Chapter 6 Joy Brightens the Spirit

Chapter 6: Good News Lifts the Spirits

Aunt Han was feeling pretty smug. If Lu Yun dared to argue, how would the neighbors who'd agreed with her judge her now?

The thought of Lu Yun having to grit her teeth and agree with her was enough to put Aunt Han in a great mood. She finally felt vindicated.

Lu Yun: "Telling your daughter-in-law to pinch pennies? Isn't that just admitting your son can't provide? A man with real skills wouldn't give a damn whether his wife bought new clothes or spent a little money. If he's truly useless and his wife is stuck suffering alongside him, shouldn't he be grateful and bust his ass even harder?"

Aunt Han: "It takes two to make a marriage work!"

Lu Yun: "Then that means he's a loser. A mother-in-law who keeps nagging her daughter-in-law to save money is just being a bully. Why doesn't she tell her own son to tighten his belt? Who in the world acts like that as a mother-in-law? If such a mother-in-law exists, she better watch out—when she's old, her daughter-in-law might hold a grudge and tell her to start scrimping too. Am I right, or what?"

Everyone let out awkward laughs and could only nod along with Lu Yun.

"Lu Yun is right."

"That's true."

"We can't let the daughter-in-law be mistreated."

Lu Yun asked, "Aunt Han, are you going to demand the same from your future daughter-in-law?"

Aunt Han forced a smile. "Of course not! Whoever marries my son is going to live the good life!"

A country girl marrying her son, and on top of that, her husband was going to hand over his job to her? That girl was getting a sweet deal.

Aunt Han: "My husband even said he'd give her the job in the future. Everything I said was for their own good, for the sake of their future kids."

Lu Yun: "Aunt Han, you're really a good mother-in-law. If that's the case, why not just tell Sun Zhi to cut back on his spending each month? That way your daughter-in-law can buy new clothes, your grandson won't go without, and you and Uncle Sun can tighten your belts to help them out. I'm gonna be late for work—y'all keep chatting."

Lu Yun walked out of the compound, and nobody dared bring that topic up again.

It was a busy day at work, and when they finally got a break in the afternoon, Chen Qiao ran out to buy popsicles for everyone. The popsicles were cheap, so it was no big deal to grab some for the office. They all did stuff like that for each other—nothing pricey, just a little something to show they cared.

When Lu Yun got home, she found out Sun Zhi hadn't shown up for work that day. Probably too ashamed to face anyone after yesterday. She heard Chen Cai hadn't gone either.

Lu's father: "What Sun Zhi did was just plain wicked!"

Apparently Chen Cai was already a shy girl, and after that disaster of a blind date with Sun Zhi, who knew when she'd ever work up the nerve to try again and actually get married.

Lu's parents settled in for the night, chatting, and the conversation turned to Matchmaker Zhao. After Matchmaker Zhao had come by last time, all but promising to find Lu Yun a match, she'd gone silent. She must not have found anyone good enough.

Lu Yun was in her room reading. Under the lamplight, she looked totally absorbed—sitting in her chair for a while, then flopping onto the bed.

The next day, Lu Yun almost clocked in late. She sprinted out of the compound and made it to the office with one minute to spare. She sat down to catch her breath, cursing herself for staying up reading last night. Her stomach growled again—she hadn't eaten a thing since this morning.

Mid-morning, Lu Yun snuck out and grabbed a pork tenderloin stuffed flatbread from a stall outside the garment factory to tide herself over.

Today, Matchmaker Zhao was playing matchmaker for a couple—the guy worked at the garment factory. She'd brought the woman by to check out where he worked. When she spotted Lu Yun, Matchmaker Zhao felt a twinge of guilt. She'd gone out of her way last time to promise Lu Yun a match, and here she was, still with nothing to show for it—and Lu Yun had even paid her.

Matchmaker Zhao couldn't pull the kind of shady stunt Matchmaker Li had pulled, so she just had to keep waiting.

Matchmaker Zhao stepped up with a smile. "You haven't eaten breakfast?"

Lu Yun: "No, I haven't eaten yet."

They made small talk while Matchmaker Zhao kept glancing at the young couple. Seeing they were hitting it off, she turned back to Lu Yun.

Matchmaker Zhao: "How about we talk again? Sometimes with these things, you gotta meet someone face-to-face to know if there's a spark. Everybody's got their flaws."

Lu Yun: "That's why I'm counting on you. I'm in no rush—take your time."

For Lu Yun, blind dating wasn't about meeting a bunch of guys and picking the best one. What if she met another dud like Sun Zhi who'd keep bothering her? Or what if she met some total weirdo and had to waste her time dealing with him?

Lu Yun didn't need to go on random blind dates. Wouldn't it be better to just pick from her own pool of admirers? She could even call it a love marriage.

Lu Yun handed Matchmaker Zhao another red envelope. Matchmaker Zhao tried to decline, but Lu Yun insisted—if it meant finding the right guy, she didn't mind shelling out a few more red envelopes.

When Matchmaker Zhao got home, she was so stressed she felt like she'd gone gray overnight. She went through her list of eligible bachelors again. They'd all seemed decent before, but now, when it came to Lu Yun, not a single one measured up.

Sun Zhi skipped work again that day. It wasn't just that he didn't feel like going—his dad and Aunt Han had dragged him out to the countryside for a blind date.

This time, the girl was the daughter of one of Sun's father's friends. Before they got there, Sun's father had given Sun Zhi a stern talking-to, and Sun Zhi actually behaved himself. The girl looked sweet and dutiful, and Sun's father locked the deal on the spot. That evening, the three of them took the bus back to town.

Aunt Han wasn't thrilled, but her husband had a point—you can't have it all. This daughter-in-law was obedient, easy to manage, and would help around the house.

Aunt Han decided to focus on the upside, and by the time she got back to the compound, she was all smiles.

"Did the match work out?"

"It worked, it worked! We'll invite you all to the wedding feast."

Sun Zhi's wedding plans were coming together surprisingly smoothly. Good news lifts the spirits, and Sun Zhi's mood perked up considerably.

Lu Yun and Sun Zhi bumped into each other one morning on their way to work. Sun Zhi deliberately ignored her, but after she walked out of the alley, he hurried after her and peeked in her direction.

Chen Qiao had blown through her entire paycheck this month, except for the usual amount she set aside. Next payday was still a ways off, so she needed to start pinching pennies.

Chen Qiao: "If only I could earn a bit more money."

Everyone in the office except Chen Qiao and Lu Yun was married. They all envied the two single girls—they were the ones actually saving money.

"You haven't even gotten married or had kids yet—just be happy about that."

"Who doesn't want to earn more? But earning more isn't easy."

"We only get this monthly salary, maybe a little bonus on top. I've seen self-employed people making more than us, but that line of work isn't easy either. Besides, self-employed income isn't stable—who knows which day you'll earn and which day you won't. What we have is good—a steady iron rice bowl."

At noon, Chen Qiao didn't want to eat out to save money. Lu Yun and Chen Qiao went to the cafeteria together. Today, the cafeteria made eggplant with pork chunks, which Lu Yun loved—it was perfect with rice. Chen Qiao liked it too.

The two were eating and chatting in the cafeteria when Sister Lü from the workshop ran into them and greeted them. Sister Lü didn't bring up Lu Yun's cousin this time, though she used to mention her every time. After saying hello, she went to sit at a nearby table with her colleagues.

Sister Lü had originally planned to contact Lu Yun's cousin, but the cousin had taken the initiative to call Sister Lü first, saying she'd be back at the factory in a few days. Sister Lü's tone on the phone was harsh—if you didn't know she was coming to work, you'd think she was coming to be the factory director.

In Sister Lü's opinion, Lu Yun's cousin was foolish. Coming from the countryside to work in the city, instead of trying to stay close to Lu Yun, she had to go and pick a fight with her.

Sun Zhi's engagement to his girlfriend was settled. The Sun family made several more trips to the countryside, and Aunt Han invited everyone to the wedding—which meant collecting gift money. Aunt Han had given plenty of gift money to others over the years, especially in the compound. At first, she'd given practical items, and later, cash.

Aunt Han went to the Lu family's home and said, "On the twentieth of this month, our Sun Zhi is getting married. We're holding the banquet right here in the compound. You all must come—you can't skip Sun Zhi's wedding feast because of what happened before."

Aunt Han sat down next to Lu Yun and asked, "Aren't you looking for a match? How's that going lately? You're not getting any younger—it's time to get married."

Lu Yun: "I'm twenty this year."

Aunt Han: "Well, isn't it better to marry early and have kids early? Twenty isn't young anymore, not young at all."

Lu Yun: "Aunt Han, you don't seem too busy with Sun Zhi's wedding arrangements?"

Aunt Han forced an awkward smile—wasn't this Lu Yun's roundabout way of telling her to mind her own business?

Lu Yun: "Aunt Han, are you really not busy?"

Aunt Han: "How could I not be busy? It's my son's wedding! You must come to the wedding banquet."

As Aunt Han was about to leave, Lu Yun took a sip of tea and said, "Only twenty—so young."

Aunt Han was so mad at Lu Yun she nearly turned around and went back, but in the end, she didn't dare. With her son's wedding coming up, she didn't want to stir up any more trouble. Sun's father had been telling her these past few days not to mess with the Lu family. This time, Aunt Han hadn't even told Sun's father she was going over, and she dared not argue with the Lu family, so she could only grit her teeth and head home.

Once she got back, she didn't dare yell at Sun Zhi or Sun's father. If she told them why she was mad—that she'd gotten shut down by Lu Yun—they'd only hold it against her.

Sun's father: "You didn't go looking for trouble with Lu Yun, did you?"

Aunt Han: "Why would I go looking for trouble with Lu Yun? Haven't I learned my lesson?"

Sooner or later, she'd make Lu Yun eat her words and show her what she was made of! A twenty-year-old girl—she refused to believe she couldn't outdo her!

Sun's father then said to Sun Zhi: "From now on, don't you dare have any thoughts about Lu Yun. You're getting married and will have a wife, understand? Once your wife comes to the compound, she'll definitely hear about you and Lu Yun. You need to show your stance now! The most important thing is for us to live well!"

Sun Zhi: "Of course I know!"

Sooner or later, Lu Yun would regret not marrying him! Thinking of his obedient and adoring girlfriend, Sun Zhi felt confident again.

Author's note:

Dear readers, please add this to your collection. Thank you for your support!