“Zhaodi’s father, why don’t you say something about how to handle Zhaodi’s marriage?”
“What can I say? She is neither willing to marry into the Wang family nor the Zhong family. I can’t very well hold a knife to her neck and force her to marry.”
“But the people from the Zhong family will be coming soon and the Wang family is also waiting for our Zhaodi to reply. It’s not good to keep dragging the matter.”
“What do you want me to do? Go talk to Zhaodi about this.”
“Speak softly! When I went to the toilet just after midnight, I could hear movement inside Zhaodi’s room. I think she was crying again secretly last night.”
Song Zhaodi was born on the evening of August 25, 1945, the day Japan declared its surrender1.
She passed the university entrance exam in 1963 and was successfully admitted to Binhai Normal University. She was the first and only college student from Xiao Song Village.
In the early autumn of 1963, Song Zhaodi took the prize money from the village, town and county, leaving for Binhai City with her mother.
After getting off the bus, the two didn’t report to the university but went to a tongzilou2.
It was noon and they could smell all kinds of appetizing aroma across the building. Song Zhaodi carefully compared the address in her hand to the ‘钟’ (Zhong) character on the door. She nodded to her mother.
Mother Song knocked on the door.
A few moments later, the door opened. A smiling, ruddy-complexioned woman in her fifties faced Song Zhaodi and her mother. Mother Song smiled. “Biaojie3. Zhaodi, quickly greet your aunt-”
“Why have you come?” Zhao Yin frowned, feeling that the matter was fishy. She drew back, her face wrinkled in disgust, interrupting Mother Song’s introduction.
Song Zhaodi’s complexion changed and she was about to explain, but Zhao Yin spoke again with impatience, “I’m busy right now. I don’t have time to receive you. If there is any matter, we’ll talk about it later.”
Mother Song’s face turned red with embarrassment.
Song Zhaodi saw the people cooking in the building had turned to look at them. She took Mother Song’s hand and said, “Mom, let’s go!”
Mother Song staggered a little, turning to see the ugly expression on her daughter’s face. Her chest felt stuffy. “In that case, biaojie, I will return.”
Coming out of the building, Mother Song looked at the two pieces of dried eel in her bag with a complicated expression. “I originally wanted to give this to your biaoyi4, ai. Take this with you to your university.”
“I have enough with me. Soon, the university will give me money. You take this home and eat with the others.” Song Zhaodi turned to look at the building and couldn’t help grinding her teeth. “In the future, there’s no need to maintain relations with their family.”
Mother Song said, “Don’t talk nonsense. No matter what, she is still your aunt.”
“Don’t persuade me!” Song Zhaodi, a young woman, was leaving home for the first time and travelling far to study; no one in the Xiao Song Village felt at ease.
Mother Song remembered her aunt’s daughter, who had remarried into a family surnamed Zhong. She simply wanted to look for a person from her village and exchange two big eels for looking after Song Zhaodi.
Mother Song found something amiss in her daughter’s voice and turned to see the latter’s reddened eyes, which seemed to want to cry but were holding back with difficulty. Her nose was sour. “Yes, your parents have no ability and have caused—”
“Yes, that’s right. You haven’t met good relatives.” Song Zhaodi interrupted her mother’s apology.
Mother Song suddenly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Song Zhaodi coaxed her mother but her chest felt heavy. The entire time, her aunt, Zhao Yin, had appeared as if she had seen a maggot she couldn’t get rid of.
Half a year after entering college, the sea breeze had transformed her dark skin to becoming fair, having a round face and a bold and lofty temperament. She lost her rustic look and dimples appeared on her cheeks when she smiled. When she returned to her village, Song Zhaodi received the praises of her fellow villagers; people who went to college were truly different.
It was January of 1964. Song Zhaodi looked better than ever before. When she returned to college, she too became a beautiful part of Binhai Normal University.
Soon, a bold admirer wanted to pursue her.
Song Zhaodi wasn’t interested in this fellow male classmate, but she inadvertently found out that his family was rather well-off. They also had connections abroad. The look of disgust on her aunt’s face appeared in her mind once again. Inwardly vowing to become a person of high status, she accepted his pursuit.
By the spring of 1966, Song Zhaodi had dated her classmate for two years. Their feelings were good enough to talk about marriage. Song Zhaodi was very excited and planned to take her boyfriend to meet her parents during the summer vacation. However, the man suddenly disappeared without a trace.
After making discreet inquiries, she learned that his family’s composition had a problem. Perhaps the Red Soldiers5 had investigated his family, so everyone got onto a boat and left for Hong Kong.
Since her boyfriend had fled, Song Zhaodi felt extremely sad. She was afraid that the Red Soldiers in the college would find out about her relationship with him. So, when the college closed in May, she ran back to Xiao Song Village, saying that she would help her family collect paddy.
The senior high school where Song Zhaodi lived – Hongya Town – had also stopped classes, so her returning earlier didn’t cause any suspicion. Mother Song had noticed her daughter’s abnormal behaviour, but before she could find out the truth, someone had acted as a matchmaker for Song Zhaodi.
Song Zhaodi had just experienced a break-up and wasn’t in the mood to marry someone other than her boyfriend. The groom’s uncle was a town leader, so it wasn’t good for Father Song to offend them. He simply said that Song Zhaodi hadn’t graduated and she wanted to wait until she graduated to marry.
The other party’s parents believed that the Song family looked down on their son who hadn’t even graduated from junior high school and was working in a factory. Not only weren’t they angry, but they also felt this was normal. After all, Song Zhaodi was the first college student within ten miles and eight villages since the country’s founding. When they asked the matchmaker to enquire, they hadn’t even expected that the Song family would agree.
The groom’s uncle also thought that his nephew was indulging in fantasy. After finding out about the Song family’s rejection, he immediately said that his nephew was a toad wanting to eat swan meat, so he naturally didn’t go to the Song family to persuade them.
In 1967, in late spring, all universities across the country had closed down and the tempering of educated youth by sending them to the countryside was advocated6. Hongya Town also welcomed its first batch of educated youth — university and senior high school students.
It was now impossible for Song Zhaodi to return to the city. Unable to withstand their son’s pleas, the Wang family’s parents repeatedly sent people to the Song family to propose marriage. They even said that if she married their son, they would try to find a relationship for her to teach in the town.
Song Zhaodi hesitated a little, but she truly looked down on the Wang family and so she didn’t accept.
Her parents were also reluctant to force their smart and bright daughter. Their daughter had gone as far as to attend university and bring honour to their family, but she now had to be a substitute teacher at elementary school and earn work points for their family.
The Song family delayed responding to the Wang family, according to her wishes. The Wang family could also see that the Song family didn’t want to marry their daughter to their family.
Wang Degui had seen Song Zhaodi in town for the first time and since then, she had been on his mind constantly. He vowed that he wouldn’t marry if his wife wouldn’t be her. For the sake of their son, the Wang family’s parents sought Wang Degui’s uncle to step in.
September 10, 1967, was a Sunday. Uncle Wang rode his bicycle and headed towards Xiao Song Village.
Seeing him, the villagers laughed, asking whether he had come to act as a matchmaker for Wang Degui.
Uncle Wang blushed. He wanted to walk away but was afraid that the villagers would think he was fleeing. He simply got off the bicycle and said that he had only one nephew who had declared that if it wasn’t Song Zhaodi, he wouldn’t marry. Even he could do nothing about it and had to personally come to talk.
The villagers told Wang Degui’s uncle that the Song family had a guest, Song Zhaodi’s aunt, who had come from Binhai city.
Uncle Wang did not think this was a coincidence. He pushed his bicycle to the Song family’s house and heard voices from inside. Through the crack of the door, he saw a woman wearing very good clothes. She didn’t look like someone from the village. Seeing this, Uncle Wang didn’t go in immediately. He directly turned around and left, planning to come another day.
Zhao Yin’s husband had died early on and she had remarried into the Zhong family in Binhai city. In the initial years of marrying the Zhong family, Zhao Yin had treated her two stepsons very well. Even when she became pregnant, she didn’t treat them unfairly. But when she gave birth to a son, the second her month of confinement was over, she drove the two Zhong brothers out to her parents-in-law’s house. What was called to turn one’s face ruthlessly? The two brothers of the Zhong family learned this through personal experience.
As the saying went, adolescent children eat until their parents are poor. The Zhong family brothers were driven out by their stepmother to their grandparents’ house just when they were in their growing stage. Because their grandparents’ wages weren’t high, the brothers didn’t dare to eat too much. They frequently woke up hungry in the middle of the night and drank a lot of water to fill their stomachs.
A year later, the 16-year-old Zhong family’s elder son went to a state-run textile factory to work as an apprentice. Although the income wasn’t a lot, the brothers didn’t have to tighten their waistbands any longer and drink water in the middle of the night. The younger Zhong brother also worked hard. He learned that attending university didn’t require tuition fees and he would also receive some money, so he burnt the midnight oil and passed the university entrance exam for Binhai Ocean University.
The day he received the admission notice, Zhao Yin finally remembered these two stepsons and immediately brought the brothers back to the Zhong family house to live. Unfortunately, the brothers no longer wanted to reconcile with their stepmother.
After having lunch, they returned to their grandparents’ house.
Since the Zhong family had a college student, even if he hadn’t reported yet, people who hadn’t had them in their eyes before arrived with gifts to the Zhong family to congratulate them.
Before long, someone came as a matchmaker for the elder Zhong brother. But the Zhong family’s lao da7 lived with his grandparents in a crowded small house and there was no space for a wife, so he turned them down.
Later, the Zhong family’s lao da saved enough money as did the Zhong family’s lao er8, so they bought a corner land where they built three brick houses. Only when it was complete did the elder brother ask people to introduce partners to him.
Zhong family’s lao er was promising and trustworthy. Based on his younger brother’s good fortune, relatives and neighbours, including the ruthless Zhao Yin attended his wedding with gifts or money.
Unfortunately, Zhong family’s lao er still wasn’t fond of this stepmother. Immediately after graduation, he left for Shencheng9 and stayed far away from home.
University students were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns in the army. So, as soon as he enlisted in the navy, Zhong family’s lao er was given the rank of second lieutenant.
When Zhao Yin saw her stepson return in a military uniform, she didn’t dare to treat lao da harshly or seek trouble with his family. Although she smiled on the outside, she inwardly cursed lao er to die on the battlefield.
Perhaps it was Zhao Yin’s curse taking effect when lao er’s wife died violently on the street, leaving behind three children.
Zhong family’s lao Er was a soldier and he was at a loss about the subject of childcare, so he placed his children in his brother’s house. lao da was willing to take care of his nephews but he already had two children of his own.
Their grandparents had already passed away; it was impossible for his parents-in-law to help look after the children. Zhong family’s eldest sister-in-law alone couldn’t manage taking care of five children. There was will but no strength, so Zhong dasao10 proposed that her younger brother-in-law marry again.
Zhong family’s lao er had no objections. He was merely worried that no one wanted to marry him and those who wanted to marry him wouldn’t take good care of his children.
This matter somehow passed into Zhao Yin’s ears, who immediately spoke to Zhong dasao saying that she had a suitable person in mind, but she didn’t know whether she had married yet.
Zhong dasao didn’t believe that this stepmother-in-law would do a good deed. But when others heard that lao er had three sons, they immediately rejected the proposal, so Zhong dasao could only entrust this matter to her heartless stepmother-in-law.
Soon, Zhao Yin bought several catties of green vegetables, a catty of pear, a catty of fried fruit and half a catty of pork, then went to Xiao Song Village as a matchmaker.
Song Zhaodi hadn’t forgotten that when she had gone with her mother to the Zhong family’s house four years ago, Zhao Yin had been so contemptuous. She felt that Zhao Yin was a weasel giving New Year greetings to the rooster.
When she came, Song Zhaodi didn’t clean up and came out from the kitchen wearing an apron made of coarse cloth.
When she didn’t go to teach at the elementary school, she helped out at home and went to the coast to gather clams. Exposed to the sun all day long and having returned for over a year, she had once again turned into a black and thin native girl.
Zhao Yin sized Song Zhaodi up and was very satisfied. She immediately spoke about the marriage proposal and said that it wasn’t an outsider but her second stepson.
The Song family had heard someone mention that Zhong family’s lao er was a university student. Mother Song guessed that he was around thirty years old and asked why he hadn’t been married yet.
Zhao Yin replied that he had indeed married but the woman had died a while ago.
Mother Song was neither smart nor foolish. She didn’t ask whether he had any children, rather, she asked how the children were handled once the mother died.
Zhao Yin’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t thought that her cousin knew that lao er had children. She gave an embarrassed smile and said that if he didn’t have children, based on lao er’s conditions, it wasn’t Song Zhaodi’s turn to marry him.
Song Zhaodi sneered. Mother Song immediately got up and sent her out. Since both families were relatives, she didn’t immediately draw the line but said that they still had to think about it.
When Song Zhaodi entered university, a three-year period11 of difficulty had ended and the common people had an easier time. The petty Zhao Yin felt that her natal family might come to take advantage of her and immediately broke contact with them. So, she didn’t know that Song Zhaodi was a university student. She believed that Song Zhaodi couldn’t even write her own name.
Seeing her complexion, she mistakenly believed that they couldn’t accept Zhong family’s lao er had three children. She felt that even if he had children, Song Zhaodi, a rural woman marrying a university student was a blessing of her previous incarnation. Returning home, she told Zhong dasao that the matter was done and told her to ask lao er to return as soon as possible.
September 23rd, the Song family received a letter from Zhao Yin saying that Zhong family’s lao er would return on National Day12.
Mother Song didn’t know how to reply. She directly asked Song Zhaodi what she intended.
Without a second thought, Song Zhaodi said that she wouldn’t marry. Returning to her room, she pondered deeply. If she didn’t marry Zhong Jianguo, the Wang family would come every two or three days to ask whether she had thought it over.
Choose neither the Zhong family nor the Wang family? She was already twenty-two years old. She could be at home for at most two or three years. She inevitably had to marry later. At that time, the conditions of the other party may not be as good as the Zhong or the Wang family.
As National Day drew closer, Song Zhaodi didn’t know what to do and she wished she could die, but she was reluctant to die. On the one hand, she hated that she wasn’t ruthless enough to die, on the other hand, she hated her indecisiveness and overcautiousness. Midnight on September 30th, she cried all night. Early morning the next day, her soul was replaced by Liu Ling of the next century.
Staring at the cobwebs on the roof and listening to thick northern dialect coming from the other side of the wall, the person lying on the bed didn’t want to admit that she was Song Zhaodi. But her stuffy and aching chest and sour eyes felt so real, telling her that she was no longer the international fashion designer but Binhai City Xiao Song Village’s Song Zhaodi.
Liu Ling was born in the next millennium. Before dying, her disciples and their disciples asked her whether she had any unfulfilled desires. Liu Ling had lived a confident and spirited life, so she seriously thought it over and expressed that she had no regrets.
Her group of disciples truly wanted to help fulfil her wishes, so they urged her to think again. Liu Ling said that she regretted not getting married, experiencing marital life and raising children. Before her disciples could speak, she said that giving birth was very painful and that a mother may have to die for the child to be born. In the end, fate is uncertain, so forget about it. Her disciples exchanged glances and said nothing. Then, she died.
The soul from the next century, Liu Ling, looked at the calluses on her hands. She sat up on the bed and patted herself awake. Feeling dizzy, she inwardly cursed that the heavens were truly earnest. The words she spoke before dying were only meant to be words. “Dad, Mom, I’ll marry!”
The door of her room opened and the hall became silent.
- Japan officially announced its surrender on August 15, 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union’s declaration of war. However, the formal surrender documents were signed on September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri, marking the official end of World War II. ↩︎
- Tongzilou (筒子楼) refers to a type of communal housing commonly found in China from the 1950s to the 1980s. These buildings typically had narrow, long hallways with small individual rooms and shared facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms, reflecting the era’s emphasis on collectivism and state-assigned housing. ↩︎
- Biaojie (表姐) refers to an older female cousin from the maternal side of the family. ↩︎
- Biaoyi (表姨) refers to a maternal aunt, specifically the daughter of one’s maternal grandfather’s siblings. ↩︎
- The Red Soldiers were young militant activists during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), often associated with the Red Guards. They were tasked with enforcing Maoist ideology, rooting out perceived class enemies, and investigating individuals with so-called ‘bad’ family backgrounds, such as landlords, capitalists, or those with ties to nationalist or foreign elements. Families deemed politically problematic were often subjected to persecution, and some fled to places like Hong Kong to escape political turmoil. ↩︎
- During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), the Chinese government implemented the ‘Down to the Countryside Movement’ (上山下乡运动), in which urban educated youth (知青, zhīqīng) were sent to rural areas to work alongside peasants. This policy aimed to ‘re-educate’ them through manual labour, reinforce communist ideology, and alleviate urban unemployment. The movement peaked in the late 1960s and early 1970s, disrupting the education and careers of an entire generation. ↩︎
- Lao da (老大) is a colloquial Chinese term meaning ‘eldest’, often used to refer to the oldest child in a family. In this context, it refers to the eldest Zhong brother. ↩︎
- Lao er (老二) is a colloquial Chinese term meaning ‘second eldest’, commonly used to refer to the second child in a family. In this context, it refers to the second Zhong brother, our esteemed male lead. ↩︎
- Shencheng could be an alternative name for Shanghai (上海). Historically, Shanghai has been referred to as Shencheng (申城), with Shen (申) being a traditional abbreviation for the city. ↩︎
- Dasao (大嫂) is a term meaning ‘eldest brother’s wife’ or ‘sister-in-law’. Zhong dasao refers to the wife of the eldest Zhong brother. ↩︎
- Refers to the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961), which resulted from a combination of natural disasters and policy failures, particularly the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962). During this period, severe food shortages led to widespread suffering, but by 1963, conditions had improved, and daily life became more stable for the general population. ↩︎
- National Day (国庆节) in China is celebrated annually on October 1st to commemorate the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It is a major public holiday marked by festivities, parades, and a week-long holiday known as ‘Golden Week’. ↩︎
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