CHAPTER 7:  Selling the Fan

The summer heat was stifling; even the flies were too lazy to move. For a moment, the yard was silent.

Closing her book, Su Yuan stood, unwilling to say another word.

She turned and went back to her room, silently reminding herself not to waste emotion on people or matters that weren’t worth it.

Zhang Lanjun wanted to stop her and say something, but her mind went blank — nothing came out.

After a while, the Su family men returned from work one after another. Still fuming, she finally found an outlet.

“Aimin, Aijun, stop right there! Do you know what time it is? Why are you only coming home now?!”

Su Aimin ignored her completely and headed straight into the main room. Su Aijun, unwilling to embarrass her, stopped and patiently explained.

“The unit has an important project lately. It’s not just me — everyone’s busy. Mom, you don’t have to worry.”

“Who’s worried about you? Xiaoxue went out to watch a movie and I’m not at ease. Go outside and wait for her. When she comes back, then you can come in. Do you hear me?”

Tired from a long day and now faced with this, Su Aijun frowned slightly but still agreed.

“Alright, I’ll go now.”

At that moment, upstairs in the bedroom.

Su Yuan locked her door and slowly began sorting through the things she’d need for the countryside. Over the years, she’d only saved up one hundred yuan, which wouldn’t last long in a rural village.

The book had mentioned that after 1977, the educated youth would start returning to the city. It was now 1973 — four years away. Life wouldn’t be easy.

Fortunately, she’d been contributing articles to a newspaper in the capital, earning some manuscript fees each month. That was her confidence for taking this path.

By the time she finished packing, it was already pitch dark outside.

Carrying a towel, she was just about to wash up when a commotion — and even some crying — drifted up from downstairs.

At that moment, someone knocked loudly on her door. “Yuan Yuan, are you asleep? Dad and Mom want you to come downstairs.”

It was Su Aimin’s voice. Su Yuan put down her towel and opened the door, only to find the man grinning with schadenfreude. She was a little baffled.
“What are you laughing at? What happened?”

Su Aimin leaned closer and whispered, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you — Zhao Xiaoxue is putting on the full act: crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself. You’d better be careful.”

This scene hadn’t appeared in the book, so Su Yuan could only take things as they came and deal with them on the spot.

Inside the main hall, the whole Su family was present. Su Jianguo sat beside Zhang Lanjun, his face dark, exuding a heavy, oppressive air.

Zhao Xiaoxue stood in front of them, eyes red from crying, still sniffling.

At the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, everyone looked toward Su Yuan, their expressions varied.

As head of the family, Su Jianguo was the first to speak.
“Yuan Yuan, come here. Dad has something to ask you.”

Under everyone’s gaze, Su Yuan stepped forward, calm and composed.
“What is it you want to ask?”

Su Jianguo motioned for her to sit, then asked,
“What’s going on between you and Xiao Qi? Why is everyone saying the two of you are getting married?”

Su Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, unsure of his intention.

“He and I aren’t even friends. You don’t need to believe that nonsense.”

Su Jianguo’s face eased slightly, but Zhang Lanjun couldn’t sit still.
“They say a fly doesn’t bite a seamless egg. If you didn’t do anything, why would such rumors be going around? You know for a girl, reputation is the most important thing. Who would marry you in the future besides Xiao Qi?”

Before she even finished, Zhao Xiaoxue jumped in,
“Mom, Xiao Qi and I are the real couple. What are you talking about?”

“Shut up! That Xiao Qi pines after Yuan Yuan while toying with you — he’s not a good man! Stay away from him in the future!”

Su Jianguo’s black-faced reprimand carried a natural authority.

Su Yuan, like a bystander munching melon seeds, stayed out of it. As for Zhang Lanjun’s words, she treated them like nothing more than noise in the air.

Everything else felt a bit too tangled for her to bother sorting out.

Wen Yan had also just come downstairs and felt the same way, so she spoke up on Su Yuan’s behalf.

“What exactly happened? I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

Seeing Su Jianguo unwilling to explain, Zhang Lanjun had to speak.

Half an hour ago, Zhao Xiaoxue had come home from watching a movie, looking happy. Zhang Lanjun, however, was uneasy and asked who she had gone with.

Zhao Xiaoxue answered honestly — Xiao Qi — and even said he was pursuing her, though she hadn’t agreed yet.

That surprised Zhang Lanjun, because not long ago that young man had come to the house to propose marriage — to Su Yuan. How had he suddenly set his sights on Xiaoxue?

Still, given the Xiao family’s top-tier standing in the compound, and the fact that Xiaoxue had grown up in the countryside with little education, Zhang Lanjun thought: if Xiaoxue and Xiao Qi ended up together, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

When Su Father came home from work, he overheard their conversation — and having already heard some gossip earlier that day, he immediately assumed Xiao Qi was two-timing. His temper flared.

The scolding had made Zhao Xiaoxue cry, leading to the scene Su Yuan walked in on.

“Xiao Qi is definitely not a good match. Neither Xiaoxue nor Yuan Yuan can marry him.”

Wen Yan played the part of the righteous friend, while secretly cursing Xiao Qi as a scumbag for tarnishing Su Yuan’s reputation.

Fearing her own plans might be derailed, Zhao Xiaoxue began dabbing at her eyes again.
“Xiao Qi isn’t like that. He and Yuan Yuan have been over for a long time. Maybe someone is jealous of our Su family, or maybe Yuan Yuan offended someone, so those rumors started.”

Su Yuan frowned and said coldly,
“I’m at home every day. Who would I offend? Don’t pin the blame on the victim. I have nothing to do with Xiao Qi. If you like him, that’s your business — just don’t treat me as your imaginary rival.”

Her hypocrisy was exposed so bluntly, Zhao Xiaoxue’s face turned pale. She opened her mouth to defend herself—

—but Su Father cut her off.
“That’s enough. It’s late. Everyone has work tomorrow. We’ll discuss this another time. Go to bed.”

Su Yuan was the first to turn and leave, unwilling to stay a second longer.

Su Jianguo ignored Zhao Xiaoxue’s pitiful expression and returned to his room, hands clasped behind his back.

Only Zhang Lanjun stayed to comfort her.
“Xiaoxue, if not for those rumors, maybe you and Xiao Qi could’ve been possible. But now, everyone thinks Yuan Yuan is his fiancée. You’d better stay away from him — don’t ruin your own reputation, understand?”

Zhao Xiaoxue was furious, but remembering Su Father’s attitude just now, she reluctantly nodded.

….

Late that night.

Zhang Lanjun tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She poked her husband with a finger.
“Have you noticed? That Yuan Yuan girl has changed a lot — not as sensible as before, and she’s gotten really good at making people mad. Just seeing her now makes me uneasy.”

Su Jianguo opened his bleary eyes, suppressing his irritation.
“Put yourself in her shoes. Haven’t you changed these days? And what was that you said tonight? Who wouldn’t be chilled to the bone hearing that? Yuan Yuan is a good kid. At this rate, you’re going to drive her away.”

Zhang Lanjun shot up in bed, immediately unhappy.
“What did I say? Wasn’t I just thinking of her? As the saying goes, ‘Good medicine tastes bitter, and honest words grate on the ear.’ Really, no good deed goes unpunished.”

Su Jianguo sighed helplessly and sat up to pull her into his arms.
“All right, don’t be angry. The younger generation has their own fate. Let’s stay out of their business from now on, okay?”

Zhang Lanjun pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

….

The next day.

Su Yuan went to return the bicycle to Sun Xiaohu.

By chance, she ran into Xiao Qi on the road. He strode over quickly, his voice sharp with anger:
“Why are you playing games with me? In this life, you can only marry me! And stop dreaming about being a matchmaker!”

Su Yuan blinked, utterly confused.
“What am I playing at? And what matchmaker dream?”

Thinking back to yesterday, Xiao Qi’s anger flared again, mixed with grievance.
“You knew I bought Zhao Xiaoxue’s movie ticket, so you gave your own ticket to her and tried to set me up with her. Yuan Yuan, do you really dislike me that much?”

The man before her looked deeply infatuated, but Su Yuan remained unmoved.

“Xiao Qi, the only reason you pursued me was because of Fu Mobai, wasn’t it?”

The man froze, then rushed to explain,
“Maybe at first it was… but now, I truly like you.”

Su Yuan met his deep, earnest gaze and spoke slowly.
“You and Fu Mobai have never gotten along since you were kids — anyone who’s his friend automatically becomes your enemy. When I was little, you never missed a chance to bully me, and every single time, Fu Mobai would come and fight back for me. Now that we’re grown, what is this? Are you just changing up your method of bullying people?”

Xiao Qi: “??”

A sudden wave of helplessness washed over him, and for the first time, he regretted ever picking on her back then.

It was all Fu Mobai’s fault for putting on that sanctimonious act!

“Yuan Yuan, believe me, I’m not lying to you!”

Su Yuan pushed her bicycle forward, too lazy to waste time arguing. As she left, she made sure to draw the line clearly:
“That movie ticket was from Wen Yan to Zhao Xiaoxue, nothing to do with me. Whether it’s the bride or the matchmaker — I’m not playing either role.”

“……”

Watching her retreating back, Xiao Qi clenched his teeth, his chest aching with a sour, indescribable feeling.

—

A few days later, the matter Su Yuan had asked Wen Yan to look into finally bore fruit.

She arrived at the school gate, where Wen Yan led her to a quiet spot and handed her an envelope.

“There are three addresses in here. One of them has to be that clinic from back then. I’m afraid to dig any deeper in case my father-in-law finds out. Once you get over there, what’s your plan?”

Su Yuan carefully tucked the envelope away and smiled.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. No point overthinking now.”

Wen Yan considered that and nodded.
She didn’t even know what far-off Longjiang Province was like — survival would come first.

“I’ve got three hundred yuan in savings. Take it. It’s not easy being away from home — don’t shortchange yourself.”

Three hundred yuan, in those days, was a fortune. Su Yuan was startled by her generosity and quickly shook her head.
“No need, I have money. Besides, once I’m there, I can earn manuscript fees and work points — that’ll be enough.”

“You really have money?”

“Mhm, really. If you don’t believe me, come over and I’ll show you.”

Hearing that, Wen Yan finally believed her.

After saying goodbye, Su Yuan went home for a bit, then headed to the second-hand market.

A year ago, she had used her manuscript earnings to buy a second-hand electric fan — a Huasheng brand, still ninety percent new. But such a large item would be impossible to take to the countryside.

She planned to sell it for cash.

It was mid-summer, and the weather had been stifling lately. Fans were in high demand.

She had barely set the fan down before someone inquired.

“Comrade, how much are you selling it for?”

She had paid eighty yuan for it back then, so she quoted one hundred and thirty, ready to haggle.

Unexpectedly, the buyer found the price fair and paid on the spot.

Leaving the market with the cash, Su Yuan couldn’t shake a strange feeling. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to go find Li Chaoyang for answers.

When she arrived at the army compound, it was dinnertime. She went straight to the mess hall.

From afar, she spotted Li Chaoyang and Sun Xiaohu in the food line. She waved them over.

“Tell me honestly — how much did that fan really cost last year?”