Chapter 20

The second day of the Chinese New Year was when married daughters returned home.

Hu Xiu was also someone’s daughter. Although her parents had passed away, her siblings still cared for her. So that day, both Lin Ting and Hu Xiu needed to visit their families.

However, since Hu Xiu was heading in a different direction and taking the twins with her, she couldn’t go alone. At dawn, Huo Xiao borrowed Minister Hu’s bicycle to take his mother and the twins to her family and pay respects to his uncles and aunts. Luckily, the Hu family lived in a nearby village, so the round trip took less than two hours.

When Huo Xiao got home around seven, he found his wife still curled up on the heated kang.

On a regular day, he would have let her sleep in, but today was his first visit as a son-in-law, and being too late wouldn’t be good. So, he had to pull her out of bed despite her protests.

The Lin family had two daughters. The eldest, Lin Shuang, lived in the next town and was expecting a baby soon. Lin Shengli and Li Taohong had already visited her before the New Year and told her not to travel during the celebrations.

The second daughter, Lin Ting, had gone through many hardships before finally settling down. Now, with her military husband visiting for the first time, the Lin family had been busy since early morning—slaughtering chickens, making soup, chopping fish, and preparing a feast.

“Why aren’t they here yet? It’s almost nine!” Li Taohong anxiously sent her youngest son to check for the eighth time. When he returned without news, she sent him again.

Lin Hong didn’t mind running back and forth. Not for his sister, but for his impressive brother-in-law.

Young men fascinated by the military viewed soldiers as heroes.

Seeing his wife’s impatience, Lin Shengli, who was polishing furniture, tried to reassure her. “It’s not even nine yet. You know Tingting only got up after seven. She won’t be that fast.”

“You’re so smart,” Li Taohong retorted, rolling her eyes.

Lin Shengli, used to her remarks, just smiled and continued working.

Lin Wei, helping his father and brother, joked, “Maybe they’re slow because they brought too many gifts. Mom, get ready for some filial piety.”

Li Taohong chuckled. “It’s enough if they live happily together.”

Still, as parents, they couldn’t help but worry—especially since she had never met her son-in-law. If it weren’t improper to visit her daughter’s in-laws on the first day of the New Year, she would have gone herself.

Just as she was about to step out to check, her youngest son came running back, shouting, “Second brother-in-law is here! Mom! Dad! Second sister and brother-in-law are back!”

His voice was so loud that not only the Lin family but also the neighbors heard. Curious, some stepped out to see.

A nosy neighbor sneered, “Look at them fussing over a soldier son-in-law. He’s a second marriage!”

Another woman, tall and thin, and a friend of Li Taohong, snapped back, “You jealous gossip! If I tell Taohua, do you think she won’t tear you apart?”

The gossip shrank back, and the tall woman spat in disdain. Then she turned back to the road, spotting Lin Ting and Huo Xiao from a distance. She murmured, “Wow, Taohua’s son-in-law is huge.”

“Not bad,” another person agreed. “He looks even tougher than Lin Ming.”

Lin Ming, the Lin family’s eldest son, was 1.85 meters tall—a big, strong northern man.

The tall woman, pleased for her friend, added, “He might be even taller… Oh wow, he’s handsome! And he has a bicycle… His military uniform looks so neat! No wonder Taohua is grinning from afar. Come on, let’s go say hello!”

Soon, Lin Ting and Huo Xiao were surrounded by a curious crowd.

And the crowd kept growing.

Under normal circumstances, the hot-tempered Li Taohong would have already chased them away. But with all the gossip surrounding Tingting’s marriage, she now had an outstanding son-in-law to show off.

Once the young couple entered the house, she was done showing off and turned to shoo the neighbors away. But everyone’s eyes were glued to the full bag, unwilling to leave.

Even the tall, thin woman who initially helped smooth things over leaned against the door and joked, “Taohong, this isn’t fair! Your new son-in-law must have brought lots of gifts. Let us see a little, right?”

“That’s right! I just showed everyone the gifts my son-in-law brought.”

“Of course! When my Ni’er returns, I’ll invite everyone to see.”

Seeing that most of them were just curious, and since they were neighbors, Li Taohong hesitated but finally opened one bag to satisfy them. Her daughter had told her that her son-in-law and his family had prepared many valuable things, and she couldn’t help feeling proud.

But when she bent down, rummaged through the bag, and saw what was inside, she immediately shut it tight.

No wonder she reacted that way—the bag was full of expensive items!

Besides fine fabrics, there were also cigarettes and alcohol, far beyond what an average family would bring for a wedding.

Nowadays, when daughters visit their parents, they usually get a few dates, some eggs, and, if lucky, half a pound of meat.

Li Taohong was delighted but also overwhelmed. She didn’t want to display such wealth openly.

Who cared if the neighbors were unhappy? Her focus was now entirely on Huo Xiao.

A capable son-in-law who cherished her daughter made her happy. But one who was too generous made her uneasy.

She thought of keeping just a few items and returning the rest. However, before she could say anything, she heard something even more shocking.

“What? You found a job for the eldest son? At the county furniture factory? If this works out, he’ll have a stable future!”

Making furniture independently wasn’t profitable. People were poor, and few could afford large pieces. No matter how skilled one was, there weren’t many customers.

Huo Xiao replied calmly, “It’s not settled yet. I have a meeting with the factory director this afternoon. If his craftsmanship checks out, he’ll get the job.”

The Lin family lit up with joy.

Lin Ming had learned woodworking from his father, Lin Shengli, whose skills were well-known in the nearby villages. If a job depended on skill, then success was almost guaranteed!

Lin Ming’s face flushed with excitement, and he rubbed his hands nervously.

He had always found his second brother-in-law intimidating—Huo Xiao’s cold and serious demeanor made him hard to approach. But now, he was giving him such an opportunity!

Lin Ming wanted to express his gratitude but found himself tongue-tied. The others were also overwhelmed with emotions. Even talkative Lin Wei remained silent, just observing with a warm smile.

The atmosphere grew awkward.

Finally, Lin Ting, sitting beside Huo Xiao, broke the silence. “Why didn’t you mention this yesterday?”

Huo Xiao, who preferred actions over words, replied simply, “I was going to, but Guoguo was making a fuss, and I forgot.”

Hearing this, Lin Ting recalled the embarrassing incident from yesterday and complained, “That’s on you!”

Huo Xiao smiled and agreed, “My fault.”

Seeing this exchange, Li Taohong grew curious.

Lin Ting hadn’t planned to explain, but since everyone was in good spirits, she decided to share the story for fun.

As expected, everyone burst into laughter.

Still chuckling, Li Taohong asked, “So, whose mouth did the peach cake end up in?”

Lin Ting playfully patted Huo Xiao’s arm. “Ask him!”

Huo Xiao smirked and said, “Tingting, take it out and share.”

Being called “Tingting” made Lin Ting feel a strange flutter in her heart. But she feigned disinterest and grumbled, “I lost face and only got half a piece of cake. Not worth it!”

Li Taohong laughed and scolded, “Ungrateful girl! Your husband was thinking of you!” Then, turning to Huo Xiao, she added, “My daughter is spoiled by her father and me. Please bear with her, son-in-law!”

The unspoken message: Don’t expect her to change.

Huo Xiao, though new to being a son-in-law, was no fool. He immediately reassured her, “Tingting is wonderful. I owe her a lot.”

Lin Ting added, “Mom, he may seem cold, but he’s actually kind. The cigarettes and alcohol he brought this time were gifts from his superiors in Chengdu. You can’t even buy them in stores. As for the roe deer and rabbits, he hunted them himself in the snowy mountains. When he got back, his hands and feet were frozen solid. And the fabric…”