Chapter 21: The Li Family Finds Out About Li Xiangbei’s House

After watching the drama at the Liang household come to an end, Su Yue and Li Xiangbei left the alleyway.

Li Xiangbei shook his head and said, “Wang Qiang’s life is probably going to be tough from now on.”

Su Yue nodded. Wang Qiang was indeed pitiful. His family clearly wanted Liang Xiaohong to marry into their household so someone would be there to take care of him. But it was obvious that if Liang Xiaohong were forced to marry him, she would never truly care for him in the future.

When the two arrived at the entrance of the steel factory, Su Yue smiled and waved goodbye to Li Xiangbei before turning into the dormitory building.

At the Li household, the whole family was gathered around the table having breakfast. Li Xiangnan casually brought up, “Hey, Fourth Brother, I heard from a colleague that you bought ten-yuan worth of coal at once the other day?”

Li Xiangnan had started working at the coal yard as a laborer right after graduating junior high. The job was hard and tiring, and he only made about 38 yuan a month.

Li Xiangbei took a bite of porridge, covering up a faintly mocking smile at the corner of his lips, and nodded in acknowledgment.

Liu Lanxiang (his eldest sister-in-law) sneered, her tone laced with suspicion:
“Fourth, these days, you’d better not get involved in any speculative or shady business. Don’t do anything foolish.”

At her words, Zhang Cuihua (the mother) slammed her chopsticks down heavily and glared fiercely at Liu Lanxiang, scolding sharply:
“Stop spewing nonsense! Do you think that’s something you can say so casually?”

Liu Lanxiang, clearly annoyed at being reprimanded by her mother-in-law, turned red with frustration and raised her voice in protest:
“Mother, aren’t you being too biased? If fourth is doing something illegal, as the eldest sister-in-law, I can’t even speak up? I think you’d better let him move out and live on his own before he drags the whole family down with him!”

Li Xiangdong, the eldest brother, chimed in, “Exactly, Mom. He disappears right after work and only comes home before bed. Who knows what he’s getting up to out there? Fourth, you can’t just think about your own gain and risk getting the rest of us in trouble.”

Li Xiangbei smirked coldly and said calmly,
“Mother, listen to that. Your eldest son and daughter-in-law are practically dying to throw me out of the house.”

Zhang Cuihua glared at her youngest son, then turned to the older couple and said,
“Stop spouting nonsense. Xiao Su is bringing a house as part of her dowry. After the wedding, Xiangbei will move there with her. Buying coal was just part of preparing for that.”

Liu Lanxiang’s eyes went wide with shock, and her voice rose sharply:
“A whole house as dowry?”
She cast a sideways glance at Li Xiangbei.
“Don’t tell me Su Yue’s family is from the capitalist class?”

Zhang Cuihua’s expression darkened immediately.
“Watch your mouth! Su Yue’s eldest brother is a company commander in the army—her family background is as clean and red as it gets!”

Li Xiangbei put down his chopsticks, his gaze calm but laced with meaning as he looked at Li Xiangdong:
“Big brother, you work your tail off all month and earn, what, thirty-eight yuan? You give ten to the family for living expenses, and the rest goes to help support sister-in-law’s family. You’re really a model son-in-law—pouring your heart out like that. The Liu family is lucky to have you. Oh, and I also heard that your brother-in-law has his eye on some girl and wants to gift her a full set of the ‘Three Revolutions and One Sound’ (bike, sewing machine, watch, and radio). That’s quite the show of wealth—must be because he knows he’s got you, his generous brother-in-law, to back him.”

With that, Li Xiangbei picked up two scallion pancakes, ate as he walked, and left the table.

For several days in a row, Su Yue had already adapted to the work rhythm. At the office, she got along well with Li Shufang and Wu Yulian. They often chatted and laughed, and the job wasn’t too tiring. In the span of a week, she even finished knitting a sweater for her eldest brother.

Wang Qiuya had successfully become a full-time employee, while Qin Qinyue had been dismissed. Word had it she had already signed up to go to the countryside as a “zhiqing” (educated youth).
On Sunday morning
Su Yue had just arrived at the steel factory gate when she saw Li Xiangbei standing there with a basket, waiting for her.

With a bright smile, Li Xiangbei walked up and said,
“I bought some things for your parents. Yueyue, take a look—do you think it’s enough?”

Su Yue peeked into the basket and saw: two jin (about 1 kg) of meat, one jin of milk candy, two jin of peaches, two packs of “Da Qianmen” cigarettes, and two bottles of Fenjiu (a popular Chinese liquor).

“That’s more than enough. How could it not be?”
Su Yue was clearly pleased with how much respect Li Xiangbei showed her parents.

The two took a public bus to Hongqi Commune. After getting off, they walked another 20 minutes and finally arrived at Hekou Brigade.

At that time, most of the brigade members were working in the fields. Someone with sharp eyes spotted Su Yue, who had returned from the city with an unfamiliar young man. They immediately called out loudly,
“Yueyue’s back? Is this your boyfriend?”

Su Yue smiled brightly and greeted all the villagers warmly.
Li Xiangbei, who was good at reading the room, also greeted them politely. His manner quickly won over many of the villagers, who began complimenting him, saying Su Yue had found a good man.

From a distance, Shen Qiuxia (Su Yue’s mother) saw her daughter returning with her boyfriend and hurriedly said a word to the team leader before rushing over to “rescue” the two of them and bring them home.

“Xiangbei, our brigade folks are just warm-hearted like that. I hope you don’t mind?” Shen Qiuxia said with a smile.

Li Xiangbei grinned even more sincerely,
“Mom, the unity in this brigade is amazing. The atmosphere here is just wonderful.”

Su Yue rolled her eyes at him but didn’t correct him calling her mother “Mom.”

Seeing her daughter didn’t object, Shen Qiuxia took it as silent approval and smiled,
“Let’s go, let’s go—this heat is terrible. Let’s get home and cool off.”
With that, she led the two of them back home.

Once they arrived, Shen Qiuxia invited them to sit down and then turned to go into the kitchen.

Li Xiangbei quickly put down the basket and followed her,
“Mom, if you need to do anything, just let me help.”

“Alright, alright,” she responded happily.

While chatting, Li Xiangbei brought out a pitcher of herbal tea that Shen Qiuxia had prepared earlier.

“Xiangbei, come have some herbal tea,” she said.

Xiangbei quickly responded, picked up the porcelain teacup on the table, poured a cup, and handed it to Shen Qiuxia first. Then he poured another and handed it to Su Yue,
“Yueyue, have some tea to cool off.”

Finally, he poured a cup for himself and sat down to drink.

His thoughtful and respectful behavior made Shen Qiuxia like her future son-in-law even more.

“Mom, this tea you made is amazing—so refreshing. I feel totally relaxed after drinking it,” he said enthusiastically.

Hearing that, Su Yue couldn’t help but let out a laugh and gave Xiangbei a playful glare—her eyes full of sweetness and affection.

“Mom, Xiangbei brought some gifts for you,” Su Yue said as she pointed to the basket.
“There’s a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of liquor in there—that’s for Uncle. Xiangbei managed to get a place across from the steel factory. We’re planning to go check with Uncle to see if he has any furniture that might work for us. If so, we’ll buy it from him.”

Su Yue’s uncle was a carpenter. However, in recent years, he’d stopped taking private orders because the resources on the mountain were state-owned, and trees couldn’t be cut down casually. So her uncle mostly sourced furniture from junk depots or repurposed old, discarded pieces into new ones.

As she finished, Su Yue pulled three blueprint pages from her satchel and handed them to Shen Qiuxia. The diagrams were clear, and all room dimensions were precisely marked.
“Mom, I drew up these floor plans,” she explained.

Shen Qiuxia’s eyes lit up. She looked at Li Xiangbei and asked,
“Xiangbei, from what you’re saying, you two don’t plan to live with your parents after getting married?”

Li Xiangbei’s expression remained warm, but his tone was firm as he replied,
“Right, Mom. After Yueyue and I get married, we’ll move out on our own.”

Hearing this, Shen Qiuxia looked pleased and nodded with satisfaction.