Wang Xiumei knew that Liu Xun came from one of the wealthiest families around, so the betrothal gifts certainly would not be meager.
At the thought of that, a smile appeared on Wang Xiumei’s face. She even imagined using those betrothal gifts to arrange marriages for her two sons. “See? It’s still Wanwan who’s sensible and understands the bigger picture!”
Xia Xiaowan secretly snickered. Wang Xiumei had never had any good intentions. Her most urgent goal now was to leave the Xia family as soon as possible and escape Wang Xiumei’s control.
About a week later, someone from the Jiang family came. Mother Jiang brought Jiang Cheng over to propose marriage.
It was scorching hot at noon. Xia Xiaowan made cold noodles, noodles with braised green beans, and shredded pork stir-fried with pickled vegetables. There were many more pickled vegetables than strips of meat.
Jiang Cheng looked exactly as he had when he came to propose in her previous life. He wore a blue-black shirt and trousers, with patches sewn onto the hems of his pants and the cuffs of his sleeves. A faded cowhide belt was fastened around his waist, and he held a bag of white flour in his hands as he watched the Xia family awkwardly.
Mother Jiang wore a purplish-red traditional short-sleeved blouse that was one size too small. It was obviously something she had kept at the bottom of her trunk for many years, something she normally could not bear to wear and only brought out during festivals. The expression on Mother Jiang’s face was extremely cold, making it clear that she was not someone to be trifled with.
In her previous life, Xia Xiaowan had suffered no small amount of torment from this mother-in-law after marrying into the Jiang family. Xia Xiaowan was already dead, yet this mother-in-law was still alive—apparently living past the age of ninety.
“I say, you must be my in-law, right? I’m Jiang Cheng’s mother!” Mother Jiang’s voice was extremely loud, startling Wang Xiumei badly.
“…I’m Xia Xiuxiu’s mother… Mother Jiang, please sit down. Wanwan, go pour some water!” Wang Xiumei rose and set down her chopsticks before speaking to Mother Jiang.
Mother Jiang’s expression shifted slightly. “The two of us have been traveling all morning to get here, in-law… and you’re only going to let me drink water?”
Wang Xiumei rolled her eyes as she looked at the impoverished appearance of the mother and son. After a long while, she forced out a sentence. “In-law, you haven’t eaten. Hurry and sit down for a meal.”
Mother Jiang hurriedly pulled Jiang Cheng down to sit. She picked up a bowl of noodles and swallowed it in huge mouthfuls, eating like someone who had nearly starved to death.
Everyone in the Xia family except Xia Zhiyuan looked at Mother Jiang with disgust.
Looking at the shabby Jiang Cheng, Xia Xiuxiu felt her stomach roil and nearly vomited. But when she thought of becoming a lofty official’s wife in the future, she immediately perked up.
—Before long, the two young people came together.
Xia Xiuxiu and Jiang Cheng went into the city library and borrowed two books for free. Then they went to the lawn in People’s Park. Putting on the appearance of aspiring young people of the era, they read while shyly glancing at each other. In the end, they took a liking to each other and went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register their marriage.
In her previous life, Xia Xiuxiu had married Liu Xun. On the night of their wedding, he did not return home. She had thrown a huge tantrum, causing her mother-in-law to suffer a heart attack, while her father-in-law had been so angry that he could only shake his head and sigh. Something that had originally been justified had suddenly become unjustifiable.
Liu Xun had initially felt somewhat guilty toward his new bride, but in the end, it became a matter of Xia Xiuxiu being unreasonable. On the third day, when she was supposed to return to her parents’ home, Xia Xiuxiu returned to the Sang family alone. Liu Xun did not accompany her.
In the end, Xia Xiuxiu struggled to get by in the Liu family. With no husband to support her, she eventually became deranged and incoherent every day. Liu Xun sent her to a psychiatric hospital, where she died miserably.
In this life, Xia Xiuxiu clutched her marriage certificate and rushed up to Xia Xiaowan, proudly raising the sheet of paper in her hand like a certificate of merit. “Xia Xiaowan, I’m destined to become an official’s wife in this life, while you can go be a widow in all but name!”
Xia Xiaowan looked at Xia Xiuxiu’s smug expression without saying a word.
When the day came for Liu Xun to propose, a green jeep stopped at the mouth of the alley.
A well-dressed middle-aged woman got out of the vehicle holding the hand of a young woman, then asked around for the location of the Xia family’s home.
Most of the people living in the alley were employees of the lumber-processing factory, along with employees of the steel-paper factory across the way. Everyone had been neighbors for several decades. Whenever someone mentioned the Old Xia family, they would say, “It’s the last house in this alley—the Old Xia family!”
By this time, everyone who had gone to work had already returned home. In the 1980s, there was basically no nightlife, and not many families could even afford to watch a movie.
After eating dinner, most people came outside to stroll around. The men played chess, while the women chatted about gossip.
The elegantly dressed older and younger women arrived at the Xia family’s home. “Excuse me, is this Xia Zhiyuan’s home?”
The Xia family had just finished dinner. Xia Zhiyuan had been drinking tea when he abruptly looked up and was startled to see them. He scrutinized them carefully before answering.
The two women explained the purpose of their visit. One was Liu Xun’s mother, Song Han, and the other was Liu Xun’s older sister, Liu Ning.
They placed the betrothal gifts on the table: 666 yuan in cash, a pair of gold earrings, a pair of silver bracelets, one hundred jin of nationally accepted grain coupons, three industrial coupons, one hundred food coupons, and one hundred cloth coupons.
Wang Xiumei had gone to visit a neighbor. On her way, she heard that guests had arrived at home and ran back. When she saw the betrothal gifts covering the table, she was so shocked that her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She stood there in a daze.
“Mother of the children, these are our in-laws who came to propose—the mother-in-law and older sister-in-law of Wanwan’s future husband!” Xia Zhiyuan stood up and caught hold of Wang Xiumei. Only then did she recover her senses.
“Look at me, I was so happy that I forgot myself. In-law, I’ll call Wanwan out right now so you can see her!” Wang Xiumei had just been about to go back inside and call Wanwan out.
Unexpectedly, Song Han waved her hand and took out an old marriage document. She explained that the grandfather had already arranged this marriage before Liu Xun had even been born.
Wang Xiumei looked at the betrothal gifts on the table and nodded, clearly satisfied. But inwardly, she thought that she had been cheated—she had apparently been swindled out of ten yuan by the matchmaker.
After Song Han and Liu Ning left, Xia Xiaowan walked up to Xia Zhiyuan.
“Uncle, I’ll only keep the gold earrings and the pair of silver bracelets. You can keep the rest of these things. Thank you for raising me all these years!”
Looking at all the money and grain coupons on the table, Wang Xiumei’s eyes immediately filled with crocodile tears. “Wanwan, your aunt really didn’t misjudge you. From now on, this will always be your maiden family!”
Xia Xiaowan took the gold earrings and the pair of silver bracelets. She knew that these were items the Liu family’s ancestors had passed down for their new brides.
In her previous life, Xia Xiuxiu had first looked down on these things, saying that they were worthless, and given them to Wang Xiumei. When her mother-in-law saw those pieces of jewelry on Wang Xiumei, she had immediately felt extremely uncomfortable. A rift had formed because of it, laying the foundation for the disaster that followed.
Wang Xiumei had always been someone who loved taking advantage of small opportunities. This much money and property would be enough to make her happy for quite some time. It would not be so easy for her to make things difficult for Xia Xiaowan in the future.
The Xia family set the wedding date for the first day of the following month, with both daughters marrying on the same day.
Early in the morning, strings of firecrackers were lit, and smiles filled the faces of everyone in the Xia family.
Xia Xiuxiu, in particular, was sincerely happy to be marrying Jiang Cheng in this life. Since Jiang Cheng would become a high-ranking official in her previous life, she would certainly become an official’s wife as well.
Today, she wore a red wedding dress. Wang Xiumei had given her one hundred yuan as her dowry, along with one hundred jin of white flour purchased with grain coupons and a sewing machine.
Xia Xiuxiu’s wedding naturally ought to be lively and grand. The groom, Jiang Cheng, had no house in the city and could only squeeze in with his family in a room converted from a shed measuring less than ten square meters.
Although Wang Xiumei disliked Jiang Cheng, Xia Xiuxiu was her biological daughter. Since her daughter’s future in-laws were utterly destitute, she had no choice but to take some of Xia Xiaowan’s betrothal money and use it as her daughter’s dowry. Otherwise, that room would be empty, with nothing in it at all.