Willing to accept the consequences

Shen Baoguo did not have a favorable impression of Ma Zude. He saw the man as someone who appeared honest and simple on the surface but was actually too slick, sycophantic, and ingratiating. However, aside from official matters, he hadn't interacted with Ma Zude much. It wasn't until rumors spread this year about Shen Mo's uncle being transferred that Ma Zude began making frequent overtures, which only made Shen Baoguo more averse to him.

As one of the leaders of Huangnan Township, Shen Baoguo was well aware that personal feelings should not dictate his judgment of a person's work ability or achievements. However, if Ma Zude had indeed repeatedly collected money from villagers to build roads that never materialized, this was no minor issue of personal preference—it was a serious matter of principle and discipline.

But this information came from Fang Changan.

Recently, Shen Baoguo had grown familiar with the name. Even his eldest son, Shen Chengli, had mentioned it on the phone. Judging from Fang Changan's actions during this period, he couldn't be regarded as an ordinary twelve-year-old just starting junior high.

“Could this be something premeditated?” Shen Baoguo, accustomed to thinking things over thoroughly and carefully, pondered for a long time without drawing any direct conclusion. Nevertheless, having caught wind of such rumors, he believed it was always necessary to investigate.

After dinner, Shen Mo quickly called again to urge Shen Chengyan to pick them up. Shen Chengyan had just finished eating and drove over to collect the two, dropping Wang Ke off at her home and then bringing Shen Mo back.

Shen Mo called Wang Ke to check in, then called Fang Changan, took a bath, and happily went to write in her diary, recording the day's interesting events.

———

Under the dim, yellowish glow of the tungsten bulb, Fang Changan's family was gathered around the table for dinner.

Fang Lujun and Cong Rong exchanged glances before finally bringing up Ma Zude's recent visit. Fang Changan was not surprised, having already told his parents about the incident involving Cheng Mengfei. Mentioning Shen Mo now did not seem abrupt.

His main point was simple: the seating arrangement was made by the homeroom teacher, and it was merely by chance that he and Shen Mo were placed together.

Fang Lujun and Cong Rong were simply amazed by Shen Mo's family background. They harbored no suspicions. After all, for most people, a township mayor was still a figure to be looked up to, even if in TV dramas they barely qualified for a minor role.

After dinner, Cong Rong sorted the remaining fish, placing the livelier ones in a separate basin for Fang Changming to keep for a couple of days. The rest she gutted and cleaned, then fried in oil with egg and flour.

Holidays in those days were both amusing and dull—there were no computers, no cell phones, no internet. Yet a simple game could keep a group of children laughing all afternoon. For Fang Changan, joining in occasionally was fun, but really throwing himself into such childish play soon became tedious.

Fortunately, he had borrowed some books to pass the time.

Once the corn was harvested and laid out to dry, Fang Lujun spent the next two days sorting beans and peanuts. On October 5th, he went to the township train station and bought a hard seat ticket to Wenzhou for the seventh, costing one hundred and fifty-seven yuan.

The money was borrowed from the old man.

Fang Lujun borrowed three hundred yuan in total, giving the remainder to Cong Rong to manage household expenses while he was away.

While Fang Lujun was at home, Cong Rong had often resented his idle ways—drinking, gambling, and loafing about. She wished he would just vanish from her sight. But now that he was truly leaving to work elsewhere, she found herself feeling reluctant and worried.

From the day he returned with the ticket on the fifth, a somber mood settled over the house.

On the morning of the sixth, Uncle Fang Luguo's family, Aunt Fang Xia's family, and Little Aunt Fang Yan's family all came to see Fang Lujun off.

Fang Changan had generally favorable impressions of his uncles and aunts, though there were some less pleasant ones, too. Most notably, his two aunts and their husbands looked down on Fang Lujun and Fang Luyong for their idleness, never failing to make a few pointed remarks at each meeting.

Sometimes, when drunk, Fang Lujun would protest indignantly, but he would forget it once sober. His relatives, knowing his temperament, didn't take his drunken words too seriously. However, for the young Fang Changan, it left the impression that "my two uncles often scold my father."

Even after growing up and realizing there was no malice, this impression subconsciously affected him.

Compared to his other uncle, Big Aunt's husband, Tang Xianyu, was more gentle and amiable, usually offering advice rather than criticism. Little Aunt's husband, Dan Peng, was more calculating, often pointing out "you're wrong" or "this isn't right."

Their wives' personalities mirrored this contrast, though both treated Fang Changan and his siblings kindly. Big Aunt Fang Xia would sometimes even bring snacks, making her more popular.

Among the five Fang siblings, Fang Xia and Tang Xianyu's family was the most well-off, as Tang Xianyu had started leading construction teams a couple of years ago and earned a decent living.

When Fang Lujun decided to leave for work, Cong Rong had suggested he reach out to his brother-in-law, but Fang Lujun couldn't bear the thought and dismissed it out of hand.

Fang Yan and Dan Peng, like Fang Luguo, lived further away in the township, while Fang Xia and Tang Xianyu lived in Little Tang Village, just a village away, so they arrived first.

Their daughter, Tang Xi, and son, Tang Xian, came along. Tang Xi, like her cousin Fang Changqing, was in her first year of high school, though her grades were poor and she attended the county's No. 3 Middle School. Tang Xian, a year older than Fang Changming, was in fifth grade and also not doing well academically.

Fang Xia brought a bag of candies, saying Tang Xianyu had brought them from out of town. Fang Changming and Fang Yanran were delighted, though not as eager as before to tear into the treats immediately.

This surprised Tang Xianyu and Fang Xia. Fang Xia teased with a laugh, "Oh, you’ve grown up? Not clamoring for candy anymore?"

Cong Rong replied, "Not really. Changan has been bringing them snacks every week since school started, so they're not as greedy anymore."

Fang Xia chuckled in understanding, "No wonder. Go ahead, it's for you."

After checking with his mother, Fang Changming opened the bag, took out a few candies, and handed them around. Fang Xia smiled, "Now that's really grown up."

Being praised made Fang Changming a bit awkward, so he pretended not to hear.

Tang Xianyu, still smiling, asked, "Changan, have you had any exams recently? How are your grades?"

Fang Changan smiled shyly and stayed quiet, but Fang Lujun couldn’t wait to boast, "He just started the term and already had one placement test."

Fang Xia asked with a smile, "How did he do?"

Fang Lujun answered modestly, "Not bad—first in the grade."

Both husband and wife knew that Fang Changan did well in school, but this answer still astonished them. Tang Xianyu, who had been sitting on a small stool, adjusted his posture and leaned forward, confirming, "First in the entire grade?"

He knew Fang Lujun liked to exaggerate, so he asked Fang Changan directly, knowing the boy wouldn’t lie.

Fang Changan smiled bashfully and nodded, adding, "But it was just a placement test. The unit tests haven’t happened yet."

"That's still impressive!" Tang Xianyu exclaimed, clicking his tongue in admiration, "At No. 2 Middle School, if you can keep this up, you could even make it into the city’s top high school, let alone the county’s No. 1."

Fang Xia also encouraged, "Good! Study hard, don’t get arrogant. Only with good grades will you have a future!"

Both were pragmatic people. While not wealthy, they had no real worries about food or clothing. Their main concern was their children's grades.

Learning that Fang Changan had come first in the whole school made them genuinely happy for him, as family always is, but there was a trace of discomfort, too.

After her praise, Fang Xia looked at Tang Xi and Tang Xian with a sigh, "Look at you two..."

Both were disgruntled at being compared, especially since it wasn’t even exam season, and said nothing.

After some idle chat, the sound of a motorcycle came from outside. Tang Xianyu said, "Must be Dan Peng."

Of all the families, only Fang Yan’s owned a motorcycle. Sure enough, it was Dan Peng, with his two children, Dan Fei and Dan Xiang, on the back. Fang Yan was not with them.

Tang Xianyu, who was first to walk outside, greeted Dan Peng. Fang Xia looked behind him and asked, "Where’s Yanyan?"

Dan Peng replied offhandedly, "She’s riding her bicycle behind us."

Hearing this, Fang Lujun frowned but said nothing. Cong Rong glanced at him, saw he had no intention of defending his sister, and looked away.

Fang Yan was a bit stingy, but she was deft and capable at both farm work and driving tricycles or motorcycles.

"Brother Jun, Sister-in-law." Dan Peng called out from the gate, making no move to come in. Dan Fei greeted the elders, while Dan Xiang stayed on the motorcycle.

Fang Lujun only grunted a response, not returning Dan Peng’s greeting. Cong Rong smiled and politely invited them in, but Dan Peng declined, "No, no, we haven’t been over to the old man’s place yet. We’ll come by later."

Tang Xianyu turned to Fang Xia, "Let’s head over, too."

With that, both families went to the old man’s house. Fang Changan’s family returned to their own. Fang Lujun then cursed, "That Dan Peng is really something. Damn it, a man..."

Cong Rong frowned, "Yanyan herself asked him to bring the kids, trust me. Otherwise, you can ask her later?"

Fang Lujun could be domineering at home and was fiercely protective of his family. He’d argued with Dan Peng before for similar reasons—once, Dan Peng and Fang Yan were traveling by motorcycle and tricycle. When the motorcycle broke down in the snow, Dan Peng left it with Fang Yan and rode the tricycle ahead with the children.

After their argument, Dan Peng thought Fang Lujun was making a fuss over nothing and got drunk to vent, while Fang Yan blamed her brother for meddling and picking a fight. Since then, Cong Rong ignored such matters, telling Fang Lujun, "It’s their business. If she’s willing and he’s willing, why should you interfere?"

If Fang Lujun protested, "I’m her brother! Am I an outsider?" she would retort, "She treats you like one."

Fang Changan remembered all this. The current situation didn’t affect him much, because he remembered that in his previous life, his little aunt worked herself to the bone, but her sons didn’t turn out any better than Dan Peng. Even towards their father, they were not especially caring or filial.

When Dan Fei graduated, Aunt Fang Yan was in a car accident. To avoid dipping into the house fund saved for her son, the family opted for the cheapest treatment, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.

After buying the house, Dan Peng suffered a stroke. To raise money for his surgery, Fang Yan begged her son to sell or mortgage the house, but Dan Fei refused, making her ask Fang Changan for a loan.

—After Fang Lujun unexpectedly passed away in a previous life, Fang Yan’s family never offered any help. When Cong Rong struggled after his death, they came to borrow money for Fang Changan’s schooling but didn’t contribute a cent. Because of this, Fang Changan grew resentful, and after graduation, the two families had almost no contact beyond nominal kinship.

In the end, it was Fang Changan who borrowed money for their surgery. After discharge, both Dan Peng and Fang Yan were in poor health. Dan Fei and Dan Xiang divided whatever was left and barely looked after their parents, often relying instead on the aging Fang Luguo and Fang Xia for help.

Compared to all that, what was happening now was really nothing.