Volume One, Chapter 8: Spare Me This Once

"Well said!"

Someone in the crowd cheered, and the neighbors and passersby watching the spectacle immediately erupted into a buzz of excitement.

"Little Yuan is right! Feudal ideas have no place here. What era do you think this is? You old woman, still clinging to such feudal remnants! If this were a couple of years ago, you’d have been dragged onto a stage and subjected to a harsh public struggle session for saying something like that!"

The man speaking was Old Man Qin, Gao Yuan's neighbor. He was a neighborhood security volunteer appointed by the local police station—a man known for being fair, upright, and warm-hearted. Whenever anyone in the hutong faced hardship, Old Man Qin was always there to lend a hand, earning him the love and respect of all the residents.

"Forget a couple of years ago, you can't say things like that even now! If you ask me, with Auntie Liu’s mindset and her malicious attempts to revive the bad customs of the feudal society, she should be sent to the Revolutionary Committee for some socialist re-education."

Another voice rang out from the crowd. Gao Yuan turned to see it was Ma San, who lived at the east end of the alley. He cupped his hands in a gesture of gratitude toward Ma San for his support. Ma San flashed a toothy grin and raised his eyebrows.

Auntie Liu was unpopular in the hutong, all thanks to her sharp, loose tongue.

As one heavy label after another was slapped onto her, Auntie Liu’s face turned deathly pale. She stopped her wailing, seemingly recalling certain dark memories. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, and her lips quivered.

Old Man Qin walked over, glanced at her, and whispered to Gao Yuan, "How about I go to the neighborhood office and have a word with the leaders? Let them come over and handle this?"

"No!" Before Gao Yuan could speak, Auntie Liu scrambled to her feet. She dashed over to Old Man Qin in two strides, grabbed his arm, and pleaded, "Brother Qin, I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong. Please, I beg you, don't report me to the Revolutionary Committee. Give me a chance to correct my mistakes. I’ll apologize to... to Little Gao. Please, for the sake of us all being neighbors, spare me this once."

Old Man Qin gave a cold snort and looked at Gao Yuan. Whether or not to let her off the hook was up to Gao Yuan, the aggrieved party.

Gao Yuan looked at the teary-eyed, terrified woman. He thought to himself that while this woman was sharp-tongued and a bit of a bully, she wasn't quite at the level of actually trying to restore feudalism. The reason he had slapped those labels on her was to deflate her arrogance and teach her a lesson so she would stop gossiping about his family. It was also meant to lay the groundwork for eventually reclaiming their house, not to actually destroy her.

Seeing her cave in, Gao Yuan said to Old Man Qin, "Old Man, let it go. It’s better to be forgiving when you can. As long as Auntie Liu promises to keep that mouth of hers under control from now on and stops badmouthing my family behind our backs or upsetting my parents, we can leave it at this. Besides, the leaders at the neighborhood office are busy. It would be inconsiderate of me to bother them with such trivial neighborly disputes."

Old Man Qin stared at Gao Yuan in surprise, as if he were looking at a stranger. "You kid, since when did you become so sensible?"

The remark made all the neighbors burst into laughter.

Gao Yuan rubbed his nose, looking a bit embarrassed. "I'll be eighteen after the New Year; it wouldn't look right if I were still acting immature."

Old Man Qin patted his arm with a look of relief. "Good lad. Since you don't intend to pursue it, then..." He turned his gaze toward Auntie Liu’s stern, withered face and said in a deep voice, "Well? Hurry up and give Gao Yuan your word. If he changes his mind, you'll be the one heading inside for 're-education'!"

Auntie Liu stammered, "Little Gao, I promise you, I will never spout nonsense again. I’ll definitely keep my mouth shut."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

As the saying goes: it is easier to change the landscape than a person's nature.

Gao Yuan didn't believe a single word of Auntie Liu's promise. She would be well-behaved for a few days, but before long, she’d be back to her old tricks. Besides, her second son was no saint either. Gao Yuan figured she would definitely go home and twist the truth to her son, so he still had to keep his guard up.

Seeing the problem resolved, Old Man Qin said to the crowd, "Alright, break it up! It’s getting late. Those who have dinner to cook, go cook; those who have things to do, go do them. Don't crowd here—it's not like we're holding a mass meeting."

Old Man Qin's prestige worked; the crowd dispersed in a flurry. The space in front of the door suddenly became quiet.

Gao Yuan smiled and said to Old Man Qin, "Why don't you come inside and sit for a while?"

Old Man Qin smiled and shook his head. "Not today. Your Auntie is home alone, I need to go back and help her with dinner."

Gao Yuan didn't insist. After seeing Old Man Qin off, he pushed his bicycle and walked into the courtyard with his aunt.

Zhang Xuemei had heard the commotion from inside. She had come out, intending to help and confront Auntie Liu herself, but after seeing her son handle the situation so effectively—scaring Auntie Liu to the point of almost wetting herself with just a few words—she decided to step back and let him take the lead.

"You brat, you're certainly not one to suffer a loss of words." After playfully scolding him, Zhang Xuemei laughed.

Gao Yuan parked his bike, took his mother's arm, and walked toward the room. Once inside, he said, "If you don't scare someone like Auntie Liu, she'll never learn. I only slapped those labels on her so we could have some peace and quiet."

Gao Yueran chimed in, "Second Sister-in-law, Little Yuan is right. That woman’s loose tongue is truly detestable. If anything happens in anyone's house, within an hour, every woman in the hutong knows about it, all exaggerated. She’s always spreading rumors. If Little Yuan hadn't stopped her today and scared her, who knows what she would have spread around? How would people look at our family? She’d probably say Little Yuan only passed the college entrance exam because our ancestors were looking out for him, which would really hurt his reputation."

Zhang Xuemei squinted, her voice filled with indignation. "That old hag, she really is vicious. But you’ve taught her a lesson now. We have to see her every day, and she’s given you her word, so let’s leave it at that. Sigh... I wonder when we can move back into the faculty housing. I’ve had more than enough of this run-down courtyard."

Gao Yuan patted his mother’s hand. "I’ve had enough of it too. Having to run to the west side of the hutong just to use the toilet at night is such a hassle. Let’s just wait patiently. Once Dad returns to work, he can bring it up with the college leadership. I’m sure we’ll be able to move back soon."

He remembered that in his past life, it was the spring of the following year, after the Iron and Steel Institute officially resumed classes, that his father approached the leadership about the house. The leaders held a meeting to specifically study the matter, and it was only after some time that the house was returned to them. Many teachers were in the same situation, and once they returned to work, they all faced housing issues. Whether to appease the teachers or to implement policy, the leadership eventually redistributed the reclaimed houses to the faculty.

Zhang Xuemei stood up from her chair and looked at the sky outside the window. "I suppose we have no choice but to wait. You two rest for a bit; I’m going to cook."

Gao Yueran also stood up from the bed, smiling, "I'm not tired, I'll help you, Second Sister-in-law."

Gao Yuan asked, "What's for dinner?"

"I bought some tofu this afternoon, and I went to Liubiju to get some pickled vegetables."

"Pickled vegetables with tofu?"

"What else! Do you think we’re made of money? We'll just blanch it in hot water and mix it with some scallions. That’s plenty."

They’d had three dishes and a soup for lunch, even if it was just radish and cabbage. Now that I’ve finished my exams, you’re cutting the food budget—Mom, your attitude changes faster than the weather.

Gao Yuan swallowed his complaints and silently accepted the reality.

Zhang Xuemei and Gao Yueran went to the kitchen. Gao Yuan rubbed his stomach. He wasn't particularly hungry, just feeling the lack of oil and fat in his diet. In this era, where you couldn't buy meat even with money, daily necessities like eggs, oil, salt, soy sauce, tofu, and sesame paste were all rationed per capita.

There were ways to eat meat, like going to those high-end restaurants that didn't require meat coupons, such as the Beijing Hotel, but ordinary people couldn't afford them—they were simply too expensive.

What else could he do to satisfy his cravings?

Others might be stuck, but Gao Yuan had a plan.

The exams were over, and he had nothing but time. He decided to go fishing by the moat tomorrow to improve their diet. They didn't have a fishing rod, but that wouldn't stop him. They had bamboo poles used for mosquito nets in the summer—they were fire-hardened, about a meter and a half long, and very flexible.

The fishing line was the tricky part. Most people used cotton thread, which was weak and snapped easily. Gao Yuan thought about it and set his sights on his aunt. She worked at the district textile factory, where there was no shortage of high-strength synthetic fiber thread. If he gave her fifteen cents, she could buy a spool from the workshop manager, and the line problem would be solved.

As for the hooks, that was easy too. His father still worked at the Capital Steel Mill; asking a colleague to grind a couple of steel needles into barbed hooks wouldn't be a problem. As for a float, it was the dead of winter. The moat and Shichahai were covered in a thick layer of ice. To fish, he’d have to break through it. Because of this, a float wasn't really necessary; he could feel the bite on the line with his own hands.

Gao Yuan decided to get to work. He went to the shared storage room, pulled the light string, and found the bamboo poles in the corner. He picked one just over a meter long, found a rag, and wiped it clean from end to end. He weighed it in his hand—it was perfect—then turned off the light and headed back.

The sky had turned completely black, and his father, Gao Yuemin, had arrived home under the cover of night. He looked at the food on the table—scallion-mixed tofu, pickled cucumbers, fermented bean curd...

Gao Yuemin made a clicking sound with his tongue and joked, "Well, this is truly... a return to the days before liberation."

Gao Yuan and his aunt exchanged glances and couldn't stop laughing. His dad had a sense of humor; he just didn't show it often. Seeing his son, who had been like a salted fish just days ago, suddenly show such initiative made Gao Yuemin’s spirits brighten significantly.