Chapter 16: A Mock Exam Supervised by the Mother-in-law (Seeking Readers)

Cheng Xuemin spent three days cleaning out the east wing's side room, and even more, Feng Jiayou personally accompanied him to the Donghuamen Pigeon Market, where they picked out an old wooden bed.

In those days of ration coupons, almost everything required a ticket to purchase, and beds were no exception.

But in the Feng family, most of the relatives had only just recently returned to the city, and were sorely lacking in the necessary ration coupons, with nowhere to procure them. On Cheng Xuemin’s side, however, there was an urgent need for a sturdy, silent bed, so at his brother-in-law Feng Jizhao’s suggestion, they went to try their luck at the Donghuamen Pigeon Market.

The pigeon market was virtually synonymous with the black market—here, no coupons were needed; you could barter, or simply pay cash.

Of course, the majority of goods were old items, secondhand wares. Anything new had to be purchased with coupons from the appropriate supply and marketing cooperative stores.

At Donghuamen, the pigeon market mainly dealt in secondhand furniture—tables, chairs, cabinets, old beds, and the like. For ninety-five yuan, the two of them managed to find a nanmu bed from the Republican era, though unfortunately not a Simmons mattress.

As for those who scoffed at old, secondhand goods and insisted on buying only brand new things—perhaps in Cheng Xuemin’s era, that would have been the standard, but this was the 1970s, a time of scarcity, and nobody had the luxury to be fastidious.

“Wife, it really doesn’t make a sound at all! Come and try it out!”

After setting up the bed in the side room, Cheng Xuemin sat down on it and shook it vigorously, but not a single creak was heard; the bed was as steady as a rock.

His spirits soared instantly—those previous nights sleeping on the iron-framed bed in his second sister-in-law’s room, he’d had to turn over with the utmost caution, let alone dare to do anything else!

“Are you crazy? So what if it’s silent, why are you shouting?”

Feng Jiayou, teased by his words, flushed red with embarrassment. She had already thought this man was bad enough, but it seemed he was even worse than she’d imagined.

Every night, he made her wash his hair in that shameless way—she really didn’t know where he’d learned such tricks; he was incorrigible.

“You’re the one with a dirty mind! I just wanted you to sit on the bed and try it out, nothing more!”

“But you, my dear, what exactly is it that you’re thinking about all day?”

“Who’s thinking about anything dirty? Cheng Xuemin, you’re the one always thinking about that! From now on, you can sleep here by yourself!”

With that, thoroughly embarrassed and angry, Feng Jiayou finished making the bed and stormed off.

“Huh?!”

Now it was Cheng Xuemin’s turn to be dumbfounded. Was it really necessary for a woman to take a joke so seriously?

But Feng Jiayou was not joking at all. The very first night after the new room was ready, she insisted they sleep separately!

She claimed it was so she could sleep with her niece, and told Cheng Xuemin to stay in the side room, buckle down, and focus on preparing for next year’s college entrance exam.

Truth be told, she simply didn’t want to “eat” anymore at night—she’d had more than enough! Hiding out in her second sister-in-law’s room, she didn’t dare move into the side room with him.

Otherwise, even with the iron bed creaking incessantly in her second sister-in-law’s place, that rascal Cheng Xuemin had found all sorts of ways to pester her.

If they moved into the side room together, with no obstacles left, who knew what mischief he’d get up to.

But Feng Jiayou’s avoidance lasted only two days before her little sister was brought home to stay!

After that, with Feng Jiamo sharing a bed with her niece, Feng Jiayou had no choice but to obediently move into the side room and join her husband.

“Go on, little lady, keep trying to hide!”

Cheng Xuemin looked at Feng Jiayou as if she were a lamb being led to slaughter, spreading his fingers wide and eagerly awaiting nightfall so he could feast to his heart’s content.

“Hold it, Cheng Xuemin!”

“Finish this set of exercises first, and I’ll consider giving you a reward!”

Knowing precisely what mischief he had in mind, Feng Jiayou found herself both tempted and wary—tempted by his body, and fearful of it in equal measure.

At this stage of pregnancy, she was at her most vulnerable to teasing.

But Cheng Xuemin’s gaze was always so intense, as if he wished to devour her whole—she simply couldn’t resist it.

Still, remembering how robust he was physically, she feared she truly wouldn’t be able to handle him!

Moreover, her mother had already issued a stern warning—this was a crucial period, and she mustn’t mess around.

It would be a shame to lose the child now, after refusing to abort it despite everything, just because the two of them got carried away.

Her mother had even hinted at another matter.

Both she and Cheng Xuemin were still young and needed to attend university first; raising a child would be too difficult, so once the baby was born, it should be given to her elder brother and sister-in-law to raise. That made it all the more important not to “mess around.”

Give the baby to her elder brother and sister-in-law?

Feng Jiayou pretended not to understand and gave no answer, not daring to mention this to Cheng Xuemin for fear he’d take it badly.

She decided to wait until after the baby was born—by then, Cheng Xuemin should have gotten into Yanjing University, and would truly have no time to care for a child.

Would they send the baby back to Shaanbei to be raised by his parents, or leave it in Yanjing with her brother and sister-in-law...?

No matter what, Feng Jiayou couldn’t bear the thought.

If she had to choose, she’d rather keep the baby in Yanjing, at least then it would still be near her.

Besides, it wasn’t just her child to give away.

So, she chose to play dumb and didn’t agree to her mother’s proposal right away, deciding instead to see how things stood when the time came.

She hoped that by then, their circumstances as a couple would have improved.

“What? You’ve already managed to get hold of some review papers?!”

When the woman took a few freshly-printed exam papers from her bag, Cheng Xuemin was utterly astonished.

“So, tell me—what sort of reward are you offering?”

He flipped through the stack: a full set of science-track college entrance exam mock papers—Chinese, math, politics, physics, chemistry, plus an English paper.

“How do you want to be rewarded? If you score over five hundred points, you can reward me however you like!”

Feng Jiayou shot him a sidelong glance—his mind was full of nothing but that, let him show some real ability first.

“Five hundred points?”

“The total is six hundred and twenty, that’s easy!”

Cheng Xuemin checked the scores: Chinese, one hundred; math, one hundred and twenty; the rest—politics, physics, chemistry, and foreign language—each a hundred, for a total of six hundred and twenty.

Given his prime “985” level of academic prowess, and his wife asking only for five hundred points, wasn’t that a cinch?

“What six hundred and twenty?” Feng Jiayou pointed to the English paper, clarifying, “English only counts for ten percent of its score, so the full mark is ten points. All six subjects add up to five hundred and thirty.”

Because Cheng Xuemin was aiming for the science track, math was worth one hundred and twenty, the rest one hundred each, and English only counted for ten percent.

For the liberal arts track, Chinese was one hundred and twenty, the others—math, politics, history, geography—were each one hundred, English still counting for ten percent.

So, whether science or liberal arts, the total was five hundred and thirty.

By asking him to score over five hundred, she was clearly setting a high bar, challenging him deliberately.

“Well, that’s no fun at all—not a shred of sincerity!”

With that, Cheng Xuemin set the papers aside—if she wasn’t going to be sincere, he wouldn’t bother to take the test.

“Fine! I’ll go tell my parents you’re refusing!”

Feng Jiayou, indulging him not at all, simply gathered the papers and turned to march off to her parents.

“What? Why are you reporting me now?”

Cheng Xuemin was dumbfounded—this was no way to play.

“What do you mean, report? My mother was the one who asked someone to get these papers!”

“Hurry up and take the test—she’s going to grade them herself, wants to see how you measure up!”

“If you do well enough, my parents are thinking of sending you to the Yanjing University Affiliated High School for a repeat year. But it’s tough to get in—nowadays, so many returned educated youths are competing, everyone’s fighting for a spot. This weekend, they’re holding an entrance exam for repeaters—only fifty places in the whole class!”

“So, you get it.”

“Cheng Xuemin, give it your all! I’ve already boasted in front of my parents, brother, and sister-in-law.”

“And my second sister-in-law? We’ve so provoked her, she’s gone back to her maiden family to focus on exam prep!”

“So don’t feel too pressured, just do your best on this set of papers. If you get four hundred and fifty points... well, you know what I mean tonight!”