126. 126 Dissonant

Xiao Yuan left school in the summer of 1986. That winter, Er Ya was admitted to school and was studying for a master's degree. At this time, she was 28 years old and was still dating Cai Zhiran. However, Su Yu did not know about the marriage. So she came here to ask Er Ya out.

"Is Ping An getting married?" Er Ya asked.

“That’s the idea. His girlfriend took him home to meet his parents, and she’ll probably bring her back this winter. His dad and I came here to see if we should buy another house or renovate the one we bought before. We’re going back here for Chinese New Year this year.”

"That's great. I didn't expect Ping An to act so quickly. How's Xiao Yuan?"

Su Yu shook her head. "Don't rush him. He'll tell his family if he's pregnant. If he hasn't, it means he's not pregnant yet. He's 24, still young, no rush. What about you? What's his family saying? Have they given their approval yet? You two have been dating for a few years now, haven't you?"

“It’s been three years.” Er Ya felt a pang of sadness, but forced a smile and said, “I’m not in a hurry. It’s fate that we can get married. If we can’t form a family, it’s because I haven’t met the right person yet. I have an education and a salary now. When I graduate with a master’s degree, my salary will increase a lot. Getting married or not is fine with me.”

Seeing no sympathy, anxiety, or anger on the woman's face, she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her heart, like a hammer blow to the very tip of her tongue, making her want to cry. Er Ya cupped her face in her hands, ran a hand through her hair, and when she spoke again, the smile was gone, her nose was slightly red, and she said with a nasal tone, "Sigh, thank goodness you didn't pity me. It's so annoying. My sister and Xiao Hu, every time they mention Cai Zhiran, they get so angry they want to bite him to death, but when they meet, they cautiously probe his attitude. My colleagues who know about my relationship give me advice to my face and laugh at me behind my back."

"Just like you said, you have an education and a salary, so even if you don't get married, you won't have to worry about making a living. Just like some people get married and some people get divorced, of course there are also people who don't get married. This is not an anomaly. Just like Xiaoyuan, I support him whether he gets married or not."

“I’ve benefited a lot from being with him. He’s a gentle person who tolerates my sharp temper and bad habits. He’s the one who took care of my health, and I’m very healthy now. His parents are also cultured people. They didn’t make things difficult for me even though they didn’t approve of me. His father even gave me a lot of useful advice.” Er Ya bit her lip and said somewhat embarrassedly, “The main problem is his mother. I’m just an ordinary girl from the countryside. My dad and Er Bao went to jail, which was all my fault. My mom also ran away with someone else. Cai Zhiran’s family is clean. If he marries me, his descendants will be affected by me. I think he’s probably hesitant about it.”

"You're exceptionally talented, even more resilient than Xiao Yuan and Ping An. Cai Zhiran's attraction to you must stem from your character," Su Yu said, sizing up the girl with delicate features and a decisive, efficient demeanor. "Three years ago, you were sallow and thin, far less attractive than you are now. This shows he likes your personality. Some men are domineering and like pretty, charming girls, while others are gentle and sensitive and admire women who can control them. Your past experiences have cultivated your strong, capable, and assertive personality; you have leadership qualities. Your boyfriend probably loves your type." Su Yu encouraged her, saying, "Your boyfriend is lucky and comes from a good family. If you two were in different circumstances, he might not have endured as much hardship as you did, managing to escape and raise your siblings. So don't underestimate yourself. You're very charming. Even if you can't be with Cai Zhiran, other men will be attracted to you."

Er Ya's face turned red. She felt that she was not as good as Aunt Su said. Her ability to successfully study, escape from home, and bring her older sister and younger brother out was not something she could do alone. Aunt Su, Uncle Ning, and Xiao Yuan and Ping An all played a big role, not only in terms of behavioral assistance, but more importantly, in guiding her.

She rubbed her chest, sighed, and smiled with some relief: "If Cai Zhiran had been born into my family, he might have become another Da Bao. I'll talk to him in a few days and not give him any more chances to waste my youth. I still want to get married and have my own children. If he's not determined to marry me, I'll go find the next man who treats me well."

“Yes, there are countless excellent men out there. If this one isn’t good, we can find another one.” Su Yu agreed that Er Ya should have a serious talk with her boyfriend. A girl doesn’t have many three-year periods worth wasting.

When Er Ya first heard this rhyme, she kept reciting it, and the knot in her heart dissipated. She realized that every time she was in a mental predicament, it was Aunt Su who came to her rescue.

"I really envy Xiaoyuan and Ping'an. I envy Xiaoyuan for being born into such a good family, and I envy Ping'an for being so lucky. I really envy them for being your children. If you were my mom, I would be so happy." She guessed that her facial features must be exaggerated to the point of being distorted. That was good, so that people couldn't tell whether she was telling the truth or not. "Xiaoyuan and Ping'an are so disappointing. If either of them were the same age as me or older than me, I would shamelessly pursue them, catching one after another. It's a pity that they are both younger and more handsome than the other. Whenever I have such thoughts, I feel so ashamed."

Su Yu tilted her head slightly, avoiding her eyes, and smiled as she looked down, saying, "So you don't like people younger than you."

"Yes, the younger boys are a bit immature, it feels like they're raising a younger brother."

“If you weren’t my daughter-in-law, we’d be closer and could have heart-to-heart talks. I don’t like being too close to my daughter-in-law. If you really became my daughter-in-law, you would definitely be very disappointed.” She doesn’t plan to live with her two sons.

Er Ya picked up her teacup and took a sip of cold tea. Her chaotic thoughts rolled down her throat with the tea. This was a one-time thing; she could never mention it again.

"No matter who you marry, you have to send me a letter. I've watched you grow up since you were little. I'll see you off when you get married. I'll prepare your bedding. The cotton in the Northwest is all good cotton, long-staple cotton, very warm." She had already found a craftsman who makes cotton quilts, and she had also found the cotton. She made the cotton quilts for Ping An, Xiao Yuan, and Er Ya's weddings in the Northwest.

"You're so good to me, I'm about to cry." Er Ya blinked a few times before the hot feeling in her eyes subsided.

"The fate between us." She also felt a sense of accomplishment when she saved Er Ya back then. Being needed by someone who was unrelated to the original owner of this body gave her fresh air to breathe, as she was drowning in the quagmire of responsibility, obligation, guilt, and guilt.

Ning Jin asked Ping An where he wanted to live. He felt that the house near the university was a bit out of the way, and it would be better to buy one in the city center. Ping An said that his company would allocate a house after he got married, and before the wedding, he could go back to the house he lived in during university. The water and electricity were still working perfectly, the washing machine hadn't been used much, and he could move in right away without having to tidy up.

"You and Xiaoqi should discuss it. If you want to buy a house in the city, your dad and I will look at some first. If you want to live here, I'll transfer the ownership to you before you get married. Xiaoyuan will be the same as you. Regardless of whether his work unit provides housing or not, your dad and I will buy each of you a house when you two get married. The other houses are for your dad and me to use in our retirement and will be distributed as our inheritance after we pass away." Su Yu had already discussed this with Ning Jin beforehand. Each of their two sons would receive a house for their wedding. If they helped one of them with something like buying a car, the other would receive the same. The houses and savings would be distributed based on their behavior in their old age.

"Mom! What are you saying? What death or inheritance? If you keep talking like this, I don't want the house anymore. Don't be so calculating. It makes me feel like you're guarding against me." Ping An didn't want to be so calculating with her parents.

"It's not that I'm being wary of you, it's just our family's situation..."

"Hehehehe, I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it." Ping An interrupted her, "What's the situation with our family? Everything's fine, a family of four, two elderly people and two children, no different from other families. Don't mention it, Xiao Yuan and I don't like to hear it either. Don't make it sound like we're going to separate. Do you really think that?" Ping An could tell from her face that he was talking nonsense and had guessed correctly. He was so angry that his nose was spitting fire. He pounded on the door frame and said, "You wish! I'm going to stay here and not leave."

Su Yu mumbled a few random "uh-huhs" to indicate that she didn't mean it that way. The little brat still wants to stay at home? Dream on! They're getting housing from their work units soon, one in the northeast, one in the northwest—definitely separated.

Su Yu returned to the Northwest first, while Ning Jin stayed a few more days to have someone whitewash the houses next to the university, tear down the courtyard walls and replace them with new bricks, and replace the roof tiles with new ones, all in anticipation of bringing his girlfriend home safely during the Spring Festival.

Xiao Yuan was the last to return home, arriving on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, and he didn't get to see the girlfriend Ping An brought back.

"Mom, what does my sister-in-law look like?" he asked, glancing at Ping An.

"There are photos by his bedside; go see for yourself."

"Wow, Ping An, so you like gentle girls. I thought you'd find someone who's always laughing and can't stay still." Xiao Yuan handed the photo back to him and punched him in the chest. "Look at you, you dog. I'm not going to fight you for your wife, and you're still protecting a photo."

"You silly dog, you don't understand." Ping An pressed the photo under the pillow, pushed Xiao Yuan out, and warned, "After the New Year, when I bring her over to play, you're not allowed to call her sister-in-law. We're not married yet, she's shy."

"It's so sour," Xiao Yuan said, clutching his chest as he went outside. "It feels a bit unpleasant. It's like the dog I raised has run away with someone. Ping An wasn't like this before."

The dog, Ping An, dragged him out to fight in the snow. After a crazy fight, he came back covered in snow, and the brotherly bond was restored.

"Mom, could you spare some time this spring to come over and give me some technical guidance? The Loess Plateau suffers from severe soil erosion and poor soil quality. The higher-ups are proposing to plant Pinus tabuliformis (Chinese pine) to improve the environment, but according to your experiments in college, Pinus tabuliformis requires a lot of water. In arid regions, a Pinus tabuliformis forest typically grows for 5-8 years. However, because there are no real-world examples, my superiors and colleagues aren't very supportive, and I don't agree with planting Pinus tabuliformis. The current plan is to split it in two: my colleague will plant Pinus tabuliformis, and the other part will be assigned to me. But you're ten times better than me at planting trees." He chuckled a few times, softly pleading with her to help him with the planning.

The experimental data from the arid region was provided by Shumanpo and was derived from real-world cases. Since there were no real-world cases at that time, her paper was published, but it did not receive much attention because the verification process was too lengthy and involved a degree of chance.

“Okay, send me a telegram when the time comes and I’ll come over.” Su Yu agreed. She also wanted to explore other environments; she felt a bit unsure even with just the theoretical guidance of the tree-covered hillside.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ping An carried cigarettes, alcohol, and fruit candy to visit his future wife's family. Xiao Yuan stood at the door watching him open the door and leave, feeling very uncomfortable. He felt that he hadn't grown up yet, while Ping An, who was the same age as him, was already getting married. Ping An's adult aura made him feel constrained and it was too incongruous.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Ping An picked up Cui Qizi to come home for the holiday. Xiao Yuan was squatting in the kitchen picking vegetables when he asked, "Mom, what should I call her later? Sister? She might not be older than me, right? Should I call her by her name?"

"Just call me by my name. I'll save that for after we get married. You're close to Ping An, so don't call him sister-in-law after he marries Xiao Qi. Just like I'm close to your aunt, I'll call you three uncles and you can call me brother."

"Cui Qizi, it's a bit of a mouthful, but luckily I don't have many chances to say it." He muttered to himself.

"Dad, Mom, I've brought Xiaoqi back."

"She's here, Mom, she's here." Xiao Yuan quickly washed her hands and went outside to take a look. She looked even younger in person than in the photos, and blurted out, "Little sister, come inside and sit down."

Ping An tapped him from a distance with her index finger and introduced him, saying, "This is my brother, a year younger than me. You are a year younger than him. Don't listen to his nonsense. When you get married, give him a red envelope and make him call you 'sister.' I'll prepare a whole stack of red envelopes for you. I'll make sure he keeps talking until his lips are sore."

Look, the incongruity is back again; it's too much like a gangster.

"Dr. Cui, please sit inside. I'm waiting to receive a red envelope and change my address accordingly. Tell Ping An to prepare more; I won't leave until I've received a month's salary from him." After saying this, he paused, realizing he had been influenced by Ping An and had become somewhat worldly himself.