CHAPTER 7

When Lu Zhi heard that her in-laws had arrived, she was momentarily stunned.

In that strange, dreamlike experience she’d had before, her close friends had all gradually gotten married too. At their gatherings, she’d heard bits and pieces about married life.

The romance and flowers were all in the past. Once married, there were far more things to deal with—and most couples couldn’t even manage a simple “one plus one equals two.” One of the biggest issues was the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

One of Lu Zhi’s friends had often complained to her about her mother-in-law.

“This life is impossible. Every time my husband and I argue, it’s always because of her.”

“My husband and I went on vacation, and she insisted on tagging along?”

“I argued with my husband, and she butted in. What was just a squabble turned into a full-blown fight, and we gave each other the silent treatment for days.”

“Both her son and I earn wages. I think I look decent enough, but she still thinks I’m not good enough for her son???”

That friend and her husband hadn’t gotten divorced only because they genuinely loved each other.

Zhou Cheng’an noticed that Lu Zhi looked a little nervous.

Lu Zhi asked, “Your mom—I mean, what kind of daughter-in-law does my mother-in-law like?”

Fortunately, Lu Zhi was going with Zhou Cheng’an to the island, so it wasn’t too big a problem.

Zhou Cheng’an replied, “My mom can be… a bit enthusiastic.”

Lu Zhi: “Enthusiastic?”

Zhou Cheng’an: “She used to think… I’d never be able to…” He paused, looked at her, and said, “Get married.”

When Lu Zhi finally saw Chen Jiaojiao and Zhou Ang, she realized Zhou Cheng’an hadn’t exaggerated at all about his mother’s “enthusiasm.”

Chen Jiaojiao was followed by Zhou Ang, carrying a pile of big bags. The two of them looked quite young—especially Chen Jiaojiao.

Chen Jiaojiao beamed, “So this is my daughter-in-law! I just knew my son had good fortune!”

She held Lu Zhi’s hand warmly. “Once your father-in-law and I heard you two were getting married, we started getting things ready right away. We had to take time off, which is why we’re only arriving now. If you two hadn’t gone to get your marriage certificate yesterday, we’d have come the moment we got back from the capital.”

She was cheerful and gentle—an absolute surprise.

Grandma Zhou smiled from the side. “I just knew Jiaojiao would like this daughter-in-law.”

Lu Zhi invited them in.

Chen Jiaojiao was incredibly enthusiastic and kept holding Lu Zhi’s hand.

Lu Zhi said, “I’ll go make some tea.”

Chen Jiaojiao shot a look at Zhou Cheng’an, “You child, don’t you know anything?”

Zhou Cheng’an stood up. “I’ll go make the tea.”

Lu Zhi quickly followed. “He doesn’t know where the tea leaves are—I’ll show him.”

In the kitchen, Lu Zhi found the tea leaves and handed them to Zhou Cheng’an, lowering her voice, “Go to the steel factory and find my dad. He’s not busy today—he can take the time off.”

Everyone had always been understanding of Chen Xiangde. He worked hard, was diligent and capable, and devoted to training apprentices. Over the years, the only times he ever asked for leave were for his daughter’s matters.

….

Chen Xiangde had just finished his shift at the factory and was carefully instructing his apprentice.

One of his other apprentices came rushing in, sweating, “Master! Your son-in-law is here!”

Chen Xiangde gave a few more pointers to his apprentice before stepping outside.

He said, “Your parents are here, so I’ll have to take some time off. Wait for me—I’ll also need to go to the garment factory.”

He had to bring Li Lan with him too.

Just as he was getting ready to leave for the garment factory, Chen Xiangde saw Zhou Cheng’an open the car door.

The factory wasn’t far. Still, it took some time to find Li Lan and get her out on leave.

The small car pulled up outside the courtyard.

Li Lan got out and exclaimed, “This little car really is fast.”

And way more comfortable than the public bus.

But she didn’t forget the important matter—she quickened her steps and walked ahead.

Zhou Cheng’an and Chen Xiangde followed behind.

“I saw Lu Zhi’s in-laws bring over a ton of things.”

“Yeah, I saw two roast ducks—looked like the ones from the capital.”

“Li Lan and Chen Xiangde came back in a car.”

He Li’s face burned red with embarrassment.

Chu Tong didn’t look so good either. If she’d known that marrying Li Yu meant Lu Zhi could marry into a family like this, she would never have agreed to it.

Maybe… maybe she could have ended up with someone like Zhou Cheng’an?

The thought made her feel awful.

Looking at the people around her, she couldn’t help feeling like their eyes were all full of mockery.

….

Chen Jiaojiao said, “This pastry is delicious. And this one too. These are White Rabbit candies—these are for you. I also bought you fabric to make a dress. And here—these are all the fabric coupons I’ve saved. You take them.”

It was simply too much.

Then Chen Jiaojiao pulled out three envelopes. “This one’s from me and your father-in-law. This one’s from Grandpa and Grandma Cheng’an. This one’s from his second uncle and second aunt. And this—this one’s from his cousin. Take them all.”

Cheng’an’s second uncle’s family really couldn’t get time off to come.

Then she pulled out another red envelope. “And this is from Cheng’an’s uncle—who’s also your uncle. Just a small gift from him.”

Chen Jiaojiao said, “About Zhou Jun—he’s Cheng’an’s younger brother and my son. Technically, your dad and I should be the ones raising him, but we’re really too busy. Your dad’s tied up with equipment matters at the steel factory, and I’m swamped over at the food factory too.”

Thinking of the chubby little Zhou Jun, Lu Zhi honestly didn’t feel like the child was any kind of burden. Having him around just made life livelier.

She had once gone through a tough period, living in loneliness after her parents’ divorce.

Both of them had remarried, and their attention went entirely to their new families. At least they gave her plenty of money.

After coming back, she could feel how well her family treated her, but she still liked a lively home.

After all, she had experienced a lot. Her personality had changed.

For instance, if she ever felt unhappy in marriage now, she could actually consider asking for a divorce—something the old Lu Zhi would’ve never even imagined.

Chen Jiaojiao continued, “I really want to thank you. Zhou Jun’s living expenses—we were originally planning to send them to your grandparents. From now on, I’ll transfer the money to you two each month.”

Things needed to be looked at separately. There was no point in mixing everything together. Zhou Cheng’an and Lu Zhi had no obligation to raise his little brother. Since they were helping already, they shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket too.

The two families got along extremely well.

At noon, Li Lan and her eldest daughter-in-law made lunch and served the roast duck they’d brought with them.

The duck was rich without being greasy, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and infused with a savory-sweet sauce.

But what made Lu Zhi happiest was—there was still some cured pork left!

She ate until she was absolutely full.

In the afternoon, Zhou Cheng’an arranged for someone to help deliver their big items to the island. Once everything was taken care of, the Zhou family was ready to return home.

The Lu family walked them to the entrance and watched the car drive out of the alley.

Lu Zhi hooked her arm through Li Lan’s on the way back inside.

Li Lan said, “You’ve got wonderful in-laws.”

….

Back in her room, Lu Zhi sat on the bed and began unwrapping everything Chen Jiaojiao had given her.

Chen Jiaojiao and Zhou Ang had given them 1,000 yuan and some ration coupons.

Zhou Cheng’an’s second uncle had given 500 yuan.

His cousin had given 200 yuan.

His maternal uncle gave another 500.

Grandpa and Grandma Zhou added a sewing machine coupon and 100 yuan in cash.

Altogether, that was 2,300 yuan. Added to the 5,100 yuan she already had, Lu Zhi now had a total of 7,400 yuan.

An absolute fortune!

There were remittance receipts, cash, and deposit books in the pile.

After organizing it all neatly, Lu Zhi told Li Lan where she was going and headed out.

She planned to keep only 400 yuan with her. Zhou Cheng’an’s monthly salary and allowance totaled over a hundred yuan, and Zhou Jun’s living expenses were covered, so they didn’t need to dip into the big sum.

At the post office, Lu Zhi deposited 7,000 yuan in savings.

Saying she wasn’t thrilled would be a lie. If this were the old Lu Zhi, she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

After leaving the post office, the sky was still bright, so Lu Zhi caught a bus to the bookstore.

She needed to buy a few cookbooks—those were a must.

She also picked up some light reading for leisure.

Then she spotted… high school entrance exam prep materials?

Lu Zhi immediately began grabbing everything available. She bought every set she could get her hands on, plus paper and pens.

Her older brother had always been good at studying, so she bought a set for him too. Now that news of the college entrance exam being reinstated had come out, these materials were getting harder to find.

She figured her sister-in-law might give it a shot too. Even if she didn’t pass, they’d deal with that later. So she bought a third set—three sets in total.

The materials were heavy.

Lu Zhi carried them carefully, constantly checking on the deposit book she had tucked away safely in her inner pocket.

The bus was crowded, so she waited patiently until a half-empty one came by and grabbed a seat near the back.

Now that all this was done and the items were on their way to the island, all that was left was the wedding—then she and Zhou Cheng’an would be setting off together.

….

That evening, the Zhou family had leftovers from lunch, plus a new dish of stir-fried green peppers with eggs.

Chen Xiangde even poured himself a small cup of liquor, and Lu Zhi’s eldest brother joined him for a few sips.

Now that they’d met the in-laws, and with the wedding coming up this weekend, everyone felt a bit wistful.

After the initial shock over all those books Lu Zhi had bought, no one really brought them up anymore.

Li Lan and the eldest sister-in-law reminisced about Lu Zhi’s childhood together.

“She was such an adorable little thing.”

“Right? And now, in the blink of an eye, she’s getting married.”

“Zhou Cheng’an really has good taste.”

“Exactly. No wonder he wasn’t willing to settle. Then he meets Lu Zhi, and he’s head over heels.”

“…”

After dinner, Lu Zhi returned to her room, and her sister-in-law followed.

She had called her over.

Lu Zhi said, “Sister-in-law, being educated is important. I bought those books so you and my brother can study during your free time. Even if it’s just to help An’an with homework later, it’s still worth it.”

Her sister-in-law felt truly touched. “Our Zhi Zhi really knows how to think ahead.”

Lu Zhi said gently, “Sister-in-law.”

“I promise,” her sister-in-law replied. “I’ll study hard. I’ll get your brother to study with me too.”

Li Lan chimed in from the side.

“Study! I’ll keep an eye on both of them.”

Of course, if they didn’t end up passing the exam, it wouldn’t matter. Once the market economy opened up, Lu Zhi would help them find another path.

That too—was part of the opportunities of this era.