Chapter 33

Wang Shengcai’s wife acted as though she had been struck by lightning, stirring up trouble like a rural woman causing a scene. She threw a tantrum at the soap factory and refused to leave.

In the end, the factory security had to drag her out.

Undeterred, she sat at the factory gate wailing loudly. The factory management, thoroughly annoyed, brought out the large guard dog kept by the factory. Frightened, Wang Shengcai’s wife scrambled to her feet and fled.

Though she didn’t dare make a scene at the factory again, she caused chaos at home. She smashed plates and bowls, leaving all household chores to her two children. The eldest son fetched meals from the canteen, while the younger one cleaned the house. As for fetching water, the empty water tank had to wait until Wang Shengcai returned to refill it.

At first, Wang Shengcai tolerated this. But after only a few days, he couldn’t take it anymore. After a long, exhausting day at work, he returned home to a cluttered mess, and no one even emptied the chamber pot. The whole house reeked of urine.

To make matters worse, his wife, Li Gouya, seemed utterly unaffected and slept soundly amid the foul smell.

Furious, Wang Shengcai had a massive argument with her. His voice was loud, but Li Gouya’s was even louder. Enraged, she scratched his face, leaving it covered in marks.

Unable to handle his own wife, Wang Shengcai finally remembered how good his mother was. That very night, he went to the countryside and brought his elderly mother, Old Lady Wang, back to the house.

The return of Old Lady Wang stirred up even more drama in the courtyard. She and her daughter-in-law, Li Gouya, constantly clashed, arguing and fighting daily. Old Lady Wang, still strong despite her age, was used to hard labor in the countryside. Meanwhile, Li Gouya, with her sharp tongue, hurled insults at her mother-in-law, even calling her “an old hag.” Enraged, Old Lady Wang slapped her on the spot.

This amused Liu Laidi, the neighbor, to no end. Liu Laidi, who had recently spent two miserable days in detention, was scolded by her husband upon returning home. He warned her to behave and stop bringing shame to the Zheng family. He even threatened to send her back to her hometown.

Unwilling but powerless to argue, Liu Laidi complied. Forced to behave, she stayed home, lounging with her feet up, snacking on sunflower seeds, and eavesdropping on the drama next door. The more trouble Li Gouya faced, the happier Liu Laidi was.

While the front courtyard was in chaos, Lin Yao’s peaceful life in the rear courtyard remained mostly unaffected.

Other than being woken up early by the commotion, there was little disruption.

This year’s rainfall was plentiful, and the vegetables in the garden—long beans, loofahs, and eggplants—grew wildly. They were harvested repeatedly, so much that Zhang Cuilan began to worry. With every household eating at the communal canteen, the excess vegetables were usually preserved into pickles for winter or shared with neighbors and relatives.

But this year, the vegetables kept growing back quickly. The family couldn’t consume them all in time, leaving Zhang Cuilan no choice but to pickle everything.

The entire Gu family, without exception, helped with the chores when they came back from work. Even Lin Yao joined in.

Gu Shidong, the ten-year-old boy, pitched in too, making Lin Yao feel embarrassed about sleeping in late. She might have thick skin but not to the point of being completely shameless.

With the intense summer heat, the family moved their work to the shaded corridor. Gu Shidong carried a large basket full of beans on his back, running back and forth from the garden to empty them into a wooden tub before going to pick eggplants.

Lin Yao and Gu Chunmei sat on small stools, washing the beans and eggplants in the wooden tub.

Zhang Cuilan used a large vegetable knife to slice the produce into thin pieces, which she laid out in bamboo trays to dry.

As they worked, they chatted about family matters. Gu Chunmei’s wedding day was approaching. Lin Yao counted on her fingers and realized it was just over 30 days away.

At Da Tou Brother’s house, they had already started repainting the walls and preparing furniture. Meanwhile, at the Gu family home, Zhang Cuilan was busy organizing the dowry.

In the county town, marrying off a daughter wasn’t as simple as in the countryside, where little was expected. Even in times of scarcity, there were still established traditions. In less affectionate families, a dowry might only consist of a thermos, a childbearing bucket, and a new set of clothes.

In more doting families, the dowry was more elaborate. For example, the Gu family was preparing a wooden chest for clothes, a quilt, a pair of red pillowcases, a thermos, a childbearing bucket, and 30 yuan. Aside from the cash, the other items were all practical household goods.

Although the list didn’t seem extensive, assembling it was a headache.

Most of the items were manageable, but the quilt and pillowcases were tricky. Zhang Cuilan only had a few fabric and cotton vouchers. A quilt alone required several feet of fabric, and cheerful, festive patterns were ideal for weddings.

Despite gathering everything she could, Zhang Cuilan still couldn’t piece together a full set of matching fabric. She even considered patching the quilt.

When Gu Mancang heard this, he vehemently shook his head, saying, “Chunmei is our only daughter. The Xu family gave 60 yuan as a bride price. Sending her off with a patched quilt would be disgraceful!”

Zhang Cuilan rolled her eyes at him. “Why not? When I married you, all I had was one outfit and a small bundle, riding on a donkey cart!”

Gu Mancang replied, “That was a different time. Things are different now.”

Zhang Cuilan sighed. She understood the reasoning but felt helpless.

Lin Yao pretended to go back to her room, closing the door behind her. Once inside her space supermarket, she rummaged through the piles of fabric and found a piece of brocade with a double-happiness pattern. She recognized it from a previous wedding in the neighborhood and knew it was a common yet beautiful material.

She neatly bundled the fabric and placed it in Chunmei’s room without saying a word.

When Gu Chunmei returned from work and saw the brocade, she was startled and immediately went to Lin Yao for answers.

Lin Yao explained that she had acquired it from the black market, but Gu Chunmei hesitated to accept it.

Lin Yao, putting on her sister-in-law act, playfully tugged Gu Chunmei’s braid and said, “If you don’t take it, I’ll give it to Da Tou Brother.”

As long as the one people from young couple accepts it, that’s enough.

When Gu Chunmei heard Da Tou Brother’s name, she felt a warm sweetness in her heart. Thinking about how a wedding wouldn’t be complete without a red envelope, she went back into the house, grabbed ten yuan, and gave it to Lin Yao. She then tugged at Lin Yao’s braided hair. When Lin Yao refused, Gu Chunmei threatened to report her sister-in-law to Deputy Director Gu for going to the black market.

Lin Yao’s small face scrunched up in a frown. “Hey, you can’t repay kindness with betrayal!”

In the end, the two girls laughed and playfully rolled around.

Gu Chunmei quickly threaded the cut green beans into strings and hung them up under the eaves. Lin Yao glanced at her and asked, “Last time, Da Tou Brother talked about cotton fluffing—has it been done?”

“Almost. In a few days, we’ll put the quilt cover on and air it out.”

“There’s extra fabric, so I’ll sew a pillowcase too.”

“Dongzi said he needs a vest. In a few days, I’ll buy some fabric and make one for him.”

“That boy is hopeless when it comes to clothes! He can ruin a good outfit in just two or three days.”

The two sisters continued chatting when Gu Shidong came back from picking loofahs. He was covered in dirt, put the bamboo basket down, and rushed inside, groaning, “I’m exhausted, I’m exhausted.”

The little rascal didn’t even bother to change his clothes and flopped onto the bed, motionless.

Gu Chunmei gave Lin Yao a knowing look. “See, I told you.”

Lin Yao: “…”

At noon, when Gu Shi’an came back from work, there was another argument in the courtyard—Wang’s family was at it again.

Lin Yao could only catch a few words of their bickering, but she figured it was over something trivial. She wasn’t interested, so she sat in the living room, fanning herself with a bamboo fan.

Deputy Director Gu came back from work with two potted plants—a butterfly orchid and a jasmine flower.

Lin Yao enjoyed tending to flowers and plants, but she wasn’t keen on pulling weeds or watering them. Fortunately, Gu Shi’an was home, so she sent him off to do the chores instead.

—It saved her from dealing with this fellow’s restless energy later in the evening.

Today, there wasn’t much work at the Public Security Bureau, so Gu Shi’an had some free time to rest at home.

It was a hot summer afternoon, and the heat was steaming the courtyard. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Wang family, who had been arguing with each other for a long time, also temporarily stopped fighting.

Outside the window, the bamboo shadows danced in the breeze. The east room was finally cool, and Lin Yao, with her delicate feet resting on the bed, was reading. Her feet swayed back and forth, and it wasn’t long before they swayed into Gu Shi’an’s heart.

Lin Yao looked at him, feeling a little nervous. “Oh no, don’t eat me up in broad daylight!” She quickly dropped her book and rolled into Gu Shi’an’s arms, kissing his handsome face. Then, she playfully complained, “I worked all morning, my arms and legs are sore.”

She poked him in the shoulder. “Aren’t you tired?”

Deputy Director Gu, being straightforward as always, replied, “I’m not tired.”

“If you’re not tired, then help me rub my shoulders. I’m exhausted.”

Without hesitation, Lin Yao stretched out her arms and legs. She was indeed tired from all the work she had done today.

Gu Shi’an smiled and, with large hands, massaged her arms and legs. Not long after, Lin Yao fell into a peaceful sleep.

Gu Shi’an’s gaze softened as he kissed her forehead. The couple peacefully napped together.