Though the morning brought white frost and rime, the sky was clear with a slight breeze—a perfect time for air-drying cured fish. Li Xiang brought out the large, cured grass carp one by one and hung them in the corridor to dry.

The largest one was as long as an adult’s arm, its belly propped open with three short, spaced-out bamboo skewers. With all eighteen large grass carp hung up, it was quite a magnificent sight.

The main reason was his small household—just him and his grandmother. ’If we had seven or eight people in the family, I’d prepare seventy or eighty fish and line both sides of the corridor. Walking through it, surrounded by that salty fragrance... it would be just like the "forest of meat" from the legendary "ponds of wine and a forest of meat."’

"Granny, I’m heading to Lei Family Gully for a bit," Li Xiang called out to his grandmother before setting off on his small motorized tricycle.

His grandmother called after him, "You could at least change your clothes!" She thought he was going on a matchmaking date, because Lei Jiaming had mentioned on his livestream the other day that his sister was back and invited Li Xiang to come visit when he had time. Jiaming had even called yesterday to follow up.

After all, in the countryside, it was rare for a woman to take the initiative and visit a man’s home for their first meeting. It was always the man who went to the woman’s family home.

Li Xiang didn’t turn his head, simply waving a hand. ’I’m not going on any matchmaking date.’ He just wanted to drop by Lei Family Gully to chat with the young people there and invite them to the village gala, either to perform an act or to provide musical accompaniment for the opera troupe.

If they were going to accompany the opera troupe, they would need to come over in advance to get together, learn from the old masters, and practice.

Instruments like the erhu, yueqin, and suona might be a little difficult, but percussion like gongs, drums, and cymbals was actually very simple. You just had to master the rhythm.

About half an hour after Li Xiang had left, Jiang Cai’Er came skipping over. Upon seeing Granny Li Xiang, she called out cheerfully, "Granny, where’s my Brother Xiang?"

Granny Li Xiang smiled. "He went to Lei Family Gully."

"Oh? What for?"

"For a matchmaking date, I think?" Granny Li Xiang wasn’t sure herself. After all, Xiang’Er had been dressed far too casually to be going on one.

Jiang Cai’Er couldn’t help but pout and mutter, "Why is he going on a matchmaking date anyway?"

Granny Li Xiang was speechless. In the countryside, a man Li Xiang’s age would have been married with children long ago. Take Lei Jiaming from Lei Family Gully, for instance—he already had two kids. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Jiang Cai’Er was a nice girl, and Granny Li Xiang had even considered her as a match at one point. But she was simply too young, so the old woman had eventually decided it was unlikely to work out.

’Distant water can’t quench a nearby thirst. I want Li Xiang to get married and have kids soon. If we have to wait for Jiang Cai’Er, how long will that take? After all, she’s such a good student, she’s bound for university. Getting married and having children during university? Impossible, in my book.’

Even though Li Xiang wasn’t home, Jiang Cai’Er didn’t leave. She chatted with his grandmother for a while, then went into Li Xiang’s backyard to look around by herself.

「By this time, Li Xiang had already arrived in Lei Family Gully.」

Lei Jiaming did indeed have two children, one aged nine and the other five. However, he rarely paid them any mind and was still like a big kid himself. He was currently in the woods in front of his house, practicing with weapons with a few of his buddies.

When he saw Li Xiang arrive on his tricycle, he immediately broke into a wide grin and came over to greet him.

"You shouldn’t have brought anything!" Lei Jiaming said with a laugh when he saw Li Xiang get off the tricycle and pull a large bag from the cargo bed.

"It’s the last month of the lunar year; how could I show up empty-handed? It’s nothing much, just some fruit."

"Fruit is great, but don’t bring anything next time. It makes us seem like strangers!" Lei Jiaming took the bag from Li Xiang and led him toward the house, chatting as they walked, their hearty laughter ringing out from time to time.

Lei Jiaming served tea and snacks, then told one of his children, "Quick, go call your aunt back."

Li Xiang quickly explained, "I’m actually here to see you about something." ’If I were really here for matchmaking, I wouldn’t have brought just a bit of fruit. Bringing something too expensive might give them the wrong idea.’

"Oh? What’s up?" Lei Jiaming asked, curious. ’What could possibly be more important than meeting my sister?’

So, Li Xiang explained the purpose of his visit.

"The village gala? I can perform a routine with my Cyan Dragon Crescent Blade. As for accompanying the opera troupe, I’m decent with the gongs and drums, but I can’t handle the more delicate instruments," Lei Jiaming said, his eyes flicking thoughtfully. "But I bet my sister can. She’s very refined—skilled in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting."

Just as he was speaking, a young woman walked in. "Bro, what nonsense are you spouting now?"

Li Xiang turned to look, and his eyes immediately lit up. It wasn’t that she was stunningly beautiful, but she was tall, wore her hair in a ponytail, and had a bold, spirited air about her. At 1.8 meters, she wasn’t much shorter than him. It was rare to see a girl that tall, and women often appear taller than men of the same height anyway.

Li Xiang was a little doubtful. ’This is the Lei family’s sister? She’s not at all like how people described her.’

"This is my sister, Lei Xiaohui. What do you think? Pretty, right? She’s slimmed down a lot from a few years ago," Lei Jiaming said, looking extremely proud. There’s a saying that a girl’s appearance changes dramatically as she grows, and that was certainly true for his sister. She was just over twenty now, but a few years back, she had been plump from being well-fed at home, like a little butterball, and everyone thought she was plain. But after working in the city for a year or two, she had returned home this year looking a whole lot "slimmer."

’He had to admit, living in a big city really changed a person’s aura. His sister hadn’t just lost weight; she now knew how to dress herself up too.’

"Very pretty, very pretty!" Li Xiang said, giving her a thumbs-up.

A hint of shyness flickered across Lei Xiaohui’s face, but it was gone in an instant. She sat down with a confident grace, her bright eyes fixed intently on Li Xiang.