The Matchmaking Meeting — His Name Is Qi Fang. He Works at Jinchuan Forestry Farm.
The moment Bai Xiuzhen heard that someone wanted to introduce a prospective husband to Yan Xue, her eyelid twitched.
Before she could react, however, Yan Xue’s grandaunt had already limped into the main house to call Yan Songshan, then gone to the western room to fetch Second Grandma.
With six people crowded into Yan Xue’s room, the little rural mud-brick house immediately felt cramped.
Yan Songshan was all right. He maintained a mild smile on his face.
Bai Xiuzhen, however, was already scowling.
Grandaunt did not waste time with pleasantries. She took out a small stack of ten-yuan notes and placed them on the heated kang.
“This is one hundred yuan. It’s the bride price from the man’s family.”
Before anyone could speak, she added, “It’s been paid in advance. If you don’t like him, the money has to be returned. If you do, they’ll separately provide clothes, bedding, furniture, and household necessities.”
Bai Xiuzhen immediately shut her mouth.
She truly could not claim that the bride price was too small. Some families in the village could not provide anywhere near that amount when their sons married.
Still, she felt displeased and could not resist asking, “What kind of work does he do to have so much money? There isn’t something wrong with him, is there?”
“I’m not some black-hearted relative who profits by selling off a child.”
The old woman glanced at her before turning to introduce the man to Yan Xue.
“He’s the maternal grandson of an old friend of mine. His family moved to the Northeast years ago, and he now works at a forestry farm. I know his maternal grandparents and both his parents. They were an honest family—hardworking, thrifty, and good at managing a household. He also looks decent and is around one metre eighty tall.”
So he was a worker.
No wonder his family could casually produce one hundred yuan.
Unlike people in the countryside, who barely saw any cash throughout an entire year.
Bai Xiuzhen began to feel envious.
“Why did you find someone from the Northeast? I heard everyone there originally fled because they couldn’t find enough food at home. They have no proper rules at all. They even let women eat at the table.”
People in the past were deeply attached to their native homes. Unless they truly could not survive, they would rarely leave their hometowns.
Grandaunt’s eldest daughter, Shan Qiufang, had married into the Northeast. When she returned home, she had continued following the habits she had picked up there and sat at the table to eat.
Someone had seen her, and she had been mocked for quite some time.
The old woman said nothing. She merely raised her eyes and gave Bai Xiuzhen another look.
Yan Songshan frowned, apparently also thinking his wife did not know how to speak appropriately.
Yan Xue felt the same.
No matter how many times she encountered such things, she could neither become accustomed to them nor agree with them.
Thankfully, before she transmigrated, these ridiculous rules had long since disappeared.
An awkward silence filled the room.
In the end, Grandaunt was the first to speak again.
“I also told them about Jigang.”
She could not be bothered arguing with Bai Xiuzhen.
To put it nicely, Bai Xiuzhen was straightforward. To put it less kindly, she was brainless. She did all the unpleasant work, yet the benefits never seemed to fall into her hands. Instead, other people hid behind her and pretended to be kind.
Yan Jigang, who had been sitting quietly and listening, raised his head. Unease appeared on his face.
The old woman gave him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry. They didn’t object. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent the bride price.”
This time, Bai Xiuzhen truly had nothing left to say.
The conditions were far too different.
If she brought up the man she had introduced, even without the scandal surrounding his family, it would almost sound like she was insulting Yan Xue.
Her gaze drifted towards the stack of ten-yuan notes.
However, Grandaunt moved faster than she did. She picked them up and stuffed them into Yan Xue’s hands.
“Their forestry farm is busy during winter, so he can’t get leave. If you think the match sounds suitable, you can go and see him. Your Aunt Qiufang happens to live nearby, in the same town. I’ll ask her to accompany you.”
Shan Qiufang was Grandaunt’s eldest daughter.
Seeing that the matter was about to be settled, Yan Songshan finally spoke.
“The conditions certainly sound good. Her eldest aunt and I also think so. It’s just too far away. If anything happens, the family won’t be able to help her.”
Remembering that Grandaunt’s daughter also lived there, he realised this reason might not be sufficient. He quickly continued.
“Besides, Little Xue is still in mourning. I don’t know whether the man’s family will be willing to wait another two years.”
“That’s right,” Bai Xiuzhen hurriedly agreed.
No matter what happened, she first had to ruin this arrangement.
The moment she finished speaking, Yan Xue looked at her in surprise.
“When Eldest Aunt came to introduce someone to me a few days ago, didn’t you say no one cared about those customs anymore and that one year of mourning was enough?”
Grandaunt and Second Grandma immediately turned to look at Bai Xiuzhen.
Their gazes were meaningful enough to make her deeply uncomfortable.
Unable to save face, Bai Xiuzhen abruptly stood up and left.
Yan Songshan still cared about appearances, so he offered an explanation.
“Xiuzhen has something to do. She was already preparing to go out earlier.”
Only after giving that excuse did he take his leave.
The moment he stepped outside, his expression darkened.
They were not Yan Xue’s parents, after all.
Even if an ox refused to drink, they could not force its head into the water.
Still, the moment they made their move, the girl’s grandaunt had arrived to arrange another marriage for her.
Was that not far too coincidental?
Inside Yan Xue’s room, after Yan Songshan and his wife left, Second Grandma—who had remained silent throughout—looked at Yan Xue.
“You were the one who went to find her, weren’t you?”
Before Yan Xue could answer, Yan Jigang, who had been sitting beside her and listening, showed a look of astonishment.
He had been worried earlier.
He had not expected the situation to suddenly turn around. Although relieved, he had not yet fully processed what had happened.
Grandaunt, sitting across the kang, smiled upon hearing Second Grandma’s question.
She did not say anything, but her attitude clearly confirmed it.
Amusement entered Second Grandma’s eyes as well.
“I knew you weren’t that easy to manipulate.”
“I was only preparing for the worst. Besides, I already wanted to move somewhere else.”
Yan Xue smiled and poured hot water for both elders.
Yan Songshan and his wife were not the only ones waiting for her to become an adult.
She had been waiting too.
Therefore, the moment she noticed Bai Xiuzhen acting suspiciously and offering unsolicited kindness, she had immediately made a trip to Shan Family Village.
She wanted to keep the initiative in her own hands.
Yan Xue leaned closer to Grandaunt.
“What is the man actually like?”
“You’re a young unmarried girl. Aren’t you embarrassed to ask?”
Although Grandaunt scolded her verbally, she reached into the cloth bag she had brought and pulled out a photograph.
“Everything happened too quickly, so I couldn’t get a recent picture. This is from when he was little. Take a look.”
It was a family photograph.
Yan Xue searched for a long time before following the old woman’s finger and spotting a boy of six or seven.
There were many people in the photograph, and it was black and white, so his face was not particularly clear.
She could only vaguely tell that he had regular features and reasonably large eyes.
“Your Aunt Qiufang saw him a few years ago. She said he had grown into a fine-looking young man. His family doesn’t have any burdens either. His parents died during the famine in 1960. He has no siblings. He was later raised by his paternal aunt and uncle, but they aren’t his parents, after all. Even if you marry him, they won’t be able to interfere too much in your lives.”
No wonder the man did not mind that both her parents were dead or that she wanted to bring her younger brother.
No one controlling them, no family burdens, a formal job, and fairly good looks…
Given Yan Xue’s current circumstances, even if she waited longer, she might not find anyone better.
She made the decision immediately.
“Then I’ll choose him. I’ll leave in a couple of days.”
After Grandaunt left, Second Grandma did not hurry away.
She stood in the doorway. When Yan Xue returned, she sat back down on the kang.
“When you go to the Northeast this time, don’t take Jigang with you yet.”
Yan Xue stopped in her tracks.
Yan Jigang abruptly raised his face, panic entering his eyes.
Second Grandma hurriedly patted him.
“I’m telling you to go later, not saying you can’t go. Your sister needs time to establish herself first, doesn’t she?”
Second Grandma was not worried about whether Yan Xue could live well after moving somewhere unfamiliar.
One only had to look at how she had dealt with this situation.
On the one hand, she had kept Yan Songshan and his wife calm. On the other, she had gone to Grandaunt and arranged a different prospective match for herself.
She had remained unhurried and steady throughout, behaving nothing like a girl who had only just turned eighteen.
Still, no matter how capable she was, arriving at her husband’s home with a younger brother in tow would immediately place her in an inferior position.
It would be difficult for her to hold her head high.
Second Grandma had clearly thought about the matter carefully.
“Little Xue should go first. Once you’ve established yourself there, or after you have a child, it won’t be too late to bring Jigang over.”
“As for Jigang, you don’t need to worry. I’m still here, aren’t I? Your grandmother may not be capable of much, but I know how to hatch chicks from eggs. No matter what happens, I won’t let you starve.”
She was famous for her ability to select and hatch eggs. Every year, she earned some money by selling chicks.
Had she merely waited for other people to support her, she would have endured countless contemptuous looks long ago.
However, Second Grandma had always kept a low profile and rarely interacted with the siblings in the past.
After Yan Baishan died, she had begun taking greater care of them, but she always did so secretly.
When had she ever willingly taken such a great responsibility onto herself?
Yan Xue instinctively tried to refuse.
“Grandma…”
Second Grandma seemed to know what she was worried about.
“Jigang is my grandson. There are adoption documents, and the villagers witnessed the arrangement. Even if outsiders want to interfere, they’ll first have to ask whether I agree.”
“When the household was divided, I received my share of the family property. I have two rooms and a trunk.”
As she spoke, her gaze was unusually heavy.
She looked nothing like the silent, widowed old woman who normally ignored the world and lived like an invisible person.
Yan Xue still wanted to say something, but Yan Jigang released the fist he had been clenching.
“Sis, you should… let me stay. I’m not afraid.”
The young boy tilted his head to look at her.
Although unease remained on his face, his eyes were determined.
“Once you’ve settled… settled there, you can come back and… bring me over.”
Yan Xue thought of his stammer, his fear of leaving the house, and the way he was forcing himself to behave bravely and sensibly.
She gritted her teeth.
“Six months at most.”
Reluctance would not solve anything.
She gave herself six months to establish herself there.
At the very least, she needed to find a way to earn money.
She could not expect someone else to support her younger brother forever.
On the day Yan Xue left, no one from Yan Songshan’s family came to see her off.
A few of the younger children poked their heads outside, but their parents quickly called them back.
The couple were deeply frustrated.
They had originally believed that even if the marriage they arranged failed, Yan Xue would still move out, freeing the rooms for their family.
Unexpectedly, she had left Yan Jigang behind.
Was this girl not supposed to care most about her younger brother?
Surely all of that concern had not been an act. Had she abandoned the burden the moment she found a promising future for herself?
Still, no one cared whether they came to see her off.
Second Grandma accompanied Yan Xue to the courtyard gate, while her biological younger brother walked with her beyond the village.
They had already travelled quite far, yet the boy carrying her bundle showed no sign of stopping.
Yan Xue finally halted.
She did not need to speak.
Yan Jigang understood what she meant.
He pressed his lips together but eventually could not restrain himself.
“Sis, you… you’ll come back, right?”
“Six months at most.”
Yan Xue removed one of her gloves.
Yan Jigang also took off his glove and linked little fingers with her.
After making their promise, he did not wait for her to say anything else.
He shoved the bundle into her arms, turned around, and ran.
After running a great distance, he secretly looked back at her.
They were too far apart for Yan Xue to see his expression.
However, she could clearly see that after turning away again, he raised the back of his hand and wiped his face…
Three days later, an old-fashioned green train stopped at a snow-covered town at the foot of Changbai Mountain.
When the conductor announced that they had arrived at Chengshui Station, Yan Xue wrapped her scarf securely around her face, picked up her luggage, and got off the train.
The moment she left the station, she saw someone holding a sign made from a piece of cardboard.
The characters “Yan Xue” were written on it.
She approached the woman.
“Are you Aunt Qiufang?”
The heavily bundled woman stamped her feet against the cold and nodded. She looked Yan Xue up and down.
“Are you Little Xue?”
Yan Xue confirmed that she was.
The woman immediately folded the cardboard sign, tucked it under her arm, and reached for Yan Xue’s luggage.
“I haven’t seen you in years, and you’ve already grown into a young woman. If you hadn’t spoken to me, I wouldn’t have dared recognise you.”
Then she asked, “The Northeast is cold, isn’t it? When I first arrived, I didn’t understand how severe the winters were. I developed frostbite on my ears and hands. I had to boil dongqing herbs and soak them for several years before they finally healed.”
She was clearly talkative.
Yan Xue followed her outside.
“It isn’t too bad. Grandaunt specifically warned me that winters here were cold, so she asked Grandma to alter my padded clothes.”
“Your grandaunt worries too much. Ever since I told her how cold it was here, she asks about it in every letter.”
Shan Qiufang smiled.
Yan Xue’s eyes curved as well.
“Grandaunt is only concerned about you. She also asked me to bring plenty of dried sweet potatoes for you and the children.”
“She made you carry things all this way? Wasn’t it heavy?”
Shan Qiufang complained verbally, but the smile in her eyes deepened.
She led Yan Xue through the crowd.
“Let’s go to my house first. I’ll make you something delicious. Once you’ve rested, we’ll go to the forestry farm tomorrow.”
“We should go to the forestry farm first. The sooner I meet him, the sooner everyone can stop worrying. My grandmother and younger brother are still at home waiting for news.”
They were distant relatives, after all, and had not seen each other in many years.
Yan Xue did not want to disturb her household.
Besides, houses were cramped in this era, and food in town was rationed according to the number of people in each household. Forget entertaining a guest—sometimes families did not have enough to feed themselves.
Yan Xue had not even intended to let Shan Qiufang accompany her.
However, when Shan Qiufang realised that she could not persuade her otherwise, she found an acquaintance and asked them to notify her family.
Then she insisted on crossing most of Chengshui to take Yan Xue to the forest railway station.
“You have to take the little train to reach the forestry farm. It’s remote over there. Some places still don’t have roads, so buses can’t get through.”
Unable to hold herself back, she asked again, “Are you really not coming to my house first?”
“If I truly settle down here, there’ll be plenty of opportunities in the future.”
Yan Xue smiled.
“When the time comes, I’ll bring a proper matchmaker’s gift to thank you.”
“I only want you to live well. Do you think I care about a little matchmaker’s gift?”
The forest railway station was not large. It consisted of only a row of low, single-storey buildings.
When the two women entered, a small train happened to be preparing to leave.
Shan Qiufang asked someone about it, then immediately grabbed Yan Xue and ran.
“This is the one. There’s no time to buy a ticket now. Get on first and pay the fare aboard.”
She pushed Yan Xue onto the train and was about to climb aboard herself when someone shouted from behind.
“Aunt Qiufang! Is Aunt Qiufang here?”
Shan Qiufang already had one foot on the iron steps.
She instinctively turned around.
“Who’s looking for me?”
A girl of twelve or thirteen rapidly skated towards them. She had not even removed the homemade ice skates strapped to her shoes before jumping onto the steps.
She was panting heavily.
“Your… your Daqiang fell through the ice. My mother told me to come and tell you…”
Before she could finish speaking, Shan Qiufang’s expression changed dramatically.
“Daqiang fell through the ice? Did they pull him out?”
It was the coldest period of winter, with temperatures twenty or thirty degrees below freezing.
If they were unlucky, he could freeze to death.
Although the girl was anxious, she still spoke clearly.
“They pulled him out. Lots of people happened to be skating nearby…”
“I’m going back now.”
Shan Qiufang jumped off the iron ladder and ran.
She had already gone six or seven metres when she suddenly remembered something and hurried back.
“Something happened at home, Little Xue. Go ahead by yourself. His name is Qi Fang, and he works at Jinchuan Forestry Farm. Ask around when you arrive and you’ll find him.”
“I’ll go with you and take a look.”
Yan Xue had heard everything clearly.
She hurriedly picked up the luggage she had just put down.
However, by the time she turned around, the train had already begun moving with a slow sway.
The conductor shut the door with a loud bang.
The figures of the woman and the young girl rapidly disappeared from view.
It was not until nightfall, after giving the child medicine and wiping his body with strong liquor, that Shan Qiufang finally managed to lower his temperature.
Only then did she suddenly remember something.
There were two forestry farms in the area called Jinchuan.
One was Jinchuan Forestry Farm.
The other was Little Jinchuan Forestry Farm.
She had said the correct one earlier… hadn’t she?
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