Love Story in the 1970s

The two families exchanged compliments.

The Fang parents said their daughter-in-law was wonderful, thanking the in-laws for raising such a fine child; the Fei parents likewise praised their son-in-law.

When Fei Ma boasted about her own family, she preferred to use others' words rather than her own. Instead of saying directly how good her son-in-law was, she mentioned how everyone envied her for having such a fine son-in-law. To back up his wife's claims, Old Fei cited numerous examples, such as how Fang Muyang had helped their family build an earthquake shelter during a quake—not just for them, but for others as well. Old Fang hadn't heard this from his son and, learning it from his in-laws, felt his son was quite like himself: both modest and chivalrous, proving the power of genetics. At this point, Old Fang regarded his son as a personal asset and modestly brushed it off on his behalf, saying it was nothing special and just what he ought to do. That was simply their family's way.

Old Fei also praised Fang Muyang's painting skills, noting that the "Five Blessings Arriving" piece hanging in their living room was painted by Fang Muyang, and everyone who saw it couldn't help but admire it. Opposite the "Five Blessings Arriving" was "Everything as Wished," also painted by Fang Muyang. Gazing at the five bats and cluster of persimmons in the paintings, Old Fei let out a long sigh. From Old Fang's perspective, he naturally looked down on these two paintings—his wayward son had embarrassed himself at his in-laws' home. He cursed his son inwardly for being so disappointing, recalling how the rebellious youth had once defaced their own walls. Back then, Old Fang had no choice but to call in a favor to find him a teacher from the Chinese Painting Academy, hoping he'd at least paint better when doodling at home. But the boy hadn't studied long before switching to oil painting. If he had persisted longer back then, he wouldn't be producing such work now.

He had spent money and used connections to have his son learn painting, and during holidays, despite the poor quality, he'd ask the boy to paint New Year's cards for him. Yet he couldn't even get him to do that without bribes—the son demanded ice skates and a meal at a Western restaurant. Not one to indulge such behavior, Old Fang bought the skates but skipped the Western meal, taking him to a Chinese restaurant instead to teach him that the world doesn't revolve around his whims. Later, feeling this lesson wasn't harsh enough, he sent the boy to boarding school and forbade him from coming home for meals to instill gratitude. After this discipline, the son improved for a while, no longer making demands and even offering to paint the cards voluntarily. Old Fang, thinking his guidance had paid off, asked what reward he wanted. The son said none was needed—helping his father was his duty. Pleased, Old Fang rewarded him with a Western meal and a fine instrument.

Now, years later, compared to the saved New Year's card, there was little progress. He hadn't grasped the essence of freehand brushwork but had picked up petty cleverness. It was bad enough that his Chinese paintings were poor, but he had the nerve not to hide his flaws, shamelessly displaying his inferior works in his in-laws' living space, which also served as a bedroom.

If his former collection were still intact, he would have given the in-laws two proper pieces to replace his son's paintings—better to embarrass themselves at home.

But with his collection lost, he could only cover for his son: "He studied oil painting from a young age, so his Chinese painting isn't skilled."

Fei Ma said, "I don't understand Western or Chinese painting, but these pictures make me happy."Old Fang was quite satisfied with his in-laws' family, but he also noticed their lack of wealth. The in-laws had retired early and were living on meager pensions. They had painstakingly saved up a dowry for their daughter, only to have their unfilial son sweet-talk them out of the money—spending it not just on himself but on them as well. How outrageous! Even in his wildest youth, Old Fang had only squandered his own family's money. Later, for the sake of a righteous cause, he had reached into his own family's coffers, taking money only from his grandfather and great-grandfather—never from his in-laws, even though they were quite wealthy. Who had this unfilial son learned such behavior from? While feeling indignant, Old Fang also found the gesture somewhat commendable—after all, the money had been spent on gifts for them.

The more he realized this family's financial constraints, the more uncomfortable Old Fang felt. This discomfort made him increasingly polite. Knowing they had gone out of their way to prepare, he showered them with compliments, even praising their watermelon as superior to the ones he usually bought.

After the exchange of pleasantries, it was nearly mealtime. Old Fang suggested the whole family eat out at a restaurant.

Fang Muyang had already arranged for two taxis—one for his parents and in-laws to share, and another for his elder siblings. As for him and Fei Ni, they wouldn't squeeze into the cars but would ride their bicycles to the restaurant.

No sooner had he made the arrangements than Fei Ni hopped onto the back of Fang Muyang's bicycle, leaving no room for polite refusals. Fei Ni recalled her childhood, riding home from Fang Muyang's grandmother's house. The car that day, she remembered, had been longer than the taxis today.

Fang Muyang pedaled at a decent pace, but they still fell behind the cars.

"The old man found out two days ago that I've been riding your bicycle. He said he'd buy me one, but I told him to just give me the money instead. If I got a new bike, who would be your personal chauffeur?"

"Step on it, driver."

"As you wish."

Fei Ni laughed and brought up the topic of moving: "My family doesn't agree to us switching apartments. What do you think we should do?"

Though she said they disagreed with switching apartments, what they really opposed was the idea of them renting.

"You really want to move?"

"Don't you want to move out too?"

"I do, but you're in such a hurry—where would we live?" He had long planned to rent a place, but he hadn't expected Fei Ni to act so swiftly. He had only mentioned it the day before, and the very next day she was ready to make the change.

Fei Ni laughed again. "Stop pretending. Knowing you, I'm sure you've already looked at several places—you might even have one picked out."

He had indeed viewed multiple properties and even settled on one to rent, but they couldn't move in immediately.

The place he had chosen consisted of three small rooms. Though not entirely self-contained, it had a moon gate that somewhat separated it from the outside. The landlord had agreed to let him seal off the moon gate and open a small door on the east side, and was willing to sign a long-term lease. The landlords were an elderly couple who had only recently regained ownership of the courtyard. However, the current tenants inside the moon gate needed another month to move into the new housing assigned by the property management bureau. Even after they left, he couldn't move in right away because the place had some of the drawbacks Lin Mei had mentioned, and it required significant renovations.

With Fei Ni so eager to move, their immediate living situation had become a problem.Fang Muyang laughed, "How do you know me so well? I've taken a liking to a place, but it doesn't quite meet your requirements—it has one extra room and costs two dollars more. However, your parents and siblings would be willing to let us move in if they saw it."

Fang Muyang briefly explained the situation and mentioned the rent amount.

"So cheap? Are you fooling me again?"

"The landlord is willing to rent it to honest and reliable people. If they find someone trustworthy, they'd rather charge a bit less."

"You, honest and reliable?"

"Didn't you marry me because I'm honest and reliable? As for whether I'm tricking you, you'll see when you check the lease. There's just one thing—the place won't be available for another month or so. If you're not willing, I can keep looking, but it's unlikely we'll find such a suitable place anytime soon, and even if we do, we might not be able to move in right away."

"But the person swapping houses seems to be in a hurry. They definitely won't give us that much time."

"If it really doesn't work out, we can stay at my mom's place for a few days. Once the house is ready, we can move out."

"Is it appropriate to move around like that?"

"My mom will definitely understand. As for my dad, he's unemployed now, and to assert his presence, he'd be thrilled to have me move in so he can 'educate' me. Once he gets a job and people start flocking to him for advice, he'll find me annoying, and I'll move out then. In a way, I'd be doing him a favor—he'll be grateful."

It was only after seeing her in-laws' new home that Fei Ma truly grasped the disparity between the two families. Renting a car was expensive, but for someone like her, who rushed to the market on a tight schedule, she could scrape together the money if she were determined to put on a show. But a house was different.

Their living room was as big as her entire home; the kitchen was spacious too, with room for a dining area.

Fei Ma was inwardly astonished, but she didn't show any surprise on her face. She only praised the house's orientation and floor at the right moments. What comforted her was that her in-laws didn't act the least bit arrogant about living in such a nice place.

Although Old Fang took great pride in his literary talent, having been criticized for years as useless, he felt that someone like him—a "useless scholar"—didn't deserve such a large home. So he said the house was allocated to his wife and he was just benefiting from it. A decade or so ago, Old Fang hadn't thought their current home was particularly big—just adequate. But after years of reform at the agricultural machinery factory, he had learned to be content.