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Perhaps the future Xia Xiaolan had painted was simply too beautiful. Liu Fen didn’t quite dare to believe it... yet she couldn’t help wanting to.

Life in the countryside was truly hard.

Although things had improved after the household responsibility system replaced collective farming, farmers were better off than in the 1960s and ’70s. Still, rural life was still far from the upstairs and downstairs, electric lights and telephones ideal of modest prosperity.

The villages around Anqing County were nothing like the coastal regions. There were no profitable cash crops and few township enterprises. Liu Fen didn’t understand regional economics, she only needed to look at Dahe Village, at Qijing Village, and at how the people around them lived.

If Xia Xiaolan stayed in the countryside, her future was all too easy to foresee.

Because of Xia Xiaolan’s damaged reputation, Liu Fen had never dared imagine she could find a good husband. But Xia Xiaolan’s words gave her hope.

No wonder she and Liu Yong were siblings... their thoughts ran along the same lines. If they moved far away, wouldn’t no one know about Xia Xiaolan’s bad reputation?

Her daughter Xiaolan was so capable. Without that stain hanging over her, why couldn’t she find a good match? The weight on Liu Fen’s heart lifted by more than half.

She no longer had the energy to dwell on the Xia family. If Xia Dajun came looking, she would not go back. The Xia family had never formally divided households. No matter how much she worked, any money earned would have to be handed over, most of it going to Xia Ziyu.

Liu Fen knew she lacked ability, but Xia Xiaolan worked so hard running her small business. If she could help even a little, Xia Xiaolan would have to shoulder a little less.

In the countryside, girls of eighteen or nineteen were usually already married. In the city, she’d heard, women often waited until after twenty. If a girl had a respectable job, marrying in her early twenties wasn’t late at all.

Liu Fen was brimming with motivation. After eating, she even went around the village asking who might have eggs to sell or eels they had caught. They had to save enough money soon to buy a house in the city. She couldn’t let her daughter’s future be delayed!

“Your mother’s finally come back to life.” Liu Yong remarked.

He himself had matured late. In his youth he had been reckless and hadn’t guided Liu Fen well. Now that she was pulling herself together and actively helping with Xia Xiaolan’s business, Liu Yong couldn’t have been happier.

Xia Xiaolan told him about her trip to Shangdu City that day. Naturally, she didn’t mention that she had gone with Zhou Cheng. She only said that Shangdu had a large population and a stronger economic base than Anqing County. Anyone willing to endure hardship or possessing a skill could easily make a living there. Liu Yong was tempted.

“Our Liu family originally fled famine to settle in Qijing Village. This isn’t really our ancestral home. We could live anywhere. If I can get your cousin registered as an urban resident, all the hardship would be worth it.”

After some thought, Liu Yong said he would need to leave home for a while soon. Xia Xiaolan guessed he was going to raise money. She absolutely did not believe he was merely a bricklayer, as people claimed.

So what exactly did her uncle do?

She was intensely curious.

Before leaving, however, Liu Yong worried about Xia Xiaolan and her mother. What if the Xia family came again to cause trouble?

“And those three hooligans. They targeted you deliberately. Something about that doesn’t sit right. No, I’ll wait until those three are sentenced before I go.”

Xia Xiaolan herself was curious too. She felt as if an invisible thread was about to connect all the pieces.

The next day she didn’t go into town. She spent the entire day traveling between nearby villages, collecting quite a few more eels and eggs. On the third day, when she reached the usual crossroads, she ran into Zhou Cheng again.

This time he wasn’t alone. He and Kang Wei were waiting in a large Dongfeng truck.

“You’re leaving?”

Kang Wei looked slightly embarrassed. He had previously believed the rumors that Xia Xiaolan was morally questionable, and his attitude toward her had swung dramatically. As a young man, he found it hard to save face, and now felt awkward around her.
He truly felt guilty about those pork-and-pickled-radish dumplings she had given him.

Zhou Cheng jumped down from the truck.

“Yes. Beijing sent a telegram. We’ve stayed in Anqing County long enough and have to head back. But don’t worry, I’ll come again!”

Xia Xiaolan felt a bit flustered being teased by such a handsome young man. Being around Zhou Cheng wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, the way he carried himself suited her quite well.

He said seriously that he would return.

What could possibly draw him back to Anqing County?

Xia Xiaolan decided to let things unfold naturally. She didn’t have time to think about romance anyway, and she didn’t dislike Zhou Cheng.

“Travel safely, then. Be careful driving. When you come back to Anqing, I’ll host you.” She spoke generously. Zhou Cheng smiled.

“Just wait. Next time I come, I’ll bring you something nice.”

Without giving her a chance to refuse, he hopped back into the truck and waved. The Dongfeng roared to life. Kang Wei leaned halfway out the window, grinning.

“Goodbye, Sister-in-law!”

Had President Xia not been so worldly, she might have blushed scarlet.

…

The Dongfeng drove off in the opposite direction, leaving Anqing County behind as it headed back to Beijing. Through the rearview mirror, Kang Wei saw Xia Xiaolan stand there for a moment before mounting her bicycle and riding toward town.

“Chengzi-ge, why didn’t you tell Sister-in-law you took care of that bigmouth Zhang Erlai for her?”

If you did a good deed without leaving your name, and you lived far apart, what if someone else won her over? In Kang Wei’s view, this was exactly the sort of thing you should tell a girl to win her favor.

In fact, they had planned to leave yesterday, but Zhou Cheng had waited at the county entrance for most of the day. When Xia Xiaolan didn’t show up, he postponed departure until this morning.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Zhou Cheng shot back.

Didn’t real men solve problems quietly? Only the immature liked to boast. Besides, he didn’t want Xia Xiaolan reminded of unpleasant things, nor did he intend to claim credit.

Kang Wei shook his head. “Heh, women are such trouble. If I found a girlfriend today, my grandma would drag me to the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow. Thank goodness the state amended the Marriage Law! I can enjoy a couple more free years!”

Kang Wei was only half a year younger than Zhou Cheng and had already turned twenty by the Western calendar. He was a posthumous child, his father had died in the Vietnam War. His grandmother had nearly cried herself blind, and when Kang Wei was born, he became her sole consolation. She treasured him like the apple of her eyeand constantly urged him to marry quickly and carry on the family line.

“Wasn’t it twenty for men and eighteen for women to marry?” Zhou Cheng asked.

He had been thinking that he and Xia Xiaolan were perfectly matched. They had met just as he turned twenty, perfect timing. As long as she agreed, they could marry anytime.

Kang Wei, practically illiterate in many matters but an expert on the Marriage Law thanks to his grandmother, replied.

“It was revised three years ago. Men not younger than twenty-two, women not younger than twenty. It’s a lifesaver!”

He grinned happily... then suddenly sensed something off.

Eh? Why did Chengzi-ge look unhappy?

A bold thought struck him. No way.

They’d only known each other a few days, no blind date moved that fast!

He might jokingly call Xia Xiaolan Sister-in-law to please Zhou Cheng, but even though they knew the rumors about her were slander, others didn’t.

How could she smoothly marry into the Zhou family?

Zhou Cheng was the only one deeply invested. Still, Kang Wei had no intention of saying any of that.

He had no desire to play the villain.