Chapter 47: A Fish is Broken
Huang Guixiang alertly blocked the path in front of Lin Wan.
Geng Xiangyang hurriedly greeted her, “Hello, Auntie Huang!”
He felt somewhat aggrieved. In the past, Auntie Huang had always been extremely warm towards him. Now, looking at him with a face full of wariness, it was as if he were a hoodlum.
Lin Wan pulled Huang Guixiang aside. “Hello, Comrade Geng Xiangyang.”
“I saw that you guys were quite busy, so I didn’t go over to say hello.”
She met him with a smiling face. The fish in the pond had to have a peaceful death even if they were going to die! She didn’t want to cause herself any trouble.
Geng Xiangyang looked at Lin Wan, his eyes full of hidden resentment. “Comrade Lin Wan, I heard them say you got married?”
His face was a little pale. He looked at Lin Wan with unwillingness, yet a hint of anticipation. He hoped what his colleagues told him was false, that Lin Wan had just been hoodwinking them.
Lin Wan smiled and pulled a handful of candy from her bag, shoving it into his hands. “Yes, I got married. Have some candy!”
“I originally planned to go to Guihua Street to give you wedding candies once I was less busy in a few days. I didn’t expect to run into you here. Have you been reassigned?”
Geng Xiangyang nodded. “Yes, I was seconded here to help out for two months.”
His voice carried a bit of a sob. He wanted to ask her why she got married, why she didn’t tell him, and why she didn’t choose him. But with Huang Guixiang right beside them, he couldn’t bring himself to ask those questions.
Lin Wan, on the other hand, wanted to cut the knot quickly. Without waiting for him to ask, she explained, “You know, I almost had to go down to the countryside.”
“My marriage was registered the day before I was scheduled to leave.”
One sentence explained everything!
Geng Xiangyang’s face instantly turned stark white. Yes, he knew Lin Wan was facing being sent to the countryside, and Lin Wan had even asked him if the state-owned restaurant had any temporary jobs. At that time, he had gone home and told his parents that he wanted to marry Lin Wan, but his parents resolutely refused.
Geng Xiangyang had thought at the time: after Lin Wan went to the countryside, he would send her more packages. Once he successfully persuaded his parents, he would marry her. That way, she could return to the city.
More importantly, he knew there were several other male comrades pursuing Comrade Lin Wan. If Lin Wan didn’t go to the countryside, his chances weren’t great. Once Lin Wan went to the countryside and suffered a bit, and he then extended the olive branch of marriage, Lin Wan would definitely agree. By then, he would be her saving straw. Lin Wan’s attitude toward him would completely turn 180 degrees, and she wouldn’t be as hot and cold or aloof as before…
Who knew… he would actually completely miscalculate.
“Comrade Geng, you should hurry inside and get back to work.”
“I have things to do, so I’ll be leaving first.”
“When my husband takes his home leave, I’ll host a gathering for all my old friends.”
Standing to the side, Huang Guixiang’s lips twitched constantly as she listened. When Huo Xiao came back, hosting a table of young men for dinner—just thinking about that image gave her a headache.
“Goodbye!” Lin Wan politely bid farewell.
Even though it was summer, Geng Xiangyang felt as if a cold winter wind was blowing all around him, practically shattering him to pieces. He looked incredibly pitiful. It was all his fault. He shouldn’t have harbored such thoughts; he should have stolen the household registration booklet and gone straight to register the marriage with Comrade Lin Wan. Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets now.
“Bah!”
“Knowing you were about to go to the countryside, he didn’t even invite a matchmaker to our door. Now he’s standing here putting on a heartbroken act.”
“I never liked him in the past anyway.”
“His looks are nothing special, he has a wooden block face, and his eyes are as dull and rigid as if they were carved out of wood.”
“Now I look down on him even more!”
Huang Guixiang had actually thought before that if she couldn’t secure Guo Xuyang, she would choose one from the young men chasing after Lin Wan. She had inquired about the backgrounds of those young fellows in meticulous detail.
Lin Wan wrapped her arm around her with a laugh. “My mom has such high standards!”
“Come on, let’s go buy ice pops.”
“The weather is too hot. Let’s have an ice pop to cool down, otherwise we’ll be sweating all over our foreheads, and we have to meet people in a bit!”
With one sentence, she choked back the words Huang Guixiang was about to say telling her not to waste money.
The two went to buy ice pops, and Huang Guixiang refused to let Lin Wan pay. She pulled a washing powder bag from her pocket, and from the bag, she took out a square handkerchief. Unfolding the handkerchief, inside was her neatly folded cash and coupons.
“One cream ice pop and one orange ice pop!” Huang Guixiang took out twenty cents and an industrial coupon.
A cream ice pop cost fifteen cents, but it required an industrial coupon. An orange ice pop cost five cents and required no coupon.
Lin Wan said, “I’ll eat whatever Mom eats.”
“Either buy two cream ones, or buy two orange ones.”
“But I want to eat a cream one.”
Huang Guixiang had no choice but to glare at her, then took out another ten cents and another industrial coupon. Eating this was like ascending to heaven! A single ice pop actually required an industrial coupon.
The salesclerk said enviously, “Big Sister, your daughter is so filial!”
“If it were the little girl in my house, she’d wish she could buy two ice pops and devour them all by herself.”
“I just hate bringing her to my unit. The moment she arrives, her eyes are either glued to the soda or the ice pop barrel.”
“The moment you aren’t paying attention, she’ll snatch one and hurry to stuff it in her mouth.”
“Leaving me with no choice but to make up the money.”
Huang Guixiang naturally handed over two White Rabbit creamy candies. “Here, have two wedding candies. My daughter just got married a couple of days ago.”
The clerk hurriedly took the White Rabbit candies and offered continuous congratulations.
Huang Guixiang’s heart ached for the expense. She thought to herself, why didn’t her daughter pack some fruit candies for her? Why pack White Rabbit candies? It would be so much better to keep the White Rabbit candies for themselves to eat.
“Comrade, it’s rare to see someone dote on their daughter so much. Your daughter really knew how to reincarnate, being born from your womb,” Huang Guixiang chatted with the clerk while eating her ice pop.
Lin Wan just sat on the wooden chair against the wall. It was still early, and she and her mother had nowhere else to go. The sun outside was scorching hot too. So they chatted to pass the time.
The salesclerk was clearly delighted by Huang Guixiang’s words. Others always said she was foolish to spoil her daughter like that. When a daughter grew up, she would marry out and belong to someone else’s family. But she just liked daughters.
“I gave birth to three boys first and just wanted a daughter. Now that my wish has been granted, of course I have to treat her a bit better!”
“It’s just that she’s too mischievous, like a tomboy. She doesn’t like anything little girls like to play with; she prefers the tops and cigarette cards that the boys play with.”
Huang Guixiang said, “It’s good for a girl to be like a boy. That way, no one can bully her when she grows up!”
“Little sister, what’s your name? I felt a sense of closeness the moment I saw you…”
Before Zhu Xianju arrived, Huang Guixiang and the salesclerk were already calling each other sisters. She had asked about the clerk’s ancestral line for eighteen generations in meticulous detail, and had even gossiped about quite a few other people in the city supply and marketing cooperative.
Lin Wan thought to herself that if her mother, Comrade Huang Guixiang, were in the modern era, becoming a paparazzi would definitely propel her to the peak of her career, creating an industry legend.
Two o’clock.
Zhu Xianju arrived right on time, bringing Zhang Qin with her.
The look Zhang Qin gave Huang Guixiang and Lin Wan was incredibly complicated. Her eyes were swollen, the rims were red, and there was a dark bruise-like shadow under her eyelids. She looked utterly haggard, with a very prominent air of a resentful woman.
“Auntie Zhu!” Lin Wan greeted her warmly.
“This is my mom, Comrade Huang Guixiang!”
“Mom! This is Auntie Zhu!”
Huang Guixiang quickly and warmly shook hands with Zhu Xianju. “Hello, sister! Oh, I often think to myself, to raise a young man as excellent as Xuyang, what exceptional figures his parents must be.”
“Today I’ve seen it for myself!”
“Our Zhang Qin is fortunate to be able to marry into your family. To be honest with you, I was green with envy over this for a long time!”
