Chapter Eighty-One: Is That Even Possible?

“Sis-in-law!” Xu Qing walked in from outside at that moment.

She glanced toward Xu Fei’s room, seemed to notice Du Man standing by the bed, and looked at her sister-in-law with curiosity. “What are you doing? What’s for dinner tonight?”

Du Man hurriedly pushed Xu Fei aside, opened the door, and stepped out. “I haven’t started cooking yet. By the way, Xu Qing, what would you like to eat? Isn’t your exam coming up today? I’ll make something good for you.”

Xu Qing smiled, “Sis-in-law, I want pig’s trotters.”

“What?” Du Man looked at her with a bit of difficulty. “Pig’s trotters?”

“Buy them.” Xu Fei came out of the room just then.

“Huh? Why are you at home?” Xu Qing asked.

Xu Fei glanced at her. “Wait for me, I’ll go buy you pig’s trotters.”

“Xu Fei, I was just saying, those are too expensive…” But Xu Fei was already leaving with his coat.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said.

Xu Qing watched him leave the yard, then turned to Du Man. “Sis-in-law, what’s up with him today? Why’s he home so early?”

“He’ll be coming home early from now on,” Du Man replied as she walked into the kitchen.

“What’s going on?”

“Your brother has taken an unpaid leave.”

“What?” Xu Qing froze in surprise. “Is his old problem acting up again?”

Du Man glanced back at her and laughed, “No, your brother is preparing to go into business. He’s going to make a lot of money for us.”

“Him? Hmph. Sis-in-law, you’re the only one who believes in him.” Xu Qing shook her head dismissively, then as if remembering something, she suddenly walked into the kitchen, leaned over Du Man’s back, rested her chin on her shoulder, and whispered, “My dear sis-in-law, what were you two doing in the room just now?”

Du Man was taken aback, embarrassed. “N-nothing at all…”

But Xu Qing wouldn’t let it go, pinching Du Man’s waist.

“Ah!” Du Man shrieked.

“Still not telling me?”

“Why do you ask about everything, you little imp?” Du Man laughed, dodging away and giving Xu Qing a fierce glare.

“I’m a little imp? You’re not that much older than me. Tell me, were you two up to no good?”

“What do you mean, ‘no good’? Is that any way to talk to your sister-in-law?”

Xu Qing clicked her tongue. “Comrade Du Man, you might as well confess. But you two being mischievous is actually a good thing. It’s time you added to the Xu family.”

Du Man, annoyed by her teasing, gave Xu Qing’s nose a sharp flick, making her yelp and dodge out of the kitchen.

“Big sis, what are you and sis-in-law up to?”

Xu Yun walked in from outside.

“Children shouldn’t ask about everything,” Du Man replied. “By the way, have you gotten your end-of-term results yet?”

At the mention of his grades, Xu Yun lifted his head proudly. “Sis, guess what place I got this time?”

“You?” Xu Qing thought for a moment. “Did you make it into the top ten?”

“Sis, top ten? Do you look down on your own brother that much?”

“All right, just tell us!” Du Man joined them at the kitchen door, her eyes full of anticipation.

“Sis, sis-in-law, I got second place in the whole year group.”

“Look at you!” Xu Qing stepped forward and ruffled Xu Yun’s hair vigorously.

“Hey, sis, what are you doing? I need my brain for a living, don’t mess it up!” Xu Yun laughed, rolling his eyes at her.

“That’s right, Xu Qing. Xu Yun is the future of the Xu family,” Du Man said, pulling Xu Yun over. “Xu Yun, what do you want to eat? I’ll cook whatever you like tonight.”

“I…” Xu Yun thought for a moment. “I want your braised pork.”

“All right, I’ll make it for you.”

“Tsk, Du Man, you really know how to play favorites. Just now you said you’d cook something nice for me, but now that this kid is back, he’s suddenly the Xu family’s great hope?” Xu Qing sounded cross, but she was smiling.

“You’ll marry out one day, but Xu Yun will always be the root of the Xu family,” Du Man said.

“Male chauvinism. Such feudal thinking.” Xu Qing said, giving Xu Yun’s ear a hard twist.

“Ow, ow, that hurts, second sister…” Xu Yun cried as Xu Qing dragged him inside.

“Go do your homework first, you so-called hope of the Xu family. You think second place is so impressive?”

Du Man watched the siblings disappear into the house, shaking her head with a smile before heading into the kitchen to get busy.

…

“Where’s Sister Zhang?” Xu Fei asked, glancing at Sister Wang behind the counter.

“She’s taken a few days off. Word is she’s been trafficking something. Even her husband stopped selling meat at the stall,” Sister Wang replied, wrapping up the pig’s trotters and handing them to Xu Fei.

“Trafficking what? She’s not even going to work?” Xu Fei asked as he took them.

“Millet,” came a voice from behind. It was Shen Shuming.

“Director Shen?”

Xu Fei looked at him in surprise.

“Xu Fei, come here. I have a few words for you,” Shen Shuming waved him over.

Xu Fei went through the side door behind the counter. There was a corridor, and at its end was Shen Shuming’s office.

“So, is there something to celebrate at the end? Pig’s trotters, maybe?” Shen Shuming joked.

“Oh, my sister’s about to take her college entrance exam, and my wife said she should have something nutritious. By the way, just now you said Sister Zhang was trafficking millet?”

Shen Shuming gestured to the sofa, inviting Xu Fei to sit. They both sat down.

“That’s right. I just found out about it myself, and I was planning to visit your family.”

Xu Fei nodded. “Do you know who’s backing Sister Zhang?”

“Zhang Lichun,” Shen Shuming said, watching Xu Fei. “Surprised?”

“Yes,” Xu Fei admitted.

“It’s not really surprising. You just didn’t know. Sister Zhang is Zhang Lichun’s niece. She calls him Second Uncle.”

“They’re relatives?!”

“Of course. Didn’t you know?”

Xu Fei truly hadn’t expected this.

“This afternoon, Sister Zhang brought Zhang Lei here. They hauled in a truckload of millet—thirty thousand jin. She left fifteen thousand for me and said the rest was to be delivered to two other food stores, one in the east of the city and one in the north.”

Hearing this, Xu Fei immediately understood. Zhang Lei? That name was all too familiar.

So, he was involved in this, too. Then the missing millet incident must have been orchestrated by Zhang Lei. It seemed the Zhang family father and son really were his nemesis from a previous life.

“Xu Fei, looks like you’ve met your match this time,” Shen Shuming said, pouring Xu Fei a cup of tea and handing it to him personally.

“What makes you say that?”

“Zhang Lichun may not be a big shot in Dongjiang City, but he’s got some influential relatives. I’ve heard one of the deputy directors in the city is a distant maternal uncle of his.”

Xu Fei frowned. “Is that so?”