Since their daughter was sleepy, the couple quickened their pace and reached the tube apartment building in just a few minutes.
Their home was the innermost room on the third floor. Upon entering, Jiang Lifeng gently placed Jiang Qingning on the bed in her small room. Half-asleep, Jiang Qingning blinked her eyes open.
“Good girl, go to sleep,” Su Guiying whispered, patting her daughter’s shoulder. “We’ll go to Grandma’s house when you wake up.”
Feeling the familiar bedding and scent, Jiang Qingning drifted into a peaceful sleep.
Su Guiying tucked in the quilt around her daughter and, seeing she was sound asleep, quietly slipped out of the room.
“Qingning’s asleep. Come have a cup of hot water,” Jiang Lifeng said softly to his wife.
Su Guiying nodded and sat down at the dining table. Their home didn’t have a sofa—the only place to sit in the living room was on the chairs around the table.
“Why don’t you go lie down for a bit too?” Jiang Lifeng noticed his wife seemed a bit down.
Su Guiying shook her head and sighed quietly. “I’m not tired. I’ll wash the clothes we changed yesterday. We’ll head to your mom’s place once Qingning wakes up.”
“Let me do it,” Jiang Lifeng said, gently stopping Su Guiying as she started to get up. “You worked hard cooking all morning. I’ll wash the clothes.”
Jiang Lifeng gathered the clothes into a basin and headed out to the shared water room to wash them.
Watching his retreating back, Su Guiying zoned out for a moment, recalling the whispered conversation her mother had pulled her aside for before they left.
“This is something your younger sister brought over—supposedly skincare, for the face,” Granny Su said mysteriously, pressing a bag into her hands. “I heard it was bought abroad too, from… what’s it called… France, I think.”
Su Guiying naturally refused. “That’s something Xiaomei gave you. You should use it yourself.”
“Oh, at my age, what do I need this stuff for? It’s you young folks who need it.”
She paused, then continued, “Back when you girls were young, all the neighbors used to say you were the prettier one. But these past couple of years, your younger sister has been looking younger and younger—even prettier than when she was a girl.”
She took her eldest daughter’s hand, tracing the calluses. “Look at your hands, then look at your younger sister’s. Hers are fair and soft—you can tell she doesn’t have to do any rough work.”
Both were her daughters, so she couldn’t help but ache for the one who had it harder.
Su Guiying pulled her hand back self-consciously. “I work on the factory floor. Everyone’s hands look like this. How many people like Xiaomei do we even know around here?”
Granny Su sighed. “For a woman, the kind of man she marries decides the kind of life she’ll have. Back then, I told you not to marry into that family, but you wouldn’t listen. Now, you work at the factory all day, then come home to more work.”
“Back then, the son of our factory union director—such a good family! If you’d married into that family, you might even be working in an office by now…”
“Mom!” Su Guiying frowned, unable to listen any longer. “Why bring that up? That was so long ago.”
“Besides, Lifeng isn’t bad at all. He treats me very well.”
But Granny Su insisted, “Yet he still hasn’t given you a good life.”
“What’s a ‘good life’? Does it have to be like Xiaomei’s to count?” Su Guiying couldn’t help retorting. “By your standards, most people in Beijing might as well not even live.”
Granny Su waved her hand. “Alright, I won’t say anymore, won’t say anymore. Qingning’s already this big. Just live your lives well.”
Su Guiying said earnestly, “Our family lives very well. Other people’s wealth is theirs—we don’t envy it.”
In the end, she left without taking the skincare products.
Jiang Lifeng soon finished washing the clothes and brought them back to hang on the clothesline in the hallway outside.
The tap water in winter was icy cold. When Jiang Lifeng returned with the empty basin, his hands were bright red from the chill.
Su Guiying took out a jar of clam cream and handed it to him.
Jiang Lifeng waved his hand. “No need, I’ll just warm them up a bit.”
Su Guiying didn’t say anything. She took his hand and gently rubbed the clam cream into it.
Jiang Lifeng gave a simple, happy smile.
…
Jiang Qingning felt like she had slept for a long time, as if she’d had a very long dream. When she woke up, her head was still fuzzy. Opening her eyes to the familiar yellowed ceiling, she realized she was in her own home.
The room was quiet. She got up, slipped on her slippers, and walked to the door, pulling it open. She heard hushed voices from the living room.
“Next month is Mom’s birthday. What should we give her?”
“I’ll make her a pair of shoes, like we do every year.”
“At dinner today, Xiaomei’s family is planning to give a color TV. Even black-and-white TVs cost at least three to four hundred yuan now. A color one must be even more expensive. Maybe… we should also buy something as a gift?” Jiang Lifeng suggested after some thought.
Over the past few years, during holidays, the gifts Xiaomei’s family brought to their parents’ home had become increasingly lavish, which often left their own family feeling awkward. Trying to match their standard wasn’t financially possible, yet giving ordinary gifts made their own presents seem poor in comparison.
Su Guiying had come to terms with it. “There’s no need. Every family’s situation is different. Xiaomei’s family is well-off, so naturally their gifts are more expensive. If we try to match her standard every time, how would we even get by?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jiang Lifeng nodded.
Su Guiying continued, “In the future, we’ll just visit Mom and Dad more often and help them out with chores to lighten their load. Xiaomei’s family can contribute money, and we’ll contribute effort.”
Jiang Lifeng agreed, “Okay. In a couple of days, I’ll go bring over this month’s coal for Mom and Dad.”
Jiang Qingning pushed the door open with force, creating a loud creak and interrupting their conversation.
“Qingning, you’re awake,” Su Guiying said with a smile, walking over to smooth down the stray hairs on her daughter’s forehead. “Still sleepy?”
Jiang Qingning shook her head. “Not anymore.”
“Good. Let’s wash your face, and then we’ll go to Grandma’s house, okay?”
“Mm, okay.”
After washing her face in the shared water room, Jiang Qingning was fully awake.
Spotting the backpack Su Guiying had hung on a chair, Jiang Qingning’s eyes lit up. She hurried over to search for the red envelopes inside.
“Dad! Mom! Come watch me open the red envelopes!”
Today had been quite a haul. First, there were the two red envelopes her grandparents had given her in advance—Grandpa gave her 100 yuan, and Grandma gave her 300!
After the meal, her grandparents, uncle and aunt, and aunt and uncle-in-law had all handed out New Year’s money red envelopes to the kids. Of course, her parents had also given red envelopes to Cousin Xiao Jie and the twins.
Her grandparents’ New Year’s money was 50 yuan each, the same for all four children.
Her uncle and aunt also gave 50 yuan.
Her aunt and uncle-in-law gave 100 yuan. Auntie explained that since they had two children, they were giving double to Qingning and Xiao Jie.
Just from this half-day outing, she had brought home 600 yuan—almost equivalent to Su Guiying and Jiang Lifeng’s combined monthly salary.
“Mom, can you save this for me?” After admiring the money for a while, Jiang Qingning handed it over to Su Guiying.
At her young age, the adults wouldn’t trust her to keep such a large sum of money herself. Instead of letting them coax and persuade her to hand it over, it was better to give it up willingly—after all, she was a well-behaved, obedient child.
Su Guiying took the money with a smile. “Alright, I’ll go to the bank in a few days and deposit it into your passbook.”
Every year, Jiang Qingning’s New Year’s money was deposited into a separate passbook.
The family of three got ready and headed out again, this time to Grandma Jiang’s house for dinner.
The Jiang family lived in the glass factory district in the northern part of the city, a bit of a distance from the textile mill. They rode their bicycles over.
The family’s bicycle was an “Er Ba Da Gang” model. A small bamboo seat was attached to the front crossbar—Jiang Qingning’s designated spot.
Jiang Lifeng skillfully pedaled the bike, with his daughter in front and his wife behind, happily making their way to the Jiang family home.
Jiang Qingning wore a hat and a thick scarf, snuggled inside her father’s army coat, but the harsh winter wind still found its way in.
In winter, they usually took the bus to the Jiang house, but since they were going for dinner today and there would be no bus back, and staying overnight at the Jiangs’ wasn’t convenient, they had no choice but to ride their bicycles.
The Jiang family also lived in a quadrangle courtyard, but the environment here was noticeably poorer than the Su family’s. As soon as they entered the alley, the bicycle began to bump along the uneven ground. The narrow lane could only accommodate one bicycle moving slowly, and if they met someone coming the other way, they had to stop to let them pass.
The original layout of the quadrangle was barely recognizable. Everywhere, self-built additions crowded the already narrow paths, making them even tighter.
After winding through the maze-like alleyways, they finally arrived at the Jiang family’s courtyard. The single courtyard housed nearly ten households. The central open space had long been covered with makeshift structures, leaving hardly any room to even park a bicycle.
Su Guiying, carrying their things and holding her daughter’s hand, entered the house first. Jiang Lifeng parked and locked the bicycle nearby. The area was crowded and chaotic, with long-term residents and many renters. Theft was not uncommon here.
Before even stepping inside, they could hear Grandma Jiang’s voice scolding from within.
“You good-for-nothing! Getting into fights again during the New Year! Look at yourself—how old are you, still acting like some hot-headed young punk, throwing punches without thinking…”
The rest of the words were automatically censored in her mind.
Su Guiying paused at the doorway with her daughter, realizing her mother-in-law was scolding Fourth Uncle again. She hesitated, unsure whether to enter, then gently covered her daughter’s ears.
Jiang Qingning, however, was listening with great interest. Before Liberation, Grandma Jiang had worked in a theater troupe. When she scolded someone, her vocabulary was rich and varied, never repeating herself, and her tone rose and fell dramatically—it was quite entertaining.
Jiang Lifeng finished parking the bike and walked over. Hearing the increasingly inappropriate language inside, he immediately coughed loudly and called out, “Mom, we’re back.”
The voice inside abruptly stopped.
A few seconds later, the old lady’s cheerful voice rang out. “Oh, Qingning’s back! Come in, come in!” Out came a petite old lady with a beaming smile.
She looked more like she was in her forties or fifties, with delicate features and an upright posture, though the traces of time showed in the weariness around her eyes.
“Grandma, happy New Year,” Jiang Qingning chirped, skipping over to her.
“Happy New Year, happy New Year! Were you cold on the way?” She happily took Jiang Qingning’s hand.
“Mom,” Su Guiying greeted.
“Come in and sit, come in and sit,” Grandma Jiang said warmly, ushering her eldest son’s family inside.
The inside of the house was even more cramped than outside.
The Jiang family had only one room. The innermost part was partitioned with wooden boards to create a bed-sized space for Fourth Uncle and his wife. Near the window was a bunk bed—Grandma Jiang slept on the lower bunk, and Little Aunt slept on the upper one.
As for Fifth Uncle, he usually stayed at school, but when he came home during holidays, he would take the upper bunk, and Little Aunt would squeeze in with Grandma Jiang on the lower one.
Right inside the door stood a small round table—the family’s dining table. One side was pushed against Grandma Jiang’s bed, while a few small stools were placed on the other side. The space was so small they couldn’t even fit proper chairs.
Jiang Qingning smiled and waved to Fourth Uncle, who was sitting on a small stool. “Fourth Uncle, happy New Year! Hey, what happened to your face?” Even in the dim light, she could see the broken skin at the corner of his mouth.
“Your Fourth Uncle got into another fight, the troublemaker,” Grandma Jiang said, pulling Jiang Qingning to sit on the bed. “Let’s ignore him. Grandma will get you some candy.”
She pulled a tin box from under the bed, grabbed a handful of candies, and pressed them into Jiang Qingning’s hands.
“What happened this time?” Jiang Lifeng glanced at his younger brother. This fourth brother had always been reckless since childhood. With their father passing away early, Jiang Lifeng, as the eldest brother, had shouldered a father’s role and cleaned up after him countless times.