The bicycle bell rang as it wobbled towards the three people, causing them to quickly jump out of the way. Zhao Guihua, never one to hold her tongue, immediately started scolding: "Do you even know how to ride a bike? Are you in such a hurry to meet your maker? The road is so wide, yet you're aiming straight at people - are you blind?"
Zhao Guihua had been hot-tempered all her life, and she wasn't about to be polite. Then she took a closer look - oh, it was a familiar face, that young man Bai Fendou from their courtyard. Bai Fendou steadied his bicycle and chuckled, saying, "Auntie Zhao, your temper is too hot! You just got a daughter-in-law, this isn't good behavior. You might scare your new daughter-in-law."
He glanced at the Zhuang family's new daughter-in-law, thinking to himself that she was quite a beauty, though her taste in men was questionable - passing up a capable man like himself with strong features, only to choose that pretty boy Zhuang Third.
"What are you looking at? This is my daughter-in-law, and no matter how much you look, she has nothing to do with you. Watch out, or I'll gouge your eyes out!" Zhao Guihua could tell from his wandering eyes that he was up to no good.
Bai Fendou's head hurt from her shouting, and he quickly bowed: "Oh, auntie, please don't shout. I just took a quick glance. How could I have any thoughts? I'm not that kind of person."
Zhao Guihua let out a cold laugh and said, "You're not getting any younger. My third son is already married, you should hurry up and find yourself a wife."
Hearing this, Bai Fendou immediately straightened up, proudly patting his bicycle and boasting, "Look, I bought a bicycle! I'm a man with wheels now! Finding a wife will be easy! Not to mention, when I stand with my bike at Wangfujing, plenty of young ladies come to chat me up."
Zhao Guihua's mouth twitched as she said, "Who are you calling 'man' to?"
Zhuang Zhixi immediately chimed in: "Mom, he's being disrespectful to you."
Seeing the mother and son team up, Bai Fendou quickly said, "Zhuang Zhixi, you little brat, stop stirring things up. Auntie, that's not what I meant, I was just talking about my bike..."
He had bought a bicycle, yes he had - and not just any bicycle, but a Forever brand!
Why couldn't they see that? Why weren't they impressed?
Bai Fendou couldn't understand it.
Zhao Guihua glanced at the bicycle, completely unimpressed, and said, "It's just a bicycle, what's there to show off about? Can you even ride it properly? You nearly crashed into people just now, I think you need more practice!"
"Hey, it's not just any bicycle - does your family have one?" Then he slapped his forehead and said, "Oh right, you do have one - your younger daughter-in-law brought it as part of her dowry!" After saying this, afraid that Zhao Guihua might explode, he quickly turned his bike around and pedaled away like the wind.
He even spread his arms wide and shouted: "Ah, freedom like the wind!"
Zhao Guihua laughed and cursed: "That fool! Just not right in the head."
Ming Mei burst out laughing, while Zhuang Zhixi wondered aloud: "Why did he come to the courtyard and leave without going in? What was the point of riding back?"
Zhao Guihua pursed her lips: "Who knows what that oddball is up to."
Zhuang Zhixi looked back at the courtyard, then in the direction Bai Fendou had left, raising his eyebrows and saying: "It's his work time now, and he came back to the courtyard without even coming in..." He paused, noticing both his mother and wife staring at him.
He said: "Could it be... he just came back to show off his new bike?"
Zhao Guihua was speechless: "..."
She had thought he might say something more profound.
However, Ming Mei nodded in agreement: "That's possible, very possible."
Buying a bicycle was something to show off about - when she bought her new bike, she had ridden it around their compound three times.
Zhao Guihua was once again speechless: "..."
She had forgotten how difficult it was to buy a bicycle these days. Besides saving up the money, getting a purchase voucher was even harder - they were extremely rare. Even at their large state-owned machinery factory in the capital, they only received a limited number of vouchers each year. It was even worse elsewhere.
So having a bicycle was indeed something worth showing off.
"Let's keep an eye out for an opportunity this year, if we can get a voucher, we'll buy one too," Zhao Guihua said. Although their younger daughter-in-law Ming Mei had brought a bicycle as part of her dowry, she needed it for work.
Zhuang Zhixi immediately turned around, shocked to hear these words from his mother. His mother was known for being very careful with money, and in all these years, no matter who had bought a bicycle, she had never shown any interest.
And now she was saying this?
Zhao Guihua glared at him: "What's that look for?"
Zhuang Zhixi: "Mom, are you possessed or something?"
Ming Mei couldn't help but burst out laughing again. She playfully scolded, "Mom, don't hit him, let me teach him a lesson for talking nonsense."
Her small hand gave Zhuang Zhixi a pinch, making him cry out dramatically and look at his wife with an exaggerated expression of pain. Zhao Guihua sneered: "Stop putting on an act, she barely touched you."
In the dead of winter, with such thick cotton-padded jackets, the pinch probably hadn't even reached his skin, yet here he was acting up.
She looked at her younger son and daughter-in-law, saying: "You two are putting on a show right in front of me, do you think I can't tell?"
Ming Mei immediately said: "Mom's so perceptive."
She was quick with her flattery, saying: "You're so clever, how could anything escape your notice? I knew we couldn't fool you, so please forgive me, okay?"
Zhao Guihua: "Oh, go on, when did I ever blame you? Alright, we've walked around this alley enough, let's head back."
Just as the three were about to return home, they saw several familiar aunties walking back excitedly, each carrying fish. One of them called out from afar: "Guihua, quick, go home and get money, the food store has fish in stock!"
Zhao Guihua switched into shopping mode instantly - panic buying was in her genes.
Without another word, she ran back home. She moved so fast that Zhuang Zhixi and Ming Mei could only look at each other in amazement. Ming Mei genuinely marveled: "She's like a sprinter!"
Zhuang Zhixi laughed and said: "Come on, let's go back too."
Before they could even enter the house, they ran into Zhao Guihua coming out. Ming Mei quickly asked: "Mom, shall I come with you?"
Zhao Guihua waved her hand and darted out the door with remarkable agility. Zhuang Zhixi smiled and guided his wife inside. Their family had three and a half rooms - his parents had one large room, while another was divided into two sections for the family's dining area.
Zhuang Zhiyuan's family of four occupied one and a half rooms, and Zhuang Zhixi had one room.
Though Zhuang Zhixi's space wasn't large, he had installed a bead curtain divider about a meter high. Behind it was a double bed and wardrobe, while the outer area had tables and chairs, with a nine-drawer chest and storage cabinet arranged against the wall.
Although they didn't have many possessions, everything was neat, orderly, and cozy.
As soon as the couple entered, Zhuang Zhixi poured his wife a cup of hot water, saying: "It's cold, some hot water will warm you up."
Being alone together, both still felt somewhat shy. Ming Mei glanced at Zhuang Zhixi, pursed her lips, and said: "You should drink some hot water too."
Zhuang Zhixi laughed and said: "I'm fine, I'm a man, I run hot."
Their eyes met, and Zhuang Zhixi seemed to remember something. He quickly got up, first sneaking a peek outside the door, then returned to take out a tin box from the nine-drawer chest, whispering: "Here's some candy for you."
Ming Mei matched his whispered tone: "Why are you being so secretive?"
Zhuang Zhixi: "If those two little ones see this, they'll definitely ask me for some. I bought this with my private money."
Ming Mei laughed softly, her long eyelashes fluttering like little fans, and whispered: "You're their uncle, and you're being stingy about this?"
"How can I not be?" Zhuang Zhixi was quite righteous about it, saying: "My sister-in-law has her own private money too, but she doesn't buy candy for the kids. Besides, my mom dotes on her eldest grandson the most, they won't go without."
Ming Mei blinked again, and Zhuang Zhixi, seeing her coquettish expression, couldn't resist reaching out to hold her small hand. Her hand was soft and delicate, and Zhuang Zhixi said very softly: "Your little hand is so soft..."
Ming Mei blushed, her fair cheeks turning rosy pink as she said softly, "It's broad daylight, you should be more careful..."
Zhuang Zhixi: "Should I lock the door then?"
Ming Mei quickly pulled her hand away and chided, "What nonsense are you talking about? Even with the door locked, we can't!"
Afraid he might try something inappropriate in broad daylight, especially when she could hear people talking in the courtyard, she not only withdrew her hand but also moved her chair away, deliberately changing the subject: "Let's have some candy!"
She opened the box and, seeing the sorghum candy, picked one up and held it to Zhuang Zhixi's lips. His eyes lit up as he looked at his wife. Ming Mei playfully scolded, "Well, eat it!"
Zhuang Zhixi laughed and bent down to take the candy in his mouth, saying earnestly, "It's really sweet."
Ming Mei unwrapped another piece and put it in her own mouth, nodding in agreement - it was indeed very sweet.
She only ate one piece before closing the box and putting it back in the cabinet, saying cheerfully, "We'll save the rest for later."
Sitting back down, she scooted closer to Zhuang Zhixi with a gossipy look and asked, "Brother Zhixi, I never thought your family would have such sophisticated things as family meetings! Can you guess what Mother-in-law wants to discuss?"
Although Ming Mei had dreamed about Zhao Guihua's entire life, how could one dream reveal every detail of a person's life? After all, she had only gotten a glimpse.
Ming Mei was particularly curious: "In your family meetings, does everyone have to speak?"
She immediately sprang into action: "If everyone needs to speak, I should write a speech. After all, I'm the new daughter-in-law - I can't mess this up."
Zhuang Zhixi quickly stopped her, shaking his head: "In my family's meetings, my mother runs a one-woman show. You just need to listen - she doesn't want your opinion or your speech."
Ming Mei: "...Oh."
She felt disappointed that she wouldn't get to speak.
Zhuang Zhixi saw her expression and chuckled, "You really wanted to speak, didn't you?"
Ming Mei nodded immediately, being completely honest with her husband: "I missed a perfect opportunity to openly flatter Mother-in-law."
She had wanted to praise her mother-in-law from every possible angle during her speech - what a shame!
Zhuang Zhixi's mouth twitched again as he said sincerely, "You don't need to keep flattering my mother for my sake. She's like a tiger - you can't pat her behind. She doesn't fall for that kind of thing. If I can't do it, you definitely can't."
Ming Mei lifted her chin proudly: "Hey, just because you can't doesn't mean I can't! I'm quite skilled at flattery, you know."
Zhuang Zhixi said quietly: "Who can't what?"
Ming Mei: "You, of course~ Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing... don't..."
Zhuang Zhixi made as if to do something indescribable, and Ming Mei quickly caught on, making a big X with her arms in defense, laughing, "Don't mess around, okay? That's not what I meant... Can't you be more serious?"
Zhuang Zhixi saw her shy face turning red and laughed too. He was only joking, but he quickly became serious and pretended to be fierce: "Well then, tell me, am I capable or not?"
Ming Mei: "Yes, yes, yes, you're very capable, okay? We were talking about flattery!!!"
This man was taking advantage of the situation to misbehave.
Ming Mei's eyes were wide as she said, "Stop fooling around or I'll have to use force - I'm a martial arts expert!"
Zhuang Zhixi: "Pfft! How can you tell such tall tales?"
Ming Mei blinked: Doesn't he know? She wasn't making it up at all?
