This was the largest courtyard in Yanguan Village, with eight spacious rooms of 40 square meters each. Chen Meilan had built it brick by brick with Chen Degong, while Yan Xishan was responsible for earning money outside, and she took charge of building the house at home.
When laying the foundation, they had planned for a second floor, so the foundation was dug deep enough to support even three or four stories in the future.
After taking a bath, Chen Meilan stumbled over something as she entered the house. With a clatter, a large box of mahjong tiles spilled across the floor.
Although they were still farmers, all the villagers' land had been requisitioned, leaving them with plenty of free time. Many enjoyed playing mahjong, so every household had a set.
But Chen Meilan never played mahjong; these tiles belonged to Yan Xishan.
Why keep the belongings of her worthless ex-husband? She decided to throw them out. Chen Meilan also needed to clear out the wardrobe, which contained several floral shirts and jeans, all belonging to Yan Xishan. She tossed them all away.
She then went through the photo albums in the cabinet, cutting out Yan Xishan from any picture he appeared in, decisively splitting the photos in two.
After spending half the evening busy with this task and returning from disposing of the garbage, she noticed a pair of bright eyes in the darkness, gleaming through the glass window like an agile cat. It was Yan Xiaowang, watching her.
But as soon as he saw her come in, the little fellow quickly lay down, pretending to be asleep and even making soft snoring sounds like a purring cat.
The three children lay side by side on the kang bed, bathed in moonlight. The chubby one in the middle had the fairest skin, while Zhaodi's eyelashes were like two large fans, still fluttering in her sleep.
Chen Meilan turned on the light and was about to close her eyes when Yan Xiaowang suddenly said, "I saw you throw away the mahjong tiles earlier."
"I don't play mahjong, so why keep them? Do you want to play?" Chen Meilan asked in return.
"Only good-for-nothing rascals play mahjong," the little boy shot back before quickly adding, "Snore, snore."
This little one was not only stubborn but also proud.
Early the next morning, at the house of Village Secretary Yan Xiong, Sister-in-law Mao arrived carrying a large box of mahjong tiles. She cheerfully showed them to Yan Xiong, saying, "Look at this, a perfectly good set of mahjong tiles thrown in the garbage heap. I picked them all up for us. Only missing a one of circles and a white dragon tile."
Yan Xiong looked at them and paused: "These are ivory mahjong tiles. They belong to Yan Xishan and must have cost several hundred yuan. How did Meilan dare to throw away Xishan's mahjong set? Could her new man in Xiping City have more influence than Xishan?"
"It was too dark for me to see clearly, but he was quite tall and had two children with him," Sister-in-law Mao said softly. "Xishan has so many connections in the city, I've heard many police officers are his sworn brothers. When a man divorces, it's one thing if he wronged his wife, but if the wife brings another man to live in his house, I don't think he'll let it go easily."
"Xishan's current connections and background are formidable. He also has many thugs and henchmen under him. In my opinion, unless Meilan has found the chief of police, she won't be able to live peacefully in that courtyard," Yan Xiong remarked.
"The chief of police wouldn't marry our Meilan, a divorcee. She's lucky if any man wants her," Sister-in-law Mao sighed. "Meilan's going to have a tough time."
Yan Xiong also sighed inadvertently, then took the mahjong set outside and placed it in a conspicuous spot on the garbage platform. He didn't dare keep these tiles.
Early in the morning, Chen Meilan boiled a large pot of water, intending to make Little Lang and Zhaodi take a bath.
The two children had slept through the night and had made her new bedding smell.
Little Lang was truly dirty. His feet looked like they hadn't been washed in ages, with dirt caked so thickly on the soles that it couldn't be scrubbed off. She had to lather them with soap and let them soak for a while.
The chubby little boy had a round belly. He sat in the large washbasin, letting Yan Xiaowang scrub him all over, sprawled out like a starfish, looking sly and comfortable.
Zhaodi was perhaps too enthusiastic towards the two boys, busying herself finding towels and toothbrushes for Xiaowang, and eagerly wanting to teach him how to wash his face and brush his teeth.
But Yan Xiaowang didn't appreciate her efforts. He set aside Zhaodi's things and only used the toothpaste and soap his father had brought.
He also refused Zhaodi's help, waiting for the dirt on Little Lang's skin to soften before scrubbing him himself. After scrubbing, he even knew to mix in some hot water and rinse Little Lang with clean water again.
"Mama, Xiaowang brother doesn't seem very happy," Zhaodi whispered, following close behind Chen Meilan.
The two families had just been thrown together. Little Lang was carefree and oblivious.
But Xiaowang was older, and his mother wasn't dead. The child probably missed his own mother most of all. Being suddenly brought by his father to such a strange environment, how could he be happy?
Zhaodi had once been like Yan Xiaowang is now, half-understanding, arriving in a completely new environment. Even without being scared, she was like a frightened bird, trembling alone.
If you're not nice to him, he's afraid; if you're nice to him, he's still afraid. It's better not to bother him and let him be himself.
The stove at home hadn't been cleaned, so they couldn't cook. They had to go out to buy breakfast.
Fried dough sticks, meat in flatbread, and soy milk, along with half a bowl of tofu pudding, two tea eggs, and some pickled vegetables.
Fortunately, prices were cheap now. This whole breakfast only cost about two yuan, enough to fill up one adult and three children.
After getting breakfast, Chen Meilan specifically advised Zhaodi: "Since Xiaowang doesn't want to talk to you, you shouldn't bother him either. You're not familiar enough yet. If people are too friendly with strangers, it can scare them. Okay?"
Zhaodi bit her lip and said reluctantly, "Okay!"
After running a few steps ahead, she turned back and said, "I like our new daddy because he doesn't come home at night."
Liking someone because they don't come home at night, what kind of logic is that?
The village women were quite nosy. Some with curlers in their hair, others with cucumber slices on their faces, they all pretended to be visiting neighbors or sunbathing while actually standing at Chen Meilan's door, curiously peering into the courtyard at the two little boys.
The yard was full of vegetables. One boy was running wild through the vegetable patch, while the other sat on the steps, head down, fixing a broken tape recorder.
Actually, it could have been repaired, but yesterday's spilled milk had gummed up the components, rendering it completely useless.
Xiaowang felt that this village was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place why. With so many women outside looking him up and down, he felt even more depressed and irritable. He picked up the tape recorder, went out, and threw it onto the garbage heap with a loud crash.
The noise startled Third Sister-in-law Huang. "Why is this child so fierce? He doesn't have a pleasant face either."
Someone chimed in, "I'm worried he might bully Zhaodi."
"He wouldn't dare! Zhaodi's father is a celebrity in our entire Jindong District. Looking at how these two boys are dressed, their father is probably just an ordinary person," Third Sister-in-law Huang sighed.
Xiaowang let out a cold laugh and strode back inside.
Nonsense. His father could kill 30 enemies in a day on the battlefield. How could he be an ordinary person?
"Third Sister-in-law Huang, Second Sister Liu, out for a stroll?" Chen Meilan approached with the breakfast, smiling.
"Meilan, you're willing to spend money on takeout breakfast now?" Third Sister-in-law Huang was particularly surprised. "Didn't you always say that homemade breakfast was tastier and healthier than what you could buy outside?"
She used to say that, and in her previous life, she had maintained the habit of cooking at home for many years.
But what did it amount to in the end?
The first time Lu Dabao learned to drink, he got drunk and hugged her, saying, "Mom, it's a good thing your cooking is delicious. Otherwise, with those rough hands of yours, you wouldn't be worthy of dad's money now."
She had poured her heart and soul into raising someone else's child, only to be seen as nothing more than a rough-handed, thick-skinned old nanny in the child's eyes. In this life, she would live her days as they came, but she wouldn't give her true heart to anyone again.
Watching Meilan enter her house, Third Sister-in-law Huang sighed, "Meilan really has it tough. She probably doesn't even know that Yan Xishan and Hu Xiaomei were fooling around before, and now they're openly together."
Comparing oneself to others can be infuriating. They used to be good friends, but as soon as Meilan left, Hu Xiaomei openly got together with Yan Xishan.
Who would believe they hadn't been involved earlier?
Recently, Yan Xishan bought a Xiali car, and he drives Hu Xiaomei to and from work. She's become the most glamorous figure in all of Yanguan Primary School.
If Meilan found out, she'd be heartbroken.
The freshly fried dough sticks were still crispy on the outside, and the golden egg showed through the mixed grain batter of the jianbing (Chinese crepe). Carrying the breakfast inside, Chen Meilan was followed by the freshly washed Little Lang, who had caught the scent of food.
They ate in Chen Meilan's room, which was a spacious 42 square meters and contained a dining table and small stools.
The weather was hot, and too many vegetables had been planted in the courtyard. In just one night, the window outside was densely covered with moths and flies. As soon as the breakfast was set down, flies swarmed over.
These living conditions were certainly not acceptable and needed improvement.
Screen windows had to be bought to keep out mosquitoes and flies. There were too many vegetable plots in the courtyard; someone needed to be found to dig them up, fill them with cement, and level it into a concrete yard.
Now that air conditioning was available, Chen Meilan thought about buying two units to bring back. With warmth in winter and coolness in summer, there would be no need for a stove anymore.
A refrigerator was also necessary. After all, for three meals a day, how could one cook without a fridge?
As the children wolfed down their breakfast, Chen Meilan made a long list for herself, full of essential household items that needed to be purchased.
Little Wang seemed to really enjoy the meat-stuffed flatbread, but he only tore off half and ate it very slowly, chewing particularly carefully.
Although he was only in first grade, he knew quite a few characters because he had been running around outside all the time.
Seeing the words "refrigerator" written on the paper, he snorted through his nose. Though he had been trying hard to remain aloof and not talk to this unfamiliar aunt, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Auntie, you're not thinking of buying a refrigerator, are you?"
"I am," said Chen Meilan.
The little boy then threw out a question that caught her completely off guard: "Can I use your refrigerator to store popsicles and then sell them outside?"
Where did a six or seven-year-old child get such a good business sense from?
The tape recorder was broken so he couldn't sell cassettes anymore, so he wanted to switch to selling popsicles.
Was this really the good-for-nothing his mother had described? Wasn't he breaking character?
"Sure," Chen Meilan said readily.
The little fellow sniffled again, rubbed his hands, picked up the bowl he had eaten breakfast from, and went to wash it even more efficiently than his father: "Then let's go buy a refrigerator today."
In this early 1990s, an era that would later be remembered as a time of golden opportunities everywhere, Chen Meilan hadn't yet planned how she would make money, but her stepson, who had only been in the house for a day, was already ambitious about earning money.
He was different from Lu Dabao and Lv Erniu. He didn't flatter her on the surface, nor did he roll his eyes at her in secret, and he didn't bully Zhaodi either.
Instead, he was like Zhaodi from her previous life, single-mindedly wanting to make money and become independent, to break away from the family.
Chen Meilan particularly admired this kind of ambition.
"Finish that other half of the egg pancake first. You'll need strength to carry the refrigerator. I'm afraid that by the time I buy the fridge, you'll be too weak to lift it," Chen Meilan said, holding back her laughter as she teased the little fellow.
The young boy once again surprised Chen Meilan. He ran to the kitchen, carefully picked out a lump of red chili oil from a small bowl with chopsticks, and tucked it into his flatbread. Only then did he sigh, taking a big bite.
That bit of chili oil was from last night's "oil-splashed" noodles. He hadn't been willing to eat it then, so he saved it for his flatbread today?
This kid really knew how to eat.
One bite after another, it was all fuel for his ambition to leave home, establish himself, and strive for success.
