She laughed. “Duck feathers?”
Lin Wanxing seemed both amused and exasperated—who would give a compliment like that? She glanced at the fabric in her hand, then looked up at Gu Jianfeng and asked,
“If I look good in duck feathers, wouldn’t that make me a colorful duck too?”
Gu Jianfeng was taken aback, realizing he had said the wrong thing.
He quickly corrected himself, “No, sister-in-law, you’re a swan.”
After speaking, he pressed his lips together, his ears burning with embarrassment.
He stood there stiffly, hands pressed against his pant seams like a telegraph pole, still carrying himself with the disciplined posture from his army days. He just stared at Lin Wanxing without saying another word.
Lin Wanxing looked at him for a long while before finally letting out a soft laugh.
Gu Jianfeng thought she was angry and stood there nervously, but then he saw her smile. Lin Wanxing carefully wrapped the fabric back up, tied it neatly, lowered her head, and said, “I’ll wear this when I marry you later.”
Her words felt like a rope tightening around his heart. Gu Jianfeng grew even more flustered, his gaze shifting away as he stood frozen in place, too nervous to move.
Lin Wanxing added, “It hasn’t been long since Jianbin’s passing. Wearing bright red wouldn’t be appropriate.”
Gu Jianfeng’s eyes flickered.
A moment later, a hint of sorrow crossed his expression.
“……………Yes, you’re right. I…I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
He seemed worried again, afraid that Lin Wanxing might think he had acted thoughtlessly. But then he heard her say,
“It’s not your fault. Jianbin was so far away on the border, and for some reason, none of his comrades ever came back to deliver the news. The news of his death took so long to reach us. By now, even the seventh seventh day has long passed. It’s just that our family hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
“And, from now on, don’t call me sister-in-law in front of others.”
Lin Wanxing picked up the fabric bundle, glanced toward the leader’s office, and patted Gu Jianfeng’s stiff, nearly wrinkle-free shirt shoulder, as if brushing off dust.
“From now on, I’ll be your wife. If others hear you calling me sister-in-law, it won’t sound right.”
Her eyes curved into a smile. “Take your parents home later. They’ve been through enough today. As for me, I’ll go back to work now.”
There was no work waiting for her—she just didn’t want to stay and wait for her own parents.
She certainly didn’t want to go back with those two little troublemakers either. The thought embarrassed her.
As she turned and walked away with the fabric bundle, Gu Jianfeng stood there in a daze, watching her retreating figure.
His lips were pressed into a tight line, his posture rigid and straight.
Her words had instantly stiffened his back, making him tense all over.
What had she just said?
Gu Jianfeng’s mind was a whirl of confusion.
After such a major incident, she hadn’t blamed him at all.
He never expected his sister-in-law to be so kind, so understanding, so composed and gracious…so unfazed.
No…Wanxing.
Unfazed? Lin Wanxing thought it was an apt description.
It wasn’t that she didn’t care.
She just found Gu Jianfeng rather amusing and interesting. He was honest and well-intentioned, though a bit naive. If she could shape him a little, she knew it would be…quite satisfying.
Meanwhile, inside the supply and marketing cooperative office, a young man looked up, paused, and stopped his hand just as he was about to push the door open hurriedly.
He watched as Lin Wanxing walked away into the distance, while Gu Jianfeng stared after her for a moment before turning back. A faint sense of discomfort stirred within him.
This young man was the one Lin Wanxing had previously taken a liking to—the accountant at the cooperative and the nephew of the commune’s Party secretary.
He had stepped out earlier and missed the whole commotion. Upon returning and hearing about it, he had wanted to comfort Lin Wanxing and even planned to give her a light purple floral polyester handkerchief to help settle her nerves.
But now, seeing the pile of fabric Gu Jianfeng had given her and comparing it to the thin handkerchief in his own hand, he felt too embarrassed to offer it.
He awkwardly tucked the handkerchief back, scratching his head lightly.
A small knot of discontent tightened in his heart. He had once thought that Lin Wanxing marrying her brother-in-law was just settling and that she wouldn’t be treated well…
Even if they weren’t meant to be together, out of friendship between young people, he could have helped her somehow.
But it seemed she didn’t need him…
It appeared the Gu family wasn’t entirely made up of oddballs like Gu Xiuxiu—there were decent, reliable people among them too.
Come to think of it, it was rather ironic. Gu Xiuxiu had always harbored a quiet crush on him, blushing whenever they met and trying to show her affection in her own way, hoping he would reciprocate.
But this young man remained completely oblivious. In fact, he found Gu Xiuxiu rather excessive—prone to bourgeois sentimentalities, elitist attitudes, and sharp-tongued remarks. Even among the young people in the commune, she was one of the hardest to approach.
…
Back in the main hall of the Gu family home, a storm was brewing.
Gu Jianfeng’s mother had been ranting for what felt like ages, stopping just short of sitting on the doorstep to wail about her miserable fate. She lamented raising such a troublemaker of a daughter, how hard she had worked to send her to school only for her to cause such a scandal, how she would never be able to show her face again, and how she might as well just die.
Gu Jianfeng’s father crouched by the doorstep, silently smoking, listening to his wife berate Gu Xiuxiu. He wanted to speak up but didn’t dare interrupt.
The more he listened, the more agitated he became. He wanted to slip away for a walk but feared the next round of scolding would be directed at him.
Inside the room, Gu Xiuxiu buried her head under the covers, crying endlessly.
She slumped over the desk, crying her heart out, unable to understand how a simple, thoughtless taunt aimed at the Lin family’s eldest boy and the younger girl—those two fools—could have escalated into such a massive mess.
She had said worse things countless times before, and nothing ever happened!
Besides, this time so many people had witnessed it, including that young man from the supply and marketing cooperative she had feelings for. She felt utterly mortified, as if she couldn’t go on living.
How was she supposed to face him again in the future?
Outside in the yard, her mother yelled, “If you keep acting up, remember—our family is a martyr’s family! Reputation can crush a person!”
“If people find out that while your brother’s body is hardly cold, his sister is egging on her sister-in-law’s little brother and sister to act entitled and take advantage, how are we supposed to face anyone?”
Gu Xiuxiu lifted her head and screamed, “I was scolding her! I said, ‘If you have the guts, go ahead! Everyone should bow down to you!’ It was her who—”
She was crying hysterically, her voice nearly cracking from the strain.
Her mother grew even angrier. “You foolish girl! How old is Lin Xiaoya? How old are you? Do you expect her tiny, underdeveloped brain to understand what you really meant?”
“Talking like that just leaves people with ammunition! Do you think we kept quiet during the funeral and didn’t stop Lin Wanxing and the others for no reason? We were afraid that one wrong word or action would make people say we’re tarnishing the martyr’s name!”
Gu Xiuxiu cried even harder, wailing as if her heart were breaking.
Just then, Gu Jianfeng walked in. He heard his mother’s loud, scolding voice.
His steps slowed, and his lips tightened.
He walked forward and said, “What happened today has blown up. The whole brigade knows. But it’s never too late to admit your mistakes and make amends. Xiuxiu, pull yourself together and come with me to the Lin family to apologize to Wanxing.”
“I’m not going!” Gu Xiuxiu felt as if she had been utterly humiliated.
She was already furious and looked down on Lin Wanxing.
After all her years of high school education, having to apologize to an illiterate rural woman like her sister-in-law—and admitting she was wrong—felt completely absurd to her. Gu Jianfeng was being unreasonable.
“You’re going!” Gu Jianfeng insisted, his tone firm.
He rarely spoke so sternly to Gu Xiuxiu, and she immediately shrank back.
Her sobs stopped abruptly. Eyes red with anger, she turned her face away and buried it in her arms, remembering that her teachers had also witnessed the whole scene.
Suddenly, her breath hitched in panic.
If she didn’t put on this apology act, would her teachers criticize her at school?
Torn between anger and fear, fresh tears welled up—more from panic than anything else.
Gu Jianfeng said, “The whole brigade is watching. Even if Lin Dabao and Lin Xiaoya were in the wrong, we have to go and apologize. Otherwise, what will people think of our family?”
His mother shot him a glare when he returned, but after a moment’s thought, she understood the reasoning and swallowed her frustration. “Hurry up and go! While it’s still light, so everyone can see us going to the Lin family.”
Finally seeing a chance to speak, Gu Xiuxiu’s father put down his pipe and said, “Xiuxiu, don’t you still have a jar of malted milk powder, two boxes of egg cakes, and that piece of dark blue fabric you were saving for a dress? Take them all to the Lin family as compensation for your sister-in-law.”
He didn’t care for those treats anyway—Gu Xiuxiu was the one who loved them. Besides, the commune leaders had urged them to properly compensate and comfort Lin Wanxing.
Hearing they had to give away all that, her mother’s face fell. The thought pained her so much her lips twitched. “Old man, isn’t that too much? I think two egg cakes should be enough.”
“Make Xiuxiu hand them over!” her father barked, finally finding an opportunity to assert his authority as head of the household. He spoke with deliberate gravity, “If you make a mistake, you take responsibility. Our family is a martyr’s family—we can’t let Jianbin’s name be tarnished because of this!”
He cared deeply about face, especially when putting on a show like this.
Gu Xiuxiu had just stopped crying, but now she burst into fresh sobs.
These were all things she loved to eat and use!
Why should she just hand them over like that? Her sister-in-law spent her days working and cleaning, covered in chicken droppings, pig slop, and mud from the fields. Wasn’t it a waste for someone like her to eat so well and dress so nicely?!
But the family had reached a consensus, and Gu Xiuxiu’s objections were useless.
Her hands trembled with heartache as she took the items from her dresser, clutching them bitterly to her chest.
In the end, the family set out with grim faces, carrying the heavy compensation gifts, the atmosphere thick and solemn.
…
Over at the Lin family’s courtyard, chaos reigned as well.
Wang Shufen was chasing Lin Dabao around the yard with a feather duster, swatting him each time he tried to dodge.
Her doting on him and beating him mercilessly when he caused trouble were never mutually exclusive.
She cursed harshly, “I’ll teach you to embarrass us! I’ll teach you to throw your weight around! You two little debt-collectors have completely ruined the Lin family’s reputation!”
Lin Dabao howled in pain as he dodged, wiping snot and tears all over his face with dirty hands.
“I didn’t! I didn’t!”
“Sis! Save me!”
He only knew that Lin Wanxing usually doted on them, couldn’t bear to see them suffer, and would help them with chores or give them treats.
He had no idea that Lin Wanxing was currently barricading herself inside her room, seemingly so angry she never wanted to see them again.
(Though in reality, she was inside fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan and enjoying a can of fruit, cool and relaxed.)
Lin Xiaoya was also getting beaten, her hair pulled into disarray as she wailed loudly.
“Dad! Mom’s going to beat me to death!”
Lin Jianguo crouched on the doorstep, coughing and gathering phlegm in his throat before spitting it into the distance. He muttered under his breath, “You little brats! How dare you scam people out of things! You deserve a beating!”
The Lin family courtyard was in utter chaos—a cacophony of crying, pleading, scolding, and the sound of blows filled the air.