How could someone with the surname Liu and someone with the surname Chen become one family?

Different surnames could still be connected through marriage. Chen Dasaomi spoke nonsense with a straight face, and the grain station workers, understanding the unwritten rules, turned a blind eye and accepted Li Fengmei’s household grain after inspection. There was no shortage in weight, but it was graded as “second class.”

Even so, Li Fengmei was already very satisfied.

“ Sister-in-law, just one word from you saved us so much trouble! ”

What Chen Dasaomi relied on, of course, was her father-in-law Chen Wangda’s influence. Delivering state grain always meant giving the grain station people a little benefit—everyone knew that.

No matter how capable Chen Wangda was, he couldn’t stop the people in Qijing Village from being squeezed a little. But because Chen Wangda spoke firmly, the villagers in Qijing Village got off lighter than most. A hundred jin of rice, at least eighty jin could still be counted at the station. In other villages, not only would the grain be graded low, but a hundred jin weighed at home might only be seventy by the time it reached the station.

What could Xia Xiaolan say?

Even thirty years later, this kind of gray-area practice would still never disappear completely. It was not just a rural thing either. In the end, wherever there were people, there were always unwritten rules.

And Xia Xiaolan was benefiting from them too.

She had some moral standards of her own. Decent enough was fine—expecting saint-level behavior from herself was unrealistic.

Chen Dasaomi did not go home after delivering grain. Several men from her family still had to help out at the grain station for the next few days, so Xia Xiaolan and her aunt left first. On the way, Li Fengmei could not hold back and gave Xia Xiaolan a very blunt reminder:

“ Auntie’s going to say something, so don’t take offense. Chen Qing is a good boy, but you’ve got a chance to get into college. Put dating aside for now, okay? Wait until after the exam. ”

Xia Xiaolan laughed helplessly.

“ Auntie, I really am not dating Chen Qing. Why would you think that? ”

“ His mother’s attitude toward you is enough to tell. She already thinks of you as the future daughter-in-law… With Old Man Wang’s face, the Chen family isn’t just handing out that kind of favor to anyone. ”

In any case, among the Chen family in Qijing Village, that kind of closeness would not be given to just any Liu family member.

Li Fengmei had her own judgment. She could see Chen Qing’s attitude toward Xia Xiaolan, and the Chen family’s attitude too.

All right then. If Auntie analyzed it that way, Xia Xiaolan had no choice but to accept it.

Old Madam Xia had called her a cheap woman, saying no family would ever accept her. But once she was no longer tied to the Xia family, her romantic prospects suddenly seemed to be everywhere.

Not to mention Zhou Cheng—she had already been “ brought home to meet the family ” twice.

And this was supposed to be an era when women could hold up half the sky. It was not like the later years, when the country pushed career women to go home and have a second child.

Why shouldn’t she be allowed to have her own career?

If she wanted a career, she had to interact with people. Men or women, Xia Xiaolan treated them all the same.

Her face really was a useful shortcut sometimes. It brought convenience, but also these kinds of misunderstandings. Just talking a little more meant she was dating someone?

Luckily, Chen Bomi was not like Zhu Fang’s mother. She genuinely seemed to like Xia Xiaolan. But what was she liking?

It definitely was not just her looks. Xia Xiaolan could guess: maybe she liked how hardworking she was, or that she might get into college.

That did not bother Xia Xiaolan.

Good looks might not last forever.

Real ability belonged to her for life.

Still, she had no feelings for Chen Qing. To avoid misunderstanding from the Chen family and Chen Qing himself, she would need to keep some distance in the future.

“ Auntie, I’m not thinking about dating right now. I just see Chen Qing as an older neighbor brother. But Elder Chen helped my mom and me a lot, so it’s only right that I repay that favor. I already promised Aunt Chen I’d tutor English, and I’ll keep my word. I don’t have any other thoughts, and I don’t want the Chen family to misunderstand. What do you think I should do? ”

“ An older neighbor brother? ”

Li Fengmei understood.

That was basically the same as handing out a good-guy card. Chen Qing was good in every way, but Xia Xiaolan had no romantic feelings for him.

“ Then don’t let the Chen family say it too clearly… ”

If the Chen family brought up Xia Xiaolan and Chen Qing directly, and Xia Xiaolan refused outright, no matter how generous they were, they would still feel awkward. As Xia Xiaolan said, both their family and hers owed Chen Wangda a great favor. Chen Qing was also a good boy, with a decent family and a good character.

If the Chen family were rejected, they would inevitably wonder what Chen Qing had done wrong. Wasn’t that just offending people?

Once there was resentment, problems would follow.

She could offend anyone, but not the Chen family. Today’s grain delivery had already shown that clearly. How close they were to the Chen family directly affected everyday life.

After thinking for a while, Li Fengmei laughed.

“ Then the only solution is for you to find yourself a boyfriend first, before the Chen family says anything. ”

Xia Xiaolan’s face darkened.

Where was she supposed to conjure up a boyfriend from?

His name suddenly came to mind

.Zhou Cheng?

Apart from knowing that Zhou Cheng was from Beijing and twenty years old, Xia Xiaolan knew nothing else about him. He had been gone for more than half a month without any news.

Then again, it was not surprising that others would like her for her looks—hadn’t she also noticed Zhou Cheng because he was handsome?

“ Anyway, I’m not dating anyone before I get into college. ”

Li Fengmei nodded.

“ Fine, fine. Auntie knows. I’ll think of a way. ”

She could always hint at it during casual gossip in the village. What else could she do?

If Xia Xiaolan really got into college, would Li Fengmei still worry about her not finding a good match?

And what if she did not like Chen Qing now, but later developed feelings for him?

A young girl’s mind could change quickly. Li Fengmei knew that well enough from experience.

...

Beijing

After a trip to Shanghai and making a lot of money, Kang Wei had become a little smug around his friends.

His family background was not bad.

But his father had died early, and his grandfather had long since stepped down. The most powerful person in the Kang family now was his second uncle.

An uncle’s love was still a layer removed, and he had his own children to support. He could not take care of Kang Wei in every detail.

So Kang Wei had been given a job — not great, not terrible, just something to do for now.

Fortunately, Kang Wei himself was pretty sensible. As people said, he knew how to warm up to the right stove.

In the compound, there were plenty of people, but ever since he was a kid, Kang Wei had looked up to Zhou Cheng and loved following him around.

The Zhou family was the hot stove.

Zhou Cheng had been the kid boss since childhood. Not only did the younger kids call him “ brother, ” even some older ones had to lower their heads and call him that.

Now that everyone was grown, some people still had to keep up appearances and respectfully call him brother Zhou Cheng.

The Zhou family was at the height of its prestige. Unlike poor Kang Wei, Zhou Cheng’s future had long been planned.

Some time ago, Zhou Cheng had received a disciplinary penalty, and then silently returned from the army.

Others thought he had been kicked out, but they did not know he had simply come home because he had not figured things out yet.

It was not that he had done anything wrong. He just did not want to accept the penalty. So he filed for leave and stayed home.

At least Kang Wei had grown up with him. Kang Wei’s father had died at the front lines, and Grandma Kang absolutely refused to let him enlist again.

As for school, Kang Wei did not have the brains for it. He was in that awkward middle ground—too high for one thing, too low for another. His job was ordinary.

Right now, it did not seem bad, but in a few years the gap would become obvious.

Kang Wei himself was pretty discouraged. He had only come to Zhou Cheng for help, and Zhou Cheng had taken him to Shanghai.

This trip had put a lot of money in his pocket. Others could laugh at him for flattery or riding Zhou Cheng’s coattails, but Kang Wei knew the truth: Brother Cheng had genuinely looked after him.

Having received that kindness, Kang Wei had to think things through for Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng had originally said they would only make one trip.

Now he was planning a second.

Kang Wei was nervous to death, afraid the Zhou family would come after him.

Brother Cheng had a bright future ahead of him. This sort of business made money, sure... but how could money matter more than Zhou Cheng’s prospects?

This series has advanced chapters, you can check out my Kofi!