Lu Jinxia had been listening from inside her room, the corners of her mouth twitching into a faint smirk.
They had better not dare to set their sights on her—if they did, well, they would see!
When all fell quiet outside, Wang Xiulan cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, muttering under her breath: “This stubborn girl… her temper grows worse by the day…”
Lu Jianguo replied gruffly: “Enough. Press her no further. If we push her too hard and she really makes a scene at the factory, how shall any of us show face there?”
Wang Xiulan said no more, but her face was long and glum; it was plain she remained deeply unwilling to let the matter rest.
The hope of getting Lu Lichun to yield her job was utterly dead.
There was nothing for it but to speak plainly to the Zhao family. If they still refused to listen, then the engagement would have to be called off.
Lu Weidong went to the Zhao family home alone to speak with them. He tucked two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes into his pocket and set out.
The Zhaos lived in an old-style apartment building with shared corridors, where coal stoves and rickety stools cluttered the walkways. Lu Weidong knocked; Zhao Guixiang opened the door, stared at him in surprise, and stepped aside to let him enter.
Inside were her father and mother. Her younger brother was sprawled in a chair reading a picture-story book. He glanced up, lifted his eyelids, then lowered them again.
Lu Weidong placed the cigarettes on the table and spoke straight to the point. “Uncle, Auntie, I’ve come today to lay the matter of the job clear. My family has been searching for nearly half a month, every avenue we could find we’ve tried—but there is simply no position to be had. There are three jobs in my household, and none can be spared. If you insist on making this a condition… then this marriage match… I fear it cannot come to pass.”
At his words, Auntie Zhao’s face darkened instantly. “Cannot come to pass? What sort of talk is that? Our Guixiang has been seeing you for a whole year—and now you speak to us like this?”
Lu Weidong held his ground. “Auntie, it is not that I do not wish for this marriage. It is simply that the condition cannot be met. We truly have no job to give.”
Uncle Zhao spoke slowly, deliberately. “No job to give? Your household holds three positions. Surely one could be yielded up? It seems to me you simply lack good faith.”
“Uncle, if my mother gave up her job, my whole family would go hungry. If my elder sister gave up hers, she would be sent to the countryside. This is not a matter of faith or lack of it.”
Uncle Zhao gave a cold snort. “Then let it be. There are plenty of young men in this city. You are not irreplaceable. Call it off, then.”
Auntie Zhao chimed in sharply. “Precisely! Our Guixiang is far from lacking in prospects. Do you imagine she shall never find another? Since your family shows so little sincerity, let this engagement be ended here and now!”
Zhao Guixiang looked stricken. “Father, Mother! What are you saying?”
“Hold your tongue!” her mother snapped, glaring at her. “He has made it plain he will not marry you! Why do you still throw yourself at him?”
Lu Weidong stood there, his palms slick with sweat. He glanced at Zhao Guixiang, then at her parents—stony-faced, immovable—and his heart sank. He had taken a gamble, staking everything on the strength of the year he and Guixiang had shared.
“Very well, Uncle, Auntie. I shall take my leave.” He turned and walked toward the door.
“Weidong!” Guixiang called out after him.
Lu Weidong turned his head, offered her a faint, bitter smile, then strode quickly down the stairs.
Zhao Guixiang started to run after him, only to be seized firmly by the arm. “Come back here at once!” her mother commanded. “Let him go! Does he imagine he is such a great prize?”
Guixiang wrenched her arm free, her eyes glistening red. “You would ruin my marriage just to trade a job for my brother! Do you think I do not know exactly what you are about?”
“You ungrateful girl! What shameless words are those?” Her mother brought her palm down hard upon Guixiang’s back.
Guixiang fled to her room, slammed the door shut, and threw herself upon her bed, weeping bitterly.
In the days that followed, there was no peace in the Zhao household. Guixiang seemed changed entirely. She would no longer tend to household chores, and confronted her parents daily, shouting the same things over and over:
“You would barter me away just to get a job for him!”
“I shall marry no one but Lu Weidong!”
“If you ruin this for me, I shall never marry at all! Then you shall keep me and feed me for the rest of my life!”
At first her parents stood firm, heaping insults upon her, her father adding his own rebukes. But soon they saw that scolding accomplished nothing—the more they berated her, the more wildly she raged, smashing bowls and pots until neighbours came rushing over to ask what the commotion was about.
Before long, Guixiang took the matter beyond her own four walls. She sought out her closest friends and poured out her grievances: how her parents meant to use her marriage to secure a job for her younger brother; how they had pressed the Lu family to yield a position; how, when the Lu family could not comply, her parents had chosen to end the engagement altogether.
Her friends returned home and told their families. Word of such things travels faster than wind. Within three days, half the neighbourhood knew: the Zhaos would trade their own daughter for a job; they had driven a decent young man to the point of breaking off the engagement; and now their own daughter was in open revolt.
The story even reached the Zhao parents’ workplace. Their superiors summoned them both for a formal talk. There was no hiding it now.
“That Lu boy is such a fine prospect—permanent position, honest, steady… whatever more could they want?”
“Poor Guixiang… what a pair of parents she has been saddled with.”
“They say their boy, Xiao Jun, refuses to be sent to the countryside after junior high—so his parents set their eyes on the Lu family’s job.”
At work, colleagues would needle Uncle Zhao with pointed remarks: “Old Zhao, word has it your daughter is soon to be wed? Do not be too choosy. Match her with someone decent, before it is too late.”
Uncle Zhao could bear the shame no longer. Returning home, he rounded upon his wife. “This is all your doing! Your brilliant scheme! Now look—we have lost every shred of respect!”
“How was I to know that girl would go blabbing to the whole world?” she retorted defensively.
“Enough!” Uncle Zhao struck the table with his fist. “This must end! If we keep this up, Guixiang really will remain unwed—and where shall we find another match as good as Lu Weidong? When our daughter ends up on our hands with no prospect of a husband, then you shall see what comes of it!”
Auntie Zhao opened her mouth to protest, yet in the end said nothing. Deep down, she knew the truth: Lu Weidong was truly one of the finest matches to be found anywhere in the neighbourhood. Permanent employment, a family home, parents with steady jobs—and himself honest, reliable, and sound. If this match fell through, where indeed would Guixiang ever find his equal? They had even harboured hopes that once she was married into the family, they might reap benefits through her.
After nearly half a month of turmoil, the Zhao family finally yielded. Auntie Zhao relented. “Go… send word to the Lu family. Tell them the matter of the job is forgotten. The marriage may proceed as planned.”
Uncle Zhao glared at her. “And why do you not go? You delivered this scheme—you may go and deliver the message.”
Two days before the Zhaos finally backed down, Zhao Guixiang could bear it no longer. She slipped out and went in search of Lu Weidong.
That evening, as Lu Weidong left work and reached the lane entrance, he saw Guixiang standing beneath a streetlamp. Her eyes were red and swollen; it was plain she had been crying.
“Weidong,” she called softly, her voice thick and hoarse.
Lu Weidong paused, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Guixiang drew a shaky breath. “I have been fighting with my parents. They insisted on making the job a condition. I refused—and have argued with them these past few days.”
Lu Weidong stood silent, and in his heart he knew: his gamble had been the right one.
Guixiang stepped closer. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, yet her tone was steady, earnest.
“Wait for me, will you? Pay them no heed. Whatever they may say—this engagement is not ended, not as far as I am concerned. Give me a little time. I shall set this all right. Only… wait for me.”