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墨書 Inktalez
Hu Ruoyun had been staying in Mao Weiguo's study for two days. During the day, County Chief Mao was busy with work, and at night, he would pull Hu Ruoyun into discussions that he called "thought collisions." Sometimes, their conversations would stretch past eleven o'clock.
Hu Ruoyun didn't mind, but Mao Na found it quite bothersome. Women are often sensitive; that night, Zhang Xiuzhen mentioned to her husband, "Look at this girl, she seems to care less and less about her parents. During the day, she’s all over Xiao Hu, and at night, seeing you two together talking like that makes her all huffy!"
Mao Weiguo was slow to catch on. "Really? I have so much on my mind right now. Xiao Hu is here to help me sort things out and give me advice."
Zhang Xiuzhen nudged him. "I'm worried our daughter might end up like Ouyang Xiaxue and Li Shengnan, getting pregnant before marriage! She’s not like those two; she’s still in school..."
Mao Weiguo dismissed her concerns. "Don’t worry; they both know what they’re doing!"
Zhang Xiuzhen remained unconvinced. "Whatever happens in Jiangcheng is one thing; I don’t want to see her getting cozy with Xiao Hu at home—it makes me uneasy..."
Mao Weiguo put an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, if they get along well, shouldn’t you be happy? You used to worry that Xiao Hu wasn’t good enough for our daughter, but now that they’re both in college, you’re not pleased they’re getting along? Remember how she used to sulk whenever you mentioned Xiao Qiu?"
Seeing that Zhang Xiuzhen seemed to understand a bit better, Mao Weiguo added, "It’s just that Xiao Hu isn’t of legal age yet. Once he is, we might as well let them get their marriage certificate."
Zhang Xiuzhen pinched him playfully. "You really think so lightly of it!"
Mao Weiguo took the opportunity to give her a gentle pat. "As long as I see happiness on our child's face, I’m fine with anything!"
On the 26th, which was already the fifteenth day of the Lunar Calendar, Hu Ruoyun had to return to Lao Gu. The night before, Zhang Xiuzhen worried that her daughter would want to tag along again and prepared her in advance: "After the Second Day of the Lunar New Year, you can go visit your grandmother. Right now, if you go over to Xiao Hu's family, they’ll be busy preparing for the New Year—cleaning the house and making dumplings and fried rice cakes. If you go there to help out, they might feel awkward about it; if you don’t help, they won’t have time to entertain you..."
The next day, Zhang Xiuzhen busied herself preparing gifts for her future in-laws—things that really didn’t require them to spend their own money since it was customary for such exchanges—and Mao Weiguo prepared some tea and liquor as well.
At Lao Gu Market, they got off the bus at the intersection just as the big market was starting up for the fifteenth day celebrations. Brother Jie and Sister Jie had just finished shopping for New Year goods when they spotted Hu Ruoyun carrying several bags. They hurried over and called out, "Hu Ruoyun! Are you back from vacation for the New Year? Come on, put your things on the bike; let’s walk home together!"
Hu Ruoyun didn’t hesitate. "Brother Jie, Sister Jie! I was just trying to figure out how to get home!"
They piled up his bags on the back of a bicycle while Brother Jie pushed it forward and Hu Ruoyun supported it from behind as they made their way down the dirt road leading to Hu Family Village.
"Why did you bring so much stuff?" Sister Jie asked. "Did you buy all this in Jiangcheng?"
Hu Ruoyun replied, "The clothes for Xiao Feng and Xiao Hu were bought in Jiangcheng; everything else was prepared by Mao Na's parents."
Sister Jie praised him: "Your father-in-law and mother-in-law are really generous... My uncle and aunt haven’t even met them yet, but they’re already sending us gifts! You’re doing great, brother!"
Then she added with a hint of gossip, "Have you heard? The old lady next door has been causing quite a stir again?"
Curiosity piqued in Hu Ruoyun. "I don’t know; what happened?"
It turned out that ever since his Third Sister Wu Mingliang went off to college in Jiangcheng (the same one mentioned earlier who attended that dubious Jingnan Academy), the Woodzi woman had been bragging about how her daughter would graduate in two years and become Town Chief... As a result, matchmakers from Three Miles and Five Villages had started coming around with proposals left and right—much to the delight of the Woodzi woman.
This woman had come up with what she thought was a brilliant idea...
She called over the seven or eight matchmakers who were proposing to her family, informing them that she wanted to hold an open recruitment for suitors. The selection would be based on two main criteria: first, they would assess the candidates' appearances through photographs, prioritizing those who looked handsome; second, they would compare the bride price, giving preference to those who asked for less.
It was already unusual for the matchmakers to gather together, but when they heard the woman’s words, they were left dumbfounded. The woman believed that her child was quite good-looking and, in just over two years, would become the Town Chief. She thought her approach was reasonable!
However, after the matchmakers left, it was as if they had vanished into thin air; no one came to propose to her Third Sister from that day on.
Hu Ruoyun could hardly believe such a thing could happen. “Sister-in-law, is this really true? I find it hard to believe what you’re saying.”
Brother Jie chimed in, “Don’t underestimate your sister-in-law’s words. It really happened. A few days ago, Ming Liang came home for a break and heard about what his mother had done. He got so angry that he caused a scene; you could hear him yelling at his mother over your courtyard wall, ‘What are you doing? This is so embarrassing!’”
The three of them chatted as they walked to the alley. At the entrance, Hu Ruoyun pulled out a bag of candy and shoved it into Sister Jie’s hands. “Sister-in-law, take this home for my nephew and niece.”
Sister Jie tried to refuse, but Brother Jie insisted, “Just take it; it’s a gesture from your brother.”
Their father, Hu Qihua, was busy with the spring cleaning—what they called “sweeping dust,” which involved clearing out cobwebs and dust as part of the year-end cleaning ritual. Traditionally, this was done after the kitchen god was worshipped. However, fearing that Mao Na would come over with Hu Ruoyun before the New Year and see their messy home, they decided to do it early. Meanwhile, their mother was in the kitchen frying oil cakes and snacks.
Xiao Hu and Xiao Feng ran out to help carry bags inside while asking curiously, “Brother, what’s in these bags?”
Seeing their eager expressions, once inside the house, Hu Ruoyun took out the clothes she had bought for them. Xiao Hu received a military-style cotton jacket along with a “Lei Feng hat.” She helped him take off his old cotton coat (to avoid getting it dirty; they would wait until New Year’s before letting him wear his new clothes) and quickly changed him into his new jacket and hat before he rushed off to show their mother.
Xiao Feng got a half-sized red down jacket. Their father and mother each had a pair of corduroy pants, and there were four pairs of cotton shoes for the others.
After finishing her tasks, their mother looked at everything in her hands and asked, “How much did all this cost?”
Their father first glanced at Yanghe and then at Xifeng. “Isn’t this wine from the county chief’s family better than what Village gave us last year?”
He picked up a box of Hongta Mountain cigarettes. “How much is this box? It’s still hard!”
…
Finally, they returned to the same question: “When is Mao Na coming to our house?”
That evening, Wu Mingliang came to find Hu Ruoyun. The two of them hid in Hu Ruoyun’s small room to talk. Wu Mingliang first asked about Hu Ruoyun’s situation; she answered all his questions before asking about him. Wu Mingliang looked somewhat dejected as he replied, “I shouldn’t have gone to school this year. The tuition is fourteen hundred a year, plus living expenses and various other costs—it adds up to over a thousand each year! We’re just self-study students; if I can’t pass my exams in these three years, I won’t even get any certificate… In October I registered for Marxist Basic Principles Overview, Marketing, and Auditing; I didn’t pass Auditing!”
Hu Ruoyun empathized with his situation but had no comforting words for him.
It was Wu Mingliang who brought up the topic of matchmaking again: “My mom can really do anything… She even said I’m going to be Town Chief in the future; now I’m afraid I won’t dare go home after graduation! My sister-in-law Second Sister doesn’t even talk to her anymore…”
Who knows what happens in other families or what has happened in the past?
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