Over in the main house, Mr. He and Mrs. He were still awake.
"Dear, we went and got a wife for our third son while he wasn't here. With that foul temper of his, who knows what kind of scene he'll make when he comes back?"
Mr. He glared.
"He'd dare? He's twenty-eight and still not married. We spent our own money to get him a wife, and he has the nerve to cause trouble? I'll break his legs."
Mrs. He shot her husband a look.
"Ha! Look at you, acting all tough. If you're so capable, why haven't you broken his legs during all these years he's refused to marry? You're all talk and no action."
Mr. He choked on his words, then mumbled, "I was just giving him a chance."
"Tch," Mrs. He scoffed, showing him no mercy.
Then, another thought occurred to her. She lowered her voice and said, "You don't think... the reason our third son won't get married is because he doesn't like women, do you?"
"COUGH, COUGH..." Mr. He choked on his pipe and stared at his wife.
"Where did you hear that? That's complete nonsense."
"How is that nonsense? You tell me, then, why won't he get married? Over the years, how many girls have I arranged for him to meet? He's turned his nose up at every single one. And besides, I've noticed he's always hanging around with other men. You never know..."
Mrs. He was certain she had discovered the secret behind her son's refusal to marry. Her thoughts then turned to her new daughter-in-law, and she resolved to treat the girl a little better in the future; otherwise, her conscience would bother her.
Mr. He sighed. "Our third son is a real handful, but that girl from the Xue family seems decent. It's just their family situation... sigh."
Mrs. He had already gotten the full story on the Xue family's situation the previous afternoon.
"Tell me about it. Those two poor kids, having to eke out a living under a stepmother. It's a good thing they're older now, or I'm sure they would have been tormented endlessly. And the girl's father is a fool for letting that woman do whatever she wants. I'm telling you, the day will come when he regrets it."
"Forget all that. Just make sure you take good care of our new daughter-in-law," Mr. He instructed. "We'll deal with the rest when our third son gets back in a couple of days."
"Yes, I know."
...
Xue Yue was up at the crack of dawn the next morning.
Xue Yue hadn't slept well. She was plagued by a nightmare in which her brother had died, and she couldn't stop crying.
'Maybe it's just because I'm in a new place.'
A knot of anxiety tightened in Xue Yue's stomach. She wanted to get to the hospital early.
When she stepped out of her room, the courtyard was silent. 'Everyone else must still be asleep,' she thought.
Having arrived late the previous night, she hadn't gotten a good look at the He family's home. The He family's courtyard was larger than the Xue family's, and they had more buildings.
They were also raising chickens and a pig in the yard.
Firewood was stacked high and neat in a corner, and the yard itself was kept tidy.
It was clearly a well-run household.
'And the fact that they could produce 500 yuan just like that to get their son a wife means they must be doing pretty well,' she thought.
Xue Yue went into the kitchen, lit the fire, and began to boil some water.
Just as the water began to heat up, Mrs. He came out.
"You're up so early, dear?"
The tips of Xue Yue's ears turned red. That form of address still felt a little awkward.
"Mother, my family all calls me Yue'er. You can call me Yue'er, too."
"Alright, then! Yue'er, that's a lovely name," Mrs. He said with a smiling nod.
'This daughter-in-law of ours is so pretty. She and our third son make a good match. I wonder if that little rascal will be satisfied when he gets back? She's the prettiest girl in the whole area. That boy really lucked out.'
"Mother, I need to go to the hospital to see my brother in a little while, so I won't be back for lunch," Xue Yue said. She was planning to watch over her brother at the hospital all day.
Mrs. He nodded. "Go on, then. There's an oxcart heading to town this morning. We have some fine-milled grain at home; I'll make some porridge for you to take to your brother in a bit."
"Thank you, Mother."
It wasn't until breakfast that Xue Yue met the entire He family.
Mr. He seemed a bit stern.
She had already met the eldest brother, He Nan, the day before.
Eldest Sister-in-law Guo Jinfeng had pleasant features, though her face had quite a few spots. A chubby, adorable little boy followed her around, secretly peeking at Xue Yue.
Xue Yue smiled at him.
The shy boy immediately ducked behind Guo Jinfeng.
Guo Jinfeng patted her son's head, then smiled at Xue Yue and said, "This is my son, He Ziniannian. His nickname is Tuanzi. His Third Uncle gave it to him."
'Tuanzi.' The name was a perfect fit, Xue Yue thought.
"Third Sister-in-law, you arrived so late yesterday that I didn't get a chance to come over. We'll all be living under one roof from now on, so if you need anything, just let me know."
"Thank you, Eldest Sister-in-law."
During the meal, Xue Yue learned that Tuanzi was actually the second child, and he was seven years old. The eldest brother and sister-in-law also had a daughter named He Ziqing, who was thirteen and attended junior high in town.
The He family's second brother, He Ze, was a factory worker in town. His wife, Second Sister-in-law Gao Cuiyun, had taken their two children to visit her parents, so no one from their part of the family was home.
The youngest sister, He Yun, was also married and lived in town.
After breakfast, Xue Yue took the village oxcart into town.
When she entered the hospital room, she saw her father, Xue Changlin, sitting blankly by the bedside, staring at her still-unconscious brother.
Xue Changlin stood up when he saw Xue Yue enter.
"Yue'er, you're here. Your brother isn't awake yet."
Ever since the day before, Xue Changlin had seemed somewhat sheepish around Xue Yue.
"You can go home," she said. "Come back tonight to take over for me."
Xue Yue couldn't stand the sight of her so-called father. If not for her unique circumstances—it wouldn't be proper for her to stay away overnight—she wouldn't have asked him to watch her brother at all.
Xue Changlin stood there for a moment, but when he saw that Xue Yue was completely ignoring him, he could only leave with his shoulders slumped.
Xue Yue sat down at the bedside and looked at her brother.
Xue Xingzhou was tall, but since he never got enough to eat, he was very thin. His skin was tanned dark, but right now, due to the blood loss, his face was completely devoid of color.
In truth, both Xue siblings were good-looking, taking after their mother.
Xue Yue's mother had been a great beauty.
When their mother passed away, Xue Yue was only ten and didn't even know how to cook. Her father was a coarse man who didn't know the first thing about taking care of them. Her brother, who was five years older, was the one who always looked after her. Then, their father remarried a woman named Liu Hongxing. Liu Hongxing despised the two siblings. She would secretly beat Xue Yue whenever her brother was away and would withhold their food, both openly and behind their backs. For years, her brother had almost never eaten a full meal, often saving what little he had for her.
It wasn't that Xue Changlin didn't understand what was happening; he just feigned ignorance about most of it. Her brother was twenty-three. In the village, other men his age already had children old enough to run around. It wasn't as if no girls had taken an interest in him, either.
But every time someone came to the door to propose a match, Liu Hongxing would curse at them until they left.
Xue Yue knew why. On one hand, Liu Hongxing didn't want to spend the money. On the other, she valued her brother's labor and was afraid of having another mouth to feed.
Lost in thought, Xue Yue didn't notice that the man on the bed had opened his eyes.
He glanced at Xue Yue, then scanned his surroundings, his brow furrowing in disbelief.
Then, "HISS..."
Xue Xingzhou raised a hand to his head.
When Xue Yue heard the noise and saw her brother was awake, she shot to her feet, overjoyed.
"Brother, you're awake! This is wonderful! Don't move, I'll go get the doctor."
Xue Yue hurried out of the ward to find the doctor.
Back in the ward, Xue Xingzhou's head felt like it was about to split open as a flood of unfamiliar images rushed into his mind.
By the time Xue Yue returned to the ward with the doctor, Xue Xingzhou was lying flat on his back, staring at the ceiling as if all hope in life was lost.
Xue Yue rushed to his side. "Brother! Brother, what's wrong?"
The doctor went over to examine him. The man on the bed remained completely still, allowing the doctor to poke and prod him as needed.
After a moment, the doctor said, "He's doing fine. The wound on his head needs to be redressed daily, and he'll need an IV for a few more days. He'll probably feel dizzy for a while, so make sure he has support when he gets out of bed to prevent any falls."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Xue Yue walked the doctor out of the ward. When she turned back, she saw her brother was still in the exact same state as before.