In March 1976, a month of renewal and revival, everything seemed no different.
Zhan Chunlan sat in the courtyard, looking up at the sky, her eyes filled with confusion.
"What are you thinking about?" Wang Wenfeng came out of the kitchen with the dishes and saw her like this, as if she had a thousand worries on her mind.
"I'm thinking..." Zhan Chunlan didn't turn around, still looking at the sky, her voice somewhat unsteady, "Should we notify the family?"
"So, do you have an answer now?" Wang Wenfeng placed the food on the small table next to her seat, deciding not to go inside and eat in the yard instead.
"Sigh," Zhan Chunlan sighed, her voice full of helplessness, "What else can we do? We have to notify them!"
In this era, going to university, finding a job, getting a promotion... all involve political vetting, and few people can completely sever ties with their families, and Zhan Chunlan is no exception.
Although she didn't inform the Zhan family when she left, she would send them things every month. Not many, just some small items, local specialties from Haicheng, and occasionally some candies she had developed. The quantity wasn't large, but for the sake of appearance, she stuffed the packages full of useless scraps of cloth. They weren't as substantial as the packages she sent to Li Xiuxiu and Fan Hongying.
When Xu Lixia received it for the first time, she was quite proud of herself: "This brat, I told you that no one can abandon their family. Look, she's realized how good her family is even after she's gone out into the world!"
When she brought the package home, she proudly showed it to her neighbors in the yard: "This was sent to us by my third daughter from Haicheng. We've been so good to her, sending her to school. Now she's finally graduated and hasn't forgotten us even though she's in Haicheng."
When he got home and opened the package, his expression froze.
Seeing that she hadn't moved, Zhan Zhiqiang stepped forward and rummaged through the items: "What are all these things? Just a few candies, is it even a pound? This stuff isn't even as expensive as the postage, is it?"
There was also a letter inside, written in a very friendly tone, asking about everyone in the family, including those from their hometown. After asking around, it was only about a page long.
"Look at this, this is the good daughter you raised!" Zhan Zhiqiang had never seen anything like this before. He threw the letter on the table and slammed his hand on it, making a loud "bang bang" sound.
Xu Lixia never expected that her third son, who had never uttered a word since childhood, would do such a thing after starting work.
Yes, I didn't really supervise her much when she was little, but I still let her finish high school! It's just housework, what child doesn't do it? Yes, out of the three girls, she did the most, so what? I'm not a judge, I don't have to divide things fairly, as long as someone does it.
She took her salary from her job in Jiangcheng, but I'm just keeping it for her. Besides, didn't she take it all with her when she left? Is she just going to put on a show now?
Because of their resentment, they would still accept the packages Zhan Chunlan sent back every month, but they never sent her even a single word.
Zhan Chunlan wasn't angry at all. She thought it would be better if they didn't have any contact. She was just doing this as a child, something she had to do for others to see, essentially a "public relations fee" to maintain her image.
This time, she and Wang Wenfeng had been dating for more than half a year and were planning to get married.
If she were an orphan, it would be fine, but everyone, including her superiors, knows she isn't. If she doesn't even have family on her side when she gets married, no one will think it's someone else's problem; they'll just think that Zhan Chunlan doesn't know how to behave.
"I'll go write the letter right now!" Zhan Chunlan sighed, made up her mind, and immediately stood up and walked into the house, intending to make a concerted effort.
"Let's eat lunch first." Wang Wenfeng grabbed her hand, pressed her down into a seat, and shoved a bowl of rice into her hand. This series of actions, so smooth and fluid, left Zhan Chunlan stunned.
Xu Lixia arrived very quickly; she probably left as soon as she received the letter and arrived in April.
The two hadn't seen each other for several years, but there was no awkwardness between them; they could understand each other's thoughts with just a glance.
Xu Lixia leaned against the kitchen door frame, watching Zhan Chunlan busy in the kitchen, feeling somewhat dazed: it had been a long time since she had just waited to eat a meal like this.
"Have you asked how much the groom is planning to give as betrothal gifts?"
Zhan Chunlan's hands kept moving. She hadn't cooked in a long time, and she was a little rusty when she suddenly started cooking again: "How much dowry will my family prepare for me?"
“We didn’t give your sister any gifts when she got married, because we couldn’t show favoritism. It’s the same for your wedding, otherwise your sister will say we’re biased.” Xu Lixia said this without blushing or skipping a beat, her tone perfectly calm.
Zhan Chunlan had rarely felt this speechless before: "Have you ever thought about what kind of life I would have after I married into your family if you didn't bring any dowry and only wanted a dowry?"
"You still have to rely on yourself to make a living!" Xu Lixia got excited when she talked about this: "Look at your eldest sister, she got married without a dowry, and her mother-in-law cooks for her, her sister-in-law does the laundry, and she keeps her own salary every month. If you ask me, you have to be capable yourself, you can't live off a dowry!"
At this point, Xu Lixia suddenly thought of something else: "Also, since you've gone so far away, we probably won't be able to rely on you when we get old. So, of course we should ask for more dowry. This isn't for me, but for your filial piety."
You have to admit the Zhan family are ruthless. She had a whole repertoire of arguments, and Zhan Chunlan didn't know how to refute her. Fine, she could afford the dowry herself anyway, and she hadn't really thought of relying on them.
The next day, the two families sat down together to discuss the wedding arrangements.
“Xiaolan is the third child in our family. She has always been very hardworking, managing everything at home and outside. Even when she was five or six years old and not tall enough to reach the stove, she would stand on a stool to cook for us. She has been doing this since she was little, and her cooking is even better than mine. Now that she has come to Haicheng, we are not used to it. We haven’t had her cooking in a long time.”
"Yes, she is a very good girl, and we like her very much." When Ms. Fang Li heard that Zhan Chunlan had started cooking for such a large family when she was only five or six years old, she felt no pride, only heartache. She took Zhan Chunlan's hand in her own and patted it gently.
"I heard Xiao Wang works at a hospital? He's a promising young talent. How many siblings does he have?" Xu Lixia looked at everyone present. They were all dressed very appropriately and looked like they were not ordinary people.
"Auntie, I have an older brother and sister, and a younger brother." Wang Wenfeng answered concisely, focusing on answering the question directly.
"Oh, so you're also the third child? It seems you and our Xiaolan are really destined to be together."
“Yes, it’s truly a match made in heaven for the two children. One is in Jiangcheng, and the other is in Haicheng, yet they were able to come together.” Fang Li completely agreed with Xu Lixia’s words. If it weren’t for fate, how could two children from different places have come together?
"Hehe~" Xu Lixia felt that enough of the pleasantries, and it was time to get down to business: "In-laws, in-laws, we are sitting here today to discuss the marriage of our two children. I'll get straight to the point."
Fang Li nodded: "Please speak. Our family likes Chunlan very much. We will try our best to meet your request."
"That's good, that's good." Seeing how well she spoke, Xu Lixia boldly added, "Her two older sisters each received 300 as a bride price. As the third child, she can't be too different from her two older sisters, right?"
"That's only right. Chunlan will be a member of the Wang family from now on, so naturally we can't let her be inferior to others." Fang Li wasn't intimidated by the dowry. The dowry wasn't high, and she genuinely liked Zhan Chunlan. She was willing to pay any amount, as long as she could afford it.
"And these three turns and one sound, everyone else has them for their wedding, she can't be without them."
“You’re right, these are all things we should do,” Wang Wenfeng replied. In fact, he had been collecting these votes ever since he confessed his feelings to her, and he had collected them all.
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