Several relatives praised the girl to the skies, saying that she was not only beautiful, but also came from a well-off family. She was an only child, and both her parents were long-term workers, with her mother being a teacher.
Most importantly, the girl is young, only twenty years old this year, almost ten years younger than Lu Feng.
People in small towns tend to have a narrow perspective; they can only imagine a rich man's other half as a beautiful concubine.
According to Lu Feng's uncle, the woman had no intention of marrying him at all. It was only after hearing that the Lu family's son was successful and after many people persuaded them that the marriage was arranged.
Although Lu Feng owns a company, in the eyes of the locals, it is not as stable as a state-owned enterprise job. The main reason is that Lu Feng is not only remarried, but also quite old. His wife's family is afraid that outsiders will say that they found their daughter an old man for money.
"Old folks?" Lu Feng sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked down at himself, realizing that he had indeed developed a bit of a belly over the past two years.
“Don’t blame your aunt for being blunt. You’re almost thirty. People from your generation have all gone out to work. Remember Wang Laowu? He always had snot hanging from his nose when he was little. He got married at sixteen, and his child was born the following year. He’s a year older than you, and his child is fourteen this year,” Aunt said, sitting to the side.
Lu Feng sat there blankly, knowing that more than twenty years later, at his age, there would still be many people shamelessly calling themselves boys.
"If you put it that way, then you're the two old men," Lu Feng nodded helplessly.
"You were only held back by Xiaoyan. Otherwise, your child would be grown up by now. Go back to the village and see, everyone your age is a father of two."
If business is the most discussed topic when you're out, then the hardest thing to face when you're home is the concern of your relatives. Sometimes Lu Feng wonders whether he can't face those awkward answers or whether he feels awkward when facing his family.
Unlike more than twenty years later, now if you don't get married, not only in the village, but in the surrounding villages, your story will become legendary, letting you experience what it truly means to be afraid of gossip.
The dinner was quite plentiful. In the winter in the north, there aren't many vegetables available. The most common vegetables were various bean sprouts, stored cabbage, radishes, and potatoes.
Add a stewed chicken, and it becomes a feast that ordinary families can't afford on a regular basis.
As dusk fell, the county was almost completely dark. There were hardly any streetlights, and even traffic lights were scarce. The bright moon shone brightly outside the window, and after the evening news, the television began showing prime-time dramas.
Lu Feng hadn't slept on a kang (heated brick bed) for several years, but tonight he felt like sleeping on it. His mother and a few relatives went upstairs to rest, and a little while later Lu Feng came back and brought down a quilt.
After laying out the bedding, Mom told him to rest early and then brought in the chamber pot for him.
It was past 8:30, and only a few channels were still showing TV dramas. All the other channels were completely blank. Lu Feng, who often didn't go to sleep until 11 or 12 at night in the south, didn't know what to do now.
He had made his own bed. Without a phone or internet, he sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) staring blankly at the bedding. The bedding was made of cotton that the family had bought and sewed themselves. It was very thick, especially the quilt. When it was pressed against his body, it felt like someone was lying on top of him. It was solid and reassuring.
Lu Feng, who always had an irregular schedule and loved the night, crawled into bed before nine o'clock, turned off the TV, reached out and groped around the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), found the light cord, pulled it, and the whole world went dark.
No need to worry about the bustling city disturbing you, nor the hassle of blackout curtains; the only sound in this world is the distant barking of dogs.
The kang (heated brick bed) was too hard, and with a fire burning underneath all day, people felt like roasted meat on a rock slab. As dawn broke, Lu Feng crawled out of bed and searched everywhere for water. He jumped off the kang, scooped up half a ladle of water with a red ladle, and drank it all in one gulp. Only after drinking it did he feel a bit cold.
A layer of ice had formed in the bucket. The heat of last night had been completely dissipated during the night, and the room was now like an ice cellar. Lu Feng took a piss and quickly got into bed.
"Xiaofeng, you're awake? I'll light the stove for you!" His father's voice came from outside the house.
This must be the first time in all these years that Lu Feng has spent the Lunar New Year at home. Since becoming Lu Feng, he has never felt the warmth of this home.
My father dragged a dry branch in, cleaned the ashes from the stove, and then deftly broke the branch into smaller pieces. In a moment, flames leaped up in the stove.
"Go visit your grandma and maternal grandma today. Go buy some things later. You haven't visited them in years. I always give them money on your behalf during holidays," Dad instructed.
"OK!"
The room warmed up, and Lu Feng got dressed and carried the chamber pot outside himself. Overnight, the outside world was a white world, with snow up to his calves underfoot, but a path had been cleared to lead directly to the courtyard gate.
Lu Feng didn't have a car, so he had to call Gao Zhiwei in the morning to ask him to borrow a car from his factory for a while. Gao Zhiwei was very happy to hear that Lu Feng was back and insisted that Lu Feng stay a few more days, saying that he would come back immediately after the New Year.
Around nine o'clock in the morning, a Mercedes-Benz W14 pulled up in front of his house. Lu Feng drove it to buy some gifts. He wanted to buy something nice, but what good things could he find in the county town?
Fortunately, he brought back some local specialties, divided them into several portions, loaded them into a car, and sped towards the village. On the way, Lu Feng suggested that the elderly in his family move into the city and that he pay for their houses. He even mentioned that his parents should move to the south.
Money is a good thing; it can buy a lot of things. But my parents have lived here for half their lives, and all their relationships are here. If they move away abruptly, not only will they lose their relatives and friends and be unable to adapt to the environment, but they might not even be able to understand each other's speech.
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