Li Xiu got up at the crack of dawn. Today, he was going with the matchmakers to his father-in-law's house to extend the formal invitations and deliver the betrothal gifts. He ate a quick meal, changed into new clothes, and cleaned himself up until he was spotless. He wheeled the bicycle he'd asked Wang Yuan to buy for him out of the west room and tied a large basket filled with an assortment of gifts to the back rack. After locking the door, he headed to Second Brother Ge's house. Today, Second Brother Ge and Ge Ershao would be accompanying him.
"Did you bring wine for your old man?" Ge Ye asked, pedaling his bicycle energetically with his wife on the back rack, teasing Li Xiu who rode beside him.
"I did. Did you, Second Brother?" Li Xiu shot back. Second Sister-in-law Ge and his own fiancée were close cousins. Even though the couple was accompanying him, the prospective son-in-law, to deliver gifts, Ge Ye and his wife also had to pay a visit to their own in-laws. They couldn't show up empty-handed.
"We didn't buy any wine, we're bringing the pheasant you gave us," Ge Ershao said cheerfully. Times were tough for every household, so whenever they got something nice, they couldn't bear to eat it themselves, saving it for visiting relatives instead.
"Second Sister-in-law, I'll get some more eggs for Jianshe later," Li Xiu offered. Jianshe was Ge Ye's three-year-old son, and since Ge Ye was one of three brothers and had the only son among them, the boy was absolutely treasured.
"No need, he's not lacking for anything," Ge Ye said, quickly changing the subject. "Right, what did you prepare?"
Li Xiu smiled and said, "A pork hock, two pheasants, two carp, two bottles of wine, and six boxes of pastries."
"That's quite a lot. When your Second Brother came calling, he only brought one chicken, one fish, and two boxes of pastries," Ge Ershao said. "Hey, that was four or five years ago! Weren't times tough for everyone back then..." Listening to the couple's lighthearted bickering, they soon arrived at Zhou Family Village.
His fiancée's family, including her married eldest sister's family, were all there. He greeted them as he entered the courtyard. Everyone was stunned when they saw the items Li Xiu took out of his basket. They all knew he had only received 250 yuan from the family division and didn't even have a house.
They had heard from the matchmakers that he was quite capable—that he'd built a house and bought a bicycle without going into debt. Seeing the gifts he brought, they began to think that perhaps he really was resourceful. His future father-in-law, however, just frowned and said nothing.
Li Xiu quickly explained, "It didn't cost much. I made a trip into the mountains. The meat and the pheasants are from there." Seeing his father-in-law's expression darken, he thought to himself, 'Crap, I've said too much.'
"Uncle, don't be angry. I've already given him a good lecture. Look, he's so scared he's broken out in a cold sweat," Ge Ye said with a placating laugh. At his words, everyone looked up at Li Xiu. Sure enough, on this October day, Li Xiu's face and forehead were covered in sweat. Zhou Kun looked at Li Xiu's nervous expression, and his own face softened slightly. "Let's all go inside and sit."
Only then did Li Xiu wipe the sweat from his face and turn to look at his fiancée. Zhou Lian gave him a complicated look and said, "Let's go inside."
In her last life, there hadn't been nearly this much. When he delivered the betrothal announcement, he only brought a shirt and nothing else. The engagement gifts were just one bottle of wine, one chicken, two carp, and two boxes of pastries. She turned to help her sister-in-law and sister with the items, but Li Xiu quickly stopped her. He grabbed the pork hock and the fish himself, following the eldest Zhou sister-in-law into the kitchen to drop them off before washing his hands and heading inside.
Li Xiu entered the room, offered his greetings, and sat down to one side. Ge Ye smiled and said, "Why don't you tell Uncle and Aunt about your situation, so they can rest easy."
Li Xiu nodded. "Uncle, Aunt, you already know about my family's division. There aren't many specifics. After the split, we're all living our own lives. I have to give a double share of gift money when my younger siblings get married, and I'll be splitting the costs of caring for our parents equally with my four younger brothers. Other than that, I just need to give them some gifts for the holidays. There's nothing else. The house I built is far from the old family home, so that's that. The new house is all ready. You should all come and see it tomorrow…"
"Uncle, the new house Li Xiu built has six rooms, made of green stone with red-tiled roofs! It's one of the finest in the whole region!" Ge Ye cut in excitedly before Li Xiu could finish. "The courtyard wall is three meters high! There are six main rooms and two east-wing rooms, all four-meter-high red-tiled buildings, plus three more flat-roofed rooms! He bought a new bicycle and a sewing machine and didn't fall into a single bit of debt! You can rest easy, he can definitely provide for my cousin!"
Zhou Kun looked at Li Xiu doubtfully. He knew the young man was capable, but he also knew he'd only gotten 250 yuan from the family division. He'd just seen that the bicycle was a new "Big Golden Deer" model—not only did it require a ration coupon, but it also cost 99 yuan. A new sewing machine would be nearly 200, and building a seven-room house of green stone and red tiles wouldn't be possible for under 500 yuan. To have all that, on top of the 250 yuan from the division, and still not be in debt… where did he get so much money?
Sensing Zhou Kun's doubt, Li Xiu said frankly, "Uncle, I went into Daqing Mountain. I can't rely on my family, so I have to stand on my own two feet. I can't get married and then be unable to provide for my own wife and children."
Everyone was stunned. Ge Ye and his wife were stunned, too. They had truly believed Li Xiu had gotten the money as a reward for saving a cadre's child. Ge Ye got a little angry. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? For generations, no one has dared to go deep into those mountains. Have you lost your mind?!"
"Second Brother, you know I spent six or seven years learning from Uncle Ge when I was herding cattle for the production team at age six. Uncle Ge was educated in an old-style private school. During the war against the Japanese, he hid in Daqing Mountain for two years before rejoining his unit. He had no children, not even any nephews, so he taught me everything he knew. As long as I don't go into the deepest parts of the mountains, there's not much danger. It's fine. I won't bet my life on it," Li Xiu explained softly.
Ge Ye fell silent after hearing this. Saddled with a family like that, a mother like that… Li Xiu really had it tough.
Zhou Kun snapped out of his daze and reached for his tobacco pipe. Li Xiu quickly pulled two packs of cigarettes from his pocket, opened one, and offered them to his father-in-law, his three future brothers-in-law, his eldest sister-in-law's husband, and Ge Ye. Only after lighting a cigarette did Zhou Kun speak slowly, "It's a good thing that you're capable, but you must be careful. If you can avoid going into Daqing Mountain, then don't."
"Uncle, I'll listen to you," Li Xiu quickly nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow, for the formal announcement and the grand gift ceremony, I'll go as well," Zhou Kun said after a moment of thought. "Okay, I'll listen to you, Uncle," Li Xiu eagerly replied.
Sitting in the inner room, Zhou Lian lowered her head in astonishment, hiding her expression from her sisters beside her. She knew Li Xiu was literate and could do arithmetic, but in their last life, she'd never heard anything about an Uncle Ge. 'No, wait,' she thought, 'whenever we visited the graves, he always prepared an extra offering. He said it was for an elder. So that's the same as this life. But in our last life, Li Xiu never once set foot in Daqing Mountain. This life is completely different, and Li Xiu is different, too. Last time, we only separated from his family after we got married, but now, he's done it so much earlier. I haven't done anything… how did things change so much? Don't tell me Li Xiu was reborn, too!'
Her eldest sister-in-law came into the room and told Zhou Lian to take Li Xiu out for a walk. In reality, it was an excuse to let the two of them talk. While the men had been speaking earlier, everyone had noticed Li Xiu constantly glancing toward the inner room. Now that the marriage was set, they wanted the couple to interact and talk, to build a good foundation for their future life together.
Li Xiu and Zhou Lian walked slowly along the small river west of the village. "Do you miss Xiang Lin and Xiang Rui?" Zhou Lian suddenly asked. Li Xiu froze for a second, but quickly recovered, looking at her in confusion. "Xiang Lin and Xiang Rui? Who are they?"
Zhou Lian stared at him for a moment before saying softly, "It's no one." She lowered her head and continued walking. Seeing that Zhou Lian wasn't paying attention, Li Xiu quietly let out a breath and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. He really had been stunned. Xiang Lin and Xiang Rui were their daughter and son. The moment he heard their names, he instantly understood: the woman who was his wife in his past life had come back, too. He had a gut feeling that he couldn't let her know he had also been reborn. As for why, he didn't know, but in that instant, he felt that if she knew, he would surely lose her. So, he instinctively concealed the truth.