The day Zhou Xiaowei left home to join the army, Zhou Hongxia was away working and had no idea what had happened at home.
It was not until she returned for the New Year that she learned her brother had enlisted.
Joining the army was a good thing, and she was sincerely happy for Zhou Xiaowei.
But the siblings had been apart for so long, and her longing for him wound around her heart like a creeping vine.
“Hongxia, look! This is the letter your brother sent home!”
After finishing their soup, the whole family gathered around the fire to keep warm. As soon as Zhou Xiaowei was mentioned, everyone’s eyes reddened.
Wang Haiying rummaged beneath everything in the wooden chest and pulled out a crumpled letter, carefully handing it to Zhou Hongxia.
Seeing the familiar handwriting, Zhou Hongxia’s nose stung. She held back with all her might, refusing to let the tears fall.
“Mmm. Brother said the military camp is a good place. It not only builds up your body, but also steels your will! The training is hard, but the days are fulfilling…” As she spoke, the corners of her eyes and brows lifted with unconcealed delight.
“Getting some training is a good thing. Since he’s gone, he needs to settle down and do his best.” Zhou Zhiguo tapped the ash from his pipe and looked up at Zhou Hongxia.
“Your brother will be gone for at least three years, so his marriage will have to wait. You’re not getting any younger, either. If you meet a suitable family, settle down with them. You can’t keep putting it off!”
Zhou Hongxia’s fingers tightened around the letter. She had known this was coming. The moment she returned, her parents would bring up the subject.
“Something like that depends on fate,” she replied softly.
Wang Haiying quickly joined in. “There are plenty of people asking around about you. While you’re home these few days before the New Year, go meet some of them. Maybe you’ll find someone suitable. That’s how fate comes about, isn’t it? You can’t just sit at home waiting and expect a good match to appear…”
The day before, as soon as Zhou Hongxia arrived home, she had carried gifts to visit her grandparents. The two elderly people had also kept bringing up her marriage.
Her grandmother had even taken her hand and asked whether she was getting along with Li Mingliang, and whether she had secretly started seeing anyone.
Li Mingliang was a good man, but she regarded him only as an older brother and had no romantic feelings for him at all.
She could tell that Li Mingliang felt the same way about her.
So Zhou Hongxia had answered honestly, “Grandma, Brother Mingliang and I are just colleagues. There’s nothing else between us.”
Aunt Zhou understood that matters of the heart could not be forced. It was the same with Zhou Zhijun. When he was young, plenty of girls had thrown themselves at him, yet he had never been moved.
But when he met the woman he truly loved, he had not needed her to approach him. He had willingly given her his whole heart and gone after her himself.
Zhou Xiaowei and Zhou Hongxia had inherited their looks from him, as well as his stubborn, single-minded nature.
Aunt Zhou sighed. “Marriage is a decision for a lifetime. You truly can’t force it.
“But married couples have to spend time adjusting to each other. Maybe they won’t feel much at first, but after rubbing along together for long enough, they may become so attached that neither can bear to be without the other!”
Her grandmother’s words made sense, but Zhou Hongxia did not want to gamble her lifelong happiness on the hope that two people might grow compatible. If they failed to adjust, her whole life could be ruined.
Even though she knew she and Han Wenke were already impossible, her heart still belonged to him. She could not let go.
There was no way she could tell anyone that. Faced with her parents’ earnest persuasion, she could only agree readily.
“All right.”
She simply did not want her parents or grandparents worrying themselves sick and spending the New Year in misery. As for herself, she had not held out even the slightest hope.
Over the next few days, the villagers were all busy going to the New Year market and preparing holiday goods. Wang Haiying alone devoted herself wholeheartedly to taking her daughter on blind dates.
Zhou Hongxia was beautiful and tall, and she had a stable government job. Ordinary families would never have dared to ask for her hand.
The men introduced to her were either government employees, military officers, or legitimate businessmen. Any one of them would have been an excellent choice.
But Zhou Hongxia already had someone living in her heart. No matter how good the others were, there was no room for them there.
Not one of the young men she met failed to like her, yet she found that none of them felt right.
The whole family grew frantic. Wang Haiying tugged at her and kept talking. “That military officer was so handsome and full of spirit! And that middle-school teacher was so refined, with such a good temperament…”
Her daughter was outstanding, and the men introduced to her were all exceptional as well. Wang Haiying was so anxious that she stamped her feet.
“What’s wrong with any of those men? You’ve become too picky!”
Zhou Zhiguo had not gone with them to the blind dates, but after hearing Wang Haiying describe the candidates again and again, he also felt that they all seemed reliable.
“You still have choices now. If you keep turning people down, the good families won’t wait around for you!”
Aunt Zhou was even more worried. She came over every day to ask about the latest developments, arriving full of hope each time and leaving with drooping shoulders.
“That girl is just like her brother! She’s met plenty of men, and every one of them liked her. But she didn’t take a liking to a single one!”
After returning from Zhou Zhiguo’s house, Aunt Zhou could not help grumbling.
“Mother, perhaps Hongxia already has someone in her heart.” Zhou Zhijun walked into the kitchen carrying a bundle of firewood and happened to hear her. He spoke gently.
Aunt Zhou froze. “Someone? Whoever can catch her eye must be no ordinary young man. But why has she never mentioned him?”
“Maybe she has her reasons for not saying anything.” Zhou Zhijun thought for a moment, then advised, “Don’t rush Hongxia’s marriage. A girl like her won’t have trouble finding a husband.”
Aunt Zhou suddenly slapped her forehead, as if she had figured everything out.
“How did I not think of that? That girl must be hiding someone in her heart, just like you did back then! You had Chuntao in your heart, so you couldn’t spare even a glance for anyone else!”
A gentle smile curved Zhou Zhijun’s lips. “Mother, the best things are worth waiting for.”
“But she’s a girl. It’s not the same as with you!” Aunt Zhou made up her mind to find a chance to question Zhou Hongxia properly and discover which young man had managed to capture her heart.
Just then, Zhou Hongxia came in carrying a blue cloth bag.
“Grandma, are the steamed buns ready?”
“Hongxia, you’re here!” The moment Aunt Zhou saw the smile on her face, the wrinkles between her brows smoothed out, and her face blossomed with joy.
Zhou Hongxia lifted the cloth bag in her hand. “Grandma, I bought two new outfits for Jianshe and Nuannuan. I brought them over so they can try them on. If they don’t fit, I’ll go exchange them this afternoon.”
“You’ve already made them new clothes for the New Year, and now you’ve spent more money on them!” Aunt Zhou scolded her lightly, though her heart was sweet with happiness.
Jianshe and Nuannuan were the darlings of the entire family. How could their grandmother not be delighted whenever she saw them?
Zhou Hongxia carried the bag into the east room and put the new clothes on the two children. They fit perfectly.
“Just right—not too big and not too small!” Zhou Hongxia said, beaming as she looked at the two adorable children.
“They already had new clothes made for the New Year, and now you’ve gone and spent money again,” Chuntao said with a smile from the side.
Jianshe had only just learned to walk and was too mischievous to sit still. As soon as he put on his new clothes, he began running wildly around the room. Before long, he had gotten dust all over himself.
Nuannuan’s legs were still too weak for her to stand steadily. She could only hold on to the wall and shuffle along slowly. Most of the time, she obediently sat in the bedclothes, chewing on the cloth doll Chuntao had made for her.
Now that she had put on her new clothes, she abandoned the doll. Her little hands gently stroked the patterns on the fabric, her eyes curving into bright little crescents. Her tiny mouth moved up and down as she babbled happily.
“You little clever girl. You already know how to show off your pretty clothes at such a young age!” Chuntao laughed, gently tapping her cheek.
“Your big sister bought these new clothes for you. Come on, call her Big Sister.”
“Sis… sis…” Nuannuan’s eyes never left the new clothes, but her little mouth clearly called out the two words.
“Oh, our Nuannuan really is a clever little thing! She’s not even a year old and already knows how to call her sister!”
Zhou Hongxia excitedly lifted her from the bed and kissed her soft little cheek. “What a clever girl! She isn’t even a year old, and she’s already so good with words!”
“Isn’t she, though? She can already say Grandpa, Grandma, Daddy, Mommy, big brother, and little brother. And now she can say sister, too.”
Aunt Zhou carried several freshly steamed vegetable buns into the main room. The moment she came in, she heard this and was overjoyed.
She set the buns on the table and called out to Chuntao and Zhou Hongxia, “They’ve just been steamed. Eat them while they’re hot.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Little Jianshe toddled over to the square table. His little hand grabbed one of the piping-hot vegetable buns. His brows drew tightly together from the heat, yet he clutched it stubbornly and refused to let go.
“Oh, you little rascal—you’re just like your father, so greedy!”
Seeing this, Aunt Zhou hurried over with a laugh. “It’s still hot, sweetheart. Grandma will blow on it to cool it down before you eat it!”
Little Jianshe paid no attention. He turned and clattered off toward the inner room.
When he reached the bed, he held the hot bun out toward Nuannuan and cried, “Ah, ah,” signaling that his sister should eat it.
Nuannuan reached out to take it. The moment her fingertips touched the scalding bun, she jerked her little hand back. Her eyes instantly reddened, and her lips puckered as she looked ready to cry.
Zhou Hongxia watched the two adorable little ones. Her heart suddenly softened, and, for some inexplicable reason, a dull ache rose within her as well.
