10
Meeting Gift
The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, Mother Lin woke up. Accustomed to working in the fields for work points back in the countryside, she had developed the habit of rising at dawn to prepare breakfast.
Lying idle felt uncomfortable, so Mother Lin simply got up.
Mother Lu, likely exhausted from the previous day, had yet to stir. Mother Lin grabbed her towel and pushed the door open to step outside.
After dinner the night before, Mother Lin and Mother Lu had gone together to the water pipe in the middle of the courtyard to wash the pots and dishes, so she already knew where the water-fetching spot was in the Courtyard.
Arriving at the water pipe, she saw a man bent over, washing clothes.
She wondered whose husband was so diligent, already out washing clothes this early.
Drawing closer, oh my—this diligent man belonged to her daughter!
“A Zhou, why are you out washing clothes so early?”
Lu Xuanzhou had been scrubbing Lin Jianchun’s panties and instinctively shoved them into the pile of clothes upon hearing footsteps.
Mother Lin had sharp eyes, and besides, she had sewn all of Lin Jianchun’s panties herself—how could she not recognize them? But she was considerate and didn’t expose him.
“I don’t need much sleep.”
Mother Lin: “Young people should sleep more to gain weight. Let Xiao Chun do the laundry—she doesn’t have a job and has plenty of time all day.”
Lu Xuanzhou: “My factory uniform is dirty. It takes a few hard pounds to get it clean with my strength.” As for washing Lin Jianchun’s clothes, it was just incidental—since they were in the same bucket, how could he possibly toss hers out?
When Lin Jianchun woke up, she found her mother gazing at her eagerly.
“Xiao Chun, listen to your mom—such a good man, you should secure him sooner rather than later.”
Lin Jianchun was baffled. “Mom, that’s not what you said yesterday. You told me I must maintain a proper distance from Lu Xuanzhou, so we can cut our losses in time if he turns out to be no good.”
“What do you know? It was barely dawn, and Lu Xuanzhou was already at the water pipe washing your clothes behind everyone’s back. He even specially bought a bar of soap for you… His own clothes, he just pounded them a few times and rinsed them off…”
Lin Jianchun’s face flushed bright red instantly.
Mother Lin, afraid her daughter wouldn’t take it to heart, pressed on, “Next week when we go back home, get a marriage certificate from the brigade. Hurry up and get your marriage registered, then do what needs to be done with him. Understand?”
After finishing lunch at the Lu family’s, the Lin family showed no intention of leaving.
Many households in the Courtyard were waiting to see some drama unfold. Mother Lu went to the Farmers Market and bought a fish and two pieces of tofu.
“Oh, A Zhou’s mother, shopping again? Why only one fish today? Why not buy more meat?”
Mother Lu knew they were hoping to watch her family’s troubles, but sorry—her in-laws were just fine. “We still have plenty of meat at home.” Although she had cooked a lot yesterday, the Lin family had hardly touched the dishes. If she hadn’t served them directly, they would have only eaten the vegetable dishes.
“When are your daughter-in-law’s family going back? They’ve made a scene and seen everything—still not ready to leave? Could it be they find the city’s good meat and meals so appealing they don’t want to go back?”
“You’re going too far with your words.” Aunt Xu from the front yard tossed her ball of yarn back into the basket, took Mother Lu by the arm, and walked away with her. “I still have a few meat coupons left. If you need them, I’ll give them to you.”
“Thank you, sister-in-law. My in-laws are good people—they hardly touched their chopsticks, so the meat is still fine. But when hosting guests, we can’t just reheat all the leftovers—that would be improper.”
Aunt Xu nodded. “That’s true. They are respectable people, so we must be respectable too.”
At noon, Mother Lu had just finished cooking fish soup and clearing the table when someone called from outside the door.
“Auntie Lu, your family has visitors—they brought loads of gifts!”
The entire Courtyard was buzzing with excitement.
The Lin family had actually brought a handcart loaded with betrothal gifts for the Lu family.
Mother Lin’s voice, neither too loud nor too soft, carried clearly enough for all the neighbors in the Courtyard to hear.
“Yesterday, I got a call from my eldest daughter and heard she’d been wronged in the city. Since my husband still has to work the fields, I came first to stand up for my girl.”
“Luckily, my daughter is blessed—she’s married into a good family, with a kind mother-in-law, a capable husband, and a sensible younger brother-in-law. After staying overnight, seeing and interacting with them myself, I can finally go back to the village with peace of mind. But before I return, we had to make up for the betrothal gifts. Otherwise, outsiders might think we’re just poor relatives here to freeload.”
Mother Lin directed her son and nephews to unload the items from the handcart and carry them into the Lu family’s home, not giving anyone a clear look.
All the onlookers could make out were two burlap sacks and two wooden buckets beside them—one holding a hen, the other filled to the brim with fish.
“A single chicken costs two or three yuan, and these country folks give two right off the bat—isn’t that overly generous?”
“Not just that—look at those two burlap sacks! I saw bloodstains on the cart; there’s probably fresh pork inside. With this much food, the Lu family won’t crave meat for two months!”
Song’s Mother was among the crowd watching, her eyes turning green with envy. All of this should have been hers, but now it had all ended up in that Widow Lu’s pockets.
The last time she’d eaten meat was during the New Year, almost two months ago.
As Song’s Mother was coveting those goods, Widow Qin, who never got along with her, nudged her arm.
“Your family must be kicking yourselves now, huh? Who knew your former daughter-in-law’s family dotes on their girl so much, sending sack after sack to support her?”
“It’s too early to say who’s regretting what. Lin Jianchun doesn’t have a city residency permit, nor a job. Even if she has children, they’ll have rural household registration. They’ll have to buy grain every month, and with only Lu Xuanzhou working, they might not make it half a year before they can’t put food on the table.”
The neighbors who had been envying the Lu family suddenly came to their senses. Lin Jianchun couldn’t access rationed grain, and her family couldn’t possibly send food monthly. They’d heard life in the countryside was tough, with folks barely having enough to eat themselves—how could they spare grain for their son-in-law’s family? Otherwise, why would the in-laws of the Chen family’s daughter-in-law always come to the city to freeload?
With that thought, their jealousy cooled. The Lu family might face hard times ahead. Once the second son goes to the countryside, they’ll probably have to scrape together money to send him every month. The worst is yet to come for the Lu family.
Song’s Mother straightened her back proudly. “Granny Wang from the next alley heard my son is single again and introduced him to a nurse from Jingyi Fifth Hospital.”
“A nurse from Jingyi Fifth Hospital would be willing to live in a Courtyard?”
Song’s Mother replied nonchalantly, “The hospital offers good benefits—they’ll get housing as soon as they marry. But whether it works out depends on the two young people’s fate. Some things just aren’t meant to be, even if they’re right at your doorstep.”
No one responded, but they all knew Song Zhian was handsome and had a good job—it would be easy for him to win over female comrades. If he really married someone with a stable job, the Lu family could never hope to catch up, no matter how hard they tried.
If Song Zhian really ended up with the nurse, they would have to rely on her in the future—after all, everyone gets sick sometimes, and the Fifth Hospital isn’t far from here, making it convenient for medical visits.
Song’s Mother finally felt she had outshone the Lu family, letting out a long, heavy breath of relief. She had been stewing in frustration for days.