“Quanzhou, actually we never registered our marriage, and you know the situation with my family. You…” Shang Yinyin started to say, but her aunt and younger sister walked back in, cutting her sentence short.
“Brother-in-law, Mom and I are back!” Shang Niannian trotted over to Xie Quanzhou with a goofy, cheerful grin. She had always been his number one little fan.
“Niannian has grown this tall?” Xie Quanzhou looked her up and down. She was too old for head-pats anymore.
Turning to Chen Cuihua, he greeted, “Auntie, I’m back.”
Looking at him, Chen Cuihua nodded with a smile. “As long as you’re back safely. Niannian, Yinyin, hurry up and boil some water—we’re slaughtering that duck today.”
A wave of surprise washed over Shang Yinyin; she never expected her frugal aunt to be willing to kill a duck.
“There’s no need for that, Auntie,” Xie Quanzhou quickly declined. “Today—”
“That duck was getting old anyway. Now that you’re back, we’ll slaughter it so everyone can share a good meal. Go on, get the water boiling,” Chen Cuihua said, cheerfully diving straight into the prep work.
Shang Yinyin and Xie Quanzhou exchanged glances, saying nothing more as they rolled up their sleeves to help.
True to form, Shang Niannian turned into a chattering fountain of questions, firing one query after another at Xie Quanzhou. Out in the courtyard plucking the duck feathers, Chen Cuihua grew thoroughly exasperated listening to her daughter’s endless stream of talk.
“Shang Niannian, get your ass out here right now and help out! Do you want to eat tonight or not?” Chen Cuihua snapped in her usual abrasive tone. She didn’t seem overly shocked or excessively overjoyed by his arrival. Deep down, she knew that once Xie Quanzhou returned this time, he would inevitably take Shang Yinyin away—he couldn’t be kept here. At the very least, Shang Yinyin hadn’t been abandoned by him, and that in itself was a good outcome.
Dinner was ready shortly after six in the evening. The spread featured stir-fried squid with garlic shoots, cured pork with garlic greens, a massive basin of duck meat, a rare pot of white rice, and a platter of stir-fried water spinach.
Staring at the meat, Shang Niannian swallowed hard. “Brother-in-law, the moment you come back, we get to eat delicious meat. This is the best!” she cheered, utterly overjoyed.
Xie Quanzhou smiled. “There will be meat for you to eat from now on.”
“Then let’s dig in!” Shang Niannian grabbed her chopsticks and eagerly started eating.
Having gone without meat for so long, both sisters ate with an endearing, ravenous enthusiasm.
“Quanzhou, how long are you staying this time?” Chen Cuihua asked, finding an opportune moment to bring up the question.
“Auntie, I have forty days of leave this time. I plan to stay here for about half a month, and then I’ll take Yinyin to Beijing to meet my parents,” Xie Quanzhou answered honestly.
Chen Cuihua showed no surprise. With many educated youth returning to the cities now, Xie Quanzhou was a career soldier with his own duties to fulfill. Besides, Shang Yinyin had never left home before and possessed the lowest level of education in the household, having dropped out after just one year of middle school. Whether she could adapt to life out in the wider world remained a question. Still, it was bound to be better than rotting away in the village, especially given what a deficient aunt she had been.
“My plan is to bring Yinyin along to live with the military dependents, and we’ll come back to visit whenever I have leave,” Xie Quanzhou added.
“That’s a matter for the two of you as husband and wife to decide,” Chen Cuihua replied, naturally lacking the standing to object—especially after she had tried to force Shang Yinyin into marrying a fool just days prior.
Watching her older sister prepare to leave, Shang Niannian’s eyes filled with reluctance. “Sis, once you’re gone, there won’t be anyone left to keep me company,” she pouted.
“You’re about to start university; you’ll meet plenty of friends there,” Shang Yinyin consoled her.
“I don’t even know if I’ll pass the entrance exams!” Shang Niannian said, her face falling in disappointment.
“If you don’t pass, you can study another year,” Xie Quanzhou reassured her. “You have to get into the university of your choice, and whatever the tuition is, your brother-in-law will cover it.”
Hearing that, Chen Cuihua’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Is… is that really okay?” Shang Niannian looked guiltily toward her mother before glancing back at her sister.
With a smile, Shang Yinyin chimed in, “When has your brother-in-law ever broken a promise?”
Secretly, Shang Yinyin resolved to mail money back herself once she started earning an income. But for now, Xie Quanzhou’s help was genuinely needed; after all, a year of university tuition wasn’t cheap, and her younger brother was also struggling to scrape by in Beijing.
“Then thank you so much, Brother-in-law! Thank you, Sis!” Shang Niannian grabbed Shang Yinyin’s hand, shaking it playfully as she expressed her gratitude.
“Your hands are all greasy, stop clinging,” Shang Yinyin teased with a helpless smile.
Pouting, Shang Niannian went right back to eating.
That evening, Xie Quanzhou washed the dishes in the kitchen while Shang Yinyin tidied up the bedroom, changing the sheets and pillowcases. Shang Niannian was relegated to sleeping in Shangzhi’s old room.
As Shang Yinyin finished up, Xie Quanzhou slipped into the room, locked the door behind him, and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
“Yinyin, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t around these past few years, and you had to endure so much suffering,” he murmured, holding her tightly. Though Shang Yinyin hadn’t finished her sentence earlier in the kitchen, he had understood the unspoken half. “Yinyin, you’re my wife. If the family is struggling, it’s my duty to help. Back then, when the village relocated, I tried sending remittances home, but they kept getting bounced back. The missions I’ve been on were perilous, and I never had the time to return—it’s my fault.”
He knew all too well how hard life must have been for them.
Turning around to face him, Shang Yinyin shook her head and replied, “Quanzhou, I knew you’d say that. I don’t blame you; if anything, I feel indebted to you. The moment you step back home, you’re expected to spend money on this family. With a background as good as yours, you could easily have married someone much better.”
“You are my wife, and you’re more than enough,” Xie Quanzhou said, his gaze unwavering. “Your younger siblings have bright futures; investing in them is entirely worth it. Besides, supporting them is part of what a brother-in-law should do.”
Xie Quanzhou had known from the very beginning that Chen Cuihua was playing that exact card, yet he had willingly stepped into it—mostly because he had fallen for Shang Yinyin in the first place.
Seeing that Xie Quanzhou held not a single ounce of resentment, a pang of bittersweet ache pierced her heart. In her past life, he had done the exact same thing—working himself to the bone to put her siblings through university, even setting up her younger brother with a match, and providing endless support for them in Beijing. Yet, paralyzed by her own insecurity, she had spent her life overlooking his devotion. He had loved her house and extended his grace to her entire crow—treating a family that had deliberately schemed against him with absolute magnanimity.
She needed to cherish a good man like this.
“Quanzhou, thank you.” Right now, she couldn’t offer anything else; gratitude was all she had.
“If you really want to thank me, smile more and stop frowning all the time,” Xie Quanzhou gently pinched her cheek.
A genuine smile bloomed across her face as she nodded.
“Oh, right—I bought you a gift.” Releasing her, he unzipped his duffel bag and pulled out a stylish floral dress. “I bought this in town today. The salesclerk said this pattern is the trendiest style right now. I got you a pair of shoes to match, too.”
He handed the garments over. Staring at the floral dress and the matching leather shoes, Shang Yinyin could hardly believe her eyes.
“Try them on. I wasn’t quite sure of your exact size, so I just guessed based on the memory of how you looked when I left,” he said, hoping they would fit.
Unfolding the dress, Shang Yinyin held it up against herself. It was a medium size—a bit loose, but entirely wearable.
Turning his back so she could change, Xie Quanzhou prompted, “Go on, try it out.”
She had originally planned to wait until she had a quiet moment, but seeing his eager expression, she quickly slipped out of her old clothes and put on the new dress.
“I’m done,” she mumbled self-consciously.
The moment he turned back around, a warm flush crept up her cheeks.
“It’s a little big, but it suits you wonderfully.” Pulling her into another warm embrace, Xie Quanzhou whispered, “I’m going to feed you properly so you fill out. Once you’re healthy and plump, wearing dresses like this will make you look even better.”
Breathing in the sweet air around her, Shang Yinyin felt as though even the oxygen tasted like sugar.
“Yinyin, these past six years, there wasn’t a single moment I didn’t miss you,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion as he poured out an endless tide of longing.