Chapter 5 Clear-Headed

Chapter 5: Keeping a Clear Head

Lu Yun returned to her room, not in the mood to hear what Sun Zhi had to say.

Sun Zhi had often visited the Lu family since childhood and was familiar with Lu's parents. Last time, Lu's father had put in a good word for him, so he gave Lu's father a pleading look, hoping he'd help out again.

Lu's mother gave Lu's father a little nudge, and he said, "You should head back and rest. You've stirred up enough trouble for one day."

Lu's mother was pleased with how her husband handled it. After Sun Zhi left, Lu's father said, "Do you think I don't know what's what?"

Lu's mother replied, "I was just afraid you'd go soft."

Lu's father assured her, "Don't worry, I've got a clear head."

When Sun Zhi got home, Aunt Han was arguing with Sun's father, giving him grief for not backing her up. After Sun Zhi returned, Aunt Han scolded him too, but he stayed silent and went to his room.

Aunt Han whacked Sun's father several times and said, "Tell me, why can't you have some backbone like other men!"

Sun's father retorted angrily, "What do you mean I don't have a backbone like other men! If you're going to do something, do it right, or don't do it at all! If we hadn't gone to the Chen family to own up to our mistake today, were you planning to let them keep causing a ruckus in the courtyard, or were you planning to let them cause trouble at Sun Zhi's workplace? Better to apologize now and keep some dignity."

Aunt Han knew Sun's father was right, but she still said bitterly, "That little brat, what did I say wrong!"

The weekend was over, and it was back to work. Lu Yun had slept in late yesterday, so getting up on Monday morning was a struggle. She sat on the bed for a while before getting up to find clothes and get ready.

Outside the courtyard, Sun Zhi was waiting for Lu Yun. When Lu Yun saw him, she ignored him and kept walking. Sun Zhi caught up and said, "This whole thing was just a mess, a misunderstanding."

The Lu family hadn't fixed breakfast today. Lu Yun thought about going out to buy some steamed buns or tofu pudding, or maybe a bowl of noodles. But she quickly scratched noodles off the list—by the time she finished a bowl, she'd be late for work. Better to grab some steamed buns and soy milk to take to the office.

Sun Zhi said, "I didn't know anything about any of this!"

Lu Yun let out a laugh and turned around. "Sun Zhi, I didn't think you'd be such an ungrateful jerk to save your own skin. You say you didn't know anything—are you trying to say it's all Aunt Han's fault, all Matchmaker Li's fault? Aunt Han never told you the whole story about how I didn't want to go on a blind date."

Lu Yun gave him a dismissive once-over that made Sun Zhi want to bang his head against a wall.

Sun Zhi said, "I don't care what anyone else thinks. I only care about what you think."

Lu Yun replied, "Then don't."

Lu Yun grabbed some steamed buns and tofu pudding and headed to the office. Chen Qiao looked sleepy too. Lu Yun shared some buns with her. After eating one, Chen Qiao perked up and even guessed where Lu Yun had bought them just from the taste.

Chen Qiao asked, "How come you're not wearing your new dress?"

Lu Yun hadn't worn the new dress she bought over the weekend, thanks to the mess at the Sun family's place yesterday. The Chen family had come to demand an apology, and Lu Yun had completely forgotten about it. She'd meant to wear it this morning, but when she picked it up, she remembered she hadn't washed it yesterday. Lu Yun wouldn't wear clothes that hadn't been washed.

Lu Yun said, "I forgot to wash it yesterday."

Before Lu Yun had even finished her breakfast, people in the office started asking her about the whole Sun family thing. Word really had gotten around.

"That Matchmaker Li probably won't get any more business."

"Exactly. Marriage is a serious thing—how can she set people up like that?"

"With matchmakers introducing people like that, the marriage would be a disaster from the start."

Chen Cai didn't go to work today. She couldn't stand the thought of people looking at her, so she wouldn't leave the house.

The Chen family once again bad-mouthed Matchmaker Li and the Sun family. The girl was already shy and quiet by nature. After going through something like this, she'd probably become even more withdrawn.

Chen Cai's eldest brother said bluntly, "We should've called the cops back then!"

Someone from the workshop came to find Lu Yun. She figured it was another hassle about supplies from the logistics department.

Sister Lü asked, "How come your cousin hasn't shown up for work yet?"

Lu Yun said, "I don't know."

Sister Lü said, "Why don't you give her a call and ask?"

It wasn't that Lu Yun herself was late—Sister Lü wanted to say that if someone couldn't be bothered to show up, they might as well not come at all. Of everyone who passed the exam for the factory this time, only Lu Yun's cousin hadn't shown up yet.

Lu Yun smiled and said, "Sister Lü, why don't you contact her yourself? Her information should have her contact details."

Sister Lü's expression flickered. Last time when Lu Yun's cousin came for the exam, Lu Yun had accompanied her. She came to Lu Yun not because she really couldn't get in touch with her cousin, but to butter her up, thinking it'd be easier to get supplies and write-offs from Lu Yun later.

Sister Lü said, "Alright, I'll contact her myself."

Chen Qiao figured Lu Yun's cousin must have really ticked her off for things to get this bad.

At noon, Lu Yun and Chen Qiao went to eat sour soup dumplings again. Last time they had oil-splashed noodles and skipped the dumplings. This time, they were determined to have the sour soup dumplings. Lu Yun even added extra chili oil and vinegar to hers.

In the afternoon, salaries were distributed. Lu Yun took her pay and headed straight to the market after work, buying some seafood and pork ribs. At the pork rib stall, she happened to run into Sun's father, who was also buying ribs. The two compared what they had each bought—this time nothing overlapped, but they had bought quite a lot.

Lu's mother saw the two of them carrying things back and said, "Oh my, you two father and daughter, how much stuff are you planning to buy? In this summer heat, if you can't eat it all, it'll go bad."

Lu Yun said, "I got my salary today."

Lu's father said, "I got my salary today too."

At the dinner table, Lu Yun mentioned that her cousin still hadn't shown up and that Sister Lü from the workshop had come to ask about her.

Lu's father and mother felt even more displeased with Lu Yun's cousin.

Lu's father said, "Don't get involved in her affairs."

Lu Yun said, "I won't."

As for some childhood betrothal fiancé, Lu Yun didn't care. She had never even met him.

She had known about this betrothed fiancé before he came looking for the Lu family, and she had never taken it to heart. She didn't know what was going on between her cousin and this so-called betrothed fiancé, or how the two had gotten together. If her cousin had contacted her before they got together, she would have told her not to care about what others thought and comforted her.

What did Lu Yun's cousin do? Nothing. But Lu Yun's aunt called, going on and on about how much Lu Yun's betrothed fiancé liked her cousin, urging Lu Yun to be magnanimous, telling her to respect their relationship and not ruin it.

If Lu Yun's cousin had gotten together with this so-called fiancé before she came to the city for the garment factory exam, Lu Yun felt even more like she had been played for a fool.

Aunt Han had no mood to cook, so the Sun family skipped dinner. Sun's father went out to a nearby restaurant and brought back food. The three of them ate in silence.

Sun's father said, "I have a friend who has a daughter—she's a good girl, hardworking and steady. She's just a country girl. Nowadays, nobody cares about having an urban grain ration anymore. Country girl is fine."

Aunt Han said, "What? You want Sun Zhi to marry a country girl!"

Sun's father said, "Matchmaker Li isn't doing matchmaking anymore, do you know that! Where around here are you going to find another matchmaker to introduce someone to Sun Zhi? If we find someone with good conditions, once they hear about this, who would be willing to marry into our family!"

Aunt Han said, "Are you saying all of this is my fault?"

Sun's father said, "I know you did it for Sun Zhi. Let's not bring this up anymore. We just need to let it pass."

Sun's father asked Sun Zhi for his opinion. "What do you think? You're not getting any younger."

Sun Zhi didn't really want to get married. He couldn't even bear to think about Lu Yun—just thinking about her brought an overwhelming sense of embarrassment.

Sun's father: "Talk!"

Sun's father: "Fine, have it your way."

Sun's father privately explained his intentions to Aunt Han, saying that finding a country girl for a daughter-in-law would make her easier to control. A rural girl marrying into the city would have to rely on them, and once they had kids, he planned to hand over his wages to the daughter-in-law, so they'd have a better life down the road.

Aunt Han: "You're gonna hand her the job too?"

Sun's father: "When I retire, I'll have her take over the position. It won't be long now. As long as she's got that job to look forward to, she'll be easy to handle. I've heard she's quite pretty too—pretty, easy to handle, virtuous, and good at housework. What more could you ask for in a daughter-in-law? Show me a family that finds a daughter-in-law who's perfect in every way."

Everybody's got their good points and bad points. Everything's got two sides. You can't have everything, right?

Aunt Han said grudgingly, "I'll do as you say."

Sun's father: "From now on, stay out of Sun Zhi's marriage!"

Aunt Han got so mad she chucked a pillow aside. "Fine, I'll listen to you, all of you! Handle Sun Zhi's marriage however you see fit!"

Aunt Han said she wouldn't meddle in Sun Zhi's marriage, and she didn't. She just went around the courtyard bragging about how great her future daughter-in-law was.

Aunt Han: "My daughter-in-law, even though she's from the countryside, is respectful to her elders, sensible, and real thrifty. Look at that Chen Cai—if our Sun Zhi really married her, life would be tough. Just look at her brothers; if Sun Zhi ever had a spat with her, her brothers would come over and beat the crap out of our Sun Zhi. Our Sun Zhi is a high school graduate, an educated man. He almost got into college back then—you all know that, right?"

"Right? You all know that, don't you?"

Lu Yun came out, and Aunt Han was still holding forth. There were indeed rural wives in the compound who chimed in to agree with Aunt Han.

Aunt Han: "Dating's dating, but after you date, you still gotta settle down and live, right? To live, you need to have the awareness for it. How can you waste money? If you waste money, how will you take care of the kids later? Don't the kids need to go to school, and don't they need to get married in the future?"

Aunt Han's words drew agreement from some of the mothers-in-law in the compound.

Aunt Han deliberately greeted Lu Yun, "Lu Yun, off to work? Is that another new skirt you're wearing?"

Lu Yun: "Yes, I'm heading to work."

Aunt Han asked, "You heard what I just said, didn't you? Tell me, am I right or not?"