Chapter 42

This was what happened: in October, the autumn wind was chilly, and the golden autumn hues enveloped the entire Yunshui County.

The Gu family started to wash old cotton jackets, pants, and quilts. The worn-out cotton mattresses for the winter were also sent to Bayi Alley to be fluffed. Once fluffed, the cotton was put into new mattress covers, carefully stitched, and left to sunbathe for a day or two, giving them that pleasant sun-dried smell.

During the winter, these few quilts were essential for the family, and since their daughter was about to get married, Zhang Cuilan and her husband were so busy they barely had time to rest.

Last week, Xu’s parents had brought four gifts to formally propose to the Gu family.

The four gifts consisted of a pound of sugar, two bottles of sorghum wine, two bags of snacks, and two pounds of premium pork belly.

This was an old tradition in Yunshui County. For any big life event like a marriage, it was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and respectable families rarely skimped on such customs.

The Xu family were both working. Xu Xiangqian had been employed for two or three years, and Mother Xu, due to poor health, had retired early, though without a pension. However, the factory had given her a lump sum based on her years of service.

Even so, Xu’s father and son earned about a hundred yuan per month, which was more than enough to support a family of three in the county. Mother Xu had been a money-savvy woman. In her younger years, she would gather lotus roots and sell them, saving every penny to contribute to her dowry.

While managing the household, Mother Xu also made paper boxes and folded cardboard. She earned a bit extra, around ten yuan a month. As she often told Zhang Cuilan, it was enough to cover her own expenses and even send some pocket money to Gu Chunmei. The Xu family had already made it clear that when the daughter-in-law came into the family, the newlywed couple could live their life without interference. Xu Xiangqian’s salary wouldn’t have to be handed over, as long as the couple could take care of themselves.

The Xu family was very sincere, and the Gu family, in turn, didn’t put on airs. Everyone worked hard to prepare for the daughter’s wedding.

Back when Gu Shi’an was getting married, it had been different.

At that time, weddings were more elaborate. A few tables of food would be set up at home to entertain relatives and friends in a lively atmosphere.

Since the Lushan Conference, however, the political climate had shifted dramatically. Now, in the county, anyone who threw a lavish wedding risked being associated with bourgeois tendencies.

Recently, the Wu family from the county had been sent to the Xinjiang farm for their inappropriate lifestyle choices.

This event caused quite a stir, and people in Yunshui County became nervous.

The two families agreed that after the children registered their marriage, the whole family would have a simple meal. They’d buy some fruits, candies, and melon seeds to share with the neighbors.

Xu Xiangqian had been eagerly waiting to bring Gu Chunmei home. Watching Old Gu dote on his wife every day had made him envious, and he longed for the day when he could bring his own bride home.

As long as he can bring his wife home, Da Tou Brother has no objection.

Gu Chunmei had no objection either.

When it comes to marriage, there aren’t many romantic tales; the most important thing is living a steady life together.

On the Gu family’s side, the dowry items, such as the camphor wood trunk, bedding, sheets, pillows, water heater, enamel bowls, and basins, were almost ready. Only then did Zhang Cuilan find time to send her youngest son to Sishui Alley to buy dried rice straw.

Sishui Alley had businesses that collected rice straw from the countryside, selling it for one mao per cart. After being sun-dried, it was sold to the local villagers.

The villagers would cover their bed frames with the straw, adding a layer of mattress, and sleep on it, enjoying the natural fragrance of the straw as they drifted into a warm and comfortable sleep.

This was the folk wisdom of the common people. Lin Yao, who had been used to sleeping on a hard wooden bed, eventually got used to it. After some time, if she didn’t sleep on it, she found it hard to sleep at all.

While Gu Shidong went to Sishui Alley to buy the rice straw, she stayed home picking vegetables from the garden. She harvested the last batch of tomatoes for the year and, before the frost, planned to pull up the tomato vines and prepare the garden for radishes and cabbage.

Lin Yao planned to turn the basket full of tomatoes into tomato paste to enjoy with steamed buns and pancakes later.

The Gu family was large, with six members and only four rooms and four wooden beds. They needed to buy ten bundles of rice straw, with each bundle costing two pennies. The total came to twenty cents for the straw, with the remaining ten cents as the delivery fee.

Zhang Cuilan gave her youngest son 30 cents, 20 cents to buy straw, and the remaining 10 cents as errand fee.

Gu Shidong grinned and said, “Comrade Cuilan, you’re being so generous today!”

The little rascal quickly went to Sishui Alley to buy the straw. After paying, he made sure to leave the family’s address and leisurely walked to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The cooperative’s counter displayed all sorts of snacks: egg cakes, fruit hard candies, milk powder, raisins, and Jin Ji biscuits.

The boy often visited the cooperative when he had nothing to do. He would wander around with his hands behind his back, even though he had no money. The shop assistants never gave him the cold shoulder, because the little guy was charming. He would call one lady “sister” and another “brother,” making them laugh and smile, wishing he would visit every day.

Now, Gu Shidong was licking the milk candy he bought for two cents, and left the supply and marketing cooperative with satisfaction, with a defective pencil case that did not need a ticket stuffed in his pocket.

This pencil case was a special internal item. Without a good relationship with the lady, it wouldn’t have been sold to him at such a low price.

The little rascal walked leisurely for a few minutes, when suddenly his stomach began to growl.

Oh no, it must have been that melon he’d sneaked earlier in the morning that had upset his stomach.

Clutching his belly and holding his backside, Gu Shidong dashed into a roadside restroom.

The restrooms back then were all dry toilets, with long rows of squat toilets, separated by walls about half a person’s height.

After taking care of his business and pulling up his pants, Gu Shidong heard rustling sounds from the corner behind the toilet. It sounded like a man and a woman talking.

The little brat sneered, thinking to himself that it was probably just another pair of lovebirds sneaking behind the toilet to meet up. He hoisted up his pants and was about to leave when he suddenly recognized the voices behind the wall—it was Li Aifeng and Lin Daguo!

The little brat quickly crouched down, quietly crept back, and, holding his nose to endure the stench, eavesdropped with his ears perked.

Lin Daguo was also feeling dizzy from the foul smell of the toilet, but Li Aifeng kept pulling him further back.

Annoyed, he covered his nose and cursed, “Stop it already, damn it, this smell is killing me.”

Li Aifeng wasn’t in a good mood either and snapped back with her neck stiffened, “You think I want to be in this godforsaken place? The streets are crowded with people. Where else could we find a quiet spot?”

Lin Daguo, as chatty as a nagging wife, wouldn’t stop complaining, until Li Aifeng pinched him, telling him to shut up.

“What if Lin Yao, that little bitch, hears us?”

The mention of Lin Yao made Lin Daguo’s eyes fill with anger. When his daughter made a fuss about not wanting to marry into the Gu family, he, as her elder uncle, had no choice but to marry her off to the Gu family.

After all, his niece didn’t have a suitor, so what difference did it make to whom she married?

Who would’ve thought that this arranged marriage would bring such trouble to the family?

The villagers whispered behind their backs, accusing him of being heartless, of exploiting his niece and doing such cruel things to push her into a pit of fire. They said he’d have no good end!

What did those bastards know? Look at how his niece is living now. She’s not in a pit of fire—she’s in a jar of honey!

Li Aifeng, on the other hand, couldn’t stop spewing vulgarities when she thought of Lin Yao. She kept calling her a little slut, saying that Lin Yao was just like her mother, a born seductress. If she had known earlier, she would have sold her to a brothel to be a prostitute…

Even though Lin Yao was a member of the Lin family, Li Aifeng dragged the entire Lin family’s ancestors into her tirade, cursing them all. Lin Daguo’s temper flared up, and he raised his fist, threatening to hit her if she didn’t shut up.

Li Aifeng shut her mouth, seething but silent. The truth was, her dislike for Lin Yao wasn’t just because Lin Yao was living a good life. There was another reason.

Back then, when a matchmaker proposed a marriage to the Li family, Li Aifeng had set her sights on Lin Weiguo, Lin Yao’s father. But Lin Weiguo didn’t like her and rejected the proposal, turning around to marry Lin Yao’s mother instead.

Li Aifeng couldn’t get over this, so she married the lazy and idle Lin Daguo out of spite.

It wasn’t for anything else, just to make Lin Weiguo regret it.

But Lin Weiguo didn’t regret it at all and lived happily with that bitch, while Li Aifeng’s life was miserable beyond words.

Later, Lin Weiguo and his wife passed away, and Lin Yao, who was timid at the time, didn’t dare make a sound at home. She either kept her head down working or hid in her room. Li Aifeng took every opportunity to vent her anger on Lin Yao, often beating and scolding her. The little girl’s body was always bruised, but she didn’t dare tell anyone outside and could only cry in secret.

Those were the days! Li Aifeng would wake up from her dreams laughing.

But now?

Grinding her teeth, Li Aifeng lowered her voice and discussed with Lin Daguo, “Hongna said that little slut has hit the jackpot. She’s eating malted milk, brown sugar, and eggs every day. Her husband is the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, with plenty of people begging for his help. Even if she has good things in her hands, we’re her rightful elders, and it’s only fair that she shows us some respect.”

Lin Daguo, a natural coward, still hesitated.

The Gu family wasn’t easy to mess with, and if they found out…

Li Aifeng couldn’t stand seeing him like this. She spat at him, cursing, “Look at you, you coward! Lin Yao is your own niece, and you’re a grown man who can’t do anything. What are you afraid of? If that little slut gives you attitude, you slap her with your big hand!”

Lin Daguo’s eyes turned sinister as Li Aifeng’s spit hit his face.

“Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

Only then did Li Aifeng soften her expression. She planned to extort 500 yuan from Lin Yao, half to pay off Hongwu’s gambling debts and the other half to keep for herself.

Nowadays, leather shoes were all the rage in the city. A pair cost five yuan, and with that money, she could buy a pair to show off. Also, she’d seen a peony-patterned headscarf that she liked, and she’d buy that too. Then, she’d put aside twenty yuan to help out her family…

If that little slut Lin Yao refused to give them the money, she’d have her nephew from her side of the family ruin her. No matter how much the Gu family liked Lin Yao, no man would want a woman who had been defiled!

And who knows? Maybe her daughter Hongna could end up marrying into the Gu family, making her the mother-in-law of a deputy director!

As for Lin Yao, she could marry her nephew. That would solve the problem of passing on the family name for the Li family.

Li Aifeng’s family was dirt poor, lazy, and gluttonous. Her nephew was shifty and sneaky, and no girl in their village would marry him.

Nana was right—Lin Yao didn’t deserve the good life she was living. Marrying her nephew would be a bargain for that little slut.

Li Aifeng felt much better after these thoughts. She didn’t realize that Gu Shidong had already dashed off home.

Gu Shidong ran home like the wind, his steps powerful and determined.

No wonder he’d felt like someone was following him and his sister-in-law when they were out picking up coal!

Turns out it was Lin Daguo and Li Aifeng, those two bastards!

They even wanted to harm his sister-in-law and extort money from her. He would go home and tell his big brother, so his big brother could throw those two scoundrels in jail!

*

Meanwhile, back at the courtyard, Lin Yao had washed the tomatoes she’d picked, leaving them in the basket to drain. She planned to call Gu Chunmei in the afternoon to cut the tomatoes and make tomato sauce.

Yesterday, the textile factory brought good news—Lin Yao successfully passed the exam and, along with Zhou Xiaoxue and another girl, was hired by the factory.

This time, the textile factory was recruiting for two positions in the logistics department and one as a junior cashier in the accounting department.

The factory management decided to assign Lin Yao and Zhou Xiaoxue to the logistics department, while the other girl would join the accounting department.

It was said that the girl’s mother was an experienced accountant, and the girl herself was skilled in using an abacus and bookkeeping, making her more suitable for the accounting department than Lin Yao and Zhou Xiaoxue.

When Zhang Cuilan and her husband heard this good news, they couldn’t suppress their smiles. Even when Dongzi, their mischievous son, was out playing for half a day, Zhang Cuilan didn’t scold him when he got home.

Not only did she refrain from scolding anyone, but when Deputy Director Gu returned home, he was unexpectedly greeted with a smile from his mother.

“Oh, our eldest son is back home?”

Gu Shi’an maintained his usual serious expression, but his mother didn’t scold him and even personally led him into the house.

“Yao Yao is in the room. She picked a basket of tomatoes this morning and must be tired. Go and give her a shoulder massage to help her feel better.”

Gu Shi’an naturally nodded. After all, in his own home, he had long been accustomed to massaging the young lady’s back and even preparing her foot baths.

Lin Yao was lying on the bed reading a book when Gu Shi’an came in with a plate of watermelon, feeding her slice by slice.

Just as Lin Yao was comfortably leaning in Deputy Director Gu’s arms, Gu Shidong suddenly barged in noisily.