Chapter 16: A Fatherless Wretch

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When her father had died in service, the state had paid eighteen hundred yuan in compensation. Song Wanlin had taken the money, and for fourteen years she had given the Xu family twenty-five yuan a month, which came to roughly four thousand yuan in total.

As for how much of that money had actually been spent on Xu Qinghuan, every penny could be accounted for. Her father had traded his life for those eighteen hundred yuan, yet even with food, clothing, daily necessities, and schooling, she could never have used up that much.

From this day forward, she was even with the Xu family and with Song Wanlin. So long as they did not provoke her, Xu Qinghuan had no desire to have anything more to do with them.

While the Xu family were still talking in the sitting room, Xu Qinghuan ladled out some hot water and washed herself. She paid them no attention, went straight to bed, and fell asleep.

As for Lin Xialan, hardly anyone had come to her counter all afternoon. For some unknown reason, several colleagues who usually got along well with her had kept their distance. It was only after she returned home and called out, “Mom,” that Comrade Yuan Huilan pinched her nose and snapped, “You good-for-nothing girl, what’s wrong with you? How many days has it been since you bathed? You stink to high heaven! Go wash yourself, now!”

Lin Xialan was stunned. She bathed every day. In weather this hot, how could she possibly have gone without washing?

She raised her sleeve and took a sniff. She nearly vomited, and her entire face fell.

Only then did she remember the way everyone had been looking at her. They had clearly been utterly disgusted.

“Ah!”

Lin Xialan rushed into the washroom. Yuan Huilan could hardly bear the stench either, so she handed in the hot water from the thermos.

“Hurry up and wash! Good heavens, you could stink a corpse to life. Even a latrine doesn’t smell this bad!”

Lin Xialan would have been willing to crawl into a latrine and drown herself. She scrubbed herself from head to toe, desperate to rid herself of the filth, only to discover that the water running off her was black.

At that moment, Lin Xialan nearly broke down.

“Mom, there isn’t enough water!” she cried.

Now she knew what had happened. It had to be Xu Qinghuan—that wretched girl had set her up.

Yuan Huilan quickly boiled two more pots of water for her. After washing three times, Lin Xialan finally saw clear water swirling away. But when she looked down at her skin, she froze.

Why was it so fair and tender?

She hurried to the mirror and examined her face. Her features were still the familiar ones, but her complexion was at least three shades lighter than before. The pores that had always looked so coarse were now fine enough to be almost invisible. Her skin was as smooth and delicate as tofu.

“Mom, come in and look at me! Hurry!”

Wearing only her underclothes, she flung open the door and dragged Yuan Huilan inside. She thrust her face and arms before her mother.

“Mom, look! Is this still me? Is it really me? Boo-hoo-hoo, I’ve become beautiful too!”

She still could not compare with Xu Qinghuan, of course, but from now on, she had entered the ranks of beautiful women!

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Yuan Huilan was equally astonished.

“What… what happened?”

Lin Xialan deliberately kept her mother in suspense.

“I’m not telling you. Weren’t you just complaining that I stank? Once I washed myself clean, I became beautiful!”

She knew it must have something to do with the pill Xu Qinghuan had given her. But she had no intention of telling anyone—not even her own mother. Since Qinghuan had not said she could speak of it, Lin Xialan would keep it a secret. Something so miraculous might bring trouble to Qinghuan.

“You wretched girl, did you take something?” Yuan Huilan asked nervously.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. As long as nothing happens to me, that’s all that matters.”

She stroked her face with delight, finding herself beautiful no matter how she looked at it. Deep down, she was overwhelmingly grateful to Xu Qinghuan and decided that once Qinghuan was sent to the countryside, she would happily mail her three yuan every month.

And naturally, wherever there was something for Xu Qinghuan, there would be something for Qiao Xinyu as well.

The Lin family returned home one after another. At first glance, Lin Xialan did not seem to have changed much, yet she looked completely different—so fair that she seemed to glow.

“Lanlan, did you plaster your face with putty? Why are you so pale?” her father finally asked, realizing that something was amiss.

Lin Xialan was both annoyed and amused.

“Dad, are you making fun of me? Where would I have putty on my face? I’ve become fairer! Fair-er!”

Her sister-in-law was in an especially good mood that day and could not help exclaiming in surprise.

“It’s true, Lanlan. You’ve become so much fairer. What brand of cold cream are you using? Once I get paid, I’ll buy you another box!”

Lin Xialan held her face as though it were a priceless treasure and boasted, “Sister-in-law, take a good look. This is natural beauty. I didn’t use any cold cream, and I won’t need any from now on!”

She did not want people assuming she had used cold cream.

“You were never this fair before,” her elder brother said, baffled.

Their mother smiled.

“Her face wasn’t properly clean before. Today she washed with soapberry three or four times and scrubbed off layers of black grime from her body. That’s why she looks fair now!”

“Oh, my heavens! Lanlan, you’re filthy!” her elder brother exclaimed, moving as far away from her as possible.

Although Lin Xialan was furious, she did not correct them. Never mind. For Qinghuan’s sake, she would endure this humiliating reputation.

Some families rejoiced while others suffered. It was a day of double happiness for the Lin family: the eldest daughter-in-law had found a job, making her feel far more at ease, while Lin Xialan had shed her former dark, coarse appearance and become a delicate little beauty.

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Things were not going so well for the Jiang family.

When Jiang Chengxu returned home and heard his mother say that the engagement was to be called off, his face darkened on the spot.

“I disagree!”

Jiang’s father merely glanced at him without answering. Instead, he asked, “What did the Xu family say?”

“They said she brings death to her husband!” Jiang’s mother grew angrier the more she thought about it. “If she doesn’t want to marry into our family, we don’t want her either. She’s an orphan whose father died. Perhaps she was the one who caused his death. Otherwise, why would her mother run so far away and refuse to keep her?”

Jiang’s father’s face turned equally livid. That girl was dependent on another family for her livelihood, yet she still dared refuse to marry into theirs. If he himself had arranged the engagement, he could simply have called it off. Unfortunately, he had not.

“Did Xu Qinghuan also tell you she wanted to break off the engagement?” Jiang’s father asked his son.

Jiang Chengxu was somewhat bewildered. He had always assumed that Xu Qinghuan’s talk of breaking off the engagement was merely a fit of temper. Now he was no longer certain, and he deeply regretted not chasing after her when she had returned the engagement token that day.

“She never mentioned it to me!” Jiang Chengxu concealed the truth. He intended to have a proper talk with Xu Qinghuan. Ideally, the matter would not reach their parents, or there would be little hope of salvaging the engagement.

Jiang’s father felt somewhat relieved. He exchanged a glance with his wife, and both privately assumed that perhaps Xu Liqun and his wife were plotting something.

Regardless, the engagement had already lost much of its luster in their eyes.

After dinner, Jiang’s father said that there was still work to attend to and that he had to return to keep an eye on things. It was not the first time he had done so.

Jiang’s mother rose and tried to stop him.

“What could possibly be happening at the factory? It’s already so late. You’re always working through the night as it is—isn’t that enough?”

Jiang’s father picked up a coat and walked straight out without even looking at her.

“The factory director is retiring in six months, and one of the three deputy directors will be promoted to replace him. Old Chen is watching me closely, and Old Shen has joined forces with him. At this crucial moment, I need to perform well if I want any hope of advancing further.”

It was common knowledge that the food factory’s director would retire in half a year. Hearing this, Jiang’s mother said no more. Once she became the director’s wife, she would have far more prestige than she did now.

Although Jiang’s mother felt uneasy about her husband’s frequent absences and overnight stays, she had no choice but to support him.

Things would be fine once he won the promotion to factory director, she comforted herself.

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