In any era, matchmaking emphasizes matching social status. For a family like the Shus, the best match they could aspire to was the Liu family.
Back then, Liu Hui Fang's father worked as a film projectionist. When various factories and mining units in the district invited him to screen movies, he not only managed to save money but also built valuable connections. Who wouldn't treat him with respect?
Liu Hui Fang was three years older than Shu Wen Yan, with unremarkable looks and working a job typically done by men. Yet, it took Shu Wen Yan over half a year of persistent pursuit to win her over—a clear case of marrying up.
Now, the Xu family was beyond the Shu family's reach even if they stood on tiptoes. Being an only child and a Worker-Peasant-Soldier Student, how could they possibly agree to a blind date with an educated youth?
Liu Hui Fang voiced everyone's doubt.
"We only found out recently. Back then, Jin Yue's father… her biological father…"
It turned out that Shu Jin Yue was originally named Su Jin Yue. Her biological father, Su Li Min, had been an apprentice worker at the Machinery Factory owned by the wealthy Xu family before liberation. He was diligent and hardworking, quickly catching the attention of Old Master Xu, who had returned from studying abroad. Old Master Xu took him under his wing to teach mechanical design. Unfortunately, within a few years, the people were plunged into misery, and the Xu family, who owned the largest Machinery Factory in Shilan Province and possessed confidential technology, became the primary target of the Japanese. When attempts to win them over failed, the Japanese decided to eliminate them.
By that time, Old Master Xu was already married, and his eldest son, Xu Ping, was only a few years younger than Su Li Min. When the Japanese came to the factory to arrest people, Su Li Min hid the young master and claimed to be Xu Ping, taking his place in prison. He endured immense suffering until the Liberation Army entered the city. The other six children of the Xu family were not as fortunate—some died in prison, some perished due to banditry, and others went missing. By the time Shu City was liberated, only Xu Ping had survived.
Su Li Min performed this good deed without seeking reward. Amid the chaos of war, he lost contact with the Xu family. Instead, the Xu family spent years searching for him. Old Master Xu had already passed away, and Xu Ping had been sent down a few years prior due to class background issues. He only resumed work last year and finally located Su Li Min's widow and orphaned daughter last month.
Hearing this story, everyone fell silent.
"What if it doesn't work out?"
"Shut your jinxed mouth. Our Jin Yue is so beautiful; how could it possibly not work out?"
Shu Wen Ming: "…"
"Director Xu is a good man. He said you should meet and get to know each other first. I've seen a photo of that young man—he looks very spirited." Zhao Wan Qiu glanced at Jin Yue's expression. "I know you're still young and don't understand these things yet, but even revolutionaries need to marry, right?"
Before going to the countryside, Jin Yue had even declared that she wouldn't return to the city until she turned the Gobi Desert into the nation's granary. Marriage? That was an obstacle hindering her efforts to build a prosperous countryside—it had to be eliminated!
Just when everyone expected Jin Yue to refuse, she said, "Alright, Mom, tell them we should meet as soon as possible."
Shu Wen Yun's face turned pale.
After further discussion, Shu Li Nong checked the sky. "Eldest son and Huifang, you should head back quickly. Once it starts snowing, it'll be hard to bike."
Liu Hui Fang hurriedly got off the kang and dressed, while Shu Wen Yan, who was usually the first to slip away, remained motionless. Only after his younger siblings had gone to the adjacent room did he stammer, "Dad, about that matter I mentioned last time…"
"Don't even mention it. We have no money. If we scrape any more, there'll be nothing left but bone scraps."
"How can there be no money? Aren't the second brother and Wen Yun both contributing to the household expenses every month? You and Aunt Zhao…"
"You know you still have younger siblings, huh?" Shu Li Nong sneered twice and stopped talking.
Once outside the gate, Liu Hui Fang shot her husband a disapproving glare. "Don't bite off more than you can chew. You're obsessed with official positions, but I don't care. Don't even think about going to my father for help."
"What nonsense. Women are short-sighted. Do you know how rare this opportunity is… Hey, wait for me, Huifang! If you take the bicycle, how am I supposed to get back? Ah, this spendthrift woman!"
Shu Jin Yue had no idea how Shu Wen Yan had managed to walk home alone through the snow. She slept in contentedly, and Zhao Wan Qiu didn't wake her. After she naturally woke up, Zhao Wan Qiu handed her twenty yuan and some fabric ration tickets. "Go buy yourself two new outfits."
Jin Yue accepted them. Her figure was vastly different from Shu Wen Yun's, so she couldn't keep wearing her older sister's hand-me-downs.
Now, after buying the train ticket, she only had 2.30 yuan left. She was really short on money, desperately so.
Tucking away the ginseng her sister-in-law had given her last night, Shu Jin Yue put on her second brother's Lei Feng hat. But just as she reached the alley entrance, Shu Li Nong caught up with her. Without a word, he stuffed 28 yuan into her hand—a mix of bills, including many small notes, clearly scraped together from meager savings.
"Don't buy the kind your sister wears. They don't look good."
Jin Yue smiled. No wonder everyone called her a silly goose. In her past life, she'd indeed mindlessly imitated Shu Wen Yun, perfectly demonstrating the saying "blind imitation with ludicrous effect." The old man had hesitated to speak up several times, probably afraid of hurting a teenage girl's self-esteem. But this time, with something as important as the matchmaking at stake, he finally couldn't hold back.
"Okay, Dad. Don't worry."
With her hands tucked in her sleeves, Jin Yue first wandered around the department store. The staff took one look at her shabby appearance and ignored her completely. Unfazed, she went to check out the public window of the Medicinal Materials Company and didn't return home until noon.
After dinner, as soon as it grew dark, she layered one of Shu Li Nong's patched cotton-padded jackets over her clothes, pocketed an aluminum flashlight, tucked her hands in her sleeves, and headed to the Ghost Market.
During the day, she'd scouted the area and planned her route. She made her way under the Construction Bridge. This area was originally wasteland—dimly lit with large reed beds perfect for hiding—and had developed into Shu City's largest ghost market over the past two years.
At first glance, Shu Jin Yue's disguise made her look like a scrawny teenage boy, albeit with fairer skin that made her seem even more malnourished.
As soon as she entered, profiteers bundled in cotton coats quietly offered her cigarettes, green rubber shoes, and even watches. Jin Yue pretended to be interested, looking around while affecting a Northeast accent. She asked a few questions about when the ghost market started and ended, what was usually available, and whether the anti-profiteering squad might raid it.
When she reached the second-to-last bridge pier, she spotted a scholarly-looking middle-aged man with glasses approaching. After observing him, she guessed he was a buyer and sidled up to whisper, "Brother, want some ginseng? Wild."
The man glanced at her, shook his head, and walked away.
She tried two more people, but neither was interested. Shu Jin Yue was disappointed.
She had examined the ginseng her sister-in-law gave her carefully. It was indeed wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain, top quality. She figured the Northeast fellow who'd sold it had underestimated it because of its size—only as thick as a pinky finger—and assumed it was young. But Jin Yue's mind held extensive theoretical knowledge and images of medicinal herb identification. That fellow had misjudged it.
But such items weren't as sought-after as rice, flour, or cooking oil. After waiting another half hour, she still hadn't managed to sell anything.
All the Shu children were quick-witted, except for Jin Yue. When she was little, she was given twenty cents to buy half a pound of soy sauce. She skipped happily to the store with her jar, only to slap her forehead and exclaim, "Oh no! Did they want vinegar or soy sauce?" To avoid getting scolded, she decided to get a bit of both. She tearfully begged the shop assistant to pour both into the same jar. Before she even made it home, the joke about "the Shu family's youngest daughter mixing vinegar and soy sauce" had already reached her household, leaving Zhao Wan Qiu too exasperated to either hit or scold her.
Yet she had remarkably good luck—picking up pencils and erasers at school, finding five-cent coins on the street. The children in the hutong, knowing she was simple-minded, would coax her into giving them what she found. When the adults found out, they'd angrily scold her for being such a fool.
With such a temperament, Zhao Wan Qiu truly didn't dare let her take over the hospital position. She'd definitely do something like calling an ophthalmology consultation for a patient with dilated pupils.
Recalling these "glorious deeds," Shu Jin Yue had to admit the nickname was well-deserved.
Under the bridge, the cold wind whistled, and the cotton padding in her jacket was years old, offering little warmth. Wondering if it was just her imagination, Shu Jin Yue kept feeling someone was watching her. She glanced back—occasional flickering lights in the darkness, both buyers and sellers eyeing each other warily. After scanning the area, it seemed no one was paying her any attention.
But after taking just a few steps, that feeling of being watched returned. Remembering how the production team leader's family had targeted and surveilled her in the countryside, this sensation was deeply unsettling. Shu Jin Yue quickened her pace, detoured through hutongs farther from home, then removed her hat and coat, letting down her two yellowish braids to appear feminine before returning to Liu Ye Hutong.
"Jin Yue, where have you been so late?" Shu Wen Yun asked, drying her hair after a bath.
"Went to see a classmate."
"Which classmate?"
Jin Yue randomly invented a name. Since they were in different grades, Wen Yun wouldn't know whether such a person existed.
"Mom mentioned earlier we're going to People's Park tomorrow. Why don't you wear my set—the new one made last Chinese New Year, I've only worn it three times." In those days, it was common for siblings to share clothing, especially for important occasions like blind dates.
It was a fashionable Lenin suit paired with a black high-neck sweater. It looked stylish and elegant, but… in her previous life, she'd worn exactly that outfit. The long, loose coat added a sloppy appearance, and the black high-neck sweater sagged around her neck, making her face appear pale and sickly.
Shu Jin Yue declined her "kind offer."
"Did you know the Xu family used to be major capitalists?" Shu Wen Yun whispered as a reminder.
Here it comes—this was exactly how she'd "helpfully" reminded her in the previous life. Back then, Jin Yue had recklessly followed her junior high classmates in shouting revolutionary slogans and was known as the little fool. Hearing that Xu Si Qi came from such a "black" background, she formed a negative impression of him before even meeting him, which explained why she'd ended up saying such hurtful things.
"Doesn't matter. Our family is red and devoted enough anyway. I'll guide him to abandon the dark and embrace the light."
"Besides, being recommended for Worker-Peasant-Soldier University means the organization has vetted him for me. I trust the organization."
Shu Wen Yun was left speechless.
Upon learning she hadn't bought any new clothes at all, Shu Li Nong and Zhao Wan Qiu were exasperated by her lack of ambition, their anxiety so intense it felt like sparks were flying from their lips.
Shu Jin Yue, however, was preoccupied with how to sell the ginseng. The sensation of being watched was like needles pricking her back, and she dared not show her face at the Ghost Market again anytime soon. She had inquired at regular hospitals and medicinal materials companies but encountered no one who recognized its value, nor could she fetch a decent price.
What she needed most now was money—how could she possibly spare any thought for new clothes?
Fortunately, her sister-in-law heard about her predicament and brought over a new outfit she had made just last year.
Liu Hui Fang was only slightly taller than her and quite slender. The black wool coat, purchased from a department store, required Jin Yue to simply pair it with any top—regardless of color or style—and along with the black leather shoes provided by Liu Hui Fang, she managed to tidy herself up into a somewhat presentable state.
The key was that it fit well and looked sharp.
Even Shu Wen Ming borrowed the Zhao family's bicycle and personally rode her to People's Park, saying, "Do your best. If you can manage to get married, I won't call you 'little airhead' anymore."
Shu Jin Yue: "…"
"See that guy over there, the one in leather shoes? That's Xu Si Qi. He's quite considerate."
Xu Si Qi stood at six feet tall, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and slightly fair skin. His hair was carefully styled. They had arrived five minutes early, only to find him already waiting—who knew how long he had been there. This attitude alone pleased the Shu family.
The male lead was indeed the male lead. Shu Jin Yue still remembered many of his accomplishments vividly: how, following his uncle's advice, he stayed on at university after graduation, dedicating himself to teaching at the Provincial Industrial University. With his rich theoretical knowledge and solid technical skills, after the reforms and opening-up, he was hired at a high salary by Haicheng Machinery Factory as an engineer. Later, with his uncle's support, he took unpaid leave to collaborate with a foreign-funded machinery factory, becoming one of the owners through technical shares… Yet, his smooth sailing didn't stop there. After further accumulating capital, his capable uncle encouraged him to strike out on his own, focusing on technical R&D, and he eventually became the largest private automobile manufacturer in Dragon Country's history.
By the time Shu Jin Yue was reborn, he was already renowned—not only as a respected technical expert in the industry but also as a household name among the nation's wealthy.
Unlike some men who suddenly struck it rich in that era, Xu Si Qi remained dedicated to his profession, engrossed in research and development. He handed over all his shares and salary to his wife to manage, kept no mistresses around, and gave Shu Wen Yun a profound sense of security.
Rejecting such an upright, devoted potential partner—no wonder readers criticized her as a blind fool.
Now, having died once, Shu Jin Yue only wanted to survive. She had to make the choice most beneficial to herself.
Moreover, this matchmaking opportunity had been bought with her biological father's life.