Chapter 27
Lin Xixi listened, her eyes glazing over.
Qiao Wei hooked the stool with her foot and pulled it over: “Sit.”
Dazed, Lin Xixi felt a hand press on her shoulder, and she sat down. Qiao Wei sat on a small bamboo chair, holding Wu Nier.
Although the bamboo chair wasn’t high, the stool was even lower. It instantly created a dynamic where she was looking down at Lin Xixi.
Lin Xixi still hadn’t collected her thoughts after sitting down.
Although she was in the shell of a young girl, her soul inside was that of a middle-aged woman from the nineties with little education. She came from the countryside, and deep down, she was quite superstitious. Having experienced something as miraculous as rebirth, she was even more so now.
“It was her rebirth that caused Yan Lei’s original wife to survive”—this explanation was truly unacceptable! It was as if it were fated that she and Yan Lei, this man of great fortune, were simply not meant to be.
“Little Lin.” Qiao Wei let Wu Nier sit on her lap and waved a hand in front of Lin Xixi’s face. “Little Lin?”
Oops, she’d stunned this girl. Hopefully, the shock hadn’t made her simple-minded.
Regardless, Qiao Wei hoped Lin Xixi would understand that the situation had changed and that her plan to “marry Yan Lei and live a good life” should be scrapped.
Unfortunately, once Lin Xixi regained her focus and looked up at Qiao Wei, a fierce glint suddenly shot from her eyes.
Qiao Wei’s heart sank.
It was useless; clearly, Lin Xixi was obsessed with marrying Yan Lei.
She had guessed correctly.
In truth, Lin Xixi wasn’t obsessed with Yan Lei; she was obsessed with “wealth.”
There was an old saying: cutting off someone’s path to wealth is like killing their parents, and it was absolutely true. As Lin Xixi looked up and saw Qiao Wei, with her fair cheeks and healthy-looking lips, her first thought was—she was the one blocking my path to wealth!
After Qiao Wei’s fabricated explanation, Lin Xixi no longer suspected that she had also been reborn. But in that instant, she thought: If it weren’t for her, if it weren’t for her… It’s all her! It’s all her!
But seeing Qiao Wei’s tightly pressed lips and the dark, focused gaze she fixed upon her, Lin Xixi suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly looked away.
“Ahem…” She hastily covered up. “This really is fate. Aunt Qiao, you, you… shouldn’t have, shouldn’t have…”
Qiao Wei smiled, waiting for her to continue.
Lin Xixi knew she should say something like “your life wasn’t meant to end.” But the frustration stuck in her throat was unbearable, and the words wouldn’t come out, leaving her feeling wretched.
Qiao Wei should have died; only if she died could she make room for her.
Seeing Lin Xixi’s face contorted, Qiao Wei stopped tormenting her. She lowered her head and rubbed Wu Nier’s fuzzy little head. “Wu Nier, tell Auntie, do you want to eat canned yellow peaches?”
As soon as Wu Nier heard the word “eat,” her eyes lit up. “Eat! Want to eat! Wu Nier eat!”
With supplies scarce, whenever there was something to eat, the children wanted it. Kids a bit older, like Junzi and his friends, would even pluck the stamens from the flowers planted outside the Town Committee Office to eat the nectar.
They ruined the flowers. Every time, someone from the guard room would come out waving a stick to chase them away, and the little ones would scatter like birds and beasts.
And they would dare to do it again next time.
Qiao Wei knew that canned yellow peaches were rare in this era, so whenever she encountered them, she would want to buy and stock up on them. But in the end, it was just canned yellow peaches, not lumps of gold or silver.
As long as she didn’t let others know she had bought four bottles at once, it would be fine.
Qiao Wei stood up and placed Wu Nier on the small bamboo chair. “You wait here. Come on, Xiangxiang, let’s open the can for Wu Nier.”
She had eaten it yesterday, and now again today. How could they be so happy? Yan Xiang said happily, “Okay!”
The mother and child went into the house to open the cabinet and get the can. Qiao Wei took the opportunity to teach Yan Xiang, “When you have good things, you must know how to share.”
Yan Xiang puffed out his little chest. “Eat with friends, don’t hide it away!”
Qiao Wei opened the can and divided it into three bowls. She carried two, and Yan Xiang hugged his own bowl, trotting after her to sit on his little stool and eat.
Wu Nier was too small, and Qiao Wei was afraid she couldn’t hold such a large bowl. She called her from under the shade of the tree to under the eaves, brought a square wooden stool to serve as a table, and let her sit on a small stool to eat.
The third bowl was, of course, for Lin Xixi; she was the guest.
But Lin Xixi didn’t take it.
Lin Xixi looked at the bowl, which contained a bottom layer of syrup with two pieces of yellow peach lying in it. A single can only had five or six pieces; shared among three people, each person got at most two.
What kind of good thing was canned yellow peaches? By the nineties, who would be embarrassed to serve canned yellow peaches to guests? One should at least make a cup of “Tang” or “Gao Le Gao,” or perhaps open a can of Coca-Cola or Sprite.
Lin Xixi’s despondent heart suddenly regained its confidence.
She was someone who had lived an extra lifetime; she had seen the great world of the eighties and nineties, something people of this era couldn’t compare to.
So what if Qiao Wei was still alive? Don’t look at her putting on airs as a “city person”; there were things she, Lin Xixi, had seen that Qiao Weiwei had never seen.
Moreover, since Qiao Wei wasn’t reborn, she was just a girl in her early twenties.
When Sister Yang introduced Qiao Wei to Lin Xixi, because Qiao Wei had finished high school, Sister Yang naturally classified her as one of the “educated people.”
Recalling this, Lin Xixi scoffed.
Not to mention that Qiao Wei hadn’t even finished high school, even if she had, what kind of educated person would that make her? Ten years later, only university students dared to call themselves educated. High school graduates were less popular than vocational school and technical school students.
The word “wealth” was like a carrot hanging in front of her that she couldn’t quite reach yet, enticing Lin Xixi to keep running forward. She couldn’t just give up without even trying; that was immense, heaven-sent wealth.
Living in a villa! Riding in a car!
Lin Xixi smiled reservedly. “I don’t need it, you eat it. It’s quite rare.”
The last sentence was pure sarcasm. What good things had people in the sixties ever seen? Treating a can of yellow peaches like a treasure.
To others, this sentence sounded polite, but she didn’t know that Qiao Wei could completely understand the sense of superiority hidden within it.
“It is quite rare. I happened to be passing by the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, just glanced over, and happened to see them on the shelf, so I bought them quickly.” Qiao Wei sat down again and began to eat without ceremony.
She didn’t even offer it to her again; how petty. Lin Xixi’s sense of superiority grew stronger; her frustration and annoyance were swept away, and her fighting spirit was rekindled.
“Aunt Qiao.” She brought the topic back. “What kind of relatives were you visiting?”
Qiao Wei took a bite of yellow peach and replied without lifting her eyelids, “Distant relatives.”
“How come I heard you didn’t have any relatives left?” Lin Xixi’s eyes flickered. “Where did these relatives pop up from?”
She had a basis for saying this. Sister Yang had told her this when she was borrowing money, saying that Yan Lei’s original wife’s family had all died out, and there wasn’t a single relative at the funeral, which was quite miserable.
“Who did you hear that from?”
“Ah, heard… um, heard it from my aunt-in-law.”
“Sister-in-law?” Qiao Wei finally lifted her eyelids. “Since I came to this town, I have never discussed my family’s affairs with anyone. Sister-in-law Zhao doesn’t know anything about my family, so why would she make things up about me behind my back? My parents have passed away, that’s true, but my relatives aren’t all dead!”
Qiao Wei stood up abruptly with her bowl. “No, I have to go ask Sister-in-law Zhao. I haven’t offended her, so why is she cursing me behind my back!”
She made a move to stride off and confront Sister Yang. How could Lin Xixi actually let her go? She grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “No, no, I just said it casually. Actually, actually, I heard it from someone else at the vegetable market…”
Since things had already reached this point, Lin Xixi simply drew her blade. She stared straight at Qiao Wei and said, “I heard people at the vegetable market discussing that… you didn’t go to visit relatives, but eloped with someone else.”
When Sister Yang told Lin Xixi about this, she used phrases like “I heard” and “it is said,” because it was so long ago that it was impossible to verify.
Qiao Wei hadn’t died and had been brought back by Yan Lei. But if she had really eloped, the couple would surely be a bit embarrassed. However, the couple Lin Xixi saw didn’t look like they had any issues. This made her a bit uneasy, fearing that what Sister Yang said was untrue. So she wanted to verify it.
As long as she could find a shred of evidence to prove this was true, she wouldn’t need any concrete proof. She just needed to spread the word and make it known to everyone; that would be enough to end the marriage between Yan Lei and Qiao Wei, and let her take her place.
As long as she could confirm it was true!
Lin Xixi didn’t dare to blink, not missing any change in expression on Qiao Wei’s face!
Who would have known that upon hearing such an offensive accusation, Qiao Wei’s expression changed from one of anger to sudden realization. She let out an “oh,” and said, “I thought it was something serious. You just listen to whatever they say at the vegetable market. Speaking of which, I’m even embarrassed to tell you, but yesterday morning I heard them talking about you.”
Do not defend yourself. Never defend yourself; just reflect the problem back.
Sure enough, when Qiao Wei said this, Lin Xixi was stunned. “Talking about me? What’s there to say about me?”
“See, I’m embarrassed to say it.” Qiao Wei looked as if she was ashamed to speak, deftly reflecting the attack back. “They said you were casting flirtatious glances at men and carrying on. They all said you were loose and that they should guard against you, so you don’t seduce their husbands.”
As soon as Lin Xixi heard this, she got anxious. “Nonsense! I didn’t!”
In truth, when Lin Xixi was young, she was very hot and bold. She and her educated-youth husband had only married because she was pregnant before marriage.
But this incident followed her for the rest of her life. Whenever the couple argued, her husband would sarcastically and overtly or covertly call her a slut. Her mother-in-law gave her even less face, pointing at her nose and scolding her, feeling that she, a country woman, had ruined her son’s life.
They argued so much that the neighbors all knew about it and pointed fingers behind her back.
Lin Xixi regretted it deeply. She had thought many times throughout her life that if she had a chance to start over, she would never let anyone hold such leverage over her, her lifelong weakness.
She wanted to marry Yan Lei with her head held high.
Who would have thought that Qiao Wei would tell her that her reputation was already ruined?
This sharply poked at Lin Xixi’s sore spot, and unsurprisingly, she fell directly into the trap of self-defense. “I didn’t, I absolutely didn’t. Every day I work at my uncle’s house and take care of the children. I am proper! When I go to buy groceries, I bring Wu Nier and Jun Jun! My aunt-in-law can testify! I am proper and pure!”
She was so emotional that she almost jumped up on the spot.
With spittle flying, although she wore the shell of a young girl, Qiao Wei could still see the demeanor of a middle-aged person.
Having been severely ground down by life for half her life, even if she had been reborn with a youthful and beautiful appearance, deep down, there was still an irrepressible panic.
Qiao Wei used her chopsticks to poke the last piece of yellow peach into her mouth, pulled out the chopsticks, and gestured at Lin Xixi’s face. “Let me tell you, don’t pay any attention to those gossips at the market. Let them say whatever they want; you just need to be upright and not fear a crooked shadow. Don’t pay attention to them. The more you engage, the bigger the issue becomes. The more people who know those rumors, the worse it is for your reputation.”
Lin Xixi was still very emotional. “They are just talking nonsense! I absolutely didn’t! Tell me who it is, and see if I don’t go and tear their mouths apart! Who is it?”
Qiao Wei said, “I didn’t see their faces, but it should be the same group of people who were talking about me behind my back. After all, they know both of us. Who did you hear talking about me behind my back? Let’s go, let’s go find them!”
As she said this, she stood up.
Lin Xixi was suddenly choked into silence.
