Seeing his wife satisfied with the meal, Li Weiguo took the initiative to wash the dishes after dinner, and Li Qingxiu didn’t stop him from showing his consideration.
However, there was one thing that puzzled her. “Brother, since sister-in-law doesn’t eat fatty meat, why did you buy such a fatty piece of pork belly and put it in the fridge?”
Li Weiguo placed the bowls into the pot, rinsing them one by one with the leftover dumpling broth, and replied without turning his head, “That was bought for you!”
Li Qingxiu instinctively retorted, “I don’t eat fatty meat either!”
“You don’t eat fatty meat?” Li Weiguo seemed to have heard something amusing. “You love fatty meat the most. It’s our younger brother who doesn’t like it. When you were little, you’d sneak meat and deny it, your mouth gleaming with grease while you stubbornly insisted otherwise. You’d hide under the covers and wipe it all over…”
“Li Weiguo!” Li Qingxiu’s face flushed red. “Stop talking!”
Li Weiguo only grew more enthusiastic. “Oh, so I’m not allowed to talk about it? What’s there to be embarrassed about? You had plenty of embarrassing moments when you were little…”
“Why are you so annoying?!” Seeing Su Qingyun burst into laughter, Li Qingxiu angrily gave Li Weiguo a hard smack on the arm. “Stop talking!”
Li Weiguo feigned a pained hiss, as if he had actually been hurt. “Alright, alright, I won’t say anymore.”
Su Qingyun chuckled. “You two siblings have such a good relationship!”
Hearing this, Li Qingxiu’s radar beeped into action, as if automatically triggering a mission.
“Sister-in-law, you have an older brother too, right? Are you not close with him?”
Su Qingyun’s expression stiffened, and the harmonious atmosphere instantly grew tense. Li Weiguo quickly interjected, “What are you asking nonsense for? Go wash up.”
“It’s fine, there’s nothing that can’t be said.” Su Qingyun smiled weakly but still spoke gently. “I do have an older brother, and we were very close.” She seemed to be gathering her thoughts, pausing for over ten seconds before continuing. “My family had a bad class background. Six years ago, my father and brother were sent down to a remote village in the northwest. My father passed away in his first year there, and I still haven’t heard any news about my brother.”
“Sister-in-law, haven’t you tried to find out?”
“My aunt asks around for me every year, but there’s been no news.”
Li Qingxiu fell silent.
Can’t you look into it yourself?!
Even if your aunt finds out, she won’t tell you. Otherwise, if you had your real family, would you still care about her?
In the original book, the female lead’s brother was even more of a cannon fodder than she was, appearing only once in the entire story. By then, Su Qingyun was so old she could barely stand straight before she finally thought of returning to her hometown in Beijing, only to find her brother waiting there.
It was only then that she learned her brother had been searching for her all these years. Her aunt had deliberately hidden the news, claiming that the female lead resented her father and brother for publicly disowning her in the newspaper and leaving for a distant place.
When Li Qingxiu read this part in the original book, she thought it was utterly illogical. The female lead’s father and brother had publicly disowned her to protect her—how could she possibly resent them? Yet her brother actually believed such an absurd lie.
The original book only described this brother in a few brief sentences.
Years of being sent down had left indelible scars on his body and mind. After returning to Beijing, he immersed himself in scientific research and never married.
“I think sister-in-law should look into it yourself. Your aunt hasn’t gone to your home or the northwest to search, and she doesn’t know much about your family. It’s possible your brother has already returned to the city. The people in the cowshed in our hometown had their labels removed and returned to the city last year.”
Su Qingyun suddenly looked up, "Really? Then why hasn't he come to find me?"
Of course, it’s because your aunt told him you weren’t here!
"Sister-in-law probably has the addresses of your relatives and friends, right? Why don’t you write a letter to ask, or have them help inquire?"
Su Qingyun was both hopeful and a little afraid, "Will that work?"
"Of course, why wouldn’t it? In the past two years, many wrongful and false cases have been overturned. Maybe your brother has already returned to the city, but your aunt just hasn’t found out yet."
Around 1980 was the peak period for nationwide large-scale rehabilitation of wrongful and false cases. Li Qingxiu wasn’t sure if this was the setting in the original book, but it was probably close enough.
Encouraged by Li Qingxiu, Su Qingyun wrote five letters in a row. Since she no longer had any family, she sent them separately to neighbors, classmates, and her father’s former students with whom she had maintained good relationships.
Li Qingxiu collected the letters, "Tomorrow, I’ll go to the post office to mail them and also send a telegram to my hometown."
Sitting on the bed, Su Qingyun looked anxiously at Li Weiguo, "Will there be any trouble?"
Li Weiguo put his arm around her shoulder and comforted her, "No, the policies have changed now. Don’t worry."
The original book had mentioned Su Qingyun’s psychological state. As a child, she had witnessed the turmoil firsthand, seeing her family, teachers, and friends paraded through the streets with placards and even tortured to death. She was too afraid, so she never personally returned to Beijing to search for her brother. It wasn’t until her later years, after overcoming that psychological barrier, that she set foot in Beijing again.
Because of this, the female protagonist held the aunt who had helped her escape the turmoil in such high regard. She believed that without her aunt, she would have met the same fate as her father and brother.
In reality, Su Qingyun had only lived with her aunt for two years. After graduating from high school, before the college entrance exams were reinstated, she became a teacher and moved into the school dormitory.
In the second year of Su Qingyun’s teaching career, the college entrance exams were reinstated. She wanted to take them, but her aunt said there was no money to support her university education, claiming that all the money the Su family had given had been spent on pulling strings for them. Her aunt insisted she marry immediately and chose Li Weiguo, an older eligible bachelor, for her, receiving a bride price of 380 yuan.
The next day, Li Qingxiu waited for a ride at the factory gate. She was going to take a vehicle to the post office today. The vehicle was a truck that had come to the factory to pick up goods. Li Weiguo had arranged in advance for the driver to drop her off at the post office entrance.
On the way back, Li Qingxiu would have to take public transportation on her own.
The truck pulled over by the roadside, and the driver inside rolled down the window, "Li Qingxiu?"
Li Qingxiu looked up. The driver was young, no older than twenty, with single eyelids and small eyes, but quite pleasant-looking.
"That’s me. Are you Master Ye?"
"Yes, get in."
Li Qingxiu opened the door and climbed into the truck. Tall and long-legged, she had no trouble getting into such a high vehicle.
Ye Zhiqiang glanced at Li Qingxiu with some surprise—she had fastened her seatbelt without waiting for him to remind her.
Li Qingxiu was also a little surprised. The truck was quite clean, without the smell she had imagined, which was why she had so readily fastened her seatbelt.
There was some distance from the cotton mill to the city post office, and the silence between them felt awkward. Li Qingxiu started making small talk.
"Master Ye, you look quite young?"
"Nineteen."
"Master Ye, do you drive long-distance?"
"Yes."
"Master Ye, where are you hauling goods to?"
"Guangzhou."
Li Qingxiu's eyes lit up. Guangzhou was a great place, a region experiencing rapid economic development.
"Is Master Ye a regular driver for the cotton mill's deliveries?"
Ye Zhiqiang glanced at Li Qingxiu out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes."
"How often do you make trips to the cotton mill?"
"Once a week."
Li Qingxiu was even more pleased. If she wanted to buy something, wouldn't that be very convenient?
It would be even more convenient for reselling small items!
She reined in her thoughts, careful not to appear overly enthusiastic. Ye Zhiqiang seemed like a socially awkward person, speaking only one word at a time.
Li Qingxiu discreetly sized up Ye Zhiqiang and noticed he was dressed quite fashionably—he was wearing bell-bottom pants, had an electronic watch, and even had a pair of oversized sunglasses hanging from his shirt pocket.
In period novels, the most convenient profession for reselling goods was long-distance truck drivers, as they had easy access to transporting goods. She wondered if Master Ye here…
"Master Ye, how much did your electronic watch cost? I'd like to buy one too."
Li Qingxiu felt she had been quite polite, but the other person only gave her a faint glance.
"Twenty-four."
Not a single extra word!
Li Qingxiu: ??
I said I wanted to buy one too, and you didn't even offer to get one for me?!
Li Qingxiu was speechless as well. The two of them sat in silence until they reached the post office. Before getting out of the car, she placed the pancake roll with shredded potatoes she had made on the front windshield.
Even though her older brother had put in a word, it wouldn't be right to ride for free. She still understood basic social etiquette.
"Thank you, Master Ye. You can keep this for lunch. I hope you don't mind."
After saying this, Li Qingxiu jumped out of the car. Ye Zhiqiang hesitated for a few seconds before calling out to stop her.
"What is it?"
"You're quite pretty… but I'm not looking for someone older than me."
???
!!!
Li Qingxiu twitched the corner of her mouth and forcefully slammed the door shut.