Because Little Chen was there, He Lang didn’t go see them off. But on this day, Gu Yuwei ca again, and as luck would have it, He Lang was ho.
When the main gate opened, Gu Yuwei jumped in surprise at the sight of He Lang. She took a step back. Seeing him again after so many years, he still seed to have that sa old devil-may-care attitude, yet he had also changed. ’That’s it,’ she realized. ’He’s more mature, but his gaze is much sharper.’
He Lang stared at Gu Yuwei. He hadn’t said a word, but his gaze alone was enough to make her flustered.
But the thought of Xiao Yu—her hope for the rest of her life—gave her the courage to speak. "I’m looking for my daughter."
He Lang said flatly, "Your daughter isn’t here."
Gu Yuwei said urgently, "You’re lying! I know Xiao Yu is here."
He Lang stepped aside. "If you don’t believe , go in and look for yourself."
Gu Yuwei looked into the courtyard, but she just couldn’t bring herself to step inside.
"You—you tell her to co out."
"Heh. I told you she’s not here, but you don’t believe . I let you go in and look for yourself, but you’re too scared. So what exactly do you want?"
Gu Yuwei insisted, "I just want to find my daughter."
He Lang watched her coldly. "Daughter? Didn’t you run away? By doing that, you abandoned her. And now you co back, saying you want her? Is it because He Ze is dead, so there’s no one to drag you down anymore? Or do you just figure your skin is thick enough to ignore what anyone thinks? When He Ze died, his daughter beca an orphan. She was on the verge of starving to death. My parents only took her in because they felt sorry for her. Now that she’s all grown up, you show up again to demand her back. Where do you get the nerve? I don’t know what other skills you’ve picked up over the years, but your shalessness has certainly grown along with your wrinkles."
Gu Yuwei was no match for He Lang in an argunt. He was berating her, but instead of getting angry, she just felt a wave of sorrow. Still, she couldn’t back down now.
"Xiao Yu is my daughter. I can pay your parents to thank them for taking her in back then, but my daughter has to co with . I’m her mother. That’s what the law stipulates."
He Lang sneered. "You want to talk to us about the law? Can you even be seen in public with your current identity? Do you think the law would grant custody to a mother who’s an unregistered person, soone with a fabricated identity and household registration?"
At the ntion of her identity, Gu Yuwei froze. It was true—that was her weak spot.
"All the educated youth have been sent back to their hotowns. I can get my household registration back," Gu Yuwei said.
"Then co talk to us about the law after you’ve verified your identity."
SLAM! The door shut.
Standing at the closed door, Gu Yuwei couldn’t dwell on her sorrow. ’What He Lang said makes sense,’ she thought. ’I have to get my identity back sooner or later. Tis have changed; it shouldn’t be too hard to transfer my household registration back to Beijing City. After all, I’m originally from there. But it’s probably going to cost .’
Gu Yuwei hurried away.
「Back in the old family ho in Black Province.」
Little Chen and the others had arrived. Mr. and Mrs. He ca over specifically to ask about Xiao Yang’s marriage prospects.
Gao Cuiyun explained to them, "Little Chen is the eldest, so normally he’d be the first to get married. But I’ve been urging him for the last two years, and he just says he hasn’t t the right person. He insists on establishing his career before starting a family, and I can’t argue with him. Now that Xiao Yang and Xiao Ming are older too, I’m thinking we should just get one married off when we have the chance."
Mr. He nodded. "Let’s not worry about the order. The boys are all around the sa age, and they’ll all have to get married sooner or later. It doesn’t matter who’s first."
Gao Cuiyun smiled. "As long as you and Mother agree, that’s all that matters. My sister-in-law ntioned this girl to . She’s from our village, so I know of her. She’s good-looking, nineteen years old, and very capable—a hard worker both at ho and in the fields. There is one drawback, though. Her family situation isn’t ideal. Her parents passed away a long ti ago, and now it’s just her and her grandfather. I didn’t think that was a real issue, so I took Xiao Yang to et her, and they really hit it off. But when we talked about marriage, the girl had one condition: after they wed, she wants Xiao Yang to live with her at her ho."
Mrs. He imdiately objected. "How could that work? Isn’t that the sa as him marrying into her family? Absolutely not."
Mr. He frowned as well.
Standing nearby, Xiao Yang grew anxious. "It’s not like that! She doesn’t expect to marry into her family. Chunlan said it’s because her grandfather is getting old, and there’s no one else at ho but the two of them. She’s worried about leaving him alone if she marries and moves out. That’s why she suggested we live at her place after the wedding. Once her grandfather passes away, we’ll move back here. And our children will still have the He surna."
Gao Cuiyun nodded. "Right, that’s exactly what they said. That’s why I couldn’t make the decision by myself and wanted to wait for you to co ho to figure out what to do."
Little Chen asked Xiao Yang, "If you move to her village, what about Mom?"
Xiao Yang replied, "We still have our younger brother, don’t we? And Chunlan said she’ll send a portion of the grain to Mom after every harvest. She won’t neglect her. Besides, I’ll still be around! I’ll co back to see Mom every couple of days."
Mrs. He asked, "Have you t the old man? How’s his health?"
Gao Cuiyun replied, "He seems quite robust for his age. I know the old man; he fought in the war when he was young. He has his own principles for how he talks and acts. He’s a good man. In fact, that’s part of why I think this marriage could work."
Xiao Yang nodded, agreeing that it could work.
Little Chen shot him a look, unable to watch. ’He’s only t her a few tis,’ he thought with exasperation, ’and he’s already practically a mber of their family.’
Mr. He glanced at Xiao Yang, then said to Gao Cuiyun, "Alright, let’s invite the grandfather and granddaughter to our ho another day. We’ll et them before we decide anything."
Gao Cuiyun nodded in agreent.
Xiao Yang rubbed his chin, his eyes darting around thoughtfully. Little Chen called him to step outside.
"Big Bro."
"Can we find another one? I can ask around and get you an introduction to soone else."
Xiao Yang grew flustered. "How could I do that?"
"You’ve really fallen for her?"
Xiao Yang nodded and broke into a goofy grin. "Chunlan is really pretty."
Little Chen was exasperated. "So, her being pretty is enough to make you willing to beco a live-in son-in-law?"
Xiao Yang clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I already told you it’s not like being a live-in son-in-law. Why do you keep saying that?"
"It’s close enough."
Xiao Yang retorted unhappily, "It’s totally different. I just won’t be living at ho. Nothing else changes."
"That’s easy for you to say, but what if Mom suddenly gets sick? We’d have to go looking for you. I’m not around, and I can’t rely on Ziming—he’s still just a kid."
Xiao Yang laughed. "Co on, Big Bro, Ziming is a teenager now. What’s so unreliable about him? He’d be heartbroken if he heard you say that. I think you’re just sad to see go. It’s not like I’m moving that far away. Besides, Grandma, Grandpa, and our uncles are all in the village too. It’s only a short walk ho. I swear I’ll co back every couple of days, alright?" He even raised his hand as if taking an oath.
Little Chen couldn’t help but laugh. ’Look at him,’ he thought, ’does he really look like soone about to get married?’ In fact, Little Chen himself found it hard to believe they had all reached the age for settling down and starting families.
「Three days later.」
Gao Cuiyun’s mother arrived with Wang Chunlan and her grandfather.
User Comments
0 comments from readers