Chapter 6: The Water Flows, But the Canal Remains Unfinished (Part 2)
“Xiaojia, do you think your parents will let me in?”
Xiaojia hesitated. “I don’t know. Let’s just take it one step at a time.”
The fury on her parents’ faces when they had discovered the letters last time was still vivid in her memory. This time, she had brought home the boyfriend they had firmly opposed without consulting them first. Her parents, who had worked at the state-owned factory for over twenty years and possessed straightforward, somewhat impatient temperaments, might react in ways Xiaojia dared not imagine.
Hou Weidong patted his ID card and the two hundred yuan in his pocket. If they refuse to let me in, I’ll return to Yiyang, or I’ll sleep in a hotel. I wonder if hotels in Shazhou are expensive? He had received extra funds from home for this trip to handle some personal matters, so he still had one hundred and fifty yuan on him. That should be enough for a hotel stay, some noodles, and the bus fare back to Yiyang.
“Even if I die, my eggs face the sky; what’s there to fear?” Hou Dayong muttered to himself, trying to build up his courage. He added, “Xiaojia, don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’ll handle it.”
Thinking of the potential storm ahead, Xiaojia’s expression grew heavy. Her pretty brows knitted together. After a long moment of thought, she said, “We’ll have to meet them sooner or later. There’s no way to hide from it.” She gripped Hou Weidong’s hand tightly. “No matter what happens, we’ll always be together. We need to have confidence.”
“Confidence?” Hou Weidong thought about the three-hour bus ride and tried to see things from Xiaojia’s parents’ perspective. From their point of view, one is in Yiyang and the other in Shazhou. After marriage, they would be separated by distance. This inevitably raises the issue of job transfer. But Shazhou is an established industrial powerhouse, while Yiyang is merely a county under its jurisdiction. In every aspect, Yiyang falls far behind Shazhou. Without special connections, transferring from Yiyang to Shazhou is incredibly difficult.
Realizing this, Hou Weidong’s confidence for this trip to Shahe wavered. He sensed his own weakness and quickly tried to bolster himself: I am an outstanding graduate of Shazhou College. I will surely achieve something great. They have no reason to reject a good son-in-law.
As the bus entered the urban area of Shahe, the wide avenues, high-end landscaping trees, towering buildings, and streams of cars passing by once again made Hou Weidong feel breathless. His confidence dipped again. He straightened his chest and said, “Even if I die, my eggs face the sky. I am Hou Weidong, an outstanding graduate of Shazhou College. What’s there to fear?”
After crossing a bridge, Xiaojia pointed to a cluster of factory buildings on the opposite bank of the river. “My parents work in that factory. It’s one of the top ten enterprises in Shazhou.”
When they arrived at the bus station, Hou Weidong greeted two familiar classmates, then picked up one of Xiaojia’s large suitcases and walked out of the station.
Xiaojia’s family was financially comfortable. Compared to her classmates, she spent money freely. Before graduation, she had given all her dormitory supplies to Sister Yang, the gatekeeper. For over three years, Sister Yang had been kind to Xiaojia. Whenever Sister Yang was on duty, Xiaojia could feel safe walking around the playground with Hou Weidong. Even if they returned late, Sister Yang would happily open the gate without complaining or finding fault. Of course, this was also because Xiaojia often gave her small snacks.
They walked for about ten minutes, passing the Shahe Cinema. A large poster outside advertised the latest American blockbuster: The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble and Tommy Lee Jones as Samuel Gerard.
Hou Weidong had heard of this movie. He slowed his pace slightly and forced a smile. “If everything goes well today, we’ll go see this movie tonight.”
They turned into a narrow alley. After walking about two or three hundred meters, Xiaojia stopped and pointed forward. “That gray building ahead is my home.” Hou Weidong felt nervous. “Are your parents really that formidable? What if they don’t let me in?” Xiaojia had considered this too. After thinking for a while, she said, “I’ll go up first and tell them directly. Let’s see their attitude.”
Xiaojia slung her small bag over her shoulder and went upstairs, leaving Hou Weidong alone downstairs. When dating Xiaojia at college, Hou Weidong often felt time flying by like golden and silver shuttles. But standing downstairs, he felt as if each second stretched into a year. He once again realized the absolute truth of Einstein’s theory of relativity.
This was a residential building for factory employees. All the residents worked for the same unit and knew each other well. Seeing a stranger standing at the door with a suitcase, they immediately knew he must be a relative of one of the families. People passing by or entering the stairwell couldn’t help but glance at Hou Weidong curiously.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when Xiaojia came down the stairs. Her face looked as if she were about to cry. She walked up to Hou Weidong and said, “They’ve asked you to come up.”
Hou Weidong let out a breath of relief. “How was their attitude?”
“Not good.”
The heart that had just settled rose sharply again. His lips felt extremely dry. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his trouser pocket. It was a pack of Hongtashan, costing ten yuan—a very high-end brand for a student. He tore open the packaging to make it easier to take out individual cigarettes, then put the pack back in his pocket. He gritted his teeth and said, “Let’s go up.”
The security door was slightly ajar. Inside, the song “My Home Is on the Loess Plateau” was playing: “My home is on the Loess Plateau, the strong wind blows across the slope.” Hou Weidong had a loud voice and was quite good at singing this style of “Northwest Wind” folk-rock. But hearing it now, he only felt an unusual sense of irritation.
Xiaojia opened the door, changed into slippers, and handed another pair to Hou Weidong. As Hou Weidong carried the heavy suitcase into the room, he saw a middle-aged couple sitting expressionlessly on the sofa. Their eyes didn’t even glance toward the door; they were fixed intently on the television.
The TV in the center of the living room was on, playing another song. Fu Disheng sang with considerable momentum: “Everyone rows the oars, oh, let’s sail the big boat.”
“Uncle Zhang, Auntie Luo, hello. My name is Hou Weidong. I am Xiaojia’s classmate.” After putting down the suitcase, Hou Weidong walked to the center of the room and introduced himself respectfully.
In the 1980s, residential buildings in state-owned factories were typically compact and elegant. A family of three receiving a two-bedroom apartment of over sixty square meters indicated that the homeowner had a good position in the factory. Xiaojia’s home was a typical state-owned factory household.
The room was small, with windows on two sides, providing excellent natural light. However, the air inside felt as if it had solidified, oppressive enough to make one gasp for breath.
The middle-aged couple sat on the sofa with their arms crossed, looking serious. Although they hadn’t refused to let Hou Weidong in, they certainly weren’t giving him a warm welcome. After Hou Weidong finished his self-introduction, the couple remained silent, leaving him standing there in awkward silence.
Hou Weidong didn’t possess the legendary aura of a king, nor did he have the charm to make girls fall instantly infatuated. But he was a prominent figure in the Department of Politics and Law at Shazhou College and a capable member of the Student Union. As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In Xiaojia’s eyes, he was an exceptionally outstanding young man. Seeing her beloved being ignored by her parents, she felt a pang of heartache. She tugged at the corner of Hou Weidong’s shirt and said, “Weidong, sit here.”
Her parents ignored Xiaojia’s behavior completely.
After Hou Weidong sat down, Xiaojia proactively handed him a glass of water. Hou Weidong took a sip of the cold water, which soothed his burning lungs and heart immensely. He took out the Hongtashan cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and offered it to Xiaojia’s father, who was sitting on the sofa. “Uncle Zhang, would you like a cigarette?”