Chapter 6

The Steel Mill’s large courtyard was a two-part compound, square in shape, with a front yard and a back yard, where all the residents were employees of the steel mill.

The yard was paved with blue bricks, with upturned eaves and carved redwood windows, all hinting at the once-prosperous grandeur of this residence.

The swallows from the halls of the Wang and Xie families have flown into the homes of common folk.

Now, five families live in this compound. The front yard was larger, with two rooms on the west side, where Wang Shengcai lived with his family of five. Wang Shengcai worked in the mill’s security department and was a decent man, but his wife was not well-liked in the yard, as she had a habit of gossiping about others.

In the southeast corner of the front yard, there were two more families. In the east lived Zheng Dacheng, who used to be a head chef at a state-owned restaurant before being poached by the steel mill to work in the cafeteria, where he became the head chef, overseeing a staff of more than ten employees—a small leader of sorts.

These days, the steel mill was doing well, and as the head chef, Zheng Dacheng earned a good salary with excellent benefits. His wife, Liu Laidi, a peasant woman who couldn’t read or write, benefited from her husband’s position and got a job as a purchasing clerk in the cafeteria.

The Zheng family had a son and a daughter. Their eldest daughter, Zheng Yan, was in high school in the county, and their younger son, Zheng Hao, was in junior high. Because of Zheng Dacheng’s position, the entire Zheng family carried themselves as though they were superior to the other residents in the compound.

In the south lived Grandpa Sun and his wife, Grandma Sun. Before retiring, Grandpa Sun was a master craftsman at the steel mill, and Grandma Sun never worked. The elderly couple had one daughter who married far away in the south. To take care of the old couple, the factory had assigned them a house in the compound.

As for the backyard, the east side was where the Gu family lived.

Facing south in the north was Aunt Dafu’s two-room house. Uncle Dafu was the workshop director of the second workshop at the steel mill and was one of the few people that the Zheng family could respect.

The other family in the back yard was the Gu family. Gu Shi’an was a deputy battalion commander in the military, and as the saying goes, ‘A strong grip on the gun means a strong backbone.’

Compared to ordinary folks, military officers certainly had more authority.

The small kitchen in the summer was as hot as a steamer, and even a little activity would make one sweat profusely. Everyone in the courtyard was busy lighting their stoves, so no one had time to loiter outside.

As it was getting dark, Lin Yao and Gu Shidong entered the compound one after the other, walking in with confidence.

Since the start of the plum rain season, it has rained every two or three days in Yunshui County. Moss had crept up the corners of the courtyard walls, and clusters of purple four o’clock flowers had sprouted.

Grandpa Sun and Grandma Sun had finished their dinner early and were fanning themselves under the eaves to cool off.

Grandpa Sun, being older, had a habit of smoking a pipe after dinner. Grandma Sun saw Lin Yao and thought to herself, What a pretty girl, whose family is she from? She squinted for a while before smiling and saying, “I must be getting old. So, it’s Anzi’s^[1]Anzi is Gu Shi’an’s nickname wife from the Cuilan family, huh? What’s up, Anzi’s wife? Are you coming back home from outside?”

Lin Yao, who was known as “Anzi’s wife” to Grandma Sun: “……..”

Lin Yao felt a bit overwhelmed. She really wasn’t used to the older folks calling her… Anzi’s wife.

Fortunately, Gu Shidong quickly ran over and chattered away to help her out.

“Grandma Sun, are you enjoying the cool evening? Yes, this is my sister-in-law. Isn’t she beautiful? Of course, she is! My sister-in-law is definitely the prettiest. What were we doing? Nothing much, just went for a walk since it was too hot inside. What’s this in my hand? A basin, of course! Our basin broke, so we took it out to get it fixed…”

Gu Shidong seriously babbled nonsense while swiftly pulling his sister-in-law along toward home.

As they were leaving, Grandma Sun called out to Lin Yao, “Anzi’s wife, come out more often when you have time.”

Lin Yao smiled and replied, “Sure, I’ll come out when I have time.”

“She’s a good girl. Once you’re married, you should hurry up and have children. Us women, we’ve got to have lots of children…”

Lin Yao thought to herself, …why are they even urging me to have children?

She quickly hurried away.

Lin Yao’s footsteps were quick as she dashed off, disappearing from sight, leaving Grandma Sun still wanting to say more.

Grandpa Sun tapped his dry tobacco pipe, glancing at the nagging Grandma Sun.

“Old woman, you just can’t control that mouth of yours.”

“What did you say, you old coot?”

“Nothing. It’s getting dark, let’s go inside and sleep.”

“………”

*

When Lin Yao and Gu Shidong returned home, Zhang Cuilan was just setting the food on the table.

Gu Mancang was fetching water in the courtyard. The courtyard had only one well and no running water, so everyone had to fetch water to fill their home tanks.

Gu Shidong hated fetching water the most and tried to sneak away but failed.

“You little rascal, where do you think you’re going? Help your dad fetch water!”

Zhang Cuilan slapped him, and Gu Shidong immediately became obedient.

Earlier today, the factory’s loudspeaker announced the weather forecast, predicting rain for the next few days.

Whenever it rained, the courtyard well became unusable, as the water would get too muddy to even look at.

Fortunately, the higher-ups mentioned that next year the courtyard would have running water.

Gu Shidong reluctantly went to help Gu Mancang.

Zhang Cuilan noticed Lin Yao carrying a bunch of things and walked over to poke her forehead, saying irritably, “You silly girl, it’s not a holiday or New Year’s, why did you buy so many things? Are you trying to ruin us?”

Lin Yao quickly moved closer, trying to please her. “I’m not ruining anything, Auntie. Look, don’t you think this floral fabric is pretty?”

Zhang Cuilan reached out to touch it and nodded. “The fabric is good, and the pattern is elegant. Tomorrow, Auntie will make you a fitted dress with a cinched waist. It’ll look great.”

Lin Yao responded, “This was bought specifically for you, Auntie.”

Upon hearing that, Zhang Cuilan felt a pang of guilt. “You silly girl, Auntie is already middle-aged. If I dress up all flashy like a young girl, wouldn’t I look like an old witch? If we have money, we should save it up. The young girls at the factory all wear little leather shoes. With that money, you should buy yourself some snow cream or a pair of little leather shoes. Buying all this is just a waste…”

Lin Yao’s pretty face wrinkled in displeasure. “What are you saying? Auntie, you’re the most beautiful woman in this courtyard! If you ask around, everyone will say you look great, with fair skin, just like a woman in her early thirties. This fabric has an elegant pattern that would be wasted on anyone else, but it’s perfect for you.”

Lin Yao rattled off her flattery and even roped Gu Mancang into it.

“Uncle Mancang, don’t you agree?”

Gu Mancang, who was only forty-six this year, had a dark complexion and a sincere, honest appearance.

He awkwardly mumbled, “Y-yes, that’s right.”

Zhang Cuilan’s face flushed red.

Without thinking, Gu Shidong jumped in, “Mom, why is your face red?”

As a result, the little rascal got another smack on the head from his mom.

Tonight, Gu Chunmei was having dinner at the Xu family’s home.

Zhang Cuilan muttered a few complaints but eventually took the fabric, smiling as she went back inside.

Lin Yao didn’t just buy fabric for Zhang Cuilan. She also got something for Gu Mancang and Gu Shidong.

This made the father and son duo so happy that they couldn’t stop grinning all evening.

After spending most of the afternoon wandering the streets, Lin Yao was so tired after dinner that she could barely keep her eyes open.

Zhang Cuilan ordered her younger son to light some mugwort in Lin Yao’s room and lay out the freshly washed bamboo mat. After taking a bath, Lin Yao felt refreshed and climbed onto the bed, hugging a small pillow. She gave the big red wedding quilt on the bed a glance, then turned to the trunk to pull out a clean blanket. Snuggling comfortably under the blanket, she quickly fell asleep.

At nine o’clock that night, Gu Chunmei returned from Guihua Alley with rosy cheeks.

Gu Shidong, after hanging the orange soda and pork that Lin Yao had bought in the well to keep cool, noticed his second sister’s appearance and grumbled unhappily.

Hmph, brothers-in-law are the worst! They always take away my sister!

As predicted by the factory’s broadcast, the following days were filled with drizzling, continuous rain. The rain dripped from the eaves like a beaded curtain, splashing onto the cannas and roses in the corners, making the leaves look lush and green.

On rainy days, the Gu family home became livelier than usual.

The three members of Gu Mancang’s family went to work as usual, but Gu Shidong couldn’t go out to play.

This little rascal was in the third grade at the county elementary school. His grades were average at best, and there were even a few times when he flunked a test and brought home a big zero.

Zhang Cuilan couldn’t help but worry. With three children in the family, the eldest son and second daughter were no trouble at all, but this youngest son seemed born to cause problems!

In these times, education wasn’t as emphasized as it would be in the future. Generally, graduating from elementary school and being literate was considered enough.

Especially for dual-income families like the Gu family, with the eldest in the military and the second daughter working as a shop assistant, there was no concern about their future employment. As for this youngest child, when he grew up, he would likely take over one of his parents’ jobs and also have a stable career.

But what mother wouldn’t want her child to be successful?

As Zhang Cuilan thought about it, she turned her gaze to Lin Yao, who was sleeping soundly inside.

Her Yaoyao was a high school graduate. If that heartless Lin Daguo hadn’t forced her to drop out, she might have even gone to college.

Maybe Lin Yao could tutor this little rascal?

And so, Lin Yao found herself suddenly recruited as Gu Shidong’s “tutor.”

It wasn’t until she started that Lin Yao realized the situation. Seeing Dongzi’s^[2]Dongzi is Gu Shidong’s nickname textbook, covered in doodles of fighting stick figures, she was at a loss for words.

Lin Yao couldn’t believe it: “Dongzi, is this your textbook?”

“Drawing stick figures is one thing, but these figures are so ugly.”

“………”

For the first time in his life, the thick-skinned and rough-edged little rascal Gu Shidong felt his face flush with embarrassment.

But to be honest, ever since Lin Yao became his “tutor,” Gu Shidong had become much more obedient at home, and at least he started doing his homework.

This alone was enough to make the Gu family pleasantly surprised.

After days of rain, the sun finally made an appearance.

Next came the annual Dragon Boat Festival, which is also known as the Rice Dumpling Festival.

In those days, people typically made vegetarian rice dumplings, and that’s what the Gu family usually had.

But this year, since they had meat, Zhang Cuilan decided they would make extra meat dumplings.

In Yunshui County, people usually used tender reed leaves from the ponds to wrap the rice dumplings. In the countryside, some people also used bamboo leaves. The dumplings could be savory with meat, sweet with red bean paste, or filled with dates.

The Gu family made both savory meat dumplings and sweet red bean dumplings. Regardless of the flavor, these dumplings were a rare delicacy in the communal courtyard.

The aroma of rice dumplings filled the courtyard, and Lin Yao had just peeled open a sweet red bean dumpling and was about to take a bite with a smile.

Suddenly, the loudspeakers on the street blared to life, announcing that the street’s commune was setting up a communal canteen, and everyone would be eating from a communal pot!

**

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