Chapter 25: Buying Furniture

After walking for twenty-five minutes, they finally arrived at Uncle Shen’s house.

Shen Qiuxia stood at the familiar courtyard and shouted, “Dongxu! You home?”

Shen Dongxu was busy inside the house. Upon hearing the voice, he immediately put down what he was doing and came out beaming with joy.

“Sis! Brother-in-law! Little Yue! What brings all of you here? And this must be Yueyue’s fiancé?”

Su Yue smiled and introduced, “Uncle, this is my fiancé, Li Xiangbei.”

Li Xiangbei quickly stepped forward and greeted, “Hello, Uncle!”

“Ah, good, good! Come in, let’s talk inside,” Shen Dongxu warmly welcomed the four of them into the house.

Shen’s home was located in Kaoshan Tun, a village next to the Hongqi Commune, surrounded by green mountains and peaceful serenity.

Just as they reached the door, Shen Dongxu noticed the things they brought and pretended to be displeased, “You’re already here, why bring so many things? We’re family, don’t be so formal.”

As everyone entered the house, Shen Qiuxia looked around and asked with a smile, “Where’s your wife and the kids?”

Shen Dongxu replied with a chuckle, “Since Muyang’s off school today, Xiu’er took the kids back to her mother’s place. They’ll probably be back after dinner.”

Shen Qiuxia nodded and signaled Su Yue to take out the blueprints.

“Dongxu, Yueyue and Xiangbei are getting married on October 1st. We’re here to get some furniture.”

“Ah, that’s so soon! In the blink of an eye, little Yue is getting married.” He then turned to Su Yue with a big grin, “Congratulations, Yueyue! Just tell me what you want, and your uncle will deliver it personally.”

Su Yue laughed and said, “Uncle, I’ve only got a table and a few chairs at home. Everything else—we’re missing.”

As they chatted, the group made their way to Shen Dongxu’s furniture storage shed. When he opened the door, Li Xiangbei couldn’t help but exclaim, “Uncle, this is amazing! Wood is so scarce these days, and you’ve got so much furniture here!”

Shen Dongxu sighed, “Wasn’t always like this. Last summer, a lot of households were ransacked, and the recycling station couldn’t even fit all the furniture. I thought it’d be a waste, so I hauled several truckloads back. Most of what you see here, I rebuilt from old pieces. If you’re not picky, take whatever you like.”

Li Xiangbei quickly said, “With your craftsmanship, how could we possibly be picky?”

Shen Dongxu shook his head with a wry smile, his expression tinged with regret. “The materials are top-notch, but with the current climate, I don’t dare carve any fancy patterns. Everything’s plain and simple now. Still, rest assured—the quality is solid.”

As he spoke, everyone started picking out furniture.

“Uncle, we’ll take this wardrobe, cupboard, overhead cabinet, and these two five-drawer chests!”

Shen Dongxu laughed heartily, “Got it! I’ll go borrow an ox cart from the brigade—we’ll load everything up and take it home.” With that, he hurried off toward the Kaoshan Tun brigade.

Knowing her daughter loved baths, Shen Qiuxia chose a wooden tub, four washbasins, and a stand for a face basin.

Su Dahai picked out an altar table, two heated-brick-bed tables, and a desk.

While they were still choosing, Su Yue’s eyes lit up—she spotted a kang (a traditional heated platform bed). “Xiangbei, let’s take this too! We’ll place it by the window and nap on it in the sunlight—it’ll be heavenly.”

Li Xiangbei nodded and replied with a smile, “Alright.”

“Yueyue, let’s also replace the table and stools we’re using now,” he added.

Su Yue tilted her head and responded with a grin, “Sure!”

By the time they were almost done, Shen Dongxu had returned with the ox cart.

Su Yue said cheerfully, “Uncle, time to settle the bill!”

Shen Dongxu instantly put on a stern face and feigned anger, “What bill? Didn’t I tell you? These are all made from old wood—not worth much. Just take them!”

Su Yue pouted, “Uncle, don’t try to fool me. You didn’t get this stuff for free from the recycling station, and making all this must’ve taken a ton of effort. I’m not taking it for nothing.”

She pulled out the 260 yuan Li Xiangbei had given her earlier and handed it to Shen Qiuxia.

Her mom was the master of handling such negotiations.

Shen Qiuxia took the money and immediately tried to stuff it into Shen Dongxu’s hands.

Shen Dongxu resisted, shouting, “No, no! My niece is getting married—what’s a bit of effort from her uncle?”

Seeing her brother still resisting, Shen Qiuxia stuffed the money straight into his pants pocket.

“Hey, sis, don’t pull on my pants! You’ll tear them off!” he cried.

Qiuxia ignored him, pulling harder and saying, “Stop fussing. If your pants really fall down, don’t come crying!”

That line suddenly triggered something, and she burst out laughing, her laughter growing louder and louder until she was doubled over.

Su Dahai also remembered: When he and Qiuxia got married, they had given 6-year-old Dongxu a few malt candies. Dongxu was so reluctant to eat them that he licked them a couple times and put them back in his pocket. The village kids saw it and swarmed him. In the end, they even pulled his pants off. He cried the entire day.

Thinking of that, Su Dahai couldn’t hold back and joined in the laughter.

The couple laughed so hard they had to hold on to each other for support, tears nearly coming out.

Su Yue and Li Xiangbei stood to the side, exchanging confused glances.

Su Yue couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, Mom, what are you laughing about?”

Seeing their puzzled faces, Shen Dongxu waved his hands and blushed slightly. “Nothing, nothing.”

Then he quickly added to Su Qiuxia and Su Dahai, “Okay, okay! I’ll take the money, just stop teasing me already!”

But that only made them laugh harder, their laughter echoing through the warehouse. Su Yue and Li Xiangbei were more bewildered than ever.

After everyone finally composed themselves, they looked at the mountain of chosen furniture and realized there was a problem.

There was simply too much stuff—no way to transport it all in one go. After a quick discussion, they decided to move part of it today as a test run. The rest would be delivered slowly by Su Dahai and Shen Dongxu over the coming months. After all, there was still plenty of time before the wedding.

They loaded the wardrobe and smaller items onto the ox cart.

Shen Dongxu and Su Dahai tied everything down tightly with hemp rope to prevent it from shifting during transport.

Li Xiangbei said to Shen Qiuxia with a smile, “Mom, the cart’s full. You and Yueyue should take the bus.”

Shen Qiuxia waved him off, “You all go. I’m fine staying.”

Su Yue tugged at her mom’s arm and pleaded, “Come on, Mom! Let’s ride the bus together. On the way back, we can take the ox cart.”

Qiuxia, being easygoing, agreed right away.

The mother and daughter walked hand in hand, chatting and laughing as they headed to the commune’s bus stop. It took just half an hour to reach the county seat by bus. Once off, they made their way toward the steel factory.