My Family Won't Be Fooled
Mrs. Warren wandered around the village, only to find that almost every household with able-bodied folks had already signed a contract with Lily Evans.
The more Mrs. Warren asked around, the more uneasy she felt. Right now, everyone was equally poor, so it didn't matter much. But if one day everyone else got rich thanks to Lily Evans, living the good life, and her family was the only one still struggling—well, that would be a bitter pill to swallow!
Mrs. Warren returned home, worried that Doggie Lee would blame her for failing to coax Lily Evans into signing with them. She started badmouthing Lily, insisting that Lily and Arthur Evans were definitely up to no good.
Doggie Lee was convinced by Mrs. Warren and nodded, “You’re right. Lily Evans and Arthur Evans are a sly pair. Last time, they tricked us into selling Hannah to them, and now they’re probably plotting to dupe the villagers again! The others might be gullible, but we’re not falling for it!”
Mrs. Warren quickly chimed in, “Exactly! We’re the smart ones—let them get tricked for a change!”
Seeing Doggie Lee drop the matter, Mrs. Warren finally breathed a sigh of relief. She’d really feared Doggie Lee would beat her for messing things up—he could be just as ruthless as John Thompson when it came to hitting his wife.
But John Thompson was a simple brute—he’d smack Mrs. Thompson right in the face, and when she wandered through the village black and blue, everyone knew he was a wife-beater.
Doggie Lee, on the other hand, was sneakier. He’d hit Mrs. Warren where her clothes hid the bruises. Villagers only knew Doggie Lee used to beat Hannah Lee, but few realized he also beat his wife.
Mrs. Warren steadied herself and went to make dinner. She’d just set the water to boil when Danny Wang, Doggie Lee’s close friend, walked in.
Danny Wang said to Doggie Lee, “Doggie, I just heard that my second uncle hit it big in the capital and wants to bring our whole family up there. I’ve just partnered with Lily Evans to sell vegetables, but now it looks like I won’t be able to keep it up. A bunch of families who missed out have been asking me about it. Since we’re close, I wanted to ask you first—do you want me to transfer the contract to you?”
Mrs. Warren listened in, her ears perked up and her heart racing. She was just about to jump in and say yes when Doggie Lee shot down the idea, “Danny, you can give it to someone else! My wife says Lily Evans is a scammer—we’re not falling for it!”
Danny Wang replied, “Doggie, everyone in the village says following Lily Evans will make you rich—even the village chief mortgaged his house for this. I think it’s a good deal. Want to reconsider? There are seven or eight families lining up for my contract, and some even offered extra silver to buy it.”
Doggie Lee spat on the ground, “That’s because they’re fools! My wife’s already looked into it—we’re not teaming up with Lily Evans. Go sell it to someone else.”
Mrs. Warren broke out in a cold sweat, torn between wanting to buy and fearing Doggie Lee’s wrath. As she hesitated, Danny Wang hurried off and quickly transferred the contract to someone else.
Doggie Lee played with his son Lee Carter, completely unaware that, thanks to Mrs. Warren’s advice, he’d just missed out on a golden opportunity to get rich.
Meanwhile, Lily Evans returned home, sorted all the contracts she’d signed with the villagers, and opened the little box by her bed to lock away the important ones. But as soon as she lifted the lid, she spotted the artbook Cynthia Wu had given her. Cynthia’s words echoed in her mind, making Lily’s cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“Why’s my lovely wife suddenly blushing?” Lucky looked up at her, grinning as he scooted closer. Lily snapped out of it, hurriedly shoved the stack of contracts into the box, and covered the artbook.
“Nothing, nothing! I’m off to tell Old Joe Zhou about the veggie sales for tomorrow.” Lily locked the box, hid the key in the secret compartment by the bed, and slipped out the door, hoping Lucky hadn’t noticed the artbook just now.