Fei Ni stuffed the chocolates Fang Muyang had previously given her into her bag. When she went to her factory to get the marriage introduction letter, she pulled out a handful of chocolates and smilingly offered them to her supervisor as wedding candies.
The chocolates were wrapped in gold foil, giving them a festive appearance.
Her side of the introduction letter was processed smoothly.
But problems arose on Fang Muyang’s side.
This time, the person receiving them at the Office of Educated Youth was none other than the older sister who had previously urged Fei Ni and Fang Muyang to get married.
It was only then that Fei Ni realized marriage wasn’t as simple as she had imagined. Fang Muyang’s household registration and grain ration were still tied to the place where he had been sent down. He had to return there to get the marriage introduction letter, or wait until his household registration and grain ration were transferred back. In any case, it couldn’t be settled immediately.
The older sister thoughtfully considered Fang Muyang’s situation: "If you don’t go back, we can send a letter to them and have them handle it for you."
Fei Ni couldn’t help asking, "How long would that take?"
"I’m not quite sure either."
In the end, Fang Muyang decided to return to the place where he had been sent down to handle it personally. After leaving the Office of Educated Youth, Fang Muyang teased Fei Ni: "We can’t get married right away—are you very disappointed?"
Fang Muyang had meant it as a joke, but Fei Ni didn’t deny it. She suggested they split up: she would ride her bike to the hospital to pack Fang Muyang’s luggage, while he would take the introduction letter for the train ticket to buy one, hoping to get a ticket for that day. After packing, she would meet him at the train station.
Seeing how anxious she truly was, Fang Muyang immediately agreed to her plan.
"Do you have money for the train ticket?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a luggage bag?"
"No need. I can just roll up a bedsheet."
"You really can make do with anything. I have a luggage bag at home."
"Don’t go to the trouble. Just bring me the paper and pens. My money and grain coupons are still where you put them last time—bring those too. Also, pack the pastries you gave me. For the rest, just bring whatever you think is necessary. A couple of clothes will do."
"When will you have time to draw? You need to come back as soon as you finish handling this."
"Isn’t there time on the train?"
"Don’t you dare sketch random girls on the train—what if you get arrested as a hooligan again…"
"Since you’re so worried about me, I promise you: from now on, whenever I sketch a female comrade, whether she’s a toddler or ninety-nine years old, I’ll report to you first, alright? If you don’t agree, I’ll only sketch you."
Fei Ni felt Fang Muyang was making fun of her, but since she had urgent matters to attend to, she simply said, "Just use your judgment."
Just as Fei Ni had one foot on the pedal, before she could ride off, Fang Muyang took advantage of her fluster to lightly tap her nose, claiming he was wiping the sweat off it. Fei Ni, being in a hurry, didn’t bother arguing with him.
Before heading to the hospital, Fei Ni first went home. The old couple were sewing buttons—after taking early retirement, their income had dropped significantly, and to combat boredom, they often took on side jobs for extra money. Fei Ni went in, greeted them, and then went to her room to dig out the luggage bag. She packed the powdered milk and malted milk powder Fang Muyang had previously given her into the bag—since he was going back to ask for favors, he ought to bring some gifts. She also found the military kettle, filled it with water for Fang Muyang to drink on the journey. The chocolates had to be saved for their wedding to share with guests.
"What are you doing?"
"Fang Muyang is taking the train today. I’m packing what he’ll need."
Old Fei wondered why she was packing his things at their home.
"Where is he going?"
"To the place where he was sent down before."Fei Ma interjected at this point, "I think this is another chance for you to reconsider. You and Xiao Fang might not be that compatible. Don’t be too impulsive..."
Fei Ni cut off her mother before she could say more, "I’ve already made up my mind."
Old Fei was about to speak further when Fei Ni grabbed a handful of chocolates from the bag and placed them on her desk. "Dad, Mom, consider this an early treat—the wedding candies for me and Fang Muyang."
The elderly couple hadn’t expected the chocolates Fang Muyang had given before to serve this new purpose. Before they could voice their opinions, Fei Ni had already picked up her luggage bag and walked out. She went to the grocery store again and bought some candies using her candy coupons. Although weddings came with additional candy coupons, she didn’t have any at the moment, so she could only buy a limited amount.
After leaving the grocery store, Fei Ni hurried to the hospital. Once in the ward, she immediately went to look for Fang Muyang’s money and grain coupons. They were still in the same bag, and alongside them was a paper bag. Opening it, she found it was full of her photos.
These were taken by Fang Muyang when he visited her home. She hadn’t realized he had taken so many.
They looked completely different from the photos she had taken at the studio before. She rarely took pictures and didn’t like looking in the mirror. Through Fang Muyang’s photos, she discovered a new version of herself—one that felt somewhat unfamiliar. It turned out this was how she appeared around Fang Muyang, not as natural as she had imagined.
They probably weren’t developed at a studio, as a few were clearly poorly processed. She had no idea where he had gotten them developed.
Fei Ni wasn’t entirely satisfied with the photos of herself. She placed the paper bag in her bag, deciding to take it back and keep it under her own care.
She noticed that although Fang Muyang was clumsy at washing clothes, he was diligent. The bedsheet and pillow towel were freshly washed, carrying the scent of soap. However, he had clearly used the soap incorrectly, as the areas stained with dye remained untouched.
She sighed softly and transferred the pastries from the gift box into the biscuit tin she had brought, wondering if they would be enough for his journey. He would be staying in the countryside for a few days, and this time, he wouldn’t be able to share meals with the other Educated Youth. She figured the pastries wouldn’t be sufficient and might even need to be shared with others. So, on her way, she stopped by a deli and bought some cooked meat for him to eat with baked buns. She knew the train station sold baked buns without requiring grain coupons. She didn’t buy much of the cooked meat, as after marriage, there would be plenty of expenses requiring money and coupons. She just wanted Fang Muyang to have a little meat to taste.
Fei Ni visited several places, and by the time she reached the train station, her hair was slightly damp, and her face was glistening with sweat.
The first thing she asked Fang Muyang was, "Did you manage to buy the ticket?"
Under normal circumstances, Fang Muyang might have teased her with a riddle, but seeing how anxious she was, he straightforwardly told her he had bought it—a ticket for the evening train.
Fei Ni handed him the luggage bag. "Take this. I’ll go buy some baked buns for you to eat on the way."
"I’ll buy them myself. You should rest for a while."
Fang Muyang insisted that Fei Ni sit down while he went to make the purchase.
A short while later, Fang Muyang returned with an opened bottle of soda and handed it to Fei Ni.
"Didn’t I ask you to buy baked buns?"
"Baked buns can be bought anytime. You drink this first."
"Why did you buy soda? Didn’t you say we should save wherever possible?"
"I am saving wherever possible—I only bought one for you."
Fei Ni had no choice but to relent. "I’m not drinking it. You have it."
"In that case, let’s share it. You take the first half."Fei Ni thought it would be better for him to drink it alone, but with so many people around, it would be ridiculous for two adults in their twenties to politely defer over a bottle of soda. She held the bottle and took a sip, feeling much cooler. After drinking about a third of it, she took out a freshly washed handkerchief and carefully wiped the bottle mouth, wiping it twice before handing it to Fang Muyang.
"You don’t need to be so particular with me. If you hadn’t wiped it, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But now that you’ve done this, it makes people think too much."
It sounded as if Fei Ni had thought of something inappropriate about sharing a bottle of soda, and her imagination was contagious, spreading to Fang Muyang.
Fei Ni didn’t ask what he was thinking now. She glared at him and said nothing.
After finishing the soda, Fei Ni checked the items in Fang Muyang’s bag again, explaining each one’s purpose. The braised meat was to be eaten with sesame cakes. She had specifically asked the shop to slice it, with one small piece per cake—if you added too much, it wouldn’t be enough.
"You’re so thoughtful. But why did you buy so much candy?"
"What do you think?"
Fang Muyang looked clueless.
"Aren’t we supposed to give out candy when we get married?"
Fang Muyang quickly apologized: "Thank goodness for you, or I wouldn’t know anything."
Fang Muyang took out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth, marveling at how well Fei Ni had chosen the candy.
He unwrapped another piece and handed it to Fei Ni. Not wanting to make a fuss over the candy in front of others, she had no choice but to eat it.
It was too sweet, so sweet it felt like cavities would form instantly.
"What are you having for dinner?"
"Aren’t there sesame cakes?"
"You’ll be eating this for the next few days. Why not go to a small restaurant for dinner tonight?"
"Forget it. It’s crowded now, and there might not even be a seat. Their food isn’t any better than the sesame cakes." He really needed to save wherever he could—there would be plenty of expenses later. Besides, the food Fei Ni had prepared for him wasn’t bad at all. Back in elementary school, when he lived at the school and ran out of his ration, he had no money or food coupons to buy anything else. He’d even eaten cornbread mixed with sand and cabbage stems. His parents didn’t mind, reasoning that if other kids could eat it, so could he. It wasn’t that he couldn’t eat it—he just wished there was more. After finishing, he always wanted another piece. Thankfully, Fei Ni had lent him money back then to buy sesame cakes.
Fang Muyang found a quiet spot to eat his sesame cake, and Fei Ni sat beside him, reminding him of a few details.
Suddenly, Fang Muyang asked Fei Ni, "What kind of furniture do you want?"
"That depends on what cheap items are available at the secondhand store." She had little savings now and couldn’t afford new furniture, nor did she have the money to buy lumber and hire someone to make it. Even for used furniture, she’d probably have to borrow some money from home.
"Let’s get new ones."
"Don’t even dream about that." Fei Ni knew Fang Muyang’s situation well—he was worse off than she was.
Not long after, Fang Muyang sketched a bed on paper and showed it to Fei Ni.
Knowing they couldn’t afford such a bed, Fei Ni overlooked the fact that Fang Muyang had drawn a double bed. Their room couldn’t even fit such a large bed.
Smiling, she said to him, "When you sleep on the floor later, you can nail this paper to the wall and pretend you’re sleeping in a bed like this."
Fang Muyang said nothing.Fei Ni thought he was reminiscing about the past—he must have had such a bed before. Without a physical reference, he couldn’t have drawn it so quickly just from imagination. Unfortunately, both the bed and his room were gone. Only by marrying her could he get half a room, and he had no money to buy furniture.
She encouraged him, "Once we have a place, everything else will follow." The top priority was to get married quickly, as marriage was the only way to secure housing. She repeated what she had said earlier, urging him to leave and return as soon as possible.
Fang Muyang asked her again what kind of sofa she wanted.
Fei Ni decided to play along with his imagination: "For a small room like ours, we don’t need a sofa. Chairs will do, but they must be comfortable."
Even before they had secured a room, Fei Ni had already imagined the furnishings inside.
Fang Muyang sketched a diagram based on her ideas.
Looking at the drawing, Fei Ni felt it perfectly matched her vision.
With two hours left before departure, Fang Muyang suggested Fei Ni go home for a meal.
Fei Ni thought she really should head back.
Before she could even open her mouth as she turned to leave, Fang Muyang looked at her with a smile and said, "Don’t worry, I’ll be back as soon as possible."
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