“Does it hurt?” Xiao Changhe was startled and quickly bent down to ask, “Let me have a look.”
Jiang Fusheng lifted her head, clutching her nose, her eyes brimming with tears. “It hurts.”
“I’m sorry, I’m so… sorry, I didn’t… I didn’t mean to.” Xiao Changhe pulled her hand away, cupped her face, and gently lifted her chin, then blew gently on her nose.
A cool breeze, tinged with warmth, brushed against her face, and the aching sensation from the impact on her nose eased considerably.
“Does it still hurt?” Xiao Changhe asked cautiously.
Jiang Fusheng blinked and shook her head gently. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Let go first.”
“Mm…” Xiao Changhe rubbed her cheek and reluctantly let go.
Her cheeks were so soft!
He didn’t even dare to press too hard, for fear of crushing them!
Jiang Fusheng pinched the bridge of her nose, completely easing the aching sensation. “Have you finished your business?”
“Mm.” Xiao Changhe nodded and handed her the tattered passbook. “This is for you.”
“Eh?” Jiang Fusheng took the passbook blankly; upon opening it, she stared in astonishment. “For… for me?”
Good heavens!
There’s actually 3,500 yuan in here!
This is the early 1980s, after all. An ordinary worker only earned 30 yuan a month, and a teacher like Zhao Meiling only 60 yuan a month—not to mention that the Xiao family were mainly farmers!
Xiao Changhe explained, “I’ve saved… saved it up over the years. There’s also the 500 yuan you gave me in there.”
“Apart from the 500 I gave you, the rest is all you’ve saved yourself?”
“Yes.”
“You’re amazing…” Jiang Fusheng was now at a loss for words to describe him.
Tall and handsome, with a knack for earning and saving money, generous enough to give it all to her, and capable of doing the housework at home… what a perfect man!
“Just now, were you… were you talking to someone?” Xiao Changhe asked, recalling how she’d been waving at the distance a moment ago.
Jiang Fuseng nodded. “My good friend Zhao Meiling. She had to run some errands, so I didn’t get to say much to her, but she said she’d come and see me at the weekend.”
“Right.” Xiao Changhe took the passbook, slipped it into her pocket, and took her hand. “Come on!”
Before long, he had led her to the Donghong Supply and Marketing Cooperative, the largest in the city.
The co-operative was bustling and crowded, with queues snaking in front of many of the glass counters.
Sales assistants dressed in dark blue uniforms, with blue armbands and white aprons, were constantly shuttling between the counters and the shelves.
“There are so many people…” Jiang Fusheng pouted, took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. “Why don’t we come back another time?”
She hadn’t expected the supply and marketing cooperative to be this crowded. The mere thought of squeezing her way through the throng made her break out in a sweat and feel unwell.
“Let’s buy it.” Xiao Changhe was brief and to the point, pulling her along as he pushed his way through the crowd.
To be fair, however, sheltered by his imposing frame, she didn’t feel the slightest bit cramped in his arms.
Apart from the scent of his dry, clean sweat, she could smell nothing else.
In the blink of an eye, they had reached the counter.
“Don’t push!”
“Who’s that! You’re stepping on my foot!”
“You lot… wow! How is this man so tall!”
The noisy crowd fell silent in an instant.
It was simply because Xiao Changhe’s stature stood out so markedly amongst the crowd; he was the only one there who towered two heads above everyone else.
The shop assistant spotted him too and froze on the spot.
Goodness me, it was the first time she’d seen someone so tall—it would be a shame if he didn’t join the army!
Jiang Fusheng’s little head peeked out from his arms, then she turned and rested her elbows on the counter, which was about her height, smiling brightly at the shop assistant. “Hello, comrade.”
“U-um, hello,” the sales assistant managed, regaining her composure. “What would you like?”
Jiang Fusheng turned her head. “Brother Changhe, what are you buying?”
“Well…” Xiao Changhe took three vouchers from his shirt pocket and handed them over.
They were for a bicycle, a sewing machine and a watch.
The sales assistant first checked the vouchers, then cut off the coupons. “Comrade, the Phoenix Model 26 ladies’ bicycle is 180 yuan, the Peony sewing machine is 110 yuan, and the Seagull watch is 115 yuan.”
Xiao Changhe gave a soft ‘mm-hmm’ and readily pulled out the money from his inside trouser pocket, counting it out note by note.
Throughout the entire transaction, Jiang Fusheng hadn’t uttered a word; she simply watched him count the money so readily and deftly, her heart skipping a beat time and again.
Good heavens!
He’d just given her a passbook with 3,500 yuan in it, and now he could still count out 405 yuan from his pocket—just how much money did the Xiao family actually have?
If they were this wealthy, why had they always lived in the village instead of buying a flat in the city?
They might not be millionaires, but they were certainly in the thousands. With that sort of money, he could easily find a city girl to marry!
The shop assistant’s eyes crinkled with delight as she received the money. “Comrade, is there anything else you’d like to buy? I’ll get it for you.”
Xiao Changhe looked at Jiang Fuseng, who was sitting obediently by his side. “Wife, what… what would you like to buy?”
Hearing this, the shop assistant chuckled, “So she’s your wife, is she? I’d taken her for your sister—she’s so sweet and lovely!”
Xiao Changhe placed a hand on Jiang Fusheng’s head and smiled, “She’s my wife.”
“Ahem,” Jiang Fusheng blushed and looked up at the shelves.
The wooden shelves were stocked with sundries, farm tools, foodstuffs and more.
“Brother Changhe, how much money do you have left?” Jiang Fuseng asked in a low voice.
She was worried she might overspend and not be able to pay for it all.
Xiao Changhe replied with just one word: “Enough.”
“Well then, I’m buying them!” Jiang Fuseng grinned, looking back at the shelves and pointing with her little hand. “This, that, and that too…”
She listed a whole host of items in one go.
People nearby, seeing this, all drew in a sharp breath.
“Goodness me, this woman really knows how to spend money, doesn’t she? She doesn’t have a shred of consideration for how hard her husband works to earn a living!”
“ “You’re right! She’s already spent four hundred on those three big items, and with this shopping spree, it’ll easily set her back another three hundred!”
“What a spendthrift! Bringing a wife like that home is like having an ancestor to look after—this man’s going to have a rough time of it!”
“Exactly. Just look at her face—she’s nothing but a little vixen who knows only how to spend her man’s money… …”
Xiao Changhe frowned, his expression darkening as he spun round sharply, a fierce chill radiating from his eyes.
They could say whatever they liked about him, but they had no right to speak ill of his wife!
The women, who had been chattering away just moments before, fell instantly silent, timidly lowering their heads.
Jiang Fusheng turned, raised her hand and patted Xiao Changhe on the chest. “Brother Changhe, don’t pay them any mind. They’re just sour grapes—their men aren’t as good as you, don’t know how to look after their wives, and won’t spend a penny on them. That’s why they’re gossiping here. Actually, they’re just jealous of me!”
“Shame on you! Who’s jealous of you! It’s clearly you who’s squandering money and doesn’t care about your husband’s hard-earned cash. We can’t stand to watch it, and since our mouths are attached to our heads, aren’t we allowed to speak our minds?” The woman who’d spoken first flushed crimson.
Jiang Fusheng raised an eyebrow and spoke with a strong, confident voice, “Of course you can speak your minds, but I’m spending my husband’s money. If I don’t mind spending it, why can’t you stand to see it? Are you all that close to my husband?”
At those words, their faces turned pale in an instant.
In this day and age, it was simply not done for a married woman to be seen as being too familiar with another man; it would invite gossip.
Jiang Fuseng pressed on, “Rather than using ‘taking offence’ as an excuse to be jealous of me, you’d do better to ask yourself why your husband doesn’t cherish you, and why he’s so stingy when it comes to buying you things.”
The woman was furious. “My husband isn’t stingy at all! It’s me who feels for him because he works so hard to earn a living! Just look at your husband’s clothes—he’s clearly from the countryside. Making money isn’t easy for him. Now look at you—all dressed up and buying this and that… You don’t have a shred of consideration for your husband!”