That evening after dinner, Eldest Li came to the Li family's home. Seeing that Second Brother Li's entire family was present, he nodded, sat down beside Li Xiu, and lit a cigarette. He took a long drag before exhaling. "So, the eldest is going to meet a prospective bride in the next couple of days?"
Second Brother Li nodded. "The day after tomorrow."
"What's the plan?"
"Big Brother, you know our family's situation. I plan to split the household once the eldest is married."
"How will you split it?"
Ge Er Ya quickly chimed in, "Big Brother, you know as well as I do. His father's health has been poor all these years, so we haven't saved much. We can build three rooms for the eldest and give him two fen of vegetable plots, but there won't be any money to give him."
Eldest Li shot her a look before turning to Second Brother Li. "Is that what you think, too?"
Second Brother Li sighed. "Big Brother, I don't have a choice. The second boy is already 19. Once we're done with the eldest, we have to start planning for the second. And the third boy is already 16!"
Eldest Li glanced at the silent Li Xiu and frowned. "Li Xiu is the grandson who carries the Lao family's main lineage."
Li Xiu glanced at his silent younger siblings, then at his parents' worried faces, and spoke. "Uncle, I know the family is struggling. When you split the household, you don't have to give me any money. Once I have a match, I'll go to the brigade to get a residential plot approved. The family just needs to build the house and give me two fen of vegetable plots and rations for two people. That's all. I don't want anything else. I'll figure out the furnishings for the new house myself. Mom and Dad will cover the costs of the matchmaking and the wedding. In the future, when my younger siblings get married, I, as the eldest brother, will give a double share of the gift money. And when the time comes to support Mom and Dad in their old age, I will split the cost equally with my four younger brothers. Uncle, Dad, Mom, what do you think of that?"
Eldest Li looked at the silent family and asked Second Brother Li, "What do you think?"
"Eldest, have you really thought this through?" Second Brother Li didn't answer his brother, instead questioning his eldest son, who had rarely ever said so much at once.
"Well, does Dad have any other ideas?" Li Xiu asked, looking at his father's long face.
Second Brother Li sighed and was just about to speak.
"Eldest, how about this? The family will build the house, and you said you'll sort out the furnishings yourself. So, we'll give you 150 yuan, and you can take care of the wedding on your own. How about that?" Ge Er Ya quickly interjected.
Li Xiu glanced at his father's miserable expression and his uncle's look of fury, then smiled. "That's fine. Or, Mom, how about you just give me the money for the house, and I'll build it myself?"
"Eldest!"
Li Xiu looked up. "Dad, what is it you want to say?"
"Eldest, you know our family's situation..."
"Dad, I'm not arguing with Mom. Uncle is here, our whole family is here, so let me state my position. As the eldest son and brother, you know how I've conducted myself all these years. I'm 22 now; it's time for me to get married and establish my own household. My younger siblings are growing up, Dad's health is poor, and the family is struggling—I know all this. My siblings need to start their own families, I know that too. I'm not saying this to Mom because I'm throwing a fit."
"Mom and Dad, you both know I have a temper. If I had a real objection, I would have said so directly. I understand the family's situation. I'm meeting the prospective bride the day after tomorrow. If it works out, I'll get the residential plot from the brigade. Building a house costs about 100 yuan. We can haul stone from the mountains and get wood allocated by the brigade—I've already spoken with the village chief. Add in labor... someone in the village built a house not long ago, and it cost just over 100 yuan. So, Dad, just give me the money. If it's not enough, I'll figure out a way. Mom offered 150 yuan for the wedding. So how about this: Mom and Dad, give me 250 yuan, and you don't have to worry about the rest. You can just wait to welcome your daughter-in-law."
At this, the number—250—made Li Xiu smile wryly. 'Heh, 250... a common slang for an idiot. Aren't I one myself!'
"Whether I live well or poorly in the future will depend on my own abilities. I can't expect Mom and Dad to support me for the rest of my life." He looked up at Eldest Li's dark expression.
"Uncle, I'm grown now. It's time for me to be the head of my own household. As the old saying goes, 'A good man doesn't live off his inheritance, and a good woman doesn't only wear her trousseau.' My parents haven't had it easy. As the eldest son, I've been considerate for more than twenty years. I won't fail them on this final step."
Eldest Li looked at his smiling nephew and sighed, finally relenting. "So be it."
"Dad, Mom, Uncle, as soon as the match is made, we'll split the household." Li Xiu looked at the varied expressions on his family's faces, his words settling the matter once and for all.
「Zhou Family Village.」
Zhou Lian watched her eldest sister, who had made a special trip back home, and her eldest brother, who was already married and living separately. She knew in her heart what this was about. 'They're going to bring up my marriage prospects.' Sure enough, a moment later, she heard her father speak. "Since everyone is here today, I'll get straight to it. I had someone ask about that young man from Shanqian Village. He has a good reputation, is very capable, and is the eldest son. When you go to meet him tomorrow, if there aren't any issues, let's just settle on him."
"Then tomorrow, her eldest sister, her sister-in-law, and I will go with our second girl!" Zhou Lian looked up, hearing her mother speak the exact same words as in her last life. Her heart was calm. In this day and age, marriages were decided by parents and matchmakers. Besides, she had already been through this once before.
Li Xiu lay quietly on his bed. 'Tomorrow, I'll finally meet my wife.' He wondered if it would be the same as in his last life, where she hadn't been impressed with him, finding him short and dark-skinned. 'I grew another ten-plus centimeters after we got married last time. And anyway, who wouldn't be tan from working in the fields all day? I wasn't ugly; you could tell just by looking at our son. Our daughter-in-law chased him for over two years before he finally agreed, all because he was so handsome. I've only been back in this life for about a month, so I can't change how I look right now. But still... even though she didn't fancy me at first, her father did. She listened to him and agreed to the marriage. But right before he passed away, my father-in-law's biggest regret was letting his daughter marry me. Even at the very end, he was still worried that she had been wronged by marrying me!'
'Thank God I've been reborn. I have to do right by the people I wronged in my last life! When I first came back, I was dying to go see her, but I didn't dare. I was afraid that if I did something, an accident would happen and she wouldn't become my wife after all. I was genuinely terrified. She's so capable, honest, and beautiful. If it hadn't been for my father-in-law's approval, I never would have married her.'
'To this day, I still can't bear to imagine what this life would be like without her. I think I would go mad. My wife didn't like our house in our past life, and neither did I. When I go to get the residential plot approved, I have to choose a different location. I won't build a thatched-roof cottage this time, but a proper tile-roofed house. I'll build it with stone walls, build it tall, and the courtyard walls will be high too. A large, five-room, tile-roofed house with high courtyard walls.'
'I'll dig a well in the courtyard, plant a phoenix tree, and a grapevine—my wife and daughter both love grapes. Right, the interior walls will be whitewashed, so they're clean and pretty. I'll also build a two-room eastern wing; one for a kitchen, and the other with a large kang bed heated by the kitchen stove. My wife spent her entire last life envying other people's heated kangs but never had one of her own!'
'I also need to go to the county's salvage station. There are some old curios there that my wife really likes, and right now is the perfect time to get them without attracting attention. Let me think, what else... Right, books. My daughter and son loved to read, but we were too poor to buy any for them when they were little.'
'It's 1977 now, the political situation is still uncertain, and news is slow to reach the countryside. The salvage stations have a lot of things that are useless now but will become incredibly valuable later. My son and daughter would love them. I can hide away a good amount. Yes, I'll dig a cellar. I'll dig it myself, right under the eastern wing after the house is built. I'll squirrel away plenty of things to leave for my son and daughter.' Under the moonlight, Li Xiu slowly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the wife he longed for with all his heart.
A Note from the Author: They're finally going to meet. I was afraid Li Xiu would come beat me up in my dreams otherwise!