Second Sister-in-law stared at the officer’s wife in surprise, never expecting her to accurately name her sister-in-law.
Only then did she realize that her elder brother had genuinely been playing matchmaker and had actually provided information about Liang Xin.
Now that the other party was proactively asking about Liang Xin, what did that signify?
It meant they were very interested in her sister-in-law!
This was the family of a military officer!
The family of a military district commander!
The commander’s wife was interested in her sister-in-law!
The disappointment in Second Sister-in-law’s heart instantly transformed into exhilaration. She clenched her fists inside her sleeves and looked at Liang Xin with eager anticipation.
Liang Xin said: “Eat well, sleep well.”
Everyone in the living room suddenly stared at Liang Xin in astonishment.
After her initial shock, Second Sister-in-law’s expression immediately shifted to one of exasperation, as if wishing she could transplant her own mouth onto Liang Xin’s face. She secretly pinched Liang Xin’s lower back.
Prodded by the pinch, Liang Xin spoke again, but instead of saying what Second Sister-in-law wanted to hear, she uttered words that made Second Sister-in-law even more desperate: “It’s best to limit activities to within the home, without going beyond the main gate.”
“……..”
Complete silence fell over the room.
The hostility in Hu Fenglian’s eyes toward Liang Xin dissipated.
The young female comrades looked on with contempt, astonishment, and admiration…
The middle-aged and elderly women gazed at Liang Xin with the same exasperation they might show toward their own children…
Second Sister-in-law seemed on the verge of breaking down, “In rural areas, actually, not just rural areas, among the worker-peasant-soldier class collective, eating well and sleeping well are, are the common aspirations of all comrades.”
“Quite right.”
The officer’s wife nodded, “Those words remind me of over a decade ago when we were still in the garrison area. During those three years, whenever we managed to dig up some wild vegetables, we saved them all for the children and Old Lu to eat. I myself gathered some elm bark, scraped off the dark coarse outer layer with a knife, and ground it into powder with a stone mill. Even ground into powder, it was still difficult to swallow, and once swallowed, it wouldn’t digest. At that time, if you pressed my thigh, it would leave a deep indentation that took a long time to return to normal. If it weren’t for the local support army providing a truckload of Chinese cabbage, the consequences would have been hard to predict.”
“Exactly, I was in my hometown back then, surviving on nothing but cold water – not even pickled vegetables to eat. My whole body was swollen and shiny. It was only because I developed edema that I went to the commune grain station and received two jin of soybeans, which saved the children’s lives.”
“Actually, even now in our hometown commune brigade, more than half the people still don’t eat well. I’ve heard that in some places they’re even still eating grain stalk bran and Guanyin clay.”
Liang Xin’s single sentence, once explained by Second Sister-in-law, instantly evoked unforgettable memories for the middle-aged and elderly women comrades.
While the conversation was in full swing, the officer’s wife looked at Liang Xin: “What do you think of this home’s activity range?”
Everyone paused abruptly, then simultaneously turned to look at Hu Fenglian, before just as quickly turning their gaze back to Liang Xin.
Liang Xin openly surveyed the surroundings, her eyes finally resting on the black-and-white family portrait in the wooden frame on the wall.
Hu Fenglian sat on a front-row stool with a soldier in military uniform, while three young men and a girl stood behind them.
Liang Xin’s gaze lingered briefly on the imposing soldier in the front row before shifting to the shortest youth in the back row, about thirteen or fourteen years old, with ears higher than his eyebrows, a straight nose bridge, and piercing, intelligent eyes.
The face bore the marks of innate intelligence.
The bearing revealed an inherently ungovernable spirit.
“Suitable for walking and sunbathing.”
After everyone had waited expectantly, this was all Liang Xin offered in response.
Some young female comrades could already be heard grinding their teeth in frustration.
Frustrated by Liang Xin’s lack of ambition.
They should let all the elders at home come and see what it truly means to be a disappointment.
This one deserves to be made the model “backward element” for the entire army!
A golden rice bowl delivered right to her doorstep, and she smashed it to pieces!
She ought to be sent to the mess squad to feed pigs!
Second Sister-in-law nearly slapped Liang Xin on the back of the head when the sound of a door chain clanking suddenly came from upstairs.
Hu Fenglian’s smile faded slightly, and the others paused as well, their breathing growing quieter.
A brief silence fell.
Someone brought up another topic.
The living room quickly resumed its lively facade.
But no one took the opportunity to subtly boast about their own daughters anymore.
Before long, the female comrades in military uniforms, all keenly perceptive, rose together to take their leave.
Liang Xin also pulled a bewildered Second Sister-in-law to her feet.
The family members of the senior officer saw them to the door.
Even after leaving the building, Second Sister-in-law couldn’t resist looking back, hoping the officer’s family would call them back for a private word.
Unfortunately, they had already exited the west courtyard with no such summons.
Once they were relatively alone, Second Sister-in-law immediately wailed, “You were so sharp earlier, you made that orchid-loving female soldier turn paler than a wall. How did you become so clumsy with words all of a sudden? These days, everyone pulls out all the stops to strive for advancement, but you—you just kept spouting hedonistic nonsense right in front of the officer’s family. You completely killed any interest they had in you! That was the son of…”
“A military cadre,” Liang Xin finished for her. “The daughter of a military district leader, the daughter of a local official, and all the other female comrades in that room just now—if you were the officer’s family, would you choose one of them as a daughter-in-law, or the daughter of a village party secretary?”
Second Sister-in-law froze, the heat in her head cooling slightly.
“Calling him a village party secretary is just a fancy title—he’s essentially a farmer earning work points,” Liang Xin stopped and looked at Ma Xiaoyan. “Why would Tiger’s Great Uncle arrange such a match for me?”
Without waiting for Second Sister-in-law to reply, Liang Xin continued, “Besides, I’ve seen group matchmaking events before, but a group meeting with the future mother-in-law where the prospective groom doesn’t even show up, and no one among the women or their families even mentions him? That’s a first for me.”
“…”
Second Sister-in-law was speechless for a long moment before she hesitantly muttered, “…You saw how I was earlier. I was just as stunned. But don’t overthink it. Their son… might, might just be in poor health, so they want a hardworking, down-to-earth rural girl to take care of him.”
Having revealed part of the truth she’d been hiding, Ma Xiaoyan studied Liang Xin’s expression. “But that was my original assumption. I don’t think that way now. Look—there were so many advanced workers, March 8th Red Banner Pacesetters, and even those singers, musicians, and actresses from the cultural troupe. None of them were lacking, yet they were all lining up hoping to marry into that family. What does that tell you? It means their son definitely isn’t what I imagined!”
Liang Xin remained silent.
“Forget it, it’s too late to say anything now.”
Having confessed what made her uneasy, Second Sister-in-law regained her confidence:
“You just had to say all those backward-thinking remarks instead of showing some ambition. With such excellent conditions right before you, you could have easily become the daughter-in-law of the official’s family. Yet you refused it all. Xiao Xin, don’t think I don’t know what’s on your mind. That scoundrel Chen Shimei has already tormented you enough—do you really plan to stay loyal to him forever without marrying, waiting for him to change his heart?”
“…It’s not like that.”
“You can’t fool me. You’re still thinking about him, unable to let go. I really don’t know what’s so great about that scoundrel. Sure, he has big eyes, is tall, never tans under the sun, has fair skin, and is a bit educated. But his education only came because he got close to you and secured the university quota from our commune. Otherwise, he’d just be a high school graduate.”
“It has nothing to do with him.”
“As the old saying goes, ‘Worker-Peasant-Soldier University students: rustic in the first year, westernized in the second, and disowning their parents by the third.’ Sure enough, in the third year, he abandoned you. He didn’t even return to the commune, staying directly at the university to become a teacher…”
Second Sister-in-law chattered on relentlessly. Liang Xin gazed at the sky and stopped arguing.
She knew that no matter how many mouths she had, she could never explain this clearly.
Five years ago, she had suddenly been bound to a “Serve the People” system, shuttling back and forth between different worlds. From birth to death—whether from illness, exhaustion, or tragedy—she had lost count of how many times she had lived and died. Then, just as suddenly, she had returned to her original body.
But even after returning, she wasn’t entirely a real person.
Because this world was also a book, titled The Legendary Big Shot’s Counterattack and Dashing Life in the 1970s.
Wei Yuanyang was the male lead of this book.
Liang Xin was the cannon fodder who, during Wei Yuanyang’s sent-down youth period for re-education by poor and lower-middle peasants, had provided him with food, warmth, and ultimately helped him secure a university quota, enabling his return to the city and his dashing life.
After Wei Yuanyang graduated, stayed on as a university teacher, married his first wife, and climbed the social ladder, the cannon fodder wisely never appeared again.
It wasn’t until many years later, when Wei Yuanyang had become a legendary big shot and returned to Huaihua Township to reminisce, that he discovered a grave mound and learned that this cannon fodder had preserved her chastity for him her whole life, foolishly waiting without marrying.
The book described it like this: Wei Yuanyang sighed regretfully, while his third wife gazed at him adoringly.
That was it.
The cannon fodder’s final role was merely to add a highlight to the male lead’s charismatic appeal.
Then, with a dash symbol “—”, the scene cut to the next plot.
With all his wealth, he didn’t even buy her an artistic cemetery or build her a luxurious tomb—not a single spirit money was burned for her. All she got was a sigh.
“Wei Yuanyang!”
Second Sister-in-law suddenly shrieked, pointing at a man talking to a sentry at the gate.
Liang Xin had just snapped back to reality when her eyes met those of the man who had instinctively turned upon hearing his name.
The future legendary big shot, upon seeing her now, trembled visibly as if he’d seen a ghost.
Second Sister-in-law stormed over, scolding furiously, “You heartless man!”
“What are you yelling about?”
Before the heartless man could react, the woman beside him also rushed over, pointing at Second Sister-in-law’s nose and shouting, “Who do you think you are? If you’re going to cause a scene, make sure you’ve got the right person! Do you even know where this is?”
“I’d recognize your son even if he turned to ashes!” Second Sister-in-law rolled up her sleeves. “Wei—”
“Liang Xin.”
Wei Yuanyang walked over with a complex expression in his eyes, just before Second Sister-in-law could call out his name.
Liang Xin observed him. As the male lead, his appearance was naturally beyond reproach—exceptionally tall and handsome. He wore a khaki polyester zip-up jacket over a dark blue round-neck cashmere sweater, revealing a white Dacron false collar, exuding an aura of refined intellectual elegance.
In his left hand, he carried a red-and-white coarse-string net bag containing two premium Hongtashan cigarettes and two bottles of Moutai liquor.
Wei Yuanyang instinctively hid the net bag behind his back, then relaxed his fingers upon realizing his own unease. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
Liang Xin countered, “What are you doing here?”
Her slightly accusatory tone caught Wei Yuanyang off guard. Liang Xin had always spoken to him with careful deference—never questioning him, let alone raising her voice.
But recalling their last meeting a year ago, when Liang Xin had visited the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University and encountered his teachers and classmates, he had introduced her as the daughter of a rural commune’s party branch secretary. That had subjected her to many disdainful looks and harsh remarks, leaving her feeling wronged.
Wei Yuanyang didn’t take offense. Instead, he responded with patience and understanding, explaining, “I’m here to visit my father’s comrade-in-arms and his family.”
Liang Xin’s brow twitched slightly.
“Father’s comrade-in-arms”—Wei Yuanyang’s first wife was the daughter of that very comrade.
It was said that during the Korean War, Wei Yuanyang’s father had sacrificed himself to protect his comrade. Years later, Wei Yuanyang’s mother had proposed the marriage, which eventually led to the union.
After the reform and opening-up, the status of Worker-Peasant-Soldier University students declined sharply. Marginalized and overlooked at school, Wei Yuanyang had leveraged his father-in-law’s connections to transfer to the Commercial Bureau, embarking on his legendary career path.
Now, seeing the cigarettes and liquor in Wei Yuanyang’s hand, Liang Xin understood exactly what he was planning to do today.