Nanhua City, Yuyang County.
Yuyang County had been built along the Yuyang River. The winding waters of the Yuyang River nourished this land before eventually flowing into the Jing River. In ancient times, people from Yuyang could travel by large boat from Yuyang all the way to the Capital. Now, a railway branch line ran alongside Yuyang County, extending in all directions, making transportation even more convenient.
It was the height of summer in July. The willow branches along the riverbank drooped listlessly without the slightest movement. The stone steps of the arched bridge shimmered with tiny flecks of silvery light under the scorching sun. The river flowed along slowly. Every now and then, a leaf fell onto the water’s surface, quietly sending out a faint ripple.
After passing the riverbank, crossing a road, and walking into the alley between the state-owned barbershop and the state-owned food store, there stood rows of single-story houses built of wood and stone. This area was the staff housing for the county textile factory.
Today was Sunday. Fang Xiaoqin, an accountant at the textile factory, had just returned from outside. She carried a vegetable basket in one hand, while the other constantly wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.
A row of phoenix trees had been planted in front of the houses. Beneath the shade sat two women. One was somewhat older, with her hair coiled into a neat bun at the back of her head. She wore a gray short-sleeved blouse and had a bamboo basket resting on her lap as she snapped green beans. The other was about twenty years old, with a square face, dark eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and rather attractive features. She wore short hair that reached past her ears, secured with a black metal hair clip at her forehead, and had on a sleeveless undershirt. She had lifted her shirt high as she cradled an infant and breastfed the baby.
“Accountant Fang, now that Ah Yuan is back, you’ve stopped bringing ready-made meals home from the cafeteria. Every day it’s fish and meat. Da Mao and Xiao Mao must be overjoyed, right? Other families favor sons over daughters, but your family favors daughters over sons,” the younger woman teased with a smile when she saw Fang Xiaoqin returning with the vegetable basket.
“If our family had a daughter as capable as Ah Yuan, we’d feed her polished rice and fine flour every day too,” Aunt Liu said. She had one son and two daughters. Her son was serving in the army, her eldest daughter had long since married, and her youngest daughter, Fangfang, was nineteen this year. She had graduated from junior high school and was currently unemployed. She was endlessly envious of Fang Xiaoqin’s daughter, who had graduated from university and had already been assigned a job.
“Fang Yuan only came back yesterday. I’ve only been buying groceries for two days. Listen to yourselves,” Fang Xiaoqin said with a smile. She lifted the large crucian carp tied with a straw cord from the basket. “I happened to run into a nearby farmer selling a few crucian carp today. No ration coupons were needed, so I bought one right away. Yanzi, I’ll bring you a bowl of fish soup later. Crucian carp is excellent for increasing milk production.”
“Oh, I’d feel so embarrassed. If my mother-in-law found out, she’d definitely scold me for being greedy,” the young woman, Yanzi, said with a blushing smile.
“If she knows it’s to help feed her precious grandson, would your mother-in-law really object?” Fang Xiaoqin replied with a smile as she continued walking toward the house.
Watching Fang Xiaoqin’s figure disappear, Aunt Liu sighed. “Tell me, they’re about the same age, yet look at how well they’ve raised their daughter. She’s smart and pretty. When she got into university, the factory even rewarded her with a bonus. Now, in the blink of an eye, she’s graduated and is about to become a doctor. As for our girl… she graduated from junior high two years ago, missed the factory’s recruitment, and has been loafing around at home ever since. People really can’t be compared.”
“I think Fangfang is doing quite well. She’s a junior high graduate, has an urban household registration, and is a lively-looking girl. Sooner or later she’ll find both a job and a husband. Look at me. I’m from the countryside and only attended elementary school for two years, yet I still married into the city and live quite well,” Yanzi said.
“Fangfang and Ah Yuan grew up together. When Ah Yuan was five, she started elementary school. When Fangfang was five, she still clung to my back and refused to get down. By the time Ah Yuan got into university, Fangfang had only just entered junior high. I never let her go without food or drink. Even during those hardest years a few years back, I’d rather skip a meal myself than deny her a single ration. So how is it that her mind just can’t compare to Ah Yuan’s?” Aunt Liu still could not let it go. Ever since she heard that Fang Yuan had been assigned a job, she had been unable to find peace of mind.
“I heard Ah Yuan grew up beside her maternal grandfather. Old Master Fang wasn’t an ordinary man. With someone like him teaching her, how could Ah Yuan not turn out well?” After saying that, Yanzi noticed that the son in her arms had fallen asleep with his eyes half closed. His mouth hung slightly open, and the nipple had already slipped out. She gently pulled her clothing back into place. Seeing the boy wrinkle his face and let out a little whimper, she quickly rocked him softly.
“That’s true. When your Xiao Bao grows up, send him to school early too. Let the teachers teach him well. Then he’ll get into university and become a government official.”
“If he can inherit his grandfather’s position and become a factory worker, that’s good enough. Our old master’s salary isn’t any lower than that of a government official.” Yanzi stroked her son’s little face, as if already seeing the day Xiao Bao would be recruited into a factory and enjoy the benefits of an urban grain ration. A satisfied smile spread across her face.
Hearing that, Aunt Liu quickly agreed. Master Hao was an eighth-grade fitter at the county scissors factory. He earned more than a hundred yuan a month, and his pay and benefits were comparable to those of a county-level cadre. Everyone in the neighborhood envied him.
The two women continued chatting idly. Aunt Liu’s daughter-in-law had taken her two children and her sister-in-law Fangfang to the city zoo today. She would be home alone at noon and planned to cook something simple to fill her stomach. Yanzi’s mother-in-law was already preparing lunch, so all Yanzi had to do was take care of Xiao Bao in her arms.
After Fang Xiaoqin returned home, she immediately felt much cooler. She saw her ten-year-old son, Xiao Mao, sitting at the table reading a copy of One Hundred Thousand Whys, its cover already curling from wear. She walked over and patted his head. Watching him shy away, she smiled and asked, “Where are your brother and sister?”
“Big Brother went out early this morning and hasn’t come back. Big Sister seems to have gone to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative,” Xiao Mao said, looking at Fang Xiaoqin expectantly. “Mom, are we having braised pork again for lunch?”
“We’ve run out of meat ration coupons. We’re having fish today. If you want meat, I’ll trade for some meat coupons in a few days and cook it for you then.”
“We only get to eat meat when Big Sister comes home. Now that she’ll be staying in the county to work, does that mean we’ll get to eat meat every day?” Xiao Mao asked happily.
“In your dreams!” Fang Xiaoqin poked her son on the forehead, smiled, picked up the vegetable basket, and turned toward the kitchen to start cooking.
Just as the aroma of crucian carp tofu soup drifted out, Fang Yuan returned home. She wore a slightly faded floral dress, with the Chairman’s portrait badge pinned to her chest. Her two long braids were looped once and draped over the front of her shoulders, tied with pale yellow ribbons. She had a tall, slender figure and an exceptionally delicate, beautiful face.[1]T/N: A Chairman’s portrait badge (主席像章) was a metal pin bearing Chairman Mao Zedong’s portrait. It was worn as a symbol of political loyalty and became especially widespread … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2881859_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2881859_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
“Big Sister, are you a cat? You came back the moment you smelled the fish,” Xiao Mao called out teasingly.
Fang Yuan removed her army green satchel and hung it on the wooden rack beside the door.
“You’re the greedy little cat. I can already see you drooling,” Fang Yuan said with smiling eyes.
Xiao Mao immediately wiped his mouth, only to realize he’d been tricked. He glared angrily at his sister.
Fang Yuan burst into laughter.
Fang Xiaoqin came out from the kitchen carrying a bowl of stir-fried shredded radish. By now, her clothes were completely soaked with sweat. Cooking in the tiny kitchen during summer felt like being steamed inside a bamboo steamer. Normally, she simply brought cooked meals back from the factory cafeteria. Now that her eldest daughter had returned, she wanted her to eat fresh, plentiful food, so she had cooked everything herself.
Fang Yuan quickly fetched a basin of water, soaked a towel, wrung it dry, and handed it to Fang Xiaoqin.
“My daughter really is the best. What’s the point of having sons? All they do is wait for someone to serve them.” She took the towel and wiped her face and neck. She immediately felt much more refreshed.
“I ran into Aunt Liu and the others outside just now. Uncle Hao’s little grandson looks exactly like him,” Fang Yuan said as she walked into the small kitchen and carried out the remaining two dishes.
The large bowl of crucian carp tofu soup was filled to the brim. The milky white broth immediately made her mouth water.
“He really does look just like his grandfather. I saved a bowl of fish soup. Take it over to their house in a little while,” Fang Xiaoqin said. Seeing her daughter stretching her graceful neck to inhale the aroma of the fish, she could not help but smile. “If you’re hungry, let’s eat first. We won’t wait for Da Mao. Who knows when that little monkey will come back.”
“I’m not hungry yet,” Fang Yuan said somewhat embarrassed.
“You went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative? What did you buy?” Fang Xiaoqin suddenly remembered to ask. “Don’t spend the money your grandfather left you carelessly.” Although she trusted her daughter, her naturally frugal personality made her unable to resist reminding her.
When Fang Yuan’s maternal grandfather passed away, he divided his savings into three equal shares for Fang Yuan’s eldest maternal aunt, Fang Xiaoqin, and Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan kept her own share, but Fang Xiaoqin asked about it from time to time. It was a considerable amount of money, and she worried that her daughter was still young and might spend too freely.
“…I bought two pieces of underwear,” Fang Yuan said softly.
“What kind of underwear? Let me have a look. The ready-made clothes at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative are expensive. It would be better to buy some fabric and let me make them for you,” Fang Xiaoqin muttered.
After hesitating for a moment, Fang Yuan walked over to the doorway and took two white bras out of her green army satchel.
Fang Xiaoqin examined them carefully in her hands. She first stole a glance at her youngest son. Seeing that he was still absorbed in flipping through One Hundred Thousand Whys, she quietly turned to Fang Yuan and said, “Go try them on in your room. If they don’t fit, it’ll be easier to exchange them sooner.”
Fang Yuan laughed. With the attitude of the sales clerks at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, would they really allow an exchange?
“No need. They should fit about right.”
Fang Xiaoqin glanced at her daughter’s full chest, then at her slender arms and legs, and could not help saying, “I wonder who you take after. All the flesh grew in the wrong place. It would be better if you were built more like Fangfang, with sturdier arms and legs.”
Very few people wore bras at the time. Most simply wore undershirts beneath their clothing. For married women like Yanzi, letting their full breasts sway naturally was considered normal. But if an unmarried girl had a noticeably large chest, people would find it embarrassing. Most people were undernourished, and few developed well. Even girls with fuller figures dared not show feminine curves, usually walking with hunched shoulders and their chests drawn in.
Fang Yuan stuck out her tongue. She was also somewhat troubled by her overly full chest. However, as a medical student, she had been taught to stand and walk with a straight back and open shoulders, which inevitably made her chest more prominent. After she matured, the close-fitting undergarments she wore had always been sewn by Fang Xiaoqin. Later, after buying a bra from a store and trying it on, she found that it offered much better support and was far more comfortable than the ones her mother made. Even though they cost more, she chose to buy them from the store.
Fang Xiaoqin asked Fang Yuan to deliver a bowl of crucian carp tofu soup to Uncle Hao’s family. The bowl also contained several pieces of fish and tofu. When she returned, she brought back a bowl of boiled edamame.
Lunch consisted of sweet potato rice and three dishes: crucian carp tofu soup, stir-fried shredded radish, and winter melon. The mother and her two children ate while fanning themselves with palm leaf fans. Fang Xiaoqin kept placing pieces of fish into Fang Yuan’s bowl. Xiao Mao was not interested in crucian carp because it had too many bones. He only liked eating red meat.
Even after lunch was over, Da Mao still had not returned. Fang Xiaoqin simply cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, thinking that if he could not make it home by mealtime, then he could go hungry for one meal.
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