After the training course ended, Fang Muyang became a genuine unemployed youth, which gave him ample time to make furniture.
He told Fei Ni he wanted to build a new bed. Fei Ni disagreed, reasoning that their current room was too small and a bunk bed would be more practical—not only for resting but also for storing things. That wasn’t the only reason for her refusal, though there was another point Fei Ni didn’t mention: if they replaced the bed, she would have to sleep with Fang Muyang every night. And when the two of them lay together, it was hard to just sleep. Sometimes she was so tired before getting into bed that she wished she could fall asleep immediately, but after Fang Muyang kissed her for a while, she would no longer feel sleepy. However, objective conditions didn’t allow them to do that every night, and not just because of contraception.
The day after they did it, Wang Xiaoman would look at her with a complicated expression. Although Fei Ni appeared calm on the surface, she felt a little embarrassed inside. Because Wang Xiaoman only disturbed her for a limited time, while Fang Muyang could keep going for most of the night. The cumulative noise from those nights almost rivaled what the neighbors produced over several months. It was only after this that she understood why the neighbors fixed their schedule for Saturday nights—it was the most considerate time, as even if they disturbed others at night, those disturbed could catch up on sleep on Sunday. Additionally, her skin was more fragile than most people’s, and Fang Muyang could easily leave marks on it. Although it didn’t hurt and the marks would fade in a day or two, she couldn’t go to the public bathhouse until they disappeared.
In short, various reasons didn’t support changing the bed. But the easiest one to mention was that the bunk bed could store things.
Fang Muyang seemed to have anticipated she would say this and immediately proposed a more practical solution. Inspired by foreign home magazines he had deliberately browsed while shopping earlier, his idea was to have a bed on top and replace the bottom with a wardrobe and a desk.
Since they occasionally had guests, they still needed a dedicated dining table. The home had two chairs, and the original camphor wood chest, placed against the wall with a cushion, could also serve as seating.
This way, there would be no need for a low cabinet in the room. The low cabinet against the wall was made by joining two together—one could be sold, and the other could be placed in the hallway to store pots and bowls. While others had set up cabinets and coal stoves at their doorways for cooking, their doorway was empty. Because it was empty, someone had recently wanted to place coal briquettes there, but Fei Ni refused, saying she also needed to pile things there. Since she had said so, it wouldn’t do to leave it empty.
After Fang Muyang explained this, Fei Ni also thought it was a good idea.
But she said, "Let’s wait until after the New Year to make the furniture." Although they still had wood materials at home, there were many other expenses involved in furniture making.
Fang Muyang’s current income relied entirely on manuscript fees, which, unlike a salary, were very unpredictable.
For now, the most crucial thing was to save some money for unexpected needs.
Fang Muyang noticed Fei Ni’s concern and said, "Don’t worry about money. I have manuscript fees now."
"I’m not worried." Because Fang Muyang was unemployed and lacked a stable job, Fei Ni was especially careful about his self-esteem and treated him even more gently than before.
Fang Muyang insisted on making the furniture, so Fei Ni let him have his way.
Fang Muyang no longer pestered her at night, focusing instead on his drawings, and spent his days downstairs making furniture.A young man who didn't go to work on weekdays but had time to make furniture every day could only mean one thing: he had no job.
The people in the building were all Fei Ni's colleagues, and within days, the factory workers learned that Fei Ni's husband was unemployed. They couldn't help but look at her with a touch of sympathy.
Such a beautiful girl had ended up with a man who had no formal job and lived in the apartment she had been allocated—by any measure, it seemed like a raw deal.
Fang Muyang was oblivious to these glances, calmly doing his woodworking downstairs.
He hadn't started with the bed but was instead making another sofa. He planned to sell this one at a secondhand store for some cash.
When Wang Xiaoman returned home from work and saw the nearly finished sofa made by the jobless Fang Muyang, she couldn't help but take a closer look.
The last time Fang Muyang had made a sofa, it was at night, and he had covered it during the day, so few people had seen what it actually looked like.
This was Wang Xiaoman's first time seeing a sofa made by Fang Muyang. Her own family had an old pair of sofas, but they weren't as stylish as this one.
She said to Fang Muyang, "Xiao Fang, where did you get the design for this sofa?"
Fang Muyang named a furniture store.
Wang Xiaoman remembered: when she got married, she had visited that state-owned furniture store. A sofa of similar design cost nearly two hundred yuan—the same price as a nine-inch television.
"Is this sofa for your own home?"
Of course, Fang Muyang couldn't say he was making it to sell, so he replied, "It's for a relative."
"How much does it cost you to make a sofa like this?" If it was cheap, Wang Xiaoman thought she might want one too. Although most people who made furniture for others these days were carpenters from the suburban countryside, Wang Xiaoman figured that if Fang Muyang couldn't find a job, it was only a matter of time before he started earning money by making furniture for others.
"I haven't calculated it."
Hearing this, Wang Xiaoman felt reassured. She guessed it couldn't cost much—in her experience, if something was expensive, people would definitely say so. She decided to wait until Fang Muyang was desperate enough to make a living from furniture-making.
Sister Liu had also heard about Fang Muyang's unemployment. Although she knew Fei Ni's husband was an artist who had published sequential pictures and earned royalties, not having a formal job was always worrisome. Because Fei Ni had knitted her another beautiful pair of gloves as a favor, Sister Liu, in return, asked her husband who worked at a meat processing plant to see if he could find a job for Fei Ni's husband. Sister Liu's husband was as efficient as she was, and soon secured a vacancy in the slaughtering workshop for Fei Ni's husband.
Sister Liu shared this news with Fei Ni as if it were a joyous occasion. Fei Ni was grateful for Sister Liu's kindness but didn't know how to refuse.
During a time of meat shortages, a job in the slaughtering workshop was undoubtedly enviable. According to Sister Liu, a woman surnamed Wang in the slaughtering workshop had managed to marry a handsome, big-eyed actor from a theater troupe precisely because of this desirable job, even though Miss Wang herself wasn't particularly attractive. Her lack of beauty only emphasized how appealing the job was.
If Fang Muyang didn't have royalties, Fei Ni would have readily accepted on his behalf. But since he was earning from his artwork, she felt his hands were better suited for painting than for slaughtering, which could be left to others.But since Sister Liu had kindly found Fang Muyang a job, Fei Ni couldn’t very well say that Fang Muyang would rather remain unemployed than work at the meatpacking plant, especially since in Sister Liu’s eyes, being a slaughterhouse worker was an excellent position.
Fei Ni had no choice but to say that Fang Muyang currently had many illustration commissions and, aside from painting, had no time for other work.
Sister Liu, always straightforward, said, “But I heard that your Xiao Fang spends every day building furniture downstairs. Did he tell you himself that he has many commissions? Men care about their pride—just because he says so doesn’t mean it’s true. This job is one many people wish they could get. You should think it over carefully.”
Fei Ni had no choice but to continue lying: “He builds furniture during the day and barely sleeps at night because of his painting.” Although Fang Muyang did paint at night, it wasn’t to the extent of sacrificing sleep.
“Then you must tell Xiao Fang to take care of his health. Furniture can be built anytime, but health is the foundation of revolution.”
Fei Ni smiled and agreed. At noon, she specially bought a meat dish in the cafeteria and treated Sister Liu to it.
Sister Liu smiled and pushed the dish toward Fei Ni. “My husband works at the meatpacking plant, so I eat meat every day. But you—you’re so thin. You’re the one who should eat more.”
Seeing that Fei Ni was still being polite, Sister Liu added, “Xiao Fei, earning royalties is certainly good, but I’m not afraid to say something you might not want to hear: just because you can earn royalties today doesn’t mean you always will. Finding a proper job is what really matters. The meatpacking plant job is excellent—you can eat meat every day. Seeing you so thin breaks my heart.”
Fang Muyang had no idea that the kind-hearted Sister Liu had found him such a “good” job. As soon as the sofa was finished, he borrowed a flatbed cart again, hauled it to the secondhand store, and sold it.
Earning a carpenter’s fee from building furniture was nothing compared to selling sofas, even if they were sold as used.
With the sofa sold, Fang Muyang had money again—he was never one to hold onto it for long. He divided the earnings in half: one half he intended to give to Fei Ni, and with the other half, after buying materials to build a bed, he took it upon himself to purchase a secondhand record player.
It would be a shame to let the records in his case go unplayed.
OpenNovel