When Shen Wuqiu returned, her courtyard was already packed with people.
At a single glance, most of them were familiar faces. Just as she was trying to figure out which elder to greet first, a trendy-looking woman in the crowd spotted her with sharp eyes: “Wuqiu.”
Hearing that familiar voice, Shen Wuqiu immediately looked toward the sound and beamed, “Auntie.”
“Still remember you have this auntie, coming back without even giving me a heads-up.” The woman walked toward her in high heels, scolding playfully, yet her eyes were brimming with affection.
Her aunt’s maiden surname was Zhao, and because she ranked ninth among her siblings, she was called Zhao Jiujiu. True to her unique name, Auntie had the personality of one of the most liberated young women of their era.
Shen Wuqiu’s maternal grandmother had only given birth to a son, Song Jue, and a daughter, Song Xiu, who were about a dozen years apart in age. When Zhao Jiujiu married into the Song family, Shen Wuqiu’s mother, Song Xiu, was still just a young girl. Though they were sister-in-laws, they got along as closely as biological sisters.
Back then, if she and her husband hadn’t been up to their ears in work right after diving into the commercial sea, they would have insisted on taking Shen Wuqiu to raise in their own home.
Over the years, while Father Shen had never skimped on Shen Wuqiu materially, the maternal aunt Zhao Jiujiu had provided just as much as Father Shen.
To use Zhao Jiujiu’s own words, an aunt still had the word “mom” in her title, so she naturally counted as half a mother. Aside from the sister-in-law bond, she genuinely adored her niece Shen Wuqiu. Plus, since she only had two sons and no daughters, she treasured this niece all the more.
“How could I ever forget Auntie? Even if I get Alzheimer’s in the future and forget everyone else, I’ll definitely still remember Auntie.”
In front of an aunt who truly cherished her, Shen Wuqiu spoke playfully.
However, the white cat in her arms was clearly unimpressed by these words, seizing the exact right moment to assert its presence: “Meow.”
Sure enough, at that sound, Zhao Jiujiu’s hand, which had been reaching out to pinch Shen Wuqiu’s cheek, halted awkwardly in mid-air and landed squarely on the white cat’s head instead. “Is this a cat you raised?”
“Mm.” Seeing how much she liked it, Shen Wuqiu lifted the cat up a bit higher so she could see it more clearly. “Pretty, right?”
“Pretty, so pretty.” Zhao Jiujiu inspected it while clicking her tongue in wonder. “Where did you buy this cat? Those eyes, this fur, it’s gorgeous.”
Hearing her praise it like that, Shen Wuqiu felt a wave of pride. “I picked it up.”
Zhao Jiujiu shook her head, refusing to believe it, and reached out to hold the cat. “Since it was just picked up, why don’t you go pick up another one and give this one to me?”
Before Shen Wuqiu could react, the white cat showed its resistance, eagerly burrowing back into Shen Wuqiu’s arms the moment she touched her.
Shen Wuqiu laughed as she caught the white cat back. “See, Auntie, it really isn’t that I’m unwilling.”
Zhao Jiujiu raised a hand and gave the white cat’s head a vigorous scruffing. “Fine, fine. This little thing probably shares a fated bond with you anyway.”
Though she grumbled, Zhao Jiujiu didn’t take it to heart. She was a carefree person who raised her own kids rather casually, let alone putting effort into raising a cat; she had simply been struck by a momentary impulse upon seeing how pretty the white cat looked.
With that, she scanned her surroundings, patted Shen Wuqiu’s shoulder, and smoothly changed the subject. “We’ve got plenty of relatives visiting today. Go on and greet them.”
Since the visitors today were all relatives and mostly elders, she really ought to go and greet them properly.
Shen Wuqiu nodded, swept her gaze across the courtyard, and asked, “Didn’t Uncle come?”
“He came. He’s inside the house talking with your dad.” As she spoke, Zhao Jiujiu leaned in close to Shen Wuqiu’s ear and lowered her voice, “In this kind of setting, if your uncle dared not come back to back you up, I’d make him kneel on a washboard for sure.”
Shen Wuqiu couldn’t help but chuckle. Looking at her aunt, whose eye corners were creased with age yet still spoke with childish spirit, she was genuinely happy for her. “Kneeling on durians and keyboards is all the rage now, washboards are out of style.”
Zhao Jiujiu puckered her lips. “Well, we still have a washboard at home. All right, stop joking around with me and go greet the guests.”
Shen Wuqiu didn’t stand on ceremony with her either. After exchanging greetings with several other elders, she carried the white cat into the house.
Father Shen’s bedroom was packed with quite a few people. One was her uncle Song Jue, two were Shen Wenjun’s paternal uncles, and as for the remaining old man, she didn’t recognize him.
She hesitated at the doorway for a few seconds before walking in. She greeted Father Shen first, then her uncle Song Jue.
As for the cane-wielding old man, introduced by Father Shen, she learned he was Su Yunzhi’s uncle, whom she should address as Great-Uncle according to family hierarchy.
They were a group of grown men, and Shen Wuqiu didn’t share many topics with them. After chatting casually for a bit, she took the white cat and went back upstairs.
With so many guests at home, chores naturally piled up. Shen Wuqiu didn’t linger long in her room; leaving the white cat inside, she went downstairs to help out.
In the kitchen, Su Yunzhi and her two sisters-in-law were busy at work. Figuring they didn’t know Shen Wuqiu had returned, her eldest aunt-in-law, Duan Xiaoe, was still trying to persuade Su Yunzhi:
“Money is money, but this family estate shouldn’t be underestimated either. You have no idea, the state is heavily promoting planting and agriculture right now, and many projects can apply for government subsidies. There’s no need to worry too much. Little Sister, we are your own eldest brother and sister-in-law, surely we wouldn’t harm you? Just listen to my advice, pass on the cash and take these fields instead. If you’re really uneasy, you can split both the money and the fields fifty-fifty.”
Su Yunzhi loathed her eldest sister-in-law’s bossy, patriarchal demeanor. She took Duan Xiaoe’s advice in one ear and out the other, giving a vague, noncommittal reply: “Old Le never let me meddle in farming matters all these years, and Wenjun is still young. How are the two of us supposed to manage all these fields if we take them?”
Hearing this, Duan Xiaoe immediately thumped her chest in assurance, “You don’t need to worry about that. Aren’t we here to help?”
Su Yunzhi shot her a sidelong glance.
Duan Xiaoe wanted to say more, but Wu Xiulan, standing beside her, gave her a secret tug.
Wu Xiulan was Su Yunzhi’s second sister-in-law. Unlike the calculating nature of the eldest couple, the second couple was honest and hardworking. Though they secretly hoped the farmland contracted by the Shen family could go to their biological nephew Shen Wenjun, the two of them kept their mouths shut.
Duan Xiaoe was deeply displeased by the interruption and snapped in an unpleasant tone, “Why did you pull me for?”
Wu Xiulan mentally cursed Duan Xiaoe, but put on a smile for Shen Wuqiu, who had just appeared at the doorway. “Wuqiu’s back.”
“Mm.” Compared to Duan Xiaoe, that opportunistic eldest aunt-in-law, Shen Wuqiu was somewhat more polite to Wu Xiulan, her second aunt-in-law. Hearing her greeting and pretending not to have heard their previous gossip, she walked in casually. “You’ve all worked hard. Is there anything I can help with?”
Duan Xiaoe felt guilty and awkward for a few seconds, but quickly plastered her face with a blooming smile and said to Shen Wuqiu, “No need. Young ladies nowadays are delicate misses who don’t lift a finger. Leave the kitchen work to us.”
Shen Wuqiu perfunctorily curved the corners of her lips as an acknowledgment, ignoring Duan Xiaoe’s words completely, and walked straight over to the sink to help Su Yunzhi process the crayfish in the basin.
With Shen Wuqiu in the kitchen, Duan Xiaoe’s chatty mouth grew noticeably more reserved, making the kitchen a lot quieter.
They worked right until the sky grew pitch black, and the final dish was taken off the stove. Su Yunzhi didn’t let Shen Wuqiu help clean up the kitchen either, dispatching her outside to greet the guests.
Out in the courtyard, with the help of several uncles, Shen Wenjun had already set up tables and chairs. Everyone consciously sat at separate tables, and after scanning the area, Shen Wuqiu failed to see Shen Yan and his group, forcing her to call him again.
Shen Yan hesitated endlessly over the phone, and only agreed to come after Shen Wuqiu invited him multiple times.
Once everyone had arrived, dinner was served.
At the dinner table, the men punctuated every mouthful of alcohol with conversation, mixing serious business with trivial chatter. The dinner stretched from seven o’clock and didn’t wrap up until nine.
After the meal, some of the women helped clean up while the men moved into the living room to talk business.
With all the witnesses present, Father Shen didn’t beat around the bush and straight away laid out his intentions:
“Thank you all for taking the trouble to grace my home with your presence today. As everyone knows, I’ve loved the land my entire life. Thanks to your trust in me, you were willing to let me contract all these fields. Before I could make anything significant out of it, my body has given out, and I’m forced to hand over this little bit of work to my children.”
Having spent the whole day talking so much with so many people, Father Shen lacked stamina, and his speech was slow.
Fortunately, having established considerable prestige in both the village and the clan over the years, no one interrupted him.
He took a sip of tea to catch his breath and continued, “I believe all parents are the same, we all want to build a larger estate for our children. Over the years, I haven’t managed to save up a massive estate for them. A few years ago, following the trend, I bought a house in the provincial capital; aside from that, there’s a little bit of savings, and the rest is just these fields.
To me, my children are equal. To prevent them from tearing each other apart over this little estate after my death, I’ve specially asked everyone here today to bear witness. After discussion among our family, the house and savings will go to our second child, while these lands will be handed over to our eldest to manage. To all the relatives and friends present, do you have any suggestions?”
The people sitting in the living room looked at one another in dismay. After a long moment, an elderly man finally spoke up:
“Logically speaking, these are your family affairs and we shouldn’t interfere, but I have a question. Wuqiu is a young woman and isn’t very old yet. If she gets married in a few years, who should we go to regarding the farmland contracts?”
The speaker was the oldest elder in the clan, widely known as Uncle Si. Though ninety years old, he was still in remarkably robust health.
As soon as Uncle Si spoke up, the crowd immediately became active:
“That’s right, they say a married daughter is like poured-out water. If Wuqiu gets married in the future, who are we supposed to find?”
“Few women farm the land. I think it’d be better to leave it to the son to manage.”
Amidst the murmurs of discussion and doubt, Father Shen didn’t rush to speak up for Shen Wuqiu; instead, he looked right at her.
Listening to the discussion, Shen Wuqiu maintained her usual calm expression. “Rest assured, elders, I have no plans for marriage in the near future. Since I agreed to take over these fields from my dad, I will certainly do my absolute best to take responsibility for them.”
“Talk is cheap. When the time comes for you to marry, you’ll marry, and who’s going to care about this?”
“Women aren’t like men. Once they marry and start a family, their hearts belong entirely to their husband’s household.”
Shen Wuqiu looked toward a few aunts who were joining in the commotion and smiled. “Matters of fate are hard to predict. Whether I’ll get married or when, I can’t guarantee. But in front of everyone here today, I can make a promise: even if I do marry in the future, as long as these fields are still within the contract period, my marriage partner will definitely be someone who marries into my Shen family.”
In this day and age, with living standards improving, men marrying into a bride’s family was practically unheard of.
Hearing her put it this way, though people still muttered amongst themselves, no one raised serious objections anymore.
With no one voicing dissent, Father Shen struck while the iron was hot, having the villagers immediately draft the documents, followed by signatures and thumbprints.
By the time all the commotion settled down, it was already past eleven o’clock.
Eleven o’clock wasn’t considered late in the city, but in the countryside, it was well past bedtime. As people left, one after another, they yawned heavily.
Shen Wuqiu hadn’t rested all day and felt bone-tired. Back in her room, she gave herself a quick rinse and collapsed onto the bed. Being overwhelmingly exhausted, she couldn’t even be bothered to care about the white cat slipping under the covers, merely stroking the cat’s head right before drifting off, “No singing tonight.”
With that, she rolled over and slipped into a dream.
The moment she turned over, a faint white flash flickered across the white cat beneath the covers, instantly transforming into a stunning beauty.
In the pitch-dark room, the woman familiarly cast off the annoying buttoned pajamas, her jade-smooth fingers gently tracing across the rising mounds of her chest.
The electric sensation stimulated the dreamer into letting out a soft moan. “Mm, so sleepy, stop messing around.”
The woman caught the hand swatting at her, licked it with the tip of her tongue, and then leaned down, swallowing the dreamer’s whimpers.
“Who told you to hook me from head to toe with your sweetness.”