The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 406: Chapter 406: Rumors

She spent the money, hired an agent, and completed the procedures to go abroad.

With help from Yang Jianming and Ai Li, Zhang Xiufang successfully obtained her visa for the United States, just as she had hoped.

Zhang Xiufang went home to pack her bags. She even rented a car specifically for the occasion, looking utterly smug.

When the villagers saw Zhang Xiufang return, they asked, ”Xiufang, aren’t you going abroad? When do you leave? Once you get there, don’t forget to take some pictures and write to us. We want to see what it’s like over there.”

Zhang Xiufang smiled. ”Sure, I’ll send you some when the time comes.”

A few women she knew, along with some who just loved a good spectacle, followed Zhang Xiufang back to her home.

Zhang Xiufang bragged, ”My daughter-in-law is a foreigner, and her father is a congressman over in the United States. Very powerful. They’re the ones who pulled the strings for me to go. They said my illness can definitely be cured.”

Sixth Aunt Song chuckled. ”It’s for the best if you can be cured, of course. But you know what they say: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since you’re going to the United States, you should probably learn a few words of their language, just in case you get there and can’t understand a thing.”

Zhang Xiufang just smiled. ”No need. My son said he’ll find a nanny who speaks Chinese to take care of me over there. It won’t be a problem if I can’t speak it.”

”That won’t do,” Sixth Aunt Song advised. ”You can have someone else help you with chores. But when you’re out shopping, if you can’t read or understand anything, won’t you get ripped off?”

Zhang Xiufang paused. ”You’re right, that makes sense. I guess I should learn a little.”

Zhang Xiufang packed some of her more practical clothes, but fearing they looked too old-fashioned, she didn’t take much.

She exchanged all her money, converting it into over two hundred thousand US Dollars. Once she was in the United States, she could just buy whatever she needed.

As everyone watched, Zhang Xiufang departed, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

”I heard that in the United States, they’ll eat one piece of bread and just throw another away. They don’t drink water, only juice.”

”I heard that over in the United States, every family has a car, a two-story house, and electric lights and a telephone.”

...

Xu Hongxia was the director of the Women’s Federation. She had a more comprehensive perspective, and her political awareness was quite sharp.

”Juice might taste good, but could you really drink it every day, with every single meal? Besides, two-story houses with electric lights and telephones? We have those in our village, too. There weren’t many last year, but haven’t a few more families gotten them this year?”

”Foreign countries might be nice, but they’re still foreign countries. We’re developing too, and we’ll have all that in the future. There’s no need to be anxious. We’re changing day by day, and quickly at that.”

Sixth Aunt Song smiled. ”Oh, we’re just talking. I wouldn’t dare go to some unfamiliar place where I don’t know a soul. But with Zhang Xiufang going abroad to live the good life, I do hope her illness can really be cured.”

Xu Hongxia was unconvinced. ”If the United States is so wonderful, why would Yang Jianming make his parents divorce and divide their assets just to take his mother abroad? She says she’s going there to live in luxury, but I’d say that’s far from certain.”

Sixth Aunt Song was taken aback. ”Really? That’s his own mother! How could he treat his own mother that way?”

Xu Hongxia said with a sigh, ”We’ll just have to wait and see if that’s the case. But one thing I can guarantee is that Zhang Xiufang will definitely regret divorcing Yang Zhigang.”

Sixth Aunt Song sighed. ”Yang Zhigang is a truly good man, but that Zhang Xiufang is just impossible. She was paralyzed. If it hadn’t been for Yang Zhigang, she probably would have been a goner a long time ago.”

Xu Hongxia agreed. ”Exactly. Sometimes people are just muddle-headed. It’s a classic case of ’you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.’ People are just never satisfied and don’t know how to appreciate what they have.”

Sixth Aunt Song’s eyes lit up. ”Now that Yang Zhigang is divorced... he’s not that old. Do you think he’ll remarry?”

Hearing this, the other women’s eyes instantly filled with gossipy curiosity.

Everyone knew that Zhao Cuilian had once been involved with Yang Zhigang, but Zhang Xiufang had interfered and broken them up.

Now Zhao Cuilian was a widow and Yang Zhigang was divorced. It wouldn’t be out of the question for them to get together.

Hearing this, Xu Hongxia quickly waved her hands in dismissal. ”Everyone, keep those thoughts to yourselves! Don’t go spreading rumors!”

But despite Xu Hongxia’s attempt to stop them, the others had different ideas.

In less than a day, the rumor had been passed around so much that it had morphed into a new story: Yang Zhigang was about to marry Zhao Cuilian!

Wu Cuicui had been feeling particularly frustrated these past few days, but she couldn’t talk to her children about it, and she didn’t dare mention it in front of her husband, Yang Jianguo.

Yang Jianguo was so angry with his cousin that he was like a firecracker with a short fuse. If Wu Cuicui so much as breathed a word about it, Yang Jianguo would get angry enough to skip meals, puffing himself up like a blowfish.

Telling her own family would only make them angry and worried.

In the end, Wu Cuicui could only confide in Han Xiaorui to vent her frustrations.

Han Xiaorui brewed a cup of chrysanthemum tea to help Wu Cuicui cool down, consoling her with a smile, ”She’s gone now, so things are more peaceful for you, aren’t they?”

After drinking the tea, Wu Cuicui glanced at the children playing nearby, then shook her head and sighed. ”It’s peaceful now, yes, but I guarantee that as soon as her money runs out, she’ll be back, and it’ll be absolute chaos at home all over again.”

”I’m not too worried about myself; I’ll just be angry for a day or two at most. But what about Uncle Yang? It’s going to be another heap of trouble for him. I was just thinking... maybe we should find a partner for him? If he stays single, when Zhang Xiufang comes back, she might actually think he’s waiting for her!”

Han Xiaorui was slightly taken aback. ”You can’t rush something like that. Besides, it has to be what Uncle Yang wants. Second marriages come with even more problems. It would be one thing if the woman was sensible and knew her place. But if she’s only after Uncle Yang’s money, he’d just be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

Wu Cuicui’s expression changed dramatically at these words. She lightly slapped her own mouth. ”Look at me, being so short-sighted again! I can’t just take matters into my own hands. It all has to depend on what Uncle Yang wants! Otherwise, our home will be in turmoil all over again!”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”You mean well, but you can’t force something like this!”

Just then, Yang Jianguo came in from outside. ”Have you two heard? My uncle is getting married to Aunt Honglian!”

Wu Cuicui and Han Xiaorui were both stunned. ”We haven’t heard anything! When did this happen?”

”I just got back from the city. That kid Xiangnan asked me about it!” Yang Jianguo answered. ”Logically, my uncle shouldn’t be remarrying this quickly, but the rumors are spreading like wildfire, and I’m too embarrassed to ask him about it directly.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment. ”Brother Jianguo, you need to talk to Uncle Yang about this. If he really is thinking about it, then we should support him. If not, it would be best to clear things up as soon as possible.”

”After all, Uncle Yang just got divorced, and now these rumors about him and Aunt Honglian are popping up. It’s not good for either of their families, especially since you can’t avoid seeing each other in a village this small.”

Wu Cuicui nodded emphatically. ”Exactly! You have to talk to Uncle Yang about this.”

Yang Zhigang had gone into the city that morning. On his way back into the village with some pastries and fruit he’d bought, he noticed the atmosphere was a little strange.

People were giving him suggestive smiles, but they’d stop talking as soon as he walked past.

Yang Zhigang gave the fruit and pastries he’d bought to his grandniece to eat and didn’t think much of the strange looks.

He went over to Han Xiaorui’s place and saw his nephew and niece-in-law were there. ”Did you notice the villagers acting a little strange today?” Yang Zhigang asked.