Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, just as dawn broke, Lin Nuo led Qi Dawu out of the village.

The two walked through the snow toward Sunjiagou. After walking for more than half an hour, they crossed a ridge and could see the houses of Sunjiagou scattered sparsely at the foot of the mountain in the distance.

Old Sun's house stands alone at the foot of the mountain, quite a distance from the village. The courtyard wall is made of stone, and over the years, withered grass has grown in the cracks between the stones, bent by the weight of snow and clinging to the wall.

The courtyard gate was ajar, left a crack. Lin Nuo pushed it open, the hinges creaking loudly in the quiet morning. Inside the courtyard, Old Man Sun was squatting on the ground chopping wood.

He heard footsteps and looked up. His gaze swept over Lin Nuo and Qi Dawu, but he didn't say anything, lowering his head to continue chopping wood.

Lin Nuo stood at the courtyard gate, not in a hurry to go in. Only after Old Man Sun finished chopping the firewood in his hand and put the axe on the wooden block did he speak: "Uncle Sun, Happy New Year."

Old Sun didn't answer. He picked up the chopped firewood, turned around, and went into the house.

Lin Nuo and Qi Dawu followed them into the house.

The room was dark. There was only one small window, covered with yellowed newspaper, which let in very little light, making the room feel hazy.

Old Sun sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and pointed to the bench opposite him: "Sit."

Lin Nuo sat down and got straight to the point:

"Uncle Sun, I've come today to talk about Defu."

Old Sun didn't reply. He pulled out his pipe from his waist, pinched a pinch of tobacco from the pipe, put it into the bowl, struck a match, lit it by striking the phosphorus with the match head, took a puff, and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

"Defu is over thirty and still hasn't gotten married," Lin Nuo said. "You must be anxious too."

Old Sun took another drag of his cigarette, the sparks flickering and reflecting on his face, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.

Lin Nuo continued, his voice calm and composed:

"There's a Zhou family in Xiahe Village, an elderly couple with only one daughter. She has poor eyesight, but she's a kind person. They own land, and the couple aren't bad people. They're looking for a son-in-law to live with them."

Hearing this, Lin Nuo swallowed hard. Sun Defu had been a widow's lover in his past life, and his fate wasn't good.

However, it's not surprising that a son-in-law who marries into a family is now being kicked out.

Old Sun paused his pipe for a moment, raised his eyelids slightly, glanced at him, but didn't immediately change his expression.

"Marrying into the family?"

His voice deepened:

"Someone from my Sun family is going to become a live-in son-in-law?"

Lin Nuo remained calm. The fact that he hadn't been kicked out meant there was still a chance. He looked directly into Old Man Sun's stubborn eyes, his gaze unwavering.

"Uncle Sun, Defu is in the village. Can you afford to build him a house? Can you afford to get him a wife? What girl would want to marry him? We're not afraid of being poor, but Defu is too old to wait."

Old Sun remained silent. His fingers traced the handle of his tobacco pouch.

Lin Nuo lowered his voice, so low that only two people could hear him:

"The Zhou family's daughter just has poor eyesight, it doesn't affect her daily life. The old couple said that whoever treats their daughter well will have all the family's things in the future. Think about it, if Defu is gone, someone will cook and do laundry for him. It's better than him being alone in the village."

The fire in the stove crackled, a branch broke off, and sparks flew out, landing in front of the stove, flashing briefly before going out.

Old Sun remained silent for a long time, then relit his pipe. As he exhaled smoke, he sighed.

"How bad are your eyes?"

He spoke, but his voice was soft.

Lin Nuo said truthfully:

"I can see during the day, but not at night. It doesn't bother me when walking or working, but it's not very convenient at night."

Zhou Laoshuan has already said all of this.

Silence fell again. Old Sun took the pipe out of his mouth, tapped it on the sole of his shoe, and ash fell all over the ground.

"Desheng?"

He called out towards the inner room.

It turns out that Sun Desheng lived with his second uncle.

Lin Nuo was surprised.

The curtain to the inner room was lifted, and Sun Desheng came out. He was tall, with broad shoulders, large hands, and large feet, making the room seem even shorter.

He was wearing an old gray cotton-padded coat, the cuffs worn white, revealing the gray cotton inside. His hair was messy, as if he had just gotten up and hadn't combed it, with a tuft sticking up on top of his head.

He stood next to Old Man Sun with his head down, his hands hanging at his sides, his fingers slightly curled, looking like an honest man.

Old Sun glanced at him, then said to Lin Nuo, "Let him go and take a look. If he's not satisfied, we can't force him."

Lin Nuo nodded:

"Okay. If you're not satisfied, I won't force you."

Sun Desheng looked up at Lin Nuo, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

His second uncle had already answered for him. He didn't need to say anything; it wouldn't make a difference anyway.

The three walked towards the village entrance. Sun Desheng walked behind, his steps slow, as if he had sandbags tied to his feet, each step dragging on and on. He kept his head down, his chin almost touching his chest, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and his shoulders hunched.

After walking about a hundred steps, Sun Desheng asked in a muffled voice, "That girl... her eyesight really isn't good?"

Lin Nuo didn't turn around, and said as she walked:

"You can see him during the day, but not so much at night. He's not stupid; he can cook and sew. He'll be fine making a living."

He didn't expect to force Sun Desheng; these days, many people still care about that.

Sun Desheng didn't ask any more questions. His pace was still slow, but a little faster than before, just a little.

It took almost two hours to walk from Sunjiagou to Xiahe Village. The road was difficult to travel; the mountain path was narrow, and the compacted snow made it quite slippery.

As we approached Xiahe Village, we could see Zhou Laoshuan's house in the distance. With its blue bricks and gray tiles, it stood in the middle of the village, its courtyard wall made of bricks, much more impressive than the stone wall of Sun Laojue's house.

The courtyard gate was swept clean, revealing the blue brick floor and the mud in the cracks between the bricks. Spring Festival couplets were pasted on the door frame.

These days, if a family can support a daughter with poor eyesight and still want to find a son-in-law to live with them, they must have some wealth.

It is said that when Zhou Laoshuan was young, he made a living by foraging in the mountains and collected a lot of medicinal herbs, but he never had any children in his life and could only hold one child.

Unexpectedly, my daughter has poor eyesight.

If it weren't for the fear of being beaten to death by his parents, Lin Nuo would have really wanted Lin Jian to become a live-in daughter-in-law. He just happened to have something he wanted to ask Zhou Laoshuan for advice.

Old Zhou stood at the gate of the courtyard.

He was wearing a new black cotton-padded coat, the collar turned up and the buttons neatly fastened. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, his neck was hunched, but his back was straight.

When he saw Lin Nuo arrive, he didn't smile; his expression remained unchanged. His gaze fell directly on Sun Desheng, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

"Come in."

He said it wasn't loud. He turned and went into the house, his steps neither fast nor slow, the hem of his cotton-padded coat swaying slightly at the back of his legs.

Inside the house, Zhou Laoshuan's wife sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). She wore a dark red cotton-padded jacket, and her hair was neatly combed and tied into a bun at the back of her head, covered with a black net.

Lin Nuo led Sun Desheng into the house, with Qi Dawu following behind. Sun Desheng stood in the middle of the main room, both of them appearing very reserved.

Old Zhou pointed to the bench:

"sit."

Sun Desheng sat down, but only on one side, his back straight, with both hands resting on his knees.

Old Zhou's wife called out into the inner room:

"Xiaoyu, come out."

The curtain to the inner room was lifted, and Zhou Xiaoyu came out.

She was wearing a new blue cotton-padded jacket, with neat rows of Chinese knot buttons at the collar. Her hair was combed neatly and tied in a braid with a red ribbon at the end.

Her eyes are fine; they appear healthy from the outside, with bright black pupils and long eyelashes. You can't tell anything wrong with them unless you look closely. But upon closer inspection, you can see that her gaze is somewhat unfocused, not concentrating on a single point, but rather wandering within a certain range.

The girl is quite good-looking, but her eyes are a big deal in this day and age, not to mention the matter of a son-in-law living with her family.

She walked with her hand on the wall, her fingers tracing lines across the surface, from the door frame to the table edge, and from the table edge to the chair back. She walked slowly, making sure each step was firm before moving on. When she reached the table, she released her hand from the chair back, letting it hang at her side, her fingers slightly curled.

She stood there, neither looking up nor speaking. She couldn't see who was watching her, but she could sense that someone was watching her; her head was slightly lowered, her chin almost touching her chest.

Even though her eyesight is poor, this girl is still a little shy.

Sun Desheng glanced at her.

Old Zhou spoke, his voice harsh:

How old are you?

Thirty-one.

Sun Desheng's voice was not loud, but it was clear.

Who else is in the family?

"Just one second uncle."

"What can it do?"

"Farming, chopping wood, building walls, anything goes."

When Sun Desheng said "Anything is fine," his voice was a little louder than before, as if he were trying to prove something.

Old Zhou asked a few more questions: how many acres of land he planted, how the harvest was, and how many kilograms of grain he could produce in a year. Sun Desheng answered in detail. He said that his family didn't have much land, but the harvest was decent each year, enough to eat, and they couldn't save much.

Zhou Laoshuan's wife secretly glanced at Sun Desheng several times. It is said that a mother-in-law is more and more satisfied with her son-in-law the more she looks at him, and this is probably the case now.

Old Zhou asked one last question, his voice lower than before: "Would you be willing to marry into my family?"

The main room fell silent.

Sun Desheng remained silent for a moment, then lowered his head and looked at the tips of his shoes.

"...I'll go back and discuss it with my second uncle."

His voice was very soft, so soft it sounded like it was being squeezed out of his throat.

Old Zhou's expression was not good. He glanced at Lin Nuo with some dissatisfaction.

Lin Nuo didn't show much expression. He couldn't very well kidnap someone for the Zhou family. A month was also a time for his parents to think things through, and for him to hunt more wild animals.

If all else fails, we'll just have to pay compensation. This money is considered a loan from Lin Jian, and we definitely have to pay it back.

He wouldn't go bankrupt for that kid.

Old Zhou's wife quickly tried to smooth things over, standing up, wiping her hands on her apron, her voice tinged with laughter, but the laughter seemed somewhat unnatural:

"Let's eat, let's talk while we eat. The food is all ready and still warm."

Several dishes were laid out on the table. There was stir-fried cured pork with cabbage. The cured pork was thinly sliced, with more fat than lean meat. The cabbage was grown in our own garden and stored in the cellar during the winter, giving it a slightly sweet taste.

Stewed tofu, made with firm tofu cut into large chunks, stewed until flavorful, with scallions floating on top of the soup.

Pickled radishes, shredded finely, tossed with sesame oil, are arranged on a blue-and-white porcelain dish. A dish of peanuts, fried until golden brown, is sprinkled with salt.

It's clear that Old Zhou put his heart into it; he genuinely wanted to find someone for his daughter to rely on.

However, he didn't say much.

Lin Nuo thought that given Lin Jian's status as a worker, it was normal for him to look down on Sun Desheng.

Zhou Laoshuan's wife picked up a piece of cured meat with her chopsticks and placed it on top of the rice in his bowl. The oil seeped into the rice, making it shiny.

"Eat, eat more, don't be shy."

Sun Desheng said, "That's enough, that's enough."

The bowl was already piled high with rice, vegetables, and then more vegetables, like a small mountain.

Zhou Xiaoyu sat at the table, eating very little. In front of her was a bowl of rice with a few pieces of tofu and a few slices of cabbage on top.

When she picks up food, she touches the edge of the plate to confirm its position, and then uses chopsticks to pick it up accurately without taking it outside the plate.

She moved slowly and calmly. She took a bite of tofu, chewed it, swallowed it, and then took a bite of cabbage.

However, he still didn't say a word.

Sun Desheng looked at her twice, and ate very slowly than usual. The food in his bowl was piled up, but he didn't touch it much.

After finishing their meal, Lin Nuo, Qi Dawu, and Sun Desheng stood outside the courtyard gate.

It's getting late.

Sun Desheng squatted against the wall, his hands tucked into his sleeves. He was silent for a moment, then said in a muffled voice:

"I'm still not entirely willing to do this."

He glanced at Lin Nuo, then lowered his head and stared at the snow on the ground.

"My second uncle asked me to come and take a look. I've already seen it. I... don't really want to."

Lin Nuo wasn't in a hurry; he also squatted down next to Sun Desheng.

"Is it because of your eyes?" Lin Nuo asked.

Sun Desheng shook his head:

"It's not about the eyes. It's about... marrying into the family. It doesn't sound good. Who will the children take? What will people think? I won't be able to hold my head up in the village."

Well, in your past life you were in your forties helping others find partners, Lin Nuo thought of this person's later experiences. Now he's in his thirties and probably still thinking about finding a partner.

However, Lin Nuo did not intend to force anyone.

Lin Nuo remained crouched, his voice soft but steady.

"Brother Defu, you're thirty-one this year. How many more years can you waste in this village? Until you're forty? Until you're fifty? By then, you won't even have a chance to marry into the family. You've seen that girl from the Zhou family, what do you think of her? You know what you're like."

"He's not stupid or dull, he can cook and sew, his eyesight is just a little poor. Marrying into another family is for others to talk about, but life is for yourself. Your second uncle asked you to come because he thinks it's feasible. If you really don't want to, we won't force you."

He stood up and patted the dirt off his knees. His knees were covered in snow and mud, and after a couple of pats, he couldn't get them clean, so he stopped.

"Go back and think about it. There's no rush."

Sun Desheng didn't speak. He squatted against the wall for a while, then his legs went numb when he stood up, so he leaned against the wall for support. He patted the dirt off his knees, moving very slowly, as if he was stalling for time.

"I'll go back and think about it," he said.

He turned and left after saying that. His steps were neither fast nor slow, and his figure grew smaller and smaller in the twilight, the color of his cotton-padded coat blending into the darkness and becoming indistinguishable. After walking a dozen or so steps, he didn't look back, but kept walking forward, turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

They walked so fast.

Lin Nuo knew that the deal was off.

Lin Nuo and Qi Dawu walked back.

Qi Dawu walked beside him for a while, then suddenly spoke:

"Brother Nuozi..."

His voice was soft and hesitant, as if the words had been circling around his lips for a while before finally coming out.

Lin Nuo looked at him.

Qi Dawu lowered his head, kicked his foot in the snow, and couldn't speak.

"What's wrong?" Lin Nuo asked.

Qi Dawu's hands were clenched so tightly inside his sleeves that his knuckles turned white. His face was flushed slightly.

"No...it's nothing."

He quickened his pace and walked ahead, as if he were fleeing.

Lin Nuo watched his retreating figure and narrowed his eyes.

Qi Dawu is acting strangely, could it be...?