Chapter 143: People Compared to People Are Worthless (Guaranteed Second Update)

The groom’s mother, seeing Wei Ming’s entire family, couldn’t find a single patch on any of their clothes—the two men were even wearing leather shoes—and her eyes lit up.

Then again, they’d arrived in a Jeep—definitely not ordinary people!

Who would’ve thought such a destitute Xu family had such wealthy relatives!

She smiled and stepped forward, calling Xu Cunmao “family,” and asked him to introduce Xu Shufen.

Before Xu Cunmao could speak, Xu Shufen had already run to the Xu family matriarch, dropped to her knees, and hugged her legs.

“Mother!” she cried, followed by uncontrollable sobs.

This scene made Wei Ming’s eyes grow damp—this lifetime, at last, his mother had seen her own mother.

Though this trip cost hundreds of yuan, wasn’t that precisely the point of earning money?

If only his father could see his own father too… Wei Ming clenched his fists, feeling that being reborn meant not only fulfilling his own ambitions but also ensuring his family’s lives held no regrets—that was true reincarnation.

Next, the grandmother, mother, and eldest aunt began chatting eagerly—they had too much to say but didn’t know where to begin.

Xu Shufen wiped her tears. “Let me introduce everyone.”

Then Wei Jiefang, Wei Ming, and Wei Hong met the elders, including the quiet aunt-in-law still working.

As for the groom’s side, the grandmother refused to acknowledge them—she held grudges.

Fortunately, Wei Ming and his family had learned Sichuan-Chongqing dialect from their mother, so the three Weis could communicate reasonably well, though Old Wei’s showiness was dampened by the language barrier.

The grandmother nearly had to tilt her head back to look at Wei Ming. “What do you eat to grow so tall?” she marveled.

Wei Ming grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. “Grandma, I’m one eighty-three.”

To give her a clear sense of his height, Wei Ming stepped back two paces, standing right beside the groom.

The contrast between the groom’s under-one-sixty frame and Wei Ming’s one-eighty-three was brutal—nearly a full head’s difference. Add Wei Ming’s polished attire, upright posture, and refined bearing, and the groom looked like a child—especially a sneaky, shabby little one.

Xu Yunyun had initially thought the groom was decent—he was a bit shorter than her, but good-looking, and his sweet talk made her believe he’d treat her well for life, convincing her, new to love, of his sincerity.

But now, seeing him beside her cousin Wei Ming, she realized how far he still was from true excellence.

The groom felt miserable standing next to Wei Ming—in their entire village, no one was this tall, and the man’s clothes and aura made him feel unbearable. He’d worn his best outfit for this meeting, yet beside Wei Ming, he felt like a beggar.

He desperately wanted to avoid Wei Ming, but wherever he went, Wei Ming followed. Long Xiaoyang watched, grinning. “Cousin, are you doing this on purpose?”

Wei Ming: “Am I being that obvious?”

The boy wasn’t bad—if his mother had died earlier, Wei Ming might’ve ignored him, out of consideration for the three nieces and nephews yet to be born. But a mama’s boy could never escape his mother’s influence, so Wei Ming had to act—after all, a girl’s entire happiness was at stake. What greater virtue could there be?

The groom, who’d planned to stay for a meal, quickly pulled his mother away from Xu Shufen, who’d been trying to speak with her.

“Mom, let’s go.”

“Go where? Your future in-laws’ relatives have come—can’t you see? Help out with some work!” She hadn’t spoken much, but she’d seen Xu Shufen’s husband with a pen tucked in his pocket and leather shoes on his feet—clearly a state cadre!

And that girl—wasn’t that a camera around her neck?

If they could marry into this family, maybe their son could even get state grain rations!

Wei Jiefang smoked, gazing at the sky: “Sigh. The world misunderstands me so much.”

The groom ignored his mother and turned to leave. Xu Cunmao then spoke up: “Everyone, let’s disperse—I didn’t prepare nearly enough food.”

He faced the groom’s mother directly: “I’m sorry, but today our family has something more important. We’ll discuss the match another day. Please go home first.”

“Oh, family reunions are so touching—I thought I could help out.”

“No need. Please leave,” Xu Cunmao said firmly. Having outsiders around now was awkward.

After the village secretary and his wife left, Wei Ming told Long Xiaoyang to go to the brigade office and invite Brother Wan over for dinner.

Seeing Xu Cunmao’s firm stance and realizing their son had already fled, the groom’s family had no choice but to leave.

The matchmaker, however, stared at Wei Ming, reluctant to leave. She sidled up to Wei Jiefang. “Would your son consider marrying a local girl? I know every beautiful girl within ten li!”

Old Wei smiled calmly. “No need to trouble you, sister. My son has even dated foreign girls. He’ll decide his own marriage—we parents won’t interfere.”

The matchmaker’s head filled with question marks.

What? He’s dated foreign women? Is his son made of gold or silver?

Finally, the matchmaker swept her sleeve and left—after all that effort, she hadn’t even gotten a candy. What bad luck!

Long Xiaoyang followed Wang Cai and his wife to the brigade office, pestering them all the way: “Did my second aunt and uncle really come by car? Is my second uncle a big official?”

Wang Cai: “From the north—probably Beijing. Almost certainly. Maybe even second-generation.”

No wonder the secretary was sharp—Wang Cai’s name might be crude, but he had insight. He’d seen second- and third-generation youths come here looking for pandas, and their bearing and speech were nowhere near Wei Ming’s level.

Cai Feng sighed: “I fled famine too, back then. How lucky is Shufen!”

Wang Cai sneered: “Look in the mirror. Do you have Shufen’s looks?”

Cai Feng retorted: “I was pretty when I was young! It’s you who wore me down—just thinking of giving birth to five kids makes me ache. Five! Five!”

“Didn’t you keep wanting more? Otherwise, how’d you get five?”

Cai Feng was the kind of woman who could say “I’m the mountain road of Sichuan” with full force. Long Xiaoyang, seeing them about to fight, feared getting splattered with blood.

He hurried ahead to the brigade office and finally saw the legendary Jeep—rumor had it you could reach Rongcheng in just two or three hours in this thing!

“You’re Brother Wan, right? My cousin told me to invite you to dinner,” he knocked on the window, then added, “My cousin is Wei Ming.”

Brother Wan smiled—he’d found them.

He’d been worried about leaving the official vehicle, but seeing Wang Cai return, he entrusted him with guarding it.

Wang Cai assured him: “Don’t worry, sir—I won’t let anyone near it!”

Meanwhile, Brother Wan pulled two sacks and a bucket from the car, telling Long Xiaoyang to carry them too.

“What’s this?”

Brother Wan: “One sack of rice, one of flour, and a bucket of oil.”

!

Not sure how many days they’d stay, Wei Ming worried his grandmother’s household couldn’t handle feeding so many, so he’d bought these in Rongcheng.

Long Xiaoyang calculated their value—and suddenly felt his body brim with strength.

On the way, he couldn’t help asking: “Brother Wan, what does my second uncle actually do?”

Brother Wan: “Your second uncle? Oh, Old Wei—he’s just a farmer.”

While Long Xiaoyang was asking, Xu Shufen also learned from her eldest sister how Long Xiaoyang came to be.

Her first husband hadn’t survived those years; Long Xiaoyang was the only child from her second marriage.

Xu Shufen hugged her weeping sister tightly—she remembered that twenty years ago, during their famine flight, her sister had been pregnant.

She didn’t know if the baby had been born and lost, or never made it into this world. She dared not ask—it must be her sister’s deepest wound; how could she bear to tear it open?

Then they spoke of the youngest sister. A month after Xu Shufen went missing, while begging in Shancheng, they’d been chased by a gang of local beggars. After scrambling in panic, the little sister vanished. They searched for days but never found her.

Speaking of it, their mother and eldest brother wept quietly. She was only ten—how could she survive alone?

Because the youngest sister was so young, even the grandmother and eldest uncle had clung to hope of finding Xu Shufen—but for this daughter, they’d nearly given up. Even if she’d survived, she likely wouldn’t remember home or family.

Wei Ming said: “Mother, didn’t some reader letters mention clues about your little sister?”

"Oh, right!" Xu Shufen pulled out a stack of letters from her bag—all tips from enthusiastic readers.

Most described a Sichuan-Chongqing woman appearing in some town in a certain year, with a certain age and appearance.

A few sounded plausible, but the locations spanned the entire country—visiting them all wasn’t feasible in a short time.

Xu Shuxiang stared at the letters, puzzled: “What are these ‘reader letters’?”

With poor transportation and communication, finding the little sister was nearly impossible. This time, they could only check one of these leads.

Wei Ming pulled out one letter: “This one from Yuxi, Yunnan, fits her description best. I’ll go there myself.”

This time, he wouldn’t bring his parents or Xiao Hong—let them stay with Grandma, enjoy family reunion.

At that moment, the eldest uncle spoke: “You’ve never met your little sister—what if you can’t confirm it? I’ll go with you.”

Over the years, Xu Cunmao had several chances to visit Rongcheng and Shancheng, always lingering days to inquire about his two sisters. Not finding them would haunt him for life.

Just then, Brother Wan and Long Xiaoyang returned. Seeing the rice, flour, and oil, Xu Cunmao felt embarrassed—and the heavy stone in his chest lifted. At last, he wouldn’t need to borrow food or money.

Hearing his cousin and eldest uncle were going to Yunnan to search, Long Xiaoyang became eager.

“Brother, take me along! I want to see the world!”

He’d already figured out—the real powerhouse in his second aunt’s family was this cousin, his own brother!

…

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(End of chapter)