President Fu was well aware that securing housing was no easy matter. The Fang family's properties had long been occupied by others, and those who had managed to move in were unlikely to vacate voluntarily. Times had changed. Back when Fang Muyang's grandmother passed away, she left him two estates with over a hundred rooms, all of which his mother had generously donated. Now, obtaining even a single room felt impossibly difficult.
Fang Muyang, however, didn't treat it as a major issue. "If they won't give me a place, I'll just sleep in the housing bureau's office. It's empty at night anyway."
When the Stewed Beef Casserole was served, Fei Ni's first reaction was, "We didn't order this."
The waiter gestured toward another table where Fang Muyang sat. "He sent this over for you."
Ye Feng followed the waiter's direction and turned back to Fei Ni. "Isn't that your classmate?"
Ye Feng had only met Fang Muyang once, but his distinctive appearance made him instantly recognizable upon seeing him again.
Fei Ni thought Fang Muyang was beyond help—so poor yet putting on a show of generosity. She told the waiter, "I don't want this. Take it to his table."
"You should discuss that with him directly. We only handle serving the dishes."
When the Creamy Baked Fish arrived, Fei Ni couldn't help but ask, "How many dishes did he actually order?"
"There are also two servings of ice cream, to be served after the main course."
"Under no circumstances bring the ice cream."
The waiter reluctantly went to Fang Muyang to relay Fei Ni's message.
Fang Muyang said, "Do as she says, don't bring it. Please tell her not to worry about me—I can still afford these two dishes for now."
The waiter had no idea what was going on between them but repeated Fang Muyang's words to Fei Ni.
Fei Ni glanced toward Fang Muyang, who smiled back at her. She glared at him and lowered her head to eat the fish.
Ye Feng sensed something amiss and asked Fei Ni, "Is that guy bothering you?"
"No, I just helped him with a small favor before."
"What kind of favor?"
"Nothing worth mentioning."
Fang Muyang paid for both tables. Back when Fei Ni had organized his money by denomination, the bills had been neatly sorted. Now, they were all jumbled together. He pulled out a handful without looking, quickly calculated the total in his head, and handed it to the waiter. Then, he retrieved a two-cent note from the waiter's hand and stuffed it back into his pocket. The waiter was still counting when Fang Muyang casually said, "Thanks." By the time the payment was confirmed, Fang Muyang had already left the table.
President Fu had prepared to treat everyone and was surprised that Fang Muyang had beaten him to it.
"How could I let you pay?"
"When I run out of money, I'll come to your place for meals."
His remark reminded President Fu of Fang Muyang's parents. They had always been generous, but they had the means to be. Fang Muyang, however, did not.
When settling the bill, Fei Ni learned that Fang Muyang had already paid. She had intended to cover even the dishes he ordered.
After leaving the restaurant, Ye Feng asked Fei Ni, "Where does your classmate work?"
"He's an Educated Youth."
Ye Feng felt relieved—an Educated Youth posed no threat to him.
"Invite him out someday, and we'll treat him to a meal."
"Let's not. There's no need to meet."
Ye Feng walked Fei Ni to her building but unusually did not go upstairs. If he did, he would have to explain why Fei Ni had returned the gifts meant for his parents.Fei Ni didn't go home immediately. Instead, she cycled to the hospital where Fang Muyang was staying, carrying the box of pastries and tea leaves. She couldn't bring these things home, as doing so would expose everything that had happened at the Ye residence. Since she had eaten his meal, giving him the pastries was a way of returning the courtesy.
Fang Muyang's ward was empty. Hanging above his bed was an anatomical chart—something that hadn't been there during her previous visits. On the bedside table stood a stack of drawings, all copies of the sequential pictures she had given him. His imitations were remarkably accurate; one might even mistake him for the original artist. The bottom few sheets were portraits of young nurses. She had only heard about him drawing nurses before, but seeing it with her own eyes stirred different emotions. These sketches were in a different style from the sequential pictures, and Fei Ni felt that Fang Muyang put more passion into drawing the nurses. She quickly noticed the sharpness in his observations—he must have spent plenty of time staring at the nurses these days.
On his bed lay a neatly folded shirt. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the first button was slightly different from the others, clearly a replacement after the original had fallen off. The delicate needlework was certainly not done by Fang Muyang himself. His room was relatively clean, but the tidiness was careless—the pillowcase was even put on inside out without him noticing. Fei Ni believed it would soon be corrected, though not by Fang Muyang. After she left, he had quickly found someone else to take care of him.
He truly was something else.
In her absence, his life had become much more colorful. His decision not to return to the countryside wasn't because he listened to her—how could he bear to leave such a comfortable life?
The one thing he hadn't lied about was the plants on the windowsill, which were thriving under his care.
She didn't linger any longer. Placing the pastry box on the bedside table, she tucked a note underneath stating that it was a gift from her and her boyfriend to Fang Muyang.
Fei Ni didn't head straight home from the hospital but instead took the tea canister to the home of the woman she considered her future sister-in-law. Her older brother Fei Ting was working in the countryside, and Lin Mei had returned to the city but still waited for him—a rarity in Fei Ni's eyes. Because it was rare, it deserved to be cherished. Sister Mei was using a sewing machine to make pillow towels. With six family members crammed into two small rooms, she only found brief moments of peace when everyone else was out.
As soon as Fei Ni arrived at the Lin household, Lin Mei showed her the pillow towel she was working on. "What do you think? Do you like this pattern?"
"It's lovely."
"I'm glad you like it. Aren't you getting married soon? I'll take care of all your pillow towels, pillowcases, tablecloths, and sofa covers." Lin Mei then rummaged through the cabinet to show Fei Ni the sofa cover. "By the way, didn't you go to Ye Feng's place today? How did it go?"
Fei Ni could tell that Lin Mei was delighted about her impending marriage. If she married, Fei Ting might be able to return to the city. Not wanting to dampen Lin Mei's good mood, Fei Ni simply said it went fine.
"If you ask me, Ye Feng's conditions are really excellent. Once you're married, you won't need to beg anyone for favors—you'll even have a television ticket. You have no idea—our store's Manager Wang went through so much trouble, pleading left and right, just to buy a twelve-inch television set, and in the end, he could only get a nine-inch one. But even a nine-inch TV is something others envy."
With only one day off per week, Sunday passed, and it was time to return to the factory.On Monday noon, Fei Ni was eating in the cafeteria when the factory's announcer, Wang Xiaoman, suddenly approached her. Wang Xiaoman was the wife of Section Chief Xu from the propaganda department. Back when the propaganda department was selecting an announcer through competition, Fei Ni had lost to Wang Xiaoman. One of the reasons given was that the announcer represented the spiritual outlook of the factory workers, and Fei Ni's appearance and voice were considered too delicate, completely lacking the strength that embodied the working class. Fei Ni couldn't understand how Wang Xiaoman, who had always been delicate and charming, suddenly gained that strength right after marrying Section Chief Xu.
Since Ye Feng had waited for Fei Ni at the factory gate several times, many people in the factory knew that Fei Ni had a boyfriend who worked at the Radio Industry Bureau.
Naturally, people from the Radio Industry Bureau could obtain Television Tickets.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Fei Ni, Wang Xiaoman quickly got to the point. She wanted a fourteen-inch television set but didn't have a Television Ticket, so she hoped Fei Ni's boyfriend could help.
Wang Xiaoman was wearing a floral dress with three-quarter sleeves that perfectly revealed the ladies' wristwatch on her arm. With her watch-adorned hand, she offered a crystal hair clip to Fei Ni.
Fei Ni, feeling she hadn't done anything to deserve the gift, pushed the hair clip back.
Wang Xiaoman had a backup plan ready. She asked Fei Ni if she'd like to transfer to the propaganda department, as someone had just been transferred out, leaving a vacancy.
Fei Ni immediately understood Wang Xiaoman's implication—she was offering a position in the propaganda department in exchange for a Television Ticket.
Of course she wanted to go, but she couldn't answer for Ye Feng. Yesterday, Ye Feng's mother had hinted that Fei Ni was marrying above her station. If she immediately asked Ye Feng for a favor, wouldn't that just confirm his mother's judgment?
Seeing Fei Ni's noncommittal response, Wang Xiaoman smiled and told her to think about it.
Wang Xiaoman wasn't the only one approaching Fei Ni for tickets—Sister Liu from the same workshop also made a request.
Sister Liu's request was more modest; she only needed a Record Player.
She brought it up in the bathhouse. Hot water was streaming over Fei Ni when Sister Liu proactively came over to scrub her back. Before Fei Ni could refuse, Sister Liu had already started, sighing as she worked about how wonderful youth is—she too had once had smooth, fair skin, but not anymore.
Fei Ni repeatedly said "that's enough," before Sister Liu finally stopped.
Sister Liu's request was gentle. She said she wasn't in a hurry for the ticket—Fei Ni could give it to her whenever, and if it wasn't convenient, that was fine too. She understood her boyfriend's difficulties, as too many people were asking him for favors. Her request was far less forceful than her scrubbing, which had left Fei Ni's back red. Sister Liu mused to herself that rough skin had its advantages—it wouldn't turn red so easily from a little scrubbing. Once married, who would dare touch her like that?
While washing, Sister Liu praised Fei Ni's taste in men.
Fei Ni dried her hair about eighty percent before leaving the bathhouse, where Ye Feng was waiting for her.
Today, they were treated to a rare sight of fiery sunset clouds. Fei Ni's face was still flushed from the bathhouse steam, the color not yet fully faded.
As usual, the two went to a restaurant near the factory.
Ye Feng brought up his mother voluntarily: "Someone gave me tickets for 'The Yellow River.' Let's go with my mom on Sunday."
"You two go. I have things to do." Fei Ni could understand Ye Feng's filial devotion to his mother, but she had no desire to participate.
"Still upset about yesterday?"
"No."
"If you spend more time with my mom, you'll see she's really wonderful. Once she gets to know you, she'll definitely like you. Actually, you should have played something for her yesterday—my mom really likes girls who can play the piano.""I don't need them to like me, I just need them to respect me."
"That day my mother was inconsiderate, but she won't act that way again. She's an elder and finds it hard to apologize directly. Please try to understand. After we get married, you'll both be living under the same roof. I hope you two can get along well."
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