AOI 12

After Chen Lei stepped out, he wandered around the yard with his hands behind his back for the better part of the afternoon. Eventually, he found himself a way out in the nook between the north wall of Li Yandong’s room and the passageway where the coal bricks were stored.

That afternoon, he called over a few of his mates. The four of them stood in that cramped corner, measuring left and right, comparing notes, and chatting away with great enthusiasm.

Xu Minghai, spotting strangers in the yard, grabbed Qiushi and ran out to see what was going on.

“Godfather, what’re you doing?”

“What does it look like? Figuring out how to build you a room!”

“What made you decide to build me a room all of a sudden?” Xu Minghai was confused.

“Because I **ing love you,” Chen Lei said as he passed out cigarettes to his mates.

Xu Minghai thought he was cursing.

“Lei Ge, if we just extend out about a metre, we can get this little room up and still have some space left over for the stove,” said a man wearing his雷锋 hat askew, craning his neck to look around, his face full of envy. “Got to say, your yard’s a lot quieter than most others. I wouldn’t mind living here myself.”

“Once we’ve got the cement, sand, lime, bricks and tiles all ready, we’ll get started. We’re all brothers here—none of us will hold back,” another man chimed in.

“Much obliged, lads.” Chen Lei clapped each of them on the shoulder.

It was only then that Xu Minghai realised Chen Lei was serious.

“Xiaohai, once it’s built, Guozi and his mum will move into your current room, and you’ll move in here. That work for you?” Chen Lei asked.

“Why wouldn’t it? Long as you don’t kick me out of the yard entirely, I’ll sleep anywhere!” Xu Minghai set the bar very low.

“But there won’t be room for your little desk anymore—you’ll have to do your homework in your parents’ big room,” Chen Lei added.

“No problem, I don’t like doing it anyway.” Xu Minghai turned to Qiushi and said earnestly, “Guozi, when you start school, make sure you study hard and aim high. When you can, you can do all my homework for me.”

Qiushi nodded silently. Chen Lei let out a small sigh.

This proposal to conjure a room out of thin air ultimately won Li Yandong’s approval. Housing shortages were a problem everyone faced, with urban per-capita living space pitifully small. Building an extension outside your own door to solve your housing problem didn’t count as illegal construction. Given the current trend and the general situation in the surrounding alleys, as long as no trees were cut down, the neighbourhood committee would turn a blind eye.

“But what if one day the committee suddenly gets a bee in its bonnet and decides to crack down? What if they tear the place down as soon as it’s built? Won’t we have wasted our time?” Xu Yong, accustomed to treading carefully at work, was full of worries.

“Once this room is up, no one’s tearing it down,” Li Yandong declared with ruthless resolve. “Let’s see who dares mess with your auntie!”

So Li Yandong supplied the materials, and Chen Lei supplied the labour. When Sunday came, they got to work, and in the span of a single day, a small room had risen from the ground.

As luck would have it, whatever you fear comes knocking. During the construction, sure enough, Auntie Qian from the neighbourhood committee showed up to find fault. This old busybody fancied herself a Wang Xifeng and loved nothing more than sticking her nose in other people’s business. Passing by and seeing strangers coming and going through the gate, she immediately swept into the yard and started picking holes. Putting on airs like she was managing the Ningguo Mansion, she kept harping on about how building without notifying the committee was “against the rules.”

Li Yandong charged forward and went straight at her. The two of them traded verbal fire, each cursing the other’s ancestors back eight generations, leaving the lads helping with the construction utterly humbled.

In the end, Chen Lei had a stroke of genius and sent for Old Lady Qian’s youngest son, Chengtuo. The kid had been a troublemaker himself in his younger days, always stirring up trouble, and Chen Lei had bailed him out plenty of times.

When Chengtuo arrived, he immediately threw his arms around his squawking mother. At the same time, he didn’t forget to criticise her, asking if she’d lost her mind. “They’re not building in your yard, and the committee’s not the housing office—what business is it of yours to stick your oar in? Go home and make dinner!” This left Auntie Qian with a fire in her own backyard and her dignity in tatters. She silently added Chen Lei’s name to her blacklist, vowing to get even.

Once the old woman was finally sent off, everyone threw themselves back into the work. By dusk, the electricity was hooked up, and the fluorescent tube lit up with a tug of the cord. A neat square window was set into the east wall, freshly whitewashed, with pale blue curtains hanging on either side. The bed planks were dismantled, moved inside, and reassembled. With the mattress, sheets, pillow, and quilt laid on, it instantly felt like home.

Chen Lei made use of the leftover materials, cobbling together a small unit that could serve as both a bedside table and a set of shelves. He gave it a coat of clear varnish, set it beside the bed, and it fairly radiated an air of learning. The new stove and the white-tin chimney were also installed, and after they’d lit a fire and let it burn for a while, the little room was as warm as spring.

Once everything was tidied up, Li Yandong looked the place over and joked with Chen Lei: “Slap a couple of double-happiness characters on the wall and it’d be a bridal chamber—good enough for Xiaohai to get married in.”

“That’s thinking a bit far ahead,” Chen Lei laughed. “That’s at least a dozen years off!”

“How does that old opera go? ‘A hundred years pass in the blink of an eye.'” Li Yandong, dropping her usual loud-mouthed manner for once, grew wistful. “Think about things that happened ten-odd years ago—don’t they feel like yesterday?”

“They certainly do,” Chen Lei agreed.

“On the housing front, I, as his mother, have to thank his godfather on Xiaohai’s behalf. Call it your wedding gift to him.” Li Yandong rarely said anything pleasant.

“Don’t,” Chen Lei waved his hand hastily. “This is nothing. One day your whole family will move into a two-bedroom flat with electric lights and a telephone.”

“Fingers crossed.” Li Yandong beamed, then hollered for Xu Yong and Xu Minghai, ready to drag Chen Lei and the lads who’d helped build the room out to Sandpot Restaurant.

Xu Minghai was too busy admiring his “new room” to want to leave, dawdling and refusing to change his clothes. Knowing he wouldn’t starve, Li Yandong didn’t force him to come along. The group pushed their bicycles and filed out the gate with great fanfare.

As soon as the adults were gone, Xu Minghai immediately began “moving in.” He placed the big Jeep he’d won on the bedside table and neatly stacked his comic books on each shelf. He stood at the door admiring his handiwork for a while, then ran over to Zhou Yingying’s place and dragged Qiushi over.

“Guozi, what do you think of your big brother’s deluxe villa?” Xu Minghai said proudly.