Bai Fumei in the 70’s

He Songbai only had talked a few times with Li Dali before the incident. Then Li Dali became more and more silent after his illness.

But his thoughts were deeper than before.

During the long rehabilitation period, at first, he felt lucky to survive. But after lying in bed for days and drinking medicine like water, Li Dali couldn't stand it. He had always carried his family on his shoulders, but now he felt like a maggot that adsorbs human bone marrow.

He was caught in an irritable mental torment. Sometimes when he couldn't sleep through the night, he thought it would be better to die in that landslide. At least, it would be clean.

But his mother, with her kind and tolerant heart, accommodated his big and small faults. She pulled him back from the brink of collapse with those rough and calloused hands, which were a bit like the hands of his wife.

She is calm and powerful, never give up.

She used her silence and determination to let Li Dali know that he was still needed.

Li Dali sniffed the smell of blood on his brother-in-law and said, "You go take a bath first. I'm here."

He Songbai wiped his sweat and quickly went to the well to bathe.

Li Dali lived in the He family, so he knew everything. He Songbai knew that when his eldest sister was making clothes, he also joined her.

Li Dali was not like his stupid elder sister, who had a pure mind. He had been the team captain for a few years, and he had seen no less than He Songbai.

He Songbai took off his clothes and poured a bucket of cold water on his head. His eyes darkened as he thought about it.

He washed away the smell of blood all over his body and put on shabby but clean clothes.

Zhao Lanxiang also woke up at this moment, and she quickly made breakfast.

Sister He also woke up. She carried her grandmother to the toilet, washing her face and brushing her teeth.

When she woke up, she discovered that her husband was gone. When she saw him in the yard, throwing his arm in the air and struggling to chop firewood, her tears washed down like a flood.

The old woman, who was carried by her granddaughter, wiped away her tears with her hands.

Her old voice comforted her, "You can rest assured this time."

"Dali is a good boy. He will help you share the burden, so you don't have to be so tired in the future."

Some men are unlike other men. Grandma Li's pick for her grandson-in-law was not to add a burden to the granddaughter. She looked at her grandson-in-law's tall body with satisfaction and said lightly, "In the future, give him more food. Try to regain all his strength."

He Songye looked at her husband reluctantly, she nodded with a tearful smile and quickly went to relieve her with her grandmother on her back.1

During this morning's breakfast, everyone ate livelier than ever.

On the broken round wooden table, they added extra space for one person.

...

After breakfast, He Songbai looked at his savings and drew a few banknotes.

He silently winked at his girlfriend.

Zhao Lanxiang received He Songbai's sign, so she followed him.

He Songbai took his bicycle out, patted it, and pushed it in front of the girl, "I'm going to the department store to buy something. Will you accompany me?"

Today is the weekend, the first actual weekend after a busy spring plowing season.

Of course, Zhao Lanxiang would not refuse. She got on He Songbai's bike. "I'll go first, let's meet at the fork of the road."

He Songbai nodded. Staring at his girlfriend's disappearing figure on the bicycle, he also raised his legs and walked out of the village.

Zhao Lanxiang waited for half an hour. When He Songbai arrived, she had picked a bunch of wildflowers and left one behind her ears. The lilac and beautiful mountain flowers make her face looked clear and pristine.

He Songbai couldn't help but pinch her white jade-like ears. "You like this kind of flower?"

"Look at you like this. On my way back, these wildflowers bloomed all over the mountain road. I will bring you one every day from now on."

Zhao Lanxiang responded, "Okay, you haven't sent me flowers yet!"

She remembered it nostalgically; when her old man chased her, a bunch of beautiful flowers was sent simultaneously every day. When it was his young and enhanced version, it becomes a bunch of pork every day.9

Even Tiezhu knows how to send his woman a bouquet of wildflowers.1

Now she finally realized something, which gave Zhao Lanxiang a simple feeling of love in the country. Her heart was full of lemon-like taste, fresh and long-lasting.

She asked He Songbai, "Are you buying a business outfit today? You are correct to look for me. I can help you pick everything from head to toe."

He Songbai just smiled and did not answer.

Soon, he took his girlfriend to the department store.

Many couples come and go. These days are good weather in spring. Before and after the dragon's head rises, it is a good day for marriage. He Songbai took her to pick two pieces of fabric for women. They bought three feet of good fabric and six feet of cotton cloth. It was enough to make a dress.

[T/N: The day when the dragon raised its head is the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar. Also known as the Qinglong festival.]

Zhao Lanxiang touched the delicate and soft women's fabrics. Although the salesperson looked indifferent, at first glance, he couldn't help but say, "A newlyweds should buy some lipstick and apply it. How can you have less in these days of great joy?"

The counters displayed fashionable women's products from the city, but it was far worse than the S city and more expensive.

Zhao Lanxiang glanced at it and didn't want to buy it.

He Songbai lowered his head and carefully picked the snow frost cream for her, which was wrapped in a shell and had a faint fragrance.

"Boy, you're right to choose this! The famous brand made in China, high-end goods shipped from big cities!"

He Songbai was also eager to buy lipstick for his girl. He remembered the appearance of newly-married couples as soon as he saw it. The salesperson was even sparing no effort to promote the lipstick.

A pair of real newlyweds came next to him. The woman pointed her finger at He Songbai with her nose upright. "You don't want to buy a decent piece of cloth for me. Look at that man."

"Three feet of good cloth and six feet of cotton cloth without blinking. Why did I pick you, a poor man!"

Zhao Lanxiang smiled embarrassedly and dragged He Songbai into the deserted corner then fled.

Finally, He Songbai took her to see some coal stove, and he said, "Seeing that you have to use firewood every day, my eyes hurt. I think I should buy you a coal stove."

Zhao Lanxiang took his hand.

"Isn't there firewood at home? With such a large stove, I have to come to the city often to buy coal. How troublesome."

He Songbai paid for the stove straight away, took out the coal tickets that had already been prepared, and went to the supply and marketing cooperatives to collect ten pounds of coal. He picked a sack with a pole at one end. He originally looked like a newlywed groom who came to shop and buy things, but now he looked like a laborious migrant worker.

Zhao Lanxiang couldn't feel any more romantic atmosphere. The man was so silly that she couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you not buying your things? You picked these things so early."

He Songbai shook his head.

Zhao Lanxiang quickly entered the department store again, spent twelve yuan buying a pair of leather shoes, and put it on her cloth bag.

She sat in the bicycle's back seat. He Songbai placed the coal and the stove on the horizontal bar of the bicycle. The two rode slowly and had a good time. They didn't have to hurry.

The leisure time alone made He Songbai enjoyed it very much.

He rode slowly, and Zhao Lanxiang sat comfortably.

She read the poem softly:

"If life is not generous enough, we don't have to be stingy in return."

"Why do you need to make careful calculations? You must pay more and get more."

"If you can be generous, why do you have to look so mean."

"If you can be smart, why choose loneliness."

"Receiving is a kind of satisfaction. Giving is a kind of happiness."

He Songbai listened silently and found that he had never heard this poem at all. He just thought he was uneducated and didn't read enough, so he said, "You really love reading."

Zhao Lanxiang thought about it, and said, "My parents could only study and read well before they can find a stable job. If there is an opportunity for you to study, will you do it, Brother Bai?"

He Songbai said, "I will. How good it is to study. It's easy, and you don't have to work. You can still eat the national food when you are educated."

Zhao Lanxiang said, "Let me tell you something interesting about my school."

She knew that He Songbai had never gone to school, so she told him that she went to the museum to see specimens and do chemical experiments in middle school biology class. In addition to memorizing red books, she secretly read interesting poems, learned to sing popular female celebrity songs, but she can do well in every exam.1

He Songbai listened to her clear voice as if his ears heard a spring rain. Her voice went directly into his heart.

"That's nice."

Zhao Lanxiang also said, "What did Granny teach you, mathematics, physical chemistry... Chinese language?"

He Songbai nodded and shook his head again.

"Very complicated, probably that she doesn't even remember what she taught. a little bit of mathematics, physics was also taught, a lot of Chinese, English, drawing, playing the flute... and so on."1

"That flute was made by Granny by drilling holes in bamboo. When I was a kid, I burned it as firewood. Granny was so angry, and she ignored me for several days."

He Songbai paused and said shyly, "Do you still remember that day you went to Niujiao mountain to dig a wooden box? The small book in the box was actually some paintings I had painted before."

"I especially hate those things. I drew very badly before, but then gradually, I paint decently."

He Songbai would always remember that his grandmother told him a story about the magical brush of Ma Liang to trick him into drawing. Finally, she said that if he painted like Ma Liang, he could paint what he wanted, and it would become real.

He Songbai thought about eating meat every day. So he drew pigs by looking at the brigade's piglets. He painted for a whole summer, but he didn't even get a fart out.5

Zhao Lanxiang was stunned.