The two of them walked along the riverbank, then went around the old locust tree at the entrance to the village before slowly making their way back to the courtyard. Zhao Shuhe walked at an unhurried pace, and Lu Jingfeng was in no hurry either. They exchanged a few words now and then, and at other times simply walked in silence. Neither found it awkward.
When they were almost at the courtyard gate, Zhao Shuhe stopped.
Lu Jingfeng noticed. “What’s wrong?”
Zhao Shuhe shook her head. “Nothing. I just feel that… once we go in, they’re definitely going to stare at the two of us.”
Lu Jingfeng gave a laugh. “Then let them stare. We’re dating. It’s not as if we’ve done anything shameful.”
The two of them entered the courtyard one after the other, and several pairs of eyes in the main room immediately turned toward them in unison.
Matchmaker Zhang took one look at the expressions on the two young people’s faces and knew the answer. It had worked! The relaxed look on Lu Jingfeng’s face was completely different from the deadpan expression he had worn after meeting the previous girls.
Matchmaker Zhang was practically dancing with joy inside. The Lu family had already made it clear that if this marriage came through, there would be a generous red envelope for her. After working as a matchmaker for so many years, if she could truly chew through the tough bone that was Lu Jingfeng, then her name—Zhang Hongying—would really become famous throughout the provincial capital!
The moment Wang Xiulan saw the look on her son’s face, she knew the trip had not been in vain. She did not rush to say anything. Instead, she took Li Qiongxian’s hand and said, “Sister-in-law Qiongxian, the cured meat you made is so fragrant. You’ll have to teach me how to make it sometime.”
Li Qiongxian was in no mood to discuss cured meat, but she still had to respond politely.
As soon as Lu Jingfeng entered the room, however, he said to Zhao Shoutian, “Uncle Zhao, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Zhao Shoutian hurriedly replied, “Go ahead, go ahead.”
Lu Jingfeng said something no one had expected: “It’s getting late today, and the mountain road isn’t easy to travel. I’d like to stay in the village with my Father and Mom for one night and leave tomorrow.”
Zhao Shoutian was stunned. He glanced at Li Qiongxian.
Li Qiongxian reacted quickly. “Stay, stay! We have room. I’ll go tidy things up.”
Matchmaker Zhang chimed in as well. “Then I’ll impose on you for one night too. Sister-in-law Zhao, don’t complain that there are too many of us.”
Li Qiongxian waved her hands repeatedly, her heart filled with delight. Their willingness to stay meant they were interested in this marriage!
That evening, the Zhao family courtyard was exceptionally lively.
The children milled around the biscuits and sweets the Lu family had brought. Zhao Xiaohu took a bite of a biscuit and exclaimed, “Father! This biscuit is sweet!”
Zhao Manzhu rolled his eyes. “If biscuits aren’t sweet, are they supposed to be salty?”
Zhao Xiaohu ignored his father and ran off with the biscuit.
Zhao Shuhe was busy helping Li Qiongxian make the beds and fold the quilts. Her thoughts were a tangled mess. Had Lu Jingfeng decided to stay because there was something else he wanted to say, or was he simply unable to make the journey back? She could not tell.
In the West Room, Lu Jingfeng closed the door and spoke with his Father and Mom.
The first thing Wang Xiulan asked was, “What exactly do you mean? If you want to stay one night, then stay one night, but at least give us a clear answer. Do you actually like this girl or not?”
Lu Jingfeng sat on the edge of the kang. “Mom, I like her very much.”
The stone in Wang Xiulan’s heart finally settled, though she still muttered, “Just don’t come back after a couple of days and tell me again that it won’t work out.”
“It won’t,” Lu Jingfeng said.
Lu Changxiong asked, “Then what are you planning to do? The girl is only seventeen. She won’t be old enough to register her marriage until next year.”
Lu Jingfeng nodded. “I’ve thought it over. Comrade Shuhe is smart, and her grades aren’t bad. She only stopped studying because her family couldn’t spare the grain. She just graduated this June, and it’s only July thirteenth. If we can make the arrangements in time, I want her to attend a secondary technical school.”
Wang Xiulan stared at him. “Go to school?”
“Yes. After two years at a secondary technical school, she’ll be assigned a job. Once she graduates, we can register our marriage. By then, she’ll have a permanent job, and we’ll be a dual-income couple.”
Lu Changxiong was very much in favor of the idea. “That’s not a bad plan.”
Wang Xiulan glared at him. “You make it sound so easy. Who’s going to pay for it?”
“I will,” Lu Jingfeng said. “I earn fifty-two yuan a month, plus grain and oil subsidies. I don’t spend much by myself. Supporting her through two years of school will be more than manageable.”
Wang Xiulan hesitated. “You haven’t even brought your wife home yet, and you’re already paying to put someone else through school?”
Lu Jingfeng explained, “She’s already agreed to date me, with marriage as the purpose! What’s wrong with me supporting the person I’m going to marry while she studies?”
Wang Xiulan was momentarily left speechless.
Lu Changxiong chuckled. “Old woman, Jingfeng has a point. If the girl gets a job, she’ll have standing once she marries into the family. Isn’t that better than sitting at home for two years for nothing?”
Wang Xiulan thought about it. It was true. If the girl married into their family without knowing how to do anything and without having anything of her own, she would always feel inferior when speaking at home. But with a permanent job to rely on, she would carry herself with an entirely different confidence.
She grumbled, “What about the slot, then? In times like these, a place in school isn’t something you can just find whenever you want.”
“I’ll find a way,” Lu Jingfeng said. “I know someone at the commune, and Uncle Zhao should be able to help put in a recommendation from his side.”
Wang Xiulan looked at her son’s stubbornly determined expression. “Fine. It’s your salary, so you can decide how to spend it. Tomorrow, you explain everything to the Zhao family yourself. Make it clear so they don’t think we’re making conditions.”
Early the next morning, the two families gathered around the table for breakfast.
Li Qiongxian had gotten up before dawn to cook corn porridge and steam some white-flour buns. The flour had only been exchanged the day before, and ordinarily the family could not bear to eat it.
After breakfast, Lu Jingfeng first glanced at Zhao Shuhe, then turned to Zhao Shoutian and said, “Uncle Zhao, Auntie Li, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Go ahead,” said Zhao Shoutian.
Lu Jingfeng said, “Comrade Shuhe and I both like each other very much, but there are several years between our ages. She’s seventeen this year and won’t be old enough to register a marriage until next year. I don’t want her to spend the year or so in between waiting at home for nothing.”
Zhao Shoutian and Li Qiongxian exchanged a glance but did not interrupt him.
Lu Jingfeng continued, “Comrade Shuhe’s grades are good. She stopped studying because the family was short of grain at the time, not because she wasn’t capable. I want to support her through a secondary technical school. After two years, she’ll be assigned a permanent job. Then she’ll have work and an income, and the two of us will both have a livelihood. We’ll be able to live with peace of mind.”
Zhao Shoutian was stunned.
Lu Jingfeng looked at her. “Comrade Shuhe, are you willing?”
Zhao Shuhe looked at Lu Jingfeng, then at everyone in the room. Her parents’ worries, her brothers and sisters-in-law’s calculations, and the Lu family’s attitude were all laid bare before her.
These days, she had heard “we can’t afford to support you,” “there are no places,” “it’s not as if you can go just because you want to,” and “a girl will get married sooner or later” countless times. From Teacher Wu’s office to her own home, from her father’s sighs to her sisters-in-law’s complaints, she had accepted her fate and started going on marriage introductions!
Now someone was sitting in front of her and saying, “I’ll put you through school.”
He was not telling her to wait around to get married. He was not asking her to go to the Lu family home and work first. He was telling her to continue her studies and earn a job of her own.
Zhao Shuhe lowered her head, and tears fell. “I’m willing.”
Seeing her like that, Lu Jingfeng hurriedly reached out and patted her back. “Then it’s settled. Don’t put your books aside during this period. Review your lessons, and I’ll make inquiries as soon as I get home.”
It was a long while before Zhao Shoutian spoke. “Comrade Lu, what you just said… are you serious?”
“I’m serious,” Lu Jingfeng said. “I discussed it with my Father and Mom last night.”
Wang Xiulan spoke up beside him. “Jingfeng is right. It’s a good thing for the girl to continue her studies. Our family won’t stand in the way.”
Lu Changxiong nodded as well. “Comrade Shuhe is a clever girl. If she finishes school and gets a job, it will reflect well on both our families in the future.”
Li Qiongxian’s nose stung. She turned her head and wiped the corner of her eye, saying, “But… how can we let you pay for it…”
Matchmaker Zhang had been listening nearby. She quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Oh, Sister-in-law, you’re all going to be one family soon. Why fuss over who pays for what? Jingfeng has the heart, and Comrade Shuhe has the brains. What do you call that? A fine match between a talented young man and a beautiful girl—a match made in heaven!”
Zhao Shoutian walked up to Lu Jingfeng and said, “Comrade Lu, I thank you! This child… she ought to be studying. It’s my fault, as her father, that I’m incapable!” After saying this, he wiped away a tear.
Lu Jingfeng stood as well. “Uncle Zhao, don’t say that. We’re family now. There’s no need to thank me.”
Matchmaker Zhang was bursting with joy inside. This match had truly been worth making!
Not only did they like each other, but he was even going to support the girl through school! Once she went home and told everyone, who wouldn’t say that Zhang Hongying knew how to get things done? The next time a good family came to her for help, wouldn’t her reputation shine even brighter?