"Brother Xie, aren't we losing money? Why are you still so happy!"
Zhang Wenfeng still had a dejected look on his face, as if the loss was his own money. He looked rather cute.
"How could that be? It's just earning a bit less. I have my reasons, and you'll know in a couple of days."
Xie Sui said this, and Zhang Wenfeng had no choice but to drive home.
He had returned early today, just past two in the afternoon. Most of the villagers were taking their midday nap, and there weren't many people on the street.
Xie Sui had been busy going back and forth to the county town and the township, and hadn't had time to go fishing in the river or catching birds in the mountains. He told Zhang Wenfeng to go home first and catch a few fish to stew for soup.
This river wasn't small. If it were used for fish farming, the income should be pretty good. However, Xie Sui quickly dismissed the idea. Fish farming was arduous work, requiring constant worry day and night, and he couldn't endure the hardship and loneliness.
Besides, he didn't care about the little money from fish farming.
After digging the ditch, he lay by the riverbank, feeling sleepy. After a nap, he could catch fish and go home, buy some tofu, and stew it with the fish for a delicious soup.
Suddenly, a cool sensation on his face startled him awake: "Who is it? How dare you splash water on me?"
Xie Sui jolted awake and saw a smiling face. Proudly, she said, "It's me. Haven't you stopped cursing yet?"
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't Lin Wanwan. She was arrogant, resilient, and self-reliant. The hardships of life had made her more mature, without this liveliness, romance, wilfulness, and innocence.
"It's you!"
Xie Sui's feelings were complicated. He was certainly not unfamiliar with this girl, and she was even deeply etched in his memory.
"Don't you want to see me anymore?
I suppose so. You're making money, with a wife, kids, and a warm kang. How could you possibly remember me! It just so happens that my parents are arranging a marriage for me, and I'm getting married. From now on, we'll go our separate ways. You'll be a good husband and father, and I'll be someone else's wife."
The girl was named Zhao Xuefei, the youngest daughter of Zhao Tielin. While others were struggling to fill their stomachs and working themselves to death for work points, she could still eat egg white noodles.
However, in the past two years, Zhao Tielin no longer held the position of brigade leader and was too lazy to farm, so his family's fortunes had declined. Fortunately, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse, and the Zhao family could still make ends meet.
But without the special treatment Zhao Xuefei was accustomed to, she was used to enjoying herself and being pampered, like the spoiled princess of the village.
Fortunately, she was beautiful, and many young men liked her, chasing after her and giving her various gifts.
Among them was Xie Sui.
That's right, Xie Sui was one of the foolish spares, a simpering dog.
After his rebirth, he only thought of Lin Wanwan and the children, and had forgotten about Zhao Xuefei.
Today, Zhao Xuefei finally caught him, her eyes like flowing water filled with resentment. Xie Sui was the most generous among her suitors, willing to give her things even if his wife and children went hungry. Yet, he hadn't visited her or given her gifts for more than half a month, which made Zhao Xuefei very displeased.
She had originally planned to play hard to get, but after waiting for more than half a month, Xie Sui seemed to have forgotten her, which made Zhao Xuefei panic.
Knowing that he liked to go fishing by the river, Zhao Xuefei had been waiting for him for several days and finally saw him.
Xie Sui watched her act, wiped his face, and said, "That's perfect. I wish you happiness. I have to go home. Goodbye!"
Zhao Xuefei's eyes widened. He wasn't even going to coax her?
Xie Sui got up and left, annoyed by his foolishness in his past life. He had been so easily fooled for more than ten years, it was truly stupid.
"You stop right there!"
Zhao Xuefei was unwilling to let him leave just like that. She blocked Xie Sui, her face stern, and asked, "What do you take me for? Just leaving like this?"
Her words were filled with resentment and reluctance. It had to be said that this woman's tactics were quite high-level, much better than the "green tea" and "white lotus" types of his past life. If he had to describe her in one word, it would be a "sea woman."
Xie Sui raised an eyebrow: "What do you want? Didn't you say we should go our separate ways? I'm just doing as you asked."
"You, I was just saying that in anger. Can't you tell? Xie Sui, you've changed."
She started to act cute now, even reaching out to grab Xie Sui's sleeve, but he dodged: "No, men and women shouldn't be too intimate. This is not allowed. I really didn't hear that. Speak directly. I like straightforward people."
Zhao Xuefei wouldn't act cute for no reason. She must have an ulterior motive. A small portion of the money and food Xie Sui conned went into her hands.
Xie Sui suddenly slapped himself twice. He deserved to be stupid.
"Xie Sui, why are you hitting yourself? Does it hurt?"
Zhao Xuefei tried to touch him again, but Xie Sui stepped back two paces: "It's nothing, just a mosquito. If you have something to say, I'm leaving."
"Don't go, Xie Sui. Do you really not like me anymore?"
Her deep infatuation and deep feelings would make any man fall. Unfortunately, Xie Sui was a person who had lived a second life, so this trick wouldn't work on him.
"I have a wife and children. You are an innocent girl. Marry well and live your life. Don't think about those unnecessary things. You will only suffer in the end.
That's all I have to say. Take care of yourself."
Xie Sui continued to walk, not wanting to get entangled with her. She was a woman who was ruthless to others and even to herself, willing to do anything to achieve her goals, which was terrifying.
"Stop, you deceived my feelings and my heart, and now you just want to leave like this?"
Zhao Xuefei finally lost her composure. Xie Sui seemed to have changed, his eyes no longer filled with the infatuation and admiration of before, but only indifference and caution. This made Zhao Xuefei feel like something of hers had been snatched away.
"Feelings? Stop joking. Who exactly is deceiving whom?"
Xie Sui turned to look at her. He wasn't afraid of her tearing their relationship apart, to avoid future trouble.
"Do you want me to calculate how much I've given you over the years? How much money?"
He then looked at the georgette shirt she was wearing and his smile grew colder. "This shirt, I think I gave it to you, didn't I? Talking to me about feelings, it's better to say I was a fool, my wife and children starving, being played around by you. How dare you talk to me about feelings?"
Zhao Xuefei's face turned red and then white. After all, she was only eighteen or nineteen years old, and her skin wasn't that thick.
In his past life, no matter how Xie Sui ridiculed her, she could endure it. As long as Xie Sui invested in her, Zhao Xuefei would do anything.
Xie Sui even admired Zhao Xuefei's shamelessness later on. She was able to become the richest woman in the entire province, which showed she had some capabilities.
However, by then, Xie Sui had already established himself in Beijing and Shanghai, and looking at the world, Zhao Xuefei had long faded from his life.
"You and Lin Wanwan just had a misunderstanding. She never looked down on you, a country bumpkin. If it weren't for the children, would she have married you?"
"Xie Sui, don't be foolish. Lin Wanwan never loved you. She's a young lady from the big city. Who could catch her eye? Over the years, has she let you touch her? Has she fulfilled her duties as a wife?"