Chapter 50

She said stoutly, "We even borrowed machines from the other workshops. Why wouldn't it work?"

Liang Ying was exhausted after staying up all night, but seeing the look on Lin Lianhua's face made it all worthwhile.

Lin Lianhua was speechless.

She had never imagined Liang Ying would go this far, much less that the First Workshop, usually so divided, would pull together like this.

The creamy ice pop was sweet without being cloying, with a rich milky flavor.

Liang Ying had eaten plenty of ice cream Gu Yinxing brought home, but this ice pop tasted better than any she had tried before.

"Team leader, we really made everyone's jaws drop this time," Chen Xiuhong said happily as she ate her ice pop.

"This is the first time our workshop's ever won." Zhang Xing'er had mixed feelings.

She used to think there was nothing wrong with always coming last. But now that she had tasted victory, she realized how much better it felt. Hearing people praise the First Workshop for working hard made her happier still.

"This may be our first win, but it won't be our last."

Liang Ying said, "I could tell all along that none of you ladies lose out to anyone when it comes to hard work. And we've got experience. We know the job better than the greenhorns in the other workshops, so there's no reason we should lose to them. Let's keep at it, earn more bonuses, and bring home fifty yuan a month like the Third Workshop!"

"Yeah!"

No one was about to spoil the mood. Everyone clapped and cheered.

Sister Deng stood by the door listening, unable to keep a smile off her face.

She really had underestimated Liang Ying.

Just look at her now. She had clearly won everyone over.

The First Workshop's victory stunned the entire factory.

For days afterward, Chen Xiuhong and the others walked with a spring in their step. Whenever Liang Ying came up, they had nothing but praise for her.

One day, Liang Ying came home from the night shift. Work was less stressful now, so she thought she would buy some toys for her daughter.

She bought two little pecking-chicken toys.

Gu Yousi took one look and turned away, completely uninterested in such a childish toy. Lan Lin, on the other hand, couldn't put his down. He tugged the string, watched the little chicken bob and peck at the rice, and grinned to himself.

As she helped sort the vegetables, Chen Liying said in puzzlement, "That child's funny. His grandpa bought him so many expensive toys, and he doesn't care for them. Why does he like this cheap little thing?"

He Chunlian smiled. "Children don't care what something costs. If they like it, it's good to them. These aren't expensive, just twenty cents each. You could buy a few for the children back home and send them over."

"That's true."

Chen Liying thought it over and was tempted.

She had been in Beijing for some time. Though her old man came into town to see her every month, her grandchildren could not come along. There were too many people on the road, and he was afraid they might get lost. Chen Liying missed them and wanted to buy them something, too. Children forgot things so easily; she did not want them forgetting their grandmother.

They were still talking when Douzi ran in from outside, panting and drenched in sweat. "Auntie, Auntie, is my brother here?"

Gu Jinshui was in his room reading a book about antiques. Hearing Douzi, he opened the window. "Douzi, what happened?"

"Brother, something terrible happened. Someone's smashed up Shanhu's place."

Douzi wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurried on.

At that, Gu Jinshui sprang off the kang and rushed for the door without even putting on his shoes.

"Your shoes, your shoes..." He Chunlian hurried inside, grabbed them, and tossed them to him. "Take the bike!"

Gu Jinshui caught them, quick as a flash. He swung onto his bicycle while putting them on. "Get on. Hurry."

Douzi scrambled onto the back seat and slapped his forehead. How had he forgotten to ride his bike over? He had been so angry he could not think straight!

Chapter 57: The Fifty-Seventh Day of Being Overheard

Gu Jinshui questioned him the whole way and finally learned what had happened.

Wasn't today the day Shanhu and Qi Zhenzhu were supposed to register their marriage? Douzi had borrowed a Zhongshan Suit from his brother, thinking Shanhu and his bride could have their photo taken after they got their certificate.

But when Douzi and his brother arrived at Shanhu's place, they heard shouting inside.

Douzi said, "Brother, you have no idea. The girl's brothers showed up, along with a whole bunch of cousins. Her father's the worst. He planted himself in the doorway and said Shanhu had to pay two thousand yuan as a bride price, or they wouldn't let her register the marriage."

"Two thousand yuan?"

Gu Jinshui pedaled so fast that the wind blew straight into Douzi's face, tossing his hair into a mess. Douzi covered his head and huddled inside his jacket. "That's right, two thousand, just like that. Shanhu wouldn't pay it. He tried to talk them down to three or five hundred, but they flat-out refused and started smashing things. I could see it was going bad, so I sent my brother to get help and rushed off to find you."

Luckily, Shanhu did not live far away.

Gu Jinshui rode fast, and they arrived in no time. He left the bike at the entrance and hurried inside with Douzi. When they reached the middle courtyard, they found a crowd around Shanhu's door. Shouting and the sound of things being thrown came from within.

Gu Jinshui called out, "Make way, make way. I'm Shanhu's friend."

He pulled Douzi through the crowd. As soon as they entered, they saw the room in ruins. Sunflower seeds, peanuts, and sweets were scattered across the floor. Several lengths of red cloth Shanhu had bought had been thrown down and trampled, leaving shoe prints all over them.

"Brother."

Shanhu looked embarrassed and miserable when he saw Gu Jinshui.

"Who are you? This is between our two families. What's it got to do with you?" A man as skinny as a bamboo pole, with sharp features and shifty eyes, glared at Gu Jinshui.

Gu Jinshui stepped forward and ignored him. Looking at Shanhu, he asked, "Who are they?"

"Zhenzhu's older brother, Dafei," Shanhu said hoarsely.

He looked at Dafei, anger burning in his chest. "Dafei, you're Zhenzhu's own brother. How can you come here and make trouble like this?"

Qi Dafei sneered and rolled up his sleeves, ready to start cursing.

A scruffy old man sitting on the kang smoking a pipe held him back and looked at Shanhu. "Shanhu, Dafei may have gone a bit too far, but you're not showing much sincerity, either. You've made plenty of money these past few years. My Zhenzhu's marrying you, and you want to give us only three or five hundred yuan? Does that sound right? Other families get a thousand yuan when they marry off a daughter!"

"A thousand?" Even Gu Jinshui was startled.

Douzi said quickly, "Brother, don't listen to his nonsense. Sure, some families get a thousand yuan, but look at their daughters: proper university graduates with steady jobs! How much schooling has your daughter had? She didn't even finish primary school, and you've got the nerve to ask for a thousand? Give me a break!"

The Qi Family's faces burned at that.

Old Man Qi glared at Douzi, then turned to Shanhu. "I don't care about anyone else. I know you can come up with two thousand. Are you going to pay it or not?"

Gu Jinshui's heart sank.

He glanced at Shanhu. Someone had clearly found out exactly how much Shanhu had saved. Otherwise, Old Man Qi could not have named a figure that matched his savings so closely.

"That's right! Are you paying or not? If you won't, the wedding's off!" Qi Dafei shouted from the side.

The people outside were watching the spectacle. Some said the Qi Family's demand was outrageous; others said Shanhu had terrible luck to fall for a daughter from that family.

Two thousand yuan! People in that courtyard had never seen so much money in their lives, yet Old Man Qi had dared to demand it.

Shanhu clenched his fists, the veins standing out on the backs of his hands. He looked at Zhenzhu. "Zhenzhu, will you only marry me if I pay the two thousand?"

Zhenzhu lowered her head. She wore a pretty pink dress and bright red rouge on her lips. Tears dripped down her face. "Brother Hu, it wasn't easy for my father to raise me. Just give it to him. You can always earn more later."

Douzi nearly exploded with anger.

Easy for her to say when she was not the one earning it. All she had to do was open her mouth and tell him he could earn more later.

Damn it, did she think that money came easily?

To earn it, he and Shanhu were out running around day and night. Sometimes thugs targeted them, and they had to fight.

Every last bit of it had been earned through sweat and blood.

Douzi could not help wanting to speak up, but Gu Jinshui held him back. Keeping his eyes on Shanhu, he said, "Let Shanhu decide for himself."

Douzi opened his mouth, then reluctantly closed it and folded his arms.

He could almost see Shanhu becoming the biggest sucker in all of Beijing by tomorrow.

"What if I can't earn money later?" Shanhu asked. "Would you be willing to do hard labor with me to make a living?"

"How could that happen?" Zhenzhu said without thinking. "Aren't you good at making money?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Realizing she had said the wrong thing, Zhenzhu quickly stood and took Shanhu's hand. "Shanhu, I really do want to build a life with you. It's just that my family is so poor..."

"It isn't my fault your family's poor."

Shanhu was silent for a moment, then pushed her hand away. Zhenzhu stared at him in astonishment. Clearly, she had never imagined he would reject her.

"If that's how all of you feel, then the wedding's off. I'm not good enough for your daughter."

Shanhu said it outright.

His heart was bleeding. His eyes reddened, but he refused to shed a tear.

But Shanhu had been too naive.

The moment he said it, the Qi Family erupted.

"What did you say? You think you can just decide not to marry her? What does that make my daughter, a laughingstock?!" Uncle Qi threw down his pipe and strode forward in a fury.

Qi Dafei snatched up a plate from the table and hurled it at Shanhu.

Caught off guard, Shanhu took the blow to his forehead and staggered.

Gu Jinshui rushed over to steady him, pointing at Old Man Qi and the others. "What are you doing? You want to go to jail for assault?"

Old Man Qi widened his eyes and spat on the floor. "Pah! At my age, you think you can scare me? Go on, call the police if you've got the guts. I'll report that bastard for Hooliganism, for taking advantage of my daughter! Today you either pay up, or we go to the police!"

"That's right! We'll report him. This isn't over!" Qi Dafei and the others shouted.

Cold sweat beaded on Douzi's forehead. He edged over to Gu Jinshui and asked, "Jinshui, what do we do? If the police get involved, it could be trouble."

"What's the trouble?"

Gu Jinshui was worried, but he did not show it. "Then let's call the police. They don't get to decide someone's guilty of Hooliganism just by saying so. The police will have to investigate and gather evidence. Everyone knows those two were courting. Call the police? Fine. Let's see what happens!"

He spoke with calm conviction.

Qi Dafei and the others were street toughs who had never had much schooling. How were they supposed to know whether he was telling the truth?

Seeing that they were afraid, Gu Jinshui pointed at Zhenzhu. "And don't think only men can be convicted of Hooliganism. Women can, too. If my brother really goes to jail, your daughter could go in with him. There you go, they can both serve time. My brother will be all right; he'll just spend a few years inside. But your daughter? They'll eat her alive in there!"

Zhenzhu went pale and backed away until she reached Old Man Qi. "Dad, I... I don't want to go to jail."

"No one asked you. Keep your mouth shut!" Old Man Qi snapped under his breath.

Biting her lip, Zhenzhu stepped back and bumped into a rather roguish-looking man. He gave her waist a squeeze, and she shot him a furtive glare.

Old Man Qi noticed nothing. He turned to Gu Jinshui. "Who are you?"

"Gu Jinshui. I'm like an older brother to Shanhu."

Seeing the old man's bluster fade, Gu Jinshui tossed him a pack of cigarettes. The old man saw they were Zhonghua, coughed, and pocketed them. "Well, I've heard of you. A promising young man. But today's business won't be settled that easily. Your brother took advantage of my daughter. We're owed an explanation."

"An explanation can be arranged," Gu Jinshui said.

He surveyed the wrecked room. "But what about the mess your family made of my brother's home? How are you going to settle that?"

"Well, he wouldn't be straight with us..." Qi Dafei started to curse, but Old Man Qi stopped him. "What do you want to do?"

"That's more like it. If you insist on throwing your weight around, we won't be polite either."

Gu Jinshui said, "If you're civil, so are we. I need to talk this over with my brother. As for the marriage..."