Was Da Jun the most filial son?
Wang Jin Gui wanted to find a chamber pot and slam it over Old Lady Xia’s face. This old woman had suffered a stroke and was hospitalized, and it was Wang Jin Gui who had been running back and forth taking care of her. In the beginning, when she was incontinent, even the hospital nurses held their noses, but it was Wang Jin Gui who fought back her nausea to wash the bedsheets.
She couldn’t argue with the old woman now though – Wang Jin Gui’s attention was focused entirely on the news of Xia Da Jun’s fortune.
“Did he make it big?”
“Yes, Brother Da Jun wrote letters home earlier and even sent money. Didn’t you receive them?”
The messenger swore an oath, providing vivid details.
He said he also worked in Peng Cheng, and because they were from the same hometown, he was bringing back a message from Xia Da Jun during his New Year visit home. Regarding Xia Da Jun’s letters and money sent home, Old Lady Xia and Wang Jin Gui were suspicious of each other. Old Lady Xia accused Wang Jin Gui of hiding the letters, while Wang Jin Gui loudly protested her innocence:
“Mother, someone dishonest must have kept the letters and money! If I knew where Hong Xia’s Second Uncle was, how could I not tell you?”
Back when she was washing bedsheets in the hospital, she cursed everyone from Xia Chang Zheng to Xia Da Jun, calling them unfilial. If she had known about Xia Da Jun’s news then, Wang Jin Gui definitely wouldn’t have been able to keep quiet.
Old Lady Xia believed her for now. What mattered most was finding out Xia Da Jun’s whereabouts.
Whether he was wealthy or not was beside the point – without her obedient son Xia Da Jun by her side, Old Lady Xia’s days weren’t going smoothly. Even if Xia Da Jun hadn’t made a fortune, he would give her 99 yuan out of every 100 yuan he earned. Xia Chang Zheng had abandoned her in the countryside, Xia Hong Bing was a gambling addict, and Wang Jin Gui was lazy. Old Lady Xia deeply missed the feeling of being in charge like before.
The messenger smiled, “The letters must have been lost, but Brother Da Jun truly has good fortune. While we all went south to work, he caught the eye of a Hong Kong boss who kept him close as an assistant. The boss values him highly… Brother Da Jun wants to come home and take you all to enjoy a good life, but he can’t get away, so he asked me to bring you this message.”
As for what to do once they reached Peng Cheng, they just needed to ask about Hong Kong’s Cheng Rong Group – Xia Da Jun worked for Boss Du at Cheng Rong Group.
Xia Hong Bing had returned from the card table at the village entrance, and Xia Hong Xia was holding melon seeds but had forgotten to crack them. The messenger was eloquent, describing how wealthy the Hong Kong boss was. Unable to give specific numbers, he instead described how many cars the Hong Kong boss owned, saying he drove a different car each day, with cars escorting him in front and behind!
This was a level of wealth the Xia family had never heard of.
Even Old Lady Xia was entranced. Stingy as she was, she finally understood the need for proper courtesy and invited the messenger to stay for a meal. Wang Jin Gui wasn’t lazy anymore either, rushing to the courtyard with Xia Hong Xia to catch a chicken.
Xia Hong Xia’s mouth watered at the thought of fragrant chicken legs, but she was more enticed by the luxurious life the messenger described.
“Mom, has Second Uncle made his fortune? Should we go to Peng Cheng?”
The mother and daughter caught a young rooster that had just crowed. As they killed and plucked it, they were far more efficient than usual.
“Are you stupid? Of course, we’re going!”
If they didn’t go to Peng Cheng and Xia Da Jun had made his fortune, wouldn’t it all benefit Xia Zi Yu? And then there was Xia Xiao Lan – if she learned about Xia Da Jun’s wealth, she’d surely try to come back to the Xia family to take advantage.
Fortunately, Xia Zi Yu hadn’t shown any signs of returning home this winter break.
That money-losing good Xia Xiao Lan probably hadn’t gotten the news yet, which would work to Hong Xia’s advantage. Those two had both gotten into university and left the countryside. Wang Jin Gui was consumed by jealousy and resentment – of the three Xia family daughters, why did Hong Xia have to marry a farmer?
Now here was their chance. Wang Jin Gui chopped the young rooster into pieces and started braising it, lowering her voice to tell Xia Hong Xia:
“That boyfriend of yours – break it off immediately, understand?”
Xia Hong Xia hadn’t given up hope after failing to find a male student at An Qing First High School. She hadn’t been idle these past six months and had found a man from the county town. He was a bit older but quite handsome, and Xia Hong Xia quite liked him.
If nothing went wrong, she was going to marry that man.
When Wang Jin Gui suddenly told her to break it off, Xia Hong Xia wanted to scream. Wang Jin Gui grabbed her arm: “Are you stupid, girl? Your Second Uncle is working for a Hong Kong boss – don’t you know you could marry someone from Hong Kong?”
Wang Jin Gui didn’t dare dream about the Hong Kong boss himself. After six months of arranging blind dates for Xia Hong Xia, she had a clear understanding of her daughter’s prospects. Xia Hong Xia had nothing particularly impressive – she was average-looking, unemployed, and especially unremarkable compared to Xia Xiao Lan and Xia Zi Yu.
If she couldn’t marry the Hong Kong boss, wouldn’t marrying any Hong Kong person do?
At times like these, Wang Jin Gui’s mind worked quickly. Xia Hong Xia fell silent. She had always been lazy and fond of good food. Though reluctant to give up her current boyfriend, if she could go to Hong Kong, it would be a hundred times better than marrying someone in An Qing County!
Mother and daughter reached an agreement, desperately hoping the messenger would share more news about Xia Da Jun. During the meal, Xia Hong Bing drank himself drunk.
The family all had big mouths, and this news truly excited the Xia family.
Shortly after the messenger left, the entire Da He Village knew about Xia Da Jun’s fortune – the smoke from the Xia family’s grave truly rose high! Two granddaughters had gotten into university, though Old Lady Xia couldn’t benefit from that, now there was Xia Da Jun, this filial son!
“What dumb luck.”
“Xia Da Jun could make a fortune?”
“He’s got connections with a Hong Kong boss…”
If the “loose woman” Xia Xiao Lan could become a provincial champion, get into Hua Qing University, and appear on TV at Tian An Men Square celebrations, maybe Xia Da Jun making a fortune wasn’t so impossible!
Da He Village had its problems – the villagers loved to gossip and gamble, and no family could keep their affairs private. News quickly spread to the surrounding villages.
Zhang Cui’s maiden home wasn’t far from Da He Village. Zhang Cui and Xia Chang Zheng had returned from the capital to An Qing, but Xia Chang Zheng was too embarrassed to return to Da He Village with his injured hand, so the couple stayed at Zhang’s family home.
After all, their son Xia Jun Bao was being cared for by Zhang’s family. When Zhang Cui said she wouldn’t return to the Xia family, Xia Chang Zheng silently agreed. When the gossip reached Zhang Cui’s maiden home about Xia Da Jun following a Hong Kong boss and making his fortune in Peng Cheng, Zhang Cui could hardly believe it:
“Him? Make a fortune?”
Xia Chang Zheng couldn’t believe it either. He and Zhang Cui had originally lived the best life, while Xia Da Jun was just the family laborer. When he ran away from the hospital that year and hadn’t been heard from for a year, Xia Chang Zheng had assumed his brother had died somewhere.
Though the couple refused to believe it, the villagers of Da He spoke with such detail – saying the Xia family was packing up to go to Peng Cheng, not even staying in the countryside for New Year’s, and might not return after finding Xia Da Jun – that Zhang Cui had to believe it.
She immediately grew restless and sent a telegram to Xia Zi Yu, who remained in the capital, asking what they should do.
Their daughter wasn’t very considerate, but she was smarter than Zhang Cui and Xia Chang Zheng – she was a university student after all. Zhang Cui still relied on Xia Zi Yu quite a bit.
When Xia Zi Yu received the telegram, she found it utterly absurd.
She had thought those in high positions were suddenly being sent to the Party History Office to retire. And her Second Uncle Xia Da Jun, whom she thought would never amount to anything in his life, was now said to have made his fortune?
Rural people were inexperienced – Xia Da Jun probably earned a bit of money, and they were calling it a fortune. The only thing that caught Xia Zi Yu’s attention was the mention of the Hong Kong boss in the telegram… If she wanted to do business, she needed capital. How much money did the Second Uncle have, and could he help provide support?
It had never occurred to Xia Zi Yu that Xia Da Jun might refuse her requests.
People, like animals, can be trained. She had spent several years subtly influencing the Xia family, and Xia Da Jun had always granted her requests. Even if it meant wronging Xia Xiao Lan, he would satisfy her first – whenever this happened, Xia Zi Yu felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.