Chapter 13

After Zhou Chengning finished his two morning classes, he asked the principal for leave and requested the other two Chinese teachers to help substitute for his classes.

There were three Chinese language teachers at the middle school. Zhou Chengning had the heaviest workload. One of the other two teachers was Teacher Liu, who ate lunch with him that day.

The school didn’t have many teachers, and there weren’t clearly defined groups. Some teachers with lighter schedules would even take on P.E. classes. There wasn’t a formal system for requesting leave—one simply had to get the principal’s approval and inform the finance office director.

During lunch, Teacher Liu asked: “Teacher Zhou, is something going on at home?”

After all, they had been working together for four or five years now. It wasn’t unusual to occasionally ask someone to cover a class, but Teacher Zhou had never taken a day off before.

So it was quite surprising that he suddenly requested a day off.

When Zhou Chengning heard Teacher Liu’s question, he replied: “Tomorrow I’m going to County Town with my wife to send a parcel and some letters.”

“The County Town bus only runs once a day, you’ve got to secure a seat early.” said Teacher Sun, who had experience riding the bus.

Zhou Chengning hadn’t thought about that. After hearing what Teacher Sun said, he quickly asked: “It leaves at eight, how early do I have to go to get a seat?”

“At least an hour early. Sometimes even by six-thirty there are already people waiting. You don’t have to go too early—about an hour should do. The bus door doesn’t open that early anyway, but most of the time, even before the driver arrives, the seats are already full.”

Zhou Chengning said: “Alright, thank you for the reminder, Teacher Sun. I’ll set out early tomorrow with my wife.”

Teacher Wang sighed: “Teacher Zhou, husbands as considerate as you are rare these days.”

“My wife only gave birth a few months ago. Her body is still weak, so I’m accompanying her.”

When they heard about the newborn, the other teachers all exchanged a knowing glance. Teacher Liu said: “It’s right to be considerate of your wife. After all, childbirth is like walking through the gates of hell.”

They all knew that Teacher Zhou’s wife had given birth to a son, but none of them had asked about the full moon banquet. Teacher Zhou himself never brought it up either. It seemed that his wife probably didn’t welcome guests from Zhou’s side of the family for the celebration.

With Zhou Chengning’s temperament, it was easy to imagine that he didn’t have much say in family matters.

“Yes, mothers go through so much… It’s not allowed now, but we’ve decided not to have any more children in the future. Two is enough.”

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The day before, they had spent most of the day preparing. They steamed baozi (stuffed buns) and mantou (steamed buns). The baozi were vegetarian—some with preserved mustard greens, others with mushrooms and greens. The mantou were made with brown sugar. As soon as they came out of the steamer, Guagua ate one of each.

The couple got up around five in the morning. They carried Guagua out of bed and brought her to her maternal grandmother’s home.

Niuniu was still sleeping. They left while he was still asleep. A baby of only two or three months could cry in a way that broke a parent’s heart. Guagua didn’t know her parents were going to County Town. At first, she was fine, but once Xu Xiangjuan was really about to leave, she followed behind.

Xu Xiangjuan said: “Guagua, today you can eat all the baozi and mantou you want at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Help Grandpa peel chestnuts, and when you’re done, Mom will reward you when she gets back.”

“Where’s Mom going?” For a little girl who followed her mom around all day, the moment her mom disappeared, she felt anxious and uneasy.

“Mom has something to do. I need to send things to your eldest uncle. There’s no space for Guagua on the bus. Next time we’ll take Guagua along, okay? For now, Guagua will stay at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. When Mom comes back, I’ll make something delicious for you.”

It took a lot of coaxing before Guagua finally agreed to stay at her maternal grandparents’ house. Xu Xiangjuan hurried out the door and latched the courtyard gate behind her.

Zhou Chengning was waiting patiently just outside the courtyard with their things in hand. He didn’t dare go inside, afraid he might anger his mother-in-law early in the morning.

By the time the two of them reached the bus stop, it wasn’t even seven yet, but the bus was already full.

“Auntie, could you possibly give us one of these seats?”

The old woman had a good temper and picked up the bamboo basket placed on the seat next to her and put it on her lap.

The basket was covered with cloth, but through the gaps, it looked like mountain goods—either to be sold in County Town or brought to family members.

“Go ahead and sit.” Xu Xiangjuan said, seeing the seat freed. She gestured for Zhou Chengning to sit.

But Zhou Chengning would never sit while his wife, who had just given birth, stood beside him. “You sit. I’ll stand, it’s fine.”

“You’re such a big man standing here blocking the way on purpose? I said sit, so just sit.”

“Young man, just sit down. Let your wife sit on your lap.” the auntie chimed in.

Hearing her suggestion, Zhou Chengning finally sat down. Xu Xiangjuan also figured the auntie had a point, so she handed him the three parcels and sat on his lap.

Of the three parcels, two were to be mailed out, and one was their own food—baozi she had steamed. Holding them all at once filled her arms completely.

The seat wasn’t spacious to begin with, and now it felt even more cramped. Zhou Chengning wrapped an arm around Xu Xiangjuan’s waist, afraid she might get jostled or bumped.

Both Zhou Chengning and Xu Xiangjuan looked quite young and tender-faced. Sitting like that attracted quite a few stares. It didn’t seem like the kind of thing a couple should be doing in public.

“You two young ones also heading to County Town to sell things?” the old lady next to them struck up a conversation with Xu Xiangjuan.

“Auntie, don’t tease me. I’m no young girl—I’m already a mother of two. We’re just heading to town to send something to my brother and sister-in-law.”

“Oh wow, I couldn’t tell at all. How old are you two? Already parents of two?”

“I’m twenty-four, he’s twenty-eight. Our oldest is already over three.”

When Zhou Chengning heard Xu Xiangjuan say that, a sense of satisfaction rose in him. He had a wife, and two children—life was good.

“You both look like you’re seventeen or eighteen.”

Once everyone realized they were a married couple, they stopped staring. People closed their eyes and began to nap.

The ticket collector arrived first. Even though Xu Xiangjuan was sitting on Zhou Chengning’s lap, she still had to pay a dime. The fare was charged by headcount—whoever was in the bus got charged.

More people boarded afterward, and soon the entire bus was packed to the brim. The driver arrived last and didn’t start the engine until a bit past eight.

The roads weren’t smooth in those days. The bus hadn’t been running for long before it began to jolt and bump. The air inside wasn’t pleasant either—someone had already started to gag. No one found it surprising.

Xu Xiangjuan was already leaning against Zhou Chengning, eyes closed, clearly uncomfortable from the stifling smell inside the bus. The windows couldn’t be opened, and the air was so stuffy it felt suffocating.

Zhou Chengning wasn’t feeling great either. He held his wife, who was resting against him, and pressed his face gently to her neck, using the faint fragrance on her body to mask the unpleasant odors on the bus.

It was more than an hour before the bus arrived at County Town. “Auntie, we’ll wait until the crowd thins out a bit before getting off. You’re not in a hurry, right?”

“Not at all, not at all. People are getting off quickly.”

Once the bus had mostly emptied, Xu Xiangjuan grabbed Zhou Chengning’s hand and got off. She had been sitting the entire ride, and her legs had gone completely numb from sitting on his lap.

Zhou Chengning paused for a moment after getting off before telling Xu Xiangjuan that he was ready to go.

The stop where the bus dropped them off was nothing like the more organized ones in later years. The surroundings were dusty and chaotic, so the two of them walked briskly away.

Xu Xiangjuan remembered where the post office was—it hadn’t changed in over ten years.

After mailing the packages and letters, she dragged Zhou Chengning along to the Department Store.

Zhou Chengning wasn’t familiar with County Town. Although he had gone to high school there, he had spent all his time on campus. He didn’t go out—he didn’t have the money to. Life had been tight, every penny had to be split in half to spend. As a result, he knew nothing about the shops or marketplaces in County Town.

He hadn’t even visited the Supply and Marketing Cooperative back in their own town. So in the city, he simply followed behind Xu Xiangjuan. Not once did he question why she seemed to know her way around County Town so well.

Xu Xiangjuan, knowing she had a tendency to spend too freely, only brought twenty yuan in small bills and a few coins in various denominations when they entered the department store. She knew that once inside, she’d want to buy everything she saw.

The couple had both made a point of dressing in their nicest clothes that day. Although Xu Xiangjuan still found them too plain, at least they looked clean and neat—not the kind of appearance that would get them looked down on.

At that time, store clerks didn’t work for commission and weren’t particularly warm or welcoming. So Xu Xiangjuan simply strolled through the store at her own pace, bringing Zhou Chengning along as the two of them “broadened their horizons.”