"Cooking? Did you and Jigang eat those pancakes I sent over yesterday?" Bai Xiuzhen asked as soon as she stepped inside.
As the saying goes, gifts make slaves and beggars of their takers. By bringing this up first, even if the two families had previously had their disagreements, Yan Xue couldn’t very well give her the cold shoulder. That would make the conversation easier.
True enough, Yan Xue didn’t rebuff her. Instead, she smiled and opened the cupboard. "There are two left. If your family doesn’t have enough, Auntie, you can take them back. I still have some sweet potatoes here."
Bai Xiuzhen’s carefully prepared words caught in her throat, her train of thought disrupted. "That’s not what I meant."
She had been the one extending a kindness, but Yan Xue’s response made it seem as though she were stingy—giving something away only to ask for it back.
Yan Xue hadn’t actually intended to return them and promptly put the pancakes back. "Then what brings you here?"
In just those few exchanges, Bai Xiuzhen’s initial air of superiority had already begun to falter. She paused before continuing, "I was flipping through the calendar the other day and realized you’ll soon be turning eighteen. When I was your age, your eldest brother could already crawl around. You ought to start thinking about settling down."
So that was it. Yan Xue couldn’t say she’d seen it coming, but she had suspected as much.
Yan Jigang, who had been hiding in the inner room, couldn’t resist peeking out halfway at this.
Bai Xiuzhen paid him no mind and kept talking to Yan Xue. "There’s a fine young man—exceptionally good-looking. I’m sure you’d take a liking to him once you meet. What’s more, his family is very understanding. They’ve even agreed to let you bring Jigang along. A family like that is hard to come by."
An orphaned girl with a younger brother in tow—marrying her would mean taking on the role of a father right away. Such a girl wasn’t exactly an easy match.
And then there was the matter of her parents’ deaths. To the superstitious, it hinted at an ill-fated destiny. Though the campaign against the "Four Olds" had been raging for years, rural folks still clung to such beliefs. Who knew if she might bring misfortune to others?
Yan Xue lowered her head, her expression troubled, her voice soft. "Auntie, I’m still in mourning."
"This is the new society—who cares about such things anymore? Besides, it’s been over a year already. If you wait three years, you’ll be an old maid by then, and the best chances will be long gone."
Bai Xiuzhen waved it off. "I’m only thinking of how hard it must be for you, raising Jigang all by yourself. Having a man in the house would give you some stability, lighten your load. Don’t go out these next few days. Set a time to meet him, and if it works out, you can marry by year’s end."
She had even planned the wedding date, acting more urgent than Yan Xue, who was shouldering the burdens of raising her brother, supporting the household, and paying off debts.
Yan Xue said nothing more, bowing her head further. "Let’s wait a little longer. I… I’m not even eighteen yet."
Seeing no outright refusal, Bai Xiuzhen took it as shyness. "Fine, a few more days won’t hurt. Just think it over. The sooner you marry, the sooner you’ll have some relief, won’t you? I won’t keep you from your cooking."
The moment she left, Yan Jigang rushed out from the inner room and tugged at Yan Xue’s sleeve.
The boy looked up at her, his clear eyes filled with worry and concern, but he pressed his lips together and stayed silent.
Yan Xue pinched his cheek. "It’s not like they’re finding you a wife. Why so anxious?"
Yan Jigang’s face flushed instantly.
With her little shadow trailing behind, Yan Xue returned to the stove to finish cooking. "The man Auntie’s introducing must be quite handsome."
Yan Jigang blinked, seemingly puzzled by her remark.
Yan Xue explained leisurely, "When someone’s trying to sell something, they’ll keep emphasizing its best qualities and avoid mentioning the flaws. Auntie’s so insistent on me meeting him because she’s confident I’ll like him. Otherwise, all her effort would be for nothing."
Though Yan Jigang dared not leave the house and had never attended school, losing his mother and then his father had forced him to mature faster than other children his age.
As Yan Xue spoke, his face showed signs of contemplation. "Then… what about the rest…?"
"If Auntie didn’t mention it, there must be shortcomings. The question is what they are."
Yan Xue had always been pragmatic. Her past life had left her no choice. "Most things in life don’t go the way we want. What matters is knowing what you truly desire. Hold onto that, and let go of the rest—because sometimes, you have no choice."
This time, Yan Jigang fell silent for much longer. It was unclear how much he understood.
Finally, he asked, "So… you’ll meet him?"
"If the conditions are right, there’s no harm in it." Yan Xue smiled, glancing toward the western side of the main house. "But first, I’ll need to do some digging."
That was why she had bought herself a few days by citing her age.
For someone like Yan Jigang, a change of environment would be best—somewhere he could relax, free from nightmares and the taunts of others.
In this era, it wasn’t realistic for a woman to remain unmarried forever. It wasn’t about being unable to provide—it was about the vulnerability of a lone woman, especially in the countryside, where unwanted attention was inevitable.
When her birth father had passed, her mother, left alone with her, had nearly fallen victim to an intruder—her own uncle, no less…
With their son involved, her grandparents had refused to stand up for her mother, even accusing her of seducing their son. That was why her mother had remarried so far away, even changing Yan Xue’s surname to sever ties completely.
If Yan Xue had been born in the 1950s or after the reforms, she might have sought opportunities in the city.
But this was 1969. Even urban youths were being sent to the countryside as educated youths. Without marriage, she couldn’t even leave this village.
Yan Xue scooped the stir-fried vegetables onto a plate and said to Yan Jigang, "You eat first. I’ll take some to Second Grandma." She fetched another bowl from the cupboard.
To her surprise, Yan Jigang placed the plate inside, then hurried back out to join her.
In winter, the northern windows in this region were often bricked up with mud to block the wind, leaving only the southern ones for light.
The siblings skirted around the back of the house while their uncle’s family was eating and knocked three times on the western window of the main house. Soon after, the sound of a latch being lifted came from within.
The elderly widow of the Yan family had lost her husband young—barely in her twenties—and both her children had died early. She had lived with her brother-in-law’s family (Yan Jigang’s grandfather) ever since.
Back then, the village had whispered that she brought misfortune to husbands and sons. She herself had grown wary and never remarried, only symbolically adopting her brother-in-law’s second son—Yan Xue’s stepfather, Yan Baishan—as her heir.
But it was merely a formality, ensuring her property wouldn’t fall into outsiders’ hands. Yan Baishan had never lived with his nominal mother, remaining with his birth parents instead. The old woman seemed unbothered, living quietly in the Yan household like a ghost—unseen, unheard.
Previously, Yan Xue hadn't paid much attention, but after gaining an extra stretch of life experience and looking back on her interactions with this honorary grandmother, she realized the old woman was sharp as a tack.
"Grandma, have you eaten yet? I just made salted fish stew with radish." She passed the bowl through the slightly open window.
The dish wasn't overly greasy, but the salted fish, cut into sections, had been fried to a light golden brown, paired with radish cubes the size of dice—just the sight of it made one's mouth water.
The elderly woman, known for her unhurried way of speaking, replied, "If you made it, you should eat it yourself. Why bring it to me?"
"You've helped make clothes and shoes for Jigang and me all these years. With my needlework skills, we'd be running around naked otherwise."
Yan Xue had soft, gentle features, and when she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, making her especially endearing. She also had a sweet way with words. The elderly woman's face, prematurely aged, visibly brightened. "Nonsense," she chided.
Then, lowering her voice, she asked, "Your aunt just went over to your place, didn't she?"
"Knew I couldn't hide it from you," Yan Xue replied, unsurprised.
The old woman didn’t beat around the bush. "You’ve been away these past few days. Your aunt’s distant cousin, the one married in Duogu Village, came by twice."
No further explanation was needed—Yan Xue understood immediately.
Duogu, as the name suggested, meant "piled-up stones." It was a notoriously poor village in the region, with barren land yielding little harvest, and even the mountain stones were of no use. Year after year, they failed to meet state-assigned quotas. Not only were outside girls unwilling to marry into the village, but even local girls had fled. With fewer than a hundred households, the village had over thirty bachelors.
If poverty was the reason they were willing to let her bring her younger brother along, it made sense.
But then the elderly woman glanced at Yan Jigang, clearly with more to say.
Yan Xue immediately covered her brother’s ears.
The old woman’s voice dropped even lower. "I know the family she mentioned. They have five sons. A few years back, the eldest got married. Three days after the wedding, the bride went back to her parents' home—and never returned."
Only three days before calling it quits—had the husband beaten her, or…?
Before Yan Xue could finish the thought, the old woman added meaningfully, "Someone saw the second son’s back covered in bloody scratches."
The eldest son married, the second son’s back covered in scratches…
Yan Xue nearly gasped. No wonder she didn’t want Jigang to hear. "They’re not trying to set me up with the eldest, are they?"
"No, they’re introducing you to the third son. A few years ago, during the famine, the eldest went to the island to gather seafood. On the way back, the boat sank."
The incident was well-known locally. Yan Xue had been young at the time but had still heard about it. Rumor had it the boat started leaking on the return trip, and the captain told everyone to dump their buckets. But the passengers, terrified of starvation, refused to part with their haul. In the end, over twenty people drowned—one family even lost two members.
But even if it wasn’t the eldest, the third son was still a risk, wasn’t it?
She couldn’t gamble her future on the assumption they’d only be interested in their sister-in-law.
And from what she’d heard, the second son was still unmarried, with two younger brothers who’d just come of age…
On the way home, Yan Jigang kept stealing glances at his sister, clearly wanting to ask but unsure if he should.
Yan Xue had consumed plenty of scandalous stories online in her past life, but this still felt explosive. She didn’t address him until dinner, when he remained distracted. Choosing her words carefully, she asked, "How would you feel about having four brothers-in-law?"
"Four?" Yan Jigang nearly choked, then shook his head vehemently.
"Me neither. So we’ll have to find another way."
So when Bai Xiuzhen came by later, asking if Yan Xue was ready, she made excuses to buy more time.
Bai Xiuzhen wasn’t pleased. Back home, she complained to her husband, Yan Songshan. "Who does she think she is, some nobleman’s daughter? Acting all picky when we’re just trying to set her up."
Yan Songshan frowned. "You don’t think she knows, do you?"
Bai Xiuzhen wasn’t worried. "What could she possibly know? Who’d bother telling a teenage girl these things? Besides, it’s all just rumors—nothing solid."
That might be true, but Yan Songshan still felt uneasy.
Ever since Yan Baishan’s death, Yan Xue had given him an odd feeling—though he couldn’t pinpoint why.
"We need another safeguard," he muttered, his frown deepening. "Doesn’t she still owe the production team money? Talk to the family—have them repay it first."
With that debt hanging over her, whether she agreed to the match or not wouldn’t be up to her.
"Have them repay it? But what about what they promised me before…?" Bai Xiuzhen trailed off.
Whether they had the money or not wasn’t her problem.
Yan Songshan shot her a look. "If they can’t, forget it. It’s not like they’re our only option."
He didn’t seem particularly invested in making this marriage happen, even changing the subject. "Jizu’s been seeing that girl for half a year now, hasn’t he?"
At the mention of their eldest son, Bai Xiuzhen’s expression soured. "Exactly. If we had the space, they could marry by year’s end."
The Yan family’s courtyard was small, and with so many children, there was no room to house a newlywed couple. They’d have to build another place—expensive and troublesome.
And with three more sons waiting their turn, spending everything now would leave nothing for the others.
The thought made Bai Xiuzhen even more eager to get rid of Yan Xue and her brother. Wrapping a scarf around her head, she headed out. "I’ll go talk to them. If they’re marrying her off, they can spare the money."
Just as she stepped out of the main house, a small donkey clip-clopped to a stop outside the gate.
The rider was familiar—Yan Xue’s mother’s cousin, married into the Shan family village about ten li away. She’d been the one to introduce Yan Xue’s mother to the Yan family.
Though only ten years older than Yan Xue’s mother, she had bound feet, making long trips difficult. Usually, people visited her; she rarely came to the Yan household.
Bai Xiuzhen was still puzzling over her arrival when the tiny-footed woman dismounted, greeting her with a smile.
"Auntie, you’re home? Perfect. I’ve found a match for Xue—thought you could help weigh in."
