Chapter 21: The Li Family Learns That Li Xiangbei Has a House

After the commotion at the Liang household ended, Su Yue and Li Xiangbei left the alley.

Li Xiangbei shook his head and said, “I’m afraid Wang Qiang’s days won’t be easy from now on.”

Su Yue nodded. Wang Qiang was indeed pitiful. His family’s real intention was to force Liang Xiaohong to marry into their family so there’d be someone to take care of him. But it was obvious—even if Liang Xiaohong was forced to marry him, she wouldn’t take good care of him in the future.

When they reached the gate of the steel factory, Su Yue waved goodbye to Li Xiangbei with a smile and turned to enter the dormitory building.

Back at the Li household, the whole family was sitting around the table having breakfast. Li Xiangnan, bowl in hand, casually said, “Fourth Brother, I heard from my coworker that you bought ten yuan worth of coal at once at the coal yard the other day?”

Li Xiangnan had started working as a porter at the coal yard right after junior high. It was a tough and tiring job, but at least it earned him thirty-eight yuan a month.

Li Xiangbei took a bite of porridge, covering the sarcastic smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, and nodded in response.

Liu Lanxiang curled her lips and said with ill intent, “Fourth Brother, these days speculating and profiteering is strictly forbidden. Don’t go down the wrong path.”

Zhang Cuihua immediately slammed her chopsticks on the table and glared fiercely at Liu Lanxiang. “Watch your mouth! You think you can just throw accusations around like that?”

Liu Lanxiang turned red with indignation at being scolded by her mother-in-law. She raised her voice and retorted, “Ma, aren’t you being too biased? If Fourth Brother’s doing something illegal, can’t I, as the eldest sister-in-law, say something? Honestly, I think you should let Fourth Brother live separately as soon as possible, so the rest of us don’t get dragged down with him.”

Li Xiangdong chimed in, “Exactly, Ma. Fourth Brother disappears right after work and only comes home before bedtime. Who knows what kind of shady stuff he’s involved in?”

He then turned to Li Xiangbei and added, “Fourth Brother, you can’t just think about benefitting yourself and put the whole family at risk.”

A cold smile flickered across Li Xiangbei’s face as he said slowly, “Ma, listen to them. Your eldest son and daughter-in-law are practically dying to kick your youngest son out.”

Zhang Cuihua glared at her youngest son and then turned to her eldest and his wife. “Enough of this nonsense. Xiao Su brought a house as part of her dowry. Once she and Xiangbei get married, they’ll move there. As for the coal, he was just preparing ahead.”

Liu Lanxiang’s eyes widened in disbelief, her voice rising sharply, “A whole house as dowry?” She gave Li Xiangbei a sideways glance. “Her family must be capitalists or something.”

Zhang Cuihua’s face darkened immediately. “Don’t talk rubbish! Xiao Su’s older brother is a battalion commander in the army. Her family has an excellent political background—absolutely clean!”

Li Xiangbei put down his chopsticks, his gaze calm but laced with meaning as he looked at Li Xiangdong. “Big Brother, you work yourself to the bone every month for thirty-five yuan. You hand ten over to the family for living expenses, and the remaining twenty-five goes to support your wife’s family. You’re really the perfect son-in-law. The Liu family sure struck gold with you.”

He paused for effect, then added, “Oh, and I heard your wife’s younger brother has his eye on a girl and wants to woo her with the ‘three rounds and one sound’ gift set. That kind of confidence must come from you, huh?”

As he spoke, he casually grabbed two scallion pancakes and walked away, still eating.

After six straight days of work, Su Yue had fully adjusted to her new routine. In the office, she got along well with Li Shufang and Wu Yulian. They chatted and laughed every day, and the work was easy. Within the week, she even finished knitting a sweater for her eldest brother.

Wang Qiuya was successfully made a permanent worker, while Qin Mingyue was dismissed and reportedly signed up to go to the countryside as a “zhiqing” (educated youth).

Early Sunday morning, just as Su Yue arrived at the steel factory entrance, she spotted Li Xiangbei standing there with a basket in hand, waiting for her.

He greeted her with a cheerful smile. “I bought some things for our parents. Yueyue, take a look—do you think it’s enough?”

Su Yue peeked inside and found two jin of meat, one jin of milk candy, two jin of flat peaches, two packs of Da Qianmen cigarettes, and two bottles of Fenjiu liquor.

“It’s more than enough,” she said, pleased by his thoughtfulness toward her parents.

The two took the bus to Hongqi Commune, and after getting off, they walked another twenty minutes to reach Hekou Brigade.

Most people in the brigade were working in the fields. Someone sharp-eyed noticed Su Yue coming back from town with a young man and called out loudly, “Yueyue’s back? Is this your fiancé?”

Su Yue greeted the villagers warmly with a beaming smile, and Li Xiangbei, who knew how to behave, greeted them as well. In no time, he earned their praise, with many saying Su Yue had found herself a good man.

From afar, Shen Qiuxia saw her daughter returning with her fiancé and quickly got the brigade leader’s permission to leave work. She hurried over to “rescue” the two back home.

“Xiangbei, folks in our brigade are a bit enthusiastic. Don’t mind them, okay?” Shen Qiuxia said with a smile.

Li Xiangbei grinned even more warmly. “Ma, our brigade is so united. The atmosphere is wonderful!”

Su Yue rolled her eyes at him playfully, but didn’t object to him calling her mother “Ma.”

Seeing that, Shen Qiuxia accepted it as a sign of approval. “Let’s get out of the sun—it’s too hot. Come home and cool off.”

Back home, Shen Qiuxia had the two sit down before heading into the kitchen.

Li Xiangbei quickly followed her and offered, “Ma, let me help with whatever you’re doing.”

“Alright, alright,” she said, clearly pleased.

Soon, he came out carrying a tray of herbal iced tea Shen Qiuxia had prepared earlier.

“Xiangbei, sit down and have some iced tea,” she offered.

He quickly obliged, poured a cup, and handed it first to Shen Qiuxia, then another to Su Yue. “Yueyue, have some to cool off.”

Finally, he poured a cup for himself and sat down to drink. His thoughtfulness made Shen Qiuxia increasingly fond of him as a future son-in-law.

“Ma, your iced tea is amazing—refreshing and tasty. I feel revived after drinking it.”

Su Yue couldn’t help but chuckle, shooting him a sweet and affectionate look.

“Ma, Xiangbei brought some things for you,” Su Yue said, pointing to the basket. “There’s a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of liquor for Uncle. Xiangbei managed to get us a house across from the steel factory. We plan to check with Uncle to see if he can help furnish it.”

Her uncle was a carpenter, but in recent years had stopped taking private jobs because forest resources were owned by the state and couldn’t be cut freely. He made furniture by repurposing old or discarded pieces.

As she spoke, Su Yue pulled three blueprints from her satchel and handed them to her mother. The sketches were clear and detailed, with measurements marked for each section.

“Ma, I drew these floor plans myself.”

Shen Qiuxia’s eyes lit up. She looked at Li Xiangbei and asked, “Xiangbei, from the sound of it, you and Yueyue don’t plan to live with your parents after marriage?”

Li Xiangbei replied with a calm and sincere smile, “That’s right, Ma. After we get married, we’ll move out and live on our own.”

Shen Qiuxia’s expression softened with satisfaction. She nodded in approval.