by Zhou Daxin
Nuannuan had lost all her fondness for Chu Wang Village, the village where she was born.
She loathed the village, primarily because she loathed farming. Farmlands in Chu Wang Village were fine. Though most fields were on small hills, the irrigation worked fine thanks to the lake nearby: in drought they had a full water supply; fast flow of water also tackled the flood. Nevertheless, what youth would favour a life of planting crops? Everyone knows the sufferings of a farmer: the unpredictable weather gives you the physical misery; then the very low price of crops gives you poverty. Nuannuan knew that Kaitian was no exception. When he was still in school, his father wanted to train him in the farmlands, but he despised the work with a smirk: “No.”
His father glared at him: “You little prick, stop being so proud! You are so certain about going to college and working in the uppity air as a government official! What if the odds only give you a chance to work in the field?! You listen to me. Little people like us, as long as we know how to farm our fields, we know two things for sure: we won’t starve to death; and we can afford getting married …”
Those words were an unfortunate prophecy of Kaitian’s life. He reluctantly started his life as a farmer after his father’s injury. At this moment he was already a proper farmer. Whenever Nuannuan could not keep up with all the work around the house, he always came over to help.
Nuannuan had found it difficult to reconcile with the fact that she could no longer go back to Beijing. Nuannuan, with her determination and pride, had always wanted her life in Beijing. Apart from the money, she had also hid this secret wish of getting to know more people, which of course included young men in the big city. What if she eventually met someone agreeable, someone that adores her … Every time she thought about this secret wish, she felt guilty in front of Kaitian. Though she never promised anything to him, she had to admit that Kaitian had always been in her heart. But life in the city was too exciting, and it attracted her so much. Nuannuan felt quite defeated now that her days to come would be spent here in Chu Wang Village with Kaitian. Maybe she could still go to Beijing after Mom’s recovery …
Nuannuan’s return not only cheered Kaitian up, and for various reasons other young men in the village were quite excited, too. One of them, Zhan Shiti, owned a distributing shop in the village. He was even more over the top than the others because his brother was the village committee leader. He would wait to chat with Nuannuan at the entrance to the village. At first Nuannuan paid no attention to him. Since they went to the same secondary school, it felt natural to talk to him as friendly classmates. The talks were nothing more than small household affairs. Those talks went on until one day, when Zhan Shiti suddenly tucked a plastic bag, containing a bright-coloured shirt into her hands. Nuannuan had some idea about his intentions, so she tucked the bag back into his hands in a haste and said: “Thank you, Shiti. But I already have a shirt.”
Nuannuan became more cautious about Zhan Shiti’s advances afterwards. Her impression of him was not quite a good one. She remembered him with bad grades and bad habits of copying other students’ homework. His family had money, yet he was reluctant about school. After spending his first year in high school, he quit to open the shop in the village. Because of his brother’s position, he always picked up quarrels and fights with other people. Nuannuan told Kaitian about the shirt. Kaitian laughed: “He wants my wife! No way in hell!”
Nuannuan gave Kaitian a soft punch and pretended to be angry: “Who promised you a wife? You wish!”
One morning, Dad was still not up after Nuannuan had made breakfast. She thought Dad had overslept, so she went to ask outside his room. Mom, still weak and skinny, went out and said: “Dad wanted to get up but he felt dizzy. My guess is he got too tired.”
Nuannuan went out to get the doctor from Mei’s Pharmacy, but Dad stopped her, yelling from the window: “Don’t spend money on the doctor! I’m just tired. All I need is a couple of days. You take the boat to the lake today. The boat cannot be idled. One idle day will cost us more than 10 yuan!”
Nuannuan did not hesitate: “Got it!”
She took the boat out after breakfast. It was windy that day. Waves rushed towards her, one after another, rocking the boat from left to right, up and down. But Nuannuan felt at ease.
She rowed the boat into the fishing area and stopped to put down the net. She was quite efficient. The large net was set to position after a short while. She sat down in the boat, waiting for the moment to haul. Nuannuan had been to the lake with her father ever since she was 4. Dad took her so that she would not bother Mom at home. He also wanted to lift her game so that she could inherit his fishing skills in the future. After the age of 6, Nuannuan understood Dad’s intentions: he had no son, so she must be trained into a fisher and thus pass the family skills down. More than once had Dad said to her: “Once you have learnt this job, you are not afraid of any disasters. As long as the Red Lake lies here, we Chu family will survive.”
Yet Nuannuan had never been keen …
Though she had not been practicing for some time, the first haul was satisfying. She got three silver carps, two grass carps, and a mullet. She did an estimation in her mind: they would weigh at least 4 kilograms all together. “My hands are still good and so is my luck. Dad, I’ll show you my work of today!”
She put the fish into the water tank and arranged a second net …
Chapter 4
Grandma, Mom and Dad all knew about Nuannuan’s close relationship with Kaitian, but thought they were simply friends from the same village, so no one thought about marriage at all. With Nuannuan’s pretty face and Kaitian’s poor household, no one ever thought about marriage. Mom was a little worried seeing Nuannuan, single, at the proper age to marry. The other day, she saw the village matchmaker, Mister Tianfu, walking into their door with a cigarette in his mouth. She hastily stood up and said: “Mister, please take a seat.”
Mister Tianfu did not decline and entered the house. Dad dared not treat him without courtesy. He gave Tianfu his own seat, and offered him more cigarettes and tea. Mister Tianfu slowly asked, after smoking for a while: “Our child Nuannuan, hasn’t got any arrangement, right?”
“Not yet! You know anyone suitable?” asked Grandma.
Tianfu sprinkled the ash off his fingers: “I’m here to tell you this. Your Mister is sending you a good husband, you are going to be so happy just hearing his name!”
Mom smiled and had to ask: “Whose son is he?”
“Zhan Shiti! Little brother of the Leader! That boy asked me several times to come here and talk about this marriage. Yesterday, the Leader called me to his office about it! I’m here today exactly for this!”
The whole family was shocked and nobody talked. Nuannuan was out of words, as she did not expect Zhan Shiti to do this. The other three were surprised: the Leader’s brother had his eyes upon Nuannuan?
Dad spoke first: “This … is good, of course good. The Leader’s family … Nuannuan is lucky to have this.”
“With marriage to the Leader’s family, no one will bully us ever after!” Mom shot a glance at Nuannuan.
Nuannuan was worried. She did not want things to go this way. She had to speak out: “Mister Tianfu, if you truly wish me a good marriage, go talk to Kaitian’s family!”
Tianfu could not recognize the name: “Who is Kaitian?”
“Son of the Kuang’s family, the farmers.” reminded Grandma.
Mom looked at Nuannuan, beginning to understand her thoughts.
“Humph! You want him? Are you out of your mind?” said Tianfu, glaring. “His house is a pit of poverty. Once you jump into it, you will never get out in this life! Don’t you know about his limp dad? Their lands are all farmed by Kaitian alone. If you marry him, you will become their lifetime servant at once!”
“I want to work for a longer time. All the jobs I had in Beijing were short term. The boss kicks you out whenever he wants!” smiled Nuannuan.
Mister Tianfu glared even more at her and
sighed: “You must think about this. It’s about your life, it’s not a game …”
The next day, everyone in the village heard the news about the Leader sending Mister Tianfu to Nuannuan’s house. Shallot came over immediately to verify the gossip. Nuannuan nodded: “He offered me Zhan Shiti, the younger brother of Zhan Shideng. I prefer Kuang Kaitian to him. I cannot leave to work in the city anymore so I had to find someone here. I prefer Kaitian. What do you think? Which one of the two do you think suits me better?”
Shallot hesitated: “I cannot be sure. But if we look at what it is now, Zhan Shiti is not that reliable. Kuang Kaitian is more down to earth than him. But I must be honest with you, there’s something about Kuang Kaitian that I don’t like.”
Hearing this, Nuannuan’s almond-shaped eyes opened wide: “What is it?”
“He’s ruthless.”
Nuannuan was surprised: “Ruthless? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know how to put it. He’s just quite ruthless with stuff. If he needs to carry something in his farm work, he’ll carry more than 150 kilograms at one time; if his bull eats the crops, he’ll tie it to a tree and whip it for two hours, the bull even weeps; the last time he broke a new water jar by accident, he slapped himself in regret until his mouth bled.”
Nuannuan smiled: “Ahh, you mean that. I think he’s got character. And I like men with character.”
“I’m just saying … anyway, a woman looking for a man, she’s just looking for someone she likes. Once you like him, you’ll want to sleep in the same bed with him for 365 days a year, you’ll want to eat from the same bowl with him for 365 days a year, and you’ll want to have children with him and wash his clothes.”
Nuannuan blushed: “Thank you, Shallot …”
Kuang Kaitian heard about the gossip in the afternoon of the next day. He was fertilizing the fields. He dropped the cart filled with shit and ran to the bank of the Red Lake, waiting for Nuannuan’s boat to arrive. Nuannuan saw Kaitian from afar and knew he must have heard something. So she turned her head away, pretending she did not see him. As soon as the boat arrived, Kaitian jumped aboard. But Nuannuan did not look at him. He had to cough loudly. Nuannuan then turned her head back and asked in a cold tone: “What’s up? You’ve got a sore throat?”
Kaitian’s face turned red and said after a while: “I heard someone is going to marry the Leader’s brother!”
“Oh yeah? It’s a blessing to marry into the Zhan’s! They have the money and the authority. The marriage will make life so easy!” Nuannuan stood up, showing no emotion at all.
Kaitian’s face turned white: “So you do want to marry him!”
Nuannuan felt satisfied seeing him like that. But she kept her face motionless and asked: “Who said that?”
“Didn’t you just say so?”
“That’s what Mom and Dad want.”
Kaitian got more worried: “What about you?”
“You care about this?” said Nuannuan, her voice sounded bitter. “You seem not worried at all! You only worry about farming! Your corns, potatoes, wheat, beans! You care about me? You think of your wheat more than you think of me!”
“I thought we were an item already.”
“What item? When did you talk about this item with Mom, Dad, and Grandma? Do you think I am a radish, a bok choi, that you can buy from the market?”
“What do I do now? Who do I speak to?”
“Are you asking me? What use is your head? Is it broken? Why didn’t you go find a matchmaker? Why am I rushing you to do so? I am in high demand! It’s not like I’m dying as a spinster, lying in a spinster’s tomb!”
“Alright, alright. I’ll go to Mister Tianfu.” Kaitian jumped out of the boat in a rush and made a run into the village …
Chapter 5
The sky was not even dark when the Leader, Zhan Shideng, walked into Nuannuan’s yard. Nuannuan and her family were sitting in the yard to have dinner. Zhang Shideng called out as he opened the gate: “Uncle Chu, are you having dinner?” Dad, flattered, was still in shock. He remembered clearly that this was the first time that Zhan Shideng had walked into their house in dozen years as the village committee leader. It was also the first time that he had addressed Dad as Uncle Chu. Every time they saw each other, the Leader either paid no attention, or simply called him by his full name. Sometimes he would call him Old Chu, not as respectful as Uncle Chu. Dad hastened to put down his chopsticks and offered a seat: “Mr. Leader! Sit! You are a rare guest! Have you eaten? I’ll get Nuannuan to give you some noodles. They are made of green beans. Nuannuan, come —”
“No bother. I have eaten.” Zhan Shideng waved his hand.
Nuannuan did not make a big move. She stood up to show courtesy, but her bowl was still in her hands. She figured out the guest’s intentions almost immediately: Mister Tianfu must have failed to express her refusal, and things just got more complicated.
“Uncle Chu, you know me, I’m a straight-forward man. I come here tonight for no other reason: the marriage of Shiti and Nuannuan. Has Tianfu given you a clear picture of this? I’m here to make sure you understand: me, the Leader, the big brother, I sincerely support the marriage. After Nuannuan enters my family, we Zhan’s will make sure of her happiness. I had a good thought and decided about Shiti’s shop. I will put Nuannuan in charge, and she will lead a good life, sheltered from the wind and the rain! …”
“I believe you, I do.” Dad nodded and glanced at Nuannuan, his face lit up with a smile.
Nuannuan sneered silently and thought to herself: “I didn’t even agree to anything at all, yet he is already talking about the married life and the shop! He’s so sure about this!”
“If you ask me, both Shiti and Nuannuan have come of age. So if both of you agree, let’s choose a good date for the wedding. And you need not worry anymore!” Zhan Shideng also looked at Nuannuan. The glance seemed unquestionable.
Of course Nuannuan anxiously put down her bowl and said: “I’m afraid …”
“I agree.” Dad spoke out before her, his eyes more serious than before. Nuannuan looked at him in surprise: she didn’t expect Dad to say that, as he knew that it was Kaitian she wanted to marry.
“I will not bother you for any longer. Please continue eating.” Zhang Shideng didn’t give Nuannuan the opportunity to talk as he quickly rose and walked towards the door. “Uncle Chu, you always ride your bike to Juxiang Street to sell the fish. I’ll have Shiti buy you a motorcycle soon. It’s faster, and lighter.”
“No no, I’m OK.” Dad waved his hand. He looked very happy.
Dad seemed quite excited when he came back from sending the Leader off. He kept rubbing his hands: “Who’d have known? Who’d have known?”
Nuannuan threw her chopsticks away in anger, making a loud noise against the bowl: “I decide my own marriage! What a time are we living in? Are you trying to arrange my marriage?”
“What are you talking about?” said Dad in a cold voice. “Mom and I, we won’t give you anything bad! It’s all for your own good!”
“For my own good against my wish?” said Nuannuan as she glared angrily. “You hear me now, I lived in Beijing, I knew things! I am in charge of my marriage! No one tells me what to do!”
Mom tried to make peace: “Nuannuan, we can talk about this.”
“Talk? I already told you I want to marry Kaitian. But Dad just agreed to marry me into the Zhan’s! What do I do?”
Grandma suddenly spoke: “Nuan, I have been in your place. I wanted to find someone I liked. But days are days, and you cannot pass even one day without money and food. Kaitian is a good boy but his budget is always tight. It will be too late to regret after you marry him. Young people always talk about feelings and love, but you’ll understand after you get married. Those things never last. Only your days last.”
Nuannuan walked out with a pout. She did not want to listen to Grandma’s nagging any more. The village seemed in peace after a busy day. Some people were still doing their dishes whilst some ot
hers had already been in bed with their lights out. The dog next door heard her steps and growled quietly. Then it paced away, wagging its tail. Maybe it recognized her figure. Nuannuan walked slowly alongside the road towards the lake. The sky had turned dark, but the reflection on the lake lit up the road for her. Truth is, Nuannuan knew the road by heart. She could tell all the bumps and puddles even with her eyes closed. How many times had she walked on this road in her life?
“Who is it?” someone shouted suddenly.
Nuannuan realized that she had reached the doorstep of Mister Tianfu’s house. She responded: “Mister Tianfu, it’s me! Are you still up?”
“Ahh, Nuannuan. That boy, Kaitian, he ruined my rest. He asked me to make sure that I go to your house again and talk about his marriage with you. How dare I! I just went there for the Zhan’s! I asked the boy, ‘what were you doing earlier? Nuannuan is promised to the Leader’s little brother. They are planning the wedding now! If you step in now, what will the Leader do?’”
“Where is he?”
“He left, in anger. Oh well, what a bad matchmaker I am. If I knew you both had this thought, I wouldn’t have helped the Leader! Let Kaitian step in now!” mumbled Mister Tianfu as he walked back into the yard.
Nuannuan stood for a while in silence. Then she turned back to walk to Kaitian’s house. Before she entered, she heard Kaitian’s mother: “Marriage is pre-arranged by gods. If she’s yours, she cannot escape; if she’s not, you can’t push her. Think about this: without Nuannuan, are you never going to marry?”