Xie Sui chuckled, "My wife is so smart, she didn't fall for it?!"
Lin Wanwan playfully chided him, her eyes filled with joy.
Back home, someone was waiting for them. It was Officer Huang from the police station. Xie Sui knew him from the town police station. Xie Sui had helped catch human traffickers, and Huang had also earned merits. He had been transferred to the county, becoming a captain.
"Captain Huang, any good news?"
Xie Sui had asked him to search for news about his third sister, Xie Juan. The elder parents wished for a family reunion, and Xie Sui kept it in his heart.
Huang Tianliang said, "There is news. Your third sister has graduated from vocational school and married the son of a cadre in the provincial capital, making her part of a cadre family. She's also teaching, has a son and a daughter, and lives a happy family life."
Huang Tianliang handed him the address and a family photo. He had put in a lot of effort.
Xie Sui couldn't articulate his feelings. "Thank you. Please stay for dinner. Let my Wanwan cook her specialty for you."
Huang Tianliang smiled, "Are you sure you're not going to cook? Are you willing to let your beloved wife cook for me?"
Everyone knew Xie Sui was famously devoted to his wife. Such a chore as cooking, how could he possibly let his wife do it?
Xie Sui replied, "Of course, I'm willing. My wife will supervise, and an aunt will do the cooking. Isn't that the same as my wife cooking? Didn't those ancient concubines do this? They'd glance at the kitchen, then tenderly serve the Emperor, 'Try the soup my humble concubine personally made!'"
Huang Tianliang burst into laughter, his stomach aching. He was truly a comedian!
"Alright, I still have duties. Let's eat another day. You are truly a gem."
Xie Sui saw him out. Looking at Xie Juan's photo, he smiled wryly, "They all say I'm heartless, but a woman truly determined is the real ruthless one."
He had expected Xie Juan to be like Xie Min, disdained by her in-laws, toiling away for their family, barely having enough to eat, living in misery, and waiting for him to rescue her.
He recalled the sense of accomplishment he felt when he descended from the heavens, seeing his third sister's grateful and excited expression.
As it turned out, he had been overthinking. She was doing very well, even exceptionally well. She had become a city dweller, had a job, and unlike Xie Min who was disliked by her in-laws for having two daughters, she had a son and a daughter—a perfect combination.
She was living so well that she had completely forgotten about her parents and siblings back home. Not a single letter, as if she were afraid her poor relatives from her hometown would disturb her happy life?
Lin Wanwan entered, seeing his dazed look, and was a bit surprised, "What's wrong? Lost your soul?"
Xie Sui said, "No, just thinking about some things..."
He had nothing to hide from Lin Wanwan. Xie Sui told her about his third sister and his own thoughts, chuckling self-deprecatingly, "Everyone was so worried about her, and it turns out she's doing better than we could imagine.
The ancients yearned for returning home in glory, but she didn't want any connection to the poverty of her hometown, wishing she had no such origins, and never wanting to see us again in this lifetime.
It's one thing for me, who was a scoundrel before, the favored youngest son of the family, who must have suffered much. But what about our parents?
Our parents favored the son over the daughters, but they weren't excessively so, exploiting their daughters to fully sacrifice for their youngest son. They even let them finish middle school, doing their best.
The only wrong thing was using their third daughter's dowry to fill their deficit. But they didn't even use the third sister's dowry, as she had already run away by then.
Lin Wanwan said, "Since she's doing well and doesn't want her family to disturb her, let's pretend we don't know. Everyone living their own lives peacefully is also a good thing.
You won't start thinking you're a hero just because you've earned some money and everyone is waiting for you to save them?
Look at you getting ahead of yourself. Wake up. Money isn't everything. As long as you're true to yourself, that's enough."
Xie Sui shrugged, "Alright, you're right. But dear wife, don't discourage me so much, I'm already so sad..."
Lin Wanwan giggled. His sadness seemed so exaggerated.
"Okay, there, there. Don't be sad anymore. I'm hungry, what should we eat?"
Xie Sui immediately perked up, "Braised pork, pickled cabbage with pork belly, how about that? And a tomato and beef soup. I saw some fresh beef in the kitchen. I'll braise a pot this afternoon for the children to eat when they get back from school. Eating more beef helps them grow tall."
Lin Wanwan was mending clothes for the children, and Xie Sui was personally cooking. The children ate at school during lunch and wouldn't be back. The couple enjoyed their time together, living a beautiful, simple life.
"Lin Wanwan, your letter."
"My letter?!"
Lin Wanwan was pleasantly surprised. How long had it been since she received a letter? Her past life was completely cut off. To say she wasn't sad or regretful would be a lie. Receiving a letter suddenly made her very happy.
Xie Sui leaned over, "Who is it from? My in-laws?"
He secretly wondered if it was from an old flame. He felt a pang of jealousy. Who didn't have a first love or a white moonlight in their youth?
Lin Wanwan's eyes welled up, "It's from my brother, my third brother. It's a letter from half a year ago. He's getting married and misses me. Counting the days, the events would have already concluded. This letter took too long to arrive."
Xie Sui remained silent. It wasn't that it was delayed for a long time. It wasn't the 1960s or 1970s. Transportation was constantly improving. Even the slowest letter should have arrived within a month.
It was likely intercepted. Perhaps after hearing Xie Sui's name, they were afraid to bully them and decided to send the letter.
Xie Sui didn't tell Lin Wanwan, to avoid making her sad again.
"Your brother-in-law is getting married. Even if the events are over, we should go and congratulate him. Relationships need to be maintained. Let's wait until summer vacation, and we'll take the children to visit your family.
For now, you can write a reply letter and send some things. Knowing you are doing well will put their minds at ease."
Lin Wanwan nodded, "Yes. I used to write letters and never got a reply. I thought they found me a burden. It seems I overthought it. I'm not that much of a failure as a person. I'll go write a letter and send some things right away."
Xie Sui said, "You just write the letter. I'll prepare the items, don't worry about it."
"Okay, I'll go write."
Xie Sui began planning what gifts to prepare for his in-laws. They couldn't be too few. Letting them know Wanwan was doing well would also bring Wanwan face. Which woman wasn't a little vain?
When Lin Wanwan finished writing the letter, Xie Sui showed her a long list, "Are these okay?"
Lin Wanwan was speechless, "Are you opening a general store? So much! The postage alone would be more valuable than the items. It's too much. I'll prepare it."
Xie Sui felt a sense of nervousness, like a new son-in-law meeting his future mother-in-law. He felt that no matter how much he bought, it wouldn't be enough.
"Let's send money. Let them buy what they want. We can give them a check. Let's give a thousand yuan for Mother-in-law to spend first."
Lin Wanwan shook her head, "That's too much. A hundred yuan is enough. Don't forget, we still owe the credit union two million yuan. Are you not going to live your own life?"