Lu Yanyan ran along the small path and soon saw Lu Qingyuan working in the vegetable garden.

She stopped and stood still.

Even while tending to the field, her cousin still looked stunning.

Ever since they were children, Lu Yanyan had always known that Lu Qingyuan was beautiful. Every year, during the family’s New Year gatherings, relatives would praise her cousin, saying she was growing more and more lovely.

As for herself, all she ever got was, You’ve grown taller. You look pretty cute.

“Yanyan?”

Lu Qingyuan straightened up and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Lu Yanyan on the small path and immediately waved her over.

“Eh?” Lu Yanyan snapped back to reality at the call. She followed the path, stepping onto the muddy walkway between the vegetable plots, and walked toward Lu Qingyuan. “Sister Qingyuan, I heard from my mother that your match this morning was successful?”

“Mm.” Lu Qingyuan nodded with a smile, but upon noticing Lu Yanyan’s somewhat strange expression, she asked with concern, “I heard from Fifth Aunt this morning that you had a fever. Are you feeling better?”

“I’m fine now, nothing serious.” Lu Yanyan stared at Lu Qingyuan’s flushed and radiant face for a moment before hesitating, then asked, “Sister Qingyuan, can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

Though she found her cousin’s gaze a little odd today, Lu Qingyuan still nodded. Her relationship with Lu Yanyan was decent.

“The family you met yesterday, the Tan family, has really good conditions. Why didn’t you choose them and instead went with today’s match? Just comparing the two families’ situations, I’m a bit curious. No other reason, I promise.”

Lu Yanyan quickly added an explanation.

She truly couldn’t understand why the match with the Tan family had fallen through.

“The Tan family is indeed very good,” Lu Qingyuan replied with a smile. She tucked her handkerchief away, picked up the hoe, and continued weeding as she spoke. “Maybe we just didn’t have a connection.”

No connection?

Tan Chang’an was definitely more handsome than Shu Beiqiu—just not as tall.

Lu Yanyan thought to herself.

“I heard from my mother that your fiancé will be visiting the day after tomorrow?”

“Mm.” Lu Qingyuan nodded. “He only has a few days off. After the visit, he has to return to work.”

Seeing that Lu Qingyuan wasn’t acting any differently, Lu Yanyan concluded that her cousin hadn’t been reborn.

“That’s great,” Lu Yanyan thought, relieved. Since Qingyuan hadn’t matched with Tan Chang’an, if she ended up with him, it wouldn’t feel like she was stealing her cousin’s man, right?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt she wasn’t doing anything wrong. With that in mind, she recalled where Tan Chang’an usually spent his time and quickly found an excuse to say goodbye to Lu Qingyuan before heading home.

After dressing up a little, she made her way to the commune. Tan Chang’an worked there.

“Something about Yanyan feels off,” Lu Qingyuan muttered to herself as she watched her cousin’s slightly hurried figure leave.

But she didn’t dwell on it. The sky looked like it was about to rain, and she needed to finish weeding quickly so she could go home and bring in the laundry and shoes drying in the yard.

By the time she returned home from the vegetable field and had just finished washing her hands and putting everything away, dark clouds had already covered the sky. Fat raindrops began to fall, splashing on the ground and creating tiny water blooms.

Mother Lu and the others rushed back, carrying their hoes, and before they could even set them down, the rain came pouring down.

Lu Qingjun returned with half a basket of fiddlehead ferns, already soaked from head to toe. Third Uncle Lu scolded him for not knowing how to read the weather and head home sooner.

After helping Jiasheng and Lusheng wash their hands and faces, Lu Qingyuan watched as they went to visit Grandma Lu in her room.

Jiasheng ran out a moment later and called out, “Aunt, Great-Grandma is awake.”

Lu Qingyuan poured a bowl of warm water and carried it into Grandma Lu’s room.

Lusheng, holding a piece of mung bean cake, was grinning as he took a bite.

“Qingyuan, Jiasheng, have some too,” Grandma Lu invited warmly.

“There’s more outside,” Lu Qingyuan said with a smile. “Jiasheng, Lusheng, stay here and keep Great-Grandma company while you eat, alright?”

“Okay!”

With the two little ones agreeing enthusiastically, Lu Qingyuan pulled the wooden window down slightly. The rain was coming in hard, and the wind was strong.

She then placed the rest of the mung bean cakes on the table in the main hall so the rest of the family could have some as well.

Mother Lu sat beside Lu Qingyuan and asked about her lunch—what she ate and how it tasted.

“Braised pork, cold-dressed spring bamboo shoots, stir-fried wood ear mushrooms, and vegetable ball soup. It tasted pretty good,” Lu Qingyuan answered with a smile.

Hearing this, Eldest Sister-in-law Lu gave her a teasing smile. “Looks like our little sister had quite the appetite today.”

“Yeah, I ate a lot,” Lu Qingyuan admitted, leaning playfully against her sister-in-law’s arm. “The mung bean cakes are delicious. Comrade Shu bought some for me to bring home so everyone could try them too.”

“Oh my, oh my,” Second Sister-in-law Lu chimed in, joining the teasing. “He’s quite the considerate one. When I went for my match with your second brother, we barely exchanged a few words. All he cared about was eating. The moment we sat down, he ordered food and just started eating.”

Hearing this, Lu Qingtian quickly stuffed a piece of mung bean cake into his mouth, chewed a few times, swallowed, and then took a big gulp of tea before defending himself.

“Don’t ruin my reputation! I ordered the food because I heard your stomach growling.”

“And why was I hungry? Because you made me walk all over town with you,” Second Sister-in-law Lu scoffed before turning to Lu Qingyuan and whispering, “When I got home and took my shoes off, my feet were swollen from all that walking.”

Lu Qingyuan buried her face in Eldest Sister-in-law Lu’s arm, laughing uncontrollably.

Father Lu and Mother Lu exchanged glances, both feeling reassured that today’s matchmaking had truly gone well.

“Oh, right,” after chatting with her family for a while, Lu Qingyuan sat up and cleared her throat. “Comrade Shu said they’d like to visit the day after tomorrow morning.”

“Oh dear, why are you only telling us now?”

Mother Lu lightly patted her back and immediately turned to discuss with Father Lu what dishes they should prepare for the visit.

Meanwhile, Eldest Sister-in-law Lu and Second Sister-in-law Lu pulled Lu Qingyuan aside, eager to hear every detail about today’s matchmaking. They also fussed over what she should wear and how she should do her hair for the visit.

At the same time, Shu Beiqiu returned home after the matchmaking, only to find that the only one waiting for him was his mother.

She had deliberately stayed home after lunch just to hear about the outcome.

“How did it go?”

“Very well,” Shu Beiqiu answered with a smile. “I’d like to visit Comrade Lu’s family the day after tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Mother Shu finally relaxed, the tension leaving her shoulders. She happily circled her son twice and said, “You have no idea how your father and I have been on edge since the moment you left.”

When he hadn’t returned by lunchtime, the two of them had felt hopeful, but Mother Shu still couldn’t be at ease. So, she stayed home, waiting for her son to return.

“We need to prepare a proper gift for the visit,” Mother Shu calculated the things at home. “Take a cured pork leg, fifty eggs, and some walnuts—we still have plenty. Pick the biggest ones to give.”

“I’ll go buy six fish too? Comrade Lu’s family has many people,” Shu Beiqiu suggested.

“Buy some cigarettes and a bottle of liquor. What does the Lu family’s girl like to eat? Bring more of her favorites, and something for the elders as well…”

Shu Beiqiu agreed to everything and then went to help in the fields.

By the time they noticed the sky turning dark, the Shu family also shouldered their hoes and headed home.

Meanwhile, Lu Yanyan had just reached the gate of the commune when a sudden downpour drenched her completely.

At that moment, Tan Chang’an happened to walk out of the commune gate with an umbrella. Knowing how disheveled she must look, Lu Yanyan quickly hid in the bamboo grove.

In her rush, she tripped over her own feet and fell hard—her face landing straight into a muddy puddle. Now, covered in dirt from head to toe, she looked even more miserable.

The rain continued until evening. As Lu Qingyuan and the others were preparing dinner, Fifth Aunt arrived anxiously, holding an umbrella.

“Yanyan? She spoke to me briefly this afternoon and then went home,” Lu Qingyuan said in surprise upon hearing that Lu Yanyan was missing.

“She did go home, but later, we don’t know where she went. She still hasn’t come back. I thought she might have come here again. This child, really…” Fifth Aunt was extremely worried.

Seeing this, Father Lu immediately called Lu Qingming and his brothers to help search for her.

Before they could even put on their raincoats, Fifth Aunt’s youngest son arrived.

“Second Sister is home! She’s all dirty and said she accidentally fell on the road. When I asked where she had been, she said she went to the commune supply and marketing cooperative to buy something. But when I asked what she bought, she said she forgot to bring money, so she didn’t buy anything.”

Fifth Aunt stomped her foot, thanked Father Lu and the others, and left with her son.

“I hope nothing bad happened…” Eldest Sister-in-law Lu murmured worriedly.

“The roads are slippery in this weather,” Mother Lu frowned. “She should be fine.”

Lu Qingyuan understood what Eldest Sister-in-law Lu meant and couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

After dinner, Lu Qingyuan and Eldest Sister-in-law Lu took an umbrella and went to Fifth Aunt’s house. Seeing that Lu Yanyan seemed quite cheerful, they knew nothing serious had happened.

Just as they were about to leave, Lu Yanyan suddenly pulled Lu Qingyuan aside and whispered,

“Sister Qingyuan, if you looked at a pair of shoes first but didn’t like them, and later, I bought them and wore them, would you mind?”

Lu Qingyuan’s heart stirred at her words. Though she wasn’t entirely sure what Lu Yanyan was implying, she still smiled and replied,

“I wouldn’t mind. If I didn’t pick them, it means I either didn’t like them or they weren’t a good fit for me.”

Lu Yanyan’s eyes lit up as she nodded enthusiastically. “That’s exactly it!”

So, if she and Tan Chang’an ended up together, it wouldn’t really be considered stealing.

“But since you’re buying the shoes, you should take a good look first. If they don’t fit, you’ll just end up uncomfortable.”

“Don’t worry, Sister Qingyuan. If I buy them, it’s because I think they fit me. Next time there’s a market day, let’s go together! My shoes are getting worn out, and I want to buy a pair of ready-made ones.”

Most people at this time bought fabric and made their own shoes.

Ready-made shoes included labor costs, so they were more expensive. Those who knew how to make shoes often found them too costly and rarely bought them.

“Alright, just let me know when, and if I’m free, I’ll go with you.”

As they walked home, Eldest Sister-in-law Lu asked curiously, “I overheard what Yanyan said earlier. What was all that about shoes and fitting? What did she mean?”

“I think I understand, but I’m not entirely sure.”

Lu Qingyuan linked arms with Eldest Sister-in-law Lu. She had a feeling that Yanyan was referring to Tan Chang’an as the shoes.

But since the two had no prior interaction, if Yanyan truly liked Tan Chang’an, Fifth Aunt would never have agreed to arrange a meeting between her and him.