The next day, as soon as Meng Ruo arrived at the food factory, she sought out Wang Cuifeng.
“Sister Wang, are you going home to cook at noon today?” Meng Ruo asked.
Wang Cuifeng replied, “Yes. If I don’t go back, what will my children eat?”
Although the food factory had a cafeteria, Big Sister Wang went home almost every day because she had two children. It was just uncertain whether Yang Qing returned at noon.
“Then can you help me pass a word to Yang Qing?” Meng Ruo asked again.
In this era, cell phones didn’t exist, and telephones weren’t widespread. If two people who lived far apart wanted to communicate, they mostly relied on writing letters or asking someone to pass a message.
Actually, the food factory wasn’t far from the electronics factory, but since the marriage matter was not yet settled, it would be somewhat inappropriate for Meng Ruo to personally go to the electronics factory to find Yang Qing.
“Sure, what message do you want me to bring him?” Wang Cuifeng asked.
“I want to ask Yang Qing to come out and meet; I have something to say to him,” Meng Ruo replied.
“Alright, if I see him at noon, I’ll tell him,” Wang Cuifeng agreed readily.
Meng Ruo thought for a moment and then added, “Sister Wang, it’s best if you can tell Yang Qing personally. Don’t ask his aunt to pass the message.”
Hearing this, Wang Cuifeng didn’t reply immediately but looked at her with a searching gaze: “You’ve met his eldest aunt?”
Meng Ruo was stunned; Wang Cuifeng’s question was somewhat subtle.
Wang Cuifeng’s next words further confirmed the suspicion in her heart.
“You also noticed that his eldest aunt is at odds with him, right?” Wang Cuifeng added.
“Sister Wang, why do you say that?” Meng Ruo asked, feigning curiosity.
“It seems you don’t know the inside story,” Wang Cuifeng said with a look of helplessness. “Actually, I wasn’t intentionally hiding it from you; mainly, I don’t know the full details myself, only the general idea.”
Before Meng Ruo could speak, Wang Cuifeng asked again, “Do you know how Yang Qing’s bad reputation came about?”
Meng Ruo shook her head cooperatively.
“His eldest aunt spread it,” Wang Cuifeng said gossipy. “Unexpected, right? I didn’t expect it either, but she’s the one who spread it.”
“But why his eldest aunt would intentionally ruin his reputation, I don’t know,” Wang Cuifeng shook her head. “Besides, it’s their family matter, so it’s not good for me to gossip behind their backs. If you really want to know, you can ask Yang Qing.”
As she spoke, Wang Cuifeng looked at Meng Ruo encouragingly, her expression practically screaming, “If you find out, tell me while you’re at it.”
Meng Ruo reckoned Wang Cuifeng also really wanted to know the truth, but the inside story was only known to the few people involved.
When she returned to the office in the afternoon, Big Sister Wang brought her news.
“Isn’t it a coincidence? Today when I went home, I happened to run into Yang Qing at the stairwell. He said meeting up is no problem,” Wang Cuifeng said. “He said after work this afternoon, he’ll wait for you at the entrance of that soup noodle shop from before.”
Meng Ruo nodded and thanked Wang Cuifeng with a smile.
The soup noodle shop was very close to the food factory, so she didn’t bother riding her bicycle and just walked there.
As she neared the shop, Meng Ruo saw Yang Qing waiting for her at the door from a distance.
Yang Qing looked up and saw her. As she approached, he asked calmly, “Have you eaten dinner? Do you want to go inside for a bowl of noodles?”
Meng Ruo shook her head: “Let’s just walk for a bit. I have something to say to you, and it’s too noisy in the shop.”
“That works.”
So, the two of them walked along the side path under the glow of the setting sun.
At this hour, people getting off work were everywhere, and the sound of bicycle bells rang out continuously.
“What do you want to say to me?” Yang Qing asked.
“Last night, your eldest aunt came to my house,” Meng Ruo said, getting straight to the point.
Yang Qing was startled for a moment, then reacted as if it were expected.
He knew that after his aunt and uncle argued that day, this matter wouldn’t end so simply.
“What did she say to your family?” he asked.
Meng Ruo shook her head: “They weren’t there at the time; I was the only one at home.”
“But your eldest aunt told me quite a bit,” she added.
She then repeated what Liu Xiuying had said the previous night to Yang Qing.
After finishing, Meng Ruo carefully observed his expression.
Facing a betrayal from a relative, he seemed quite calm.
Suddenly thinking of something, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “So, the rumors I heard from the older sisters at the factory were all spread by your aunt?”
Yang Qing looked at her without confirming or denying.
After a moment of silence, he nodded.
Getting his affirmative response, Meng Ruo immediately muttered, “What is she after? If she ruins your reputation, her family will be affected too.”
Seeing him silent, she asked again, “Is there some sort of grudge between you and her?”
Normally, this involved someone’s privacy and she shouldn’t press, but she was too curious and couldn’t help asking.
Yang Qing hadn’t originally intended to speak of this past event, but then he thought that if they were heading toward marriage, this matter shouldn’t be hidden from her.
Then, in a flat tone, he began to recount the grudge between him and Liu Xiuying.
Actually, it wasn’t complicated. During his junior year of college, he went to the mountains to play with Yang Yuxiang. Yang Yuxiang insisted on climbing a tree that had been hollowed out by insects and then fell.
When he fell, his leg hit the sharp edge of a stone, resulting in a comminuted fracture.
At that time, medical technology wasn’t advanced enough, and Yang Yuxiang became crippled.
Because Yang Qing was the only one present when Yang Yuxiang fell, Liu Xiuying blamed him.
Since his leg became crippled, Yang Yuxiang had become increasingly depressed and sensitive to others’ gazes. As long as he was stared at while walking with a limp, he couldn’t help but lose his temper. It was also because of this that he got into a fight at the factory and lost his job.
Afterward, Yang Yuxiang stayed holed up at home and wouldn’t go out.
The more dejected Yang Yuxiang stayed at home, the deeper Liu Xiuying’s resentment toward Yang Qing grew.
“Since the conflict is so deep, why don’t you just move out?” Meng Ruo couldn’t help asking after listening.
Hearing this, he looked up again and gazed at her silently.
Why not move out? He asked himself in his heart.
Probably because he was clinging to the little bit of family affection and care that remained.
“Although my aunt doesn’t treat me very well, my uncle is very good to me,” he said after a silence. “If I moved out suddenly without a suitable reason, my uncle would be sad.”
Meng Ruo frowned, thinking that Yang Heping probably really was good to him. People who lacked love were more concerned about the feelings of those who actually cared for them.
“Then didn’t your uncle think about mediating the conflict between you and your aunt? After all, you’re living under the same roof,” she added.
The answer Yang Qing gave surprised Meng Ruo greatly.
“When the accident first happened to my cousin, he mediated a few times, and my aunt said the matter was settled,” he replied. “But my uncle didn’t know that her saying it was settled was just to placate him.”
Meng Ruo frowned again, speechless.
“Did you tell your family about this?” Yang Qing asked.
Meng Ruo paused, realizing Yang Qing was referring to Liu Xiuying looking for her.
“If I told them, our marriage would basically be over. Why would I still come looking for you?” she said directly.
His expression faltered, and he said, “I will tell my uncle about Aunt seeking you out.”
Meng Ruo nodded in agreement: “Yes, it’s better to tell him, so she doesn’t cause more trouble.”
After parting with Meng Ruo, Yang Qing returned to his uncle’s house.
“Why are you back so late? The food is being kept warm in the pot for you,” Yang Heping, who was sitting on the sofa listening to the radio, said to Yang Qing.
Yang Qing responded and went to the kitchen to serve his food.
Seeing Yang Qing eating at the table, Yang Heping seemed to remember something, took a piece of paper from his pocket, and walked over to him.
“I had someone check the dates; they just brought this to me,” Yang Heping handed a piece of red paper to Yang Qing. The paper listed the dates and times for the engagement gifts and the wedding ceremony.
Yang Qing nodded and said, “Alright, Uncle, please keep it for me.”
After saying that, he quickly finished the rice in his bowl.
After setting down his chopsticks, since Liu Xiuying was also in the living room, he wanted to take this opportunity to bring everything out into the open.
“Uncle, after work, Meng Ruo asked to meet with me.”
Yang Heping nodded and asked, “Oh, what’s wrong?”
“She talked to me about our marriage,” he added.
Liu Xiuying, sitting nearby, pricked up her ears. Hearing that Meng Ruo had sought out Yang Qing, she thought the girl must have been swayed by her words yesterday and wanted to call off the wedding.
At the thought of this, Liu Xiuying became smug and couldn’t help mocking: “I bet she wants to break off the engagement with you.”
Yang Heping frowned and scolded, “What kind of nonsense are you saying?”
“Meng Ruo said that Aunt went to see her last night,” Yang Qing said in a flat tone. “She said Aunt told her to find someone else to marry.”
Hearing this, Yang Heping’s brow furrowed into a deep ‘川’ shape. He turned and questioned Liu Xiuying: “Is what Xiao Qing said true?”
Liu Xiuying didn’t flinch and admitted it frankly: “Yes, I went to find that girl. So what?”
Liu Xiuying had masculine features: a broad face, thick eyebrows, small eyes, a fleshy nose, and thick lips. She was tall and sturdy, with a loud voice and a hot temper.
Yang Heping was her complete opposite—about the same height but thin and scrawny, always soft-spoken and gentle.
Yang Heping pointed at her angrily: “Tell me, why are you trying to ruin Xiao Qing’s marriage? What is your aim?”
“What is my aim? You tell me what my aim is!” Liu Xiuying stared back and questioned, “If my son is going to be a bachelor for life, then Yang Qing can forget about getting a wife too.”
Yang Heping sighed helplessly: “How can we be talking about this matter again?”
“Xiangxiang is in this state because of him.” As she spoke, Liu Xiuying glared at Yang Qing with hatred. “Xiangxiang lost his job and can’t get a wife because he crippled Xiangxiang’s leg.”
“He ruined our Xiangxiang like this, and I didn’t take his life. I only ruined his reputation and his marriage—I’ve already treated him well enough.” Liu Xiuying began to speak without restraint, saying whatever came to mind.
“What?” Yang Heping’s brow furrowed again. “You also ruined Xiao Qing’s reputation?”
“That’s right! All those bad rumors about Yang Qing were spread by me. I’m the one who sabotaged his previous marriage prospects. What are you going to do about it?”
“Yang Heping, ask your conscience—have you ever truly cared about Xiangxiang? You’ve long forgotten that Xiangxiang is your son, haven’t you? All day long it’s ‘Xiao Qing this’ and ‘Xiao Qing that.’ Without me, who would stand up for Xiangxiang?”
“Without me, Xiangxiang’s leg would have been broken for nothing. Has Yang Qing ever paid any price for it?”
Liu Xiuying had completely given up on pretense and didn’t care anymore. Previously, when she had tarnished Yang Qing’s reputation behind his back, she had more or less hidden it in front of Yang Heping.
Yang Heping looked at Liu Xiuying as if looking at a stranger, and at the same time, he understood everything.
No wonder. Yang Qing’s qualities had always been good—he was tall, handsome, a college student with a good job. In previous years, many matchmakers had come to the door, but not a single match could be made.
A few times he had asked the matchmakers why a match that seemed promising a few days ago suddenly fell through.
The matchmakers told him the truth, saying the girls felt Yang Qing had a bad character and feared he was into drinking, eating, gambling, or whoring.
Yang Heping, of course, had denied it categorically: “That’s absolutely impossible. Yang Qing is a good child; he’s very filial to me and his aunt, and he even hands over his monthly salary to her.”
“Filial? Comrade Yang, stop saying such insincere things.” The matchmaker laughed. “I heard from someone’s own mouth that this nephew of yours is lazy and has no conscience.”
“How is that possible?” Yang Heping would get anxious. “Someone must be intentionally ruining my nephew’s reputation behind his back. Don’t believe such words. I’m his uncle; how could I not know what kind of person he is?”
Yang Heping would explain earnestly every time, but people simply didn’t believe him.
As a result, Yang Qing’s marriage prospects went from several failing matches to no matchmakers coming to the door at all.
To think that all those matches were sabotaged by Liu Xiuying.
Sigh, he had wronged Yang Qing and delayed him for so many years.
“Liu Xiuying, can you not understand human speech? You don’t believe anyone else’s words, you only believe your own.”
Yang Heping slammed the table in anger.
“Xiangxiang’s leg was broken by his own fall. Xiangxiang said so himself—he was the one who insisted on climbing that tree. How can you pin this on Xiao Qing?”
“Who knows if he forced Xiangxiang to say that? Only he and Xiangxiang were there at the time. If it wasn’t him, who else could it be?” Liu Xiuying was determined to believe that Yang Qing had crippled her son’s leg.
Liu Xiuying was an expert at arguing. Even when she wasn’t in the right, she could make it sound like she was. None of the neighbors dared to provoke her. How could Yang Heping, a man used to being gentle, win an argument against her?
Finally, Yang Heping could only let out a long sigh: “Fine, fine, fine, you don’t even believe your own son.”
“It’s better if Xiao Qing gets a wife and moves out early, so he doesn’t have to live under your look of disapproval every day.”
“He is not allowed to get a wife! If Xiangxiang is a bachelor, he is not allowed to get a wife either.” Liu Xiuying slammed the table forcefully.
“Is that for you to decide?” Yang Heping said with a cold face.
Liu Xiuying jumped up in anger and shouted at the top of her lungs, “If I don’t have the final say, then I’ll make a scene! I’ll go to the Meng family and make a scene! I’ll make a scene during the wedding pickup! I’ll make a scene at the banquet! I’ll make the whole city laugh at us and see if you can still get married!”
“I’ll see who in this Fengzhou City dares to marry their daughter to you after I’m done!”
“Making a scene like that is what truly harms Xiangxiang, do you know that? With an overbearing mother-in-law like you, who would dare to marry their daughter into our family?”
“Then I’ll only go to the Meng family…”
Before Liu Xiuying could finish the word “scene,” the door to the room swung open with a bang.
Liu Xiuying looked back and saw Yang Yuxiang standing at the door, glaring at her.
She thought, Oh no, she had forgotten Xiangxiang was still in his room and didn’t know how much he had heard.
Yang Yuxiang said to Liu Xiuying with a dark face, “Mom, if you go to the Meng family to make a scene, I will run away from home and never come back.”
Liu Xiuying looked at her son and the next second plopped onto the floor and started crying.
“Who am I doing this for? I’m doing it for you!” Liu Xiuying cried while pounding the ground. “Now even you are helping this outsider. What are you and your father thinking?”
Yang Yuxiang ignored her, closed the door with a bang, and went back to lying on the bed playing with his Subor.
Liu Xiuying sat in the living room crying and cursing. Yang Heping went into his room and came out again, pulling Yang Qing out the door and down the stairs.
Yang Heping touched the bankbook in his pocket, his eyes red. “Xiao Qing, it’s your uncle who has failed you and delayed you for so many years.”
“Also, regarding your aunt looking for Meng Ruo today, you should explain it well to her.”
Yang Qing nodded. However, Meng Ruo likely trusted him; otherwise, she wouldn’t have made a special effort to meet him today.
“I will find a way to compensate you,” Yang Heping promised.
Not only did he want to compensate Xiao Qing, but he also wanted to do his best to facilitate this marriage.
He planned to go to the credit union tomorrow to withdraw money and give the wedding funds to Yang Qing. With Liu Xiuying at home, if he didn’t withdraw the money early, he feared that once his wife got hold of the bankbook, he wouldn’t be able to get it out.
But he didn’t dare tell Yang Qing yet, afraid that Yang Qing would refuse the money. Once he withdrew it tomorrow, he would shove it directly into his hands, whether he wanted it or not.
Yang Qing hesitated for a moment and then said, “Uncle, I also have something I want to tell you.”
Yang Heping looked at him.
“Uncle, I want to move out tomorrow.”