At this moment, Xu Aimei hurried back home and, in the dim light, saw a man and her son kneeling on the ground.

She quickly asked, “What are you two doing?”

Cheng Rushan promptly lifted Jiang Xinglei up and smiled, “It’s dark and he stumbled.”

Jiang Xinglei nodded quickly, “Mom, you’re back. I accidentally tripped, and my brother-in-law helped me up.”

Xu Aimei scolded, “What’s all this nonsense about brother-in-law?”

Cheng Rushan turned to her with a smile, “Hello, Mom. I’m Cheng Rushan, Linlin’s husband.”

His tall figure caught some light from the streetlamp, highlighting his bright and deep eyes, exuding a strong presence.

Xu Aimei instinctively shrank back and then straightened up, “Linlin?”

Seeing the commotion from a distance, Jiang Lin hurried over and stood next to Cheng Rushan.

She addressed Xu Aimei, “Mom, I’ve brought Cheng Rushan and the children back for a family visit, so you can see for yourself. We are completely innocent—no selling children or eloping.”

Xu Aimei remained silent.

She had been suffering from the gossip and rumors every day but pretended not to hear them.

Now faced with the reality, she found herself speechless.

After a brief silence, Xu Aimei said coldly, “Oh, you’re back. Come inside.”

Though not warm, she didn’t bring up the issue of her daughter tearfully cutting ties years ago.

Jiang Xinglei immediately scurried to open the door.

Once Xu Aimei and Jiang Lin went inside, he grabbed Cheng Rushan’s arm.

Known for his slippery nature, Jiang Xinglei felt Cheng Rushan’s presence was formidable.

Even his mother, who was difficult to please, allowed them inside without a fuss.

He pleaded, “Brother-in-law, please save me. If my dad finds out I stole the letter and demanded money from the Meng family, he’ll kill me.”

Cheng Rushan replied coolly, “Don’t worry. I guarantee he won’t kill you.”

Jiang Xinglei was immediately terrified, his heart pounding with fear.

He started pleading in a flurry, “Brother-in-law, I know I messed up, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have…”

“Shut up!” Cheng Rushan’s voice was cold and sharp.

Jiang Xinglei fell silent immediately.

As they entered the courtyard, families were already having their dinners.

The main house of the Jiang family was also waiting for Xu Aimei and Jiang Lin.

Jiang Dongjian had already informed them that Jiang Lin had returned for a family visit.

Jiang’s eldest brother and Jiang Lin had a significant age gap and had not been close since childhood, so there was no particular nostalgia between them.

Jiang’s second brother, however, was somewhat looking forward to it.

He was three years older than Jiang Lin and had spent more time together when they were younger.

Upon entering the courtyard, Xu Aimei, who usually breezed in and out without acknowledging anyone, suddenly changed her usual behavior.

She called out, “Our Linlin has brought her husband back to the city for a visit. We are all neighbors here in the same courtyard. Come and say hello to the young couple.”

With Xu Aimei’s announcement, neighbors from all the houses came out into the courtyard.

They looked at Cheng Rushan and Jiang Lin with warmth and familiarity, each trying to outdo the other in showing hospitality.

Although they often had disagreements and didn’t get along with Xu Aimei, they had all heard rumors about Jiang Lin selling her son or eloping with someone’s son.

Now that the young couple had returned for a visit and stood before them, they naturally wanted to show enthusiasm and friendliness, ensuring no one would suspect anything.

Cheng Rushan and Jiang Lin didn’t need to say much; their presence alone spoke volumes to the neighbors.

Not only the immediate neighbors but also those from adjacent houses came over to see the new couple.

“Old Jiang’s Linlin has found such a handsome young man! Tall and handsome, truly an excellent catch!”

Previously, the rumors suddenly dispersed with Cheng Rushan’s arrival.

Jiang Lin noticed that Meng Yiyi’s parents and Meng Yiyi herself were nowhere to be seen.

She wanted to go to Meng’s house to confront Meng Yiyi, but Cheng Rushan squeezed her hand, signaling her to go home first.

…

At this moment, Meng Yiyi was gritting her teeth in her room.

She didn’t expect that upon returning home, she would hear the news that Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan had gone to her parents’ home.

Meng Kaiping knocked on the door, “Yiyi, it’s time for dinner.”

Meng Yiyi was packing her things — a few pieces of clothing neatly folded into a bag, a backpack on her back.

She opened the door and said to Meng Kaiping, “Dad, I’m going out for a few days. Whatever Jiang Lin and others say, please ignore them.”

Her mom, Huang Meini, added, “We did nothing wrong. It’s she who’s ungrateful. What are we afraid of? Her brother even came to demand fifteen yuan from us. We can sue him too.”

Meng Yiyi said, “Mom, he said he was collecting debts for his sister. You can’t sue him. Trust me, you’ll see I’m right. I’ll make sure our family lives a good life.”

Meng Kaiping remembered what his daughter had told him and firmly believed her.

Although he hadn’t been particularly good to her before, now he wholeheartedly protected her, “Daughter, go hide quickly to avoid trouble from her.”

Just as Meng Yiyi stepped into the yard, she saw Fan Huiyuan, the women’s director from the factory, walking in with two women.

She smiled, “Aunt Fan, you’re here.”

Fan Huiyuan sneered, “Oh, Meng Yiyi, where are you off to so late? Don’t tell me you’re eloping?”

Such terms as ‘elope’ are casually thrown around by children because of you lot.

Where’s the shame left?

Meng Yiyi’s face changed color. “Aunt Fan, what kind of joke are you making?”

Meng Kaiping and Huang Meini hurried out too, and other families also came out asking what was going on.

Fan Huiyuan looked at Meng Yiyi and said, “Meng Yiyi, someone has reported that you’ve been using someone else’s name to cheat money, and spreading rumors that someone’s wife ran away.

The Factory Revolutionary Committee can’t tolerate such slanderous acts, so we need you to come with us and clarify.”

Meng Yiyi’s face changed. “What? I haven’t done anything like that.”

Initially, the educated youth threatened to write to the street and the Factory Revolutionary Committee.

Upon her plea and Jin Lei’s intercession, they felt she had sincerely repented and was actively repaying the money.

The educated youth did not excessively trouble her, knowing that everyone knew the importance of returning to the city.

They only wrote to her parents to explain the situation and ask them to repay the money as soon as possible.

Fan Huiyuan: “You have evidence. If you do, come with us, or things will be more serious than going to the police station.”

Meng Kaiping and Huang Meini also came to plead for their daughter, but Fan Huiyuan refused coldly.

Meng Yiyi looked at Fan Huiyuan, who was aggressive and said with hatred, “Fan Huiyuan, don’t be arrogant. You’re not as good as me!”

Fan Huiyuan saw that she dared to be so powerful and immediately let people take her away.

Meng Yiyi looked back at Meng Kaiping: “Dad, go find my classmate, I told you about her.”

Fan Huiyuan, however, did not let her say more and let her take it away, dropping her bag.

As they left, Huang Meini panicked, “Old Jiang’s daughter is so cruel. We treated her so well…”

Neighbors did not know what happened and asked one after another.

Huang Meini had to mention the entanglement of grievances, but would not mention her daughter’s fault, only said that Jiang Lin would repay the kindness with revenge.

“Jiang Lin came with a man. Didn’t you see him? He was tall and handsome, smiling and looking cold and scary.” One person quickly reminded another family not to get involved in Meng’s family affairs in case they angered the man.

Although they didn’t know Cheng Rushan, he had a unique presence that made it clear at first glance he wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Meng Kaiping hurriedly went to the address his daughter mentioned, where there was a phone number.

Meng Yiyi’s younger brother, Meng Ruirui, was secretly reading a banned book and hastily hid it when his father came in.

Meng Kaiping paid no attention to this and quickly ran out to find a place to make a phone call.

As he passed by the Meng family’s courtyard gate, he heard lively laughter inside and neighbors complimenting each other, which made him so angry that he muttered, “What are they so proud of, a bunch of hypocrites!”

…

Jiang Lin, who was being called a hypocrite, was feeling much better now.

Earlier, she had been worried about Cheng Rushan and the children being treated coldly, so she had come to inquire first.

She had never expected such baseless rumors, but Cheng Rushan’s presence alone dispelled them.

As if knowing her thoughts, Cheng Rushan glanced at her and held her hand.

Some sharp-eyed neighbors immediately noticed how affectionate the couple seemed.

Cheng Rushan said, “It’s getting late, let’s not disturb our neighbors’ dinner. My parents will formally visit with the children in a couple of days, and we’ll treat everyone to sweets then.” He then turned to Xu Aimei and Jiang Dongjian, “Mom, Dad, due to various reasons, we haven’t formally proposed marriage before, so let’s make up for it this time.”

Xu Aimei thought he was just being polite, as nowadays in town, modern marriages were more about meeting each other, registering, and having a meal together.

The neighbors congratulated them quickly and then dispersed, laughing and joking as they went home.

Inside the house, Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan sat down for dinner with their family.

Song Lijuan took the children to eat first, afraid they would get hungry.

Although Jiang Dongjian had prepared extra food for Jiang Lin, with Cheng Rushan joining them unexpectedly, they hadn’t planned for this, and there wasn’t enough food.

Jiang Dongjian busily said, “I’ll go cook some noodles.”

Xu Aimei added, “Put in two eggs.”

Song Lijuan hurriedly said, “Dad, let me do it. I saw the kids were hungry, so I’ll handle feeding them with whatever we have.”

Cheng Rushan placed five pounds of food coupons on the table. “Mom, Dad, this is for Linlin’s meals these days.”

During cadre visits and relatives visiting for meals, it was customary to bring their own food coupons, so they didn’t need to pay.

If there were no food coupons, they couldn’t buy grain, and when they were sold, they cost about two cents per jin.

It was more expensive than the food itself, so it was very good if they could get food coupons.

“No need!” Jiang Dongjian quickly pushed it back to him. “It’s not easy for you to earn work points.”

Song Lijuan was very anxious.

How could he be so silly?

Their family was only allowed to eat a fixed amount each day, one jin, and if they ate several meals, someone would go hungry for the month.

How expensive it was to buy grain on the black market, five or six times the price.

She smiled, “Dad, we should give our brother-in-law some money.”

Jiang Lin glanced at Cheng Rushan and didn’t know when he got the food tickets, she took them and put them in front of Xu Aimei, “Mom, everyone eats in accordance with their rations, and we don’t eat for free.”

Xu Aimei handed it to Song Lijuan, “Take it and go buy a few jin of noodles tomorrow.”

Song Lijuan immediately took it.

Jiang Lin also greeted her eldest and second brother.

The eldest brother was handsome and had been a celebrity at the provincial university.

However, he had become overly silent and only greeted Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan before falling silent.

He was not enthusiastic but not intentionally cold, as he was like that to everyone.

He was a senior in college during the Cultural Revolution, and during the fighting, he was beaten and was later married.

The following year, he was transferred back to the city to work at the radio factory, and his days were as quiet as they could be.

All his ideals and passions seemed to burn and extinguish that year, as he was now like an empty shell without any vitality.