Chapter 33: Popular (2)

Su Ting and her family not only drew attention at the Department Store but, when they returned to the Family Residential Compound, the military wives who saw the brand-new bicycle He Dongchuan was pushing and the large item strapped to the back seat, were left gaping in astonishment.

One military wife, who was more direct, asked: “Did you guys move the entire Department Store home?”

“I wish we could, but it would take that much money.” Su Ting replied, then added with a thought: “Not just money, but also tickets.”

“Well, that’s almost the same! You’ve got both a bicycle and an electric fan. You won’t find a family in the whole compound as wealthy as yours.”

The comment sounded a bit bitter and the content was somewhat sensitive.

In the 1970s, calling someone “wealthy” wasn’t exactly a compliment, especially in a Family Residential Compound with over a hundred households. He Dongchuan, a Battalion Commander, was living a more luxurious life than even a General Political Commissar. How would others think if that got out?

Su Ting, who was no longer the naive person she had been when she first time-traveled, had become more attuned to the sensitivity of the times. Upon hearing the remark, her expression immediately turned cooler. She explained in a voice that wasn’t too loud or too soft: “What do you mean? The bicycle was part of our wedding dowry, and the electric fan was exchanged using a sewing machine ticket from the dowry.”

Seeing that the other person still had something to say, Su Ting quickly cut in: “But my parents were considerate of me. Before we got married, they made an agreement with Old He’s family. They didn’t want any dowry, and they didn’t keep any of the three big items. They told us to use them ourselves. Old He only bought a watch at that time. For the bicycle and the sewing machine, he only had the money and the tickets ready, and he told me to buy them myself once we got on the island. I thought sewing wasn’t really my thing, so I swapped the ticket for the sewing machine with someone else and got the electric fan instead.”

Then, not forgetting to ask, she inquired: “How did you handle the three big items when you got married?”

“Oh, we got married early. He hadn’t been promoted at the time, so we didn’t have the money for the three big items.”

“That’s not right.” the woman said. “I remember you telling me that when you got married, in addition to the dowry, his family also bought you a watch.” After saying this, Su Ting deliberately stretched her neck and glanced at her wrist. “Where’s the watch?”

The watch, of course, had been kept by her family. Not only the watch, but all the dowry her husband gave her was taken by her parents. They only spent the money hiring someone to stuff the cotton quilt, made her two sets of clothes, and bought some miscellaneous household items before sending her off.

In the past, she hadn’t thought much of it. After all, what family doesn’t keep the dowry when their daughter is married? The dowry was all taken, but her parents still bought her quilts and clothes. She considered it quite generous.

However, compared to Su Ting’s family, their generosity seemed rather lacking.

Because Su Ting had expressed her pity first, the woman hesitated to mention where the watch had gone. After a moment of indecision, she stammered: “The watch… the watch… oh, I remember, the coal stove at home is still boiling water. I need to go check it.” Without waiting for further comment, she quickly hurried off.

Su Ting: “Heh.”

Though the woman was annoying, her words reminded Su Ting. The next time someone brought up the bicycle and the electric fan, Su Ting would repeat this whole explanation before anyone else could even open their mouths.

After she repeated it seven or eight times, the whole Family Residential Compound knew. It became peaceful, and the chatter died down.

Of course, there were whispers behind her back. Some said He Dongchuan seemed like a decent man, but they didn’t expect him to be so shrewd.

Although Su Ting’s parents had made their intentions clear, people were well aware that people could change. Some might be generous when setting the marriage arrangements but would back out when it came time for the wedding. He only bought one of the three big items, and the remaining two were bought with tickets meant for use only in Rong City. This was clearly a way to make them stick to their word and not try to take advantage of the dowry.

No one knew how much the dowry was, or if Su Ting got to keep all of it. If she did, it would mean He Dongchuan had married her without spending a dime.

Because the talk was negative, people only dared to gossip behind their backs and never brought it up to Su Ting or He Dongchuan’s faces.

But as often happens, when people get excited, a hint of their meaning slips out. Gradually, Su Ting caught wind of some of these idle comments.

To be honest, she found it a little ridiculous. These people thought of the men, thought of the parents, but never considered that women are people too, and need money to live.

Should dowry money be given? Su Ting believed it should.

Should it be left with the parents? She didn’t think so.

But she kept these thoughts to herself. After all, the time had passed, and they never brought it up to her directly. She thought if she went around giving people unsolicited advice, she would just seem crazy.

Anyway, after they returned home with the bicycle, Su Ting and He Dongchuan didn’t rush to deal with the large items. Instead, they opened the comic books they had bought and began browsing through them.

As for He Yan, he was more focused on the electric fan. Before they went to the Department Store, his mother had told him that the fan was going to be placed in his bedroom to keep him cool.

For this, his mother had set three rules with him, making him promise not to touch the plug while sleeping, not to adjust the fan speed at midnight, and definitely not to put his hand inside the fan cover. If he didn’t agree, she wouldn’t buy him the electric fan.

He Yan thought to himself that sticking his hand into the plug would electrocute him, and putting his hand inside the fan cover would cut him—his dad and mom had told him this many times before. He wasn’t stupid, of course, he wouldn’t do such things.

Adjusting the fan speed was fine, but his mom had said it—there were three rules, and not a single one could be left out. If he agreed, he had to agree to all of them. If he didn’t agree, he wouldn’t get any.

This matter wasn’t very important to him, so he just agreed to all of it.

He Yan’s eyes shone as he looked at the cardboard box placed on the floor. This was his fan!

He turned his head, wanting his dad to help him open the box. He was about to touch his fan up close! But when he turned around, he saw his dad and mom sitting around the dining table, each reading a book.

He Yan walked over, poked his dad’s side waist—being shorter, it was convenient to poke here, and it worked well. Almost every time he poked, his dad would turn his head and ask: “What’s up?”

“Dad, what are you guys reading?” He Yan asked.

He Dongchuan picked up a sealed picture magazine from the table and handed it over, saying: “You look at it yourself.”

He Yan said “oh” and took the magazine. He muttered “comic book magazine” as he opened the first page and read aloud: “Peach, peach…” His knowledge of characters was limited, and he didn’t recognize the character “source.” so he asked: “Dad, what’s the village called?”

“Chutao Yuan Village.”

“Oh.” He Yan lowered his head and continued to flip through the cover to keep reading.

Indeed, Publishing House had placed Su Ting’s story first, and this era’s “comic book magazine” was different from the magazines commonly seen in later years. It was very economical with paper; basically, the cover page led directly into the first story, and the contents were placed on the back inside cover.

So, when He Yan opened it, he immediately saw the content drawn by Su Ting and began reading.

However, since there were many characters he didn’t recognize, he read with some difficulty and occasionally had to ask his dad.

Hearing the father and son chatting, Su Ting looked up and saw the three of them each holding a copy of the “comic book magazine.” A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

Actually, He Dongchuan was quite foresighted—buying four copies at once wasn’t too many.

She couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander. The new issue of the comic book magazine had been out for a week. She wondered if it had been distributed in bookstores nationwide, and whether people liked the story she had drawn.