Hiding behind the inner room door, Lin Dabao and Lin Xiaoya could no longer contain themselves. They scurried out like two excited mice.
“Mom! Money! So much money!”
Lin Dabao’s grubby hands immediately reached for the stack of cash, drool practically dripping from his mouth. How many things could this buy?!
They could even think about rebuilding their house!
Wang Shufen smacked his hand away, leaving a red mark, and scolded, “Get away! Dirty hands! Don’t ruin it!”
Lin Xiaoya, however, had a clearer target. Her eyes were fixed on the wristwatch.
She stretched out her sticky hands, trying to grab it. “This watch is so pretty! Let me wear it! Let me wear it!”
“Go away! What does a little girl need a watch for?” Wang Shufen panicked, snapping the box shut and clutching it tightly to her chest as if afraid someone would snatch it.
The watch was her favorite among the treasures—she had already decided she would wear it while working, showing it off to everyone.
If a little girl touched it, it wouldn’t shine as brightly, wouldn’t gleam as gold!
Rubbing his sore hand, Lin Dabao shifted his attention to the bicycle coupon on the table, pressing against the table and jumping up and down excitedly.
“A bicycle! I want to ride a bicycle! There aren’t many in our village yet! I’ll ride it to the commune!”
One noisy child was bad enough, but Wang Shufen had to quickly hold him back to prevent him from carelessly knocking over the table.
Lin Xiaoya continued to yell:
“And a sewing machine! Mom, we won’t have to beg others to make clothes anymore!”
“Wait, there’s this too!” Lin Dabao pulled out another coupon from the pile, his face splitting into a foolish grin.
“A color TV! Brother-in-law got us a color TV!”
Lin Dabao’s eyes gleamed—he was practically ready to kneel in gratitude to his brother-in-law!
He kept bouncing on his feet, unable to stop, already imagining the prestige of sitting in front of the village’s first color television.
“We’ll call Er Gouzi, Tie Dan, and all the others over to watch! They’ll be so jealous!”
The family surrounded this sudden windfall, babbling incoherently with excitement, dancing, crying, and laughing as if they were already living a heavenly life with the “Three Rotations and One Sound” plus a color TV.
The shabby earthen house seemed to glow with the radiance of the bride price. It felt as if they were already living the good life of city cadres.
Wang Shufen had already started planning: “This money must be hidden well… We have to buy a sewing machine—a Butterfly brand! The bicycle must be a Forever or a Flying Pigeon! Oh, and with these fabric coupons, we should quickly buy a few meters of polyester to make Dabao a new set of clothes…”
Lin Jianguo grinned, already fantasizing:
“Hmm, once we buy the color TV, we’ll place it right in the center of the main room. I’ll build a nice TV cabinet myself… The whole village will come to our house to watch TV!”
Their prestige would soar to the heavens!
Just thinking about it made Lin Dabao and Wang Shufen shiver with delight.
Watching her family, delirious with joy over the extravagant bride price and eager to divide and claim the items, Lin Wanxing cleared her throat softly.
The sound was quiet but enough to temporarily silence the excited family. They all turned to look at her.
“Dad, Mom, Dabao, Xiaoya,” Lin Wanxing frowned, her tone perfectly hesitant.
“These things… are good, and we’re happy to see them. But…”
“But what?” Wang Shufen immediately tensed up, hugging the watch box tighter.
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Was this girl about to start preaching about modesty and sacrifice again? Could she really give back the bride price that was already in their hands?!
That would be madness!
Lin Wanxing pursed her lips, seeming troubled. “Aren’t we… being a bit too hasty?”
Her gaze swept over the eye-catching items on the table as she spoke slowly, “I haven’t officially married into the Gu family yet. My status as a Gu family daughter-in-law isn’t fully settled. These things, in name, are still the bride price from the Gu family to our Lin family—meant to give our family face.”
She paused, observing her family’s expressions before continuing with earnest analysis, “If we rush to use all these things now—ride the bicycle, wear the watch, buy the fabric… what will the Gu family and the villagers think if they see?”
Lin Wanxing lowered her voice, persuasively guiding them, “They’ll definitely think our Lin family is shallow, never having seen good things before, greedy for the Gu family’s bride price! Flaunting such small gains as if we’ve reached the heavens. How bad would that sound? Wouldn’t people start to think we only married for money and goods?”
Her words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, sobering up the Lin parents who had been drunk on joy.
Wang Shufen and Lin Jianguo slowly exchanged a glance, both seeing unease and belated fear in each other’s eyes.
Yes, in these times, reputation was everything.
If they were truly labeled as greedy for the bride price, they would never be able to hold their heads high in the village again.
Moreover, if they angered the Gu family, especially that straightforward Gu Jianfeng, things could still change.
“Wanxing is right,” Lin Jianguo was the first to come to his senses. He coughed and said, “That makes sense. We’ll put these things away for now. Once Wanxing marries in style, we can use them slowly then. No one will be able to gossip!”
Though Wang Shufen was extremely reluctant, she knew her daughter had a point. Sullenly, she placed the watch box back on the table and carefully tidied the money and coupons, muttering:
“Fine, we’ll put them away for now… We’ll talk after she’s married.”
When Lin Dabao and Lin Xiaoya heard they had to put everything away, they immediately protested, pouting and whining.
“Huh? We can’t ride the bicycle?”
“Can’t I just wear the watch for a little while?”
“No!” This time, Wang Shufen and Lin Jianguo were surprisingly united. “Listen to your sister! Everyone, be patient!”
The items were locked away like treasures in the family’s only camphorwood chest. Wang Shufen personally sewed the key into the waistband of her underwear.
No one was allowed to look, and no one was allowed to mention them.
But while the items could be locked away, the tantalizing thoughts they stirred could not.
Over the next few days, the entire Lin family was immersed in a state of anxious yet sweet anticipation.
Wang Shufen often touched the brass key sewn into her underwear, imagining the pleasant sound of a sewing machine whirring away.
Lin Jianguo often squatted by the doorway, gazing at the empty center of the main room as if he could already see the imposing color TV sitting on a brand-new cabinet, playing exciting programs, with neighbors crowding their courtyard—the prestige of being the center of attention…
For this upcoming, unique glory in the Red Star Production Brigade,
Lin Jianguo deliberately took a day off from work, telling everyone he had family matters to attend to.
Then, gritting his teeth, he pocketed a little money and some dry rations, setting off before dawn on foot toward the county town dozens of miles away.
He was going to buy one of those black TV antennas that could be mounted on the roof to receive more channels and make the color TV’s picture clearer!
No one in the entire brigade had ever seen one.
The journey was dusty, and the soles of Lin Jianguo’s feet blistered.
On the way back, as it grew dark and the road slippery, he stumbled while carrying the heavy, long antenna on his shoulder. His ankle swelled terribly, and he limped home, groaning in pain, resting every li before trudging on slowly and painfully back to the brigade.
Though his foot hurt, his heart was at ease.
Filled with excitement, he didn’t even bother applying medicinal wine to his swollen foot—saving that little bit of money could buy another nail for the TV cabinet!
Wang Shufen wasn’t idle either. She rummaged through trunks and chests, pulling out a piece of dark blue polyester-cotton fabric she had been reluctant to use, saved at the bottom of her storage.
The fabric was thick and crisp, the color rich.
With a dreamy smile, she measured and remeasured, working by the dim light of an oil lamp to carefully sew a drawstring TV cover. She meticulously finished the edges, afraid even a speck of dust might settle on it later.
Before Lin Jianguo’s foot had fully healed, he dragged his injured leg to find the village’s best carpenter, gritting his teeth to commission a sturdy, varnished solid wood TV cabinet.
For this, he paid an extra, significant sum and two packs of good cigarettes, making his heart ache with every expense.
Whenever they felt the pain of spending or exhaustion, the family encouraged each other:
“Think of the color TV! Think of the bicycle!”
“Once Wanxing marries, we can use them!”
“Then, our family will be the first in the whole village!”
They wholeheartedly believed that once Lin Wanxing married, these things would rightfully belong to the Lin family to enjoy.
Lin Wanxing watched coldly as they bustled about, a meaningful smile always lingering at the corner of her lips.
Occasionally, she would thoughtfully remind them, “Dad, Mom, don’t work yourselves too hard. Take care of your health.”
To which Wang Shufen would wave her off dismissively: “It’s nothing! For a better future, this little hardship is nothing!”
The family waited blissfully, counting down the days until Lin Wanxing’s wedding.
In the blink of an eye, the day drew near.