MAC’60s Chapter 23

The day before the wedding, Wang Ying and Xu Shuang went to the commune.

This was Wang Ying’s first time going to her hometown commune. The two of them rode a single bicycle all the way to the office of Shengli Commune.

On this trip, Wang Ying truly experienced what poverty was.

Although the Seventh Brigade in her commune was somewhat well-off, in other brigades, just riding through on a bicycle you could see thin commune members.

Some children were curious about the bicycles and ran after them, their butts exposed.

Seeing this, Wang Ying was deeply grateful. The brigade leaders, both the team leader and secretary, were good people with clever minds. They had set up an orchard on the mountain early on, so although they didn’t earn much, they were still doing better than most other brigades.

Xu Shuang led Wang Ying to the commune and they went straight to the office to register their marriage.

They both had their letters of introduction, and the process went smoothly. Xu Shuang even handed out candies to the clerks, who smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Wang Ying, still a bit confused, walked out of the office and finally felt the reality of having registered her marriage.

The so-called marriage certificate was just a piece of paper with a stamp on it. They’d have to frame it themselves to make it look more like a real certificate.

Perhaps because they were now officially married, Xu Shuang was more confident holding Wang Ying’s hand in public. Both of them felt their palms sweat.

Wang Ying broke the silence first. “How about we go take some photos?”

It had slipped her mind, but they hadn’t had any photos taken earlier. Such an important life event—how could they not have a memento?

To take photos, they had to go to the county since the commune didn’t have any place to take pictures. Xu Shuang decisively said, “Let’s go!”

It was still early afternoon, so they could make it to the county in time.

The two of them hopped back on their bicycles and headed to the county.

Upon reaching the county, they went straight to the photography studio.

There was only one photo studio in the entire county. Xu Shuang led Wang Ying in, startling the people inside.

“Comrades, we’ve said before, our shop is just for taking photos, not some small capitalist venture…”

An elderly man, with a worried expression, started speaking in a long-winded way. It wasn’t until halfway through that he realized it was a young couple who had come in.

“Comrade, hello. We’d like to take a photo.”

The elderly man sighed with relief. “A photo, okay, come in and sit down.”

“Are you here to take wedding photos?”

Wang Ying awkwardly nodded.

The elderly man swiftly adjusted the camera, then noticed that the couple both looked neat and well-dressed, their clothes obviously new. A thought crossed his mind. “Comrades, would you mind if I take a few sample photos with you? I won’t display them outside, but I’ll hang them in the shop. For this shoot, I won’t charge you any money. And when you have children, I’ll take their photos for free too.”

Xu Shuang, a bit cautious, asked, “Why?”

The elderly man quickly explained, “The sample photos I used to have were all outdated, with lace-edged kids and young women in wedding dresses, old photos. Recently, some people have been saying I’m indulging in hedonism by charging for photos and exploiting the working people. I was thinking, maybe you could help me take a few simpler wedding photos. I’d hang them as sample photos.”

The elderly man had a lot of grievances to share. He had gotten this photography job, and he was doing it well. But who would have thought that now, the modern times had changed so much, that even photos that looked fashionable weren’t acceptable anymore. He almost lost his job.

Xu Shuang and Wang Ying exchanged a glance. Xu Shuang felt it wasn’t really necessary; two yuan for a photo was quite expensive, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it, so it wasn’t worth trying to get a deal out of it.

Wang Ying, however, was quite straightforward: “Sorry, maybe next time someone else will be willing.”

She wasn’t keen on having her photo displayed in the photo studio for others to reference.

The old man’s wish was dashed, and he could only reluctantly take their wedding photos.

Before leaving, Wang Ying couldn’t help but give him some advice: “If you want to change that image, you could go to some state-run factories and ask them if they’d like free photos, like for collective weddings or for workers who are recognized as outstanding. After you take the photos, you could hang them in the shop. Isn’t that better than trying to get us to take wedding photos?”

The old man had been stuck in a rut, and hadn’t thought of this idea. Of course! The county’s factories didn’t have cameras, so if he went and took some free photos for them, it would be much better than trying to get wedding photos from people.

“Girl, you’ve got a sharp mind!”

Tomorrow, he was going to find the factories to ask!

It made sense: before, he was just taking photos for customers, but now he could take more photos for the factories. After all, he could always take his camera with him.

After they finished the photos, Xu Shuang took Wang Ying for a walk around the county. He took her to the black market.

Wang Ying asked, “…Why did you bring me here?”

Wasn’t this the place where people used to get arrested for smuggling goods?

Xu Shuang made a gesture for her to be quiet and quietly led her through an alley.

The black market area was an old residential area in the county, not far from Xu Shuang’s master Chen Dong’s house. After winding through a few turns, they finally reached an old house.

Wang Ying:!!!

The house was part of a row of tile-roofed houses, surrounded by a wall, and it looked run down. But people were still coming and going inside, and you could hear voices.

Xu Shuang took her to a house where the door was different from the others; it was just one room, very shabby, with a large brass lock hanging on it.

Xu Shuang took out a key and opened the door, explaining to Wang Ying, “This is my master’s house. It was too dilapidated to donate, and the roof is all broken.”

But it was perfect for a place to crash, since no one really paid attention to it.

Because the roof was bad, Xu Shuang didn’t dare keep anything valuable there. There was just a simple bedding set and a box on the other side.

Xu Shuang opened the box and inside was half a box of animal skins.

Xu Shuang: “These are rabbit skins. After drying the meat, I bring some into the city. Some I’ve sold at the black market, and some I’ve sent to my senior brother and master. The rest of the skins I keep here.”

Xu Shuang could never save money just by relying on his salary, so whenever he caught something on the mountain, he would bring it into the city to exchange for money.

“But since last year, I’ve been doing much less. They’re really cracking down in the county now.”

Xu Shuang was a little regretful: “I originally planned to save enough skins to sell them, but now it’s hard to sell them.”

The hides were the most noticeable, and now hardly anyone dared wear them.

Xu Shuang picked out a few rabbit skins from the box, choosing the ones that looked better, and put them in his coat: “Let’s go. When we get back, I’ll ask our mom to make you a quilt or a coat. Just wear it at home, don’t wear it out.”

As they left, Xu Shuang locked the brass lock, and Wang Ying suddenly realized: Was Xu Shuang revealing everything to her?

It seemed like this base in the county was tightly secured, and now Xu Shuang was telling her everything.

Xu Shuang said, “I’ll get you a key later.”

The two of them made their way back to the village. Xu Shuang sent Wang Ying home but didn’t hurry to leave.

He held her hands, standing there for a while before saying, “I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow.”

Wang Ying’s cheeks turned red: “Mm.”

On the morning of the 26th, Wang Ying was already awake. Since there was no one from her maternal family to help, Mrs. Xu had sent a few young wives from the village to assist Wang Ying with her preparations.

The new cotton clothes fit well, and Mrs. Xu knew that young girls liked to look cute, so she made Wang Ying a slightly thinner padded jacket. When she wore it, it kept her warm but didn’t make her look bulky. On top of that, she wore a red plaid shirt and a brand new navy blue pair of pants.

This outfit might seem quite plain in the future, but at the time, it was considered quite fashionable.

The young women who came to help all looked on with envy. Wang Ying was surrounded as they used red paper to dab her lips, and some burned matchsticks to draw her eyebrows. One older woman even insisted on putting some flour on her face, but Wang Ying firmly rejected it.

Her hair was braided into two plaits and hung behind her head. The rest of the time, Wang Ying just sat on the bed, waiting for Xu Shuang to come and pick her up.

Xu Shuang wasn’t exactly in a rush, but Mrs. Xu had secretly told him that even though the “Four Olds” had been abolished, and feudal superstitions were no longer practiced, she still went and consulted someone. She said the bride should be picked up around 10 a.m.

Actually, this time wasn’t much different from other weddings in the village, but Mrs. Xu just felt that waiting until that time would be just right.

So Xu Shuang had barely slept all night, and when morning came, both sides were anxiously trying to meet the timing.

Xu Shuang’s family was the more chaotic one. Mrs. Xu’s loud voice could be heard commanding her sons to do this and that, making them spin around in circles.

Xu Shuang’s master, Chen Dong, had arrived the previous night and was busy in the kitchen now.

One of Xu Shuang’s younger companions, a man with single eyelids, was yelling: “Uncle, don’t put so many chilies in! Do you see how many kids are here today? Who’s going to want to eat with all these chilies?!”

This mix of dialects made Xu Shuang’s forehead twitch.

Chen Dong poked his head out of the kitchen: “Get lost! You’re supposed to be helping, look at how much your skills have deteriorated! You’re not even making me angry enough yet!”

One of Xu Shuang’s senior brothers, Liu Duo, a single-eyed young man, was feeling quite aggrieved. “So it’s my fault? You all are in restaurants, I’m in the cafeteria, how can it be the same?”

After saying this, Liu Duo approached Xu Shuang and said, “Junior, don’t you think? Look at how our master is; he really has no understanding of people. No wonder you’ve got a wife already, but he doesn’t.”

Chen Dong shouted from the kitchen, “I heard that! You little brat, come here and chop some wood!”

Liu Duo, dragging his feet, didn’t want to go. He wanted to follow Xu Shuang to pick up the bride.

Xu Shuang kicked him into the kitchen and didn’t forget to take off Liu Duo’s watch.

When Xu Shuang saw the time on the watch nearing ten o’clock, he stood up swiftly.

Finally, it was time!

Xu Shuang, followed by a group of people, headed towards Wang Ying’s house.

A large group marched towards Wang Ying’s house, and from far away, they could already hear harsh shouting.

“You little slut, you stole money from my family, and you’re dressed all bright and colorful. Heaven must be blind to let someone like you get so lucky! All that pretense of being virtuous, but you’re just full of deceit!”

“You’re even with Xu Shuang now! He used to be your brother-in-law! Don’t you have any shame?!”

…

Li Chunjuan was sitting in front of Wang Ying’s house, cursing loudly while beating the ground. Wang Yongshun stood silently at the door, obviously waiting to cause trouble.

Li Chunjuan, catching sight of Xu Shuang and his group, seemed to get more energized with an audience.

“Hey, come and see! This is the guy who’s been flirting with his sister-in-law, kicked out my poor daughter…”

Li Chunjuan was making a scene, distorting the events, and determined to stir up trouble for Wang Ying and Xu Shuang’s marriage.

Li Chunjuan smirked and glared at the tightly shut door of Wang Ying’s house. No matter what, she was determined to destroy things today. Wang Ying and Xu Shuang had already been eyeing each other for a long time!

Wang Yongshun, holding his pipe, cleared his throat and waited for Xu Shuang to approach to negotiate terms.

He lost 80 yuan, and Xu Shuang should at least give him 100, right?

If he didn’t, he would make sure Xu Shuang couldn’t take the bride!

Even so, Wang Yongshun still felt cheated; he had lost 80 yuan!

Had he not lost it, he could have asked Xu Shuang for another 100 and had 280 yuan in his savings!

Wang Yongshun had firmly decided to abandon any shame, just focusing on the money.

As long as he had money, he would leave this poor countryside behind!

Seeing this situation, Xu Shuang didn’t even blink. He said a few words to his cousins and continued leading the group forward.

Xu Shuang’s cousins were tall and sturdy, and when they stood together, they looked like a wall blocking the way.

Wang Yongshun realized something was wrong, and before he could even try to run, he was grabbed by the arm and then sandwiched by two big men.

One of them said, “Hey, isn’t this our little sister’s uncle? Came to help us with the wedding? How polite.”

The other said, “Our sister is lucky to have such a good uncle. Come, uncle, let us help you bring the gifts for the bride. We’ll have a good meal together later!”

The two big men picked up Wang Yongshun, and another man helped Li Chunjuan up from the ground.

The three of them were yelling and rushing to go inside, and by the time Xu Shuang got close, the three had already dragged them back to Wang Yongshun’s house.

The door slammed shut, and even Li Chunjuan’s curses could barely be heard.

Xu Shuang remained calm and knocked on Wang Ying’s door.

After a moment, Wang Ying’s voice came from inside, “Who is it?”

Xu Shuang’s face softened, “It’s me.”

Wang Ying thought it was her uncle and aunt, ready to open the door to deal with them, but she was surprised to see it was Xu Shuang.

A quick-witted sister-in-law hurriedly pushed Wang Ying back into the house and told the others to block the door.

After blocking the door and shouting a few times, they finally let Xu Shuang inside.

The two of them bowed in front of the portrait of the chairman and addressed Grandma Xu, completing the formalities.

Normally, after a wedding, the bride’s dowry would be taken to the groom’s house. However, since Xu Shuang was officially moving in, the furniture and other items had already been delivered. All they needed to do was go to Xu’s house for the wedding banquet, and the marriage would be officially completed.

A group of people cheerfully surrounded Xu Shuang and Wang Ying to head to Xu’s house for the meal.

Next door, Wang Yongshun and his wife, Li Chunjuan, could hear the laughter and were so enraged their vision blurred.

Xu Shuang’s three cousins came in but didn’t leave. The three of them blocked the door and stood like they were rooted to the spot.

Li Chunjuan kept cursing, but Xu Shuang’s cousins just stood there, watching her without responding.

As she kept cursing, Li Chunjuan eventually ran out of steam.

Her method of throwing a tantrum needed a response from the other side.

Whether out of embarrassment or anger, as long as there was a response, she could keep on cursing without repeating herself.

But Xu Shuang’s cousins didn’t entertain her. It seemed their only purpose was to stop her from leaving, and they didn’t care about anything else.

Li Chunjuan stopped cursing, and Wang Yongshun, fearing for his safety, stopped talking as well.

One of Xu Shuang’s cousins scratched his head, “How are we going to eat later?”

Another cousin said, “Someone’s probably going to bring it to us. I just want to eat at the banquet.”

The third cousin said, “These two are so troublesome. Why don’t we just beat them up? Once they can’t get up, we’ll be free to leave!”

Wang Yongshun, terrified, quickly said, “In-laws, I’m Wang Ying’s uncle! Let’s talk things through.”

What if they really beat him up?

These three looked strong, and it would hurt like hell if they fought.

One of Xu Shuang’s cousins sneered, “You two are really something. Your daughter is getting married, and you’re causing trouble. If you dare bring bad luck, don’t be surprised if you get beaten up.”

Marriage is a big deal. In the village, it’s common for families to hold grudges and argue, but no one usually causes a scene right in front of someone’s house during a wedding. If you dare to do that, it means you’re ready to become sworn enemies.

Getting physical? That’s nothing. In other brigades, some feuding neighbors would even tear down each other’s houses. In earlier years, some families still kept guns, and once tempers flared, they didn’t care about anything.

Sweat as big as beans rolled down Wang Yongshun’s forehead. “We don’t dare anymore, we really don’t. We’ll behave ourselves today, promise.”

Second eldest cousin of Xu Shuang said, “Saying that is useless. The three of us are here today just to keep an eye on you.”

Xu Shuang finally getting married—there’s no way they were going to let such filthy relatives ruin the mood.

If it were any other day, they might’ve had a shouting match, but today was special. It was best to lock them in and not let them out.

Wang Yongshun and Li Chunjuan tried every trick in the book, but the three strong men didn’t budge. They just guarded the door and didn’t let them go anywhere.

Li Chunjuan was extremely aggrieved. “So Wang Ying stealing our 80 yuan just gets brushed off? She’s been buying quilts and wearing new clothes these days, and she used our 80 yuan to do that?! I can’t accept it. You can lock me up, fine, but tomorrow I’m going to file a complaint!”

Li Chunjuan was truly heartbroken about the money. She’d never had much to spend over the years. The most she ever got at once was the 100 yuan dowry from her eldest daughter’s marriage, and she didn’t even get to enjoy it—it was snatched up by Wang Yongshun, who claimed he managed their money.

Eighty yuan! It made her heart seize with pain.

Yaōzōng spends five to six yuan a month, and even just eating a chicken or buying some rice or flour costs two or three yuan. Eighty yuan could buy so many things for him!

Xu Shuang’s cousins looked at each other, completely puzzled. “Everything our sister-in-law owns was bought by our brother. What does that have to do with you two?”

Xu Shuang wasn’t shy about spending money either. His three cousins were all speechless at his generosity. This wasn’t just marrying a wife—it was like marrying a celestial being.

But since it was the first time in all these years that Xu Shuang had liked a girl, the cousins didn’t say much.

“My second aunt already said, since sister-in-law is willing to marry him, she shouldn’t have to pay a single cent. You better think before you speak. Also, accusing her of stealing is out of line—our sister-in-law has real skills.”

Even though they thought Xu Shuang spent too much, the cousins had a good impression of Wang Ying.

The girl had a good education, was pretty, and even knew how to treat illnesses. Since their cousin was marrying into her family, spending a bit more was fine—after all, he’d be living in her house in the future.

Now hearing the couple accuse Wang Ying of stealing, the three men found it hard to believe.

Li Chunjuan jumped up, yelling, “Then where else could our money have gone? It’s just us two and our son Yaozong. The closest person is Wang Ying—who else could it be if not her?!”

One cousin scratched his head. “Couldn’t it have been your son?”

Before Li Chunjuan could speak, Wang Yongshun cut in decisively, “Impossible!”

His son knew their financial situation. Why would he steal? That money was meant for when he moved to the city. If he stole and used it, how could he still go?

His son wasn’t stupid—he’d never do something like that!

The cousin sneered. “You say he didn’t steal, so he didn’t? If you’re gonna accuse someone else, you better make sure your own kid’s hands are clean first. Where is your son anyway? Why isn’t he home?”

Wang Yongshun’s face darkened. “He’s studying in town… My son wouldn’t steal. I give him five yuan every month. He doesn’t lack money, so why would he steal?”

Li Chunjuan added, “It was definitely Wang Ying! I’m going to report her tomorrow!”

When it came to physical force, the three cousins could easily take them down, but with this stealing accusation, they were helpless. The couple just kept insisting it was Wang Ying.

“It was definitely Wang Ying! If not, I’ll cut off my own head and use it as a chamber pot…”

Just then, someone ran in from outside. “Aiyo, Yongshun, there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you! Hurry to the town—your boy Yaozong got beaten up at school, and they took his money. Luckily, a good Samaritan saw it happen and got all the money back. He’s already been taken to the county hospital.”

One of the cousins had a flash of insight. “Did they say how much money was taken?”

The visitor patted his chest. “Quite a bit! That good Samaritan even handed the thief over to the police. Said it was a large amount—more than 80 yuan! I mean, Yongshun, you can’t be spoiling your kid like this, giving him that much money. That’s just asking for trouble.”

The cousin, Li Chunjuan, and Wang Yongshun: “……”

The biggest cousin said, “Ah, you said more than 80, right?”

He looked at Li Chunjuan with a pitying expression. “Poor thing… So you’ve been living life wearing a chamber pot on your head all along.”

Li Chunjuan: ……