When Su Fu arrived in town, she shot a glare over her shoulder at Wang Mazi.

“Get lost.”

Wang Cheng: “…Sis Fu, since you’re about to start going on blind dates, you should really try being a little gentler.”

The moment he finished speaking, he scrambled away, running faster than a rabbit.

Su Fu curled her lip. If Wang Mazi had been even a second slower, he’d have ended up with a swollen, bruised face.

The nerve of him, trying to tell her what to do. It had clearly been too long since he’d gotten beaten up.

She stopped by the supply-and-marketing cooperative and bought a pound of fruit candies that didn’t require ration coupons, then strolled toward the Public Security Bureau residential compound.

At the entrance, she whistled toward the auntie sitting in the guard booth.

“Well, well, Auntie Hu. Reading the newspaper?”

Auntie Hu was around fifty years old, broad-shouldered and sturdy, with a red armband on her arm.

“Good thing you’re not a man. Otherwise I’d report you for harassment.”

Su Fu grinned. “If I were a man, would I dare act up in front of you? Here, have a candy and sweeten your day.”

She handed over a piece of candy and lowered her voice.

“So, any juicy gossip in the compound lately?”

Auntie Hu smiled, slipped the candy into her pocket, and began sharing the latest neighborhood gossip.

“You know Xiao Zhang who lives next door to your godfather? Your godmother used to say she’d introduce him to you after you graduated high school. Well, he got married three days ago.”

Su Fu barely remembered him. She came here often, but she never bothered remembering people who weren’t important.

“The newlyweds are still in their honeymoon phase. If his wife heard me talking about him, I’d never live it down.”

Auntie Hu waved her hand and lowered her voice even further.

“Honeymoon phase? They’ve only been married a couple of days and they’ve already fought four times.”

Su Fu clicked her tongue.

“How come?”

It was a long story, but Auntie Hu gave the short version.

“The bride didn’t ask for any dowry. Her only condition was that Xiao Zhang help find a wife for her brother. He couldn’t make it happen, so now they’re fighting every day.”

Su Fu understood immediately. Bride exchange marriages were pretty common in rural areas.

If a family resorted to that, it usually meant one of three things:

Either they didn’t value their daughters.

Or the family was desperately poor.

Or both.

Auntie Hu continued, “You can’t really blame Xiao Zhang. His wife comes from some mountain village so poor they practically have to take turns wearing their underwear.

“I heard there’s a family in that village where several brothers all want to share a single wife.

“Tell me, what respectable girl would agree to marry into that?”

Su Fu let out a low whistle.

“Now that’s some ambitious planning.”

She’d heard of younger brothers wanting to marry their widowed sisters-in-law, but she’d never heard of anything like that.

That village had to be incredibly remote. She was a local herself, yet she’d never even heard of it.

Auntie Hu went on to chatter about several other families in the compound.

Although Su Fu’s reputation outside wasn’t exactly stellar, quite a few people in the compound liked her.

Auntie Hu was one of them.

The elderly couple who used to live by the back gate had also adored her, treating her like their own granddaughter.

Unfortunately, they’d moved away last year to live with their son and enjoy retirement.

Now, apart from her godfather and godmother, Auntie Hu was about the only person left in the compound who still chatted with her.

After talking for more than half an hour, Auntie Hu’s mouth was practically foaming from all the gossip.

“It’s only because it’s you. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t say a word.”

None of it was classified information, but it still wouldn’t sound good if it got around.

Smiling, Su Fu handed her the enamel mug sitting on the table.

“Hey, my lips are sealed.”

After chatting a little longer, Su Fu left the guard booth and headed upstairs.

At this hour, the building was quiet. People were either at work or out buying groceries and taking care of their children.

Outside every apartment door was a patch of blackened flooring, stained by years of coal stove use.

She walked all the way to the end of the corridor and knocked on a door.

“Godmother, Fu Fu’s here!”

The door opened almost immediately, and Liu Xiulian welcomed her inside with a smile.

“You’re here already? Why did you bring gifts…?”

Su Fu placed the candy on the table.

“Where are Da Dong and Xiao Xi?”

Liu Xiulian poured her a cup of hot water, added two spoonfuls of brown sugar, then brought out some peach pastries and half a pomelo.

“Da Dong went fishing with an old man from the next alley. Xiao Xi insisted on tagging along.”

After chatting for a while, Su Fu brought up the matter of her blind date.

When Liu Xiulian heard the story, her brow furrowed so deeply she looked capable of crushing a mosquito between the wrinkles.

“You’re still so young. There’s no need to rush into marriage. Take your time and look carefully.”

Su Fu sighed.

“They’ve been pushed around for so many years. I’m worried they’ll come to their senses and demand a division of the family assets.”

Jobs were hard to come by these days. Large numbers of city residents were being sent back to the countryside.

If the family split up, she’d have to work in the fields every day.

Long hours under the scorching sun, exhausted and dirty.

She wanted no part of that life.

Back then, her father, Su Yi, had tried to avoid farm labor by rescuing the heavily pregnant Liu Xiulian. If he was lucky, he might have gotten a work assignment out of it.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side.

He died.

Liu Xiulian sighed as well.

“I did hear about a job a few days ago. Loading and unloading goods at the textile factory. But it’s heavy labor, all done by men. It wouldn’t be suitable for a young woman.”

Su Fu was strong, but she had no desire to do manual labor.

She’d spent years studying because she wanted an easy city job—something like office work.

Unfortunately, without connections, she couldn’t even get a factory position.

Officially, jobs were awarded through examinations.

In reality, most positions were already spoken for.

“Godmother, I’m not against getting married. When my dad was alive, he always said he hoped I’d marry into a good family someday.

“I came today to ask a favor. If you hear of any suitable men, keep an eye out for me.

“Everything else is negotiable, but preferably someone from town. He can’t be uglier than my dad. And most importantly, he has to be clean and tidy.”

Liu Xiulian felt deeply sorry for her.

Such a wonderful girl, yet the Su family had treated her so terribly.

Back when Su Yi had just died, the little girl had come running here in the middle of the night, crying.

Her shoes had fallen apart, and her feet had been covered in blood.

If the family could nearly drive her to death over a little compensation money back then, what chance was there they’d arrange a decent marriage for her now?

Unless the sun rose in the west, nobody would believe it.

“Back then, your Uncle Li should have been more forceful and transferred your household registration into our family.”

Su Fu knew her godparents were good people.

They had already done more than enough for her over the years.

“Don’t say that. I’m still planning to have you come help me take care of my future children.”

Liu Xiulian gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“All right. When the time comes, I’ll be there.”

Su Fu had arrived with half a pound of candy.

She left chewing on an apple, carrying a small packet of peach pastries as well.

When Li Weiguo came home at noon, Liu Xiulian immediately told him about the conversation.

“Fu Fu has had a hard life. You need to help her think this through carefully.”

Li Weiguo thought about all the unmarried young men he knew.

Like every father evaluating potential sons-in-law, the more he looked, the less satisfied he became.

His brow grew increasingly furrowed.

Finally, he went to his room and brought out a small notebook filled mostly with the phone numbers of former comrades-in-arms.

Liu Xiulian sat beside him, and the couple began discussing candidates one by one.

They were so absorbed that they didn’t even get up when Da Dong and Xiao Xi returned home.

Da Dong asked, “Mom, Dad, what’s going on?”

Liu Xiulian replied, “Your Sister Fu Fu is looking for a marriage match—”

Before she could finish, Da Dong eagerly squeezed in beside them and joined the discussion.

Meanwhile, after leaving her godmother’s house, Su Fu secretly tailed Wang Xiaojiao all the way home.

After watching her enter an old, run-down courtyard, Su Fu carefully put away her peach pastries, dusted off her hands, and climbed the tree beside the courtyard wall.