Chapter 12

In Bei City, the paint on the walls of the old siheyuan was peeling, and the marks in the corners were crooked, the result of some child’s mischievous doodling.

Shen Guixiang broke the cold steamed bun into pieces and scattered them on the stone floor in front of the door. Before long, a few plump little sparrows mustered the courage to descend, their beady eyes bright as they shook their tails and began to feast.

The woman sat on a stool, picking vegetables while watching the sparrows peck at their food.

Ever since her daughter Qin Yao had gone south to the island, there was always an extra portion of food left at home. Her daughter-in-law had told her to steam fewer buns, but she could never remember, always thinking about Qin Yao's portion.

"Oh, Guixiang, the sparrows at your door are bigger than those at other people's houses," said Xu Huiling, her face glowing as she walked past Shen Guixiang with her daughter Ju Ying, who held a pair of brand-new leather shoes and wore a light and thin polyester fabric.

As her voice fell, the little sparrows were startled and flew away, leaving the uneaten bun crumbs lonely on the floor.

Shen Guixiang's face darkened.

Xu Huiling and Shen Guixiang were both female workers in the same factory and lived in the same large compound. Over the years, they had never really gotten along, having quarreled openly several times and secretly competed with each other.

Shen Guixiang's husband, Qin Chuanrong, was a chef, and Shen Guixiang managed the household well. They had four sons and one daughter. Even in the most difficult years, there was never a shortage of food, and they were able to help their neighbors. The couple was well-liked in the compound.

Xu Huiling's features were more striking than Shen Guixiang's. Shen Guixiang had fair skin and delicate eyes and eyebrows. She wasn't beautiful, but she wasn't ugly either, and her fair skin was her best feature.

Years ago, Xu Huiling had gone on a blind date with Qin Chuanrong first but hadn't thought much of the chef who revolved around the wok. Before long, Qin Chuanrong married Shen Guixiang from the same factory.

Even though she hadn't been impressed, Qin Chuanrong's conditions were excellent. Marrying a man meant having clothes to wear and food to eat. Marrying a chef meant there would never be a shortage of food.

Since then, Xu Huiling couldn't help but secretly compare herself with Shen Guixiang. Living in the same compound, Qin Chuanrong doted on his wife and children. Shen Guixiang ate well, and her children were healthy and chubby. Xu Huiling felt that Shen Guixiang had stolen her good life.

Xu Huiling married two years later, and her daughter Ju Ying was a year older than Shen Guixiang's younger daughter, Qin Yao.

Shen Guixiang and her husband doted on their only daughter. While other children rarely had access to candies and cookies, Qin Yao often had them during her childhood. Seeing Qin Yao eating dried meat, Ju Ying swallowed, and the sight stung Xu Huiling's eyes.

Qin Yao had been chubby since childhood, while Ju Ying was like a little bean sprout. However, after her teenage years, Ju Ying blossomed like a budding flower.

As her daughter grew more like her, Xu Huiling became increasingly concerned about her daughter and liked to compare Ju Ying with Qin Yao even more.

Although Qin Yao had beautiful features, she was a chubby girl. This time, it would definitely be her daughter who would marry well!

"Our Ju Ying, the matchmakers have been breaking down our door these days. The son of Director Zhou from the factory has good conditions. After marriage, the young couple can get a small two-room apartment and won't have to squeeze here anymore."

"As the children grow up, this house is getting narrower."

"If it weren't for this, your Yao wouldn't have had to run off to a place thousands of miles away. Marrying an officer is nice, but it's too far. Your Qin Yao isn't like Chen's daughter. Do you know who her grandfather is? The person who went to the island for the matchmaking was her grandfather's comrade-in-arms' grandson."

...

After a round of showing off, Xu Huiling left, and the little sparrows returned, still plump and round. Shen Guixiang, with a sullen face, swept the bun crumbs into a pile with a broom. The sparrows flew to the side but dared to peck at the crumbs in the dustpan despite Shen Guixiang standing nearby, taking light, small steps.

Shen Guixiang couldn't help but smile as she watched.

When her husband Qin Chuanrong returned, Shen Guixiang was about to speak, intending to suggest that Qin Yao come back. Before she could utter a word, her second son and his wife returned, laughing and chatting, holding new polyester fabric. "Mom, this is for our younger sister. It's hot there, and this fabric is comfortable to wear. We're sending it along."

After Qin Yao left, space opened up in the house. The first and second sons and their wives didn't say it outright, but they were quite happy inside.

Qin Chuanrong was also pleased.

"Dad, you're going to have an officer as a son-in-law."

Qin Chuanrong's eyes crinkled with joy. "It depends on Yao's ability."

Qin Chuanrong had been a chef for many years and had seen a lot of the world. The leaders in the factory gave him some face because of his skills. In his heart, he knew that although people were polite, they still saw him as a cook, a craftsman.

He hoped his sons would have promising futures, but so far, none of them seemed destined to become leaders.

His daughter Qin Yao was good friends with Chen's daughter. Chen Baozhen had gone far to the island to meet the grandson of her grandfather's comrade-in-arms for a matchmaking session. Qin Chuanrong had envied her for a long time, but his wife Shen Guixiang had pursed her lips, thinking there was nothing to envy.

"What do you know? That's Grandpa Gu's grandson."

Although it hadn't worked out, Chen Baozhen had married a young and promising naval officer, which Qin Chuanrong had been very envious of.

This time, when Chen Baozhen invited Qin Yao to visit, Qin Chuanrong saw it as an opportunity. He wanted Qin Yao to find a naval officer as a husband.

Qin Yao called back, saying she wanted to stay there as a nurse. Qin Chuanrong immediately ran around to handle the paperwork. He still had some connections and quickly finished the paperwork.

With Qin Yao settling into a job there, it would be easier for her to find a good match.

Qin Chuanrong was in a good mood and had been busy these days preparing to send things to his daughter, all kinds of delicious food.

The first daughter-in-law said, "Dad, Yao needs to lose some weight to look better. Don't send her so much food."

The first daughter-in-law didn't wish for her sister-in-law to return, but she hoped Qin Yao would marry well. Men preferred pretty women, and Qin Yao would look better if she lost some weight.

"No," Qin Chuanrong shook his head. "Yao will feel uncomfortable if she's hungry."

The second daughter-in-law turned her head away and pursed her lips without speaking.

People were strange, wanting their daughter to marry well but also unwilling to let her go hungry and lose weight.

Waiting to see what kind of match her sister-in-law would find, it was likely to disappoint her father-in-law.

"Yao, how are you doing there?" After sending things over, Shen Guixiang called Qin Yao.

"I'm doing well," Qin Yao replied briefly on the other end.

She couldn't handle Shen Guixiang's concern. In the past, Qin Yao's relationship with her parents had been average. They had focused on her brothers, and she had felt indifferent towards her relatives. After entering the novel, she hadn't thought about returning to Bei City or seeing Qin Yao's family, choosing to stay alone on the island.

Recently, to handle paperwork, she had reconnected with her family. Her parents had gone out of their way to help her with connections, stamps, and organizing materials. Shen Guixiang had kept expressing her concern over the phone, which warmed Qin Yao's heart but also made her feel uneasy.

She wanted to know Shen Guixiang's true affection towards her but was also afraid to know, a strange psychological state.

Fortunately, they were separated by great distances, so they couldn’t reach each other and thus didn’t know.

"Your dad asked someone to bring you a lot of delicious food. Eat it slowly. There’s also a big jar of wild honey. Your great-grandfather went up the mountain to get it for you..." Shen Guixiang murmured slowly.

Qin Yao: "Ah?"

The supplies she brought last time weren’t finished yet, and here came more.

"Your second sister-in-law bought you some polyester. This fabric can only be bought in big cities. We won’t make it into clothes for you yet. You can find a tailor on the island yourself."

Listening to the instructions and concern, Qin Yao held the receiver, her nose tingling and her eyes inexplicably warming.

Her hoarse voice, with a bit of nasality, softly said, "Mom, when I’m settled here, I’ll go back to see you all."

"Alright, okay."

Shen Guixiang asked an additional question, "What about your relationship situation?"

"Nurse Director Ge from the military hospital said she would introduce someone to me. I’ll go meet them in a couple of days. It should be an officer here."

"If something happens, call us and let us know. We’ll help you figure it out."

The voice of the second sister-in-law could be heard in the background, speaking loudly.

Qin Yao hung up the phone.

She knew the Qin family was hoping she would marry a naval officer, but sorry, she wasn’t planning to get married for the time being.

She would go meet the person introduced by Nurse Director Ge and then figure out a way to brush it off. If she didn’t like him, she wouldn’t be forced to marry.

*

The location for the blind date was at Nurse Director Ge’s house. She had a small two-bedroom apartment in the hospital’s family compound, on the third floor. The newly built house faced south and had plenty of sunlight. There were two pots of scallions and leeks by the door.

The leeks here grew quickly and were easy to maintain, standing upright. If they weren’t harvested soon, they would become old.

"Comrade Qin, come in and sit. Let me get you a cup of tea." Ge Yunxia invited Qin Yao to sit on the sofa, placing two crane-and-pine teacups and a large peony thermos on the table, pouring her a cup of hot tea.

The house had terrazzo floors, with white walls on top and green on the bottom, the most popular color scheme at the time. The kitchen and bathroom were tiled with white square bricks.

Looking around, Qin Yao wasn’t thinking about anything else but when she could get a small single room like this in the hospital, even a tiled-roof house would be fine.

Nurse Director Ge made some small talk with her and said, "Wait in the room. The person will be here soon."

Nurse Director Ge went to the corridor and looked around. She didn’t see anyone yet. Today, she was supposed to meet Deputy Director Xiao, who was her plant. After Qin Yao met Deputy Director Xiao, she would introduce her to Doctor He. The success rate should be doubled with a comparison.

Whether a person is good or not needs to be "compared."

Doctor He was good in every aspect except for his quiet personality, but that was also an advantage, which was why a strategy was needed.

Having introduced people for a long time, Nurse Director Ge believed she could grasp the thoughts of young people well. Some people, when on a blind date, even if the first person they met was good, always thought there might be someone better later.

With Deputy Director Xiao for comparison, Doctor He’s advantages would stand out. As a matchmaker, she would have more to say.

Nurse Director Ge pondered with her arms crossed, mentally rehearsing the plan. She didn’t notice the situation downstairs until she heard the rapid footsteps of Little Ma hurrying up the stairs.

"Nurse Director..." Little Ma ran up quickly, her two braids swinging, speaking hesitantly.

Ge Yunxia scolded, "So rash."

Little Ma didn’t have time to wipe the sweat from her forehead and whispered closely, "When I went, Deputy Director Xiao wasn’t there, so... so... we replaced him with someone else."