The alley where the third communal courtyard was located was called Apricot Blossom Hutong. Next to it was another alley named Lotus Hutong. Where these two hutongs intersected, there was a main road. Once you reached that road, you’d hit the main thoroughfare, which had the street office, post office, vegetable station, supply and marketing cooperative, non-staple food station, and the recycling station.
So, even though they lived in a communal courtyard, life there was actually very convenient.
The recycling station covered only about 200 square meters, consisting of three large rooms in a red brick tile building. It wasn’t large, but it was packed with people.
“Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei had already arrived near the recycling station. From a distance, they could see piles of miscellaneous junk cluttering the entrance. It looked quite messy.
‘Why do you have to do the sorting?’ Bai Lan asked directly upon seeing Qin Yan sorting through the miscellaneous junk while wearing work gloves.”
Qin Yan made faces at Bai Lan, who immediately noticed two older women sitting at the entrance, chatting. They were likely the permanent workers at the recycling station. In such state-run units, it was common for temporary workers to do all the labor while the permanent ones slacked off. Bai Lan didn’t ask further, not wanting to cause trouble for Qin Yan.
She just nodded and asked directly, “Can we buy these things?”
Qin Yan didn’t know what Bai Lan wanted with all this junk, but she nodded anyway. “Go ahead and pick what you want. We’ll figure out the price later.”
The two chatting women at the entrance heard Bai Lan’s question and mocked her, “Hey, comrade! Those are just worthless scraps. Don’t think you’ll find anything good or score some hidden treasure!”
They were laughing and whispering to each other when Bai Lan looked up at them, and they immediately recognized her.
Since this place was so close to Lotus Hutong, the recent drama about the child swap in the Bai family had caused quite a stir. So they stopped making fun of her. Instead, they came over, eager to pry for details about the child swap.
Bai Lan could tell they weren’t good people and didn’t say a word. She signaled Xu Jianbei and started rummaging through the piles.
“Seeing this, the two older women curled their lips in disdain and quickly stepped back, afraid of getting dirtied by the miscellaneous junk.”
Once they left, Bai Lan began searching carefully.
Xu Jianbei knew Bai Lan was looking for some leisure books to read. So while rummaging, he specifically kept an eye out for paper items. In the end, they only found a few comic books.
Bai Lan didn’t mind that they were tattered and worn. She had already spotted what she was really after.
So, with the comic books in hand, she walked straight to the warehouse inside the recycling station.
At the recycling station, anything bought or sold had to be registered at the warehouse. After the warehouse keeper issued a receipt, you’d pay the accountant. Only then could you take the items out.
But while she was paying for her items, she noticed the door to the station chief’s office next door open.
“Old He, you need to keep a close eye on this. Don’t let my Aihua end up with nothing again.”
“Alright, alright. Don’t worry about it!”
“Hmph, you said the same thing last time with Gao Qingqing.”
“Oh, my dear grandaunt. I promise, this time it won’t go wrong.”
The two people talking knew each other very well—it was obvious from their long-standing familiarity.
One of them was Station Chief He, and the other was Widow Hu from their courtyard. Behind Widow Hu followed her daughter, Hu Aihua.
No wonder they hadn’t seen Hu Aihua on their way in.
Bai Lan sighed to herself just as Widow Hu looked over at her.
“Oh, Bai Lan. What are you here to buy?”
Bai Lan raised an eyebrow. “Just buying some old books to use as kindling.”
Hearing that, Widow Hu lost interest. She waved goodbye to Station Chief He and headed home with Hu Xianghua.
Bai Lan didn’t say anything either. After paying the accountant, she quickly collected her comic books.
Of course, as she reached the entrance, she deliberately asked the two older women, “There are a few broken stones in that corner over there. They don’t belong to your recycling station, do they?”
The women glanced over and saw a few basketball-sized stones. Not caring at all, they said, “No, no. If you want them, take them yourself.”
Bai Lan was secretly delighted but kept a straight face. “Great! I just happen to need some stones to weigh down pickled vegetables at home.”
Hearing this, Qin Yan lowered her voice when Bai Lan came over. “Those broken stones came in with the junk. They’re just trash. Why would you want them? If you need something to weigh down pickles, you’d be better off finding a nice, flat stone.”
Those stones were irregularly shaped—neither round nor square—and seemed pretty useless.
But Bai Lan’s real goal was exactly those stones. She smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ll take them home, and my mom can use whichever she wants.”
In the end, Bai Lan got a burlap sack from Qin Yan, loaded the stones inside, and had Xu Jianbei carry them back to the courtyard.
On the way, Bai Lan said cheerfully to Xu Jianbei, “Do you believe these stones will be worth a lot of money someday?”
Xu Jianbei shook his head. He knew Bai Lan wouldn’t take the stones for no reason, but he also didn’t know what was so special about them.
Bai Lan chuckled, covering her mouth. “There’s something good inside them!”
Xu Jianbei raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Well, that would be great news!”
Chatting and laughing, they quickly made it back to the communal courtyard.
——
As soon as they entered the back courtyard, everyone was curious about what was in the sack Xu Jianbei was carrying. Su Xiaomei enthusiastically came over, acting as if she wanted to help.
Bai Lan glanced helplessly at Xu Jianbei, who shook his head. “Sister-in-law, if you have free time, there’s plenty to do at home.”
With that, ignoring Su Xiaomei’s reaction, he carried the sack straight into the Bai family’s main room.
“What’s gotten into your sister-in-law?” Bai Lan poured Xu Jianbei a glass of water and asked casually.
Xu Jianbei’s expression was complicated. “She’s probably eyeing your house.”
Bai Lan: “My house? Don’t tell me…”
Realizing something, Bai Lan looked at Xu Jianbei. He gave her a confirming nod.
“She thinks that now that you have a room to yourself, after we get married, I can live with you. Then my half of the room can be freed up for her two sons.”
Bai Lan had to hand it to her—what a twisted way of thinking.
“Doesn’t that make you a kept man?” Bai Lan wasn’t about to give up her room, but she couldn’t resist teasing Xu Jianbei.
“Exactly. From now on, you’re the head of our household. Wherever you point, I’ll go. Mission guaranteed.”
Bai Lan liked the sound of that. She lifted her chin and said, “Alright, you’d better remember those words!”
Xu Jianbei grinned. “I promise. Forget the room—I’m still waiting on this sack full of goodies you’ve got here!”
Seeing how silly he looked, Bai Lan poked him on the shoulder. Then she lowered her voice. “These are supposedly what they call rough stones—the kind that can yield jadeite!”
Xu Jianbei was a bit surprised but mostly happy for Bai Lan. Not once did he doubt her words.
Bai Lan was even happier to see that. Then she brought up the wedding date.
“I’m not busy from now until the end of the year.”
After Xu Jianbei returned from Haicheng last time, he’d been tied up with meetings, study sessions, and discussions. He’d only just gotten some free time in the past couple of days.
Bai Lan thought it over. It was the end of 1974 now, and the college entrance exams were still two years away. If they got married now, she’d have time to prepare for the exams when the time came.
With that in mind, she figured she might as well get married sooner rather than later.
So she said directly, “Let’s get married before the New Year.”
Xu Jianbei nodded calmly, though inside he was overjoyed.
——
Just as the two were happily chatting, a commotion broke out outside.
Bai Lan stuck her head out and saw Bai Ping surrounded by several older women, all asking her questions.
Bai Ping looked impatient. “I’m not here to reconnect with family. I’m just here to find something.”
With that, Bai Ping glanced toward the Bai family’s house and saw Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei laughing and talking together. Jealousy flashed in her eyes. She pushed through the crowd and walked straight over.
“I need to look for something in your room.”
Bai Lan thought to herself, Bai Ping sure came quickly. But it was good she’d come—this would finally eliminate the last loose end.
So she smiled and said, “Didn’t you already take all your things before?”
Bai Ping: “There are still some odds and ends I didn’t want.”
Bai Lan: “You just said you didn’t want them. They’ve already been thrown in the trash.”
Hearing that her things had been tossed in the trash, Bai Ping stomped her foot. “How could you throw my things in the trash!”
Bai Lan: “If you want to find them so badly, go look through the trash heap yourself.”
Bai Ping knew Bai Lan was stubborn and impossible to reason with. Furious as she was, she still rushed off toward the trash heap.
Seeing this, the onlookers grew curious about what exactly Bai Ping was looking for.
Their local trash heap was on a patch of wasteland at the other end of the hutong. Trash usually piled up there for a week or two before someone came to collect it all.
After sending the annoying woman on her way, Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei went back to discussing their wedding plans.
Once the date was set, they needed to start preparing everything right away: the guest list, the banquet, and all the supplies needed for the wedding.
——
Meanwhile, Bai Ping had already reached the trash heap and started rummaging through it.
Back then, people lived by the motto “new for three years, old for three years, and patched for another three years.” But there was still some trash. Anything that ended up on the heap was usually too far gone to be of any use.
After searching for nearly an hour, Bai Ping found a few pairs of her own worn-out shoes but nothing else. Finally, she had to head back to the Song family’s house, stinking to high heaven.
The wife of Factory Director Song saw her in such a sorry state and pinched her nose in disgust. “You’re supposed to be a daughter-in-law of the old Song family. Even if your mother’s side is useless, there’s no need to embarrass yourself like this!”
Bai Ping was still grieving the loss of the notebook that would have made her fortune. She shot the woman an angry glare.
Seeing this, Factory Director Song’s wife scolded without mercy, “Who gave you the nerve to glare at me? Believe me, I’ll have Guoping beat you!”
Bai Ping believed her. So she wisely lowered her head and slunk back to her room, utterly humiliated.
The entire Song family didn’t welcome her, and she’d lost her notebook. Bai Ping anxiously bit her fingernails.
Most of what was written in that notebook came from information she’d seen in her dreams. But some time had passed, and while she still remembered some things, others she’d forgotten. Without the notebook, she was going to miss out on a lot of good opportunities.
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. The Song family clearly couldn’t be relied upon. She needed to find herself a more secure backup plan.
Without further delay, Bai Ping tried hard to recall certain things and wrote them down in a new notebook. This time, she absolutely had to hide it well and not lose it again.
——
With the wedding date set, Xu Jianbei immediately got to work making arrangements. For anything he was missing, he reached out to his third brother, Xu Jiannan. Adding that to the things he’d bought in Haicheng, they were mostly prepared.
Next came the guest list. He and Bai Lan decided to invite only close friends and relatives. Including the neighbors from the communal courtyard, it came to fewer than ten tables.
As for the food, Bai Lan’s father would provide some, and Xu Jianbei would chip in as well.
Over the next while, the only things left to do were to make the wedding clothes, quilts, and shoes.
Bai Lan went to work and came home as usual. In her spare time, she discussed tailoring with the seamstress. She didn’t try to do anything special—she followed the fashion of the time and had a red cotton jacket made. It was deep winter anyway, so there was no way to wear anything too fancy.
Once everything was ready, the wedding day arrived.
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