Chapter 87: The Grass Market, The New Bride

Ming Dai found out about the falling-out between Fang Rou and Qi Zhijun when she passed by the educated youth quarters and overheard Song Lanlan gleefully talking about it.

“Now they don’t even speak to each other. At first, Qi Zhijun tried to make amends, but unfortunately, Fang Rou completely ignored him. She said they were at most just friends and that there was no possibility of anything more. You should’ve seen Qi Zhijun’s disappointed face! It was hilarious!

And then there’s Liu Yan, circling around Qi Zhijun like a loyal little lapdog. He ignores her, but she doesn’t mind at all—always fussing over him and trying to please him. It’s so embarrassing. Even though Qi Zhijun got rejected by Fang Rou, he still wouldn’t take a second look at Liu Yan. What’s the point of chasing after someone who doesn’t care about you?”

Although Ming Dai agreed with what she said, she was also quite puzzled. Why was Song Lanlan stopping her just to talk about this?

Was it because Zhou Sinian wasn’t around, so she wanted someone to chat with?

Perhaps her confusion was too obvious, because Song Lanlan glanced at the basket in Ming Dai’s hand before speaking a little awkwardly.

“Uh, Ming Zhiqing, you’re coming back from delivering bean sprouts to the brigade leader’s family, right?”

Ming Dai had left with a basket in hand, and at the time, Song Lanlan had been standing at the door.

Ming Dai didn’t hide anything. “Yeah, we got a bit too much bean sprouts, so I took some to the brigade leader’s family. After all, they’ve been quite kind to me.”

You, on the other hand, have nothing to do with it. How could you even ask for some?

Song Lanlan hadn’t expected such a straightforward response. Her attempt to get some for free was completely blocked. Awkwardly, she let out a laugh. “Well, uh… do you have any extras? I’d like to buy some. Not sure if they’re expensive?”

Ming Dai hadn’t expected her to want to buy them. She thought for a moment. “I don’t sell them, but you can trade soybeans for them—or something else, too. If you’re not in a hurry, there’s a market gathering tomorrow. I can bring some bean sprouts there, and you can trade for them then.”

Song Lanlan was indeed planning to go to the market tomorrow and eagerly agreed. She preferred to avoid Ming Dai setting a price, so it seemed better to do the trade in person at the market.

After the gossip, Ming Dai carried the basket home.

She placed the dried chili peppers that Aunt Huang had given her in the kitchen and then went to Zhou Sinian’s room to find him.

She knocked on the door, and Zhou Sinian opened it.

Since they had run out of charcoal, they had moved the cooking to their kang, where the stove was burning 24/7. This made the room quite hot and humid.

Zhou Sinian was on the floor, tinkering with old bicycle parts they had salvaged from the scrap station.

Ming Dai noticed that Zhou Sinian had fixed several broken wheels.

“Zhou Sinian, can you fix bikes?” she asked.

Hearing this, Zhou Sinian looked up at her, puzzled. “Can I fix bikes?”

Ming Dai…

“Never mind, keep working. See if you can assemble a bike. That way, we won’t have to hitch a ride on the village’s cart anymore.”

Although she had a bike in her space, taking it out abruptly would only raise suspicions and jealousy. It was better to quietly assemble one.

Zhou Sinian glanced at the bicycle parts in the front yard, thinking about Qi Zhijun’s bicycle, then looked over the parts on the floor. “There aren’t enough parts to put one together.”

“We’ll go to the scrap station again when we have time and see if there are new parts available,” Ming Dai suggested.

Zhou Sinian nodded and continued using a small file to repair a tire.

Ming Dai glanced at the basket of vegetables on the kang; they looked good.

She returned to her room, took the bean sprouts and mung bean sprouts from the large basket, and placed them in a clean sack, ready to sell them the next day.

The next morning, Aunt Huang and Huang Dalian came to find her, pulling a cart full of items.

“Xiao Ming, put your sacks on here,” Aunt Huang called.

Ming Dai signaled Zhou Sinian to load the two and a half sacks onto the cart.

The grass market was quite far, located on the road to the commune, near an abandoned theater stage.

They walked for more than half an hour before reaching the place.

The area beneath the theater stage was cleared of snow, and small stalls were set up. Many people had already started selecting what they wanted.

It was only today, and the morning was almost over, so everyone from Liujiawan wasn’t wasting time. Some were setting up stalls while others were shopping.

Aunt Huang took a quick look around the stalls, then pointed in a direction. “Let’s go over there,” she said, leading them forward.

“Mother! You really came down from the mountain? It’s such a long way, how did you manage to come down?”

An elderly woman dressed in a blue coarse cloth cotton coat came forward, her bare gums showing as she smiled at Aunt Huang.

“Hong, I miss you. Every year, I see less of you, and I just wanted to see you again.”

The words made Aunt Huang’s eyes fill with tears, and she grabbed the old woman’s thin, bony hand, unwilling to let go.

A middle-aged woman, slightly older than Aunt Huang, with a sun-tanned, dark red face, also had tears streaming down her cheeks. “Mother has been crying for you at night, so I had Hua Baozi carry her down.”

Aunt Huang wiped her face. “Sister-in-law, thank you so much. I’m so far away, I really appreciate you looking after my mother.”

The middle-aged woman, Xu Fengxian, untied the headscarf covering her head, wiped away her own tears, then gently wiped the old lady’s face. “Don’t say that, it’s nothing. Your brother misses you too. He remembered you love hawthorn, so he brought you a big bag, all carefully chosen with no wormholes.”

Aunt Huang, holding her mother’s arm, turned to look at the tall middle-aged man standing beside them.

He was wearing a yellowed sheepskin coat, and his face was similarly sun-darkened, but he smiled brightly. “Sister, how has this year been?”

Aunt Huang had always been close with her brother. “It’s been good. How’s everything at home? Does mother’s leg still hurt? How are my nephews and nieces?”

The man answered each question and, seeing that his sister hadn’t gotten any thinner since last year, he accepted the cigarettes that her husband passed to him.

Liu Dazhu, a respected man in the village, usually carried himself with some authority, but in front of his mother-in-law, he softened and smiled as he came forward. “Mother-in-law, are you staying at home today? I’ll make you some steamed rice with sugar!”

The old woman smiled and nodded in response to her son-in-law’s cheerful words.

Three men, in their twenties or thirties, came over to greet Aunt Huang. They were her nephews: Hei Laohu, Hua Baozi, and Xiao Hui Lang. Their names were so amusing that Ming Dai almost couldn’t hold back her laughter. (T/N: Black Tiger, Leopard, and Little Gray Wolf respectively)

Aunt Huang then asked about her niece Jiaoyan, who hadn’t come down with them. She learned that Jiaoyan’s ewe had given birth to lambs, and the two daughters-in-law couldn’t handle it, so Jiaoyan stayed behind to help.

She was in a better mood after hearing that Jiaoyan would be getting married in the new year, and she would have the chance to see her.

After exchanging warm greetings, Aunt Huang pulled Ming Dai over to introduce her to the family.

“Xiao Ming, this is my family—my mother, my brother, and my sister-in-law. These little ones are my nephews. Mother, this is Xiao Ming, one of the new educated youths in our village. She’s from Beijing. Such a good girl!”

Grandma Huang’s eyesight had already become quite blurry, and she was a bit confused. After squinting and examining Ming Dai for a moment, she smiled and said, “Good, good.”

Ming Dai obediently greeted her, saying “Grandmother,” “Aunt,” and “Uncle,” one after the other.

Xu Fengxian held Ming Dai’s hand and looked her over, her gaze softening as she admired Ming Dai’s fair, delicate face beneath her knitted hat. “Oh, this girl is so pretty, she’s even whiter than tofu!”

After saying that, she reached out and pinched Ming Dai’s cheek. “Oh! So smooth!”

Ming Dai blushed. Why is she touching me?!

Xu Fengxian couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

After teasing the younger girl, Xu Fengxian’s attention turned to Zhou Sinian, and she was taken aback by his towering height.

“Is this another new educated youth? This girl is so tall! She’s even taller than my husband!”

Huang Dashan swallowed, lowering his voice. “You crazy woman! Is that a girl? That’s the lunatic!”

Xu Fengxian stepped back a bit, finally getting a clear look at Zhou Sinian’s expressionless face.

“My goodness, he really is the lunatic. Where did he find that red scarf? He looks like a new bride wearing it!”

Ming Dai couldn’t hold it in anymore and snickered.

She didn’t usually laugh, but sometimes it was impossible to resist!