Speaking of Class 4 of Year 1—oh no, it’s Class 4 of Year 2 now—if you ask who is the most wildly imaginative, always coming up with random ideas on a whim, and especially fond of borrowing authority to make a show of force while stirring up all kinds of chaotic nonsense… it’s definitely not Fan Xia, but their homeroom teacher, Comrade Gu Kaige.
Last year, Comrade Kaige proposed that all students in the school should do morning exercise by running at least 5,000 meters every day. After it was implemented, he has now proudly held the No. 1 spot on the Affiliated High School’s Most Hated Teacher ranking list for several consecutive months.
Because he is so loved by the students, Teacher Gu has to keep a large stash of valve cores in his pockets at all times. Otherwise, his old bike wouldn’t even make it the less-than-one-kilometer ride from school to his rented place.
Although the Affiliated High School forces students to live on campus, there is no such rigid rule for teachers. Most of the teachers have families, with their homes in the city center, and the school provides them with dedicated shuttle buses.
Teacher Gu Kaige, whose ancestral home is in Zhejiang, has only been out of college for four years at most. He is still a proud bachelor and rents a courtyard house from a local farmer on the east side of the school. It has two floors, and he lives there alone. In terms of space, it can practically be called a mansion.
Aside from the 100 yuan monthly rent, he also pays the landlady an extra 50 yuan to help wash his clothes and so on.
Oh, and Comrade Kaige also keeps a big yellow dog in the yard to guard the house. Its name is quite something—“Bush,” the name of the current U.S. president1George W. Bush served as the 43rd U.S. President for two terms, from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009.
Bush was brought home by Teacher Gu from a local farmer’s house in the village. It seems to be a mix between a Chinese rural dog and a Golden Retriever. It has a gentle temperament and a kind, benevolent-looking face. Though still young, it often stands at the gate, gazing melancholically into the distant bushes, giving off a rather romantic air, hence the name Bush.
Pretty much all the boys in their class have been to Teacher Gu’s house. When they saw the big TV, the powerful sound system, the large computer, the big sofa in the living room, as well as the specially purchased treadmill and the barbells and dumbbells lined up against the wall, they all drooled with envy.
Just think about it, what boy hasn’t fantasized about living like this during his school days? Eating whenever he wants, sleeping whenever he wants, playing games as late as he wants. There’s even a big yard at home, with a basketball hoop in it— and that detestable Brother Kai, he’s achieved all of it!
Teacher Gu Kaige, affectionately called Brother Kai by the students, genuinely wants to build a good relationship with them. Besides inviting the boys over for barbecues, gaming, and dog-petting, he also plans to strengthen their bond by taking them to the botanical garden over the weekend; treating it as a spring outing.
You have to know, the Affiliated High School has never had activities like spring outings, autumn outings, or summer camps — anything that might waste time or increase the risk of student injuries.
In fact, by the time Ning Xiaobei and the others reach Year 3, even their once-a-week trips home will be reduced to once a month. The rest of the time? Studying. Studying like crazy.
He originally thought this proposal would be enthusiastically supported by the entire class. Who would have guessed that not a single person appreciated it.
Even Ding Zheyang, who usually flatters the teacher no matter what nonsense he says, only gave a small smile before turning back to analyze exam papers with his deskmate, acting as if he hadn’t heard anything at all.
Just kidding…there are only two days in the weekend to begin with. On Saturday morning, the students take the school bus back to the city center, then each goes home. Those who live far away don’t even arrive until 2 or 3 p.m. By Sunday at 4 p.m., they have to gather again at People’s Square and take the school bus back to campus. All things considered, this so-called two-day weekend is really only one day of rest.
With that one day, isn’t there anything better to do?
Going to the botanical garden? It’s not like they’re elementary school kids.
“So? Say something, everyone.”
Seeing that everyone in the classroom was busy with their own things and no one paid him any attention, Teacher Gu felt a bit awkward.
“Ning Xiaobei?”
He winked at Ning Xiaobei, who was drinking water, and even threw him a flirtatious glance, startling Xiaobei so much that he nearly spat out the water in his mouth.
Kaige was tall and well-built, with a fit physique. He ran and stretched every day. It was said that some time ago, he participated in the Shanghai Marathon with two PE teachers and successfully completed a half marathon. Right now, he was feeding the horses and sharpening the weapons2training hard, aiming to complete a full marathon this year.
Receiving such a flirtatious look from a macho man like him, even Ning Xiaobei, who was gay, immediately broke out in goosebumps. It was really a bit too much to handle.
When Kaige saw Ning Xiaobei calmly turn his head away as if nothing had happened, his heart ached.
Even the most considerate class monitor, Ning Xiaobei, has betrayed Zhen3朕 (zhèn): The imperial “I” used by ancient Chinese emperors!
“Fan Xia, hey, hey…”
Kaige simply lowered himself, stepped down from the podium, walked over to Fan Xia, and raised his index and middle fingers to tap lightly on the desk in front of him.
“Uh… well, classmates, since the teacher cares so much about our extracurricular life, why don’t we just give up one day of our rest and show some support for Brother Kai…oh no, for our Teacher Gu.”
Fan Xia had been put on the spot and, with no other choice, stood up and, together with Teacher Gu, forcibly began to hard-sell the idea to the class.
Things like leaving behind rare memories in high school or no matter how boring the botanical garden is, it’s still more interesting than the last time the school organized us to sell rice and fertilizer at the village supply and marketing cooperative as a work-study class…
Fan Xia already had a lot of prestige among the students, especially among the boys, where he was basically the kind of leader who could get a response with a single call. Hearing him say this, a few boys who were especially close to him finally raised their hands to sign up.
As for Ding Zheyang, he had originally planned to keep playing dumb, but after being stared down for a full half minute by Fan Xia’s intense eyes, he had no choice but to reluctantly raise his hand as well.
Once he signed up, Chang Leyun naturally followed, and with her, several more girls joined too.
After this round of coercion and temptation, there were at least around a dozen students who responded, albeit sparsely. Teacher Gu was fairly satisfied with the result and left the classroom with light, cheerful steps.
“What kind of benefits did you get from him? The two of you going back and forth like that; putting on a comedy act?”
Ning Xiaobei looked at Fan Xia with disdain.
“Ah, come on, what benefits… we’re teacher and students after all… alright, fine. The sausages we ate at his place last time tasted pretty good. They were made by his landlady. I casually mentioned it to Brother Kai, and he said during the New Year he’d have her make a couple extra strings for me.”
You gluttonous pig, only know how to eat!
“Boss, let’s go out after class today. Let’s buy some snacks and bring them to the botanical garden to eat.”
Not knowing Ning Xiaobei’s inner grumbling, Fan Xia said this with great enthusiasm.
“Who said I’m going to the botanical garden? Did you see me raise my hand just now?”
Ning Xiaobei rolled his eyes at him.
“Don’t be like that, boss. If you’re not going, why should I go?”
Fan Xia threw an arm around his shoulders and started shaking him back and forth. “Darling, you can’t abandon me. We promised to be together for life after life!”
“Get lost! The only thing I love is your money.”
Ning Xiaobei shoved him away.
“No! I don’t believe it! You can’t be so heartless, ungrateful, and unreasonably hysterical!”
Fan Xia had always been this over-the-top. The classmates were long used to the way the two of them interacted. Aside from a few girls in the back row showing a strange smile at the sight, no one found it unusual anymore.
Meanwhile, inside a room at the Workers’ New Village, Zhao Jingwen quietly tiptoed in from the balcony and wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist.
Ning Jianguo was feeling soreness in his lower back, so he simply lay face down on the bed and let Zhao Jingwen massage him. Zhao Jingwen was overjoyed inside, thinking, there’s actually such a good deal?
He first tentatively kneaded both sides of the waist, then used his elbow to press lightly into the hollow of the lower back.
Ning Jianguo let out a couple of comfortable hums, signaling him to continue.
So the large hands that had been resting on his waist slowly moved downward, heading toward places better left undescribed.
One hour later…
This time, Ning Jianguo couldn’t move even a single finger. He lay sprawled over a heap of blankets, turned his head, and glared at Zhao Jingwen, cursing fiercely, “I was already exhausted to death, and you still had to mess with me! My back is really about to break this time!”
If his eyes hadn’t been shimmering as he spoke, his words might have carried some real intimidation. But in his current state, they only made Zhao Jingwen feel even more itchy.
Recently, Grandma Ning’s shopfront property has been under renovation. Besides being busy working at the school cafeteria on weekdays, Ning Jianguo also has to cross the river to Pudong on weekends to supervise the work, often spending the entire day there.
After all, he’s getting older now. It’s not like when he was young, when he always wanted to fool around with him. Lately, Ning Jianguo has been rather cold toward Zhao Jingwen, so the latter couldn’t take it for a while and ended up behaving shamelessly.
As for that shopfront property, whether to rent it out or use it themselves; whether to open a breakfast shop or a small convenience store, the Ning family had agonized over it for quite a long time.
The newly built residential complex is good in every way: large space, high greenery coverage. Although the surrounding subway lines are still in the planning stage, and getting to Puxi requires either taking a ferry or going through a cross-river tunnel line, for someone like Ning Jianguo, who owns a car, it’s not much of a problem.
That’s right, following Zhao Jingwen, Ning Jianguo has also bought a car.
However, he has always prioritized practicality, so he only bought a box-type van, mainly for daily use when purchasing ingredients for the cafeteria.
Grandma Ning usually doesn’t like to move around much. Occasionally, when she has a headache or fever and needs to cross the river to visit a designated hospital, she still refuses to ride in his car. She says it smells like a mix of meat stuffing and ribbonfish, and that sitting in it makes her feel like she’s about to be taken to the market and sold off.
At times like this, it becomes Zhao Jingwen’s chance to curry favor with his mother-in-law. He enjoys it endlessly, worried only that he might not be able to help enough.
In the new residential area, the surrounding facilities are still not fully developed. The nearest market takes about 20 minutes to walk to, so Xiao Mei has to ride a bike every day to buy groceries. Moreover, there isn’t a single breakfast shop nearby. For Shanghainese people, who are used to buying breakfast before work or school, this is rather inconvenient.
So Ning Jianguo’s initial idea was to open a breakfast shop, ensuring customers come like clouds.
Then it was immediately vetoed by Ning Xiaobei and Zhao Jingwen.
Although a breakfast shop only opens around six in the morning, preparation often has to start at four or even three. Not to mention that hired staff might not work as diligently as Ning Jianguo, could Xiao Mei even get up at that hour? And could the old lady handle it?
With the breakfast shop idea rejected, only two options remained: either rent the place out to someone for a beauty salon, or open a small convenience store themselves.
As for renting it out for a hair salon, the one interested was Alan, a close friend who came to Shanghai to work together with Xiao Mei.
Unlike Xiao Mei, as soon as Alan arrived in Shanghai, she went to work at a hair salon as a shampoo girl.
She was sharp-eyed, quick-handed, and smart, and soon mastered the skills of the senior stylist. She even used her own saved wages to go to Japan for a year to study the latest hair and beauty techniques. Unlike Xiao Mei, who almost sent every month’s wages back home. Once Alan left that village, she completely cut off contact with her family. Even on holidays, she’d rather work overtime at the salon washing and styling hair than go home.
She said it herself: once she left that place, she was prepared for complete separation from her family. No one could bind her for any reason; she wanted to become a full-fledged city person.
After returning from Japan, Alan wanted to open her own salon. She gathered a few familiar friends and planned to launch a big project.
Xiao Mei was one of them.
Since the new public housing had flush toilets, water heaters, and fully automatic washing machines, doing chores was much easier than back in Jiande Lane. She had a lot of free time each day.
Grandma Ning also found a few elderly ladies to play mahjong with at the new place. Two daily sessions, without fail. With them around, Xiao Mei could do her own thing freely.
By now, Xiao Mei had really developed some flair in facial beauty treatments.
She brought back all the bottles and jars from the salon for Grandma Ning to use, making her skin glossy and smooth. The wrinkles and age spots on Ning Grandma’s face visibly decreased.
Not just Grandma Ning, but whenever Ning Xiaobei visited, Xiao Mei would pull him over to practice on him too.
While she might feel shy around other men, she had no reservations with Xiaobei. With steam facials, essential oil massages, and a full set of treatments, Ning Xiaobei practically glowed afterward.
This made Fan Xia green with envy. He thought: if he could try just a couple of those treatments himself, even if he couldn’t get as fair as Xiaobei, at least he could reach the level of his uncle.
Grandma Ning also supported Xiao Mei learning a trade. She was still so young, just in her twenties. She couldn’t be a caretaker her whole life; she had to plan for her own future.
However, Grandma Ning was cautious about Alan encouraging Xiao Mei to buy into the new salon. She only wanted her to focus on improving her skills.
As for spending money outside, why rush? Money won’t go moldy sitting in your hands.
Sure enough, experience proves wise: while Xiao Mei was dragging Alan for an answer, bad news arrived — Alan’s boyfriend had taken off with the savings she had been carefully putting aside for opening the salon, and nobody knew where he had gone.
That sum was at least two or three hundred thousand yuan, including money Alan earned working in Japan and shares from three or four other friends. Every bit of it was hard-earned money from migrant workers.
Worst of all, the traitor who handed Alan’s money over to her boyfriend was someone she had trusted the most; a junior stylist at the salon.
When the news reached the Ning household, everyone sighed with regret but also felt lucky that Xiao Mei hadn’t invested the money yet. Otherwise, it would have been a disaster; no one to call for help, no way to fix it.
With the salon option crossed out, the only thing left was to open a small convenience store.
Twenty years from now, every Shanghai neighborhood would have convenience stores— 【FamilyMart】, 【Lawson】, 【Quick】, 【Kedi】, and so on. Now, none of that existed.
Shanghai people used to call street-side shops selling cigarettes, alcohol, and sundries ‘yan zhi dian’. They mainly served local residents.
If a neighbor on an upper floor called out or phoned, the shopkeeper would lazily walk downstairs. The neighbor would lower a basket with a rope, placing coins at the bottom, always the exact amount or more. The shopkeeper would put in whatever was needed—cooking wine, instant noodles, or pencils and notebooks for kids—and pull the basket back up. One transaction done.
Much classier than later delivery riders speeding around neighborhoods on electric scooters, and far more personal.
The main income for these stores came from selling cigarettes and traditional liquor, but those weren’t things you could just sell freely; they required a license.
Fortunately, in recent years Zhao Jingwen had met plenty of influential people through his qipao business. Things that others would struggle to obtain could be gotten for him in just a few words.
Last September, the Hong Kong film 《In the Mood for Love4In the Mood for Love had its theatrical release in Hong Kong on September 29, 2000》 premiered. Maggie Cheung’s qipaos on the big screen made Shanghai women swoon. The city was swept by a qipao craze.
At that time, the market only had the bright red, flashy, high-slit qipao worn by waitresses. They were nothing like the Hong Kong-style qipao Maggie Cheung wore. If you actually bought one and wore it, people might assume you worked in some special profession.
Ding Zheyang’s parents had been in high-end tourism for years and had some connections. They invited a few editors from Shanghai fashion magazines to visit the store, drink tea, and appreciate the style of an old Shanghai villa.
A few weeks later, the 【Guoyun Qipao Shop】tucked inside the Changle Road villa became an instant hit. A few magazines even praised the little store for its style, calling it practically a qipao museum. Not only did it carry Shanghai-style qipaos from the 1930s and ’40s, but it also had the rare Hong Kong–style qipaos. Without leaving Shanghai, customers could buy the same style as Maggie Cheung.
For a while, the store was packed with customers, and orders from all over the country came in like a blizzard. Zhao Jingwen had to implement a reservation and membership system to ensure both the customer experience and the quality of service.
Watching this, Ning Xiaobei thought to himself: I know this trick. Soft marketing, riding the wave of a movie, and using KOLs5KOL = Key Opinion Leader, a Chinese term for influencer used to promote trends or products to drive traffic.
Compared with the later chaotic growth of various influencer bloggers, these magazine editors still had taste and standards, they couldn’t be bribed just with money.
The qipao craze had lasted for over 6 months by now and showed no signs of fading. Zhao Jingwen even did some reverse marketing, sending their good reputation back to Hong Kong, and now some Hong Kong women were coming specifically to their shop to have clothes custom-made.
So during this period, the two of them were busy with their own work. Even though both kids no longer lived at home, there weren’t many chances for them to be affectionate. Today was a rare moment, a true rain after a long drought.
“Grandma Ning’s renovation is all finished now, right?”
Zhao Jingwen kissed Ning Jianguo’s shoulder, smiling like a well-fed cat.
“Yeah… it should be done in a day or two. Just need a bit of cleaning and tidying up. Tomorrow evening I plan to invite the construction team out for a meal, just to reward them a bit, share some good fortune.”
Ning Jianguo hugged the blanket, squinting, ignoring the person behind him who was getting restless.
He was only a year younger, so why did their stamina differ so much?
“Fan Xia just called me… Ah, don’t get up, just lie down. Xiaobei said they’re not going home this weekend; the class is organizing a spring outing, going out to enjoy the greenery.”
“Yeah, they need to go out and have fun. Studying too much is suffocating.”
Ning Jianguo rolled over, letting Zhao Jingwen hug his shoulder.
“I was thinking… it’s been a long time since we went out anywhere. The forecast says the weather will be nice tomorrow. How about we go take a walk in the botanical garden?”
………………
Author’s Note:
Exciting, right? Hehe.
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