Showing Up at Their Door
Xia Wanhui had always been impatient, so of course there was no way he would wait until tomorrow to take Xia Shao there.
The siblings locked the door, asked the receptionist at the front desk for directions, then headed straight for the workplace address written in the letter.
Jiangcheng lay in the Changbai Mountain range and was rich in both forest and mineral resources. On the way there, Xia Wanhui had already seen quite a few towering smokestacks. Once they entered the city proper, with streets both large and small crisscrossing everywhere, it was far livelier than their hometown could ever compare to.
And this was after the workers had already finished their shifts and gone home for dinner. The streets were even more crowded during the morning and evening rush hours.
“Do you really think we’ll be able to ask around? What if they look down their noses at us?”
Xia Wanhui was not worrying for nothing.
In those days, working at a shop or a state-run restaurant was considered a very good job. The wages might not be especially high, but your position determined whether you got to see the good things when they arrived at the shop, and whether the ladle scooping your food came back heaped or level.
As a result, people working in those two kinds of workplaces tended to be extremely arrogant and often barely acknowledged customers. It was completely unlike the later concept of “the customer is king.”
Of course, when the massive layoff wave arrived in the 1990s, those two kinds of workplaces were also among the first to be swept up in it.
Xia Shao had worked outside the home for four years and had seen every kind of expression people could make, so she was not afraid of that.
When they arrived, the vegetable and non-staple food shop had already closed. A middle-aged woman was struggling to fit wooden shutters over the outside of the glass windows.
Xia Shao quickly stepped forward and helped hold one up.
The weight on the woman’s hands suddenly eased.
“Thank you,” she hurriedly said.
When she turned her head, she realised the person helping her was a very pretty young woman.
Xia Shao smiled and said it was nothing, then helped her slot the wooden panel into the grooves outside the window.
Seeing this, Xia Wanhui hurried over as well.
“Auntie, you rest. I’ll do it.”
Now the middle-aged woman’s hands were completely free. She quickly rubbed her right shoulder.
“I don’t know if this arm caught a chill or what. It’s been aching these past two days. I can barely lift it high enough to comb my hair.”
Then she asked the two of them, “Judging from your accents, you two young comrades came from inside the Pass?”
Xia Shao gave an affirmative hum.
“I came to meet a marriage prospect.”
It was a perfectly believable explanation.
Since the late Qing dynasty and early Republican era, people had continuously migrated to the Northeast in search of a livelihood. At its peak, **a very large proportion** of the population in the three northeastern provinces consisted of young adult men, comparable to Shenzhen during the 1990s.
With so many bachelors, how could there possibly be enough local women for all of them to marry?
Because of that, once many men managed to establish themselves in the Northeast, they would return to their hometowns, marry a wife, and bring her back north to live.
The middle-aged woman did not suspect anything.
She merely thought it was a shame for such a beautiful girl as Xia Shao.
“What good fortune. He managed to get himself such a pretty wife.”
Xia Shao only smiled.
Once the shutters were secured, she dusted off her hands.
“Auntie, can I ask you about someone?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you know Li Changshun? He works at the vegetable shop too.”
“You mean Accountant Li? Of course I know him.”
The middle-aged woman nodded, then seemed to realise something and paused.
She turned to Xia Wanhui in disbelief.
“So it’s you who came to meet a marriage prospect? There aren’t many girls who move out here and then go back home to find a husband. Was it a childhood engagement?”
A moment ago, she had clearly assumed they were talking about Xia Shao.
Why had she suddenly switched to Xia Wanhui the moment she heard it was Li Changshun’s family?
Xia Wanhui could not make sense of it at first, but Xia Shao already had a suspicion.
She did not deny it.
“Auntie, could you tell me a little about their family? I remember they had a son too. Is he married? Is he easy to get along with?”
Xia Shao was attractive, and she had also stepped forward to help without being asked, so the middle-aged woman had a good impression of her.
She simply assumed Xia Shao was worried her younger brother might not get along with his future brother-in-law.
“He’s married. He got married in his second year after coming to the Northeast. They already have two children.”
“What? Li Baosheng is married?!”
Xia Wanhui’s expression changed instantly.
What did it matter whether a future brother-in-law was married? They would not be living together anyway…
The middle-aged woman thought Xia Wanhui’s reaction was rather excessive. But since Xia Shao still looked calm, she continued, her tone carrying a trace of envy.
“Accountant Li is capable. He had his son come help at the shop every day. His son knows how to charm people too, and look what happened—the manager’s daughter took a liking to him. Unlike that useless brat of mine, who only knows how to work and eat…”
Xia Wanhui no longer heard anything she said after that.
If Xia Shao had not grabbed him, he might have lost his temper on the spot.
No wonder the Li family had gone silent the moment they moved to the Northeast.
No wonder they ignored the letters.
No wonder Tian Cuifen had kept making excuses and lying through her teeth.
It turned out Li Baosheng had been married all along!
If he did not want to marry Xia Shao, then he should have just said so.
It was not as though the Xia family were desperately clinging to them.
What did they mean by dragging things out like this?
They had even told them to go home and wait.
Wait how many years?
Until his sister became an old maid and the entire village laughed at her?
Xia Wanhui’s face turned livid.
The moment they said goodbye to the woman, he strode toward the address they had just asked for.
“No. We have to demand an explanation from their family! They were the ones who proposed the engagement in the first place. Then the moment they came to the Northeast, he married someone else. What kind of people are they?!”
As the person who had technically been cheated on, Xia Shao was actually rather calm.
It was not as though Li Baosheng could go his whole life without marrying anyone.
If he did not want to marry her and married someone else instead, she was not particularly surprised.
Besides, she had no feelings for that mama’s boy.
Rather than wasting energy being angry, she might as well think about how she could use this against them.
Xia Shao patted Xia Wanhui on the back.
“Don’t get angry. If you ruin your health, no one else can suffer in your place.”
Xia Wanhui nearly choked from the force of her pat.
“They treated you like this, and you’re still not angry?”
“Finding out now is better than finding out later, isn’t it? Like the old saying goes, if you want life to go smoothly, who hasn’t had a little green above their head?”
“Pfft!”
Xia Wanhui was just beginning to wonder whether the poisoning had not only damaged his sister’s body but perhaps her brain as well when he heard someone nearby burst out laughing.
The siblings turned.
Not far away, beside a wall, stood two young men smoking, one tall and one short.
The tall one was handsome enough that, in modern times, he could easily have served the country as nothing more than a decorative vase.
He was a little thin, but his shoulders were broad and his back straight, the classic build that made clothes look good.
He did not even look over.
His eyes were half-lowered, his expression one of bored indifference. The dim yellow light spilling from a nearby house fell across his deeply defined profile, sharpening the lines of his face.
Xia Shao had already looked away, yet she could not help turning back for another glance.
The shorter man immediately whistled.
“I was the one laughing. Why are you looking at him? You fancy him?”
An ordinary young woman would probably have blushed by now and, at most, glared at him with a red face.
Instead, after hearing that, Xia Shao simply turned around and openly looked at them again.
Then she gave a perfectly serious assessment.
“He really is better-looking than you.”
What was the big deal about taking another look?
In modern times, people would even walk up and ask for someone’s WeChat.
Xia Shao was completely unbothered.
Instead, it was the other man who was left speechless.
Even the tall man, who had been looking down while smoking the entire time, lifted his eyes and glanced over.
Only then did Xia Shao realise that his irises were very dark.
It was especially obvious when he looked directly at someone. His gaze was cold and distant.
After that single glance, he looked away again.
Entirely unaware that she had said anything shocking, Xia Shao turned around as well and dragged Xia Wanhui away.
Even after walking some distance, they could still hear the shorter man’s incredulous voice behind them.
“She said you’re better-looking than me! Jibei, she actually said straight to my face that you’re better-looking than me!”
He Erli stared wide-eyed at Chen Jibei beside him.
“Are girls nowadays all this bold? She said something like that without even blushing!”
“It was only the truth.”
Chen Jibei did not even lift his eyelids.
“How are you this narcissistic too? Are we even brothers anymore?”
He Erli choked.
Seeing that Chen Jibei showed no reaction, he grinned and leaned closer.
“Why don’t you stay at my place tonight? I’ll take you to play cards. Your sister-in-law doesn’t like you anyway. Every day she looks at you like your nose isn’t a nose and your eyes aren’t eyes.”
“Not interested.”
Chen Jibei stubbed out his cigarette.
“It’s getting late. I’m going back.”
It was indeed getting late.
At Li Changshun’s home, they had already finished dinner.
They too had eaten steamed buns made with a mixture of grains and filled with wild mountain celery.
Tian Cuifen and her youngest daughter, Laidi, had gone up the mountain together to gather the vegetables. They had chopped the filling and made the buns together, and had even sent a large plate over to Li Baosheng’s household.
After eating, they used the leftover hot water in the big earthen stove pot to wash the dishes.
The thought that so many of those buns had also gone to Xia Shao and Xia Wanhui made Li Laidi furious.
“They haven’t been in contact with us for years, yet they still eagerly send their daughter all the way here. Can’t their daughter get married or something?”
She complained as she shoved plates and bowls into the cupboard, making them bang loudly.
“Who are you throwing those around for?”
Tian Cuifen glared at her.
Li Laidi immediately gentled her movements, though her mouth was still twisted in annoyance.
“Mum, you’re too much too. They came, so just send them back. Why arrange a guesthouse for them? Why send them food? My brother’s already married. We have nothing to do with their family anymore.”
“What do you know? Your sister-in-law still doesn’t know about this. If this gets dragged in front of her, do you still want to find a job?”
The moment Li Changshun spoke, Li Laidi fell silent.
Her sister-in-law had not been chosen casually.
She was the daughter of the manager of the vegetable and non-staple food shop—and Manager Cheng’s only daughter.
Manager Cheng had no sons and had raised his daughter like one. He educated her and even arranged a job for her.
When the two families discussed marriage back then, the Li family had agreed that their second child would take the mother’s surname before they were allowed to marry her.
Li Laidi was about to turn eighteen.
The deputy manager at her father’s shop was also close to retirement.
Whether she could get a job, and whether her father could move another step upward, depended entirely on whether Manager Cheng was willing to help.
Their family could not flatter her sister-in-law enough.
How could they possibly let her find out at such a crucial moment that her husband still had a fiancée back in his hometown?
Li Laidi silently finished putting away the bowls and chopsticks, but she still could not resist muttering:
“What if Sister-in-law doesn’t care?”
What if?
Who would dare gamble on that what-if?
“You really think Wenhua’s father smiles all day because he’s easygoing? Could someone truly easygoing become a manager? If this gets exposed, Wenhua might be easy enough to handle, but her father certainly won’t be.”
Li Changshun picked up his enamel mug and took a sip of tea.
Then he asked his wife, “Have you arranged everything for those two from the Xia family?”
“Yes. That Xia boy had plenty to complain about, but Xia Shao is afraid of trouble and stopped him. With that girl’s timid nature, even if she cried all night at the guesthouse until her eyes went blind, she still wouldn’t dare step outside. There’s nothing to worry about.”
At Tian Cuifen’s words, not only Li Laidi but even Li Changshun showed a trace of contempt.
Li Changshun had always looked down on the personalities of the Xia mother and daughter.
They were forever timidly shrinking back with their heads lowered. One look at them and you knew they had no presence.
Still, Xia Laosan had been capable.
A softer, easier-to-control wife would make life easier for Baosheng too, so Li Changshun had never objected.
“Since everything’s arranged, send them back first thing tomorrow. Don’t let them show their faces in front of Wenhua.”
Li Changshun opened the drawer beside the kang and took out his watch to check the time.
He had only been able to buy the watch after their families became related by marriage, using a purchase ticket that Manager Cheng had helped him obtain.
Li Laidi hurried over to bolt the front gate.
Just as the gate closed, a woman’s voice came from outside.
“Laidi.”
The voice sounded extremely familiar.
It sounded very much like Cheng Wenhua—the very person they had just been talking about.
Li Laidi hurriedly opened the gate again.
Sure enough, a heavily pregnant woman stood outside, holding a flashlight.
“Sister-in-law, why are you here?”
Li Laidi felt a little guilty.
Hearing the commotion, Tian Cuifen hurried out of the inner room too.
The moment she came over, she supported her daughter-in-law by the arm.
“It’s pitch-black outside. How could Baosheng let you come out alone? If there was something to say, couldn’t he come over himself? You’re already five or six months pregnant. What if you fell?”
Whatever she thought privately, blaming her son first was always the safest choice.
Sure enough, the moment Cheng Wenhua heard this, she immediately defended him.
“It’s not that Baosheng didn’t want to come. Some relatives from inside the Pass arrived, so he couldn’t get away.”
That confused Tian Cuifen.
“Relatives from inside the Pass? Who?”
To stop their poor relatives back home from coming to freeload, she and Old Li had barely written to their hometown over the past few years.
The same was true of their three married daughters.
The arrival of Xia Shao and Xia Wanhui had already been unexpected.
Who else had come without even saying a word?
Tian Cuifen began to suspect their eldest daughter, Zhaodi.
When they had Zhaodi, they had not yet known they would go on to have three useless daughters in a row. Although they had been disappointed that their first child was a girl, they had at least not disliked her as much as the later daughters, Yindi and Daidi.
When Zhaodi married, the family had been going through a difficult period.
Of the three sons-in-law, hers had the worst circumstances.
If her life had truly become unbearable and she had come to the Northeast looking for Tian Cuifen and Old Li, it was not impossible.
Tian Cuifen silently complained that her eldest daughter had no sense, choosing a moment like this to come make trouble.
She also wondered how the woman had come all this way and why she had gone straight to her son’s house.
That afternoon, Tian Cuifen had gone to the train station to pick up Xia Shao and Xia Wanhui, but she had not seen anyone else there.
She was still thinking about how she could send the unwanted relative back when Cheng Wenhua said softly:
“The ones who came are a pair of siblings.”
“Their surname is Xia.”
Xia?!
It was not only Tian Cuifen.
Li Laidi beside her and Li Changshun inside the room both changed expressions instantly.
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