Furious, Tan Desheng slammed his chopsticks down and stormed off, leaving the dinner table in momentary silence. Tan You, however, remained perfectly calm, eating and drinking as if nothing had happened. "Let’s eat. Why is everyone looking at me?"
"Oh, right. We’ll head out at two o’clock. Everyone will be cooling off in the bamboo grove on the north side around that time. Dad, you haven’t chatted with the aunties and grandmas in the village for a long time. And with Second Grand-uncle back, such a happy occasion, you should tell the villagers all about it."
Tan Lin immediately understood what Tan You meant. "Alright, I’ll be sure to have a good chat with the aunties."
Tan Deming took a sip of his drink. "You’re basically roasting Tan Deji’s family over an open flame."
Tan You replied, "They received so much money, shouldn’t they be the ones to host him properly? Do they really think we’re suckers?"
Tan Lin chuckled. "When it comes to being vicious, you really take the cake."
Tan You shot him a look. "Do you even know how to talk?"
"Fine, fine, I can’t even say that, huh?" Tan Lin didn’t argue back. Just from those few words his daughter had said, Tan Lin had been afraid Tan Desheng would flip the table. But he was also certain that if Tan Desheng dared to do anything, Tan You would absolutely not let him off lightly.
Tan Deming said, "In the past, whenever Tan Desheng ate a few meals at their house, Wu Yunzhen would start trying to get rid of him. Let’s see how many meals Desheng can eat there this time."
Tan You made things clear upfront. "You can’t get soft-hearted. For so many years, how much has Tan Deji’s family gained by stepping on us? Besides, has Tan Desheng ever shown any concern for you?"
Tan Deming replied, "I know. Do I look like someone who can’t tell right from wrong? We’re not relying on your Second Grand-uncle now. How he lives has nothing to do with us."
After being angered by Tan You, Tan Desheng stormed off. Naturally, he went to Tan Deji’s house. Coincidentally, Tan Deji’s family was also having lunch—a lavish spread of rich meat and fish dishes.
Seeing Tan Desheng arrive, Wu Yunzhen was very enthusiastic. "Desheng is here! Want to join us for a bite?"
Tan Desheng didn’t stand on ceremony. "Sure, I’ll have a little more. I’ll be eating here from now on. Tan You is going back to school today, and the old lady’s cooking is terrible."
Wu Yunzhen’s face stiffened. She gave a hollow laugh. "Oh, sure, no problem. My cooking isn’t very good either..."
Tan Desheng said, "Have Cao Xiaojing come back and cook."
Wu Yunzhen tried to find an excuse. "Xiaojing has to work most days..."
Tan Desheng was already full of anger from his encounter at Tan You’s place. Now that Wu Yunzhen was saying this, his expression darkened. "When I ate at Tan Deming’s house, Tan You made me special meals every time. I gave them a total of 1,000 yuan as my meal fee."
"I gave Shanyun 20,000, Cao Xiaojing 10,000, and your grandson Tan Zhiwei 10,000. With all that money, how many meals do you think I can eat at your house?"
Tan Deji quickly tried to smooth things over. "Desheng, we’re all family. Talking about money hurts our relationship. If you want to eat here, then eat here. Of course I have to host you properly, right?"
"Yunzhen is short-sighted, don’t be angry with her. We’re family eating together, why talk about money?"
Tan Desheng didn’t dare lose his temper with Tan You, but he wasn’t so polite with Tan Deji. "Deji, I’ve treated you well all these years, haven’t I? I’ve looked after your son and daughter-in-law, right? Now I’m just having a few meals at your house, and your wife is acting like this... isn’t it a bit disgraceful?"
"How about this: you give me the money back, and I’ll use it to eat out myself."
Wu Yunzhen grew anxious. "How can you ask for something back after you’ve already given it away?"
Tan Desheng, however, was no longer in a hurry. "In that case, call Shanyun and Cao Xiaojing back. We’ll all sit down and have a good long talk about this."
’He was helpless against Tan You, but surely he could handle Wu Yunzhen.’
Wu Yunzhen now knew things had gotten serious. No matter how reluctant she was, she had no choice but to call Tan Shanyun and Cao Xiaojing back. Meanwhile, Tan Lin, Tan You, and Tan Yue were already getting ready to go to town.
Tan You rode Tan Lin’s electric scooter, leading the way with Tan Yue on the back. Tan Lin followed leisurely behind on her bicycle. Along the way, whenever he saw someone he knew, he would stop and chat cheerfully for a bit.
He knew what everyone wanted to hear—weren’t they all just curious about Tan Desheng? As it happened, Tan Lin did just that, spilling all the details of how much money Tan Desheng had given Tan Deji’s family and how much he had given his own father, Tan Deming.
"You’re saying your Second Uncle gave Tan Deji’s family forty thousand yuan?" an auntie’s eyes went wide. "And he only gave your dad one thousand? He didn’t give you guys any other money?"
Tan Lin said, "That’s right. And that 1,000 yuan was for my Second Uncle’s meals, so it all ended up being spent on him anyway. I figured since Shanyun and the others received such a huge benefit, wouldn’t they be taking my Second Uncle back to care for him in his old age?"
"Forty thousand yuan, that must be a whole year’s salary for some people, right?"
"Isn’t that the truth? How much does a factory worker even make in a month these days?"
"And a close blood uncle at that. Sigh."
"It’s not like you don’t know... that Tan Desheng is a lecher..."
The group of aunties exchanged meaningful glances, the implication obvious without being said. Just then, Tan Shanyun and Cao Xiaojing also arrived at the edge of the bamboo grove. Hearing this discussion, the world instantly went dark for both of them.
Tan Shanyun had been thoroughly berated by Tan You last time and had long been harboring immense resentment. Now, hearing Tan Lin say this, his temper flared up immediately. "Tan Lin, watch your mouth!"
Just as Tan Lin was about to glare back, Tan You stopped the electric scooter. "What did my dad say? Did your family not get that forty thousand yuan? Which part of what he said was a lie?"
Cao Xiaojing forced a smile. She knew how sharp-tongued Tan You had become. "Tan You, is there some kind of..."
"Was I talking to you? Why are you interrupting?" Tan You spat out harshly. "It was my idea for Tan Desheng to go eat at your house. He only gave us 1,000 yuan, and it all ended up in his own stomach."
"As relatives, we’ve already done more than enough by hosting him as we did. You’re the family that got the huge reward, so shouldn’t you be the ones to take him back and wait on him hand and foot?"
"Let’s see, he ate at our house for half a month on 1,000 yuan. How many meals will forty thousand yuan get him at your house? Your family’s meals must be exceptionally expensive."
"You can’t possibly expect to get the big reward while we do all the hard work, can you? Where in the world do you find a deal that good?"
This was the first time Tan You had shown her confrontational side in the village, and the gossiping aunties all watched with their mouths hanging open. They didn’t have much of an impression of Tan You before, just thinking of her as a quiet girl. But now it seemed it was always the quiet ones you had to watch out for.
Tan Shanyun gave a hollow laugh. "What are you talking about? Second Uncle is Second Uncle. He’s eating at my house, how could I possibly charge him for meals?"
"Of course you can’t charge him," Tan You said, not taking the bait. "It’s forty thousand yuan, after all. I remember Second Grand-uncle gives you and your wife money every year when he comes back, but he’s never eaten more than a few meals at your house."
"The food was either too salty or too spicy, or you’d just stop cooking altogether." Tan You sneered. "Are you planning to pull the same tricks this time? Oh, I’d almost forgotten, Uncle Shanyun even said last time he was back that we didn’t take good care of Second Grand-uncle, that we didn’t even have good cigarettes and liquor ready for him."
Tan Shanyun’s scalp tingled with dread. "That... I misspoke at the time..."