Visiting Relatives
“My younger brother, like me, also found a childhood-sweetheart partner. They grew up in the same compound and all know each other.”
“I’m familiar with her brothers—”
Zhang Lirong was left speechless by the couple next door.
Still dazed, she waited until Commander Luo came back, then said to him, “Where are all these childhood-sweetheart partners coming from?”
Commander Luo replied with a question of his own. “Has our compound not had enough children born over the years? Once they grow up, aren’t they all childhood sweethearts?”
Zhang Lirong froze, then thought he had a point. Children had been born one after another in the compound, whole heaps of them, noisy enough to make people’s ears ache.
“But I haven’t heard of anyone arranging child betrothals…”
“With this many children, a few are bound to end up together.” Commander Luo said casually. As he spoke, he frowned, feeling agitated. He had been stuck in this position for years. If he couldn’t get promoted after a few more years, he would be facing demobilisation.
Zhang Lirong said, “How about we find one for our child too?”
“Forget it.” Commander Luo waved his hand. “Do you think the girls from those families are reliable?”
He felt the girls in the compound were not virtuous enough. The prime example was his own wife, Zhang Lirong.
He did not want his only son to marry another wife like Zhang Lirong.
As for Zhan Aiping next door, she was even more out of the question. Their Luo family did not want that kind of woman.
Commander Luo hoped his future daughter-in-law would preferably be uneducated, gentle, obedient, good at housework, devoted to relying on her man, staying home to raise children, doing chores, and doting on her husband.
Zhang Lirong said, “How are they unreliable? They’re still better than country girls.”
Commander Luo said, “Those girls, I’ve watched them grow up. Every one of them is mischievous. Whoever marries one of them will bring misfortune on his family!”
A wife should be virtuous! Commander Luo himself was a cautionary tale.
Zhang Lirong: “…”
Commander Luo asked her, “Why are you bringing this up today?”
Zhang Lirong said, “Zhan Aiping’s younger brother came over next door. He said he also found himself a childhood-sweetheart partner.”
Commander Luo was puzzled. “Her brother is getting married too?”
Zhang Lirong said, “Well, I noticed the couple next door don’t seem very satisfied with this future sister-in-law. They were being rather stingy with their words.”
Commander Luo raised an eyebrow. “Do you even need to ask? In any village family, how many elder sisters-in-law or younger sisters-in-law can actually get along with their brothers’ wives?”
“They’re naturally like fire and water.”
Zhang Lirong smiled. “True. Zhan Aiping can be smug for now. Once she has a sister-in-law, she’ll have plenty of headaches.”
“We’ll just watch from the side.”
“If those two start fighting and divorce, then we’ll have a good show to watch!” Zhang Lirong was delighted at the thought of watching the couple next door make a mess of their marriage.
Fight then. Hurry up and divorce!
They had been married for four years. Wait another three years, and the seven-year itch would arrive, along with a pile of family problems!
Commander Luo frowned. “…”
Seeing Zhang Lirong so excited to watch the neighbours quarrel made him uncomfortable. If the Gu couple next door divorced, would Zhang Lirong also start wanting to remarry?
As a relatively young regiment commander, Gu Sheng came from a good family and was handsome. Even divorced, he would still be a prized catch everyone wanted. Was Zhang Lirong eyeing him too?
After being cuckolded once, Commander Luo now constantly suspected he was being cuckolded again… Compared with watching the neighbours’ drama, he disliked the thought of wearing another green hat even more.
Commander Luo pressed his lips together. Now he had two paths to choose from. The first was to hope that Gu Sheng next door would regain his masculine authority and discipline his wife Zhan Aiping until she became a docile little wife. If Zhan Aiping became a considerate, husband-serving little wife, wouldn’t she become a role model for Zhang Lirong?
He could make Zhang Lirong learn more from Zhan Aiping.
Of course, Commander Luo had another option, and that was—if he was going down, he would drag someone down with him. Since his authority at home was already failing, one miserable man was miserable, two miserable men were still miserable. He could go find Gu Sheng and encourage him to dote on his wife even more, while Zhang Lirong went to Zhan Aiping and encouraged her to make trouble at home and torment her own man…
When that time came, Regiment Commander Gu, who was seen by the army commander and division commander as so “capable,” would be henpecked at home and tormented by his wife. When Commander Luo saw Gu Sheng even more miserable than himself, he could find joy in hardship. Look, at least the man next door had it worse…
But if the man next door had a miserable time, he himself would not be much better off either. It was like killing one thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of his own men.
“The first option is still best,” Commander Luo muttered. Although he especially disliked seeing Gu Sheng living well, unfortunately they were now grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If Gu Sheng’s days went well, his own days would go well too.
If Zhan Aiping’s days became difficult, Zhang Lirong’s jealous heart would also calm down.
*
Gu Xiangyi and Zhan Mingzhao chatted quite pleasantly. When Zhan Aiping and her husband brought the children back inside, both of their cheeks carried a faint blush, clearly a little embarrassed.
Zhan Aiping did not tease them. She instructed Gu Sheng to cook dinner. Gu Xiangyi and Zhan Mingzhao would stay at their house tonight, and tomorrow they would set off for Spring City together. This year, they could finally go back for New Year together, first to the Zhan family, then to the Gu family.
On the return trip, they would also make a stop in Shanghai to visit Professor Sun and his wife.
Zhan Mingzhao went to the kitchen to help, while Gu Xiangyi said to Zhan Aiping, “I’m going to call my dad.”
Zhan Aiping: “…You’re going to give Dad a heads-up?”
“Of course I have to give him a heads-up.” Gu Xiangyi thought that whether she stretched her neck out or pulled it back, the knife would fall either way. She had to go give Old Gu some warning first.
“I found him a very handsome son-in-law!”
Zhan Aiping: “…”
Gu Sheng was a very good example. Gu Xiangyi ran off to call Gu Ze’an and his wife, telling them she was bringing her partner home and that they should prepare themselves mentally. The person she had found was none other than her little sister-in-law’s younger brother. Their two families would become even closer through marriage.
“Even closer through marriage?” Gu Ze’an’s head went dizzy. He still wanted to say a few words to his daughter over the phone, but she had already hung up.
Zhan Mingzhao?
Qin Ying’s head ached. “Are those two serious or not? How did they even end up together?”
Gu Ze’an sighed. After a few seconds, he calmed down. “If they really do get married… that’s fine too. At least he’s someone we know, so there shouldn’t be any strange trouble.”
Qin Ying fell silent for a moment. She knew her own daughter well. Rather than marrying some wild man from who-knew-where, choosing a child they knew was not bad.
“Mingzhao was quite obedient when he was little. He wasn’t as mischievous as his sister, and his personality was good too.”
“Didn’t he act in a film before? We watched it.”
Gu Ze’an’s eyebrow twitched. “He does look decent, but… he’s far too dark. A skinny, dark-skinned boy—why would so many girls like him?”
“Our Xiangyi doesn’t like dark boys, right? It must be fake!”
Qin Ying: “…”
Gu Ze’an was worried to death. “Old Lu laughed at our Little Six for being an old maid. What’s wrong with being an old maid? I can support my old maid for the rest of her life. So what if he has three daughters? Is that so impressive? He keeps showing off his sons-in-law in front of me, saying each one is gentle and refined. As far as I’m concerned, they’re all just pretty boys.”
Qin Ying remained silent.
Gu Ze’an glared at her. “You think I don’t know just because you’re not saying anything? Your daughter likes pretty boys, and you like pretty boys too!!!!”
The women in this family really were something. They were clearly a military family, yet the women liked those delicate pretty boys who couldn’t carry anything on their shoulders or lift anything with their hands, and only knew how to recite poetry and compose couplets.
“Your daughter learned it from you!”
Qin Ying sighed. “There isn’t a single refined scholar-type man in our family. I originally thought Old Fifth was delicate-looking when he was young, so our family would finally produce a cultured man. But then he ran into Pingping next door and insisted on competing with her… Look what he’s become now.”
Gu Ze’an said, “I think Old Fifth is the best.”
“Isn’t our eldest good enough? The eldest is quite refined. And Old Fourth… Old Fourth is fine too.” Gu Ze’an thought these women were all talking nonsense. Their family clearly did have refined men.
Qin Ying said, “…The eldest, well, the eldest looks like you. No matter how cultured he dresses, he doesn’t look elegant.”
Gu Ze’an bristled. “That’s prejudice!”
“As for Old Fourth… when he sings, his voice is certainly loud, but… his cheeks are a bit too puffy. They get puffier every year. Our family doesn’t even have that kind of big round face.”
Gu Ze’an: “…”
Qin Ying said, “Rare things are precious. Can’t our family have one delicate-looking man?”
“And don’t mention Old Fifth. After more than ten years in the army, where is there still any trace of that tall, slender boy from back then?”
Thinking of her youngest son Gu Sheng back then, Qin Ying felt deeply regretful. When he had his growth spurt as a teenager, he had truly been a rare beauty of a boy. Now, he could only be called a handsome grown man.
*
Zhan Aiping and her husband finished packing and entrusted Little Zongzi to the person in the family compound who raised Wangcai. The whole family was preparing to travel far away.
Guobaorou and Little Tangyuan were extremely excited. The siblings had already forgotten most of their memories from when they were one year old. All they remembered was that this time, they were going with Mum and Dad to visit Grandpa and Grandma, and Maternal Grandpa and Grandma. They were going to ride a train!!
They would also get to see lots of uncles.
Little Tangyuan asked in confusion, “Uncle and Auntie are coming too?”
Guobaorou nodded. “Uncle and Auntie are family with us.”
Little Tangyuan said, “Auntie’s surname is Gu. Uncle’s surname isn’t Gu.”
“Gu Auntie, Gu Auntie, Gu Auntie…”
Zhan Aiping could not help laughing. “What are you cooing for? Are you a little pigeon?”
Guobaorou said, “Little Sister is the pigeon, not me!”
Gu Sheng arranged for someone to move the luggage into the car. Gu Xiangyi and Zhan Mingzhao sat on the steps, basking in the winter sun. Although the sunlight was shining on them, they still felt very cold—not only cold, but chilled to the bone.
Zhan Mingzhao looked at Gu Xiangyi’s darkened eyes and large black circles and asked, “You couldn’t sleep well either?”
Gu Xiangyi: “…It would be strange if I could sleep well.”
At the thought of going to meet the Gu family and the Zhan family, her whole body trembled.
Zhan Mingzhao: “…”
Human joy and sorrow were not shared. At least Zhan Aiping’s family of four were especially excited and happy about visiting relatives. As a good older brother, Gu Sheng very considerately arranged two cars: one for his family, and one for Zhan Mingzhao and Gu Xiangyi.
The mountain road was bumpy all the way. The two of them kept saying they needed to relieve themselves, making the driver, Little Xie, very worried.
“Did they take laxatives or something?”
At this time, relieving oneself on a mountain road did not require finding a public toilet at all. One simply ducked into the woods and took care of it on the spot. For men it was convenient, but for women it was more troublesome.
Zhan Aiping leaned against Gu Sheng’s shoulder and kept looking back. “Why hasn’t their car caught up yet? Why still haven’t they caught up?”
Gu Sheng laughed. “Don’t worry, wife. Your brother and my sister won’t get lost.”
After a long while, Little Xie finally drove over unsteadily.
Zhan Aiping said, “Why so slow?”
Driver Little Xie said, “I reckon those two ate something bad. They stopped to relieve themselves more than ten times along the way.”
“Haha… more than ten times?” Zhan Aiping ran over to her younger brother and sister-in-law. “If you’re sick, I’ll prescribe some medicine.”
The moment Zhan Aiping looked at their faces, she understood.
“You haven’t even left the province yet, and you’re already this nervous? Once you reach the front door, will the two of you even know which leg to step forward with?”
Zhan Mingzhao: “…”
Gu Xiangyi: “…”
When they had joked about it before, neither of them had taken it seriously. Now that they were truly going back to meet the parents, old friends, childhood companions, and classmates… what about their dignity? They did not even know where to put their faces.
There were too many elders and friends who knew them both!
Gu Xiangyi said, “How was I so stupid back then? I actually thought finding a childhood-sweetheart partner was a good idea. Too many people know us both.”
Zhan Mingzhao: “Ah…”
What a worry. Too many people knew about the embarrassing things they had done as children.
Gu Sheng crossed his arms and said, “What’s the big deal? It was the same for your sister-in-law and me.”
Even more people knew them.
Gu Xiangyi said, “We’re not as thick-skinned as you and Sister-in-law.”
Zhan Mingzhao said, “My sister doesn’t have any other skills. She just has thick skin.”
Zhan Aiping snorted. “You two cowards. You dared to do it but don’t dare to face it. Your brother and I have always been open, upright, and honest—”
Before Zhan Aiping could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a wave of nausea and then vomited terribly.
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