Chapter 5

When Cui Yan gradually woke up the next morning, his temples were still throbbing faintly because of the alcohol he'd consumed the night before. In his groggy state, he had completely forgotten what had happened the previous evening. He even wondered why he was holding a young woman in his arms. As he sat up, the quilt slipped off his body. He noticed that he was wearing a wrinkled Dacron shirt, while the young woman beside him was dressed in a brand-new Dacron blouse with a distinctly old-fashioned style. Cui Yan quickly pinched the philtrum beneath his nose. Only then did the memories from his dream merge with reality, making him immediately realize that he had been reborn on his wedding night. At some point during the night, the two of them had ended up embracing each other. Women in this era were extremely conservative. What he had done was practically equivalent to taking away her virtue. But Qi Bingxue was destined to return to Shanghai. The two of them were simply not meant to walk the same path in life. Cui Yan instinctively wanted to reach for a cigarette. However, he suddenly remembered that he was still young and hadn't developed a smoking habit yet. Since that was the case, there was no need to pick up the habit again. Because of Cui Yan's movements, Qi Bingxue's long eyelashes fluttered slightly before she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Cui Yan looking at her. Being gazed at by the man she loved made her cheeks turn red again. Stammering, she said, "G-good morning. I... I'll go prepare breakfast." Cui Yan snapped out of his thoughts and replied, "There's no need. Just freshen up first. Let's pack our things and go back to my family's house." Qi Bingxue blinked. She had been so preoccupied with making a good impression on her future parents-in-law that she had completely forgotten they could use the bridal chamber as a temporary place to stay. In rural families, it was generally customary not to divide the family property while the grandparents were still alive. However, the Cui family was different. Liu Cuifang had brought a child into the marriage, then given birth to two more children. On top of that, she wanted to secretly take money to support the Li family. So she had persuaded her husband, Cui Guo, to buy vegetables at the black market. During those difficult years, supplies were scarce, and the state-run supply and marketing cooperatives imposed purchase limits. Even city residents with money and ration coupons often couldn't buy what they needed. As a result, black markets gradually emerged. The most commonly traded goods there were vegetables, meat, and grain. His wife constantly complained to him that the family was too poor. Apart from his eldest daughter, Cui Yan, who was plump and well-fed, their two biological children were both terribly thin. Cui Guo had once been so hungry that his eyes nearly bulged from his head. He couldn't bear the thought of his own children suffering the same hardship. So, for the sake of his family, Cui Guo decided to take the risk. Selling vegetables at the black market during that era was extremely dangerous. At any moment, he could be caught by the Red Armbands. Therefore, after he had been selling vegetables for a year, Liu Cuifang suggested that they split from the family household. Since Cui Guo didn't want to implicate his relatives, he readily agreed. Not long afterward, she personally approached the old man and old woman to propose dividing the family. Cui Guo was usually so honest and quiet that you could hardly get a word out of him. But when he suddenly took the initiative to ask for a family split, he nearly drove his parents mad with anger. "How can a family divide its property while the parents are still alive? Won't the whole village laugh at us if word gets out?" "We thought Liu Cuifang was a decent woman. Who would have expected her to persuade you to split the family? If we'd known she would cause so much trouble, we never would have let you marry her. She's nothing but a curse!" "And..." The elderly couple continued trying to reason with Cui Guo, urging him not to split the family. But the man, who was usually so meek and obedient, firmly declared: "I'm going to split the family. Plenty of people in the village have already done it. I'm determined to divide the household today, no matter what." Hearing this, the elderly couple immediately burst into furious curses. They said all sorts of harsh things, but in the end, nothing could change Cui Guo's mind. Cui Guo knew that selling vegetables at the black market was something that had to be kept secret. He could be caught at any time, and if that happened, his parents and brothers might be dragged into trouble as well. That was why he insisted so firmly on splitting the family. In the end, the family was successfully divided. The old man and woman stayed with their eldest son and his family. Their second son had already gone to work in town, so he received some money instead. The eldest son's family also inherited the original house. Cui Guo had never been the favored son. Now that he had been the one to initiate the family split, he had made his parents even angrier. After the split, when Cui Guo built his own house, his parents contributed neither money nor labor. They gave him only a little grain and a few household necessities, which were nowhere near enough to sustain the family. Because Cui Guo had limited funds, he couldn't afford to build many rooms. He simply combined the kitchen and storage room into one building. Aside from a separate toilet, he constructed one large earthen house and divided its interior into four rooms. The middle room served as the living room. The master bedroom belonged to Cui Yan's older sister. Cui Guo and Liu Cuifang shared another room, while the remaining room was occupied by Cui Yan and his younger sister, Cui Miao. A bamboo curtain was the only thing separating the two siblings. Meanwhile, Cui Runsheng's family, the eldest branch of the Cui family, had their own plans. Since Cui Runsheng had taken a liking to Qi Bingxue, they deliberately persuaded the old man and woman to agree to hold the wedding ceremony at the ancestral home. Their excuse was that the old house had more rooms and a spacious courtyard, making it much more convenient for entertaining guests and holding the wedding ceremony. The old man and woman thought their reasoning made sense, so they agreed. Before his rebirth, the eldest branch of the Cui family had more or less achieved its ultimate goal. But after his rebirth, Cui Yan's new bride had become Qi Bingxue, just as things had originally been destined to happen. Thinking about the situation in the Cui family, Qi Bingxue immediately said, "Wait here a moment." As she spoke, she lifted the door curtain and hurried into the outer room. She rummaged around for something, and before long, she came rushing back with a small cloth bundle about the size of a fist clutched in her hand. "This is everything I own. Since we've already bowed to Heaven and Earth and become husband and wife, what's mine is yours." "That way, we can build our own house and live there together. From now on, we won't have to depend on anyone else." After saying that, she untied the little bundle and placed its contents on the table. Cui Yan glanced at it and was stunned. There was a full 600 yuan inside! In this era, that was an enormous fortune. Cui Yan was so startled that he immediately stood up, quickly wrapped the money back up, and stuffed it into Qi Bingxue's hands. "That's far too much money! Put it away quickly. It wouldn't be good if someone saw it." "Besides, I shouldn't be taking this money from you. Hurry up and wash up. Let's go home. There's something I need to discuss with you." Seeing how serious Cui Yan looked, Qi Bingxue immediately nodded. "All right. I understand." Qi Bingxue and Cui Yan quickly finished washing up one after the other. When Cui Yan returned and walked from the outer room into the inner room, he found that Qi Bingxue had already packed all their belongings. Without hesitation, Cui Yan reached for their luggage. "I'll carry it." He said it briefly and firmly, then effortlessly picked up the bag. Behind him, Qi Bingxue secretly smiled. She hadn't expected this man to have such an adorable side to him. Cui Yan and Qi Bingxue walked out one after the other, only to run straight into Liu Yanyan, who was also stepping out of her room. The moment Liu Yanyan saw Cui Yan, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. What was going on? Why were Cui Yan and Qi Bingxue together? And why were they coming out of the same room? The educated youth Liu Yanyan had fallen for was named Hu Wenbing. He was fairly handsome and well-educated. It hadn't taken long for her to fall deeply in love with him. The two had already been intimate in a cornfield, engaging in sexual relations. However, when her period was late, her family discovered that she was pregnant. If Hu Wenbing had been an ordinary educated youth, the Liu family might have reluctantly accepted him as their son-in-law. But his circumstances were different. One of his relatives was a traitor who had fled to the Kuomintang side a couple of years earlier. The only reason Hu Wenbing had been able to live peacefully in the city was that his mother was a fearless woman who wasn't above making a scene and demanding to see the leaders whenever necessary. The Liu family considered themselves politically respectable, with impeccable revolutionary credentials. There was no way they would accept someone with Hu Wenbing's family background. That was why they had thought of the marriage arrangement with the Cui family, which nobody had mentioned in a long time. The Liu family looked down on Cui Runsheng from the eldest branch. Instead, they had their eyes on Cui Yan from the second branch. Even then, it had taken considerable effort for the Liu family to persuade Liu Yanyan to accept Cui Yan as her husband. After all, Cui Yan had at least graduated from high school, had good grades, and was handsome. Only then could Liu Yanyan reluctantly agree to the marriage. If her new husband had been the good-for-nothing street loafer Cui Runsheng, how could she possibly have accepted him? Cui Runsheng had been spoiled rotten by his family. He was useless at practically everything, and his face was covered in pimples. He also loved hanging around Qi Bingxue so much that people had given him the nickname "Toad." And yet, last night, she had actually consummated her marriage with that Toad! She had to admit that she had put in quite an effort the previous night, trying to make sure Cui Yan would give his heart to her. In this era, rural households didn't have electricity. At most, there were a few electric lights at the production brigade office. Last night, everything had been pitch-black. Liu Yanyan hadn't been able to see the man's face clearly, so she had always assumed that the person who entered her room was Cui Yan. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that Cui Yan would now appear alongside Qi Bingxue! "Y-you... Why are you coming out of that room?" Liu Yanyan's voice completely broke down. "How can this be? How can this be? My husband was clearly..." Cui Yan hadn't even reacted yet when Cui Runsheng, who had appeared behind him, turned ashen. He hurried forward, wrapped an arm around Liu Yanyan's waist, and said, "Honey, we were the ones who got married and consummated our marriage last night. Of course, my older cousin and his wife were also in their own room..." Cui Runsheng had only gotten halfway through his sentence when he finally saw Qi Bingxue's face clearly. She wore a single long braid and possessed a beauty that seemed to surpass even the celestial maidens. Her phoenix eyes were lively, and her fair, youthful skin was so delicate it looked as though a gentle touch could make water seep from it. Th-this was Educated Youth Qi? The woman he had deliberately chosen not to marry in this lifetime... Qi Bingxue?!!!!!