Starting a new chapter in life

Jingyan nodded: "Don't worry, I don't care. My husband's hometown is far away from here. We can't take those things with us. Besides, how much are they worth? Where am I supposed to get them? Put your mind at ease. I'll forget about them completely in the future."

The man pocketed the money and left with his men. Many people in the community saw the tricycle drive in and carry wood inside, but no one was so shameless as to try to patch the cracks in the door that they were doing it. Even if one or two older women wanted to, their families pulled them away.

Even after the tricycle drove away, everyone was still standing on the road watching. When Aunt Qi came home from get off work, she saw everyone loitering outside the door in twos and threes and wondered, "What's going on today? Why are you all standing here?"

An older woman who was close to her stepped forward and grabbed her arm: "Today, a tricycle came to the Zhang family who just moved in. It brought a lot of wood, but it didn't look like they were going to make furniture. Those big men stayed in the yard for more than an hour. We don't know what they were doing. We were just curious and wanted to see if Zhang came out so we could ask him."

"If you're so curious, why don't you knock on the door and go in to ask?" Aunt Qi's face darkened.

"That's not good, it makes us look like we're doing something fussy." The older woman said somewhat awkwardly.

"I see you're being quite nosy right now. You keep saying you don't want to bother people, but look at you all standing here, as if you're afraid others won't know that a man from another family has entered Xiao Zhang's yard today? Instead of spreading rumors, you should go and find out the truth." After saying that, Aunt Qi went up and knocked on the door.

Jingyan was squatting down, wiping the dust off the wooden bed with a rag, when she heard the bell. She stood up, threw the rag into the basin, took her key, and opened the front door. She was a little surprised to see Aunt Qi: "Aunt Qi, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Aunt Qi looked back at the neighbors who were peeking in their direction, feeling a bit annoyed, and asked directly, "Little Zhang, a tricycle came over today, and some wood was brought into the yard. Are you planning to make furniture?"

Jing Yan paused for a moment, glancing at the people behind Aunt Qi who were subtly glancing in their direction. Understanding dawned on her. She forced a smile and raised her voice, "Aunt Qi, you're right. We did get a big purchase today—a wooden bed for the second bedroom."

"Why did you buy a bed all of a sudden? There are only two people in your family, aren't there?" Aunt Qi's voice also rose.

“It’s just too hot, but we still have to cook. Once we cook, the kang (heated brick bed) gets hot, and it’s not so comfortable to sleep on. Now that we have a bed in the second bedroom, we can sleep on the bed when it’s hot and on the kang when it’s cold. That’s much more comfortable. Aunt Qi, would you like to come and see my new bed? Well, it’s not exactly new. I found it at a secondhand store, and the assembler came over today to help me assemble it. I’m dusting it off right now. If you don’t mind it being dirty, come in and take a look?” Jingyan said, and Aunt Qi readily agreed, then casually pulled two sensible older women over: “Come on, let’s take a look at Xiao Zhang’s new big item.”

The two older women didn't refuse and followed Aunt Qi into the courtyard. After closing the gate, Aunt Qi lowered her voice and said, "That's the downside of having so many acquaintances among the neighbors. If anything happens, everyone knows, and it's really annoying."

Jing Yan smiled and said, "It's nothing to worry about. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. It's much closer to neighbors to help each other than to some relatives you don't keep in touch with. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I feel that our neighbors in the community are all considerate since no one has come to seal the cracks in the door."

Aunt Qi didn't say anything more. The group went to the second bedroom, where a large bed placed across the doorway immediately caught their eye. Although the wood looked quite old, the bed was spacious and sturdy. The bed took up half of the room, which wasn't small to begin with, and it looked very comfortable.

Several middle-aged women curiously stepped forward and pressed it. "It's really sturdy. Wow, this wooden board is quite thick."

Aunt Qi, with her sharper eye, pulled Jingyan outside: "This is a bed made using traditional methods. If I'm not mistaken, it's made of mahogany. When you go back to your hometown, take it apart and bring it with you. This is a valuable item, and it will become increasingly rare in the future."

Jingyan nodded and smiled, "Yes, it's a mortise and tenon structure. The installer today worked on it for quite a while before he finally got it installed without a single nail. I'm really impressed. No matter where my husband moves in the future, I'll take this bed with me. I love it."

The two middle-aged women looked at the bed with envy: "This bed is really big, it could easily fit a family of three. Xiao Zhang, you're really lucky to have found it. Judging from the way it looks, it's been sitting unused for a while, there's a thick layer of dust on it. You should clean it up quickly, we won't bother you anymore. Wipe it clean and let it air out, you can sleep on it tonight." Then they looked at Aunt Qi: "Aunt Qi, shall we go together?"

Aunt Qi nodded and said to Jing Yan, "You hurry up and pack your things. We're heading back now. Don't worry, there won't be any gossip."

Jingyan grabbed two handfuls of fruit candies from the dressing table and distributed them to the three people. "With several aunties helping out, I can rest assured. These are just a few candies, nothing special, but a token of my appreciation. Please don't mind them."

The older women chuckled as they accepted the candy and stuffed it into their coat pockets, assuring him with smiles, "Don't mind, Xiao Zhang. We're all neighbors. If they gossip about you, they'll be gossiping about our Hongqi community. That's absolutely unacceptable."

After seeing the older women out, Jing Yan's face darkened. She locked the door, turned around, and went back to the second bedroom to continue wiping the bed. She didn't care what they said; she had nothing to fear, especially since she had Aunt Qi's help. A few idle words wouldn't affect her.

After cleaning the bed thoroughly, Jingyan could barely straighten her back. It took five basins of water to clean it properly, which shows how dirty it was. The kang (heated brick bed) was too hot for her to lie on, so she lay down on the sofa without moving, her legs dangling on the floor. She wanted to rest for a while, but she ended up falling asleep in such an uncomfortable position.

She was woken up by someone pulling her awake. When she opened her eyes, she saw He Zhijun squatting in front of her, touching her forehead with some concern: "You don't have a fever. What's wrong? Why are you sleeping here?"

Jingyan rubbed her eyes and sat up. "I bought a new bed today and put it in the second bedroom. It's too hot to sleep on the kang now, so I was thinking of getting a big bed. But this bed is old and too dirty. I spent the whole afternoon washing it. After cleaning it, I felt tired and thought I would lie down for a while, but I actually fell asleep. It should be dry by now."

As he spoke, he got up and walked towards the second bedroom, and He Zhijun followed him. When he saw the actual item, He Zhijun was surprised: "Is this made of mahogany?"

Jing Yan smiled and nodded, pointing to several joints like a child showing off their toy, saying, "Look, it's a mortise and tenon structure. There isn't a single nail in the whole bed. Come on, try making it. It's very sturdy."

He Zhijun stepped forward and examined it carefully for a long time, and couldn't help but exclaim, "The craftsmen of the past were truly remarkable; this is really well made."

“This can be disassembled into individual pillars or planks. When we leave here, we can also take this bed apart and pack it up to take with us. The owner at the secondhand market said that we can arrange for it to be shipped out,” Jingyan continued.

He Zhijun readily agreed: "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll dismantle it when the time comes, and once we get to our own home, I'll try to reassemble it."

Jingyan touched the wooden board. "It's dry. Let's put the bedding on and we can sleep here tonight. I don't want to sleep on the kang in this heat."

The two of them hurriedly moved the quilt from the kang (a heated brick bed) to the bed, leaving only a kang mat on the kang. The quilt and bedding were quite soft. After dinner, they washed up and had their evening chat. They were covered in sweat from all the activity, so they got up and washed up again. Jingyan was a little annoyed: "Sigh, there's no public bathhouse here. It would be so nice to have a good bath in a public bathhouse. I don't feel comfortable at all."

He Zhijun looked at her seriously: "You want to go to the public bathhouse to take a bath?"

Jingyan nodded: "I want to, but there are no public bathhouses open now. I never feel really clean when I wash myself at home. It's more comfortable when someone helps me scrub. Sigh, maybe I should find someone to build a bathtub so I can take a bath. It's much more comfortable than scrubbing myself in a tub."

He Zhijun thought for a moment and said, "I'll go back to the unit and apply for one later. Our unit doesn't have a bathhouse. After all, our stay is short, so it's not necessary. But we can apply for three bath tickets every month to share the bathhouse with the government staff. Once I get the bath tickets, we'll go together."

"Can one person apply for three tickets? Does that mean the whole family of three can go together?" Jing Yan asked.

He Zhijun shook his head: "I didn't know that. I heard people from the Ministry of Ordnance talking about it. They do physical labor and often apply for bath tickets to take a bath. We are either single or don't have military dependents, so I really didn't notice this. If it weren't for the conversation today, I wouldn't have remembered this."

“Then you should apply. Back home, we have our own bathtub, and every time we take a bath, my fourth sister and I scrub each other clean. It’s been more than half a year since I came here, and I haven’t had a proper bath even once. It’s really… very uncomfortable.” Jing Yan felt dirtier and dirtier as she spoke, though it was all in her head.

He Zhijun patted her and said, "Don't worry, once I get my bath ticket, I'll take leave and come back to take you. I've never been to a bathhouse before, so I have to go with you at least once."

"It seems like men and women will shower separately."

"Then we can go back together after we've washed up."

"Hmm, that's true..."

The chatter grew quieter, the night deepened, and moonlight filtered through the thin curtains into the room. The people sleeping peacefully in each other's arms on the bed exuded harmony and tranquility.

Jingyan was very relaxed when He Zhijun was resting at home, letting him place the two baskets from the storeroom in the middle of the backyard. Occasionally, she would turn the mushrooms over and go to the kitchen to clean the bowl of egg yolk mushrooms and chicken oil mushrooms: "Should we stew or stir-fry these?" He Zhijun asked.

Jingyan lazily got up: "I'm going to the meat processing plant to buy some pork belly and ribs. Blanch this pot of meat at home, chop it up, and then add it to the pork belly to make dumpling filling. We'll make mushroom and pork dumplings together. Wash that pot of grass gravy too, and stew it with the ribs later."

He Zhijun nodded: "Okay, I'll knead the dough first."

Jingyan walked away happily with her small wallet in her hand, while He Zhijun continued working. When Jingyan returned, everything that needed to be prepared in the kitchen had been done. He Zhijun was busy tending to the vegetable garden, and the chicken droppings in the chicken coop had been cleaned up. He had also dug a hole on the edge of the yard specifically for throwing away the chicken droppings.

As Jingyan carried the meat, she suddenly felt as if she hadn't done any work during the past two weeks at home.

He Zhijun looked up and saw her, and smiled: "You're back. Look, the tomatoes have already started to bear fruit. I saw that the green beans and cucumbers also have some small fruits. In another half month, we will be able to eat the first batch of vegetables. Jingyan, you are really amazing. If you take good care of this vegetable garden, we will really save money on buying vegetables in the future. We can make quite a lot of money in a year. You really know how to manage a household."

Jingyan's heart was filled to the brim. She knew her own laziness and didn't want to work too hard in this life. But she never expected that some men could only see how leisurely their wives were, staying at home and not working, while he could see her efforts and affirm them. This alone was enough to surpass most men. And this man was hers.

Jingyan smiled brightly: "I'm rather lazy and don't like to do any work. Only you think I'm good at everything I do. I also think you're great. You know how to cherish your wife. You're the best man I've ever met."

He Zhijun returned the smile, and the two looked at each other for a while before looking away. Jing Yan coughed lightly and said, "I'll go in and chop the meat first."

“I’ll do it. It’s a rare day off, so I should do more housework so you can relax a bit.” He propped the hoe against the wall and followed Jingyan into the kitchen. He washed the mud off his hands and took the vegetable washing basin from Jingyan. “Okay, go and rest for a while. I’ll finish this quickly. You can try my cooking today.”

Jingyan leaned against the kitchen doorway: "Then you cook, and I'll stay here and chat with you."

He Zhijun nodded helplessly and agreed: "Then go and get a stool to sit on and chat with me."

Jingyan grabbed a small stool and sat down at the door, watching him bustling about. She then told him about her plans: "I'll go mushroom picking in the mountains again in a while. It's a bit early this time, so there aren't many mushrooms. People say that mid-August is the best time to pick mushrooms. I'll pick more then, and I'll dry the hazel mushrooms and mail them back to my parents. They're great for stewing with pork ribs or chicken."

He Zhijun hesitated for a moment: "There were many people collecting them back then, so we collected as much as we could without setting a quota for ourselves. As for our parents, we sent any extra back to them. If we didn't have any, they wouldn't know how to take care of us. In short, the most important thing is to take care of ourselves first."

"Yes, I understand. If I don't gather enough myself, I can ask Sister He and the people in their company to buy some. We always need to send something back home; we can't always take it from home, right?"

"And those grain and oil coupons you gave us, they're valid nationwide and have a long shelf life. With us here, your grain rations are enough for the two of us. As for oil, we still have about twenty jin left. After the autumn harvest, when Sister He's family harvests soybeans from their reclaimed land, we'll have soybean oil. And the meat—the connections at the meat processing plant aren't just for show. We'll send these coupons to Mom and Dad later so they can eat better." Jingyan pondered what she could send home.