Second Sister and Second Brother-in-law brought canned fruit and three bottles of beer. Bottled beer was also rationed by tickets. Normally, when Old Fei wanted to drink, he would take a kettle to the restaurant to get draft beer.
Halfway through the meal, it started to rain, growing heavier and heavier, with no sign of stopping by the time Ye Feng left. There were only two umbrellas in the house—one was given to Fang Muyang, and the other to Ye Feng. Fei Ni saw Ye Feng out and, while going downstairs, brought up her brother who had gone to the countryside as an Educated Youth.
"If my brother returns to the city and the neighborhood office can’t arrange a job for him, I’ll give him my job."
"Did your family ask you to do this?"
"No, it was my idea."
When she was a child, Fei Ni was in poor health. Her parents scraped together money to buy milk for her, while her older siblings not only had none but also had to heat the milk for her every day. After the milk was warmed, it was poured into a bowl. Her eldest brother would use chopsticks to lift the skin off the milk and give it to Second Sister, saying it was the essence of the milk and must be given to our Second Sister. Then he would supervise Fei Ni to finish every last drop of milk in the bowl. As for himself, he would pour hot water from the kettle into the unwashed milk pot and tilt his head back to savor the lingering taste of milk.
Fei Ni was supposed to attend the same elementary school as her older siblings, but that school had no heating in winter, only coal stoves. During breaks, the entire class would crowd around the stove in layers. Those who couldn’t squeeze to the front to warm themselves would huddle together in the crowd, relying on each other’s body heat to keep warm. Fei Ni had been weak since childhood, so her parents went to great lengths to get her into a school with heating so their youngest daughter could stay warm in winter. At that school, children from ordinary working-class families like Fei Ni were in the minority.
Among the three siblings, the best things in the family were always hers. Fei Ni was not the type to take advantage endlessly, and besides, she didn’t like her job at the hat factory. If it came to that, she might as well give it to someone who truly needed it.
"What will you do then?"
"I can make clothes and earn money that way." Money could be exchanged for grain tickets and cloth tickets, so she could still support herself. However, people who thought like her were ultimately in the minority. In those days, workers in state-owned enterprises looked down on those in collectively owned enterprises, and those in collectively owned enterprises looked down on people without formal jobs. Fei Ni knew that many people were willing to associate with her not only because she was young and good-looking but also because she had a formal job. Delayed disclosure was sometimes no different from deception, so it was better to clarify things in advance. If Ye Feng could accept it, they would continue their relationship; if not, it would end here.
Ye Feng remained silent.
Fei Ni had anticipated this silence and still maintained a smile on her face. She stood in the stairwell to say goodbye to Ye Feng, telling him to be careful on the road. Raindrops fell from the umbrella in Ye Feng’s hand onto the ground. Watching the falling raindrops, Fei Ni wondered when the rain would stop. Fang Muyang had probably returned to the hospital long ago. She didn’t know if he had made it in time for the cafeteria’s meal hours. She had forgotten to tell him he didn’t need to return the umbrella, and she was afraid he might come back to return it…
Fei Ni went upstairs. The door to the washroom was open, and she immediately saw Second Sister washing dishes inside.
Fei Ni turned off the tap in front of Second Sister and pulled the basin toward herself. "Go rest, I’ll wash them."
Second Sister teased her, "Why did it take so long to see him off? What secret words couldn’t be said at the dinner table?"
Fei Ni didn’t respond. Second Sister thought she was just embarrassed."Our factory was disposing of defective fabric, so I brought you back a piece. It's enough to make two shirts. You haven't made any new clothes in two years, have you?"
"I just made a skirt last month."
"That's old homespun cloth from years ago. Even Mom thought the pattern was outdated, though it looks surprisingly nice on you. Ye Feng seems like a good guy—he has proper table manners. You can tell he's never gone hungry, unlike your brother-in-law who eats like a starving ghost reincarnated. Clearly, he often went hungry as a child."
Fei Ni detected a hint of tenderness beneath the teasing.
"I think he's good too, but he might not be satisfied with me."
Her second sister laughed. "You didn't see how he looked at you—he's extremely satisfied with you."
Fei Ni fell silent. Times had changed.
After seeing off the second sister and her husband, Old Fei took out the bag Fang Muyang had brought and said to Fei Ni, "This is from Xiao Fang for you.Fei Ni opened the bag and found malted milk powder, American powdered milk, chocolate, and five apples.
"Dad, why did you accept his gifts? You know he doesn't even have a job and relies on subsidies to get by."
"I didn't know he'd be so generous. Should I find out where he lives and return it? That kid—why did he give so much?"
"Don't bother; it'll just cause more confusion. Keep it for yourself."
In high spirits, Old Fei decided to use his long-unused hand-cranked gramophone. He had bought it to listen to Zhou Xuan's songs, but now Zhou Xuan wasn't allowed. He dug out a record titled "The Commune Members Are All Sunflowers" from the cabinet.
The room filled with an atmosphere of vigorous, uplifting hope.
Among the stack of records was a foreign one wrapped in 1960s newspaper. Old Fei could recognize a few of the foreign letters individually, but together, he wondered what they meant.
He asked his daughter, "Where did this one come from?"
Fei Ni took the record, glanced at both sides, rewrapped it in the newspaper, and carried it into the inner room. She retrieved a locked box from the corner.
The box and its contents were things she had tricked out of Fang Muyang. The last time she had opened it was the previous year.
After locking the box, Fei Ni picked up a basin and headed to the water room. The door was shut tight, probably because men were showering inside. The building had no bathing facilities; residents had to go to the public bathhouse or use the factory's showers. The door opened, and three men came out, one of them a shirtless boy around ten years old. Fei Ni averted her gaze as if she hadn't seen them. She turned on the faucet, scrubbed her face vigorously, and squeezed toothpaste for a long time—she needed to buy a new tube tomorrow.
A fly buzzed annoyingly in the water room.
Fei Ni had once hated flies, but for reasons different from most people's. In elementary school, she got perfect scores in every subject, but there was one area where she fell short. The school campaigned to eliminate the four pests, and students had to hand in dead flies daily. On her way to and from school, Fei Ni carried a floral backpack, a glass jar, and a flyswatter, searching for flies, but she never managed to kill a single one. Every time the honor roll for pest elimination was posted, she was ranked last in her class.Her brief connection with Fang Muyang also began because of flies. The students at their school ate lunch on campus, but the poor harvest in the countryside had affected the school meals. The vegetable porridge had so few grains of rice that one could count them. Most children brought steamed rolls or other snacks from home, while those who didn’t brought money and food coupons to buy their own meals.
After finishing lunch, Fei Ni took a fly swatter and wandered around the campus searching for flies. Instead of swatting a fly, she accidentally hit the plump arm of an older male student. Before she could apologize, the boy stomped on her feet twice and told her to watch where she was going. His physique was uncommon at the time—clearly, his family didn’t lack oil or fine grains. Such a round arm could never have been nourished by vegetable porridge and cornbread alone. Fei Ni protested, "Why are you stepping on me?" The boy retorted, "So what if I step on you, little girl? If you don’t watch it, I’ll kick you too." Fang Muyang happened to witness the latter part of the scene. He recognized the girl with two braids, wearing a white blouse and floral skirt and holding a fly swatter, as Fei Ni from his class. Without waiting for her to ask for help, he rushed over and kicked the boy several times, declaring that if he ever saw him bullying a girl from their class again, he’d make him vomit everything he’d eaten.
The boy recognized Fang Muyang and threatened to report him to his parents. Fang Muyang looked completely unfazed and told him to go ahead.
Fei Ni hid her hands holding the fly swatter and glass jar behind her back and thanked Fang Muyang. He generously replied that classmates should help each other, adding, "If I were in trouble, you’d definitely help me too, right?" Fei Ni couldn’t very well say no. Fang Muyang then said he was very hungry and wanted to eat a spiral-shaped baked pancake. Could she lend him five cents and one liang of food coupons? Fei Ni said she had no money on her, and Fang Muyang looked disappointed. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, since she had just received his help, she handed him the fly swatter, set down the empty glass jar, and rummaged through her bag. She pulled out a vitamin bread wrapped in wax paper—something she had saved up for over a week to buy. It was meant as a birthday gift for her brother, whose birthday was the next day.
Before handing the bread to Fang Muyang, Fei Ni clutched the wax-paper-wrapped loaf tightly, squeezing it smaller. She said, "If you can give me the money for the bread tomorrow, I’ll let you have it now."
Fang Muyang agreed readily.
The next day, instead of repaying the money, Fang Muyang brought Fei Ni a pencil case labeled "Made in England." He told her that the pencil case was easily worth ten loaves of bread and that he was offering it as payment.
Fei Ni said she already had a pencil case and only wanted the money and food coupons back. She insisted that Fang Muyang simply return what he owed.
Fang Muyang still showed no intention of repaying her. He told her he had no money at the moment and that if she wanted the money and coupons, she’d have to wait. In the meantime, he could leave the pencil case as collateral and redeem it with cash later.
"You promised to pay me back today," she said. She knew he had money—he often ate imported canned meat for lunch before. His grandmother had visited him in a German car and even donated a piano to the school.Fang Muyang grinned at her, revealing a row of white teeth, and said with a roguish tone, "But plans can't keep up with changes. The consignment store wouldn't take my pencil case, so there's nothing I can do. Didn't you say classmates should help each other?"
Fei Ni was so frustrated by his shamelessness that she started crying. Fang Muyang tried to comfort her: "Don't cry. In a few days, I'll pay you back double the grain coupons and money."
"Really?"
"Really, I'm not lying. My grandmother went to Indonesia. When she comes back, I'll have money."
"Don't your parents give you money?" Though young, Fei Ni knew Fang Muyang's parents earned significantly more than hers. Her own parents gave her a few cents daily for pocket money, so how could Fang Muyang have none at all?
Fang Muyang answered with silence. His parents had sent him to boarding school, where he ate all three meals. He couldn't even go home for a decent meal, let alone receive pocket money.
Fei Ni had no choice but to have Fang Muyang write an IOU. She gave the "Made in England" pencil case to her brother as a birthday gift. Fortunately, her brother was happy with it.
The next morning, Fei Ni found Fang Muyang and asked, "Do you still need to borrow money? If you can pay back double, I'll lend you more."
"No problem. Whatever you lend me, I'll pay back double." He asked Fei Ni, "How much can you lend me?"
Fei Ni pulled a two-cent coin from her dress pocket.
Though broke, Fang Muyang still looked down on two cents. "This isn't even enough to buy a spiral pancake."
"You'll really pay me back double?"
"Really, just give me the money. If you don't believe me, how about I give you my violin as collateral?"
"I don't know how to play. It's useless to me."
"I really will pay you back."
Fei Ni believed him and hesitantly took out a five-cent coin and a grain coupon.
Fang Muyang snatched them. "How much more do you have? Give it all to me. When my grandmother comes back, I'll treat you to chocolate and cream cake, okay?"
"Just pay me back. You don't need to treat me."
Fei Ni wanted to lend Fang Muyang more money since he promised double repayment, but she had spent all her savings on bread, which Fang Muyang had eaten. She could only try to get more from her parents. She claimed her lunch wasn't enough, and they believed her, giving her an extra five cents and one liang of grain coupons daily. She passed these to Fang Muyang in exchange for more IOUs.
As the IOUs piled up, Fei Ni grew increasingly uneasy. She asked Fang Muyang when he would repay her.
Each time, Fang Muyang said, "Soon, don't worry."
Fei Ni worried Fang Muyang might starve before repaying. When her family bought biscuits, she didn't eat them but secretly wrapped some in paper and gave them to Fang Muyang during lunch. He nearly ate the paper along with the biscuits. She also brought him the half-eaten steamed rolls she saved.
One day, Fei Ni gave Fang Muyang ten cents. He asked why there was more today.
Fei Ni said five cents was from her movie ticket money.
Fang Muyang said, "You're really something. Why pay to watch movies? I can take you to our compound's auditorium for free films. You can't see these outside. If you want, I can take you."
"When can we go?"
"Next Sunday. I'll come to your place. Where do you live?"
Fei Ni gave him an address.On the appointed day, Fei Ni deliberately changed into a white blouse and blue skirt, tying her two braids with blue-and-white polka dot ribbons. In her floral backpack were the preserved plums her mother had bought for her, which she planned to share with Fang Muyang during the movie. She had decided not to demand double repayment anymore—just returning the exact amount would suffice. But she waited until dark, and he never showed up. The next day, she learned that Fang Muyang had generously forgotten his previous promise. Fei Ni swore that no matter how much Fang Muyang begged, she would never lend him money or food coupons again to buy spiral pancakes. Yet Fang Muyang didn’t give her that chance—his painting had won an award, he had reconciled with his parents, no longer needing to board at school and could eat at home every day; most importantly, his grandmother had returned, and he could once again enjoy pastries made by the French baker at the bakery. Why would he care about her spiral pancakes?
Not only did he repay Fei Ni double the money, but he also gave her a full kraft paper bag filled with chocolates and candies.
Fei Ni didn’t take his chocolates and candies, even though she really wanted her family to taste them.
Looking at the money and food coupons in her hand, Fei Ni forced a smile at Fang Muyang: "Next time, if you need to borrow money, you can still come to me. Just repay me double the amount—I don’t want anything else."
Fei Ni took the money and food coupons to the grocery store and bought five vitamin breads—one for each of her parents, older brother, older sister, and herself. When paying, she felt quite generous.
The five breads nearly burst her floral backpack. Arriving home, she pulled them out of her bag and placed them on the dining table. To prevent her family from saving them for later, she tore off the wax paper wrappers and placed the breads on saucers.
Fei Ni didn’t mention her lending activities; she only said the money was from her savings.
Her family felt heartbroken upon hearing this—saving so much money meant Fei Ni hadn’t spent a single cent of her allowance, not even buying a single red bean popsicle in such hot weather. But since Fei Ni had already torn off the wrappers, they had no choice but to enjoy the bread she had bought.
Watching her family eat the bread she had earned, Fei Ni felt deeply satisfied.
Later, Fang Muyang invited Fei Ni to his grandmother’s house to eat fruit cream cake, but Fei Ni declined. She felt a little disappointed—this guy probably wouldn’t borrow money from her again to buy spiral pancakes. Where else could she earn double the profit?
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