AOI 11

Qiushi hadn’t expected Xu Minghai to have such poor aim when it came to ring toss, but when it came to throwing stones, he was dead on. The little pebbles seemed to have eyes, hitting Underbite squarely on the forehead with remarkable precision.

“See that, Guozi? Your big bro’s got skills!” Xu Minghai gave a thumbs-up, raising his eyebrows with a smug look.

“Skills…” Qiushi watched Underbite crouch on the ground, clutching his forehead and groaning. “But, uh… shouldn’t we be running now?”

By then, the other man had already gotten to his feet, craned his neck to scan the area, and came charging over in a fury.

“You little bastards! The hell you think you’re doing, starting shit with me?!”

Xu Minghai acted without hesitation, grabbing Qiushi’s hand and darting into the crowd.

Normally, crowds were good—kids could weave through and disappear in no time. But today, Qiushi happened to be wearing a red corduroy cotton-padded jacket, a navy blue scarf, and a hat topped with a little white pom-pom—very eye-catching. That outfit made them a target, and before they’d even gone a few steps, they were caught.

Underbite, the bruise on his forehead now purpling, grabbed both of them by the arms with a menacing glare. “You little shits pack quite a punch, huh? Daring to throw rocks at people?!”

“You’re the old shit!” Xu Minghai shot back defiantly. “Who do you think you’re scamming? Shameless!”

“Oh yeah? You wanna see my bad side?!”

Underbite grabbed Xu Minghai by the scruff of his collar and hoisted him clear off the ground. Qiushi’s heart started racing. Biting was out of the question now, so he kicked out with all his might, slamming his foot into Underbite’s kneecap.

“Son of a—!”

Underbite couldn’t protect both top and bottom at once, so he quickly set Xu Minghai down, grabbed one kid in each hand, and demanded, “Take me to your parents! This ain’t getting settled without a few hundred bucks!”

Just then, Underbite—who’d been relentless a second ago—suddenly lurched forward and stumbled, letting go of them. Immediately after, Qiushi heard a familiar voice.

“Lai Zi, I’m their parent. I’ll cover the coffin money you’re after.”

The man who’d just been knocked down shuddered, scrambled to his feet with his hands on the ground, and staggered upright, wobbling.

Xu Minghai pulled Qiushi behind Chen Lei, and the two of them were quickly gathered into Zhou Yingying’s embrace.

“I’ve been looking all over for you two—I was worried sick…” Their mother was still shaken.

“You’ve really made something of yourself, huh,” Chen Lei said, eyes locked on Lai Zi. “How much would it cost to fix that donkey brain of yours? Let’s hear it.”

Lai Zi’s eyes darted every which way for a good long while before he stammered, “Ah… Lei Ge? Wait—these are your kids? I, I didn’t hear you had two kids this old…”

“Got a problem with that?”

“No, no…” Lai Zi’s features twisted into a completely different expression. He quickly brushed the dust off his clothes, stepped forward, and beamed at Zhou Yingying. “Oh, so this must be sister-in-law! My bro here is one lucky man!”

“Cut the kissing up,” Chen Lei said, pulling Lai Zi away from Zhou Yingying. “Haven’t told me how much yet.”

“It’s all a misunderstanding—what’s money between us? I wouldn’t dream of asking you for money, bro!” Lai Zi rubbed his forehead. “No big deal, doesn’t even hurt.”

“What happened?” Zhou Yingying asked Qiushi. “Why’d you hurt him?”

“Auntie, it was me!” Xu Minghai announced loudly. “We were doing ring toss earlier, and Guozi won a big Jeep for me—everyone saw it, but he refused to own up!”

“Ha, looks like you haven’t changed one bit after all these years,” Chen Lei said, reaching out to pinch Lai Zi’s underbite chin. “Picking on my kids?”

“Ah, I just didn’t recognize them!” Lai Zi gave an awkward smile, carefully moved Chen Lei’s hand away, and thumped his own chest. “If I’d known they were my nephews, I’d have given you the whole lot without a second thought!”

“Don’t want your charity—just want what’s ours! The big Jeep that Guozi won!” Xu Minghai insisted.

“Fine, fine!” Lai Zi turned and scurried back to his stall, grabbed the toy car, and came trotting back, shoving it into Xu Minghai’s hands. “Here you go, nephew—take good care of it!”

After placating the kids, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Chen Lei, explaining, “Bro, I swear I didn’t mean it. Look at this mess. Really stepped in it this time. Anyway, I haven’t seen you since you got out. What’re you up to now? Got any good leads…”

Before he could finish, Lai Zi was dragged off by Chen Lei. He came back after the time it took to smoke a cigarette and told Zhou Yingying, “Let’s go, it’s handled.”

This time, Zhou Yingying wasn’t about to let her guard down again. She held both kids’ hands tightly and asked, “Who was that?”

“An old friend. Haven’t seen him in years,” Chen Lei said vaguely.

“What did he mean by ‘since you got out’?”

“Nothing. We used to work at the same factory,” Chen Lei said, then reached out and flicked Xu Minghai on the head. “You little rascal—can’t go anywhere without getting into a fight?”

Even so, there was a hint of pride in Chen Lei’s tone.

Xu Minghai finally had his beloved big Jeep in his arms and seized the chance to turn the tables: “Godfather, what took you so long? If you’d been any later, me and Guozi would’ve been toast!”

“Don’t you talk back to me—wasn’t it you who dragged Guozi all over the place?” Chen Lei glared at him. “This place is packed. What if you got lost? Your mom would’ve skinned me alive. Just wait—I’m telling her when we get home, and she’ll give you a few more whacks with the broom.”

At that, Xu Minghai immediately stopped showing off, and the rest of the temple fair went smoothly. Before they left, Chen Lei bought each of the kids a Sun Wukong mask, which they wore all the way back from Baiyun Temple to the courtyard house. As soon as they entered the gate, Qiushi and Xu Minghai ran straight to Uncle Guan Jiu’s room with the pea flour cakes they’d bought at the fair.

A moment later, Uncle Jiu’s distinctive shrill voice rang out from inside: “This is supposed to be pea flour cake? The pea paste is already sour! What—the seller said he made this for Nixon in ’72? Why not claim he fired the first shot at the Nanchang Uprising while he’s at it?”

Chen Lei stood at the doorway, laughing at the commotion for a good while before following Zhou Yingying inside. They sat and chatted for a bit, then started discussing the move.

“Moving Xiaohai back to his parents’ room isn’t hard, but it’ll take some work to rearrange things properly,” Chen Lei said. “Ten-odd square meters for two adults and a growing kid—that’s really tight.”

Zhou Yingying sighed. “I know how it is—there’s barely room for one, let alone everyone. It’s tough for everyone. When Guozi grows up, he’ll have the same troubles.”

After a moment of silence, Chen Lei spoke up haltingly: “Have you ever thought about… your own situation?”

“Me?” A shadow of sorrow immediately fell over Zhou Yingying’s delicate face. She looked down. “My heart died a long time ago.”

Chen Lei seemed to have finally made up his mind. “Yingzi, I… I really like Guozi. What I mean is, I…”

But Zhou Yingying didn’t let him finish. She looked up and forced a light smile. “You’re a man who’s second to none. Having Xiaohai as your godson is enough to satisfy that itch. Someday you’ll meet a nice young woman, get married, have kids—you’ll have plenty to worry about then. No need to go around looking for more godchildren to take on.”

All the words Chen Lei had been turning over in his head were suddenly cut off in his throat. He stared blankly for a moment, then said, “I… that’s not what I meant.”

“It’s what I mean.” Zhou Yingying’s voice was soft but unwavering. “Don’t waste yourself on someone who’s not worth it.”

Just then, Xu Minghai and Qiushi came running in wearing their monkey masks. Xu Minghai, as bold as ever, immediately asked Zhou Yingying for fried dough twists.

“I’ll go get some.” Zhou Yingying hurried off toward the kitchen.

But Qiushi, sensitive as ever, sensed something unusual in the room. He looked at Chen Lei and asked, “Uncle, what’s wrong with my mom?”

Chen Lei removed Qiushi’s mask and ruffled his soft hair, a wave of bitterness washing over him. He sighed. “Nothing. We were just talking about making room for you guys.”

The days passed, and soon the fifteenth day of the new year had come and gone—the holiday was officially over. Early Sunday morning, Chen Lei showed up at the northwest corner room of the courtyard with a tape measure in hand.

Xu Yong and Li Yandong were both working, bringing in two salaries. With just one child, by average standards, the family was doing pretty well.

Li Yandong had bold features—big nose and big eyes—and while she wasn’t conventionally beautiful by mainstream standards, she enjoyed dressing herself up and, by extension, decorating her home. This meant her room was filled with a kind of fake petite-bourgeois flair.

The area to the right of the entrance served as the “living room,” with a four-panel folding table that could be flipped square or round. A vase of bright plastic peonies sat on it, flanked by two iron-red folding chairs with thin foam cushions. Facing the table was a three-drawer TV cabinet holding a fourteen-inch Beijing-brand color television. A pea-green Snowflake refrigerator with a top-and-bottom-opening door and a Butterfly-brand sewing machine stood on either side.

The “bedroom area” was at the back, complete with a towel-and-washbasin stand, a small four-legged dressing table, a double bed, and a large wardrobe against the wall—the most popular furniture style in Beijing seven or eight years earlier.

The whole room was packed to the brim, every nook and cranny filled, giving the impression that they’d already achieved moderate prosperity ahead of schedule.

Xu Yong had gone out to buy groceries, so only Li Yandong was home. Seeing Chen Lei show up at her doorstep first thing in the morning, she knew exactly what he was after. Without even offering him a cup of tea, she sat in her chair, crossed her legs, and cut straight to the chase: “Alright, how are we doing this?”

Chen Lei paced around the room three times before speaking up. “How about moving Xiaohai’s single bed over here and putting it next to yours?”

“Take a look—is there even any floor space left in this room?” Li Yandong snapped. “What, you think my family’s all rabbits now, hopping around everywhere?”

“Then I’ll give Xiaohai my cot—put it away during the day and take it out at night,” he suggested.

“My son goes to school during the day and sleeps on a cot at night? And you call yourself his godfather? Have you even watched Xiaohai grow up? Why don’t you make Zhou Yingying’s son sleep on a cot?”

“Alright, alright, keep your voice down,” Chen Lei said, frowning. “If the cot won’t work, then let’s do bunk beds. No floor space? We build up.”

“Oh, so now my room’s a dormitory,” Li Yandong nodded. “Xu Yong and I have a little marital time, and my son’s up top listening, the whole bunk bed creaking along with us—is that what you’re suggesting?”

“Can you not be so crude?” Chen Lei’s face turned red. “I don’t know how Xu Yong puts up with you.”

“Crude, maybe, but the point stands,” Li Yandong shot back with a glare. “That’s exactly what it comes down to. We’ve got the certificate—we’re legally married!”

“Enough, enough, nobody’s saying you’re not legal,” Chen Lei said, pressing his temples hard.

“Anyway, you’re the one who volunteered for this whole mess, playing the big shot,” Li Yandong said, watching him with amusement. “Always trying to impress Zhou Yingying. Let’s see how you get yourself out of this one.”