a prime example for “clean-up.”’

’Except for Dongzi and Ding Bang, all of my once-good classmates would spit on the ground with a “Ptooey!” whenever they passed me, just to show their contempt and prove their own revolutionary credentials.’

’My sister, Li Jing, who was in high school at the time, had gotten involved with her classmate, Chen Jingsheng. The Chen family had connections in the city. To prove her political commitment—and to marry into the Chen family—Li Jing first coaxed our parents into “donating” their shops and pig farms. Then, she published a newspaper announcement disowning them.’

’Our mother called her an ungrateful wretch but secretly stayed up all night, unable to sleep. In half a month, the old man wasted away to a shadow of his former self. The mockery from outsiders and the betrayal from their own daughter crushed our parents, leaving them unable to breathe.’

’In a daze, our mother fell into a canal while working… After she was gone, the old man almost didn’t make it.’

’At that time, I truly felt like my world was collapsing. I just wanted to drop everything and follow Mom, taking the old man with me. Thankfully, Ding Bang and Dongzi were there. That’s the only reason the old man and I pulled through.’

’After that, I stopped going to school and secretly found a place in the mountains to raise pigs.’

’Since she made her choice back then, she should pay the price for her actions. She can’t just throw us away when she wants and try to get us back when she feels like it. The world doesn’t revolve around her!’

Brother Yong thought of the scar on his own face and the way he felt when others tried to console him. He sighed. “You’re right. You only know how much a knife hurts when it’s stabbing you.”

Li Xiangyang nudged him with his elbow. “Forget it. Let’s not talk about depressing things. I was thinking last night, once the regular markets open up, these black markets will be useless. How should we make use of this place?”

Without even thinking, Brother Yong threw up his hands. “What use could this place have? We only chose it because it was hidden. Once things open up, the more conspicuous a place is, the more it’ll be worth.”

Li Xiangyang remembered Lin Lan’s suggestion to renovate the building and open an inn. He turned to look at him. “Once things open up, what if we turn this place into an inn?”

“Look where all the state-run inns are.” Brother Yong walked to the doorway and pointed outside at the alleyways, which were as twisted as a plate of nine-bend intestines. “This place is no different from the boonies. Who’s gonna come looking for an inn here?”

Li Xiangyang nodded. “That’s true. Anyway, the markets haven’t officially opened yet. We’ll keep things as they are for now. Once the official markets open, we’ll shut down the black market. We can figure out a plan then.”

Just then, Li Shuqing arrived on his bike. Seeing Li Xiangyang, he said with a smile, “I asked about those two dilapidated houses. One is for sale, but the owner doesn’t have the property deed, only the purchase contract. I did some asking around and figured it would be a hassle to buy, so I passed on it.

“As for the other one, I couldn’t find the owner. I asked the neighbor, who said the owner was sent down to the Northeast years ago and has never come back.”

Li Xiangyang laughed. “No wonder the house is so rundown and no one’s taken care of it. We’ll just keep looking for something suitable!” With that, he got up to leave. “I’m heading back to get ready to set up my stall.”

Brother Yong chased after him with a cheeky grin. “I’ll go help you get ready.”

“Don’t bother, I can handle it myself.” With that, Li Xiangyang got on his bike and sped off.

Watching him pedal his bicycle as if a dog were chasing him, Brother Yong and Shuiqing stood there and burst out laughing.

“Shuiqing, why do you think Xiangyang would fall for a woman who’s been married before?”

Shuiqing shook his head. “You should ask Xiangyang! How would I know?”

“If asking him would get me an answer, I would’ve asked already!” Brother Yong shot him a look. “How’s your wife’s health? Any better?”

Shuiqing’s face clouded over. “Her asthma gets really bad whenever the weather turns cold.”

Brother Yong patted his shoulder. “Just take it slow and help her recuperate.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep