Hu Jiao Jiao carried over the last bundle of firewood, set it down, and turned to ask, “What do you want for lunch?”
“Anything is fine,” Cheng Chen replied, making no requests.
Hu Jiao Jiao quickly mixed some cornmeal and white flour together and soon made a pot of hot-and-sour dough lumps—more dough than soup. Paired with a corn flatbread, it was filling enough. They had just put down their bowls when they heard a cow mooing outside.
“Anyone home? Delivering water jars!”
“Coming!” Hu Jiao Jiao set her bowl aside and went to open the door. Outside, an ox cart was parked—it was Aunt Wang’s brother delivering large jars. Having just moved, they needed big vats for storing water, pickling jars, and some smaller containers as well. The large jars were carried into the main room for winter use, while the smaller ones were placed in the yard to be washed later.
After thanking Uncle Wang, Hu Jiao Jiao went back to the educated youth station. Her old room had been taken over by Su Yi, and since the new arrivals cooked together, the stove hadn’t been dismantled.
Su Yi gave Hu Jiao Jiao some produce from her “space” as payment and reminded her gently not to wrong herself just because she was married. She didn’t say much more—they weren’t close enough yet for deeper advice.
Hu Jiao Jiao handed her some money and ration coupons. “Next time you go out, help me get some eggs, rice, and white flour. I want to nourish myself and Cheng Chen a bit.”
“Oh? Already worrying about him?” Su Yi teased.
“Hey, forget me—look who’s here,” Hu Jiao Jiao said, nodding behind her before heading back.
Su Yi turned around and saw Gu Chenye approaching, holding a mesh bag with several bright red apples inside—he’d bought them at the commune for her.
Su Yi’s lips twitched slightly. Those apples looked suspiciously like the ones she had sold a few days ago. Gu Chenye stepped forward and handed them to her. “Xiao Yi, take these. I saw them at the commune and bought some for you.”
Su Yi accepted them. “You’re back? These look delicious—let’s share them.”
The two walked back together. At the entrance, they ran into Li Aihua, whose eyes lit up at the sight of the apples. She swallowed and said, “Su Zhiqing, those apples look so good. I’ve never seen such nice ones—give me one?”
“Sure,” Su Yi said with a smile. “For others, one apple costs ten apples in exchange. Since we know each other, I’ll give you a discount—six eggs for one apple. How about that?”
“Oh please, who could afford that?” Li Aihua scoffed and walked away.
Unbothered, Su Yi carried the apples back to Hu Jiao Jiao’s former room, thinking how nice it was to have a small private space—close the door, and you could do anything in peace. She happily crunched on an apple. Outside, Gu Chenye stood there for a moment, realizing she’d forgotten him again, and returned to his room a bit dejected.
Meanwhile, back at their new place, Hu Jiao Jiao found Cheng Chen reading a letter.
“My family sent this. Do you want to read it?” he asked.
“Would that be appropriate?” she said, sitting down.
“There’s nothing inappropriate—we’re married now,” he said, handing it over.
Hu Jiao Jiao took the letter without hesitation. It contained blessings for their marriage and reminders to be tolerant of each other. It also mentioned the bride price and listed items they had sent. Tucked inside was a bicycle coupon. It explained that the “three turns and one sound” (a bicycle, sewing machine, watch, and radio) were all prepared, but only the bicycle coupon was sent for now—the others were kept in their Beijing home to avoid drawing attention. It also detailed other items on the way.
Looking at the bicycle coupon, Hu Jiao Jiao said, “I’ll go check tomorrow if there’s a bicycle available.”
Cheng Chen nodded and said he would pay for it. If there wasn’t one in the commune, they could try the county.
The two spent time organizing their belongings. Cheng Chen arranged books on the desk by the window, while Hu Jiao Jiao sorted things on the heated kang bed. The bed was quite large, with a cabinet and a small table. She took out the fabric scraps she had bought.
“We can piece these together into a curtain or a door hanging,” she suggested.
“I’ll do it—I know some sewing,” Cheng Chen said, a bit embarrassed. “At home, they never let me do heavy work, so I learned sewing from my sisters. I can even make clothes.”
“That’s great,” Hu Jiao Jiao said without any mockery. “You handle the inside work, I’ll handle the outside. Life is ours to live—we don’t need to care about what others think.”
Cheng Chen nodded.
The next day, another large package arrived—this one for Hu Jiao Jiao. She was puzzled about who sent it, but upon opening it, she found it was from her parents: two thick red quilts.
Inside was also a letter and fifty yuan, along with a watch coupon—something they had originally saved for her younger sibling’s future marriage.
Reading the letter, she learned that a returning educated youth from a neighboring brigade had mentioned her marriage. Her mother had been alarmed upon hearing that her daughter had married someone “not very capable of farm work.” She had wanted to come check, but her father persuaded her otherwise, saying it was better to send money and supplies instead.
They advised her not to have children too early, as it would harm her health, and said the money and quilts were her dowry. If she needed anything, she should ask.
Hu Jiao Jiao thought wryly, so distance makes the heart grow fonder? Still, she didn’t reject their goodwill. After all, they had never deprived her growing up and even supported her through high school. We’ll just see how things go—stay close if it works, keep distance if it doesn’t.
She casually handed the letter to Cheng Chen and began spreading out the quilts to prepare for bed.
Cheng Chen held the letter, his hands trembling slightly. He had already read it, but now that they were about to sleep… together… he felt awkward. They would be sharing the same kang.
Hu Jiao Jiao, however, felt no embarrassment at all—she treated it like sharing a dorm. Besides, there was a small table between them.
Seeing she had nothing more to say, Cheng Chen slowly took off his outer coat and lay down as well.
They chatted intermittently, agreeing to stay alert around the accountant’s family and to communicate openly about any issues. Better to plan ahead than suffer in silence.
As they talked, Hu Jiao Jiao drifted off to sleep.
Cheng Chen turned slightly and looked at her steady breathing. For some reason, his heart grew calm. Silently, he made a vow to treat her well.