"To be frank, we're conducting an internal promotion performance review this month. If I sell more, I might win. My salary will double then," the female salesperson whispered the truth.
If she wasn't lying, it was understandable. After all, a promotion came with a more substantial salary. Sacrificing a small gain for a larger one showed some courage.
"Since you're so sincere, alright then!" Zhang Liunian didn't have much time. Since the female salesperson was so earnest, he might as well buy from her.
"Which one do you want now? I can show you," she said.
"Xiao Qian, Ziteng, do you two want to pick one? I can lend you money first?" Zhang Liunian didn't need six watches, so he turned his attention to Zhang Qian and the other.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qian and Du Ziteng immediately jumped for joy. What man didn't love watches? Hearing that Zhang Liunian was willing to lend them money to buy one made them ecstatic.
"Okay!"
The two agreed in unison and began to choose. Once they had made their selections, Zhang Liunian paid for all six watches with the price of five, totaling 354 yuan, averaging 59 yuan per watch.
This price was still a bit steep, but for Zhang Qian, who earned three yuan a day, it was equivalent to twenty days' work.
So, he could absolutely afford it. After putting on his watch, Zhang Qian deliberately walked over to the male salesperson who had initially dismissed them, flashed his watch, and scoffed, "You blind fool who judges by appearances, open your eyes and look! What is this?"
Du Ziteng, standing beside him, was even more ostentatious, constantly fiddling with the watch on his wrist as if trying to generate electricity.
Zhang Liunian didn't make much of a show. He merely glanced at the male salesperson and then walked past him and left.
Meanwhile, Zhang Wenxue and his wife, who had been away from Zhangjia Village for two months, finally arrived back.
Upon entering the village, they encountered their eldest daughter-in-law, Wu Gudi.
"Mom and Dad, you're finally back! Come on, let's go home." Wu Gudi was exceptionally enthusiastic towards her in-laws and stepped forward to help them.
"No need to help, I can walk." He wasn't that old yet; how could he let his daughter-in-law support him? Zhang Wenxue sidestepped Wu Gudi's hand.
Wu Gudi wasn't embarrassed and turned to help Yu Xiaohua, who quite enjoyed the support from her eldest daughter-in-law. She smiled and walked home beside Wu Gudi.
Zhang Wenxue and his wife had been living with their eldest son in the village, so it was natural for Wu Gudi to welcome them home.
However, the couple had returned to clarify something. After resting briefly at home, they went to Zhang Liunian's house.
Coincidentally, as they approached Zhang Liunian's house, they saw Jiang Qingqing and a man pulling and tugging at each other by the courtyard gate from a distance. This immediately ignited their anger.
"Jiang Qingqing, what are you doing?" Yu Xiaohua was the one who spoke. She wasn't particularly fond of her younger daughter-in-law, Jiang Qingqing.
Firstly, it was because her son had chosen her himself, not them.
Secondly, Jiang Qingqing had brought back an abandoned infant for her son as soon as she married in.
Many people in the village knew about this, and some had even suspected that the child was hers.
For this reason alone, she couldn't bring herself to like this daughter-in-law.
Yet, she considered herself not to be a cruel mother-in-law, so she preferred to look away.
She hadn't expected to witness her daughter-in-law being intimate with another man as soon as she returned home.
Yu Xiaohua's anger flared. She hurried forward, wanting to get a clear look at the "other man." However, the man bolted and ran, not allowing her to see his face.
"Mom, you're misunderstanding." Jiang Qingqing panicked upon hearing her mother-in-law's voice. Turning around, she indeed saw Yu Xiaohua's furious face and stood there flustered.
But what she didn't realize was that her turn made Zhang Wenxue and his wife stunned.
Was this beautiful woman with fair skin, a rosy complexion, and dark, lustrous hair their former younger daughter-in-law, who used to be sallow and had dull, dry hair?
In just two months, the change was too drastic!
The daze lasted only a moment. Soon, Yu Xiaohua remembered the scene she had just witnessed.
"What misunderstanding? I just saw you pulling and tugging with a man. Do you think we're blind?" Yu Xiaohua walked up to her and raised her hand as if to slap her. But just as she was about to strike, her eyes landed on Jiang Qingqing's pregnant belly. She finally withdrew her hand.
"Mom, I don't know who that man is either. He suddenly ran over and grabbed my hand, and I don't know what happened." Jiang Qingqing's words were all true. A man had just run up saying he was looking for Zhang Liunian. She had wanted to ask what it was about, but the man suddenly grabbed her hand. She tried to shake him off, and then her in-laws saw it.
Therefore, she genuinely didn't know why it had happened so coincidentally.
"Still playing dumb? Back then, you claimed to have found a child and said you knew nothing, nor whose child it was. Now you're pulling the same trick. Can't you come up with something new?" Yu Xiaohua didn't believe Jiang Qingqing's account.
This daughter-in-law was the most beautiful woman in the surrounding villages. A woman like her, how could she possibly behave herself?
"Mom, I'm telling the truth. I'm not lying to you." Jiang Qingqing's expression was extremely sincere, but Yu Xiaohua didn't believe her at all.
Zhang Wenxue, on the other hand, was somewhat convinced. He was generally a good judge of character. While this daughter-in-law's actions were indeed questionable, her heart wasn't bad.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken care of their youngest son for years without complaint.
"Don't try to play the victim with me. Be honest and tell me, is that man Hua Bao's father? Have you two been involved for a long time?"
Hua Bao's situation was a source of anxiety for Yu Xiaohua and her husband. From the beginning, the elderly couple was dissatisfied with this granddaughter of unknown origin, mainly because Jiang Qingqing could not explain clearly where the infant came from.
When she first brought the baby over, they had taken a look. The clothing on the child was not something that poor families in their village could afford, nor did it seem like something an abandoned child would wear.
Because of this, the elderly couple had been bothered by this matter.
Jiang Qingqing shook her head frantically. "No, no. I really don't know him, and Hua Bao has nothing to do with him. Mom, believe me?"
So, her in-laws suspected she had Hua Bao with someone else? How could they think that?
She had been pure when she married Liunian. Oh, she seemed to have not bled.
But she didn't know why she hadn't bled, yet she truly only had Liunian as a man!
"You were pulling and tugging in front of me. How else am I supposed to believe you?" Yu Xiaohua continued to press. Zhang Wenxue tugged at her hand, signaling her to stop. They were outside; they could discuss it indoors.
Years of living together made Yu Xiaohua immediately understand her husband's intention.
"Mom, I can swear to the heavens..."
"Get inside," Yu Xiaohua said, ushering them into the house before Jiang Qingqing could finish.