Volume Four: Awakening of Insects - Chapter 132: Fighting for Face

It is the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, and the atmosphere of the approaching New Year fills every corner of the village both inside and out. Both Le'er and Luo Yinxiang have been quite busy these past few days. Yinxiang is not only preparing for the New Year festivities but also following Yu Menglan to learn the basics of finance and accounting. To Menglan's great astonishment, Yinxiang possesses a remarkable talent for learning; despite being constantly occupied with various chores, her academic progress is exceptionally swift, and she grasps new concepts effortlessly upon the first teaching.

Le'er is even busier. According to local custom, every household slaughters a New Year pig. Since Le'er did not raise a pig himself, he had to purchase one and ask his eldest uncle to hire someone for the butchering. Right now, he is preparing gifts to deliver to the town and the county seat.

Secretary Huang certainly must receive a New Year present: five or six catties of winter bamboo shoots, a sheep's leg, an old laying hen, and some dried seafood products that Li Ying purchased in Guangzhou. Due to the recent snowfall, some villagers managed to snare quite a few pheasants in the mountains; two were given to him as gifts, and he purchased three more, setting aside one for Secretary Huang. Xie Dapao and Dapao's older brother, the director of the public security bureau, are each to receive an identical basket of provisions. As for Secretary Feng, those arrangements are left entirely to Feng Shuya, though the package is much more generous, consisting of a substantial portion of the sea cucumbers and shark fins brought by Li Ying.

In addition, President Wei of the county court and the president of the Agricultural Bank must also be remembered with gifts.

Driving her car, Li Ying first delivered the presents in the town and then personally drove Feng Shuya into the county seat.

Those who received the gifts were naturally delighted. The presents themselves were secondary; it was primarily the thoughtfulness and genuine gesture from Le'er and Li Ying that brought everyone joy. Xie Dapao was particularly exuberant, patting Le'er on the shoulder and rattling off a string of colorful local expressions.

Secretary Feng has never accepted gifts from anyone, yet he did not refuse the offering brought by Le'er and Li Ying, even going so far as to host a private family dinner for them. The construction of the snake farm is proceeding rapidly, and following the broadcast of the television station's feature program, the response within the city has been immense, elevating the project to the attention of the municipal party committee and the municipal government.

This is a model project shared by Secretary Feng and his daughter. As long as this venture succeeds, not only will Feng Shuya benefit directly, but it will also bolster his own political achievements.

While he did not make any specific official declarations, he simply stated, "Boldly forge ahead, have no fear, and spare no effort to make this project a success." This served as an implicit assurance that he and the county committee would stand firmly behind them, and they need not kowtow to anyone else. Dining with Secretary Feng is typically an oppressive experience, yet upon hearing these words, Li Ying felt a wave of elation.

Le'er did not dwell on the deeper political implications; paradoxically, he did not feel the heavy sense of oppression that Li Ying experienced. Secretary Feng personally served him food twice, to the point where even Feng Shuya grew slightly envious.

Upon returning to the county seat, they purchased numerous New Year supplies: bright red lanterns, firecrackers, fruits, and vegetables. Le'er specifically bought several dozen sheets of red paper.

"Le'er, why are you buying so much red paper?"

"To write couplets."

"Who needs this much red paper for couplets?"

"There are many households in the village, and we'll need to write quite a few pairs," Le'er replied with a rustic, endearing smile. "Elder Sister, your handwriting is wonderful, so there will surely be many people coming to ask for couplets when the time comes."

"Oh... You mean I'm expected to write couplets for the entire village?" Li Ying linked her arm through Le'er's. "Aren't you afraid of working me to death?"

Le'er offered an apologetic smile and then proceeded to purchase a substantial quantity of fruit-flavored hard candies. Li Ying stopped questioning him, knowing they would undoubtedly be put to good use. By the time they drove back home, the sun was already slanting westward, hovering around three o'clock in the afternoon.

Li Ying entered the house first while Le'er began unloading the cargo. Seeing the large volume of items, Luo Yinxiang came over to assist him.

"Le'er, Sha Qiangzai is back," Yinxiang said, holding four large red lanterns in her hands. "He brought two wives with him, driving a car and looking awfully full of himself."

"Heh... He has money, so let him act important," Le'er said, grabbing two boxes of fruit and walking behind Yinxiang. "Are you jealous of him?"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Yinxiang turned around and glared at him. "He has money, but don't you? Why don't you go buy a car to drive around? By next year, you can marry three wives, one more than him, just to make him burst with anger!"

"You're the one spouting nonsense," Le'er chuckled. "Marry three wives? Do I have enough food to feed all of them?"

Huffed with annoyance, Yinxiang stopped paying attention to him, strode briskly back into the house, and made two more trips to finish moving everything inside. Le'er began hanging the lanterns, Li Ying came out to help, and Yu Menglan stood at a distance acting as director.

"Le'er, why did you only buy this tiny handful of firecrackers?"

Yinxiang shouted from below.

"Is this considered a small amount? That's fifty thousand pops right there," Le'er said as he finished hanging two lanterns. "In the past, let alone fifty thousand, I couldn't even afford a ten-thousand-pop string. Heh... I've made some money this year, so we're going to make a proper, lively noise."

In these parts, a single firecracker unit is referred to as a "pop." There are strings of one thousand, strings of two thousand, and the most common large ones are strings of ten thousand pops. Today, Le'er bought five strings of ten thousand pops, spending a little over forty yuan.

"What a load of nonsense," Yinxiang rarely used coarse language in front of Li Ying and the others, but today, for reasons unknown, she started swearing. "I heard that Sha Qiangzai's family bought fifty thousand pops, plus aerial fireworks. Aren't you afraid people will say you're spineless?"

Setting off firecrackers is a New Year custom here; every household must set them off, and no matter how poor a family is, they will never skimp on firecrackers. Families compete with one another to see whose yard produces the most bangs. Naturally, the wealthier the household, the more firecrackers they set off, making the volume and quantity a direct symbol of prosperity. In the past, Sha Qiang's family was the wealthiest in Lower Sand Village, boasting an unmatched profusion of firecrackers that no one could rival.

However, in previous years, setting off one or two hundred thousand pops was already considered plenty. Buying this many firecrackers now was an unmistakable challenge directed squarely at Le'er. Since Le'er is now one of the wealthy men in the village, he simply cannot afford to lose face.

Le'er, however, has no desire to enter into such a competition. Though he has money now, he remains remarkably frugal in certain matters.

"Why do you care about such foolish nonsense?" Le'er said with a hint of displeasure. "Let him set off his firecrackers. Once they go off, they're gone—it's literally burning money. I don't have that kind of money to burn."

"You... you're going to drive me to an early grave."

Yinxiang had never been angry with Le'er before, but this time her expression turned remarkably sour. "I'll go buy them myself! I won't use your money; I'll use my own. Surely that's fine, isn't it? If he bought fifty thousand, I'll buy sixty thousand, just to outdo him into the grave!"

"Uh..."

Furious, Yinxiang stormed out of the house, muttering curses about Le'er being a miser the entire way. Le'er stood frozen for a moment, staring at the departed, angry figure of Yinxiang. Li Ying, who had never witnessed Yinxiang lose her temper and had no idea what sparked it, looked at Le'er with utter bewilderment.

"Why is Luo Yinxiang so angry?"

Whenever possible in the village, Li Ying tried to speak in the local dialect. Although her accent was imperfect, it sounded remarkably charming. Le'er sighed and began to explain the situation to her.

"Luo Yinxiang is doing this for your sake," Li Ying said with a smile. "She's fighting to save face for you."

"Why would I need that kind of face?" Le'er said dismissively. "I could do so many useful things with that money."

Completely lost in the fog, Yu Menglan had no idea what they were discussing until Li Ying translated and explained the whole episode to her. Upon hearing it, Menglan burst into laughter.

"Heh... The countryside is truly fascinating. People actually compete over things like this."

"Doesn't that happen in Guangzhou?" Li Ying turned to her and said. "There are plenty of bosses who will spend tens or hundreds of thousands just to save face; they just don't use this particular method, that's all."

"True, I suppose that's correct."

Just as they were talking, Elder Uncle Shentian arrived. The moment he stepped through the door, he directly asked Le'er how many firecrackers he had bought, leaving Li Ying slightly astonished as she looked at the elderly man whom she also held in high esteem.

"Eldest Uncle, I bought fifty thousand."

Upon hearing the old man's words, Le'er immediately guessed his intentions and could not help feeling a throbbing headache coming on.

"You spineless rascal, you only bought fifty thousand? Don't make a laughingstock of yourself," the old man declared, his anger flaring up. "You might not care about losing face, but this old face of mine cannot afford to be disgraced! Go back and buy more; I'll cover the cost."

With an indignant huff, the old man pulled out a thick wad of cash and attempted to hand it to Le'er. Not daring to accept the money, Le'er waved his hands, backed away, and tried to reason with him.

"Eldest Uncle, it's not that I don't have the money. It's just that once firecrackers are set off, nothing is left behind except a yard full of paper scraps. Isn't that such a waste?"

"You foolish boy, is money more important than face?" Whenever the elder uncle grew angry, he felt an urge to smoke. At that moment, he pulled out his long-stemmed bamboo tobacco pipe. "You're a boss running such a big enterprise now, yet you only set off fifty thousand firecrackers for the New Year? Aren't you afraid people will mock you?"

Just then, Uncle Shenguang and Aunt Ma arrived. Uncle Shenguang was carrying a large cut of fresh pork, while Aunt Ma cradled a large laying hen in her arms. Noticing that Elder Uncle Shentian was upset, Uncle Shenguang laid the pork down and greeted him first.

"Brother Shentian, what on earth are you so angry about on such a festive New Year's day?"

"What am I angry about?" Old man Shentian puffed out a cloud of smoke. "This little devil Le'er is trying to drive me to an early grave! He only bought fifty thousand pops of firecrackers. Isn't that dragging my old reputation through the mud?"

"Le'er, why did you buy such a pitiful amount?" Uncle Shenguang joined in the reprimand. "Everyone down in Lower Village is already talking about it. Sha Qiangzai is planning to compete with you, and the whole neighborhood is waiting to watch the spectacle to see who comes out on top. Every single one of us in Upper Village is counting on you to win! If you only set off fifty thousand, I'm afraid people will start whispering that you're spineless."

Le'er felt an urge to weep.

"Eldest Uncle, Uncle Guang, please don't worry," Le'er said, forcing a smile to his face. "Luo Yinxiang went out to buy more. She said she's going to buy sixty thousand to crush Sha Qiangzai. I... I just didn't think it was necessary, that's all."

"That's the spirit!" The old man's eyes lit up instantly. "Luo Yinxiang has backbone. Mortals fight for an offering of incense just as people fight for a shred of dignity. You aren't poorer than him, so why shouldn't you compete? Are you afraid you'd lose to him? Our Upper Village has been suppressed by them for far too long. Now that you're a village cadre and a company boss, if you lose this contest, who in the world would ever say you have any backbone?"

Li Ying had been quietly observing the conversation. Gradually, she realized that an individual rivalry had transformed into a collective competition between Upper Village and Lower Village. Though she originally had no desire to get involved, seeing that the people of Upper Village were placing all their hopes on Le'er, she realized she indeed needed to help establish his prestige so that his voice would carry greater weight in the community moving forward.

"Eldest Uncle, Uncle Guang, rest assured. This is a matter concerning our company as well," Li Ying said with a beaming smile. "Our company also needs to celebrate. We are prepared to allocate one thousand yuan specifically for purchasing aerial fireworks, and I guarantee we won't let you lose face."

"Ah, now that's the right attitude!"

The old man's face instantly lit up with radiance, and a network of satisfied smiles crinkled the corners of his weathered eyes.

"Elder Sister... why on earth are you spending so much?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I am the general manager of the company; surely I still have that much authority?"

"That's a thousand yuan! You could buy several whole pigs with that," Le'er said with a bitter expression. "Our money shouldn't be thrown around like that."

However, no one paid him any attention. Uncle Shenguang's family had just slaughtered their New Year pig, bringing over a generous cut of meat along with the hen. When Le'er tried to urge them to stay for dinner, they all declined, citing a mountain of chores waiting at home. By dusk, Luo Yinxiang returned, carrying two large snakeskin bags stuffed to the brim with firecrackers.

Naturally, Le'er had no intention of letting her spend her own money, so he could only sigh and foot the bill himself.