Chapter 33 - 34: If He Can Make Money, So Can I

Chapter 33: Chapter 34: If He Can Make Money, So Can I

"The hell is there to be so smug about? So he made a little money — the way people are carrying on, you’d think he won five million."

Liu Fang sat in the courtyard muttering to herself, a bowl of noodles in her hands, chopsticks stirring aimlessly through the broth. She couldn’t eat a single bite.

Woof! Woof!

A little yellow dog was circling her feet, pawing at her legs every now and then, its eyes locked on the bowl of noodles as it yapped away.

The message was clear enough: if you’re not eating that, hand it over.

"All you ever do is eat, eat, eat. Is that really all you’re good for?"

Liu Fang swung her leg and booted the little dog half a meter across the yard.

Slurp.

Not far away, Chen Dequan sat on the threshold of the main room, slurping his noodles without a care in the world, completely oblivious to the fact that Liu Fang’s outburst at the dog had been aimed squarely at him.

"Still eating?!"

Liu Fang had had enough. She flung her flip-flop across the yard, and it nearly landed right in Chen Dequan’s noodle bowl.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Chen Dequan shielded his bowl, twisting to the side, and shot Liu Fang a look.

"What’s wrong with me? What about you?"

"You’re useless, that’s what. Not a shred of skill to your name — can’t even get hired as anything more than a day laborer on a construction site. The only thing you’re actually good at is eating. I must’ve been blind to marry you."

"Useless at everything, first in line for dinner — how has the food not killed you yet?"

Liu Fang had been itching for somewhere to dump all her frustration, and now that she’d got hold of Chen Dequan, she let it all fly. Chen Dequan just shook his head and muttered that she’d gone crazy.

"What did you just say? Say that again. I dare you."

Liu Fang shot to her feet like someone had stepped on her tail.

"I’m not wrong, and you know it. You spent all your time running your mouth around the village, turning nothing into something — now someone actually makes a bit of money and you can’t stand it. You brought this on yourself."

Chen Dequan got up and headed inside.

He wasn’t going to waste his breath on a woman who’d lost her mind.

"Don’t you walk away from me, you bastard."

Liu Fang was fuming, her face practically green. All day long, villagers had been taking little digs at her — saying Chen Yuan was something else, that he’d actually pulled it off and brought city folks out to the village.

They’d gone on about how someone as capable as Yuan couldn’t possibly have failed in the city.

And then, dripping with sarcasm, they’d asked her what Yuan had supposedly done wrong in the city — had she maybe gotten her facts mixed up?

Tang Ying especially. Just thinking about that smug look on her face made Liu Fang’s blood boil.

She was already seething, and now this useless man at home was stuffing his face and taking everyone else’s side. She was this close to having a full-blown aneurysm.

"Woof! Woof!"

The little yellow dog flinched and bolted with its tail between its legs. Chen Dequan got a fright too, and managed to slam the main room door shut just before Liu Fang could charge in.

"Open this door right now, you bastard!"

Liu Fang was absolutely livid.

"Not a chance."

Chen Dequan leaned against the door from the inside. If he let her in, he could kiss his noodles goodbye.

"I’m counting to three. You opening it or not?"

Liu Fang stood outside with her hands on her hips, jabbing a finger at the door.

"What exactly are you so worked up about? When you were spreading rumors all over the village, did you stop for one second to think about how other people felt? Probably worse than you feel right now."

Chen Dequan slid the bolt into place and settled down at the table to eat in peace.

"And besides, Yuan’s got real ability. He earned that money fair and square. If you don’t like it, go out and earn some yourself."

"If you ask me, just keep that mouth of yours under control, and everyone gets along just fine."

You had to hand it to Chen Dequan — the man had nerves of steel. No matter how much she raged outside, he just sat behind that door eating his noodles without so much as a flicker of emotion.

He even managed to throw in a calm word of advice.

But then he suddenly stopped mid-bite, ears perked. It had gone completely quiet outside.

He hesitated, then crept to the door and peered through the crack. No sign of Liu Fang. He opened it and looked around — she was gone. No idea where.

"Well, the bastard actually said something useful for once. If Chen Yuan can make money off that pond, why can’t I? It’s not like it belongs to his family."

At that very moment, Liu Fang was jogging down the village road with a wide grin on her face — no trace of the bitter, ranting housewife from minutes ago. She was back in full gossip-queen form.

That throwaway line from Chen Dequan — if you don’t like it, go earn some yourself — had flipped a switch in her head.

The fish pond was village collective property. What gave Chen Yuan the exclusive right to use it? If Chen Kingdom had stocked it with fish, then she could do the same.

She didn’t have fish, but Zhou Jianming did.

And Zhou Jianming already had bad blood with Chen Jun’s family. He’d surely say yes.

"Zhou Jianming! Zhou Jianming!"

Liu Fang jogged up to Zhou Jianming’s house and hollered at the top of her lungs.

"What is it, Aunt Liu?"

Zhou Jianming’s wife poked her head out from the courtyard, eyeing Liu Fang with a wary look.

Liu Fang was the village’s most notorious gossip. The moment she planted herself at your doorstep, God only knew what strange story would be making the rounds by tomorrow morning.

All that business about Chen Yuan these past couple of days had come straight from Liu Fang’s mouth. Sure, it had been satisfying to hear at the time — but now that she’d shown up at their door, they’d better tread carefully.

"Guiying, dear, I need a word with Zhou Jianming about something important. Is he home?"

Zhou Jianming’s wife was Zhang Guiying, a few years younger than Liu Fang, so calling her "dear" was perfectly reasonable.

"What’s this about?"

Zhou Jianming came out of the main room, a towel in his hand, looking like he’d just got back and was about to wash off the day’s grime. He was in construction too, but he actually had skills — leagues ahead of Chen Dequan.

"I came to borrow some fish."

Liu Fang made herself at home and started walking into the courtyard.

"You’re joking, Aunt Liu. Everyone in the village knows the fish in our pond are raised to sell. Since when do you borrow fish? What, you’ll take them home and eat them, then catch a few from somewhere and pay us back someday?"

Zhang Guiying let out a scornful little laugh at that.

It was a first — she’d never in her life heard of anyone trying to borrow fish.

Zhou Jianming tossed his towel over his shoulder without a word and turned to go take his shower.

Borrow fish. What a joke.

"I’m not borrowing them to eat. I have a real use for them, and there’s something in it for you too."

Liu Fang stuck her arm out to block Zhang Guiying from shutting the gate.

"Then tell us what’s in it for us. If you can’t give us a good reason, don’t blame me for chasing you off with a broom."

Zhou Jianming felt a smile tugging at his lips. He was actually curious — just how sharp was Liu Fang’s tongue? Could she really spin something out of nothing?

"You’ve heard about Chen Yuan setting up a fishing spot in the village, right?"

The couple’s expressions darkened the moment she said it.

Everyone in the village knew there was no love lost between their family and Chen Jun’s. Watching Chen Yuan’s fishing operation blow up into something so successful — how could that possibly sit well with them?

They’d literally just been talking about it.

Zhang Guiying had been telling him they were charging a hundred yuan per person per day, and selling lunch boxes on top of that. All in all, they were probably pulling in two or three thousand a day, easy.

Seeing someone rake in that kind of money was bad enough. Seeing it come from Chen Jun’s family? That stung worse than losing money themselves.

"What are you getting at?"

Zhou Jianming’s expression was grim.

"That pond belongs to the whole village — it’s collective property. Anyone can use it, anyone can stock it with fish. If Chen Yuan can make money off it, so can I."

Liu Fang noticed the couple’s faces getting even darker as she said this, so she quickly shifted gears and launched into a rapid-fire pitch. She wrapped it all up in one line.

"You give me the fish, I’ll stir up enough trouble to ruin that pond for him. And if you’re ready to move, every angler with nowhere else to go will come straight to you."

The couple’s eyes lit up at once.

"Aunt Liu, come in, come in! Honey, pour Aunt Liu some tea — actually, forget the tea, just cut open that watermelon I bought."

Zhou Jianming came hustling out of the main room in two strides, waving Liu Fang inside.

Zhang Guiying caught on immediately and fell over herself welcoming Liu Fang in — a complete one-eighty from just moments ago.

Liu Fang was walking on air again.