“I didn’t knock over the sugar. Why should I have to pay for it?”
As soon as Zhang Guixiang heard that she had to take out money and ration tickets to compensate for the spilled sugar, her voice immediately rose. She then quickly tried to distance herself from the situation.
“I just came over to borrow some sugar. I didn’t do anything. You knocked over the sugar yourselves, so don’t try to pin this on me.”
“Then why are you standing here? Our families aren’t even close. Shouldn’t you be waiting at the door?”
Cheng Fangqiu let out a cold snort. Seeing Zhang Guixiang’s anxious reaction, the corners of her lips curved into a faint, ambiguous smile.
Zhou Yinghuai, standing beside her, recounted the sequence of events but deliberately left out the details of how the sugar was actually knocked over.
“You two don’t have any real connection. Since they never invited you in, how did you have the audacity to enter by yourself? You have no sense of boundaries at all.”
“It’s early in the morning. Comrade Zhou was kind enough to lend you sugar, yet not only did you disturb his sleep, but you also knocked over the sugar. Luckily, he’s good-tempered. If it were someone else, they might have thrown you out already.”
“Hurry up and pay for it. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be embarrassing if this gets taken to the mediator?”
Zhang Guixiang hesitated for a long time, unable to come up with a response. She clearly knew that entering someone’s home without permission was wrong, but she had still done it. She had assumed that the young couple wouldn’t make a fuss—after all, such matters could be trivial or serious depending on how they were handled. As neighbors, if they made a big deal out of it, it might seem petty.
For the sake of their reputation, they probably wouldn’t argue with an old woman like her.
But she forgot that Cheng Fangqiu wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Otherwise, the pile of clutter that had been accumulating in the stairwell for so long wouldn’t have been cleared out right after clashing with her.
Zhang Guixiang hadn’t yet figured out how to respond when she suddenly saw Cheng Fangqiu widen her eyes in a flash of realization. Pointing at her in disbelief, she said, “You trespassed into our home—were you trying to steal something?”
“I wasn’t! Don’t slander me!”
Zhang Guixiang’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly denied it, a trace of panic flashing across her face. But then, as if realizing something, she quickly regained her composure.
“Do you have any evidence?”
Seeing her reaction, Cheng Fangqiu instantly understood. She had only been bluffing, but unexpectedly, Zhang Guixiang’s response had practically confirmed the truth. No wonder this old woman had insisted on “just looking around”—turns out, her intentions weren’t as innocent as they seemed.
“Then do you have any evidence proving you didn’t knock over the sugar? Do you have evidence proving you didn’t sneak in here to steal something?”
Cheng Fangqiu wasn’t about to fall for her tricks. There were no surveillance cameras in this era, and since the incident happened inside her own home with only the three of them present, the truth depended entirely on their words. That was precisely why she dared to lie and set a trap for Zhang Guixiang.
“This…”
Zhang Guixiang was momentarily speechless. She stammered for a long time before simply repeating, “Anyway, I didn’t knock over the sugar. I have no money or ration tickets, so don’t expect me to take the blame.”
“Then why did you try to stop me when I said I was going to find the mediator? If you weren’t guilty, why would you be so nervous?”
Cheng Fangqiu turned to the people gathered at the doorway. “Everyone saw that, right?”
“That’s right. Aunt Zhang, since you did it, just admit it. Hand over the money and ration tickets, and let’s be done with it. Comrade Cheng and Comrade Zhou are already being generous by not asking for more.”
“Exactly. It’s early in the morning—let’s not waste everyone’s time.”
“I don’t think talking to her will help. Just go straight to her son.”
With that, someone stepped forward and knocked on the door across the hall.
Seeing this, Zhang Guixiang immediately tried to rush over to stop them. But since she was standing deep inside the room, she was too late by the time she managed to get out.
Before long, the door across the hall opened. The one who answered was a little girl, her face pale and thin, with messy hair.
“Isn’t this your second child? She looks perfectly fine to me. Doesn’t seem sick at all.”
Standing at the door, Ma Pandi was bewildered by the sight of so many uncles and aunties in the corridor. Her eyes darted around before landing on Cheng Fangqiu, and her gaze instantly brightened. Tentatively, she called out, “Pretty Auntie.”
Cheng Fangqiu responded with a smile, then motioned for Zhou Yinghuai to block Zhang Guixiang. She bent slightly to meet the little girl’s gaze and asked gently, “Panpan, do you have a cold?”
Ma Pandi instinctively shook her head. If she had a cold, not only would she feel awful and lose her appetite, but she would also get scolded by her grandma. She didn’t dare get sick.
“You silly girl, if you have a cold, why are you running around? Hurry back inside.”
Zhang Guixiang tried to step forward and drag Ma Pandi back, but a tall figure blocked her path, leaving her no gap to squeeze through.
Startled by her grandmother’s scolding, Ma Pandi shrank back, just about to obey and retreat inside. Cheng Fangqiu, however, didn’t stop her, only saying, “Call your parents out.”
Before Ma Pandi could do so, a groggy voice sounded from inside the house. Moments later, two men appeared in the doorway, both wearing vests and trousers, their faces full of drowsiness—clearly, they had only just woken up.
“What’s all this noise about?”
Ma Changjun’s impatience faded slightly as he noticed the crowd outside his door. Putting on a forced smile, he asked in a gentler tone, “What happened?”
“Your mother came to borrow sugar, broke our sugar jar, and now she needs to compensate us with money and ration tickets.”
Cheng Fangqiu straightened up, giving the two men a casual glance.
The surrounding onlookers also chimed in, confirming they could testify to what had happened.
Ma Changjun and Ma Shugen were both momentarily stunned, still processing the situation when Zhang Guixiang, in a panic, immediately denied it.
“Pah! You little wretch, not a single word from your mouth is true! I never did any such thing!”
At her words, Zhou Yinghuai’s expression darkened.
“Such a filthy mouth? I don’t think there’s any need to discuss this further. Let’s just call the police. Illegal entry, destruction of property, theft, verbal abuse—that’s enough to keep her locked up for a while.”
Hearing this list of charges, Zhang Guixiang suddenly felt her vision go dark. She had never expected things to escalate this far.
She had only been itching to get some benefits from the Zhou family—how had things come to this? Weren’t people in the past always forced to swallow their grievances? Let alone calling the police, they hadn’t even gone to a mediator before.
“Comrade Zhou, no need to be so hasty. There’s no need to call the police over such a small matter. Our family will pay.”
Ma Changjun didn’t doubt the truth of the accusations for a second. As her son, he knew exactly what kind of person his mother was. In the past, she had never caused any major trouble or offended any powerful figures, so he had always turned a blind eye. But he never expected that his repeated indulgence would eventually lead to something like this.
His mother had grown so bold that she dared to provoke even the household of a senior technician!
Thinking about his recent job transfer, Ma Changjun felt cold sweat break out all over his body. He quickly went inside and rummaged through the place where Zhang Guixiang usually hid money. Estimating the price of the red sugar and the required ration tickets, he counted out the appropriate amount. Just as he was about to leave, he hesitated, then clenched his teeth and took out a few extra bills.
“Comrade Zhou, Comrade Cheng, we were in the wrong. I’m here to compensate you on behalf of my mother.”
Ma Changjun forced out a smile and ingratiatingly handed the money and ration tickets to Cheng Fangqiu, who was the closest.
“Son! You can’t give them that money! They’re extorting us!”
Just as Zhang Guixiang opened her mouth to protest, Ma Changjun shot her a glare, his patience snapping.
“Shut up!”
She had no idea how much trouble she had caused him this time.
Zhang Guixiang was stunned into silence, unable to speak for a long time. She felt wronged, but at the same time, her resentment toward Cheng Fangqiu and Zhou Yinghuai deepened. In just a few short days, she had suffered two major humiliations at their hands.
Cheng Fangqiu, however, remained indifferent.
“Comrade Ma, you should keep a closer eye on your mother. At her age, she should just stay at home instead of wandering around. Last time, you said your eldest daughter scraped her knee and borrowed iodine from my house, but she never returned it. Today, you said your youngest daughter had a cold and came to borrow red sugar from Comrade Zhou. Heh, not a single word is true.”
“Exactly! She’s always crying about being poor and miserable in the residential compound, asking one person for food and another for supplies. But none of us owe you anything. We have no obligation to indulge you. Next time this happens, don’t blame us for being unsympathetic.”
“One bad apple spoils the bunch. It’s because of people like her that the atmosphere in this compound has deteriorated.”
Seeing that Ma Changjun was actually taking responsibility for once instead of trying to smooth things over as usual, the others finally vented the grievances they had been holding back. They wanted to make sure this was dealt with once and for all—no more next time, or the time after that.
Ma Changjun kept bowing and apologizing to everyone, his smile so forced it looked painful. Only after much effort did he finally send them all away.
“Since it’s settled, we’ll be heading back now.”
Cheng Fangqiu had no desire to linger. She took the money and turned to leave.
Ma Changjun, of course, didn’t try to stop them. He simply dragged Zhang Guixiang back into their house and watched as the Zhou family’s door shut behind them. As soon as the door was fully closed, his smile gradually faded.
“Son, they’re just—”
Zhang Guixiang was still unwilling to let it go and tried to explain, but before she could finish, a slap landed squarely on her face.
The one who struck her was Ma Shugen. His eyes were bulging, practically popping out of their sockets, making him look terrifying.
Zhang Guixiang clutched her cheek, not daring to make a sound.
Meanwhile, Ma Changjun simply stood aside, watching coldly, completely unmoved by his mother being slapped by his father.
Ma Pandi, being just a child, let out a startled cry at first. But then, as if it were a familiar scene, she simply shrank back and scurried into the kitchen.
“Haven’t you embarrassed us enough?!”
Ma Shugen shoved Zhang Guixiang back into the house and slammed the door shut behind them.
The Ma family’s home wasn’t very big. With so many people and belongings crammed inside, even with regular cleaning, it still looked messy. Especially after they had hauled all the junk from the stairwell back in—it now felt even more cramped.
In such a tiny space, it felt like everything had to be split in half just to fit. The elderly, the adults, and the children all had their things jumbled together, filling the air with a stale, unpleasant odor.
“Mom, what nonsense were you up to so early in the morning? How did you end up in a fight with the neighbors?”
Ma Changjun plopped down onto a chair, rubbing his temples in exhaustion. As he thought about everything that had just happened, his frown deepened even further.
“They also said you lied about Panpan having a cold? Do you even realize that trouble comes from the mouth? If Panpan actually got sick, would that make you happy?”
Zhang Guixiang’s lips twitched with guilt. But upon hearing this, she still couldn’t help but retort, “That girl is perfectly healthy. She won’t get sick.”
“From now on, stop dealing with them. If this happens again…” Ma Changjun paused for a moment, his tone turning ruthless. “I’ll send you back to the countryside.”
Just as he finished speaking, the door opened, and Yang Liqun walked in.
The moment she heard those words, her eyes lit up.
“You’re going to send Mom and Dad back? When?”