Chapter 87: The Grass Market and the New Bride

Mingdai learned about the falling out between Fang Rou and Qi Zhijun while passing by the Educated Youth Point, when Song Lanlan, who was clearly taking pleasure in others' misfortune, shared the news.

"They're not speaking to each other now. Qi Zhijun tried to patch things up at first, but Fang Rou wouldn’t give him the time of day. She said they could only ever be friends and there was no chance of anything more. You should’ve seen Qi Zhijun’s face—utterly dejected. I nearly died laughing!

And as for Liu Yan, she’s been trailing after Qi Zhijun like a little lapdog. He ignores her and she doesn’t mind, fussing over him and acting all concerned. It’s just so pathetic. Even after being turned down by Fang Rou, Qi Zhijun has no interest in her. Throwing yourself at someone like that is pointless!"

Mingdai had to admit she was right, but she was also a bit puzzled—why was Song Lanlan stopping her just to talk about this now?

Was it because Zhou Sinian wasn’t around and she wanted someone to chat with?

Perhaps her confusion was too obvious, because Song Lanlan glanced at her basket and spoke a little awkwardly.

"Um, Comrade Ming, you’re just coming back from delivering bean sprouts to the brigade leader’s house, right?"

Mingdai had left with a basket, and Song Lanlan had seen her at the door.

Mingdai didn’t hide it. "Yes, we had a bit too many bean sprouts, so I took some to the brigade leader’s family. They’ve been looking out for me, after all."

Someone like you wouldn’t dare ask for any, would you?

Song Lanlan hadn’t expected such a straightforward answer. Her attempt to ask for a free handout was blocked, and she laughed awkwardly. "Well, do you have any extra? I could buy some, if it’s not too expensive?"

Mingdai hadn’t expected her to want to buy any. She considered it and replied, "I’m not selling them, but I could trade for soybeans or something else. If you’re not in a hurry, there’s the grass market tomorrow, isn’t there? I’ll bring the bean sprouts along—you can trade for them there."

Song Lanlan was planning to go to the market the next day anyway, and agreed readily. She was also worried Mingdai would overcharge her, so a fair exchange at the market seemed best.

With the gossip exchanged and the matter settled, Mingdai carried her basket home.

She first put the string of dried chilies Aunt Huang had given her in the kitchen, then went to find Zhou Sinian in his room.

After knocking, Zhou Sinian opened the door.

Since they had run out of coal, they had moved all the vegetables onto their own kang, which they kept burning day and night. The room was quite warm and rather humid.

Zhou Sinian was tinkering with some things on the floor—old bicycle parts they had salvaged from the scrap station. Mingdai noticed he had already managed to repair several broken wheels.

"Zhou Sinian, you know how to fix bikes?"

At her words, Zhou Sinian looked up, a little confused. "Do I know how to fix bikes?"

Mingdai...

"Never mind, just keep at it. If you can piece together a bicycle, we won’t have to borrow the village’s horse cart whenever we need to go out."

She did have a bicycle in her space, but taking one out without warning would only arouse suspicion and jealousy. A patched-together one would draw less attention.

Zhou Sinian thought of Qi Zhijun’s bicycle in the front yard and glanced over the parts on the floor. "There aren’t enough parts. I can’t put one together."

"We’ll go back to the scrap station when we have time and see if there are any new parts."

Zhou Sinian nodded and went back to patching tires with a small file.

Mingdai glanced at the vegetable basket on his kang—the vegetables were looking good.

She returned to her own room, scooped out the mung bean and soybean sprouts from her large basket, and packed them into clean burlap sacks, ready to sell the next day.

Early the following morning, Aunt Huang and Sister-in-law Huang came looking for her. The two of them had a handcart, piled high with all sorts of things.

"Little Ming, put your sacks on here," Aunt Huang called out. Mingdai had Zhou Sinian throw their two and a half sacks onto the cart.

The grass market was quite a distance away, set up at an old, abandoned stage along the road to the commune.

They walked for over half an hour before they arrived.

The snow on the ground in front of the stage had been cleared away, and stalls were set up everywhere. Quite a few people were already browsing for things they wanted.

The market only happened today and would be over by noon, so the people from Liujiawan weren’t wasting any time—some setting up booths, others shopping.

Aunt Huang scoped out the area, identified a direction, and led them over.

"Mother! You actually made it down the mountain? That’s such a long walk—how did you manage it?!"

An elderly woman in a blue cotton jacket with a crossed collar came hurrying over, her gums bare as she grinned at Aunt Huang.

"Hong, I missed you! Each year there are fewer chances to see you, so I wanted to come one more time."

Aunt Huang’s eyes filled with tears at those words, and she held tight to her mother’s thin hand.

A middle-aged woman nearby, who looked older than Aunt Huang and had a sun-darkened face, also wiped away tears. "Auntie, Mother misses you so much she cries at night. So I had Leopard Hua carry her down here."

Aunt Huang dabbed her face. "Sister-in-law, thank you. I live far away and rely on you to take care of Mother."

The woman was Aunt Huang’s sister-in-law, Xu Fengxian. She untied her headscarf, wiped her tears, and also dried the old woman’s face. "She’s my own mother. Don’t say such distant things. Your brother misses you too. He knows you love hawthorns, so he brought you a whole big bag—every one carefully picked, not a single wormhole."

Aunt Huang, holding her mother’s arm, looked over at the tall, middle-aged man nearby.

He wore a yellowed sheepskin coat, his sun-darkened face breaking into a broad smile. "Sister, has your year been good?"

Aunt Huang had always been close to her brother since childhood. "Yes. How’s your family? Does Mother’s leg still hurt? How are the nieces and nephews?"

The man answered each question, finally accepting the cigarette his brother-in-law offered, relieved to see his sister hadn’t lost weight since last year.

Liu Dazhu was a respected figure in the village, and usually carried himself with a certain authority. But in front of his mother-in-law, he was all humility, smiling as he greeted her. "Mother, will you stay with us tonight? I’ll cook rice with white sugar for you!"

The old woman nodded happily at her son-in-law.

Three men in their twenties or thirties came over to greet Aunt Huang. They were her nephews—Black Tiger, Leopard Hua, and Little Grey Wolf. Mingdai nearly burst out laughing at those names.

Aunt Huang asked why her niece Jiaoyan hadn’t come, and learned that the little sheep at home had just lambed, so both daughters-in-law were busy and couldn’t leave.

She figured she’d see Jiaoyan at her wedding after the New Year, and cheered up.

Once everyone had greeted each other, Aunt Huang pulled Mingdai forward to introduce her. "Little Ming, these are my family—my mother, my brother and sister-in-law, and my nephews. Mother, this is the new educated youth in our village, from Beijing. She’s a lovely young girl!"

Grandma Huang’s eyesight was poor and her mind had grown a bit muddled. She squinted at Mingdai for a while, then smiled and praised her.

Mingdai greeted them all politely, calling out "Grandma," "Aunt," and "Uncle."

Xu Fengxian took Mingdai’s hand, studying her fair face under her woolen hat. "My, what a pretty girl! White as tofu."

She pinched Mingdai’s cheek. "Oh! So smooth!"

Mingdai blushed—why was she touching her face?!

Xu Fengxian burst out laughing.

After teasing the young one, she noticed Zhou Sinian, startled by his impressive height.

"Is this another new educated youth? Why is this girl so tall? Taller than my husband!"

Huang Dashan swallowed and whispered, "You tiger of a woman! That’s not a girl, that’s a lunatic!"

Xu Fengxian took a step back and got a good look at Zhou Sinian’s expressionless face.

"Dear heavens, he really is a lunatic. Where did he find that red headscarf—looks just like a new bride!"

Mingdai couldn’t help but snicker.

She rarely laughed, unless she truly couldn’t hold it in!