Chapter 56: A Match Made in History

At the Wei residence.

After seeing off the three members of the Song family, Wei Hongsheng returned home. Madame Wei and Wei Yu’s wife were busy clearing the table and washing dishes. Wei Hang sat to the side, engrossed in his model, while Wei Qiaowen furiously munched on an apple—a gift the Song family had brought that day.

Wei Hongsheng glanced at his daughter, then approached his wife and gently tugged her arm. “Come here, I need to tell you something.”

“You wait a moment.” Madame Wei went to wash her hands, then instructed her daughter-in-law to finish the dishes. Only then did she follow Wei Hongsheng towards their room, asking along the way, “What is it? Why the urgency?”

Wei Hongsheng led Madame Wei into the bedroom, closing the door behind them. He then asked, with an air of impatience, “What do you think of the Song family’s eldest son?”

Madame Wei looked perplexed. “The Song family’s eldest? Xu Hengzhou?”

“Exactly,” Wei Hongsheng affirmed with a nod. “That’s him.”

Unsure of his meaning, Madame Wei questioned, “He’s quite good, isn’t he? What about him? Why are you asking this?”

Wei Hongsheng’s face lit up with delight. He stated directly, “Then, how do you feel about him becoming our son-in-law?”

“What?!” Madame Wei gasped, utterly astonished. “Our son-in-law? Old Wei, are you out of your mind? Isn’t he still under eighteen?”

“Almost, almost,” Wei Hongsheng quickly clarified. “I heard his birthday is at the beginning of the year. Once that passes, he’ll be eighteen, won’t he?”

“Even then, it won’t do,” Madame Wei countered. “Our Qiaowen’s birthday is also approaching; she’ll be twenty-one after it. If not for her studies, a girl her age would already have children. Now that universities aren’t recruiting, we must quickly find her a suitable match for marriage. Girls can’t afford to be delayed; if you drag it out, they’ll become old maids.”

“What’s there to fear? A woman three years older brings good fortune,” Wei Hongsheng argued. “Even if you find her a match now, they can’t get married immediately. Besides, who knows when you two will find someone you’re both satisfied with? It’s much better with the Song family’s eldest. We know each other’s backgrounds, and as long as the children agree, they can marry right away and hold a joyous celebration. It won’t waste time and won’t be slower than finding someone else. How wonderful is that!”

Madame Wei was somewhat swayed by his words. Setting aside everything else, the Song family’s children were truly impeccable in character and appearance; she herself found them delightful.

After a moment of hesitation, Madame Wei added, “But our Qiaowen… will she agree? Xu Hengzhou is younger than her.”

“Heh, don’t you worry about that,” Wei Hongsheng chuckled, recounting the morning’s events to his wife. He then shared his own thoughts, concluding, “So, if you agree to this, it’s sure to succeed, and our daughter will be happy. How perfect is that?”

“Our Qiaowen is such a wonderful girl. Her looks, education, family background—what part of her isn’t good enough for him? What reason would he have to be unwilling?” Madame Wei felt a surge of indignation after hearing him out. “I say, Old Wei, what if he bullies our daughter?”

“No, no, he wouldn’t,” Wei Hongsheng waved a dismissive hand. “He’s just a young lad who hasn’t matured yet. Once they’re married and he tastes the sweetness of it, he’ll know how to dote on his wife.”

Madame Wei considered this and agreed, yet a lingering discomfort remained, prompting her to seek out other potential issues.

She thought for a moment, another concern surfacing. “Oh, right, Xu Hengzhou was adopted by Old Song, wasn’t he? Who knows how an adopted child will turn out in the future. Our Qiaowen has never suffered hardship growing up; what if she marries him and ends up having to manage all the household chores?”

Her words were somewhat amusing. At that time, which married woman didn’t do housework? Not to mention, even her own daughter-in-law hadn’t stopped working during her pregnancy.

Yet, Madame Wei felt her arguments were perfectly valid, and her worries intensified. “Think about their family. Old Song doesn’t have a wife; he’s a grown man. Is our Qiaowen supposed to serve him hand and foot? And there’s the younger one, a boy that age is at his naughtiest. If he bullies our Qiaowen, where would she go to seek justice?”

Madame Wei grew more distressed with each word, as if she could already envision Wei Qiaowen marrying into the Song family, washing clothes and cooking for Song Wenbin, and being bullied by Xiang Chen.

“No, no, absolutely not,” Madame Wei shook her head. “Old Wei, I don’t think this will work. Look, Old Song’s family only has two rooms. If our Qiaowen marries in, she and Xu Hengzhou would need a room to themselves, right? The younger one in their family will definitely cause trouble, and after marriage, Qiaowen and her husband might even have to help financially. How unfair is that!”

Madame Wei sensed something significant in his words and quickly pressed, “What do you mean by that?”

Wei Hongsheng, with a triumphant wave of his hand, chuckled, “Putting aside Xu Hengzhou’s own abilities, do you know the background of Old Song’s family?”

Madame Wei looked puzzled. “Your comrade-in-arms? Isn’t he just a deputy director at a machinery factory? If he could get our Qiaowen into the factory committee too, that wouldn’t be bad.”

Wei Hongsheng did not answer her question, but instead brought up another topic. “Do you still remember Bureau Chief Jiang, the one I used to correspond with?”

Madame Wei didn’t understand why he was bringing up an unrelated person now, but she nodded nonetheless. “I remember. You mean Bureau Chief Jiang from the Provincial Public Security Department? Didn’t you tell me last time he was getting a promotion?”

“Yes, that’s him. He’s already been promoted.”

“What about him?” Madame Wei asked, confused.

“Nothing about him, but do you know what his relationship with Old Song is?” Wei Hongsheng countered.

Seeing Madame Wei still looking bewildered, he continued, “He and Old Song are childhood friends; they’ve known each other since they were little. He, Old Song, and I grew up playing in the same compound. You understand now, don’t you?”

Madame Wei drew a sharp breath. Old Wei had mentioned that compound before; it was an impressive place. If Old Song’s family was also that powerful, their Qiaowen’s status could rise significantly.

“Then, then why didn’t you ever tell me before!” Madame Wei exclaimed, a mix of joy and alarm. She had never heard Song Wenbin mention his family, leading her to believe he had no relatives.

“You wouldn’t know,” Wei Hongsheng waved his hand. “Old Song’s family matters are quite a tangled mess. Do you know why he’s so old and still unmarried, eventually adopting his comrade’s son?”

“Why?” Madame Wei asked, curious. She had initially thought Old Song couldn’t have children of his own, otherwise what man wouldn’t want his own child? It seemed that wasn’t the case.

Wei Hongsheng organized his thoughts, recalling, “When I was in the army, I was in the same company as Old Song, and I accidentally learned some things about his family. In the early years, our country was not peaceful. Old Song’s father went to study in another place, and his grandmother, fearing her son would die abroad without an heir, forced him to marry first.”

“Old Song’s father then married a fatherless and motherless girl from the same village. The two didn’t even have a wedding; they hurriedly consummated the marriage, and then Old Song’s father left for school. Not long after he left, his new wife discovered she was pregnant, which was good news. However, Old Song’s father then disappeared without a trace. Everyone in the family thought he had died. Old Song’s mother never remarried, diligently serving her in-laws and raising the child.”

“Old Song’s grandparents both passed away, one after another, and it was Old Song’s mother who handled all the funeral arrangements. Afterward, she lived alone with her child. You can imagine how hard it was for a widow raising a child.”

“Then, when Old Song was about ten years old, his father suddenly returned! And he had prospered, coming back in a small car. Everyone in the village thought the Song family was going to enjoy a life of luxury in the city, but Old Song’s father only took his own son.”

“When Old Song arrived in the city with his father, he learned that his father had already married and had a child. He had a younger brother. His stepmother was the only daughter of a high-ranking official; they were classmates and legally married with a certificate, while his own mother hadn’t even had a wedding banquet.”

“What happened next?” Madame Wei listened, engrossed. “What about Old Song’s birth mother? That woman lived such a bitter life. Fortunately, Old Song turned out well; didn’t he bring his mother to enjoy some comfort?”

“Enjoy what comfort!” Wei Hongsheng scoffed with some disdain. “When Old Song’s father went back to pick him up, he told his mother about his other marriage. He spoke nicely, saying he’d grant her freedom and provide a dowry if she wanted to remarry. But he didn’t consider that a rural woman, who had prepared to remain a widow for him her whole life, would be able to survive such a blow.”

Wei Hongsheng sighed, saying, “If Old Song hadn’t been taken away, she would have still had something to hope for. The day after Old Song left with his father, his mother drowned herself in the river.”

Madame Wei remained silent for a long while, finally letting out a long breath. “This, this is truly… a tragedy!”

“Indeed,” Wei Hongsheng said, also feeling a little uncomfortable. He was somewhat materialistic, but his character was decent, and when he accidentally heard such a story, it took him a long time to recover from it.

“You’d think a scholar, at least, wouldn’t forget his roots. Did he read all those books for nothing?” Wei Hongsheng said, somewhat indignant. “Old Song’s father is supposedly still a university president, yet he did such a thing.”

Madame Wei’s face was grim. As a woman, she could empathize even more deeply with Song Wenbin’s mother’s plight, and she utterly despised men who abandoned their wives.

“Old Song… it hasn’t been easy for him,” Madame Wei sighed, then added, “What does this have to do with him not marrying?”

Wei Hongsheng sneered. “Why do you think Old Song’s father wanted to take him back?”

Madame Wei found it strange. “Why? Of course, a biological son should be raised by his own side, shouldn’t he?”

Wei Hongsheng gave a cold laugh. “Then why didn’t he take him back years earlier? To tell you the truth, his wife injured herself during childbirth and couldn’t conceive again. He still relied on his father-in-law, so he couldn’t divorce and remarry, yet he was unwilling to have no son. So, he took Old Song back.”

“His wife agreed to that? Wasn’t she said to be the only daughter of a high-ranking official?” Madame Wei asked.

Wei Hongsheng replied, “What could she do if she didn’t agree? If she divorced, she couldn’t have children, making it difficult to remarry. It was better to accept her husband’s son from before, especially since Old Song’s birth mother posed no threat.”

Madame Wei was speechless, unable to utter a word for a long time.

“Old Song naturally hated his father after his mother died,” Wei Hongsheng continued. “Later, when he grew up, he wasn’t close to his father or his stepmother either. Old Song’s father only had this one son, so he had to find a way to mend their relationship. Old Song’s stepmother was also anxious, so she came up with a terrible idea.”

Wei Hongsheng paused here, finding it somewhat amusing. “Old Song’s stepmother wanted to set up her cousin’s daughter with Old Song. Old Song refused, so she got him drunk and locked him in a room with the girl, insisting that Old Song take responsibility for her.”

“What?” Madame Wei was stunned. Such a thing could happen?

Wei Hongsheng felt like laughing as he spoke. For a man, while such an event was upsetting, it wasn’t something to be too ashamed of when told.

“Then Old Song ran away. He joined the army. And because he knew his father was insistent on him having an heir, preferably raising a grandson for him, he refused to marry!” Wei Hongsheng couldn’t help but chuckle as he spoke. “Later, as you know, because of Xu Dashan’s situation, Old Song was solely focused on finding and raising the child, so marriage became even less of a priority.”

“Old Song is a good man!” Madame Wei sighed deeply. “Such a man should have someone by his side who understands his needs. He’s focused on raising the children now, but what about when he’s old? The two children will marry off, and they’re not even his biological ones…”

“Indeed,” Wei Hongsheng echoed, also sighing. “He wouldn’t listen when we talked to him. Back then, we all got married and had children, but he remained single. I found it strange, and only understood what happened after I overheard him arguing with his father.”

Madame Wei sat quietly, digesting Wei Hongsheng’s words, then remembered her own daughter’s situation. She no longer opposed marrying her daughter into that family. Given Song Wenbin’s character, he certainly wouldn’t mistreat her daughter, nor would he allow Xu Hengzhou to bully their Qiaowen.

Moreover, just as Old Wei had said, Song Wenbin was the only male heir in the Song family. Even if his relationship with his family was strained, all those connections and resources would eventually fall to him. Their own family didn’t ask for much, just to benefit a little.

With this thought, Madame Wei patted her husband’s arm. “Old Wei, I think you’re right. Our Qiaowen marrying into the Song family—that would be truly excellent.”

Wei Hongsheng clapped his hands. “I told you so! Plus, our two families have such a good relationship. In the future, if you miss your daughter, you can just walk over and visit, without fearing what the Song family might say.”

Madame Wei thought it over and felt increasingly certain. She patted Wei Hongsheng again. “You really do have a way! I’ll talk to Qiaowen today and tell her to communicate well with the Song boy, to make that boy fall for her sooner. Didn’t Old Song say he’d listen to the children? Once his child gives his consent, let’s see what else he’ll have to say.”

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