“Hongxia, Mingliang’s here! Quick, come on in!”
Aunt Zhou had been thinking constantly about Zhou Hongxia’s marriage, and had been scheming to match her up with Li Mingliang.
But Zhou Hongxia was always traveling from place to place with the drilling crew and rarely came home, so Aunt Zhou had never found the right opportunity to bring it up.
Today, Zhou Hongxia had returned, and Li Mingliang had come along with her. Aunt Zhou was so delighted that she could hardly stop grinning.
“Come on in!”
Li Mingliang pushed his bicycle into the courtyard.
When Chuntao saw the two of them, she smiled and went over to greet them as well. “Hongxia, Brother Mingliang!”
After parking and securing his bicycle, Li Mingliang untied the mesh bag hanging from the handlebars and looked up at Chuntao.
When Chuntao had first returned from Dongshan, Li Mingliang had come to visit. At the time, she had not yet finished her postpartum confinement and had been terribly weak. Today, however, she looked much healthier than she had then.
“Sister-in-law Chuntao!” Li Mingliang said with a smile. “Are the babies doing all right?”
Chuntao nodded with a smile. “They’re doing just fine. Come inside and sit down!”
Aunt Zhou stepped forward to take the things from Li Mingliang and cheerfully added, “Both babies are as good as can be!”
Zhou Hongxia came over and reached for the baby in Chuntao’s arms. “Second Aunt, let me hold her!”
As soon as Zhou Hongxia took Nuannuan into her arms, she stroked the baby’s soft little body and gazed at her rosy, delicate face, utterly enchanted.
“Nuannuan, do you still recognize Big Sister?”
Nuannuan’s tiny lips moved slightly, and her dark eyes blinked.
Her gaze fixed itself on Zhou Hongxia’s face. The corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly, and her eyes curved into little crescents.
“She’s so beautiful—just like a doll!” Zhou Hongxia exclaimed again and again.
The two women sat down in the main room and chatted with Chuntao, while Aunt Zhou turned and went to the kitchen to make three bowls of egg tea.
She brought out two bowls first, handing one to Li Mingliang and the other to Chuntao.
“Hongxia, yours is still in the kitchen. Go get it yourself.”
Zhou Hongxia rose to fetch her egg tea, and Aunt Zhou followed her into the kitchen.
“Hongxia, did you take leave from the drilling crew?”
“The old oil well has started pumping steadily. They’ve found another one over at Nangang, so I came back with the crew.”
Aunt Zhou was even happier when she heard that. “That’s wonderful! You’ll be closer to home now. Since you’re back today, are you staying the night?”
“Mm-hmm. I took leave, so I can stay home for a few days.”
Since she would be home for several days, there was no need to rush. The words that had nearly reached Aunt Zhou’s lips were swallowed back down, and she changed what she had intended to say.
“Take it to the main room and drink it there. I’m going to the vegetable garden to pick some greens. The two of you stay here for lunch.”
Zhou Hongxia and Li Mingliang had come straight from Nangang to visit Chuntao and had not yet returned to their own homes.
“Grandma, I’ll go home for a look in a little while, then come back at noon to help you cook.”
As she watched Zhou Hongxia, Aunt Zhou’s heart filled with delight.
That girl grew prettier every day. She had the height, the looks, everything. Standing beside Li Mingliang, the two of them looked perfectly matched.
If they could truly end up together, it would be an excellent marriage.
They planned to eat lunch at Aunt Zhou’s house, and Zhou Xiaobao, who was especially attached to Zhou Hongxia, came along too.
When lunch was nearly ready, Aunt Zhou called out to Zhou Xiaobao, who was circling Jianshe.
“Xiaobao, go call your parents and your brother over for lunch!”
Zhou Zhiguo and the others had just returned from the fields, exhausted to the point of weakness. The moment they stepped through the door, Zhou Xiaobao came rushing in.
“Dad, Mom, Big Brother, my big sister is back! Grandma says you should go over for lunch!”
The whole family had not seen Zhou Hongxia in a long time and had missed her terribly. As soon as they heard she was home, their exhaustion seemed to vanish. They quickly washed their faces and hands and followed him over.
Aunt Zhou had deliberately slaughtered a large rooster that day. She had also boiled a dozen or two salted eggs, then added dried vegetables and fresh greens picked from the fields. Altogether, she had prepared seven or eight generous dishes.
The entire family gathered around the table. The meal was lively, filled with laughter and conversation.
Chuntao wore a smile, but her eyes grew faintly sore. She thought of Zhou Zhijun, who was working on a reservoir more than a hundred li away, and felt a heavy ache in her heart.
He had undergone surgery so she would not have to suffer, and before he had even fully recovered, he had gone off to work on the reservoir. What if he ended up with a lasting health problem?
These past few days, she had dreamed again and again of Zhou Zhijun gritting his teeth and working hard at the construction site.
She wanted to go see him, but with two babies so young, she simply could not leave.
“Second Aunt, have some vegetables!” Zhou Hongxia put a piece of chicken into her bowl, finally pulling Chuntao back from her thoughts.
“Mm, I can serve myself. You eat,” Chuntao said, forcing a faint smile.
As soon as Zhou Hongxia had arrived home, she had asked about Zhou Zhijun, and Chuntao had told her that he had gone to work on the reservoir.
When she saw Chuntao lost in thought just now, Zhou Hongxia immediately guessed what was on her mind.
Her second uncle loved her second aunt so dearly. How could her second aunt not miss him?
At the dinner table, Zhou Hongxia avoided mentioning Zhou Zhijun. Instead, she talked about the drilling crew and asked about the farmwork and how the crops were growing.
As they chatted, the subject gradually turned to the marriages of Zhou Xiaowei and Zhou Hongxia.
“You two aren’t getting any younger. It’s time to start looking for spouses.” Aunt Zhou’s gaze swept over Zhou Xiaowei and Zhou Hongxia, while the corner of her eye secretly stole a glance at Li Mingliang.
“Grandma, that sort of thing depends on fate. You can’t force it, and there’s no point rushing,” Zhou Xiaowei said nonchalantly.
“You always have an excuse! If you don’t marry soon, won’t you be holding up your sister? Hongxia isn’t young anymore either. If she meets someone suitable, she ought to settle down!”
Zhou Hongxia’s face flushed at Aunt Zhou’s words. “Grandma, I’m still young! I don’t want to tie myself down at home so early!”
There was some truth in what she said, and some that was not. If she met the right man, she would gladly tie herself to him for the rest of her life. But if he was the wrong one, nothing would make it worthwhile.
Besides coming home to see her family, she had taken this leave because she wanted to meet Han Wenke.
After Han Wenke had broken off his engagement with his former fiancée, Zhou Hongxia’s hopes had begun to stir.
She had asked someone to deliver a pair of insoles and a letter to Han Wenke. Later, she wrote him two more letters, but she never received a reply. Even so, Zhou Hongxia had not given up.
On the day Zhou Zhijun’s wedding banquet was held, she had made a special trip back to the village. For the sake of her future, she had set aside her pride and gone all the way to Qingshan Street to look for Han Wenke, hoping to tell him her feelings face-to-face.
If he was willing, the two of them could start seeing each other. If he did not like her, she would finally give up for good and stop pining for him.
Unfortunately, things had not gone according to plan. The people at the commune veterinary station had said that Han Wenke had gone away for training and would not be back for another month or two.
She had counted the days on her fingers, hoping he would return soon so she could meet him.
More than two months had passed in the blink of an eye. She figured Han Wenke ought to be back by now, so she had taken advantage of her leave to return home and find him. She wanted to make her feelings clear once and for all. Whether it worked out or not, at least she would have no regrets.
Now, as Aunt Zhou urged her to marry, Zhou Hongxia’s thoughts were filled with Han Wenke.
“Men should marry and women should wed! You have to start a family before you can build a career. How can that be called tying yourself down?”
Aunt Zhou smiled and looked at Li Mingliang. “Mingliang, you’re well-educated. Don’t you think this old woman is right?”
The last time he had visited, Li Mingliang had understood the meaning behind Aunt Zhou’s words. Today, he knew exactly why she was asking him this.
“You’re right, Auntie!” he said, quickly nodding with a smile.
Aunt Zhou suddenly changed tack. “Mingliang, whenever you get married, you must tell me. I’ll be sure to attend your wedding feast!”
“Of course!”
“I’m getting old. All I hope for is that my grandsons and granddaughters will settle down and start families soon. Then I’ll be content!”
Zhou Zhiguo and Wang Haiying chimed in as well, saying that if they waited any longer, all the good prospects would be snapped up by someone else.
The family ate and chatted for over an hour.
After the meal, Li Mingliang didn’t stay long. He said his farewells and left, while Zhou Hongxia walked him as far as the main road at the eastern end of the village.
As she made her way back, she spotted Wang Xiaohong approaching from a distance with a basket hooked over her arm. Her face was expressionless.
“Xiaohong, heading to the fields?” Zhou Hongxia greeted her.
Wang Xiaohong merely gave a faint “Hmm,” without even lifting her eyelids, and walked straight toward the fields.
Zhou Hongxia’s heart sank. Xiaohong had misunderstood.
Watching Wang Xiaohong’s icy retreating figure, Zhou Hongxia stood rooted to the spot, her emotions in turmoil.
But what troubled her even more was—
Had Han Wenke found someone yet?
No matter what, this time she had to see him in person!
