Chapter 42: Suffering the Consequences of One’s Own Misdeeds

"I...did not." Zhang Jun tried to sound tough, but still wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, almost unconsciously.

"Let me tell you, Xia Yan, you’d better give up on any schemes. Compared to the man she’s with now, you don’t even come close," Zhu Yan said, her tone making Zhang Jun's face flush with embarrassment. If anyone else had said this, he would have already lost his temper, but since it was Zhu Yan, he held back. "Yanyan, I’m at least a graduate of the medical university. Can you find a second college graduate on this mountain?"

"I’m not talking about your education. I mean ability, and character. And of course, even in looks, you can’t compare to him," Zhu Yan replied. Watching the upward curve of her lips as she spoke, Zhang Jun realized instantly who she meant.

Zhu Yan was famous in the compound for her aloofness; there was only one man who could make her smile, and that was Lin You.

So, Xia Yan’s identity was obvious as well—Lin You's delicate wife from the countryside.

At that moment, Zhang Jun’s resentment toward Lin You reached a new height. He had stolen Zhu Yan, and now he’d taken Xia Yan as well! He was furious. Why was it that every woman he fancied ended up circling around that older man with three children?

"Serves him right if his piglets were killed! It’d be better if he died on the mountain," he muttered bitterly.

"Zhang Jun, what nonsense are you mumbling about? Death and whatnot... Tell me honestly, was this your doing?" Zhu Yan’s expression turned cold as she questioned him.

Zhang Jun snorted, "If I’d done it, would I have failed to recognize her just now? Besides, do you think I, Zhao Ming, would stoop to such petty revenge?"

At that moment, a woman pushed the door open. "Doctor Zhang, there you are. I need you to prescribe me some medicine."

It couldn’t be denied, Zhang Jun was still quite popular among the older women in the compound. Nearly every day, one or two would come to him with minor ailments, and they all had something in common: a female relative at home they hoped to introduce to Zhang Jun.

Zhu Yan smiled, sat down, and picked up the newspaper at hand, relieved by the timely interruption that allowed her some peace.

Zhang Jun put on his professional, insincere smile. "Auntie, please wait in my office. I’ll be right there."

"Alright," the woman said cheerfully as she retreated.

"Yanyan..." Zhang Jun began.

"Doctor Zhang, a real doctor would never keep a patient waiting because of personal matters," Zhu Yan cut him off, not sparing him a glance. Her cool tone made it clear she wanted nothing more to do with him.

Zhang Jun lowered his head, grunted again, then turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

But this time, he wasn’t as angry as before, because a new opportunity had presented itself. "So she’s not just a country bumpkin, but a real white swan," he mused, a conspiratorial smile spreading across his lips.

By the time Xia Yan got home, it was nearly dinnertime. Ruan Xiaotian was still in the backyard, watching over the pile of piglets. Seeing her return, he called out, "Hey sis, you’re back. Any news from the hospital?"

Xia Yan shook her head. "No. I don’t even care about those piglets anymore. I just hope the ones that disappeared were dragged off by some wild dog or wolf."

She glanced around at the smoke rising from every chimney in the courtyard, each household filling the air with the aroma of food.

Suddenly, Xia Yan slapped her thigh and dashed out. Ruan Xiaotian hurried after her, shouting, "Sis, where are you off to now...?"

On the way, Xia Yan kept sniffing the air. Pork was a rare treat in the northwest, even more so up on the mountain. Unless it was a holiday, few families ever cooked pork.

When they reached the back row of the family compound, Xia Yan heard happy children’s voices from afar. "Sister, Mom’s making braised pork for lunch today. It smells so good—I’m drooling already!"

"Brother Ruan, whose house is that?" she asked.

Ruan Xiaotian rarely visited neighbors and couldn’t recall at first, but when they saw the three children in the courtyard, they recognized them.

"Hey there, little ones. Did you just say you’re having braised pork today?" Xia Yan asked, pulling a piece of White Rabbit candy from her pocket. She always kept some treats on hand for Nuannuan.

The eldest child eagerly accepted the candy. "Yeah! A whole piglet!"

Xia Yan sighed in relief. Just then, a booming voice carried out from the house—it was Liu Xiuying, unmistakable in volume. "Dogsun, bring your brother and sister in for lunch! The meat’s ready!"

"Mom, a nice lady gave me candy!" the eldest shouted as he ran inside. Xia Yan followed him in.

Liu Xiuying’s expression shifted when she saw Xia Yan, but she quickly returned to normal. "What are you doing here? Get out. You’re not welcome in my house."

"Sister-in-law Xiuying, where did you get that piglet?" Xia Yan went straight to the point.

"What piglet? I don’t know what you’re talking about," Liu Xiuying replied, her tone less forceful than before, betraying her unease.

"Sister-in-law, I’m not here to cause trouble. I just want to tell you—the piglet is poisoned. You can’t eat it," Xia Yan warned.

"Liar, I don’t know what you’re talking about. That piglet—I bought it. Not yours!" Liu Xiuying stammered.

Seeing she wouldn’t admit it, Xia Yan tried another approach. "Alright, Sister-in-law, tell me how much you paid for that piglet. I’ll give you five more than that and buy all the pork in your pot. Hand it all over to me."

"Really? You want to buy it?" Liu Xiuying’s eyes lit up as she quickly calculated what price to name. "Thirty yuan! I paid thirty yuan for it. You said you’d pay five more—so thirty-five yuan."

"Liu Xiuying, are you out of your mind? Thirty yuan? Do you know how much pork that could buy? Xia’s trying to save you and your family!" Ruan Xiaotian fumed, disgusted by her greed.

"Ruan Xiaotian, stop shouting! This is my house. Others may fear you, but I don’t. So what if you’re a deputy battalion commander? People who don’t know might think you’re the regimental commander!"

"You—" Ruan Xiaotian started.

Xia Yan pulled him back. "Sister-in-law, thirty-five it is. I won’t ask where you got the piglet. Just give me all the pork in your pot."

"Sis, you—" Ruan began.

"Brother Ruan, let’s not argue. As long as no one gets hurt, it’s fine," Xia Yan said, not wanting to waste more time—she just needed to get the meat back.

"Pay up," Liu Xiuying said gleefully.

Xia Yan fished out her small wallet and counted out three big bills.

"And the five," Liu Xiuying said, eyeing her wallet greedily—she could see several more hundreds in there and felt a pang of regret that she hadn’t asked for more.

Xia Yan searched but couldn’t find any smaller bills.

"Here you go," Ruan Xiaotian said, handing over five one-yuan notes.

Liu Xiuying didn’t care; she bent down, picked up the money, dusted it off, and said, satisfied, "Help yourself. And don’t use my bowls."

So Xia Yan returned home, fetched a pot, and took away the meat.

As they left, Liu Xiuying grinned and muttered, "Poisoned, she says? Who’s she kidding? Good thing I was smart enough to save myself a bowl. Dogsun, time to eat!"