Chapter 3

The Gu family lived in a large, old courtyard built during the Republic of China era. Most of the people in this area were ordinary folk.

The supply and marketing cooperative was located in the busiest part of Yunshui County, passing by the clear moat. The cooperative was about two to three miles away, and walking there and back would take nearly an hour.

Usually, when the Gu family ran out of cooking oil, salt, or other daily necessities, Gu Chunmei would bring them home after work, or Gu Mancang would ride his bike to buy them.

Dongzi, on the other hand, was a lazy boy who usually wouldn’t help out at home.

But today was different!

Lin Yao told him to buy a jar of lotus root powder, a pound of egg cake, half a pound of salt, three jasmine-scented soaps, and some needles and threads.

Zhang Cuilan loved lotus root powder, and egg cakes were Gu Mancang’s favorite.

As for the jasmine-scented soaps, Lin Yao wanted one for herself, one for Aunt Cuilan, and one for Gu Chunmei.

It was hot, and using the soap in the evening would make for a refreshing bath before bed.

Lin Yao didn’t use the money Zhang Cuilan had given her. Instead, she took 10 yuan from her small wallet and handed Dongzi a few snack and sugar ration tickets. The remaining small dimes were his errand fee.

Gu Shidong calculated quickly—jasmine soap was 30 cents each, salt cost 15 cents a pound, and so on. After adding everything up, he still had a little change left!

Zhang Cuilan only gave her youngest son one dime for pocket money each week.

Hehehe!

Gu Shidong was so excited that he jumped three feet in the air. Without needing Zhang Cuilan to shout, he grabbed the basket and rushed out of the courtyard.

Just then, Gu Chunmei returned home, pushing her bike. The siblings, one lowering the bike and the other secretly happy, either of them paid attention to their steps and almost bumped into each other head-on and fell on their butts.

Luckily, Gu Shidong managed to stop just in time. The mischievous boy quickly complained, hands on his hips, “Second Sister, why don’t you watch where you’re walking? If you hit me, how will you compensate?”

Gu Chunmei, 22 years old, was tall and slim, with an oval face, fair skin, and a thick braid dangling from one side. Her brows and eyes resembled her mother’s but had a more delicate touch, making her appear graceful and poised.

The siblings often bickered, but Gu Chunmei wasn’t having any of her younger brother’s nonsense. She rolled her eyes and lightly scoffed, “Good dogs don’t block the road. Move aside!”

“Heh, I’m a dog, so what about you, Second Sister?”

“I’m your great aunt!”

“Hey, Second Sister, that’s not right. You’re already engaged. If you act like this, you might scare off my future brother-in-law…”

Gu Chunmei, both embarrassed and angry, tossed her bike aside and began searching for something to hit her little brother.

Fortunately, Gu Shidong was quick. Like a monkey, he hopped onto a stone slab and quickly ran off, disappearing out of sight.

Fuming, Gu Chunmei went back inside, still grumbling.

Zhang Cuilan came over, took a look, saw that there was nothing to worry about, and went back to the kitchen to continue her work.

It was nothing new. Her daughter and youngest son had been fighting like this since childhood.

Is there any closeness between a daughter and son?

She still had to clean the pig entrails in the kitchen.

Zhang Cuilan, a model worker at the state-owned pig farm, often brought back a bag of pig entrails. As a long-time employee, she got special benefits—pig stomachs, hearts, livers, and intestines—all for free, and the prices were cheaper than at the market.

Although these pig entrails seemed unimportant, in the courtyard where meat was rare, they were a luxury.

Every time the Gu family had better meals, the other women in the courtyard would envy them.

Lin Yao had been cooped up in the side room for a long time. She couldn’t stand it anymore and, after some coaxing, managed to get Zhang Cuilan’s permission to walk around the courtyard for half an hour.

The Gu family’s home was located at the far east of the large courtyard. Since Grandpa Gu was a veteran revolutionary, when the government allocated houses, the Gu family received three rooms for their large family, along with a kitchen and a storage room.

Grandpa Gu and his wife lived in the largest east room, while Gu Mancang and his wife occupied the west room, which also served as the living room. The three children lived in the south room.

Later, when Grandpa Gu and Grandma Gu passed away and the siblings grew up, the east room was given to the eldest son, which was now the room Lin Yao had as her wedding room.

The unmarried daughter, Gu Chunmei, lived in the south room, and the youngest, Gu Shidong, was sent to the storage room because of his bad sleep habits. He was always hiccupping, grinding his teeth, and farted, which annoyed his parents.

The naughty boy didn’t mind at all. In fact, he thought it was much more comfortable to have his own space.

The large courtyard was originally a private house before the Liberation, with upturned eaves and blue stone-paved paths.

Zhang Cuilan liked cleanliness, so the house was spotless. She had planted cannas and roses in the corners, and there was a small shed on the wall of the storage room that served as the family’s “bathroom” in the summer.

The communal toilets for the courtyard were located on the street. The men and women’s toilets were clearly separated, and the residents took turns cleaning them, keeping them fairly sanitary.

The courtyard was small, so Lin Yao, with her head wrapped in a white cloth, didn’t want to wander around too much and become the center of attention.

She walked around for a few minutes and decided to go back inside.

As she passed the south room, she saw that Gu Chunmei was looking upset. Lin Yao returned to her room, took a pink silk scarf from the space supermarket, and with a smile, entered the south room.

“Sister Chunmei.”

Gu Chunmei looked up at the sound of her name, only to see Lin Yao standing at the door with a playful expression. Her almond-shaped eyes, glistening with life, had a small mole at the corner, making her gaze both charming and captivating.

However, Lin Yao was still recovering from an injury, with a bandage on her forehead that hadn’t been removed yet. Gu Chunmei quickly pulled her inside.

“It’s hot outside! Why are you just standing there in the sun like a fool, soaking up the heat?”

Gu Chunmei scolded her, but she didn’t hesitate to pour Lin Yao a cup of refreshing cold tea.

Lin Yao sat down on a small stool, smiling as she took a sip of the tea. “It’s really sweet. You must have used rock candy in it, right?”

Gu Chunmei casually checked the bandage on Lin Yao’s head, replying, “Of course. You’re so picky, my brother says if it’s not sweet, you won’t drink it.”

Lin Yao: “…”

This was Gu Shi’an’s fault; she won’t take the blame.

Lin Yao had grown up playing with Gu Chunmei, and technically, she was one year younger than Gu Chunmei. Though now Lin Yao was “married” to Gu Shi’an, she was Gu Chunmei’s sister-in-law in name only.

Unfortunately, Lin Daguo’s family feared the truth of the marriage being exposed, so they decided that Gu Shi’an and his bride would have a wedding ceremony first, and only then would they register the marriage.

This unusual arrangement meant that Lin Yao and Gu Shi’an hadn’t registered their marriage yet; they had just held a wedding ceremony.

According to Yunshui County’s customs, Lin Yao was still considered a member of the Gu family, but what would happen next was uncertain.

Regardless, Gu Chunmei still referred to Lin Yao as a little girl.

She was younger than her, so of course, she was a little girl.

Gu Shi’an was already 28 years old; if he wanted to marry a younger woman, he’d have to show some capability!

Gu Shi’an who was far away in the army: “……”

Gu Chunmei, after mentally grumbling about her older brother, finished checking Lin Yao’s injury and confirmed that everything was fine.

The two of them sat down to chat, and Lin Yao casually pulled out a pink scarf, saying it was a gift for Gu Chunmei to celebrate her engagement.

Gu Chunmei was delighted as she held it. The scarf was soft, cool to the touch, and embroidered with a pink plum blossom. She loved it.

“This scarf is so soft and beautiful. We don’t even have something like this at the supply and marketing cooperative. It must not be cheap.”

Though Gu Chunmei adored it, she was too shy to accept it.

Lin Yao, speaking seriously yet jokingly, replied, “Of course not! I got lucky and found it at the rural supply and marketing cooperative. It’s not expensive. If you wear it, you’ll look just like the Seven Fairies who descended from heaven!”

Her playful words left Gu Chunmei laughing, almost dizzy from the compliments.

In the yard, Gu Mancang, hearing the cheerful laughter from inside the house, smiled and rubbed his hands in amusement.

Gu Chunmei seemed to be in high spirits all evening, and Gu Shidong, the mischievous boy, came home, bracing himself for a scolding.

He nervously peeked around the door, half-expecting his second sister to come charging out like a fierce tiger with a stick in hand.

But instead, to his surprise, she had a soft smile on her face and even gave him a piece of pig heart.

Gu Shidong: Wow, is the moon rising in the east today?

*

In June, there was a thunderstorm. The night before, Linjia Village had just experienced a downpour.

The muddy roads in the village were filled with puddles, and as Li Aifeng, Lin Daguo’s wife, returned home from work, she accidentally stepped into a mud puddle, swearing loudly in frustration.

There was a girl in the village who laughed a few times, and was chased home by this rude woman, who even cursed her ancestors for eighteen generations.

The girl, barely in her twenties, with a thin face, almost cried in the yard.

Seeing this, the villagers couldn’t bear it anymore and stepped in to stop it, which made Li Aifeng angrily return to her own courtyard.

Lin Daguo’s family was considered to be of middle-to-upper status in the village. The old man Lin worked at a furniture factory and had lived off the state’s food for many years. His monthly salary was 30 yuan, plus the work points earned by the Lin family working in the fields.

Through these efforts, Old Man Lin had saved enough to buy a small house.

The house was made of blue bricks, with three main rooms. To the south, there was a clay stove, and further north was a vegetable garden they cultivated themselves. In the corner of the west yard, they kept three hens in a cage.

In those days, people in the countryside relied on the hens for eggs.

In the small northern room, there hung an old, faded indigo cloth curtain, which belonged to Lin Hongna.

Ever since Lin Daguo had arranged for his niece to marry into the Gu family, Lin Hongna had stayed in her room, rarely going out. She spent her days eating inside, avoiding work.

Lin Daguo acted tough at home, but outside, he was as meek as could be. The men in the village made fun of him, and even if he overheard, he didn’t dare say a word.

Lin Daguo’s eldest son, Lin Hongwu, worked as a temporary employee at the town’s light bulb factory. He had managed to get in with some help and spent a large sum of money, earning 18 yuan a month. Though he wasn’t a permanent employee, it was still better than working the land in the village. He had recently started seeing a girl from the town and was afraid that his family’s poor situation would embarrass him, so he hadn’t been home for a while.

The household chores were entirely managed by Li Aifeng.

She was lazy and greedy. When Lin Yao was around, all the housework was done by that girl—cooking, sweeping, and feeding the chickens. Li Aifeng didn’t have to lift a finger.

Now, however, when Lin Yao was no longer around, the yard was full of chicken droppings that no one bothered to clean up.

Li Aifeng, seeing no one in the yard, rushed into the kitchen. The stove was cold, and there was nothing in the pot. Her frustration boiled over, and just as she was about to yell, Lin Hongna, who had slept all afternoon, yawned and came out.

Without hesitation, she questioned, “Mom, what time is it? Why haven’t you cooked yet?”