“Mom, what did you say her name was?”
Fan Zhenchuan finally asked when they reached Hedong County.
Auntie Li deliberately played coy: “Who do you mean?”
Fan Zhenchuan smiled, “My future daughter-in-law, of course. What’s her name?”
If the old lady wanted to put on airs, Fan Zhenchuan would play along. She was his mother, after all – there was nothing wrong with humoring her.
“It’s not certain she’ll be your daughter-in-law yet. If that girl knew about your little vixen at home, would she agree to marry you?”
Auntie Li became angry thinking about the maid Xiao Yu. Though the blood relation was distant, a distant relative was still a relative, and sharing the same surname made it even more unspeakable! But no matter how many times she brought it up, Fan Zhenchuan wouldn’t listen. Because of such a worthless person, his first wife had been angered to death and his relationship with his son had soured. Auntie Li had endured Xiao Yu for a long time. No matter how unfilial her son might be, she couldn’t stay angry forever. Everything was Xiao Yu’s fault – she wasn’t content being just a serving maid and had seduced the master of the house.
Xiao Yu was indeed a little vixen, and Fan Zhenchuan previously couldn’t let her go. Or rather, he was unrestrained in matters between men and women – being distant relatives sharing the same surname only added a forbidden allure to their relationship. But if Xiao Yu was a little vixen, Xia Xiaolan was a great enchantress. Fan Zhenchuan wanted her from the moment he saw her.
Growing tired of the old and fond of the new was his usual way:
“I’ll send Xiao Yu away before the wedding. I won’t keep her around to offend your new daughter-in-law’s eyes. How old is she?”
Having received this promise, Auntie Li’s mood improved greatly. She knew it would work out!
“What ‘she’? Her name is Xiaolan, surname Xia, nineteen years old.”
Xia Xiaolan.
Fan Zhenchuan savored the name in his mind.
It wasn’t a particularly elegant name, not one you’d expect from a cultured family’s daughter. Xia Xiaolan had nothing in common with the noble orchid her name suggested. She was alluring and seductive – nothing like an orchid’s purity! If she had to be compared to an orchid, she’d be a butterfly orchid, with its lush leaves and slender stems, its pink-purple flowers so alluring… just like Xia Xiaolan herself, alluring in appearance, with a hot figure – she was the finest woman Fan Zhenchuan had never possessed.
So the name didn’t matter – it was the person that counted.
When the person was right, even if they were named after a cat or dog, others would rack their brains to praise them.
Nineteen – not yet of legal marriage age. But Fan Zhenchuan thought it was perfect. At nineteen she wouldn’t be as immature as a young girl, yet still young and fresh. Being under twenty wasn’t an issue – in Hedong County, who would dare check his wife’s age if he wanted a marriage certificate?
With Fan Zhenchuan interested and agreeing to send the maid away, Auntie Li felt the marriage could proceed.
The weather was warming up this month, but summer would be too hot – May would be just right!
As for whether Xia Xiaolan was willing to marry, neither Auntie Li nor Fan Zhenchuan had considered it. Auntie Li thought that for a country girl, what was there to be picky about in marrying Fan Zhenchuan, even if he had a previous wife and a teenage son? If not for these circumstances, how could she have the chance to marry Fan Zhenchuan?
Fan Zhenchuan was used to throwing his weight around in Hedong County – which woman he set his eyes on hadn’t he gotten?
He was properly marrying Xia Xiaolan as his wife – there couldn’t possibly be any problems.
While Liu Fang and Liang Bing’an were desperately promoting their niece, the bride’s family must also be prepared – that’s what Auntie Li thought. Fan Zhenchuan thought even more simply and brutally: it only mattered whether he wanted to marry her, Xia Xiaolan’s own wishes weren’t important.
The result would be Xia Xiaolan marrying him – why bother examining the process too deeply? Though Fan Zhenchuan was obsessed with women, he wouldn’t indulge them.
It was settled!
Auntie Li called Liu Fang over and spoke plainly for the first time:
“It’s best to hold the wedding in May when the weather’s neither hot nor cold. Zhenchuan has agreed to host the banquet at the old mansion – we’ll set up as many tables as there are guests, ensuring your niece has a grand wedding in the Fan family! Fan Han is quite grown up now and will continue living with me in the old mansion. In a couple of years when he goes to university, he’ll spend even less time in Hedong County, so he won’t interfere with the newlyweds. Though your niece is thin, she looks like she’ll bear children well. While I can still help, it’s better to have children early…”
This would be Fan Zhenchuan’s second marriage, and in those days even first marriages didn’t always have banquets.
When conditions didn’t allow, many people just got their marriage certificate and had a meal with close relatives and friends.
Second marriages were even more simplified, yet the Fan family wanted to make it grand. It wasn’t just Auntie Li’s preference – Fan Zhenchuan himself was taken with Xia Xiaolan. Otherwise, how could there be so many thoughtful arrangements? Not living with the stepson after marriage, the in-laws hoping for early grandchildren – what did it matter that Fan Zhenchuan was twenty years older? The Fan family valued Xia Xiaolan so much; marrying into the Fan family was like striking gold.
The one facing the Fan family’s complex relationships wouldn’t be Liu Fang’s daughter, but her family would enjoy the benefits. Liu Fang was genuinely satisfied with this marriage. If they weren’t family, how could she actively play matchmaker?
Liu Fen and Xia Xiaolan were wooden-headed, still thinking about that poor cadre’s match.
The Fan family wanted to marry in May. Liu Fang thought it was too early – one month wasn’t enough time for Xia Xiaolan to break things off with the poor cadre. Worried about embarrassment later, she chose to be frank:
“Since we’re about to become in-laws, let me be honest with you. My niece had a boyfriend before, a poor cadre. I’m not sure if they’re still in contact…”
Auntie Li glanced at Liu Fang.
This was being cunning – did she think the meaning wasn’t clear? It probably wasn’t just a previous relationship; they were likely still together. Liu Fang must have disapproved of that match, which was why she wanted her niece to marry into the Fan family.
In these times, though people talked about free love, many elders still opposed young couples.
Auntie Li wasn’t too concerned:
“It must be handled before the wedding. I don’t want any embarrassment during the celebration. You can make decisions in your maiden family, right? I trust you as the matchmaker.”
She wasn’t afraid of some minor cadre from a classified unit – they were just dating and not old enough to marry.
The Fan family wasn’t breaking up a special marriage; Auntie Li was very confident.
She believed Liu Fang could make decisions in her maiden family. In rural families, someone like Liu Fang who had married into the city usually had authority at home – her family relied on her.
With an aunt running a store in the provincial capital, Auntie Li didn’t think a private business owner sister-in-law could overrule Liu Fang.
Liang Bing’an worked for the government, but Liu Fang wasn’t just some official’s wife – that was still better than being a private business owner. Auntie Li had complete confidence in Liu Fang, and Liu Fang wouldn’t show weakness. Previously, when the Fan family hadn’t confirmed anything, she couldn’t discuss the groom’s situation in detail with her second sister and niece, given Fan Zhenchuan’s special status.
Now that everything was settled, she would explain clearly.
Such a good marriage opportunity was impossible to find even with a lantern. If Xia Xiaolan refused, Liu Fang would suspect her head was filled with straw – but even that didn’t matter. It only mattered whether the Fan family wanted to marry her, not whether Xia Xiaolan was willing!
“I’ll give you a satisfactory answer!”