After dinner, Jiang Liye packed a bag of frozen dumplings to take home.
In winter, the outdoors in the north served as a natural freezer. In just a short while, the dumplings froze rock-solid. Placed in a plastic bag, they didn’t stick together.
As he entered the courtyard gate, he happened to see his mother seeing a guest off at the door. From the back, it looked like Auntie Zhang, who lived in the front courtyard and had been the head of the women’s committee at the glass factory before retiring.
“Mom, was that Director Zhang who just left our house?” Jiang Liye asked as he entered with the dumplings, placing the bag on the table. “Sister-in-law made dumplings and asked me to bring some for you.”
Grandma Jiang was bending over, tidying up the teacups on the table. “We’ve already had dinner. Hang the dumplings outside on the windowsill, and we’ll have them tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, okay.” Jiang Liye nodded, turned to go outside, and hung the plastic bag on a rod extending from the window. After patting his hands clean, he came back in.
“By the way, those two bags were brought over by Xiaobo earlier. He said they’re things you need for the stall.” Grandma Jiang pointed to the bags piled on a wooden chest. With no extra space in the house, the bags had been stacked on the chest, which held clothes and bedding.
Jiang Liye nodded. “Got it.” Then he asked, “What was Director Zhang really here for?”
Grandma Jiang replied calmly, “Oh, nothing much. Just came to chat.”
Jiang Liye didn’t believe it. “Since when does she come to our house just to chat? There must be something.”
Grandma Jiang glanced discreetly at her youngest daughter, who was lying in bed facing the wall, listening to a cassette tape, and lowered her voice. “Director Zhang wants to set your little sister up on a blind date.”
“Huh? A blind date?”
“Keep your voice down!” Grandma Jiang patted Jiang Liye.
“Who’s the match?” Jiang Liye was curious.
Grandma Jiang said, “She mentioned the son of the deputy factory director at the machinery factory. He just graduated from technical school this year and will start working at the machinery factory after the New Year.”
“Wow, that’s quite a catch.” Jiang Liye was surprised but then found it odd. “Director Zhang has never been particularly close to our family. Why would she bother with this, especially introducing such a good match for Xiao Liu?”
Jiang Shan turned her head at this point and snorted. “She’s not that kind-hearted. After causing Mom so much trouble before, now she wants to mess with me. She—”
“Jiang Shan!” Grandma Jiang hissed, glaring at her. “Don’t talk nonsense. She was just trying to help by introducing you to someone. If you don’t want to, I’ll turn her down tomorrow.”
Jiang Shan muttered, “I’m not talking nonsense.”
Jiang Liye was curious. “What happened? Did Director Zhang have a conflict with Mom before? How come I didn’t know about this?”
Grandma Jiang didn’t want to discuss it further. “It’s nothing. Alright, it’s getting late. Don’t you have to get up early tomorrow to set up the stall? Let’s all get some sleep.”
It was clear Grandma Jiang didn’t want to say more.
Jiang Liye opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t press further.
That night, he slept soundly without dreams.
The next morning, Grandma Jiang got up and boiled the dumplings. Jiang Liye hurriedly ate a large bowl and headed out.
Inside the house, Grandma Jiang watched her youngest daughter getting dressed and asked, “Why are you up so early today?”
Jiang Shan pulled on her wool coat and jeans. “I have an interview today.”
“Didn’t you say the interview went well the day before yesterday?”
“That was the initial round. Today is the final interview.” As she spoke, Jiang Shan grabbed a comb hanging by the bed and casually ran it through her thick hair.
“There are still some leftover dumplings from this morning. Have a couple while they’re hot. I thought you’d sleep in longer.”
“I’m not eating. I’m on a diet.” Jiang Shan slipped on her high heels, picked up her shoulder bag, and headed out.
Grandma Jiang shook her head helplessly. “You’re already skinny enough. Why do all models these days have to look like bamboo poles?”
Meanwhile, at the Jiang household, Jiang Qingning put on her new bright red down jacket, which she had bought for the New Year, and wrapped the red scarf Grandma had knitted for her around her neck. Dressed head-to-toe in red, she held her mother’s hand and walked to Grandma’s house.
“Qingning, remember to listen to the adults when you go to Auntie’s house with your uncle and aunt later. Don’t run around, okay?” Su Guiying reminded her.
Jiang Qingning nodded. “Mm-hmm, I know. I’ll be good and listen.”
After dropping her daughter off at her parents’ place, Su Guiying reminded her brother and sister-in-law a few more times and also handed her sister-in-law the money for buying firecrackers.
“Don’t worry, Sister. We’ll take good care of Qingning today,” Su Guilin assured her.
Ye Yunxia added, “That’s right. We’re just going to Little Sister’s house, not traveling far.”
Su Yuanjie patted his chest and declared loudly, “Big Aunt, leave Sister to me. I won’t let anyone bully her.”
Su Guiying smiled and patted his head. “Xiao Jie is such a good brother. Then Big Aunt will leave Sister in your care.”
“Mm, don’t worry.” Su Yuanjie nodded earnestly.
Ye Yunxia urged, “Alright, alright, the taxi should be here soon. It’s scheduled to pick us up at the alley at eight. Let’s go now. Every minute they wait costs money!”
They hurried out and spotted a red Xiali sedan approaching the alley entrance. Uncle walked up to greet the driver with a smile.
In those days, anyone who could afford to drive a taxi was considered a high-earner—a profession envied by most.
Jiang Qingning climbed into the back seat, thinking to herself that Uncle was being quite generous this time. He hadn’t called for a “mian de”—the yellow minivans commonly seen on the streets of Beijing at the time.
The Xiali’s starting fare was five yuan more expensive than the minivan’s.
Su Guilin sat in the passenger seat and cheerfully told the driver their destination.
“Oh, Section Chief Su, you have relatives living there? They must be at least bureau-level, right?” The taxi driver started the car as he spoke. “If it’s not too much to ask, which relative of yours is it? I haven’t heard about this at the factory before.”
When he was younger, he had also been an employee at the cotton mill, working as a freight driver. Ten years ago, he took a lump-sum payment to leave his job, and his family scraped together some money to buy him a car. That’s how he started his taxi business.
Within a few years, he had upgraded from a minivan to a Xiali. Rumor had it he even bought a commercial apartment last year and would be moving in this year—proof of just how profitable driving a taxi could be.
Su Guilin smiled. “It’s my younger sister’s place.”
“Oh, no wonder.” The driver nodded, recalling that Section Chief Su’s younger sister had married into a rather prominent family.
In the back seat, Ye Yunxia leaned forward and chimed in with a smile. “My younger sister and her husband live with her father-in-law. The old man was assigned the house by the government after retirement, and they even have a live-in maid.”
The driver steered with one hand, shifted gears skillfully with the other, and kept up the casual conversation with a smile. “Wow, so your younger sister and her husband are living the good life too.”
Ye Yunxia nodded. “Everyone says so. Not only does she live in a big house after marrying into the family, but she doesn’t have to do any housework either. And my brother-in-law makes good money—they just bought a Santana.”
“A Santana? That’s not cheap. Must’ve cost at least 200,000 yuan.”
“I heard with taxes and other fees, it came to over 200,000.”
“Tsk tsk… that’s big boss money.”
“Doing some kind of foreign trade business—making money from foreigners.”
“No wonder then. Foreigners have money.”
…
Jiang Qingning listened somewhat helplessly as her aunt grew more and more animated. The taxi driver was also quite talkative, chiming in with a response for everything.
The entire car was filled with the sound of these two trading remarks back and forth.
Su Yuanjie pressed his face against the car window, fascinated by the passing street scenes. He tugged on Jiang Qingning’s sleeve, wanting her to look too.
“Qingning, look, so many cars… Wow, that building is so tall…”
Jiang Qingning glanced outside, finding it rather ordinary. The empty streets only saw the occasional old-fashioned car drive by, and the low-rise buildings weren’t particularly impressive.
Still, it was better than listening to Aunt’s boasting, so she joined Xiao Jie in watching the scenery from the window.
Finally, the car arrived at their destination.
“Taking a car is so fast!” Aunt exclaimed as she got out.
Uncle retrieved their things from the trunk and said to the driver, “Master Wu, please come back this afternoon to take us home.”
“You’re too kind, Section Chief Su. Don’t worry, I’ll be here on time.”
Su Guilin and Ye Yunxia, loaded with bags, took the two children to the guard station to register.
Not long after, Su Guihua came out to greet them.
“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you’re here! I should have asked Tingchen to pick you up.”
Ye Yunxia beamed. “We took a taxi. It was convenient and didn’t take long at all.”
“Auntie!”
“Aunt!”
Jiang Qingning and Su Yuanjie greeted her politely.
Su Guihua smiled and patted both children on the head. “Manman and Ayuan are both home. Let’s go find them and play.” She then turned to the adults. “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, come inside.”
Su Guihua led the way, holding a child’s hand in each of hers as she guided them toward the Lu residence.
This was Jiang Qingning’s first time here, and she looked around curiously. The surroundings were well-landscaped—seeing green leaves in winter in the north was quite rare. A faint fragrance of plum blossoms lingered in the air.
Upon closer inspection, there wasn’t anything particularly special, Jiang Qingning thought. It was just cleaner, less crowded, and quieter…
After a short walk, they arrived at the Lu family’s courtyard house. A guard stood at the entrance and saluted as Su Guihua approached. She acknowledged him with a smile and a nod.
Inside the courtyard, it followed the traditional siheyuan layout without any unauthorized extensions. Aside from the flowers, plants, and trees, an entire section on the east side was enclosed and filled with children’s toys—slides, swings, small bicycles…
Entering the main house, the three rooms were connected into one large space. The central area was a living room, the left side served as a study, and the right side had a TV and sofa, where the twins were watching TV.
“Manman, Ayuan, your uncle, aunt, and cousins are here. Come greet the guests.” Su Guihua called to her children.
On the sofa, the two children turned around simultaneously. At first glance, their faces looked identical.
“Hello, Uncle and Aunt.” The children stood up to greet them.
“Hello, hello. You can keep watching TV.” Ye Yunxia smiled like a benevolent elder.
The twins were happy to see Jiang Qingning and Su Yuanjie. They abandoned the TV and ran over to pull them outside to play.
That’s how children are—they might have been bickering the last time they met, but after a few days, they forget all about it and play together again as if nothing happened.
Su Guilin set down the things he was carrying and asked, “Is your father-in-law home?”
“He’s not. He went out on some business today.” Su Guihua invited them to sit. “Take a seat and rest. Tingchen went to help a friend with something by car this morning. He’ll be back soon.”
As she spoke, she took out tea leaves to brew tea and instructed the young woman cleaning furniture inside, “Xiao Chen, please go cut up a fruit platter.”
“Alright, right away.”
After the maid went to the kitchen in the backyard, Ye Yunxia lowered her voice. “That maid looks really young and efficient. Not like the one hired by the old factory director’s family at our factory—sloppy and looks older than Mom, even walks unsteadily.”
Su Guihua continued brewing tea without responding.
Ye Yunxia went on. “How much does this maid cost per month? The one at the old factory director’s place is 150 yuan a month. Yours must be at least 200 yuan, right?”
Su Guihua brought over the brewed tea. “I’m not sure. The unit assigned someone to take care of Father.”