Reasonable
The entire Gu family sat around the table eating together. Qin Ying had ordered a whole table of dishes from a state-run restaurant and had them delivered to the house. The spread was generous and delicious, and with the addition of a few homemade meatballs and egg dumplings, the whole family ate together in a lively, cheerful atmosphere.
Gu Ze’an and Qin Ying were in especially good moods. Their faces were rosy, their spirits high, and their voices full of warmth as they kept asking after their future good son-in-law, Zhan Mingzhao.
“Mingzhao, come, try this.”
“This one is good, right? Old Gu, give him some of this.”
…
Zhan Mingzhao was overwhelmed by the Gu couple’s enthusiastic hospitality. This was a situation he had completely failed to anticipate.
Beside them, Gu Xiangyi picked up a meatball with her chopsticks, feeling rather unhappy. Why were her parents being so warm and considerate toward a man who was not surnamed Gu? Were they afraid she would not be able to marry herself off?
Clearly, she had been her parents’ only precious daughter before.
She had been the one who had been desperate to marry and find a partner before… Gu Xiangyi had even thought that bringing a partner home would allow her to hold her head high. But now—why was the one holding his head high not her?
Zhan Mingzhao smiled faintly and said, “Thank you for your hospitality, Uncle Gu, Auntie Gu.”
Qin Ying said warmly, “Why are you still calling us uncle and auntie? Just like your own sister does, call us Dad and Mom.”
“Alright.” Comrade Zhan Mingzhao was not polite about it at all. “Dad, Mom, let me toast you with a cup of wine.”
“Mom, you don’t drink, so I’ll pour you a cup of tea.”
Gu Ze’an’s smile became even gentler. “Good, good, good. We must drink a few more cups.”
Zhan Mingzhao sat beside Gu Ze’an and Qin Ying, the three of them chatting back and forth as if they were the happy, festive family of three.
Gu Xiangyi tastelessly picked up a chopstickful of shredded meat. The brothers beside her were not saying anything either. All she could hear was the “loving father and filial son” scene playing out between those three. She thought this was far too much.
Gu Xiangyi said, “Dad! Mom! Do you want to marry me off that badly? Aren’t you going to make things difficult for him at all?”
“When someone’s new son-in-law comes to the door, doesn’t he usually have to pass through all kinds of trials?”
“Eldest Brother? Third Brother! Fourth Brother?! And Fifth… Forget it. You older brothers, say something!”
Eldest Brother Gu took a sip of tea and said nothing. Third Brother Gu took a sip of wine and said calmly, “I don’t have any objections.”
When Third Brother Gu had come in and glanced at his little sister and Zhan Mingzhao, after thinking about it carefully, he had felt that this marriage was actually reliable. The Zhan family’s younger brother had a suitable family background, was the child of martyrs, had a clean and clear background, was handsome and good-looking, and had even acted in films. Even if their family did not want this son-in-law, there would be plenty of other families who did.
Zhan Aiping was also Zhan Mingzhao’s biological older sister. With Zhan Aiping and Gu Sheng, this sister and brother-in-law pair, around, there was absolutely no need to worry about Gu Xiangyi being bullied after marriage.
As her real brother, if he touched his conscience, he had to say that if she missed this one, who knew how terrible the next one might be?
“Fourth Brother!”
Fourth Brother Gu shook his head. “I don’t have any objections either. When you get married, I’ll give you a big red envelope.”
Previously, the three brothers had felt that Gu Xiangyi’s marriage was inappropriate. But now that they had seen Gu Sheng and his wife, as well as Gu Xiangyi and Zhan Mingzhao together, they felt it was not bad after all. Especially when Gu Ze’an, Qin Ying, and Third Brother Gu had returned, many people had come to ask about Zhan Mingzhao.
Their attitude was basically—if your family doesn’t want this son-in-law, then give him to ours!
With things like this, pushing a good son-in-law out the door would be foolish, wouldn’t it?
The Gu family did not make loss-making deals like that.
Eldest Brother Gu made the final decision. “Since you’ve already decided, the two of you should live well together from now on.”
Gu Xiangyi: “…”
“I’m the only little sister in this family! You should at least make things difficult for him a little!”
“Other people all think that if someone marries me, he’ll have to endure the difficulties of five brothers-in-law.”
Third Brother Gu said, “If we make things difficult for him and then you can’t find a partner, what will you do?”
Eldest Brother Gu said, “You like him, and he’s reliable. What else does our family need to say?”
Gu Xiangyi: “…”
Zhan Mingzhao advised her, “They’re all good comrades. Why are you trying to break up the team?”
He had clearly been about to pass the test, yet this grasshopper tied to the same rope as him was the first to regret it.
Gu Xiangyi said angrily, “You’re all far too reasonable!”
“I shouldn’t have found someone familiar as my partner.”
Qin Ying said, “Don’t take advantage and still pretend to complain.”
“There are plenty of girls in our compound bringing their partners home. Mingzhao is the best-looking one.”
…
Zhan Aiping looked at the scene in front of her and silently took a sip of soup. The Gu family’s reactions were like punching cotton. They had wasted so much effort imagining all kinds of possible situations.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Zhan Aiping, Mingzhao’s biological older sister, was sitting right there. The brothers would find it hard to make trouble.
Gu Sheng smiled and said to Zhan Aiping, “It’s still my wife who has the biggest face.”
Zhan Aiping: “…?”
Gu Sheng said, “With you here, who would dare make things difficult for your younger brother?”
Across from them, Eldest Brother Gu heard Gu Sheng’s words. He glanced lightly at Gu Sheng and said, “Little Sister getting married is no problem. The two of you are the biggest problem.”
Gu Sheng and Zhan Aiping were baffled. How had the topic been dragged back onto the two of them?
Eldest Brother Gu said, “The marriage I disapproved of the most was yours.”
For Eldest Brother Gu, who still had not married despite being this old, his much younger brother Gu Sheng really was no different from his own son. Ever since Gu Sheng was little, he had loved worrying about him.
Every time Gu Sheng caused trouble, Gu Ze’an would be anxious, but Eldest Brother Gu would be even more anxious than Gu Ze’an. He wanted even more to discipline his younger brother.
As the eldest, the second and third brothers were twins. As their elder brother, he could not insert himself into the bond between twins. The second and third brothers had a good relationship. The fourth brother did not cause much trouble and was closer to their mother than to his brothers. Only the youngest brother, Gu Sheng, had received most of Eldest Brother Gu’s effort and attention. Eldest Brother Gu felt that he had worried himself sick over this younger brother.
But this younger brother was rebellious and broke his heart.
Back when Gu Sheng was studying, he stayed far away from his older brother. Later, when work assignments were arranged, Eldest Brother Gu tried to find a way to bring his younger brother to his side. But Gu Sheng refused. He insisted on staying far away and going to the border region.
Eldest Brother Gu got a headache whenever he saw Gu Sheng, and Gu Sheng also felt nervous whenever he saw him.
His eldest brother always had an inexplicable flood of paternal love for him. He was always thinking about taking care of him, caring for him, and keeping him protected under his own wings.
He was also always thinking about transferring Gu Sheng’s work so he could bring him to his side.
Such obvious favouritism made the young Gu Sheng feel awkward and uncomfortable. If he had no opinions of his own and only wanted to rely on his older brother, that would have been fine. But unfortunately, he had his own thoughts and did not want to accept his older brother’s care and protection.
Eldest Brother Gu had a heart full of paternal love with nowhere to put it. As the eldest brother, he was already very capable in the local area and could look after his younger siblings, yet not a single younger sibling needed him to take care of or make arrangements for them.
He worked in politics away from home, alone in another place, without attachments and far from his family… When Eldest Brother Gu was young, he had still had passion and hot-bloodedness. He had wanted to marry the girl he liked, but it had not worked out. That girl had passed away unexpectedly, and it had been a great blow to him.
It was not that their feelings had been especially deep. Rather, he felt that he had been too weak. That was why he had been interfered with by his parents and had lacked the courage to resist.
After that, Eldest Brother Gu threw himself wholeheartedly into work. Success in his career brought him joy. As a man, who could lack that kind of ambition? He stopped caring much about marriage or finding a partner, instead feeling that he was still young. Even at thirty, there was no rush, so he continued to devote himself to work.
…Now that he had reached this age, after going through rises and falls and seeing too much, Eldest Brother Gu had even less desire to marry. He was different from his younger self and could no longer find a suitable woman.
Many women had appeared around him, all approaching and flattering him with a purpose. They were younger than him, young and beautiful. With one look, he could tell what they were thinking.
Eldest Brother Gu did not want to find himself a young wife. He could not get past that hurdle in his own heart. As for women close to his age who were also wise and intelligent, they were all too clear-headed. They were only suited to being friends and comrades, not lovers.
Eldest Brother Gu had now given up the thought of marriage and assumed he would have no descendants. But the older a person got, the more they longed for lively, joyous occasions and family reunions. A sense of loneliness gradually welled up in his heart.
“You’ve been married for several years, yet the two of you never came to see me.” Eldest Brother Gu looked at Gu Sheng, still feeling quite resentful.
He had only this one biological younger brother whom he had raised like a son, yet after getting married, Gu Sheng had not even taken the initiative to visit him.
Zhan Aiping said, “Transportation isn’t convenient these days, and Gu Sheng doesn’t get much leave either.”
Transport in the 1960s and 1970s was extremely underdeveloped. Even walking from a village to the county town could be considered a “long journey” for ordinary villagers, especially in the mountainous areas of the south. The straight-line distance on a map might look short, but in reality, one had to cross mountains and ridges.
Soldiers stationed away from home had even less leave. The quotas for visiting family during the New Year also had to be fought over. Usually, people took turns. On top of that, Zhan Aiping had been pregnant and had just given birth, so it was not convenient for the two of them to bring children on a long journey.
Eldest Brother Gu said, “I never wanted him to join the army in the first place.”
Eldest Brother Gu had hoped his youngest brother would be like him. There were already enough people in the family who had joined the army.
“Fifth Brother, if you ever want to transfer to civilian work, come to my side.”
Gu Sheng said, “I don’t want to transfer.”
Zhan Aiping: “…”
Eldest Brother Gu’s desire for control was very strong.
Although Gu Sheng often wrote letters to his eldest brother, he truly did not want to talk with him, and he wanted even less to meet him face to face.
“Now that you two are married and have children, Pingping, you should be more virtuous and help him take good care of the family…” Eldest Brother Gu was very dissatisfied with Zhan Aiping as a younger sister-in-law — or rather, daughter-in-law. He hoped his younger brother would find a virtuous wife to look after the home. Ideally, she would be a female teacher, gentle and able to discipline children.
…
“Back then, I introduced a female teacher to you, but you refused.”
Zhan Aiping no longer had the slightest good impression of Eldest Brother Gu. This eldest brother was even more like a father-in-law than Gu Ze’an, and he was like a combination of old-fashioned father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Zhan Aiping said, “I also wanted to find a male teacher to marry. If he couldn’t teach the children well, I could scold him and look down on him. You’re a teacher, and yet you can’t even teach your own children properly?”
“You can’t even teach your own children properly? And you still want to teach other people’s children?”
Eldest Brother Gu glared at her, thinking that this woman was far too rebellious. She was simply lawless.
“Gu Sheng, control your wife.”
Eldest Brother Gu found it hard to imagine how this couple lived their days at home. His younger brother was a grown man. Shouldn’t his wife serve him properly? How could he allow his wife to oppress him and climb over his head?
She actually dared to talk back to him, the eldest brother?
If his younger brother did not know how, then as the older brother, he had to personally teach him.
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