Chapter 28: Liang Xiaohong Goes to the Countryside

Li Xiangbei hadn’t come home for lunch for five days straight, and this unusual behavior made the whole family suspicious.

“Xiangbei, what have you been busy with this week? Except in the mornings, we don’t see you around at all.”

Zhang Cuixiu actually wanted to ask if her son and Comrade Xiao Su had gotten their marriage certificate yet.
Li Xiangbei took a mouthful of porridge and said, “Moving furniture.”

Zhang Cuixiu was pleased and, thinking that almost two weeks had passed, asked, “By the way, has Xiao Su’s family sent a letter about the wedding date?”

Li Xiangbei nodded and swallowed the porridge before saying, “They have. The date is set for October 1st. Yueyue’s eldest and third brothers’ families will come back then.”

Zhang Cuixiu gave him a playful glare and scolded, “If I don’t ask, you wouldn’t say a word! Did you two get the marriage certificate yet?”

Li Xiangbei shook his head and explained, “Not yet. The furniture all came from her uncle’s house, no tickets needed.”

Liu Lanxiang’s eyes lit up instantly, excitedly saying, “No tickets? Fourth brother, our room still needs a big wardrobe.”

Li Xiangbei glanced at his sister-in-law, calmly teasing, “There are plenty of furniture factories, sister-in-law, you can pick one yourself. Your brother won’t interfere.”

Liu Lanxiang wasn’t satisfied and asked again, “You said Xiao Su’s uncle’s furniture needs no tickets, right?”

Li Xiangbei shrugged and said lazily, “No more, we’ve moved everything.”

Liu Lanxiang’s eyes turned crafty, and she started plotting, “Isn’t your brother-in-law a carpenter? I heard old furniture can be remade into new stuff. How about I buy some old furniture at the scrap station and get your brother-in-law to help make one?”

Li Xiangbei smiled slyly at his sister-in-law and joked, “We’re family, helping each other is normal, but if you want to pay, that’s another story, right?”

Liu Lanxiang nodded enthusiastically.

Li Xiangbei put down his bowl and stood up. “I won’t disturb sister-in-law’s daydreams anymore.” Saying that, he grabbed his satchel and strode out.

Liu Lanxiang realized too late that Fourth Brother had played her. “Mom, look at Fourth Brother, teasing his sister-in-law this early in the morning.”

Zhang Cuixiu gave her a scolding look, “Lanxiang, you wear your thoughts on your face. Anyone can tell.”

After that, she got up and said, “I have to go to work. Hurry up and wash those dishes; it’s summer and the flies will come.”

As the sun set, Su Yue finished her work for the day and, as usual, packed her food and happily headed toward Li Xiangbei’s house. Just as she stepped into the alley, a sorrowful crying echoed through the narrow lane.

Su Yue felt the crying was oddly familiar.

“You old Liang family is too much! You promised the marriage last week, but now Liang Xiaohong secretly went to the countryside. Our Wang family didn’t even ask for compensation, only for you to return the betrothal gifts. You refuse to do even that. Are you planning to be deadbeats, old Liang family?” cried Wang Qiang’s mother, her voice full of anger and tears.
Old Mrs. Liang crossed her arms and frowned, retorting, “Betrothal gifts? When did your Wang family ever give us betrothal gifts?”

Wang Qiang’s mother was trembling with anger, stepping forward and yelling, “The betrothal gifts were given in front of the police! If not, we can ask the police to judge!”

“Go ahead!” Old Mrs. Liang answered defiantly, “But don’t forget, the betrothal gifts were given to Liang Xiaohong herself, not to me. Now that Liang Xiaohong took the gifts and went to the countryside, that has nothing to do with us. Her household registration has been transferred; she’s no longer part of the old Liang family. Don’t come looking for us. The street office has her rural address; you can find her there!”

Upon hearing this, Wang Qiang’s mother stomped her feet in frustration, her eyes red, “She has to be a sent-down youth for at least three years before applying to return to the city. How is my Wang Qiang supposed to manage these three years?”

Old Mrs. Liang rolled her eyes, full of disdain: “Why don’t you just sign your Wang Qiang up to go down to the countryside too? Let your other sons take a few days off to send him there — problem solved!”

Wang Qiang’s mother froze on the spot, and after coming to her senses, her crying became even more heart-wrenching.

Old Mrs. Liang frowned and shouted into the house, “Big son, go to the newspaper office now and put out a notice to sever all ties with that girl!”

Old Mrs. Liang was always biased towards sons over daughters. Ever since Liang Xiaohong accepted the betrothal gifts, she had tried coaxing and deceiving to get the money back but failed. Unexpectedly, Liang Xiaohong quietly took her household registration and signed up to go to the countryside, which infuriated Mrs. Liang.

“What time is it? Why are you all gathered at my doorstep? Have you eaten dinner? Go, go, go, get going.”

Mrs. Liang yelled as she slipped back into the Liang family home like a gust of wind. Before Wang Qiang’s mother could catch up, she slammed the door shut with a “bang.”

Wang Qiang’s eldest brother, Wang Yong, stepped forward anxiously and asked, “Mom, what do we do now?”

“The trouble caused by the third son at the Liang family, the Liang family must take responsibility!” Wang Qiang’s mother said, glancing at Wang Qiang lying on a recliner. She bit her lip and said harshly, “We’re leaving!”

Right after saying this, Wang Qiang’s mother grabbed Wang Yong and Wang Gang and turned to leave, leaving Wang Qiang lying alone in front of the Liang family door.

Wang Yong and Wang Gang opened their mouths to say something but swallowed their words and let their mother pull them toward home.

Su Yue put down the lunchbox on the table and took out the curtains she had made from her bag, hanging them on the window by the kang (heated bed platform).

The curtains were double-layered: the inner layer was made of thick blue coarse cotton cloth—durable and with excellent light-blocking effect. From outside, it wouldn’t attract attention, unlike most households that now papered their windows with newspaper. Many families’ clothes were “worn for three years, old for three years, patched for another three years,” with clothes often passed down through multiple children.

The outer layer was a clean, small floral print fabric—cheerful and lively—adding a warm touch to the entire room.

Just after hanging the curtains, there was a creak as the yard gate opened.

A familiar voice called out: “Yueyue, I’m home!”

Ling Xiangbei closed the gate behind him and walked briskly inside.

“Yesterday, I bought two pieces of defective cloth at the supply and marketing cooperative. Take a look, do you think they’re suitable for making quilt covers?” Ling Xiangbei pulled two pieces of fabric out of his bag and handed them to Su Yue.

Su Yue smiled and inspected the cloth.

“Where’s the defect?”

Ling Xiangbei smiled and pointed to the edges of the fabric, “It got dirty during transport.”

Su Yue was momentarily stunned and then laughed helplessly: “That little dirt spot counts as defective? Just wash it and it’ll be clean.”

Ling Xiangbei leaned close to Su Yue’s ear and quietly explained, “This is an internal perk for the cooperative’s employees. Everyone does this. But you have to be careful not to go too far.”

Su Yue nodded thoughtfully. “Let’s eat first. I’ll take these two pieces home to wash and put them away for now.”

Ling Xiangbei responded with a nod, his eyes soft and warm as he watched Su Yue busy around.

These past five days, the two of them had been like little hamsters, constantly bringing things home.

Ling Xiangbei glanced around the house, smiling happily.

This—this was truly home.