miralunem

In the shallow waters of the rice field, a group of half-grown men with their trouser legs rolled up were collecting snails to improve their food. In the rural areas of 1983, where supplies were scarce, having meat to eat was a dream for most people. It meant that if you wanted it, you’d have to find it by yourself. 

Shu Ran’s elbow was suddenly bumped by his neighbor, Tian Erwa, who pointed at the bicycle slowly passing by the road. “Look!” he almost screamed. “Isn’t that your brother-in-law?” 

“Ah?” Shu Ran looked up and took a look. Yes, it was indeed Xu Shen.

The young man was about 20 years old, tall and handsome, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and riding a Phoenix 28 bicycle. Not to mention the ride that was a rarity back in those days, the real show-stopper was the huge piece of meat hanging from the handlebars. It made people’s mouths water. 

“Wow, your brother-in-law is so rich! I envy you!” Tian Erwa swallowed.

“Your family has meat to eat tonight!”

“Yes, Dingzi, I envy you so much!”

Shu Ran’s name here was Zhou Ding, going by the nickname of Dingzi. But as the object of the entire village’s envy, Shu Ran was expressionless. Whether it was the bicycle or the pork, nothing could move him because he was a modern man from the 21st century. He only wanted to die and open his eyes back in his dormitory, even if it meant waking up at the crack of dawn every day. 

Even though he once boasted that he’d survive back in the ’80s and ’90s, it didn’t mean that he wanted to be thrown here, okay?! Even the starting line was so out of reach! How can some poor soul from the remote countryside even make it in this life?!

Xu Shen rode his bike to the edge of the field. He coincidentally looked at the men searching in the fields and realized one of them was his future brother-in-law. After thinking about it, he stopped and waved him over. 

Tian Erwa immediately pushed Shu Ran: “Hey, your brother-in-law called you. Go quickly!” 

Shu Ran didn’t know why he had called for him, so he walked over reluctantly. 

“What’s the matter?” 

He didn’t call him “brother-in-law”, as the family only agreed on the marriage a few days ago. They didn’t get the certificate, nor did they have a drink together, so… 

Why show respect? 

Xu Shen had sharp eyebrows with starry eyes, looking cold when not smiling. He glanced at the bamboo basket Shu Ran was carrying, asking, “Have you searched enough? I’ll take you back.”

Shu Ran also looked at his bamboo basket. It was heavy, and he still had to walk one or two kilometers back home, so he decided to take the offer. 

“Then wait a minute, I’ll wash it.”

There was a stream of water on the edge of the field, and Shu Ran stepped into the water to wash his feet and the snails. He was tall and thin, and the clothes on his body were at least two years old. When he bent down, he revealed half of his white, slender waist, a dazzling sight in the sun. 

Xu Shen averted his eyes and tightened his grip on the handlebars. 

“Okay!” Shu Ran drained the water from his basket and prepared to climb on the bicycle. However, he was not as strong as his fellow villagers, who grew up climbing mountains and swimming in rivers all year long. After failing to get on, he stretched up his arm and asked Xu Shen for help. 

“You, give me a hand.” 

Xu Shen tilted the bicycle and reached out to hold Shu Ran’s hand. After coming up, Shu Ran whispered, “Thank you.”

“Come up quickly,” Xu Shen said. “The snails will die if you keep them in the sun.”

Shu Ran got on the bicycle without saying another word, with one hand holding the bamboo basket and the other around Xu Shen’s waist. He didn’t want to, but the road in the village was bumpy, and he was afraid of falling. 

It was not a big deal to hug his future brother-in-law, but Shu Ran’s arms were stiff, and his whole body felt like wood. All of that because the man in his arms happened to be Xu Shen, the legendary villain from the 90s. 

Shu Ran grew up listening to stories about this man. In the mouths of his elders, Xu Shen was nothing short of a generational hero: insidious and cunning, both good and evil. He did many good and bad deeds and was eventually arrested at a young age, losing his life in prison. 

If nothing unexpected happened, Xu Shen should have already started doing business outside. What he did was unknown, but it must have been the type of business that fetched fast money, something a sincere and honest villager would never think about. 

The type of business that allowed him to go back to his home village and marry a wife.

But Shu Ran never imagined that the prospective bride would turn out to be the sister of the body he had transmigrated into. However, as far as he knew, his sister didn’t want to marry Xu Shen. 

Everyone inside and outside the village knew that Xu Shen began mixing up in society from a young age, but he never held a serious job for a day, so he was not a good catch. Moreover, his family was not good. He was raised by educated youths who went to the countryside, someone who had no mother or father. Who would dare to follow him? 

The family of Shu Ran’s body had seven or eight mouths to feed, all of them living in extreme poverty. Seeing that Xu Shen was willing to pay 500 yuan as a bride price, the patriarch gritted his teeth and allowed Xu Shen to marry his eldest daughter, Zhou Hui. Back then, an ordinary family could barely afford to pay two or three hundred yuan for a bride. Xu Shen took out 500 in a breath, so he must also be aware of his extremely poor qualifications. 

Zhou Hui’s appearance and temperament were top-notch in the village, as she was a well-read girl who could do accounting jobs, and many young men wanted to marry her. Unfortunately, her family was dirt poor, and nobody was as generous as Xu Shen. 

Xu Shen arrived at the Zhou house with Shu Ran. Their talkative neighbor saw them and started yelling, ” Zhou Guodong, your son-in-law is here!” 

Inside her room, Zhou Hui heard that and hid in the vegetable garden behind the house. She didn’t like a hoodlum like Xu Shen and instead wanted to marry an upright soldier, but it was a pity that her parents had already accepted the bride price, so the marriage was a sure thing. 

She’ll have to do it even if she’s unwilling. 

After all, if her family went back on their word, Zhou Hui was afraid a gangster such as Xu Shen would make their life a living nightmare just by calling over a few of his underlings. 

Outside the fence, Xu Shen stopped the bicycle, took off the piece of meat from the front, and gave it to Shu Ran. “I have something else to do,” he said. “I only came to deliver the meat. You can take it inside.”

Shu Ran looked up at him in surprise, asking, “You, don’t you want to come in and rest, have a glass of water?”

It’s quite hot today, Shu Ran thought. Although I don’t like Xu Shen, it’s not like I… with that, Shu Ran decided, ” Wait, I’ll go in and pour you a cup of cold tea!”

At this point in the day, the parents were still in the fields, doing farm work, and there was only a group of children running happily in the house. Shu Ran walked in, filled a cup from the tea jar they usually used, and brought it out to the young man who had traveled thousands of miles just to bring them meat.

The other party glanced at him, took the cup full of cold tea, drank it, and returned it to Shu Ran. 

“I’m leaving.”

Shu Ran scratched his head in a complicated mood, mumbling, “…since you came all the way here, do you have anything you want to say to my sister?”

Or is it that everyone is reserved these days and only becomes enthusiastic towards each other after marriage? In fact, he really wanted to know what Xu Shen’s attitude was regarding his sister. Was it a case of “I like her very much”, “I won’t marry anyone else but her,” or “I’m already this old, let’s just make do with it”?

“…” 

Xu Shen was silent for a moment before answering: “Just tell her that I sincerely want to get married and I’ll be good to my wife in the future.” 

However, from that answer, Shu Ran thought he actually liked Zhou Hui, so he couldn’t say anything else. 

“Okay, I’ll tell her.” 

“Uh-huh.” Xu Shen turned his bike and left, with his back looking very cool. It was hard to find such a spirited young man in a remote place like that, but Shu Ran knew Xu Shen was not a good man. If it were up to him, he wanted to return the 500 yuan his family had accepted. 

But it was impossible.  

He was only eighteen years old, not the head of his family, and earning that amount of money in a short time was a pipe dream. 

Shu Ran returned to the house with a heavy heart. Zhou Hui came back with a handful of vegetables and, upon seeing the piece of meat, she sat down on a chair and sulked.

“Huh, our parents are just confused by the benefits!” According to her, there was no difference between that and selling a woman for fame and riches. 

Can Xu Shen even be a good husband?!

She was good-looking and had read some books. In fact, her biggest hobby was reading, so there was no way she could get along with such an uneducated hoodlum. 

“Sister.” Shu Ran was fully on her side. “Then…” he continued, “what do you think? Will you accept your fate or fight?” 

But Zhou Hui could only sigh to her brother. “How can I fight?” she complained. “You still don’t understand the virtues of our parents. They don’t think it’s bad for Xu Shen to fool around outside. Instead, they think he gives them face.” 

After all, with such a son-in-law, no one will dare to mess with their family in the future. 

So that was it. Shu Ran had no choice but to accept the older generation’s worldview. He took the field snails and the piece of meat and went to deal with them, leaving Zhou Hui to think about her problems alone. 

In the evening, Zhou Guodong and his wife, Hu Jinhua, returned from the fields. Upon seeing the meat on the plate, they knew Xu Shen had come by.

“Eldest girl, why didn’t Xu Shen stay for dinner?” 

Zhou Hui avoided seeing Xu Shen like the plague, so she looked at Shu Ran, who answered in her place: “Dad, Brother Shen had something urgent to do. I didn’t dare keep him.” 

Hearing that, the eldest son, Zhou Qiang, who was enjoying the meat, said with his mouth full of grease: “This brother-in-law is so kind! He sent so many food stamps last time, and now even meat! Sister is so lucky! Is this all he gave? Is there anything else? I want to send some to Xuehua’s house later.”

Zhou Qiang’s darling was called Lin Xuehua. As for Zhou Guodong, he was so eager to marry Zhou Hui to save money for his eldest son’s marriage. The Lin family accepted a bride price of 200 yuan, which was more than enough. If they were frugal with Xu Shen’s money, they could also get a bride for their third child, that being, Shu Ran himself. The fourth and fifth children were both girls, and the last two were still babies, with no teeth in their mouths. There was no hurry to prepare for their marriage. 

Therefore, marrying off one Zhou Hui was such a profitable business that it secured the future marriages of two sons. No wonder Zhou Guodong agreed without saying a word. 

“…” Zhou Hui was holding her breath in her heart. Hearing what her eldest brother said made her put down the chopsticks with a bang. 

As a mother, Hu Jinhua was more sensitive, so she immediately stared at her eldest son, saying, “You can eat what’s on your plate. Xu Shen gave it to the eldest girl. Why should she share it with the Lin family?” 

Zhou Qiang spoke without using his brain. When his mother looked at him, he lowered his head like a quail. 

Zhou Guodong also interfered: “My family is too poor for one rice pot, and I have to slap my face to look fat! Lin Xuehua’s family wants to eat, but your brother and sisters don’t?” 

Shu Ran rolled his eyes secretly, knowing he couldn’t expect anything from his elder brother. He was like that before even marrying his wife… After marriage, he’ll probably live the rest of his life afraid of her. 

Although the parents admonished Zhou Qiang, Zhou Hui still couldn’t swallow it. Seeing them happily eating the meat, she turned around and went back to her room to cry. 

The Zhou family looked at each other in silence for a long time. In the end, Zhou Guodong said, completely resigned: “The eldest girl is too spirited… It’s not easy to marry. A man like Xu Shen is a good thing. “

Hu Jinhua was worried. She wanted to put down the chopsticks and go check on her daughter, but she was still holding a baby in her hands, feeding him. Shu Ran ate quickly and said, “Mom, let me go check on my eldest sister. You continue to eat.”

Truth be told, Shu Ran really sympathized with Zhou Hui, a woman living in that era. She clearly had her own thoughts, but there was nothing she could do. 

“Sister.” 

In the humble room, the oil lamp emitted a faint yellow light. Shu Ran walked in and saw Zhou Hui holding a book, but she was not reading. Instead, tears were streaming down her face. Hearing her brother come in, Zhou Hui hastily closed the book, but Shu Ran had already seen it. Inside it was Zhou Hui’s savings. Feeling frustrated and sad, counting money was the only thing that could give her peace of mind. 

“Why are you here?” Zhou Hui wiped the tears from her face, not wanting to be seen like that by her younger brother. 

“They went too far. I won’t take your money to marry a wife. I will plan and save for my marriage myself.”

Zhou Hui lowered her head and cried silently, as Shu Ran continued,” Xu Shen is not a good match.” 

The main reason was that he died early, barely in his 30s. Zhou Hui was doomed to become a widow after ten years of marriage. 

“You…” Zhou Hui didn’t expect Zhou Qiang to say that either, even if it didn’t really matter to her. Now, after being comforted by Shu Ran, she thought that this younger brother was the only one in the family with a bright mind, much better than their eldest brother. 

With that, Shu Ran gritted his teeth and finally said, “How about this? I’ll talk to Xu Shen. I’ll go borrow those 500 yuan from him and pay it back with interest in the future. You won’t get married.”

It wasn’t that Shu Ran simply wanted to be noisy.

After all, Zhou Hui was the one who saved his life. 

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