People with experience quickly questioned, “Only half a year apart? Wasn’t Xiao Feng said to be six years old?”
“Six years old? Does that look like a six-year-old to you?”
“True, he looks more like three to me.”
“If he’s half a year older than Xuanxuan, that makes him four and a half.”
“So, they made up his age to avoid embarrassment. The child was just sent here from the countryside, and they can claim any age they want.”
Xia Mian praised the female officer’s quick wit and immediately said, “Both are my brother-in-law’s biological child. Huang Xiaojuan had an affair with Zhang Qiming while my sister was pregnant.”
“Just after my sister gave birth to Xiao Feng, the mistress couldn’t wait to send my sister a photo of her pregnant belly, claiming Zhang Qiming loved her. My sister, still in her confinement period, couldn’t take it. She went to confront them and died in a car accident on the way.” She pointed at the flat, “Otherwise, how could my brother-in-law, an ordinary worker, afford a house on block 18? He used my sister’s compensation money, I heard it was about forty to fifty thousand.”
Huang Xiaojuan’s face turned pale at the mention of “compensation money.”
The onlookers exploded in shock; in an era where the average family savings were three to four thousand, forty to fifty thousand was a fortune.
“Is it true? I thought Huang Xiaojuan’s family was well-off?” someone questioned.
So it turned out Huang Xiaojuan had also crafted a persona of coming from a good family.
Xia Mian sneered, “Would a good family let their daughter be a mistress?”
“If her family was wealthy, would she snatch the things left for my sister’s child?” Xia Mian continued, “You caused my sister’s death, took all her benefits, and now you abuse her child. How dark is your heart?”
The crowd was in an uproar.
“What?”
“What’s going on?”
Xia Mian explained, “My sister was a graduate of Ming City University, assigned to work as a teacher at Huagang First Junior High School. Zhang Qiming, by marrying my sister, gained the status of a family member and could work at the factory. The librarian job at Huagang Junior High that Huang Xiaojuan holds was originally offered to Zhang Qiming and the child out of humanitarian concern by the school after my sister’s accidental death.”
“The school probably never imagined that the position meant for Xiao Feng would end up with the person responsible for my sister’s death!” Xia Mian declared fiercely, “Am I right, Huang Xiaojuan?”
Huang Xiaojuan was still reeling with panic. How did Xia Mian know about the compensation money?! With her secrets laid bare, all she could do was furiously retort, “You’re talking nonsense, all nonsense!”
The onlookers had never heard of such things before. They quickly chimed one after another, akin to social media comments that followed breaking news in the modern-day:
“Tsk tsk, if this is true, they are truly…”
“Even the child’s age can be fabricated; what else can’t be? Xiao Zhang only came to the factory five years ago, who knows what kind of person he was before.”
“Indeed, Xiao Huang always boasts about how powerful her parents and siblings are in the city, but these past four or five years, besides her nurse sister, we’ve hardly seen her relatives visiting.”
“So Xiao Huang really was a mistress.”
“Now she’s not just a mistress; she’s successfully taken the original wife’s place by causing her death.”
“Doesn’t that make her a murderer?”
“More than a murderer, living in a big house bought by someone else’s compensation money, occupying her job, and even abusing her child…”
“Tsk, tsk. No wonder people said you can’t judge a book by its cover. She’s worse than a beast!”
“Who would have thought? She seemed so gentle… Tsk tsk…”
“The child’s so pitiful… what a sin…”
The director’s wife, who had been following closely behind Huang Xiaojuan, immediately stepped aside and frowned at her, “Xiaojuan, is what she’s saying true?”
Huang Xiaojuan, fuming with rage, retorted, “Of course not! She’s making it all up! Sister Wang, don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s just trying to avenge her sister because she cannot see Old Zhang and me live a peaceful life!” Suddenly recalling something, her eyes lit up, “How old was she five years ago? A ten-year-old girl couldn’t possibly know so much; she’s just making things up because she dislikes me!”
Faced with the doubtful glances from the crowd, Xia Mian was unfazed. Though she couldn’t reveal her source of information, the facts were clear:
“You say I’m making it up, but let me ask you: Is Xuanxuan not my brother-in-law’s child? Didn’t you send a photo of your pregnant belly to my sister right after she gave birth? My sister gave that photo to my mom, and I’ve kept it. Should I show it to everyone?”
“Or did you not use my sister’s compensation money to buy the house? Both my brother-in-law and your families were poor; where did the money come from? Don’t tell me your family is well-off; your family lives in the suburbs, and anyone can find out the truth with a little inquiry.”
“And isn’t your current position as a librarian at Huagang Junior High thanks to Zhang Qiming? Just ask the principal, and he’ll tell you why he gave such a good position to an ordinary worker’s wife.”
The librarian job was considered a cushy, well-paid position, a kind of welfare job that was hard for most people to get.
“Indeed, if it’s about connections, Engineer Li’s connections are much stronger. His daughter-in-law is a college graduate, yet she didn’t get such a good job.”
“People used to say it was arranged by her family, haha…”
“This can easily be verified. Our Old Li knows Principal Chen well, just a question away.”
The more Huang Xiaojuan heard, the more panicked she became. Cornered, she desperately tried to deny Xia Mian’s accusations. “You’re lying! The money to buy the house was borrowed from my family, and the school job was swapped with Xiao Feng for convenience, since my dad’s connections are elsewhere. We agreed that when Xiao Feng grows up, my dad would get him a job at the power plant.”
Xia Mian knew Huang Xiaojuan was articulate and that such baseless claims could lead to endless arguments. However, there was one thing she couldn’t avoid, “So, how old is Xuanxuan exactly? Is he Zhang Qiming’s biological child?”
Seeing Huang Xiaojuan’s gaze falling on Xiao Feng, Xia Mian warned, “Don’t try to confuse Xiao Feng’s age. Our family has Xiao Feng’s hospital birth record.”
Huang Xiaojuan took a deep breath, angrily retorting, “I didn’t want to say this, but you forced me. Xiao Feng isn’t your brother-in-law’s child; your sister cheated behind his back!”
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Translator’s note:
Since this is my new project, there will be daily update for this week only. Starting next week, TGCF will follow MSRV’s schedule: Monday and Wednesday.
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