Three days later, Zhao Shoutian received another call from the commune. The caller was Matchmaker Zhang again.
“Accountant Zhao, the date has been set. We’ll come to your village the day after tomorrow! I’ll bring Lu Jingfeng and his parents. Don’t be nervous—it’s just a meeting between the two families.”
Zhao Shoutian was somewhat tense. “Comrade Zhang, are both of Lu Jingfeng’s parents really coming?”
“How could I be wrong? The Lu family is very interested in your daughter. His parents are coming especially for this. I’ll find someone to show us the way once I get to the commune.”
Zhao Shoutian agreed repeatedly. After hanging up, he ran all the way home. Someone nearby hurriedly called after him, “Accountant Zhao, are you so happy you’ve lost your bearings?”
After hanging up, Zhao Shoutian had gotten on his bicycle and left. He pedaled as fast as he could, and by the time he returned to the village, Li Qiongxian was picking vegetables in the courtyard.
The moment he reached the gate, he shouted, “Qiongxian! They’re coming the day after tomorrow!”
Li Qiongxian turned around. “Who’s coming the day after tomorrow?”
“The Lu family! The matchmaker, Lu Jingfeng, and his parents—a total of four people.”
Zhao Manzhu was repairing a hoe by the wall. When he heard this, he was surprised as well. “The day after tomorrow? That soon?”
Zhao Shuhe came out of the house and drew a deep breath. She had known that this day would come sooner or later, but hearing the exact date still left her heart in turmoil.
Li Qiongxian turned and went straight into the house. “Second Sister-in-Law, Third Sister-in-Law, come out! No one is allowed to slack off over the next two days!”
Zhang Xiaoping came out carrying a child and asked first, “Mom, what happened?”
Ding Feng poked her head out as well. “What’s happened this time?”
Li Qiongxian announced, “That family from the provincial capital is coming the day after tomorrow to meet Little He. The courtyard needs sweeping, the rooms need wiping down, the bedding needs to be aired out, and the kitchen needs to be cleaned up too.”
Ding Feng immediately looked delighted. “That’s a major occasion! We have to let them know that even though we live in the mountains, we keep a neat home.”
Zhao Manzhu chimed in, “If you threw the children’s shoes around the courtyard less often, people would know our home was neat.”
Ding Feng glared at him. “What do the children’s shoes have to do with you? Your stinking socks have been hanging there for three days, and even the wind can’t blow the smell away!”
Zhao Manzhu rubbed his nose and did not dare say another word.
Zhao Shuhe wanted to say that they did not need to go to so much trouble, but the words reached her lips and she swallowed them back. The whole family was treating this as the most important matter of all. If she made light of it, she would only make her parents uneasy.
Zhao Shoutian turned and headed outside. “I’ll go to the brigade and borrow two benches, and a larger table as well. Our Eight Immortals table won’t fit this many people.”
Li Qiongxian nodded. “I’ll ask the Chen family to lend us two bowls. The coarse porcelain bowls at home are chipped, so we can’t serve guests with them.”
Zhang Xiaoping hurriedly said, “I’ll wash the quilt covers and put them out to dry. The quilt in the main room may be old, but clean is still better than covered in dust.”
Ding Feng was not about to fall behind. “I’ll sweep out the chicken pen and stack the firewood in the corner of the courtyard properly. We can’t have the first thing they see when they come through the gate be chicken droppings.”
Zhao Manzhu looked up. “Then what am I supposed to do?”
Li Qiongxian looked at him. “Go pull the weeds behind the toilet. We can’t have them mistake the way.”
Zhao Manzhu’s face fell. “Mom, they’re coming from the provincial capital. They’re not here to inspect our latrine.”
The courtyard rang with laughter. Over the next two days, the Zhao family did not have a moment to spare.
Zhao Shoutian worked during the day, then came home in the evening to move tables and chairs and repair the door panels. He even hammered in all the loose wooden pegs on the courtyard gate. Li Qiongxian brought out the cured meat she had saved for half a year and asked someone to go to the neighboring village to exchange for a pound of white flour.
She had originally wanted to borrow some fine grain as well, but Zhao Shoutian stopped her. “Don’t borrow too much. They’ll be able to tell at a glance how much our family actually has. There’s no point in pretending too much.”
Li Qiongxian sighed. “I’m just afraid they’ll look down on us.”
Zhao Shoutian was silent for a moment. “Whether they look down on us isn’t something one meal can decide. We’ll do everything we should and make sure we don’t wrong Little He. That’s enough.”
Zhao Shuhe heard this but said nothing as she stood beside the stove.
That evening, Li Qiongxian boiled two large pots of water and had the whole family take turns bathing. The children were so happy at the prospect of a hot bath that they ran back and forth through the room.
Zhao Xiaohu carried a wooden basin and asked his father seriously, “Father, do people from the provincial capital bathe every day?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been to the provincial capital.”
Zhao Xiaohu asked again, “Then do they not get mud on their bodies?”
Ding Feng was scrubbing her younger son’s hands and laughed. “If you stopped rolling around in mud puddles every day, you wouldn’t get muddy either.”
Zhao Xiaohu protested, “I didn’t roll around. My feet slipped.”
After bathing, Zhao Shuhe changed into the floral blouse and navy-blue trousers she had bought in the county town.
Li Qiongxian stood in the doorway and looked at her for a long time, murmuring, “My girl has really grown up. Wearing these clothes, who would dare say you’re just some girl from the mountain ravines?”
Zhao Shuhe tugged at the hem of her blouse. “Mom, don’t keep saying that.”
“Even if I don’t say it, other people will see it.” Li Qiongxian straightened her braids. “Do less work tomorrow. Don’t get your clothes dirty.”
Zhao Shuhe said helplessly, “I’m not made of paper. I won’t fall apart just because I get a little mud on me.”
On the appointed day, the Zhao family rose before dawn. Li Qiongxian was boiling a chicken in the kitchen, while the cured meat steamed in a pot, its fragrance drifting through the entire courtyard. Zhao Shoutian changed into the blue cloth jacket he had kept at the bottom of his trunk and even wet his hair and smoothed it flat.
Zhao Manzhu found this strange. “Father, are you going to meet a match?”
“Stop joking around. Go wait at the village entrance. When they arrive, lead them along the proper path. Don’t let them take a wrong turn toward the back mountain.”
It was nearly noon when voices finally came from the village entrance. Zhao Manzhu came running into the courtyard, his head covered in sweat, shouting, “They’re here! They’re here!”
Everyone in the courtyard stopped what they were doing. Zhao Shuhe stood beside the door to the main room, somewhat nervous and not daring to go outside.
Before long, several people appeared at the gate. Matchmaker Zhang was in front, wearing a dark-red coat and beaming with delight. Behind her came an older couple.
The last person to enter was the young man, Lu Jingfeng. He was very tall, with above-average looks and a face full of righteousness. He was not wearing his uniform today, but had changed into a clean white shirt with a dark jacket over it. Two large bags hung from his hands.
Looking at the bags, Zhao Manzhu muttered to himself, How much stuff did they pack in there? People from the provincial capital really are willing to work for it if they have to walk mountain roads.
The moment Matchmaker Zhang stepped inside, she smiled and said, “Accountant Zhao, Sister-in-law Qiongxian, sorry to keep you waiting. The mountain road was really difficult. The soles of the Lu family’s shoes are caked with mud.”
Li Qiongxian hurried forward to greet them. “Not at all, not at all! You’ve had a hard journey. Come in and sit down.”
Lu Changxiong set the bags in his hands beside the table. “Just some food and useful things for the children. Don’t think it’s too little.”
Li Qiongxian waved her hands quickly. “How could we accept this? It’s wonderful that you came. Why did you bring so many things?”
Wang Xiulan took her hand. “It’s your first time coming to our home. How could we arrive empty-handed? I didn’t know how old the children were, so I brought some biscuits and sweets.”
Zhang Xiaoping and Ding Feng stood to one side, both of them glancing toward the cloth bags.
Li Qiongxian pulled Zhao Shuhe over to her. “This is my Little He.”
Lu Jingfeng put the things down and looked toward Zhao Shuhe. The photograph had already made him like her very much, but when she stood before him in person, he was still stunned for a moment.
She was pretty in the photograph, but even prettier in person. Her skin was fair and clear, and her features were bright and lovely. Two braids hung over her shoulders. She stood quietly in her floral blouse, looking straight at him for a moment without dodging his gaze before turning away.
Wang Xiulan was pleased with what she saw as well. The girl was neither timid and awkward nor deliberately trying to appear confident. She simply looked comfortable to be around.
Zhao Shuhe spoke first. “Uncle Lu, Auntie Wang, Aunt Zhang, Comrade Lu, you’ve had a hard journey.” She spoke standard Mandarin, her pronunciation clear and her pace unhurried.
Wang Xiulan paused. “This girl speaks Mandarin so well! Did you learn it at school?”
Zhao Shuhe felt a little embarrassed. “My teacher taught me. I also usually follow along with the brigade broadcasts and learn a few phrases.”
The more Lu Jingfeng listened to her speak, the more satisfied he became. He had originally worried that a girl from the mountains would have nothing to say to his family, but now it seemed he had been worrying for nothing.
The two families entered the house and sat down. Zhao Shoutian offered cigarettes first, and Lu Changxiong accepted one without lighting it immediately.
“Accountant Zhao, I heard from Comrade Zhang on the way here that you’re the brigade accountant. Do you have many accounts to keep track of?”
Zhao Shoutian smiled. “What kind of accounts could a poor place like ours have? Just grain, work points, and a few odds and ends. There aren’t many accounts, but there are plenty of people who argue.”
Lu Changxiong laughed. “That’s the truth. Once there are enough people, they can argue for half a day over a single number missing from the ledger.”
After the food was brought to the table, Wang Xiulan first praised Li Qiongxian’s cooking, then asked what Zhao Shuhe usually liked to do.
Zhao Shuhe said that she could cook, wash clothes, feed the pigs, and mend clothing.
Wang Xiulan nodded when she heard this but did not ask any more about housework. She could tell that Zhao Shuhe did more than enough of those chores already.
Lu Jingfeng sat at the table and said little, but his eyes kept drifting toward Zhao Shuhe. She noticed and felt the tips of her ears grow hot, so she lowered her head and picked up some food.
After the meal, Matchmaker Zhang spoke with great tact. “Young people don’t feel comfortable sitting with us all the time. Jingfeng, didn’t you want to look around the village? Have Shuhe take you out for a walk.”
Li Qiongxian immediately agreed. “Yes, yes. Have Little He take you to see the village entrance. The mountain scenery around our village is quite nice.”
Zhao Shuhe raised her head and happened to meet Lu Jingfeng’s eyes.
Lu Jingfeng asked her, “Would that be all right?”
Zhao Shuhe said softly, “Of course.”
The two of them left the courtyard. Quite a few villagers watched them from a distance. Zhao Shuhe led him toward the river, and along the way they came across several children. When the children saw the stranger, they followed behind them.
Lu Jingfeng glanced back. Zhao Xiaohu quickly pretended nothing was happening and squatted down to count ants.
Lu Jingfeng smiled. “Are all the children in your village this busy?”
Zhao Shuhe smiled too. “They’re not busy. They’re curious. Once you go a little farther, they’ll scatter.”
The two of them walked slowly along the riverbank, the wind carrying the smell of earth and grass.
Lu Jingfeng asked first, “You’re seventeen this year?”
Zhao Shuhe nodded. “My birthday was in June.”
“I heard from the matchmaker that you graduated from junior high.”
“Yes, I graduated.”
Lu Jingfeng asked again, “Do you like studying?” The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Matchmaker Zhang had already told him that the girl had wanted to continue her studies but had been unable to. Wasn’t he deliberately bringing up a sore subject?
Zhao Shuhe did not hide it from him and answered honestly. “I do. My grades weren’t bad, and my teacher said I could apply to high school or a secondary technical school. But both require a quota, as well as money and grain. You’ve seen my family’s circumstances. We can’t let everyone go hungry for my sake.”
Lu Jingfeng felt somewhat annoyed with himself. That had been a very inappropriate question. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Zhao Shuhe shook her head. “There’s nothing that can’t be said. This is simply my family’s situation.”
Lu Jingfeng thought for a moment before saying, “High school and secondary technical school both only take two years now. After graduating, you can be assigned a job. It really would be a good opportunity.”
Zhao Shuhe looked into the distance. “But I don’t have that opportunity.”
Lu Jingfeng watched her. This girl did not dodge anything when she spoke. Her voice was soft, but her reasoning was clear. He asked, “Zhao Shuhe, what do you think of me?”
Zhao Shuhe had not expected him to ask so directly. She lowered her head and looked at the pebbles beneath her feet. Only after a long while did she say, “We’ve only just met. I think you’re quite good. You have a good job, and your family seems good too… It’s just… I feel a little inferior.”
Lu Jingfeng did not understand. “What do you feel inferior about?”
Zhao Shuhe looked at him as she spoke. “You’re from the provincial capital, you have a job, and you’ve seen more of the world. Your family is well-off. My family lives in the mountains and can’t even come up with enough grain for me to continue studying.”
Lu Jingfeng had not expected her to be so direct. He immediately said, “Being poor isn’t your fault! Besides, I came here to meet you, not to inspect your family’s grain jar.”
Zhao Shuhe’s heart stirred, but she did not know what to say.
Lu Jingfeng had always been decisive in everything he did. Once he had made up his mind, he acted. Hesitation was not his style. He asked her directly, “You still have another year before you turn eighteen and can obtain a marriage certificate. So why don’t we start seeing each other, with marriage as the intention… Would you be willing?”
The mountain wind swept across the riverbank, and in the distance came the sound of children running and chasing one another.
Zhao Shuhe thought of the earthen walls of her home. She thought of the mountain road she had walked for more than a decade, and she thought of the time she had gone to the county town to have her photograph taken.
She thought for a long time before looking at Lu Jingfeng.
“Okay.”
With that single “okay,” she gave away the rest of her life as well.