Accompanying Auntie Chen was a staff member from the local pharmacy. Contraceptive products were now being distributed free of charge at pharmacies, but few people came to collect them. To ensure the policy was implemented promptly, pharmacy staff not only distributed supplies at factories but also collaborated with neighborhood activists to deliver them door-to-door.
When Auntie Chen entered, Fei Ni had already risen to her feet. The steam rising from the pot brushed against her face, making her complexion appear even paler. Her grass-green sweater and the white blouse underneath gave off a soft, gentle impression.
Auntie Chen glanced at the registration form, which showed that this household was a newlywed couple of the same age. The husband had just reached the legal marriage age this year, only a few months older than his wife. Even without the form, Auntie Chen’s years of life experience told her they were newlyweds—not just because they looked young, but because they seemed like a young couple who had just started living on their own, away from their families.
Though they shared a room and were clearly familiar with each other, the young woman still appeared slightly shy when they exchanged glances.
The low cabinet in Fei Ni’s home wasn’t fully assembled yet, and with only two chairs, the place seemed rather sparse. After quickly scanning the room’s furnishings, Auntie Chen’s attention was drawn to the alcohol stove. With her years of experience making hot pot, she could tell the dipping sauce was quite well-prepared.
These two really know how to enjoy themselves, Auntie Chen thought.
Fang Muyang offered his chair to Auntie Chen, but she declined, saying, “No need to sit. After we finish explaining things to you, there are other households waiting.”
Auntie Chen handed Fei Ni a pamphlet and asked, “Xiao Fei, why didn’t you attend the lecture for married women of childbearing age organized by the neighborhood committee last week?”
Fei Ni’s cheeks flushed slightly at the phrase “married women of childbearing age.” Fortunately, the alcohol stove provided an excuse—she could blame the steam from the pot.
“I didn’t know about it,” Fei Ni replied. She had indeed seen the notice but never considered herself part of the “childbearing age” group, so she didn’t think she needed to attend.
“You must go if the neighborhood holds another lecture. If you’re busy, send your husband. It’s good for male comrades to receive some education too.”
Then Auntie Chen asked Fei Ni about her plans for having children. Just as work required planning, childbirth, being a major life event, also needed a plan. Understanding the reproductive plans of married women in the neighborhood was part of Auntie Chen’s job.
Fei Ni had no such plans. She forced a smile and replied calmly, “I want to focus on my work for now and don’t plan to have children yet.” Normally articulate, she found herself at a loss for words on this topic.
Auntie Chen affirmed Fei Ni’s attitude, praising young female comrades for their enthusiasm toward work. However, she emphasized that besides short-term plans, long-term planning was essential. Even if newlyweds planned to delay having children, pregnancy could still happen unexpectedly, so it was necessary to be informed.
After Auntie Chen finished, the pharmacy staff member briefly explained how to use oral contraceptives and other products, as they still had other households to visit. For details, Fei Ni could refer to the pamphlet.
The staff member deftly handed the supplies to Fei Ni."If you run out, you can go to the pharmacy to get more—it's all free. Many people feel too embarrassed to claim it, but there's really no need."
Fei Ni wanted to force out an "okay," but her face flushed red from the effort without producing the word. Fang Muyang, however, was perfectly at ease. He said, "It's so late, and you still came all the way to our home to explain the policy. You must be tired. Would you like to stay and have a bite?"
Aunt Chen immediately declined, saying they never took so much as a needle or thread from the masses. As she was about to leave, she asked Fei Ni where she had bought the fermented shrimp sauce, remarking that it looked really good.
After getting the answer, Aunt Chen left quite satisfied.
Once the door was closed, Fei Ni's face was already flushed. In the past, items distributed by her workplace were always locked away in a cabinet. Now, how could she put these things in the cabinet right in front of Fang Muyang? But if she didn't put them in the cabinet, where else could they go?
Fang Muyang closed the door and saw Fei Ni still standing there. He reached out to poke the tip of her nose. "Why are you so warm?" Then he pressed his forehead against hers. "At least you don't have a fever."
Looking down, Fang Muyang noticed what Fei Ni was holding in her hand and smiled at her. "Why are you still holding that? There's no need for it now."
He naturally unfolded her hand, took the item, and placed it on the long table, urging her to eat quickly before the food in her bowl got cold and became inedible.
"How can we just leave it there?" she protested. It was so out in the open—anyone who came in would see it immediately.
"We'll deal with it after we finish eating."
The earlier incident had been too awkward, and Fei Ni was momentarily at a loss for words. She kept her head down, eating only what was already in her bowl, not even glancing at the pot. Occasionally, she reached out with her chopsticks to pick up some food from the pot, but whenever her chopsticks brushed against Fang Muyang's, she quickly pulled back, randomly grabbing a piece and putting it in her bowl. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a slice of ginger. Another time, their chopsticks met again, and she withdrew. This time, thinking she had picked up a potato slice, she found it was still ginger.
She had gained nothing. She had started preparing for this meal since yesterday. The annual supply of sesame paste was limited, and today she had used up a whole quarter's worth. Yet, she ended up eating absentmindedly.
Fang Muyang picked out some of the cooked meat slices and put them in Fei Ni's bowl. After a while, he added some leafy greens and potato slices for her.
"I can serve myself," she said.
"I know."
While eating, Fei Ni's mind was elsewhere, so much so that she absentmindedly ate all the meat slices Fang Muyang occasionally placed in her bowl.
By the time she realized it, there was almost no meat left in the pot.
This certainly wasn't her original intention. She had made this meal specifically to improve Fang Muyang's diet.
Once the meat and vegetables were mostly finished, the two started adding noodles to the broth. This time, Fang Muyang ate more of the noodles.
While scooping out the noodles, Fei Ni unexpectedly found a piece of meat. Her delight was no less than discovering money in a pocket while doing laundry. She immediately placed it in Fang Muyang's bowl.
This meal had cost her a great deal of effort. Not only had she used up a quarter of her sesame paste supply, but she had also specially cycled to the fermented tofu shop in the east to buy the fermented tofu—a round trip of an hour. The variety at ordinary grocery stores wasn't as extensive, and the taste wasn't as authentic. She had bought several types, so there was plenty of dipping sauce, but Fang Muyang had barely eaten any meat.
Feeling it was such a waste, Fei Ni momentarily forgot the awkwardness of Aunt Chen's visit. She picked up her chopsticks and began searching the pot for meat slices, putting every piece she found into Fang Muyang's bowl. Occasionally, she found only a tiny shred no bigger than the tip of her chopsticks, but she still insisted on giving it to him.Fei Ni’s chopsticks remained still in the pot. Fang Muyang watched as the steam from the boiling broth turned her hand pale while she picked out slices of meat, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Do you remember that chest you kept for me? Is it still there?”
It had been ten years; it wouldn’t be strange if it were gone.
Fei Ni thought of the records and paintings inside that chest, along with those artworks depicting nudity. Her original intention had been to borrow some books from Fang Muyang—there were so few books worth reading, and he was her only option. She hadn’t expected to end up with these. When she first saw that art book, though she was willing to acknowledge it as art, she still couldn’t help cursing him inwardly: how could he have the nerve to hand over a chest full of such things? Yet, despite her reluctance, she hadn’t thrown them away. All these years, she had waited for him to ask for the chest back, and now, at last, he had.
Logically, once she learned he had regained his memory, she should have returned it to him. But her home had no record player, so the records were useless. The art book, on the other hand, could still be of use, but… Since he had brought it up himself, of course she would return it.
“It’s here.” Fei Ni pointed to her camphor wood chest. “Right inside. Do you want it now?”
When she moved, the first thing she thought of was that chest, because it absolutely could not be left at her parents’ home.
Fang Muyang glanced at Fei Ni’s camphor wood chest and asked, “If I never asked for it, would you have kept storing it for me?”
Fei Ni thought to herself, what else could she have done?
“After we finish eating, I’ll take it out for you. You can check if anything’s missing.”
“Would I not trust you?”
Fei Ni thought to herself that even if she had questionable character, she wouldn’t have hidden these things—they were of no use to her anyway. She would have liked to listen to the records, but she didn’t dare play them openly.
The two of them finished the meal cleanly—aside from the original broth base, not a single slice of meat or leaf of vegetable remained.
The alcohol stove’s flame went out. Fei Ni dug out the chest and handed it to Fang Muyang.
Back then, they had met in the dim light of dawn, furtive as thieves. Fang Muyang still remembered Fei Ni giving him money—he’d forgotten the exact amount, only that he used it to buy a large fruit cake from a food store. It had been his grandmother’s birthday that day.
Fang Muyang placed the chest on the sewing machine and began examining its contents one by one. The items, sealed away for ten years, returned to his sight.
He remembered the ring had been placed alongside Satie’s record. The ring was still there. An emerald surrounded by diamonds. He recalled his grandmother had a set of emerald jewelry, and this ring was one piece from it, left to him.
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