Chapter 67: Winter Plum Blossoms Bloom

On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Li Ye went to the Second Grain Store to pick up Wen Leyu and the others.

Hu Man and several other girls had come over the day before to keep Wen Leyu company, so Li Ye had them spend their days warming up at the Second Grain Store, reviewing lessons and eating meals, then returning to the school dormitory at night to sleep.

When they arrived at the Second Grain Store, Han Xia and the others were quite generous and showed no resistance to spending the New Year at Li Ye’s home, but the actual “main guest,” Wen Leyu, remained shy and hesitant.

Bold Han Xia immediately teased: “Oh, so the ugly daughter-in-law’s afraid to meet her in-laws? Wen Leyu, you’re so beautiful—what’s there to be nervous about?”

“Hahaha~”

Han Xia and Hu Man laughed, but Jiang Xiaoyan anxiously said: “Don’t joke like that—someone might hear.”

Han Xia and Hu Man felt embarrassed and quickly stammered explanations: “Just kidding, don’t take it seriously.”

But Wen Leyu, who had been slightly awkward before, instantly turned cold and distant.

She gave Han Xia a cold glance, stretched out her long legs, and walked off with Li Ye.

After arriving at Li’s home, Wen Leyu shed her previous aloof demeanor, greeting everyone warmly and efficiently helping to wrap dumplings and do chores.

“So she can cook too!”

Han Xia and the others were surprised—Wen Leyu had always struck them as detached, almost otherworldly.

But now, it was clear this girl was actually capable in every way.

With four girls suddenly added to the household, Li’s grandmother was delighted, directing everyone’s tasks while whispering quietly to her husband.

“Look at that one—plump buttocks, broad chest, long waist—she’ll definitely bear children easily.”

“And that one—just watch how efficiently she works—clearly a master of household management.”

“........”

“Sigh, why did our little Ye take a fancy to that skinny girl? Look at her—doing chores like she’s dancing... not nearly as good as that girl chopping filling.”

You know nothing! Stop talking nonsense—what if your grandson hears you? See how you’ll handle it then.

“My grandson... I can’t handle him?”

Li Zhongfa’s words upset Grandma Wu Juying, but just then Li Ye looked over, and her next words died on her lips.

Now, she regarded her eldest grandson as a true treasure.

Handsome, able to earn money, bought him a wool coat worth dozens of yuan without blinking—refusing was impossible—and she counted on him to care for her in the decades ahead.

Though she didn’t particularly like Wen Leyu, if Li Ye wanted her, she’d smile and accept her as a granddaughter-in-law—never make Li Ye struggle.

But she never imagined that Wen Leyu, whom she considered inferior to Jiang Xiaoyan, was, in Li Ye’s eyes, a dazzling “treasure girl.”

People from two different eras viewed girls differently.

Wu Juying’s idea of a “good girl” was someone like Jiang Xiaoyan—chopping meat filling with two cleavers, the chopping board rattling loudly.

But in Li Ye’s eyes, effortless elegance was truly captivating.

Wen Leyu, even while cooking, carried a quiet grace.

It wasn’t deliberate pretense—it was ingrained in small habits.

For instance, when she squatted with classmates to wash vegetables, Han Xia and the others spread their legs wide like horse-riding stances,

while Wen Leyu naturally restrained herself—never thrusting her buttocks upward, never splaying her feet outward like a duck.

Li Ye had once seen women in films who could cook with elegance,

like Julie in *Mr. & Mrs. Smith*, pouring milk in the kitchen after a gunfight—truly mesmerizing.

But Li Ye had always thought such things were performance, just cinema.

Now, seeing Wen Leyu, he believed such people existed in reality.

Li Ye recalled Professor Ke’s presence and bearing, finally understanding the meaning of “osmosis.”

Raised since childhood under Professor Ke, every movement was natural, effortless.

What Grandma Wu Juying saw as “clumsy” was simply Wen Leyu’s innate expression—like a crane walking through water, every motion and stillness an embodiment of grace.

Li family’s New Year’s Eve dinner featured dumplings as the staple, plus a few meat dishes—extremely lavish for an ordinary household in this era.

Under the generous hospitality of Li Zhongfa and Wu Juying, the female classmates all ate until they were full.

Then the men drank, the women played light card games, and at around nine, Wu Juying called Li Yue over.

“The kids live at school—I’m uneasy. You go with them tonight, take the pocket watch, and bring them here at four tomorrow to join Xiao Ye in paying respects to Old Locust.”

“What?”

Li Ye was serving tea to the two drinking men outside, hadn’t heard anything else, only caught “get up at four a.m.”

Grandma inside said: “What ‘what’? Tomorrow morning, come with me to pay respects to Old Locust—he’ll bless you to top the imperial exams next year.”

Li Ye understood.

Old Locust was an ancient locust tree in the old northern district of Qingshui County—no one knew how old it was, but it had stood since Grandpa’s Grandpa’s Grandpa’s time,

and over the years, folk tales had linked it to the locust tree in the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl; locals deeply revered it, and every New Year, many rushed to burn incense and kowtow.

Li Ye laughed helplessly: “Grandma, my grandfather and father are both Party members—aren’t you practicing feudal superstition?”

“.........”

The room fell silent for a second, then a handful of peanuts flew out from inside, scattering across the wine table before the three men.

“You little brat, talking nonsense—feudal superstition? Go kneel outside in the courtyard!”

Grandma, who had always indulged Li Ye, suddenly flew into a rage—startling him into a panicked scramble.

Of course, he wasn’t actually going to kneel—just ducking out of the wind.

But then Grandpa Li Zhongfa stepped out.

He took out a cigarette pack and offered Li Ye one.

Li Ye didn’t dare take it—what was this about?

Li Zhongfa lit his own, took two puffs, then gazed into the endless night and spoke softly.

“That year, our small unit was assigned to hold the rear, repelling pursuit—we got scattered, and after breaking out, only a dozen of us remained...”

“In that situation, only by rejoining the main force could we survive... we got lost, reached a three-way fork...”

“No one knew which way to go, so I said we should follow Old Locust’s guidance... a villager kicked me, cursed me...”

“We couldn’t agree, split up—I took one brother down the right path, the others went left.”

Li Zhongfa’s eyes reddened, his voice changed: “Later, the two of us survived—they never came back.”

Li Ye swallowed hard, said nothing.

It was merely coincidence, but for some reason, it had instilled awe in Li Zhongfa.

As Li Zhongfa’s grandson, be smart—don’t go looking for trouble.

Late at night, after Li Ye, as the male representative of the family, set off firecrackers, he returned to school with his sister Li Yue, Hu Man, and the others.

Li Yue, older and having worked for a year, was sharp and sociable, quickly bonding with Hu Man and the others.

As they walked, Li Yue led Hu Man, Han Xia, and the rest ahead, leaving space for her brother and Wen Leyu to talk privately.

She’d noticed Wen Leyu’s mood had noticeably dipped after dark.

Li Ye noticed too, and asked softly: “Thinking of your mom?”

Wen Leyu walked on, nodding.

Communication in 1981 was terribly backward.

Since Professor Ke had gone to Beijing and sent them a telegram, there had been no further contact.

On New Year’s Eve, separated from her only companion for the first time, Wen Leyu couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

Li Ye could only offer weak comfort: “Don’t worry—Professor Ke isn’t a child, she won’t come to harm.”

Wen Leyu nodded again gently: “I’m not a child either.”

They walked in silence until, beside a low wall, they suddenly caught a faint, deeply soothing fragrance.

Li Ye stopped and asked Wen Leyu: “Did you smell that?”

Wen Leyu’s nose twitched twice: “It’s plum blossom scent.”

Li Ye pointed to the wall: “Even though we can’t see the plum tree through this wall, it... has already bloomed.”

Wen Leyu looked puzzled, then understood after a moment.

She smiled at Li Ye, then suddenly took hold of his sleeve.

“You’re telling me the flowers have bloomed, and spring isn’t far away, right?”

“You don’t need to comfort me so deliberately—I’m actually very strong.”

Li Ye: “.........”

At the end of 1981, the winter plum blossoms opened.

Some people are even more resilient and elegant than winter plum blossoms.